by Technophobes;the Kicking;Screaming Is This Thing On?: A Computer Handbook for Late Bloomers
TIDY PRINTING
When you want to print a web page, look around for the words Print, Printable View, or Printer Friendly. Not all sites have such an option, but if the one you’re on does, by clicking on it you’ll usually get a cleaner page—one where the advertisements aren’t printed.
Wi-Fi: Whys and Why Nots
Wireless technology allows your computer to communicate with the mouse, keyboard, printer, and even the Internet, wirelessly without cords and cables mucking up the room where you use the computer. A wireless setup in your home also allows you to have a network so other family members or houseguests can be online when you are with no interference between the computers. And, you can share a printer or scanner wirelessly.
Wireless technology isn’t limited to your home. Do you remember when a hot spot was somewhere you wouldn’t take a person under the age of eighteen? “Hot spots” are now also public areas where you connect your computer wirelessly to the Internet. With wi-fi technology you can bring your laptop to a coffee shop, the airport, or to the mall, and, if there’s a signal, you can connect to the information superhighway.
• Some people would rather not see wires and cables on their desk. You can connect to your printer, mouse, and keyboard wirelessly.
It’s all amazing technology, but unfortunately wireless connectivity increases your vulnerability to someone sneaking into your computer. When you’re on a cell phone instead of a land line, your conversation is sent through the air rather than traveling through phone cables. The uncomfortable truth is that someone with the smarts and inclination can easily intercept your cell phone conversation. The same is true when you are on your computer wirelessly. The data being transmitted to and from the Internet is vulnerable to being detected and intercepted.
I don’t want to take all the fun out of wi-fi, but if you choose to partake in this incredible technology, I want you to be as safe as possible.
Be sure that during the setup of your wireless network that standard security precautions are taken. Ask whoever is helping you if WPA (wi-fi protected access) and WEP (wired equivalent privacy) are activated. Both of these aid in the prevention of uninvited people piggybacking on your wireless signal or viewing any of the contents of your computer.
On the Road
Here are some measures to help you safely enjoy wi-fi when you’re traveling with your laptop.
• Check that your firewall is activated (page 217). A firewall protects you from an intruder viewing the contents of your computer. Keep in mind, however, that a firewall doesn’t protect against someone seeing what you send to the Internet wirelessly.
• Delete any cookies (page 226) before you hit the road because they may contain password or credit card information that can be seen if someone gains access to your computer.
• Remove any documents from your computer that contain passwords, Social Security numbers, or credit card information. You shouldn’t be traveling with that information on your computer anyway in case it’s lost or stolen.
• If you access a website requiring a login or password, be sure the website address begins with https instead of http. Think of it as s for security. When you see https, it indicates the web page is encrypted for safer transmission.
• Avoid banking online when utilizing a wireless hot spot. I apologize if that wi-fi jargon (WPA, WEP, firewall, cookie, etc.) was a bit overwhelming. My intention is to let you know the benefits of wi-fi, along with some cautionary advice. Chapter 16 will help your computer experience be as safe as it can be. When you feel like your head is swimming in unfamiliar terms, it’s time to step back and take a break.
What Did You Do Before the Internet?
Surfing the net can get addictive. There’s so much out there, and one site can lead to the next, but now and again you should sign off and do something else for a while. Seriously, a lot of time can pass while zooming around the Web. Keep track of how long you’re on. I set my kitchen timer for 40 minutes to make me aware of how long I have been online. Then I take a break, reset the timer, and continue my surfing. The point of the Internet is not to put you into a trance but to give you access to things you would otherwise not have available. Enjoy it, but don’t let it take over your life.
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Q: How do I get back to my Home Page?
A: There’s a shortcut on your browser that allows you to return quickly to your Home Page without having to go to your Favorites or type in the website address. In Explorer, Safari, and Firefox, you will see an icon in the Toolbar that resembles a house . Click on the house and your Home Page will appear.
Q: How can I stay online to go from one site to another and not close the Internet and sign on again?
A: I see people new to the Internet do what you describe all the time. You don’t close the Internet or the window you are viewing to access another website. Instead, you just click in the website address box and type the address of the new website you want to visit. Hit the Enter/Return key on the keyboard to open that website.
Q: Why does it take so long for the Internet to open when I double-click on Internet Explorer?
A: First, think about whether it has always taken a long time or if this is a new issue. The answer may determine the cause. Without knowing your answer I would say, if you use a dial-up, connecting to the Internet can take a very long time. Alternatively, the Home Page you have chosen may always take a long time to open. Maybe you should change your Home Page. If none of that works—or if this is an issue that has come up suddenly—you might want to get someone in to look at your computer to see if it needs some fine tuning.
Q: Where can I find information about children safely using the Internet?
A: There is a lot of very justified concern about how to keep children safe when they access the Internet. If you’re going to invite your children or grandchildren to use your computer, please sit them down and explain the dangers of meeting someone over the Internet. They should never give anyone their full name, home address, or phone number. You can also call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (1-800-843-5678) to receive the brochure “Child Safety on the Information Highway.”
