Answering Computer Question About Problems Sending Email From Websites

Well, it's been a little while since I've had a chance to write a new newsletter (if you're a new subscriber or ordered my CDs recently, you may not have noticed).

This is partially because I wanted to give everyone a bit of a rest after the extra emails I was sending out during my "Help Worth go home to celebrate his dad's birthday" sale from the beginning of the month, but also because things have been even more hectic for me of late than usual (which is saying something, believe me!)

By the way, thanks again to everyone who got involved in my sale to raise money to visit my family. He still doesn't know I'm coming yet (I have a few relatives who are signed up for my emails, so don't tell him!) but he will get such a great surprise when my brother and I show up for his 80th birthday.

I also appreciate all of the emails I got from readers wishing me luck and wishing my dad a happy birthday.

But let's get back to what you guys signed up for -- computer lessons!

So I was going through the email folder where I keep emails from subscribers like yourself to try to get caught up with some of the backlog, and I came across a great question that had gotten buried in a ton of other email. The question comes from subscriber and new Gold Club member Dodie, who wrote:

>Dear Worth,
>
>I have a question if you can help me with Craigslist. When
>I want to reply to someone on Craigslist who does not leave
>their phone number you have to highlight the address and paste
>it on someplace so you can e-mail them. Whenever I highlight
>the address and try to paste, I get a window with an e-mail
>tablet but when I try to send the e-mail I get a response of
>"make sure your server is correct - SMTP unknown" I can
>never send and e-mail to get a hold of the ad. What am I
>doing wrong?
>
>Dodie

Well, Dodie, first off, you are not doing anything wrong, so don't be critical of yourself. A lot of my clients tend to beat up on themselves for not understanding everything about the computer, but it's not your fault! So if you or anyone else reading this feels like a dummy sometimes, it's OK. Be patient with yourself and take things one step at a time.

I know exactly what you're running into here; let me explain what's going on and give you a tip or two that might help.

OK. The basic problem is Dodie is using something called "web mail" which is where you are reading your email on a website. In her case, AOL.com.

The other way to read your email is using something called an "email client" or an email program. This is the method I prefer, personally, but web mail is pretty popular because it's often free and can be read from any computer with an Internet connection.

On the downside, if you use web mail, you run into problems like the one Dodie has run into, plus it's impossible to read your email if you are away from your Internet connection or the Internet connection isn't working at the moment.

One way to think about it is when you use web mail, it's like you're reading your mail (think real mail here, not email) at the post office, then storing anything you want to keep there in your post office box.

If you use an email client, you're "bringing it home" and storing it there.

So if your car breaks down and you can't make it to the post office, you can still read any letters you've already received if you're bringing them home with you, but if you keep them all at the post office, there's no way to read new or even old letters until you can actually get to the post office again.

Does that make sense?

So what to do about Dodie's problem?

It sounds to me like when you are trying to copy and paste the email from the page, you are accidentally clicking the email address and that is trying to open your email program to send it. But because you don't use an email program, your computer is not set up to be able to send email that way.

So you've got a couple of options:

1) Use your right mouse button to click the email link and in the menu that appears there should be an option similar to "copy email address" (or similar words). Click that option and then go to your email, click on the To: line and then go to the edit menu and chose "paste" to paste the email address in so you can send it.

Mac users who do not have a two button mouse can do these same steps by holding down the Control key on the keyboard and clicking on the email link instead of right clicking, then the rest of the steps are the same.

2) Alternatively, you could set up an email program to check your mail that way, or at least set it up so you can send from it. To do this, you need a couple pieces of information including the "pop server" (for incoming email) and the "smtp server" (for outgoing email).

Since you use AOL, Dodie, I don't think you have the above option, unfortunately, but you could contact your Internet Service Provider, and you should have an email account that came included in your Internet service, and they can help you set it up.

Another option would be to sign up for a free GMail account, since GMail (Google Email) gives you the ability to send and receive your email not just through web mail, but also using an email program like Outlook Express (not a great choice) or the free Mozilla Thunderbird, which I highly recommend to Windows users, or the Apple Mail program that comes on Macs.

