CLICK HERE FOR THE APACHE WELLS COMPUTER CLUB SITE
Meetings are on Mondays at 7 PM across the street in Room A
Annual fees are $20-single or $30-family
Video help with iPad, iPod, Kindle, Nook, etc CLICK HERE

MONDAY DEC 10 2012
The folks from  www.Mesasos.com spoke tonight in Room A with lots of great advice.


Your computer has many installed programs with associated keys.  These can be expensive to reinstall after a crash. If you lose these keys, you must buy new ones: over $100 for Office 2010 and about the same for reinstalling Windows at the repair shop.
All the keys and hardware can be printed out and filed for free.  Go to BELARC CLICK
and run the indexing program Belarc Advisor.  Print off 2 copies for each computer. Take one copy back North.   When you reinstall after a crash, the reg keys can be entered from this sheet.  It also is a record for insurance and servicing purposes.

Win7 and Win8 laptops are failing at a scary rate. The hard drives run hot and burn out because owners are not shutting them down properly. DO NOT close the lid and walk away since the thing is still ON. Hibernate is also buggy.  If you will not use it in the next half hour, do a full SHUT DOWN. 
There are faults in POWER MANAGER as well. Search for POWER MANAGEMENT. In this panel shut off anything like Hibernate, Sleep, Doze or whatever. Many computers go into Sleep/Hibernate never to wake again !
Weekly maintenance should include dusting out the airvents with a can of air. Computers are small vacuum cleaners and quickly clog causing component burnout.

If you buy a new Win8 computer, it is designed to integrate with your SmartPhone and Tablet through your Microsoft Live ID.  If it is set up properly you will love it. If not, you will be forever frustrated.  Find how here CLICK or get the experts to do it right.
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Dec 3 Avast Presentation
An enthusiastic Company Rep for Avast antivirus suite gave a lively and enlightening presentation on Avast and much more.  Avast free edition is installed on more computers worldwide than the AVG free edition.  AVG is more popular in N America.
(For Win7 and Win8 Harold prefers MS Security Essentials click)
Avast free has a chart to compare features and it is very effective for viruses and much more.

Also mentioned for basic security and maintenance were:
CCleaner  Malwarebytes  Clonezilla  Winpatrol
The Rep's detailed notes are available here. click  

Security App for your Android device click
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FaceBook Follies CBC-TV Documentary  click
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SHOPPING for a new tablet, smartphone,  etc  ? ADVICE CLICK
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Sell your old CellPhone, iPad, etc . ... .. click

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Windows 8 has just been released.
Any new operating system arrives with bugs. Best to avoid it for about 1 year while the engineers work on it. For first impressions CLICK
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Stalking with FaceBook  click
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AVG Summer Update is now appearing.  It should be accepted.  But proceed slowly to UNselect the additional features.
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Windows Defender is a freebie  anti-virus from Microsoft.  It now works well and works with AVG, etc..  Defender is part of a security pack called Security Essentials.
 It is generally a bad idea to install 2 anti-virus programs, but this combo is okay.  It can be found at the MS site here -- > CLICK 
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THE VAW OFFICE COPIER HAS NO HARD DRIVE. ... IT'S SAFE

 

Kindle & Nook users can get Mesa Library books free online. Other reader formats are also available.
Get a Mesa Library card first.
Go to  http://www.mesalibrary.org/ .....Click Gtr Phoenix Digital icon - Select reader format - Add to bookbag - Proceed to checkout

Engrave your phone numbers on the outside cover of your laptop.  Then register the serial numbers with the Mesa Police. Click HERE
Shop for security cables at Amazon Click
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If you need another reason to avoid FaceBook. 
Do you want to be on their Friends List ? CLICK
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Win7 includes a life-saving Restore Tool.  If your system crashes or is destroyed by a virus, you can bring it back.  This restores it to exactly today's setup.
To find the feature: Click on START.
In the SEARCH box type "Backup and Restore".  The feature appears at the top of the page.  Follow the directions. You need 1 CD-R and 5 DVD-R disks
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Win7 also has another  rescue disk that is less drastic. If Windows will not start up, you can insert this disk and it will get you going. You must make it yourself.  You need one CD-R disk.  Then go to START -PROGRAMS -MAINTENANCE- CREATE A SYSTEM REPAIR DISK.
Follow the directions: about 10 minutes
HOW-TO-VIDEO  Click here
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WORDPAD is a freebie program included on all computers.  It lets you write a document in a format that anybody can access WITHOUT having MS OFFICE INSTALLED. For almost any need, WORDPAD does the job.  MS hides it so you that will buy their huge, expensive Office suite. Not necessary.  GO TO - START - ALL PROGRAMS - ACCESSORIES - WORDPAD
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MALWAREBYTES protects against spyware and some ransomware viruses. Be slow and careful as you install it: untick extra crappy items as you proceed. 
AVAILABLE HERE  CLICK 
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UPDATE YOUR AVG TO VERSION 2012
Go to PROGRAMS - AVG    in the controls click UPDATE NOW  Proceed carefully to avoid installing  additional crapware.
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If you need a new battery for your tired laptop, consider this site
http://www.sunvalleytek.com/laptop-batteries-c-4.html 

Need to edit a photo - crop, color fix, resize ?
Go to  www.pixlr.com  Upload, fix and then download.