Homework Assignment
We will send e-mail in the next chapter, so ask your family and friends for their e-mail addresses.
CHAPTER 14
Shall We Dance?
Let’s send e-mail
“Neither rain nor sleet nor gloom of night shall keep the carriers from their appointed rounds.”
No matter how romantic that sounds, mail delivery via the postal service often lives up to its new name: “snail mail.” Not only does e-mail (electronic mail) arrive anywhere in the world within the blink of an eye, but you can also send as many e-mails as you want, and it’s included in the cost of your Internet connection. Pretty impressive.
An e-mail you write to your daughter goes on quite a journey before it arrives on her computer screen, and yet amazingly it all happens in seconds. Here’s how it works:
You write the e-mail and send it to your daughter. Your e-mail service routes the e-mail to a central brain for the Internet. That brain reads the e-mail address and routes it to your daughter’s e-mail service. Her e-mail service holds it until she signs on. When your daughter signs on, any e-mail sent to her (including yours) will arrive in her mailbox, referred to as the “Inbox.” She then reads the e-mail, replies to you, and the cycle continues.
Again, recipients do not have to be home or have their computer on for you to send them e-mail. Their e-mail service keeps it until they sign on.
If you’ve chosen to skip over Chapter 13 and come straight here to send an e-mail, please go back and read the previous chapter. It is full of helpful information for you to use while on the Internet.
If you didn’t sign onto an e-mail account with your Internet Service Provider, you’ll want to establish an e-mail account now. There are free web-based e-mail services. That means you can get on any computer in the world that is connected to the Intern
et and access e-mail from these sites. The three I would look into are yahoo.com, gmail.com, and hotmail.com. When you visit the website, click on the words “sign up” and fill out the necessary form to open an e-mail account. (Revisit page 170 for advice about how to choose a user name for your e-mail address.) Again, don’t hesitate to ask a friend or relative to help you, if you want someone by your side through the process.
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“Letter writing had become a lost art form. I missed it. Now with e-mail I am writing more and loving it!”
—Alida
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The E-mail Address
Your e-mail address is your user name (what you sign on with) plus the e-mail service address. For example, if Brendan is my user name and Yahoo is the e-mail service, then my e-mail address is [email protected].
Brendan is the user name.
@ means “at.”
yahoo.com is the domain name or mailing address. It could have been aol.com, hotmail.com, gmail.com, or whatever entity handles my e-mail.
When people tell you their e-mail address, repeat it back to them. Better yet, get them to write it down. One error in letter, number, or punctuation and your e-mail could be sent to someone else. Be sure not to type in Brendanatyahoo.com. “At” is represented by holding down the Shift key and depressing the 2 key—@ will then appear; “dot” is another way to say “period.”
Time to Send a Missive
Sign on to your e-mail service. When you’ve connected to your e-mail provider, look around for what you click on to write an e-mail. You should have options along the lines of Compose, Create, New, or Write. Click on whichever you have. Each service is different, but they all have someplace to click to generate an e-mail template.
DON’T FORGET TO CLICK IN THE BOX!
This is crucial to remember. (But it’s the most common thing that people forget.) You must click inside the text box to activate it so it will accept your typing instructions.
• Sample inboxes for Gmail and Yahoo.
An e-mail form is now on your screen, ready and waiting to be filled in. It should look something like the template on the following page.
• Generating an e-mail template is different, but straightforward, for each e-mail service.
• A Yahoo e-mail template. The recipient’s e-mail address is typed in the “To:” box and your message is typed in the large text box below it.
CLICK AND GO
1. Click in To:, type recipient’s e-mail address.
2. Click in Subject:, type the topic of your e-mail.
3. Click in Text Box, type your missive.
4. Click on Send.
You’re going to send your first e-mail to yourself. Again, each e-mail service is slightly different, but here are the basic steps:
• There should be a flashing vertical line (referred to as the cursor or blinking cursor) in the left corner of the To: text box. If there isn’t, move the mouse arrow into that box and click once.
• Type the recipient’s e-mail address in the To: box. (In this case, because you are sending it to yourself, type in your e-mail address.) Look at it and be sure there are no mistakes. Hit Tab to move to the cursor to the Subject: box or click in the Subject box with the mouse to activate it.
• Type something in the Subject: box, even if it is only “Hello.” Some services won’t let you send an e-mail without a subject. The purpose of the subject box is to give the recipient a sense of the contents so they can prioritize which e-mails to open first.
• Now either move the mouse into the large text area and click or hit Tab again. This is where you’ll type your message.
Before we type a message, I’ll explain a couple of things. One of the big differences when you’re typing on a computer as opposed to on a typewriter is that you don’t need to hit Enter or Return at the end of a line. The text automatically moves, or wraps around, to the next line.
You do, however, need to use the Return or Enter key to create a new paragraph or to insert a blank line between text. (The Tab key is still used to indent a paragraph.)