Dodie recently ordered my Ultimate Beginners Bundle of easy computer lesson CDs, and so she can find the steps to do all of this, including getting Thunderbird for free & setting it up to be used, and she also has lessons on how to get a free Gmail account and set Thunderbird up to use it.

I also recommend listening to my audio CD called "Understanding the Internet", since it goes into more depth explaining a lot of these concepts than I can realistically do in this email.

If you're not already a subscriber to my free email newsletter, use the form below to sign up and get more easy lessons like this one sent to your inbox, as well as information on how you can get access to my easy, Plain English audio and video computer lessons.

until next time, take care, and enjoy,

Worth Godwin
Plain English Simplicity for This Complex Modern World

Answering questions About my Easy Computer Lesson CDs

As you probably know if you've been reading my recent emails, my dad is turning 80 in a few weeks, and I am running a huge sale on my easy video lesson CDs to raise money so I am able to take time off work and make the 5,000 mile trip to see him.

It'll be the first time Dad and I have been able to see each other in over two years, and it's been over 3 years since I've seen my brother, and about four and a half years since the whole family has been able to be together. So as you can imagine, I miss them and am really looking forward to being able to go.

I got a lot of responses to the news about the sale, and quite a few people had questions. I thought I'd take a break from putting the finishing touches on this month's Gold Club
video lesson CD to answer a couple of the questions here before I go to bed, since others may be wondering the same things.

And while I'm answering questions about my CDs, I won't be able to help myself but throw in a couple little lessons about computers while I'm at it, so read on...

The first question is from Marshal Jackson, who wrote:

> i am interested in your product, but i use a webtv,
> msn tv 2 type system, and can't download cd's.
>are they available to purchased and mailed to me?
> thank you, marshall jackson.

Hi Marshall. Yes, my CDs are available to be purchased and mailed. The sale on my Ultimate Beginners Bundle of 21 CDs starts early Friday, and continues to be available at full price on my site, alongside of the two lower priced bundles.

Now the issue for you though, is that you're using an MSN TV (formerly Web TV), which for those who don't know is basically a really stripped down computer that lets you browse most websites and read email, but which doesn't let you do a lot of the other things you can do with a regular computer.

I don't personally have much direct experience with them compared to regular computers, but I'm pretty sure they don't have a CD drive in them, and I'm not sure if they can play the type of video I use for my lessons, which is something called Flash video. This works for 98+ percent of people without any extra steps, which is why I chose to use it.

If you're able to watch the sample video lesson on using a search engine which I emailed you a link to yesterday, then I use the same type on my CDs and on my paid Gold Club member website.

So while you may not be able to play the video lesson CDs since you're missing a CD drive, another option that would let you learn more from me would be my basic "Starter Plus" package on my website.

This includes 3 audio CDs (in other words regular CDs you can play in a CD player, not just a computer) plus a month free membership to my Gold Club.

If you can watch any of the videos on my website, or on sites like YouTube, then my Gold Club videos will work for you.

Everything I mentioned above is included in the bundle of CDs that go on sale this weekend, but again you need an actual computer (not a Web TV or MSN TV) that has a CD drive to play *most* of the 21 CDs (again, some are regular audio CDs that play in a regular player)

I hope that answers your questions.

You can see my 3 bundles of CDs by going to the home page of my site and for an MSN TV you would want to click the Windows PC option since MSN TV 2 runs a special version of Windows.

The other question I'll be answering in this email comes from Lois Lancaster, who wrote:

> Dear Worth: I am interested in your offer. Please
> tell me what I need to do to make use of your lessons.
> I dont have high speed but I assume that I need to sign
> up for it, get speakers attached, know how to put in a CD,
> get sound. I am starting with almost zero knowledge.
> I can turn on the computer and get Email. I can click on
> Google. That is about all. Let me know what is involved
>and I will get back to you. Lois L.

Hi Lois. First off, it's OK if it seems like you have zero knowledge about the computer right now. Everyone has to start somewhere; believe me, I was no expert when I started! FAR from it.

So as for what you need to do. Well, you do not need to have high speed Internet access to play the CDs. You don't really even need to have an Internet connection at all to use them since all of the videos and other information is stored on the CDs themselves.

Now if you're using dialup, you might not be able to watch the videos on my site, or at least not without pausing the video right when it starts and waiting a few minutes for your computer
to receive (or "buffer") enough of the video so you can play it back smoothly. The audio on my site on the other hand probably would play OK.

