This week’s email and on-line newsletters are now available:
*   free weekly Terry”s Computer Tips email newsletter
*   weekly on-line Terry”s Computer Tips newsletter

This week’s online articles include:

*   Choosing to Send Plain Text or HTML in Outlook Emails
Fonts, colors and special formatting are sometimes appreciated in emails. However, often, recipients don’t want them. It’s easy to change the default settings and the setting for an individual email…

*   Updates Last Week
I watch a few operating systems and programs for updates — mainly because these are the ones that I use or in which I am interested. What updates or versions were new last week?

*   Backing Up Your Files
A subscriber asks me what I use to back up my files…

Reader Dee Smith wrote to ask about antivirus recommendations:

I have been using Norton antivirus programs for 10 years. In May I purchased Norton 360 which has been giving me fits. When I shut down Windows, everything goes off but the tower. I have done all their troubleshooting to see which program I have that might be conflicting with 360 to no avail. I have just uninstalled it and everything is working fine. But I have no virus protection.

Someone told me that you really don’t need an addtional virus program as Windows has it’s own built in anti virus. I have been searching this and have not found that information anywhere.
I’ve been reading your site’s information but haven’t been able to filter through all of the information.

what do you recommend?

First, Dee has received some bad information — Windows does not have its own built-in anti-virus. Neither Windows XP nor Windows Vista include an anti-virus program as part of Windows.

Windows XP and Vista include a Microsoft firewall. The XP version has gone through some changes, but still doesn’t control outbound communications. With Windows Vista, though, Microsoft finally realized that outbound communications are an issue, too.

Continue reading Microsoft Anti-virus?

Can’t wait? My choice is NOD32

Sunbelt’s got another coupon sale going - you can get $10 off with coupon code FIREWALL10.

Get $10 off of Sunbelt Personal Firewall

I don’t know how long the sale will last, so act quickly to make sure you get the coupon sale.

You can read my Sunbelt Personal Firewall review.

A couple months ago, I signed up for a service at which I had been looking
for a while. CallWave Fax to Email lets me have a local fax
number — in whatever area code that I desire — that receives
faxes, turns them into Adobe Reader PDF files, and emails them to me.

I get all that for $7.95 per month, with an unlimited number of
faxes received (some of their competitors have higher prices AND
limits on how many faxes you can receive!). CallWave offers a
risk-free trial — try it for 30 days. If you don’t like it,
cancel it before the 30 day trial is up and owe nothing.

Amazingly, this whole service costs much less than a phone line
would cost, plus, I don’t to worry about the machine itself,
paper, ink or toner. PDF’s are easier to keep, too — of course
I can print the PDF if I really want a hard copy.

If you already have your own dedicated fax line, you can even convert it to Fax to Email and keep the same phone number — and, CallWave Fax to Email is still only $7.95 per month. There’s a $25 one-time activation fee to make the conversion.

Give CallWave Fax to Email a try.
Sign up at http://terryscomputertips.com/Fax2Email

This week’s email and on-line newsletters are now available:
*   free weekly Terry”s Computer Tips email newsletter
*   weekly on-line Terry”s Computer Tips newsletter

This week’s online articles include:
*   First Look at the New Eudora Email Program

*   Updates Last Week

*   Google Pack Now Includes StarOffice

*   My Computer Security Software Recommendations

*   WGA/WGAN Windows Validation SNAFU Followup

*   Feedback from Readers

If you subscribe to the email newsletter now, you will get instructions on how to request automatic free copies of the two most recent issues.

Get NOD32 Antivirus for 25% Off with 2-Year Purchase!

Get Sunbelt Personal Firewall for only $10!
Not even a Sunbelt Coupon required — it’s a Special!

This week’s email and on-line newsletters are now available:
*   free weekly Terry”s Computer Tips email newsletter
*   weekly on-line Terry”s Computer Tips newsletter

This week’s online articles include:
*   Why Buy a Notebook Computer?

Should you get a notebook instead of a desktop? Why do you want a notebook?

*   Updates Last Week
I watch a few operating systems and programs for updates — mainly because these are the ones that I use or in which I am interested. What updates or versions were new last week?

*   My Notebook’s LCD Dies
The hardware problem starts slowly, but then it becomes critical…

*   My Computer Security Software Recommendations
Want to know which Antivirus program I recommend? Which firewall program? Which Antispyware program? Which Antispam? Or, which router for your home network?

*   My Dell Notebook Repair Experience
How good was Dell’s tech support and its warranty service?

*   Windows Genuine Advantage SNAFU

Yes, Microsoft found yet another way to flunk Windows validation testing…

If you subscribe to the email newsletter now, you will get instructions on how to request automatic free copies of the two most recent issues.

Get NOD32 Antivirus for 25% Off with 2-Year Purchase!