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Another New Year brings new possibilities and New Year's resolutions. For your Windows-based system, you should also make some resolutions. Here are some action items for your Windows system to begin your new year:

Configure your Anti-Virus Software to automatically update your Virus Definitions on a regular basis. Always perform Shut Down; avoid just turning off your PC. Delete unnecessary clutter. Back up your important files. Create entries into Windows (or other) scheduler for virus scans, defrags, etc. Update all of your Applications software. Update Windows. Create a computer budget for 2002. Uninstall all unnecessary software. Back up your Registry onto a separate disk.

This is a good start to having your Windows system ready for the New Year. Remember that just like your car, Windows needs maintenance, so set up a schedule for it.

- Michael Vincent

Gibson Research Corporation

Visit the Gibson Research Corporation page to get all kinds of technical information. One big attraction at the site is the "Shields Up!!" page. You can visit this page to see how secure you really are on the Internet. Go to the site (link provided below this tip) and click on Shields Up!! Click Test My Shields! and wait for the results. Next, click Probe My Ports! and see how you do. By the way, the port probe is much faster now.

Click here to visit Gibson Research Corp! http://www.grc.com

- Sue Whitehouse

-- Anonymous, January 09, 2002

Answers

Preview Files As Thumbnails

Within Windows Explorer in Windows Me, if you want to be able to view files with a thumbnail preview (a small picture), click the folder in which the desired file resides. Select the Tools menu and choose Folder Options. Under the General tab, choose the Enable Web Content In Folders option. Click Apply. Within the View menu, select the Thumbnail option. Now files will be seen as a thumbnail image. Some files may not have an image associated with them, so you will simply see an icon surrounded by a box.

- Michael Vincent

Printer Controls

So you have selected three documents to print, and the first one is printing. After inquiring, you realize that the second document that will print is huge, and you really need the third document as soon as possible. Not to worry. Open the printer queue screen by double-clicking the small printer icon that appears on your taskbar while your printer is printing.

Left-click the job you want to move. Hold down the mouse button and drag it to its new location in the queue. Release the mouse button. That job will print in its new queued order. To return to our example, you click and hold on the third print job, drag it to second place, and release the mouse button. This document now stands second in the queue. One note: You cannot change the print jobs of other people on a network. You'll just have to wait for that one guy to print his 1,000-page manual. How rude!

- Michael Vincent

-- Anonymous, January 09, 2002


Oh God, I can't do any of that. I'm doing good to clean out my cache now and then.

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2002

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