On a side note, I really do recommend using a fast "broadband" Internet connection whenever possible, both because it gives you the most options, but also because it can make your computer
safer by letting your computer receive critical security updates in a timely manner.

Speakers or a pair of headphones (both of which have the same type of connector) are a good idea. Either will plug into a small round hole (again, just like a headphone socket on a CD player
Walkman, iPod, etc.) which usually is marked with either a green ring around it or a small picture of headphones next to it.

As for how to put in a CD, it's a funny coincidence, one of the video lessons on this month's Gold Club CDs is of me demonstrating how to open a CD drive and also what to do if the drive won't open.

It's really easy to do though, so I can tell you here.

CD drives come in two basic types. Most desktop and laptop computers have a "tray loading" CD drive (where the CD sits on a small tray that slides out of the computer). Some computers,
especially a lot of Apple's Macs, use a "slot loading" CD drive instead where you just slide the CD in label side up.

Opening the tray or spitting out the CD on a Mac is just a matter of pressing the eject key in the upper right corner of the keyboard.

On a Windows PC (which I think you have Lois), you do the following:

On most computers you just look on the front of the computer (not on the screen, but the big "box" that a lot of people incorrectly call the hard drive). On the front of the computer should be a rectangular panel that most likely either says "CD", "CD-R", "Compact Disk", or "DVD" (depending on the make and model).

On the right side of this panel should be a small button for ejecting the tray you put the CD on. The button may have the eject symbol under it (the eject symbol looks like a triangle with a line under it, just like on a DVD player, a CD player, a VCR, etc.)

Push the eject button and the tray should come out that has a circular depression in it that you put the CD into, label side up. Then press the eject button again to close the drive.

On a Windows computer the main menu with the list of lessons on the CD will open up automatically after 20-30 seconds or so.

On a Mac an icon that looks like a CD will appear on the desktop and you would double-click that icon, then double-click the file inside named "Double-click-me" and you'll get the list of lessons.

Again, I'm guessing you have a Windows PC from your question, but I figured I'd turn this into a useful lesson for everybody, and include the Mac users.

Anyway, I hope that answers your questions. It's rounding 1:45AM right now where I am and I was up until 4AM last night trying to get caught up so this whole event goes off smoothly this weekend.

So I'm going to hit the hay.

sometime later on Thursday I'll be sharing an email I got from one of my Gold Club members named Ian who had a story to tell me about his experience with the computer that I suspect a lot of you will be able to relate to.

until then, take care, and enjoy,

Worth Godwin
Plain English Simplicity For a Complex Modern World

Answering Computer Question About Mac & Windows Computer Security

In my last newsletter, I answered a question sent in by Jenna E.,who was asking questions about computer security and viruses.

I answered the first part of her questions, but had so much to share, I had to answer the last part of question in a separate email.

What she wrote was:

>Also, why is it that the Macs are less prone to viruses?
>
>Jenna Eichberger

In this newsletter, I'm going to continue answering Jenna's question, and give you a few lessons that will improve your understanding of computer security whether you have a Mac or a Windows PC.

I'll also explain why it is that just because you don't see any signs of a virus or similar program infecting your computer, you still could be at risk.

Let's take a look at why...

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Worried about computer security? Want to become more
confident & skilled, while dodging dangerous mistakes?
My easy video lesson CDs are the answer.
Click here now to protect and empower yourself today...
--------------------------------------------------------------------

As I mentioned last time, there are a few reasons why Macs have fewer viruses (currently there are no viruses circulating for modern Macs made in the last several years, as opposed to the
many thousand out there for Windows).

Let's talk a little about why this is.

One of the reasons -- and some people will argue that this is the *only* reason, but I disagree -- is what is called "security through obscurity". That is, since there are fewer people using Macs, they are safer since they are less of an interesting target to criminals.

This is true, but not the complete story.

Now you may have heard on the news recently about how several thousand Macs have been infected by something called a "trojan", which has made them part of something called a "botnet". You may have also seen people crowing triumphantly about how this proved that Apple's Macs are no more secure than PCs running Microsoft Windows, but this is simply not the case as I'll explain.

