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Getting-Along-With-Your-Computer

Various Tips & Tricks

Thank you to everyone who sends along questions and comments. Here are a few I’d like to pass along.

Alex wrote, “I tried [Mozilla Firefox] and I like it. Is there any way to have your Favorites in a column on the left as it is in Explorer.

As luck would have it, yes, there is! Click on View – Sidebar – Bookmarks to do that. Or, you can use Ctrl+B to do the same thing. As an aside, Firefox is up to version 1.5.0.1 now, having been updated last week to improve security and overall performance.

Debbie asked, “How can I get my Internet Explorer to start remembering passwords again? It used to, but then it quit.”

That sometimes happens. A somewhat obscure setting in Internet Explorer needs to be changed, and then you should be good to go.

• Start Internet Explorer
• Click on Tools – Internet Options – Content
• Under "Personal information" click on AutoComplete
• See if "User names and passwords on forms" has a check next to it. Probably not, so put a check there.
• Click OK
• Click OK again to close the Internet Options dialog.
• Close Internet Explorer
• Now click on Start – Run
• In the Open box, type Services.msc
• Click OK
• That's going to bring up the Services snap-in. Look down the Name list, and locate "Protected Storage." Click once on it to highlight it.
• Look at the Status column to see if Protected Storage is running.
• If it is, "Started" will appear under Status. If it's not started, Start it by right-clicking on it and selecting Start.
• If the service is already started and running, then Stop and Restart the service
• Close the snap-in.

Count to 10. You should be all set. If not, you might have to restart the computer.

Tony wrote to follow up on the column about Instant Messenger programs. He pointed out, “There are two good reasons to upgrade to the latest version of Yahoo!Messenger. One is that you can leave voice messages for your friends, even when they are off line. The other, really cool, feature is photo sharing. You can share photos with two clicks, you can save them to your Desktop or anywhere on your computer.”

Tony is right --- and both features were unknown to me until he mentioned them. It’s really easy to share photos. Double-click on your contact’s name, then click on Photos in the new window. When your contact accepts, you can just drag photos into the IM window, or use the Add button to get them in there. To save your friend’s photos to your computer, either click on the Save button, or simply drag the photos to your Desktop. Yahoo names them something weird, so be sure to rename/Save them with an informative word or phrase.

Again, thank for the questions and comments. Please keep them coming!

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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About the Author

The Technology Shaman, Cate Eales, has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible, and fun for over 30 years.

Cate lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric. She owns and operates Computer Care Kelowna, a mobile computer business providing on-site service for home and small business customers.

Cate is here to help you and your home or business computer get along.

E-mail Cate at [email protected] with comments, suggestions, or questions.

Computer Care Kelowna

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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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