April - Phoenix PC Users Group
Contents
1. 12901 N La Montana Drive Fountain Hills Presentation this month Current computer topics Avast for last 2 meetings For date and time changes check our website www phoenixpcug org INSIDE THIS ISSUE PAGE April 2015 Meetings Calendar 3 1 The Tip Corner October 2014 4 2 Uninterruptible Power Supplies 7 3 Using Internet Explorer in Windows 8 1 11 4 What s New in Avast Antivirus 2015 12 5 Windows 8 8 1 Corner 14 6 Windows 7 Turning Your Computer Off 15 gfe Chrul d edidi dp MR IPRE ee DIE VI EE 17 Maps to Meetings 18 Membership Application 19 Page 2 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 FROM YOUR PRESIDENT How was Easter Summer is almost here Earth Day 225 Arbor Day 24 also NEW MEMBERS IDEAS HOW TO GET THEM Sept 2014 was Michael s last column as editor Needed editor or publisher Contact me At the meetings we ll have a free flowing discussion showing various web sites do Q amp A and give the best advice we can I will try Microsoft Windows Speech Recognition Bring your laptop and a microphone if you would like to try it yourself I know we ve missed this before Want lots of tech news Then go to news google com then choose technology http tinyurl com kru237d Kim Komando amp tips this month https www goo2. HILLS Fountain Hills Librar Thursday April 16 2015 6 30 PM Questions and Answers see Ma see Ma age 18 Current computer topics in the news Avast for last 2 meetings 18 Meetings this year 2015 Reserve UAT for Jan Mar 2015 Feb 17 18 19 Mar 17 18 19 Apr 14 15 16 May 19 20 21 Jun 16 17 18 Aug18 19 20 Sep 15 16 17 Oct 20 21 22 Nov 17 18 19 Dec 15 16 17 All meetings based on the 3 Wednesday of each month REMEMBER PAY YOUR DUES Thanks 36 year or 3 month January 58MTWTEFS 1423 4 5 6 7 8 98 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 2526 27 28 29 30 31 July 5MTWTFS 12 34 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 February MTWTFS 12345 6 7 8 9 10711972 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 August 5MTWTFS 30 31 1 2345 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2B 29 March SMTWTFS 1234587 B 8 40 1112 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 September 5MTWTFS 12 345 6 7 8 9 10 1112 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 217 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 April SMTWTEFS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7T 8 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 October 9MTWTFS 1 2 3 45 6 7T B8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2B 29 30 31 May 5MTWTFS 31 12 34567 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 November SMTWTFS 1234587 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
3. Hotel Phoenix T s ni EO POINTS WEST wETHTSLNEPEE CollegeAmerica C 4 FED OC R EIE LE RA emm METROPLEX a ww w collegeamerica edu phoenix UP Trp Me reo IL a 22057 9801 N Metro Parlcway East j s METR 9 Eis gp UR am Phoenix A 8505 17 nau m 7 G Phone 602 257 75229 MRORTH ARCADIAN PO ariy A Google map error the red A is 4 z ed METRO actually east side of Metro Park way a a Carey 4 en q Exit Peoria Ave west_ past I 17 4 A C Mero torn first left_ go south on the frontage p hanmrketplace road turn right at the first driveway past l Cheryl Drive CollegeAmerica is the white ii ened saab Sod Pl pa E es E building on your right north Narth offf Castles amp Coasters amusement park f East Side Meeting The University for Advancing Technologies 2625 W Baseline Rd Tempe ith iseline Rd one k west of Fry s Electronics iem 1 t OW Dunbar Dr ountain Hills Meeting inem Fountain Hills Library 12901 N La Montana Dr Fountain Co located with the Fountain Hills Library and Museum Page 19 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 MEMBERSHIP DUES The Official Policy of the Phoenix PC Users Group is that we do not condone software piracy in any form 2015 DUES 36 prorated Example 9 for 3 months Phoenix PC Users Group Membership Application First Print Legibly Initial Last Add
4. is easier and it starts the Task Manager immediately The initial display is of the programs and or apps running To see more details click on the More details link To cancel any item that possibly has stopped working and does not respond click on the End task box Task Manager H EZ ME AVG User Interface 32 bit i d Microsoft Management Console Microsoft Management Console W Microsoft Word E News Scan E Spider Solitaire Collection Free EJ Store Ed Weather Windows host process Rundll32 v More details As you scan the Power menu you will see the quick option to shut down or sign out The Search link gets you to the Search You also have a fast link to the following Control Panel File Explorer Device Manager etc In conclusion the Power Menu makes navigation to Windows internals faster and easier to the user Try it sometime am sure you will like it Windows 7 Turning Your Computer Off or On and Power Options Jim Cerny 2 Vice President Sarasota PCUG FL June 2014 issue Sarasota Technology Monitor www spcug org jimcerny123 at gmail com It sounds like it should be easy turning your computer on or off but unfortunately there is just a bit more to your computer than a light switch hope this article will make this most basic choice a lot clearer to you as well as tell you a little about the power options you have for your computer or tablet have to admit that turning your c
5. is in a very low power state but it is not completely off To turn my iPad completely off hold down the power button for a couple of seconds and then see a finger swipe box which will completely shut down the device To turn it back on after this requires me to hold down the on button for a couple of seconds as well In normal use you do not need to completely turn your iPad off It seems that technology has taken over the simple on and off functions of our devices so that even these very basic steps have many options and settings to consider And think even more options will come in the future more than we will ever need to use Remember when TVs had two knobs One to turn the set on and adjust the volume and the other to select the station Now my living room has four remote controls each with fifty buttons Welcome to the future Short Circutts zzzt April s birth flower is the daisy which conveys innocence loyal love and purity TTT TT Daisy Daisy give me your answer do 2001 A Space Odyssey movie Deactivation of Hal 9000 Computer https www youtube com watch v c8N72t7aScY PS HAL gt IBM H 1 I A 1 B L 1 M pretty clever More info http en wikipedia org wiki Daisy Bell Page 18 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 HOW TO GET THERE MAPS TO MEETINGS T W Peoria Ave Wendy s mk emo AVE West Side Meeting m METRO n ta A PLAZ q Ga i E The InnPlace m