Just in case you don't know what a trojan is or a botnet, let me define the terms for you.

First, a trojan: remember the story of the Trojan Horse? In ancient times, the Greeks won the Battle of Troy with the use of the Trojan Horse.

The Greeks attacked the city of Troy without success for ten long years, and it wasn't until they hit upon the idea of the Trojan Horse that they were able to get past the secure battlements of the city.

As you may know, they built the horse and hid inside it. The Trojans thought their enemy had given up, and they took the "gift" inside the walls that had kept the Greeks out for 10 years, and that night the Greeks won.

Did the Greeks win because the walls of the city of Troy were weak and didn't protect the city?

No, they won because they were able to get past all of the security because the Trojans invited them in without knowing it. And that's exactly how a trojan computer program works -- it is disguised as something the user wants, and they bring it in past the security.

You can have the most secure computer in the world and it doesn't matter if you do this.

Now in this particular case, the trojan infected Mac owners who had installed pirated (stolen) copies of two different programs: iWork '09 and Photoshop CS4, which they had gotten from a file trading network which is mainly used to illegally share movies, music, computer programs, etc. and these file trading networks are very common was to infect a computer.

So it is not something Mac users need to worry about unless they're pirating software, which hopefully you're not doing whether you use a Windows or a Mac computer.

So what is a botnet?

A botnet is a group of computers which have been infected with some kind of malicious program like a virus, worm, or trojan. The infected computers connect to each other to form a network and pool their resources while being controlled from afar by someone (often by organized crime).

The botnet is used to launch attacks on websites or for whatever criminal activity the person or people controlling the botnet have in mind.

And this is the key point: most "malware", including viruses, worms, trojans, etc. these days are being designed to help criminals break the law and take advantage of people.

This didn't used to be the case; back in the day, virus writers (for the moment assume that when I say viruses here I am talking about all types of malicious software) wrote the viruses to show off, for the most part.

As a result, you could usually tell pretty easily when your computer got infected because the virus writers often went out of their way to let you know, or at least didn't bother hiding the fact from you.

Nowadays, however, the virus writers have a vested interest in staying under the radar. They want to use the resources of your computer to stage these attacks, to send spam to your friends and family (often making you look like the bad guy), etc.

So it's pretty common for computer users to be blissfully unaware as their computers are infected and working for someone else!

There are literally *millions* of infected Windows computers out there right now, owned by people who have no idea what's going on. And now thanks to this recent trojan, there are a few thousand Macs infected (although as I'll explain in the next installment of this article, it's *far* easier to clean up on a Mac than a similar program is on a Windows PC).

This does point to the "security through obscurity" era coming to an end for Apple's Macs, but as I mentioned before, that's not the only reason there's a difference between Microsoft Windows computers and Apple's Macs when it comes to security.

But as usual, I have so much to teach you, I can't come close to fitting it all in one newsletter, so I'll have to continue this later.

Before the final article in this series, I will be sharing an audio lesson with you, and I have another of my monthly computer question & answer live events coming up soon too, so keep your eye on your email inbox for those messages.

Until next time, take care, stay safe, and enjoy,

Worth Godwin
Plain English Simplicity For a Complex Modern World

P.S. If you're concerned about avoiding common mistakes, being safe & protected from security threats, and wish you could learn with simple explanations you actually understand, combined
with easy, step-by-step instructions where you actually get to see how it's done right on your screen, then take a look at my easy computer lesson CDs.

My Ultimate Beginner's bundle of 21 easy, Plain English lesson CDs includes 7 CDs that specifically help you avoid mistakes and feel more secure using your computer.

And many of the other CDs in the bundle may not be specifically about security, but still include many valuable lessons that relate to safety & more,plus answer many of the common questions people have, and show you how it's all done in a way that really is easy, even for a so-called "computer dummy".

Click here to grab yourself a copy today.

You'll be glad you did.

Answering Computer Question About Mac Virus Protection

I've been a little behind in posting my newsletter articles to the blog. This one is from last week, the follow-up to this article will be posted very soon.

---------------

I'm writing this in Borders right now where I'm sitting with my laptop, trying to get caught up on some work.

