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How to use your computer's search or "Find" feature on this page Press <Ctrl>-F On your keyboard, press <Ctrl>-F (together) or at top left, click "Edit", then "Find". Type a word (or part of a word) in the Find what box, such as "illegal" (for "Illegal operation error") and press your <Enter> key (or click [Find Next]). This searches "down" the page. For "training", use "train" which will find all forms of the word. You can keep pressing <Enter> or clicking [Find Next] in the Find box as many times as you want, until you get a "Finished searching..." or "...not found" message. In the "Direction" box, you can then click "Up", and then [Find Next] to search back up the page. Press your <Esc> key or [Cancel] to close the Find box. You can do this on any website.

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.. What is a program (or "app")? (All links open new windows to Webopedia. Click on them for complete definitions.) A computer programïNew window is classified as "software". (Click on the links for a more complete explanation.) When you double-click an icon or click on a menu item, you are running a program. In fact, everything that your computer does comes from programs stored in your computer. Microsoft Windows is actually a huge program, called an operating system, that runs and controls everything on your computer, including all other programs. Using your computer is something like how you use your car. You drive your car by controlling it with the gas pedal, brake, and steering wheel. But these things are merely people-friendly "interfaces" or "input devices" (like your mouse and keyboard on your computer) through which you manipulate or control the complicated machinery that makes your car do what it does. These "interfaces" transmit your actions to the engine which turns your transmission thousands of times per minute, to your brake pads, and to the steering mechanism. This all gets your car to take you where you want to go. (Something Microsoft wants to do for you!) In the same way, programs reside in your computer unseen by you directly (stored on your hard disk drive inside your computer). You are actually running and controlling one or more programs every time you click on an icon or button with your mouse. This causes your computer to hopefully do what you want it to do. (Cars are definitely more reliable!) A program is a series of coded instructions stored in your computer which have been written by programmers. Everything your computer does comes from these hidden program instructions telling your computer and it's components what to do in minute detail. Your computer and screen are merely responding to thousands of hidden instructions per second telling them what to do in response to the actions of your mouse and keyboard. A program application (or "app") is a finished program or set of programs. Some commonly used programs or applications are Internet Explorer, Microsoft Word, Intuit Quicken, and Norton AntiVirus. (Viruses are just programs that are written by technically experienced pranksters or criminals.) .

. Email addresses ... Website addresses -- What's the difference? These are two common terms new computer users often struggle with. Here's a little explanation... Email address -- name@somewhere.com: Everyone on the Internet has an email address, such as yourname@yourinternetprovider.com. Your email address is like your Internet P.O. box. That's the address people will use to send you email, such as kroy@kroytech.com. Website address -- www.somewhere.com: A "website address" or URL (Universal Resource Locator) is like the actual house address for people or businesses that have websites. People or companies that have built websites have a "home" on the Internet (which is stored on computer "servers") which is accessed by going to their website address, such as www.kroytech.com. Everyone on the Internet has at least one email address. Not everyone has a website. Only those who have actually created a website have one. This page you are on now is part of my website. The comlete website address (or URL) is www.kroytech.com. My email address is kroy@kroytech.com. I also have an email address through my Internet service provider (ISP): e-kroy@bellsouth.net. Breakdown of a website address or URL (Universal Resource Locator) Click on the hypertext links to get explanations for each of the terms in the table below. http:// www. kroytech. com G HyperText Transfer Protocol G World Wide Web G domain name: kroytech G domain- type: commercial To get to this website, you can just type in "kroytech.com" (no quotes). The rest is assumed. Or you can just type "kroytech" and <Ctrl>-<Enter> in Internet Explorer. The rest will be added automatically with a .com extension. (Thanks to Beth Blakely, Senior Editor of TechRepublic for that tip.) .

. Some Helpful Points on Dealing With Computer Errors No, you're not in trouble with the law.J If you see this message, a program you are running has tried to do something that is not allowed in Windows. This is one of thousands of possible errors you can get in Windows, usually caused by faulty programming or "bugs". Your Windows (or Mac) operating system and the software that runs in it are tremendously complicated. Windows is telling you that a program or device on your computer (named in the blue title bar) screwed up and tried to perform an invalid programming step or function. Sometimes Windows itself is the cause of the error. These errors are almost always the fault of the manufacturer who created the program or device software that caused the error. Just click the button when you get the error. Many recurring "illegal operation" errors can only be resolved by the manufacturer of the program or device that is causing the error. If you keep getting the same error, get more information by clicking the button. The display will give you the exact error message. (You can ignore the "registers".) If you intend to seek help, write down the exact error message. (Only the detail message, not the registers.) If you can determine what program or device is causing the error, or you know what software the error is coming from, call the manufacturer's tech support line, or check their website to see if they've posted a solution to your problem. Most major software publishers and hardware manufacturers have their own websites where they provide technical support info for the most common problems and errors their customers have encountered. If you can't find a tech support number or website for your product, email me, and I'll help you find it. If you cannot figure anything out from a frequently recurring error message, you will probably need to get help from an expert. See the Tech Support section below. If you are the adventurous type, you can click the TechAdvice.com link below and also the Microsoft Searchable Knowledge Base to see if there is a solution. Search these sites to get answers about any non-Internet related errors or other Issues. You will need some specific details from the error message to successfully get results from your search. This gets a bit technical for beginners, but if you find what you're looking for, it can sometimes be helpful. .