6. know that you do NOT turn your computer off by pressing the on button For a Windows computer prior to Windows 8 you should close all your windows first This lets you see if you forgot to save something that you have been working on Once all your windows are closed then click on the start button or the start orb to get the start menu at the lower left corner of your desktop screen On the start menu will be the command shut down at the bottom click on it and wait until your screen goes blank and the lights on your computer go off If you have a laptop computer a light may stay on to show you that your laptop is connected to your electrical outlet Now you may close your laptop and if you are going to be away for a while unplug the power cord and phone cord if you have it connected to your computer During the time your computer is shutting down it is checking itself making sure all is neat and tidy inside You do have other power down options available to you on the Start menu If you click on the little white triangle just to the right of Shut down you will get a list of these options Some of these options are Switch user Lock Sleep and Hibernate Hovering your mouse over them will tell you briefly in a small text box what each one does If you want to learn about these different options and perhaps use them go to Google and enter the exact phrase of the option and you can get many detailed explanations almost never use t
7. minimum you need to back up your system unit and display If you are visually impaired you should also include your powered speakers Everything else should have just surge protection this includes your printer scanner and network equipment It is especially important that you not try to back up a laser printer as they draw so much current that your UPS may not turn on even when your house power is normal Some UPS units have a master outlet if the current supplied by it falls below a threshold it will shut off the power to all the outputs labeled switched or something equivalent If your UPS is so equipped recommend you connect your equipment as follows the computer system unit to the master outlet the display to switched backup the speakers and scanner to switched surge protected and the printer to unswitched surge protected The last is because many printers should be powered down only with their own control switches After everything is connected be sure to test the operation to be sure that the desired devices remain powered when the power fails and if your UPS has a master feature that the desired devices turn off when the computer does Many UPS units have associated software that allows you to configure them and monitor their operation It may also include a provision to shut down your computer if the battery becomes depleted during a power outage However UPS manufacturers are Microsoft centric their software may be Win
8. of us are now aware of Phishing Phishing was and may still be the most commonly exploited threat currently harassing internet users This was considered a form of e mail scamming where someone falsely claims to be a legitimate business in an attempt to entice a victim into giving up personal information that will be used for identity theft This scam sends out an e mail that looks like it comes from a legitimate business and proceeds to ask you for personnel information If you fall for it you can be seriously financially damaged If you receive such an e mail and wonder if it is legitimate do not just click on the link in the message Close out the e mail and sign in to the business by typing the URL you usually use to sign in Now take everything you have just read and apply it to text messaging If you follow through on a looks like the real thing text message you have now become a victim of smishing Smishing has been around for a couple of years but with the sudden proliferation and use of smart phones attackers have gotten a little more sly and a lot better at what they do What can say If it appears correct still don t respond Go to the site or phone number you know and ask Most people have not heard of smishing yet and tend to trust text messages more than e mail thus they respond and become immediate victims Here are some tips to help protect you if you own a smart phone First get a reliable anti virus program Look for ones that
9. s this all about Full details are at the end of this article Avast Free 2015 also includes demo versions of premium security tools The SecureLine VPN option is a free three day trial of a fully encrypted proxy service using it hides your IP address and Web surfing activity even from your own ISP A one year subscription costs 60 GrimeFighter analyzes your system for junk files bad registry entries and other junk that can slow your system but to fix the problems you ll need to pay 20 Or you can use Privazer the free cleaner upper recommend The free Mobile Backup trialware comes with a 2 GB Dropbox account and stores your mobile device s data in the cloud the premium version costs 15 The main Avast interface screen includes a Store button that reveals a host of premium and freemium products an indication that competition in the Internet Security marketplace is heating up or that profit margins which rely on converting free users to paid customers are getting tighter I ve been using Avast for over a year since switching from AVG and I m giving the new Avast 2015 version a big thumbs up for some innovative new features and continued comprehensive protection from malware threats Karma Points and Free Avast Software If you have registered as a member of the Avast online community you will see in the upper right corner of Avast Free s main screen your registered email address and a notation such as 540 karma So called ka