In this issue of my computer newsletter I'm going to answer a question from Jenna, who writes in with a question about
viruses:

>Dear Worth,

>I am a newly admitted grad student and decided to look at
>notebooks so I could be a little more mobile this fall.
>After working on a custom-built desktop PC for 6 years,
>I was thinking of getting an HP notebook. However, after
> watching your tutorials, I thought better of it and bought a Mac.
>So far, so good.
>
>Most of the new laptops operate with Windows Vista, which I
> didn't really want to deal with, after hearing all the negative
>reviews. I'd used both Macs and PCs as an undergrad, so the
>Mac is already like second nature. Thanks for the good advice!
>
>My question for you is, do Macs need antivirus software, and
>if so, what kind? The sales guy at Best Buy didn't seem to think
>it was a necessity, but I'm always wondering if it wouldn't hurt
>to have some kind of virus/spyware protection.
>
>Also, why is it that the Macs are less prone to viruses?
>
>Jenna Eichberger

Well Jenna, first off, thanks for writing in with your question, and I'm glad you found my tutorials to be of help!

At this point in time there are basically *zero* viruses for Apple's Mac computers. On the Windows side (i.e. any computer not made by Apple) there are thousands of them.

There is one trojan (which is a malicious program that's sort of like a virus) written for Macs, but it has never spread because of some of the security built into the Mac software (more on that later).

Because of this, I think it is OK to go without running antivirus software on your Mac for the time being, as long as you're not also running Windows -- for those who don't know, Macs have been able to not just run all of the Mac software, but any Windows program as well since 2006.

Viruses attack flaws or vulnerabilities in specific programs, or in the operating system (i.e. Windows XP or Vista, Mac OS X -- see my video explaining operating systems for more details). All of the existing viruses, worms, etc. (with the exception of the one I mentioned above) are written specifically for Windows.

So if you run Windows, whether it's on a Mac or a computer made by HP, Dell, etc. it is critical to protect yourself with a good antivirus program.

Unfortunately, the most popular antivirus programs for Windows are not necessarily the best ones.

In my opinion, McAfee and Norton antivirus, for example, are pretty poor at protecting you. I've cleaned up viruses and other infections from computers running those programs before, and studies have found them to have up to an 80% *failure* rate at detecting the latest threats. Beyond that, Antivirus programs can at the best of times bog your computer down, but Norton is especially bad about this in my experience.

The program I recommend to Windows users is the one I use on my PCs (including my Macs when they run Windows) is called Kaspersky Internet Security. I cover how to download, install, setup and use Kaspersky in my Ultimate Beginners Bundle of Easy Lessons for Windows, as well as a lot of other important security steps that will help protect you if you use Windows.

My lessons for Mac do cover security issues too, but I don't have to focus on it to anywhere close to the same degree as I do with Windows.

As for *why* Macs have so few viruses? Well, there's a couple of reasons for this, which I'll cover in my next newsletter. And along the way we'll cover a few things that will help you better understand computer security and how to protect yourself and the important personal or business data on your Mac or Windows PC.

And we'll do it all in Plain English.

Until next time, take care, and enjoy

Worth Godwin
Plain English Simplicity for a Complex Modern World

P.S. In the next article I'll be talking about how the newly discovered botnet-spawning trojan affects the question of Mac computer security.

Answering Computer Question About How to Delete Files Safely

Well, it's been a couple of days now since my friend left and I'm
finding a moment to get another computer newsletter out the door
for you. The last couple of days have been even more hectic than
usual for me as I try to play catch-up from where I was already
behind schedule when my friend came to visit.

As a result, I didn't manage to even have *lunch* until about 8PM
either day after running around visiting clients helping them with
their computers, and then after that it was work on my site, my
lesson CDs, etc. which kept me up past 3am the last two nights!

At the moment I'm waiting for a large cup of coffee to brew and rev
my brain up enough to write this newsletter, then take my laptop
downtown to do a few hour's work on my website revamp.

This does mean I'm getting closer to being caught up enough to do all
the work needed to finally be able to raise my easy computer lesson
CD prices to the 2009 levels, so there's only another day or two left
before you won't be able to get them at last year's price.

Anyway, let's get to the latest of my questions sent in by email --
if you have a computer question for me, feel free to reply to this
email and ask. I will add it to the queue and will do my best to
answer everyone's questions in future issues of my newsletter.