. "Warning! Urgent! - Forward this to everyone!" It's All Baloney! "Urgent - Virus alert from Microsoft, AOL and McAfee!" "Urgent Petition - House bill about to be passed in Congress ending the right to free speech - Forward this to everyone!" "Warning! - There is no cure for this virus! It will destroy everything on your computer!" It's all baloney! That especially goes for virus warnings, unless you signed up with a reputable organization, such as Bugnet or TrendMicro to get email alerts. Most "chain letters" or "urgent" forwarded warnings and pleas like those above are phony! Some unsolicited (unasked for), forwarded "warning" or "please help" emails were real at one time, but have continued to be passed around the Internet for years. These messages will pray on your natural desire to help others, and insist that you forward the message to everyone in your address book. DON'T BELIEVE ANY UNSOLICITED, FORWARDED EMAIL MESSAGES like this without checking them first! The creators of these gags usually want to see how far and how fast they can get their hoax message to spread on the Internet. They can also save the growing list of email addresses in the message for further gag messages. Some of these messages themselves contain viruses in the attachment. Check it out first, before believing it and forwarding it! Check here under Hoax Sites to see if the warning or chain letter you got is a hoax, before you forward it. Keep your anti-virus software up to date and don't open unsolicited email attachments. Most anti-virus software can be set up to update automatically on a daily basis. These steps will protect you better than any unsolicited email "forwards", which are usually phony. Before you forward anything that claims to be alerting you to something or pleading for help, check it out first. The anti-hoax sites below list most of the currently known hoaxes being propagated around the Internet. You can help stop these in their tracks by replying to the last forwarder of the phony message (or "reply to all") and letting them know it's a hoax! An example of a destructive hoax and virus warning messages being passed around: AOL virus: Joke's on you This was actually posted plainly as a joke on a joke website. Some unthinking do-gooders thought it was real and forwarded it as a virus warning all around the Internet. Any AOL users who followed the instructions in the message deleted their AOL.EXE file which ended their access to the Internet! .