10. too much really personal information stored on your phone And last tip make sure you have strong passwords for your financial accounts Usually a strong password consists of six to eight characters including upper case lower case numbers and other type of characters Uninterruptible Power Supplies By Dick Maybach Member Brookdale Computer Users Group NJ October 2014 issue BUG Bytes www bcug com n2nd at att net An Uninterruptible Power Supply UPS is a box that plugs into a power outlet on a wall and into which you plug in your computer and its key peripherals You connect it the same way you connect a power strip Inside the box is circuitry that monitors the ac voltage a lead acid storage battery a charger a power supply that converts the battery voltage to 60 Hz ac line power and a switch that selects whether your computer is powered from the wall or from the battery Most units also include a surge suppressor Normally your computer and its peripherals are powered from the wall and the UPS battery is being charged but if the ac voltage becomes too high or too low the battery powers your devices Power companies in the U S provide reliable service but sometimes this is difficult For example they use the earth as part of their circuit partly for safety reasons to avoid high voltages building up on their wires Service is difficult to maintain if the resistance of the earth is high as is the case in the Freehold New Jerse
11. work if you are in the Library You can do the same thing while in the Organize pane by clicking on Properties For example the My Pictures folder is optimized for picture files If you open this folder and change the view to Large Icons you can apply the Large Icons view to every folder that s optimized for pictures gave a tip in my September 2014 tip column about changing icons while in the Customize mode but will repeat it here to make it all inclusive with the above suggestions Page 6 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 Customize Your Folders You can customize your folders to go from a plain folder icon to something that can represent what is inside the folder It used to be easier but now you have to go to Computers and click on the C drive then go to users and then documents Right click on any folder and click Options and then click on Customize A new pane opens up with lots of icons Select the one you want click Apply and then OK The icon will now replace the old basic vanilla folder icon If you don t like the icon go back and click restore original icon You can also select choose a file to show as the icon Check the box next to Choose A Background Picture and click NEXT From here you can choose from many different backgrounds or pick one that you have stashed on your computer somewhere You can also change the color of the text What is hing The three will discuss now are Phishing Wishing and Vishing Most
12. you want to minimize or troubleshoot problems Clicking Opening files and folders with a single click allows you to use the same procedure that you use when going to a link on a webpage Recommend keeping the standard double click to open items and single click to select For the navigation pane guess that is up to you like just having the main folder open and can then open any sub folder want to get to Once you have made you choices you can click OK or Apply and your settings are now in use Try them out Remember you can click Restore Defaults to bring them back to the original settings Moving over to the Search tab usually just keep the defaults One comment though is indexing think the jury is still out on that On one hand the searches are conducted much faster on the other indexing can slow down your computer If you do not do a lot of searching would suggest not indexing your drives Certain folders are indexed by default To see what is being indexed on your computer or to change what is being indexed go to control panel gt Indexing Options The most comprehensive tab is the View tab Here you can do a lot of modifying to get your view exactly the way you want it In most cases the choices you make are based upon some personal preference however there are some considerations that should be made as you make up your mind have an X before the choices have selected Some are the default selections and some are
13. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 20 30 June SMTWTFS 42345 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2122 23 24 25 26 27 28 28 30 December SMTWTF 5 12345 amp 7 B 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2122 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Page 4 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 The Tip Corner October 2014 Editor s note better formatted version By Bill Sheff Lehigh Valley Computer Group Pennsylvania October 2014 issue The LVCG Journal www lvcg org nsheff at aol com Let s take a look at folders When you highlight a folder and click on Organize you open a wealth of options You can cut copy paste rename delete and a few other goodies In this column we will take a look at the Folder and Search options When you click on the Folders and Search options another Pane opens up showing three tabs General View and Search with the General tab highlighted The first choice is Browse folders where you can Open a folder in the same window or open each folder in its own window If you click Open each folder in its own folder window this will keep all open folders that you re working with on the screen at the same time The other option makes each newly opened folder replace the previous one While opening every folder in a separate window and memory will Increase the stability of Windows this could slow your computers performance would suggest only using this setting if your computer frequently stops working and
