Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Email – Show File Extensions For Safety

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Set Windows to show file extensions to make it easier to determine attachment safety. By default Windows is set to hide file extensions and hackers have used this to hide the real extension of an attachment to look legitimate, as most users do not change the defaults.

As an example goodattachment.txt.exe would show as goodattachment.txt, unless Windows is set to show file extensions and, if opened would run the executable file with probable bad results.

Showing file extensions is a simple process:

  • Left click Start.
  • Left click Control Panel.
  • Double click Folder Options.
  • Select the View tab.
  • Un-check the “Hide extensions for known file types.” box.
  • Click OK.
  • Close Control Panel.

Sowing file extensions is one of the first things I do when someone asks me to help them with a computer problem and I explain why they should keep this setting. Not only is this a good precaution for email, it helps me understand what the different files are in the folders on the computer that is having problems, as most leave the file extensions hidden and I can not then determine whether a particular file is a data file, an executable, a zip, etc.

Do yourself and your computer repair/consultant personnel a favor and set Windows to show file extensions.

If you know of any other reasons to show file extensions, please leave me a comment.

Gmail – Overview

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Gmail from Google is a free, web-based, email service that I have been using for quite a while now, primarily for backup of important documentation, rather than a normal email service.

In this posting, I want to give an overview of my impressions and usage of Gmail, and later posts will deal with more specifics of how I have Gmail work for me.

All posts related to Gmail will be labeled Gmail for your convenience in locating them.

There are a lot of features in Gmail, but here are the ones most important to the way I use the service, in no particular order:

  • Storage – Currently 2,768+ megabytes, and increasing all the time.
  • Labels – Labels are used instead of folders, unlike most other email applications.
  • Attachment Size – Up to 10 megabytes of attachments are supported.
  • Searching – Very easy to find the specific email you are looking for.

Earlier in this posting, I said that I use Gmail more for backup of important documentation; I have several regular email accounts and use the Thunderbird email client for those.

The Gmail account, is what I use to send myself a compressed folder containing all data from work each day, as well as backups of newsletters, handouts, etc. from the BPCA and BRCS computer user groups.

This enables me to get the most current information I need, when I need it, from anywhere I can access the internet.

Gmail is by invitation only at this point. Luckily there are ways to obtain an invitation.

  • I have some invites available from my account, that will be available to BPCA or BRCS members, as long as the supply lasts, just send me a request.
  • Request an invitation from a friend, who has an account with invitations.
  • Do a web search for “gmail invitations”; there are many constantly changing listings.

In future posts, I will show you how to use various features of Gmail to organize your correspondence using labels and filters.

Current Gmail users are invited to comment with how they use Gmail to increase their productivity.

Blog – Lifehacker

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Occasionally, I will post about a blog I find interesting or useful. These blogs are not computer related necessarily.

The interesting blog for today is Lifehacker, which touts itself as a “Productivity and Software Guide”.

Typically there are multiple daily entries, mostly dealing with technology. Sometimes announcements of interesting technology, sometimes how to articles, etc. I usually check it out once or twice a week, as I find time and have yet to have a day when there wasn’t something of interest.

For instance, check out the September 20, 2006 post by Adam Pash “Download of the Day: tinySpell (Windows).

The post tells you about a Freeware cross-application spell checking utility. I have read it and followed the link and think this will be something worthwhile to try. If this works out for me, I will let you know in a later posting.

Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think.