This question (slightly edited) is from Trish Hynes who writes:

"Hello well I do hope you get well soon not nice...
well was actually wondering how I can tell what is safe to delete
to make room on my PC and what not to. I'm too scared to delete
as I may delete important stuff... hope you can help me ?
really worries me !!"

Well Trish, I am feeling better (although a bit tired as you can imagine).
Thanks for asking.

Let me give you some guidelines for how to safely delete things to make
some room on your computer. While Trish has a Windows PC, most of
what I will explain here applies equally to Windows or Mac computers,
and I will point out any differences between the two since I know I
have many subscribers who use Windows, and many who use Macs.

I think the best rule of thumb is this: if you didn't put something
there yourself, it's usually best to leave it. There are some
exceptions that I'll get to in a moment.

So in other words, photos, music, Word documents or any kind of
documents you've created yourself or which maybe came via email,
etc. are all generally going to be OK to delete.

In most cases, you can remove any of these items by dragging them
to the Recycle Bin (Windows) or the Tash (Mac). Do remember that
anything still in the Recycle Bin or the Trash still takes up room on
the computer until you empty it, just like a real world trash can has
stuff in it until you empty it.

You can empty the Recycle Bin on your PC by right-clicking it and
clicking the empty recycle bin menu option. On a Mac you can empty
the Trash by holding down the control key on your keyboard and
clicking the Trash icon on your dock. Then release the control key
and click the menu option "empty trash".

----------------------------------------------------
Wish you could actually *see and hear* step-by-step instructions
like the ones in this email, instead of just read them?
Take a look at my easy, Plain English video computer lessons
available for either Apple Mac or Windows PC. Learn more at:
----------------------------------------------------

I find a lot of people have been throwing stuff in their recycle bin or
trash for (in some cases) years and never have emptied it. This can
make a difference.

Now you know how they say that a picture is worth a thousand words?

Well, in a pretty real sense, a picture file takes up about a thousand
times more space than a Word document or similar file. Also, a music
file tends to be in a similar size range.

And if a picture (or music file) is worth a thousand words, well a movie
is worth a million, because those tend to be the biggest single files
you find on most computers.

So in other words, if you're short on space and need to free up some
room by deleting stuff, you might want to start with movie (video)
files first, since they take up the most room, followed by pictures
and sound files. Deleting stuff like Word or Excel documents won't
usually do much to help.

Keep in mind also that if you get a lot of attachments by email they
are taking up room too, even if they're still in the email. And if you
still have the email (or deleted it but didn't empty the trash inside
your email program, which is separate from the trash or recycle bin
for your computer), they still are taking up space.

Beyond that, you might want to remove unused programs. On
Windows computers you need to do this through the Add Remove
Programs icon in the control panel. The steps are slightly different
depending on if you use Windows XP or Vista, but basically you
double-click that icon in the control panel, then select the program
from the list by clicking it once, then click the remove button.

On Macs, you can generally just drag the program icon to the trash
from the Applications folder on your hard drive.

And again, with programs (or applications, which are the same thing)
you usually want to just remove ones put in by you or someone after
you got the computer; sometimes removing ones that came with
the computer can cause problems down the road. Not always; it
depends on the specific program and computer its running on and
how you use it.

Another thing to think about, which I think tends to be the better
option is to upgrade to a newer hard drive with more space. Drives
are cheap these days, and it's better to spend a little to add more
room and potentially extend the useful life of your computer than
it is to remove something you might miss later.

For those of you here on the island, if you need help with upgrading
your computer smoothly, you can give me a call or send me an
email to see when I'm available to make a house call.

For now, I've got to run, but I hope that all made sense and gave
you some helpful tips. If you want clarification or for me to expand
on anything in this article, reply to this email with your question.

until next time, take care, and enjoy,

Worth Godwin

P.S. For an easy method where you can actually *see* step-by-step
how to computer lessons on your screen (for either Mac or Windows)
take a look at my easy video lesson CDs & online computer lessons.

They include lessons on how to delete files, how to organize them,
how to work with your trash or recycle bin, how to find out how much
space you have left (and know if it's dangerously low) and many other
important topics related to what I've talked about in this newsletter,
and more.