14. AC utility voltage falls below 88 volts or rises above 147 volts The normal AC utility voltage is 120 volts The current voltage is 123 volts PowerChute Monitor System Performance Current Status Run Self Test Your battery backup will intervene Energy Usage if AC utility voltage goes above Configuration ifAC utility voltage goes below 88 volts Y Options If you would like your battery backup to intervene less often due to over and under voltages increase the Runtime upper limit or decrease the lower limit voltage selection This will conserve runtime for successive power Notification outages Note for sensitive electronic equipment If your equipment is affected by high or low input AC utility voltage you may decrease the upper limit and or increase the lower limit voltage selection Sensitivity Voltage Energy Management Help and Support Cancel Help Technical Data Se Contact APC JA CO Emissions Rate 9 Estimated Battery Time Power Source About 2 79 Ibs per day 52 min AC Utility Power Your battery backup is operating normally F PowerChute Personal Edit lt m ER TRE Welcome to your power protection and energy management system Monitor System Enable Energy Management Select Energy Savings Plan Performance 1 Default Energy Savings X Current Status Run Self Test PowerChute Energy Usage Your plan sets the Turn off after time of your Controlled Turn off after 4
15. Page 1 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 Proud member of www apcuq2 org www apcug net Association of PC User Groups Phoenix PC Users Group Officers President David Yamamoto Vice President Richard Elardo PhD Secretary Chuck Lewis Treasurer Paul Jamtgaard Staff Members Membership Coordinator Open Position Webmaster Bill Aulepp Fountain Hills Coordinator Nancy Ogden East Side Coordinator Open Position West Side Coordinator Bill Aulepp Public Relations Open Position Newsletter Publisher Bill Aulepp Newsletter Editor David Yamamoto Contact Information David Yamamoto President PhoenixPCUG org Richard Elardo Vicepres PhoenixPCUG org Chuck Lewis Secretary PhoenixPCUG org Paul Jamtgaard Treasurer PhoenixPCUG org Board of Directors BOD PhoenixPCUG org Bill Aulepp Publisher PhoenixPCUG org Open Position Editor PhoenixPCUG org Bill Aulepp Webmaster PhoenixPCUG org Steering Committee Officers and Members who are present at the 6 00 P M West Side meeting NEWSLETTER The Best Accessory for your PC Proud member of www azacc org The Arizona Alliance of Computer Clubs MAPS TO MEETINGS on Page 18 West Side Tue Apr 14 2015 College America 9801 North Metro Pkwy E Phoenix East Side Wed Apr 15 2015 University of Advancing Technology 2625 W Baseline Road Tempe one block west of Fry s Electronics Fountain Hills Thur Apr 16 2015 Fountain Hills Library
16. creen and display the power menu Programs and Features Power Options Event Viewer System Device Manager Network Connections Disk Management Computer Management Command Prompt Command Prompt Admin Task Manager Control Panel File Explorer Search Run Shut down or sign out Desktop As you can see from here you can navigate to quite a few pages that used to take 3 or more clicks if you remembered how Here are details about some of the option to use to manage your system System Click on this link to find out details about your system like amount of RAM Windows edition 32 or 64 bit based processor Among others you also have a link on this page to the Device Manager Disk Management This link loads the configuration of all the disks accessed by your computer how they are partitioned capacity etc Here is an example Disk 0 NENNEN NNNM es EENMNMNMS cadimREEEM Basic RECOVERY OS8 C Win7Clone E 931 51 GB 39 MB 15 67 GB NTFS 671 66 GB NTFS 244 14 GB NTFS Online Healthy Healthy System Active Pr Healthy Boot Page File Crash Dump Healthy Primary Partition Disk 1 SO Basic ToshibaU3 F 465 76 GB 465 76 GB NTFS Online Healthy Active Primary Partition Page 15 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 Disk 1 is a Toshiba USB 3 external hard drive Task Manager You can still access the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl Alt Delete But clicking on the Power Menu link
17. dows only and if it does have Mac or Linux software it probably has fewer features than the Windows version Some higher end units include front panels that provide much of the monitoring that the software does which makes them less reliant on your operating system The following screen shots are from the APC PowerChute Windows program The first shows the current PowerChute Personal Edition 5 mj Welcome to your power protection and energy me g a AC Utility Power Monitor System Electrical power is being supplied by Performance Energy Usage Rate 2 448 kWh per day Current Status Remaining battery charge is 100 Run Self Test Battery is currently Charged Energy Usage Last transfer to battery was caused by Electrical noise on 7 10 2013 Result of last manual self test is Not Recorded Q CTENAR Configuration Input Voltage 123 volts Options Runtime Notification Sensitivity Voltage Load on Battery Backup Watts 0 300 600 Energy Management Your battery backup is currently providing 102 Watts of power You can connect more equipmentto your ckup Help and Support battery back Help Technical Data Contact APC About Satie Page 10 Phoenix PC Users Group The Sey second shows the voltages that cause the UPS to switch lt E Welcome to your power protection and energy management system 12 Vo ERE IOS EAS I T Your battery backup will intervene when the
18. from home Using Internet Explorer in Windows 8 1 By Rosita Herrick Director Sarasota Technology User Group FL September 2014 issue Sarasota Technology Monitor www thestug org Rosita at socug org If having a Start Screen and a Desktop Screen was not confusing enough another item that has a split personality is Windows 8 1 Internet Explorer Depending on where you start it it functions a little differently If you start IE form the desktop you are using the familiar version that has been with previous Windows versions The familiar icon is on your task bar And depending on your home page that you defined in the Internet Options it will open the browser In my case choose to open the Google search home page el Google Internet Explorer zu j B https www google com gws rd ss 0 8 BY Goog h 0 File Edit View Favorites Tools Help AN Goog B Phot Vide BA Club E Cryp X Para Free 28 How Sf Supp AOL Home BE uic Wat B a an Rosita Gmail Images Share i Page 12 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 To set to a different home page after you open IE click on the Tools tab or the tools icon Click on Internet Options retype the URL of the page you want to open to and click on the Apply button Internet Options x General Security Privacy Content Connections Programs Advanced Home page Use current Use default Use new tab What s New in Avast Antiviru