Now we get to type a message.
• Type in whatever you would like to say. For example,
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is playing with the computer and having a ball?
• When you’re done, move the mouse arrow onto the word Send or Send Now, and click once.
• Some e-mail services ask that you acknowledge that the e-mail was sent. If this is the case, move the mouse arrow onto the word OK and click.
And away it goes!
Your e-mail provider keeps a copy of your sent mail for you. If you want to see the message you sent, look for a button with the word Sent, Sent Mail, or Outbox.
TO:, CC:, AND BCC:
To: is where the recipient’s e-mail address is typed.
Cc: stands for carbon copy. It means that this e-mail is also being sent to another recipient.
Bcc: is a blind carbon copy. The primary recipient won’t know that you sent the e-mail to anyone you put in the Bcc:.
Oops—I Made a Mistake
If you make a mistake, you can erase your typing (from right to left) by using the BkSp (Backspace) or Delete key. (Either can usually be found on the upper right section of your keyboard next to the + = key.) Depress it once for each letter that you want to erase. If you hold your finger down on the key, it will continue to move and delete until you lift your finger up. You definitely have more control when you depress and release the key with each character than when you hold the key down.
You’ve Got Mail!
If the service is very busy, it might take a few minutes for the e-mail to arrive, but generally it should be in your Inbox or mailbox almost instantaneously. There are several ways to retrieve mail, depending on which e-mail service you use.
• An example of e-mail correspondence.
Move the mouse arrow down to either Read Mail, Get New Mail, Get Messages, Check Mail, or Mail, and click. Your inbox or mailbox should appear on the screen.
Your new unread mail may be in bold or have some other indication that it hasn’t been read. To open it, double-click on it or single-click on the mail to highlight it, and then click on Read, or single-click on either the sender’s name or the subject of the e-mail received. Each e-mail service is different. Your mouse arrow changing to a hand will help lead you to where to click.
Voilà, the note you sent yourself!
Another Item for the Scrapbook
Let’s print your new e-mail! Is the printer plugged in and turned on? Either click on the Printer icon in the Toolbar or move the mouse arrow to the word File, click, and then move the mouse arrow down to the word Print and click. When the Print window appears, hit Enter, Return, or click on Print or OK. Also be on the lookout for the words “Printer Friendly” above (or maybe to the right of) the e-mail. If you see “Printer Friendly,” click there to print a copy of the e-mail. Mission accomplished!
Reply to Sender… Address Is Known
You cannot send an anonymous e-mail. The sender’s address will always appear on the e-mail. As a matter of fact, with some services the whole routing path will appear. (That is the indecipherable code at the top or bottom of your e-mail.)
To reply to the sender (in this case, yourself), click once on Reply, Reply to Sender (this will send the return e-mail to the sender only), or Reply to Everyone(this will send the return e-mail to everyone who received the initial e-mail). Each service is a little different, but you’ll find the reply button easily.
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“I love that I can e-mail at any time. I am often awake in the middle of the night and I would never think to call my girls at that time. When it happens now, I just sit at the computer and write them an e-mail.”
—Ed
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Reply vs. Reply All
If you receive a group e-mail (i.e., you were one of multiple recipients), be aware of whether you are replying exclusively to the sender (reply) or to every
one else who got the e-mail along with you (reply all). Some things are meant for only one set of eyes.
Look what happened when you hit the Reply button! How convenient—an e-mail is all set up with the sender’s (soon to be recipient’s) e-mail address in the To: box. Now you can take it from here. Perhaps you want to try sending another e-mail to yourself. Better yet, do you have someone else’s e-mail address? If you don’t have anyone’s e-mail address on hand, it would be my pleasure to receive an e-mail from you. My e-mail address is [email protected].
Forward March
An e-mail you receive can be passed on to others. To do this, click on the button that is labeled Forward or Forward Message in the open e-mail that you received. The e-mail you got is now ready for you to forward. Click on the To: box and type in the e-mail address of the person you want to send it to. You can also type a message in the large text box if you want. Click on the text box and type away. When you’re ready, simply click on the Send button to send both messages as one e-mail. But, what if you wanted to only send one part of the e-mail received and not the entire thing? You can. You and I will go over that and other more advanced e-mail activities in Chapter 17.
BREAK THE CHAIN
Just as there are chain letters in snail mail, there are chain e-mails. I hate these! My retaliation for a chain e-mail that threatens bad luck unless it is sent to ten other people is to return it to the sender ten times.
Your Little Black Book
Every e-mail service has an address book where you can store the e-mail addresses of people that you will correspond with frequently. As each e-mail service is different, I can’t tell you exactly where to find your address book, but I can give you some clues… Does the word Address or Contacts appear in the window? If so, click on it. If not, go to the Menu Bar. Is the word Mail in the Menu Bar? If so, click on that and see if you might find the address book there. When the address book appears on the screen, be extremely accurate when entering e-mail addresses. The last thing you want is to store a wrong address.