19. gle com gws_rd ssl q kim komando Ken Coburn Data Doctors Tech Tips http www datadoctors com media tips Leo Laporte http www techguylabs com http leoville com http twit tv people leo laporte June 2014 I tried out Norton Safe Web http safeweb norton com amp Online Link Scan www onlinelinkscan com Both are excellent One member emailed me about protecting his PC both excellent ways to avoid malware ransom ware etc Free Internet watchdog warns you about bad sites http www komando com downloads 759 free internet watchdog warns you about bad sites all If any email looks suspicious DON T OPEN IT Email sender if it s a friend Might be a spoof a fake http en wikipedia org wiki Spoofing attack Eye on Windows lots of STUFF http www eyeonwindows com http www eyeonwindows com category satya nadella http www windows9update com microsoft windows ebook store How to avoid ransom ware Google this The Kim Komando Show all stations and times TunelIn just Google komando tunein all stations It s on various stations and times Listen free over the Internet on weekends http www komando com downloads 2321 6 essential types of security software you must have all Komando Indoor Pan Tilt Wireless Security Camera http shop komando com kim komando pan tilt security camera Warning New virus targets smartphones http www komando com happening now 276431 u
20. have great reviews and solid recommendations Smart phones are like hand held computers and if you have a Windows iPhone or an Android phone you have a handheld computer with a real operating system And what is the first thing you do after you have installed Windows Linux or Apple on your computer Why put in an anti virus program of course At the September general meeting we had an informative lecture on Avast Avast has a mobile phone app You can download and install And just in case one slips by don t click on it and don t call the number Be sure of the number and if you don t know it don t respond In fact even if you think you know who it is be prudent and be careful about calling the number they instruct you to call Finally we now come to vishing Basically vishing derived from a combination of voice and phishing has the same intent that phishing and smishing does but it takes the form of landline phones to try and scam you into revealing personal information such as your credit card number Page 7 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 your social security number your bank account number your PIN number etc You know the calls you get that display an unknown number on your caller ID They can be from any area code an 800 number whatever And they can be a source of a vishing attempt Bottom line do not give out information unless you have initiated the call and additionally although it can be hard try not to have
21. hese options When not using your computer for a day or longer it is usually wise to disconnect the power cord A lightning strike near your home may get in and damage your computer even with a good surge protector connected This is a good idea for your TVs too had one client that had a surge protector in place but their phone cord was connected directly to the computer A lightning bolt hit the utility pole outside their home and the surge came in through the phone line and destroyed their C drive completely even though in this case the surge protector worked fine Here are some helpful things to consider about turning your computer on or off If your computer is not working I e is stuck and you cannot use the mouse at all you can force a shutdown by holding down the on button for one or two seconds Your computer will almost immediately go blank and shut down but it will NOT do all the checking that it would do in a normal shut down Then when you turn on your computer again it will do all kinds of additional checks before it starts up You should not do this improper shut down unless you have no other choice but it should not harm your computer if you do If your computer takes a long time to start up it could be due to a virus or something else wrong it could be a hardware or a software problem It would be wise to have it checked out by someone who knows what they are doing and getting it cleaned up so that it star
22. ll against a direct lightning strike which will vaporize the wiring in your house as well as equipment connected to it The voltages are high enough for lightning to arc hundreds of feet from a cloud to the ground and the currents can be a million Amperes or more Fortunately direct strikes are rare However when there is a lightning strike to the power grid it can cause a momentary rise in the voltage which is what a surge protector tries to prevent Page 8 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 Most consumer UPS devices have the architecture shown in the block diagram AC Out AC In Battery In normal operation the AC Out socket is connected to the AC In cord that is inserted in a wall outlet At the same time the input power is applied to a battery charger that keeps a lead acid battery which uses the same chemistry that starts your car fully charged Finally control circuitry monitors the AC In voltage and if it departs from what is acceptable a relay switches AC Out to a DC to AC converter that generates a 125 volt 60 Hz waveform from the DC voltage on the battery This does mean that the AC Out voltage is zero during the time it takes for the relay to complete its operation but this time is short compared to the 1 60 second period of our power system and it doesn t affect a computer s operation Although not shown in the block diagram most UPS devices have additional outputs that are connected to the AC In port through a surge
23. may not want to check it Show drive letters Use this setting if you prefer to see only the friendly name of each drive Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color Use this setting if you don t want to see these files represented differently than other files on your computer Show pop up description for folder and desktop items Show Preview handlers in preview pane If you don t want to show the contents of files in the preview pane leave it unchecked Some believe that this setting could improve the performance of your computer Use check boxes to select items This can be useful if it s difficult for you to hold down the Ctrl key while clicking to select multiple files Use Sharing Wizard Recommended When typing into list view Automatically put the cursor in the search box when you start typing This can be useful if you don t often browse for files by typing the name of a file Automatically type into the Search Box Select the typed items in the view X XK x XX KK XX XX x You can click and unclick anytime you want You can also click to restore the defaults Don t be afraid to play with the options and see if you like them Once you are finished clicking OK or Apply puts your choices into effect To change the type of file that a folder can be optimized for right click the folder click Properties click the Customize tab click a file type in the Optimize this folder for list and then click OK This will not
24. omputer on is pretty easy You press the on button on your computer a light or two may come on and then you wait What s going on when your computer is going through all the steps to start itself up Well the computer is checking itself making sure the main disk the C drive is working and then it must load the operating system or main program before you can do anything In other words it must start the Windows program on a windows computer or the Apple operating system on an Apple computer etc Only when it completes all these startup steps will the screen brighten up with your familiar desktop You may also see a message or two that your computer wants you to know about such as a new update available for one or more of your programs If you do get such messages it is always wise to Page 16 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 download and install the latest updates for any programs or apps that you have There that wasn t so hard was it Now how about turning your computer off Many businesses tell their employees not to turn their computers off at all but always turn my computer completely off if am not going to use it for a half hour or longer I don t want it connected to the internet when am not using it and just don t want to use the electricity to keep it on even in a low power state It is just my personal choice but just feel better knowing my computer is completely off when am not using it You probably
25. ply which is usually the case if you built your own system The average power consumed by your computer will be significantly less than its maximum power supply rating We have to be concerned about the maximum because the UPS will shut down if you try to draw more than its rated power from its battery backup connectors Page 9 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 To estimate how long you can run on battery power you have to know the average power consumption of your computer My desktop uses about 100 Watts which is probably a good starting point although would double this for a game machine with a high power display driver If you re still using a CRT monitor you should probably add 25 to 50 Watts for that Some manufacturers including APC have graphs on their Websites that show run time vs load although these are valid only for new batteries Lacking this estimate five minutes of battery run time at maximum load For example my UPS is rated at 600 Watts at 100 Watts it should last six times as long as it would if supplying maximum load or 30 minutes In fact APC s chart shows 60 minutes at 100 Watts so the rough estimate is comfortably conservative and allows for battery aging Decide what you want to keep running when the power fails Your goal is to keep your computer running long enough so that you can save your work and power down normally You may be able to work for a little while but once the battery is exhausted you re done At
26. protector Some iMacs are incompatible with some popular UPS units They work fine when the ac power is good but the UPS will refuse to switch to battery when it fails If you have an iMac do your homework Try to buy your UPS from a supplier that offers a No questions asked return policy on UPS purchases not all do in particular Amazon As soon as you have everything connected and the battery is fully charged pull the ac power plug to see if the unit switches to battery power If it doesn t you should trade it for a compatible one A UPS is designed to provide power when that from your power company fails In particular it assumes that commercial power is available when it s first turned on and it may not start if this isn t true This means you may not be able to use a UPS to provide power on a camping trip You also may not be able to turn it on after the power fails Most UPS manufacturers specify the maximum output of their units in both Watts and Volt Amperes with the latter being larger You should buy one with a maximum Wattage equal to or larger than the rating of your computer power supply We re discussing here only the total power supplied by the battery backup connectors we can ignore the power supplied by the surge protected connectors I m assuming that you purchased your computer system and that the manufacturer properly sized its power supply Make appropriate adjustments if you know you have a larger than necessary sup
27. ress City State Zip Code Home or Cell Phone Work Phone Ext Please note We DO NOT share phone numbers outside the club and will generally only use your phone information if we cannot contact you in a timely fashion via e mail or the club web site Receive Electronic PDF newsletter in place of a printed one Yes NO E mail address Print Legibly Signature Date Release my address to vendors Yes No Note Phone numbers will not be listed May the club share your e mail address with other members only Yes No With club approved vendors Yes No Mail this completed form with payment to Phoenix PC Users Group PO Box 45451 Phoenix AZ 85064 5451 Page 20 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 The Best Accessory Users Group for your PC AZACC com member Our Web address www phoenixpcug org also see www phoenixpcug org newsletters The Newsletter of the Phoenix Personal Computer Users Group Users helping users to understand computers PHOENIX PC USERS GROUP PO Box 45451 STAMP PHOENIX AZ 85064 5451 PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS
28. rma points are awarded for various acts of participation in the community and even for being a user of Avast Free for a long time Referring friends posting to forums trying a demo feature buying a premium feature etc all earn you more karma points and status in the community With enough Karma points you can earn a free copy of Avast Internet Security Here s the fastest way to do that On the Avast main screen click the ACCOUNT tab Login to your Avast account or create one if needed Next click on the colored circle under the Logout link at the top right On the next screen you ll see a gray box that says Recommend Avast and earn Karma Click that link and you ll be given your own referral link which you can use to invite friends via Email Facebook Twitter or Google Recommending Avast to 7 friends can earn you a free year of Avast Internet Security 14 friends two years 21 friends three years Your friends must download and install Avast via your referral link Windows 8 8 1 Corner Advanced Functions Power Menu Page 14 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 By Rosita Herrick Yahoo Forum Moderator Sarasota Technology User Group FL http thestug org Rosita at thestug org This article is for users that are by now familiar with Windows 8 8 1 and are trying to use more advanced functions One of the options to manage your computer is the capability to right click on the start icon in the lower left corner of the s
29. s 2015 By Bob Rankin Ask Bob Rankin December 8 2014 Column The holiday shopping season starts earlier each year and so does the release of major annual updates of security software The 2015 edition of Avast Free Antivirus arrived before Thanksgiving for instance Avast 2015 contains some features never before seen in Avast Read on for the full story and learn how you can get the paid version for free First off there s a home network scanner in Avast 2015 that have not seen in any other security suite When launched the network scanner checks your router s administrator username and password warning you to change them if they re still set at factory defaults It warns of unencrypted Wi Fi connections or those encrypted with the easily hacked WEP protocol It checks to make sure your DNS has not been redirected and that your router is not accessible from the Internet If there is a problem Avast 2015 will display step by step instructions for solving it if your router model is one that Avast supports Otherwise you ll have to consult the user manual or Google it These are front door security precautions that many users miss so applaud Avast for these additions to the already comprehensive protection that this free security suite provides Avast 2015 Review With the 2015 edition Avast seems to be morphing into an all in one system maintenance and security suite much like Advanced System Care PC Matic and other utilit
30. secs devices when your PC enters a low power state Configuration e g sleep and the Turn on after time when power is restored Turn on after 4 secs Options Runtime Notification Set Power Consumption Threshold Me When the power consumption of your Master outlet drops below Sensitivity this wattage the Controlled outlets will be switched off Voltage Energy Management 77 Need help with this Click here xd H elp and Supp ort to your Controlled devices now Default Cancel Help Technical Data Energy Cost Rate Estimated Battery Time DARREL 0 23 per day 50 min About Your battery backup is operating normally over to battery power April 2015 The third shows the power drawn from the master outlet that results in the other connectors being shut off By comparison the next screen shot shows the Linux monitoring software which is not supplied by APC It shows only that the battery is fully charged and can power the computer for about 53 minutes There are no control features here Page 11 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 PE UPS Details History Statistics Ej Processor Attribute Value ts Device ups_hiddev1 Type UPS Supply Yes Refreshed 2 seconds Present Yes Voltage 0 0 V Time to full 0 seconds Time to empty 52 7 minutes Percentage 100 0 Close Regardless of its features a UPS is a valuable peripheral that can save you much time and frustration especially of you work
31. tm medium nl amp utm_source notd amp utm content 2014 10 10 article 2 title all http www komando com tips 2752 13 essential security software for your tablet and phone all 7 essential steps to secure your smartphone or tablet http www komando com tips 12475 7 essential steps to secure your smartphone or tablet all Technology news http tinyurl com ppvgoa3 Lots of CES 2015 http tinyurl com nheqhz j Robots Take Over Las Vegas http abcnews go com Technology ces 2015 robots las vegas story id 28083034 CNET Surprise Microsoft jumps to Windows 10 http www cnet com news is this why microsoft named it windows 10 Windows 10 Nine things you need to know www cnet com how to windows 1 0 what you need to know Just Whose Internet Is It New Federal Rules May Answer That http abcnews go com Technology wireStory internet federal rules answer 28625552 BRING A FRIEND WE STILL NEED NEW MEMBERS David Yamamoata Jan 20 21 22 Jul 14 15 16 Page 3 Phoenix PC Users Group 2015 GENERAL MEETINGS CALENDAR April 2015 For date and time changes check www phoenixpcug org PRESENTATION THIS MONTH WEST SIDE CollegeAmerica see map page 18 Tuesday April 14 2015 6 00 PM Steering Committee and Election of Officers Nov amp Dec 6 30 PM Questions and Answers EAST SIDE Universi of Advancing Technolo Wednesday April 15 2015 6 30 PM Questions and Answers FOUNTAIN
32. ts quickly and cleanly Always do a good backup of all your important files first Laptops have even more power options than desktops because they use a battery Even if you do not have a laptop checkout the Control panel then click on Hardware and sound and then Power options You will be amazed There are options to control how much battery your laptop or tablet uses under various conditions an important consideration if you are using the battery Some of these conditions may include how long the computer should stay on when it is not being used and what power options happen when you close your laptop You should at least view these options so that you know what settings you may wish to Page 17 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 change Note that some settings affect the screen brightness and if passwords are required when waking up your computer from a sleep or hibernate mode If you have a tablet device you will also have several power settings and options Most people only use tablets when they are NOT connected to external power that is they are used after the battery has been charged If you are going to use a tablet or a laptop on its battery you should know and adjust the power settings These settings determine how long your battery will last Also for tablet devices such as iPads pressing the power button briefly does not really turn your device completely off The screen goes blank and your device
33. what wanted To pick what you want put the mouse in the shaded box or circle and click Clicking again removes the check Some of the things you can do and what have selected with an X are Page 5 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 X Always show icons never thumbnails Use this setting if thumbnail previews are slowing down your computer X Always show menus Use this setting if you want access to the classic menus which are hidden by default X Display the icon on thumbnails for easier access to the related program X Display file size information in folder tips X Display the full path in the title bar X Hidden files and folders Unless you have to work with windows files you don t need to show them X Don t show hidden files folders or drives X Hide empty drives in the Computer folder This option doesn t affect empty floppy disk drives CD drives or DVD drives X Hide extensions for known file types Windows by default has this checked but you should uncheck it since this is a good way to ensure that files are not malicious software disguised as common files Hide protected operating system files This is recommended Launch folder windows in a separate process Restore previous folder windows at logon Automatically open the folders that you were using when you last shut down Windows whenever you start your computer This helps preserve your work from session to session But if you do many different things you
34. y area where l once was responsible for a lab We routinely ran tests lasting 24 hours or more jointly with other companies from England France and Japan Our schedules were tight and if we experienced a power hit a test was ruined As a result we had UPS cabinets the size of home freezers powering the entire lab Partly as a result of this experience always used a UPS with my work computer More than once saw the lights blink followed by streams of profanity from nearby offices where computers had crashed because they weren t UPS equipped Although there may be no economic impact resulting from a power glitch while working on a home computer it is most frustrating to have an editing or photo retouching session ruined Modern UPS units are cheap and life is short which often makes investing in one well worth its cost A surge protector has a device that is connected across the power line If the voltage rises above a certain value the resistance of the device becomes low The hope is that the device will survive long enough to keep the voltage low until the surge is over Most such devices will protect against one surge but in doing so they burn out which is why many surge protectors have an indicator that is illuminated if the device is good Of course since most of us locate our surge suppressors on the floor with the dust bunnies we can t see their indicators By the way neither surge protectors nor UPS units provide any defense at a
35. y suites Avast s emphasis is on maintenance issues that affect security but they may also improve system performance Avast s Browser Cleanup feature is not what its name implies to most people Instead of clearing the browser s file cache browsing history etc Avast cleans up unwanted toolbars and plugins eliminating points of vulnerability to hackers and places where malware likes to hide Page 13 Phoenix PC Users Group April 2015 Keeping all of one s software up to date is another security issue Avast 2015 s Software Updater makes it a breeze You can set it to notify you when updates are available or just install them automatically This module checks for updates of operating system browser and popular applications but if you don t see some of your apps in the tool s list you ll have to update them on your own Free or Paid Version Avast Free Antivirus is the name of the free version of the Avast suite Avast Internet Security is a paid version that offers extra features such as Anti Hijack Protection to secure your online banking and other sensitive accounts a Silent Firewall to shield you from hackers and an Anti Spam module The cost is 39 year but there s a way to earn a free copy Want to get a free copy of Avast 2015 You can with Bob s Avast Friend Referral Link http www avast com en us get 6 Y QXHvD You can even get the PAID VERSION FOR FREE by earning Avast Karma Points with your own referral link What
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