. How to Protect Your Computer Against Viruses Click here for printable version You can protect yourself against most real computer virus outbreaks by following the steps below. If you do these you will be well protected against the latest computer viruses. The two easiest, and most important things you can do are: Make sure you have the latest antivirus software, and have it set to update automatically at least once a week. Never click on any unsolicited (unasked for) attachments in your email, even if you are prompted to do so, and you know the sender. Some of the following instructions are a bit technical if you are new to computing. If you at least follow the above two steps, that will give you at least 95% protection against these pests. About virus warnings: Email messages warning you about viruses or telling you how to protect yourself against them sometimes actually contain viruses Such warnings are false or they are hoaxes 99.9% of the time. (Except, of course, the ones I send you J). If you click on the attachment in the warning message to "protect yourself" against the "terrible new virus that no one knows about", bang! You're computer is infected. So don't fall for fake virus warnings, and don't open unsolicited (unasked for), email attachments! The latest trick that is starting to be used by hackers is to break into unsuspecting, unprotected websites and infect the website with program code that will infect whoever visits that site. If you are prompted to download anything answer NO or CANCEL. If you are keeping your antivirus software up to date, it is extremely unlikely that you will be affected. The same rules apply to instant messaging or "chat" software. Don't open or click on any files or attachments you receive unsolicited (not asked for). If you do nothing else, do at least these two things (I'm repeating myself, but these steps bear repeating!): Install the latest antivirus program (I use ZoneAlarm AV) and keep it updated. Don't click on unsolicited email attachments, even if you are prompted to do so. (Answer NO or CANCEL if you are prompted to download or open anything you did not intend to download) The following steps will protect you against all infected email attachments and most other virus sources. (Most of you are not on corporate computer networks. If you are on a network, the "don't open attachments" rule won't protect you in all cases.) Steps for complete protection: Install the latest antivirus program, and make sure it automatically checks for updates at least weekly. You can actually set this up to automatically self-update as often as you want. Be sure your antivirus program is automatically starting up with Windows. Antivirus programs are not perfect, but if you keep them up to date they can catch and disable 95% of any viruses that try to infect your computer. Be sure you have the latest version of your Internet browser AND all the latest Windows security updates. IF YOU DON'T DO THIS STEP, YOUR ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE WILL STILL TRAP MOST OF THE NEWEST VIRUSES AS OF TODAY. IF YOU HAVE UPDATED YOUR SOFTWARE AS OF TODAY. That will not protect you against the next one, until your antivirus company catches up with a new update. You can use Windows Update from your Start Menu to update Internet Explorer. Run Windows Update to get a list of what you need to install under "Critical Updates" and "Recommended Updates" Alternatively, you can go directly to the WIndows Update page. You need the critical updates to protect yourself from the latest virus outbreaks. Other updates are optional. Disable previewing in whatever email program you use. This is NOT absolutely necessary, so far, if you have the latest updates installed. Many virus infected attachments will infect your computer merely by being "previewed" when you click on the message header if you don't have the latest updates. Don't think you can tell a virus-infected email by the subject heading. Most viruses continually change the subject line to keep you from identifying it. But you rarely have to worry about opening an infected email message. It's almost always the attachment within the message that contains the virus. It's when you click on the attachment that your computer becomes infected, if your antivirus software has not been updated sufficiently. There are other ways hackers can get viruses onto your computer, but they are by far the exception. Don't click on any attachments within email messages, even from people you know, unless you know what it is and you are expecting it. Many virus programs, once they infect a computer, use the victim's address book, and send themselves to each email address it finds there. Thus virus infected email messages will often come from someone you know! It's usually when you click on an infected attachment that the virus runs and infects your computer. You can always leave questionable email or attachments unopened in your inbox and send an email to the person it came from to ask them if they intended to send it. (Answer NO or CANCEL if you are prompted to download or open anything you did not intend to download) Delete any messages you decide not to keep and make sure your Trash folder is set in your email program to be cleared regularly. If you are suspicious of any message, you can zap it into oblivion instead of into the Trash folder by highlighting the message and holding your <Shift> key down when you delete the message. If you have already deleted a suspicious message the normal way, you can go to your Trash folder and delete it from there. If you want to be super protected, download and install Kaspersky (complex, but the best), BitDefender, Norton, Avira or Avast. You must also keep your antivirus software running and up to date. Windows also by default has what is called a firewall which keeps prying hackers and robot programs from breaking into your system via the Internet. You will need to do a little bit of set up and configuration to get the best use of this software. .

fraud (frôd) noun 1. A deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain. 2. A piece of trickery; a trick. scam (skàm) Slang. noun A fraudulent business scheme; a swindle. Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved.

Data Recovery and Lost Files
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. Do-It-Yourself Lost File and Data Recovery How to recover lost or deleted files on your computer Here are some possible ways to get your lost or deleted files back if your hard drive is accessible. If your hard drive is not accessible at all, you may need to contact a data recovery specialist. If your data loss problem is caused by viruses, trojans, adware or spyware, you will need to deal with that first, which is a separate issue. If you have lost files through accidental deletion, either by a computer user or software, you should usually be able to restore or "undelete" them from your Windows Recycle Bin, accessible through the icon on your desktop. If you have lost your files/data any other way -- through formatting, a corrupted or failed hard drive or partition or by "moving" the files (in Windows 9x) -- your situation is serious. DO NOT USE OR DO ANYTHING ON THE DRIVE UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE RECOVERED YOUR DATA! Most of the data or files you have lost are probably still on the hard drive, but every action you do on that drive after you have lost access will make it less and less likely that you will be able to recover the data. Here are some steps to follow in attempting to recover your data. If you hear the slightest of ANY UNUSUAL SOUNDS coming from your computer or hard drive (metallic clicking, scraping, rattling, etc.), shut down immediately and call a computer technician or data recovery specialist. Do not use the computer until the problem has been resolved by a technician. If you are certain that you do not hear anything unusual, proceed with the following steps. First, if the problem is not a result of a hard drive problem, check your Recycle Bin. If the lost files/data are not in your Recycle Bin try the following: If you have Norton SystemWorks, Norton Utilities or some other similar system utility package ALREADY installed on your computer, find the "Unerase" or "Undelete" option and run it. Then read and follow the "wizard" steps and instructions VERY CAREFULLY. If you do things wrong, you may cause more data loss. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE SUCH A PACKAGE ALREADY INSTALLED ON YOUR COMPUTER, DO NOT INSTALL ONE. Doing so will destroy the files you are trying to recover. Liability info: These instructions were written by the owner of the KroyTech website to give readers helpful information toward recovering their data. I have no connection with QueTek or Higher Ground Software. These instructions are a work in progress. They do not cover any specific data loss situation. Every situation is different. You attempt to recover your data entirely at your own risk. I am not liable for any loss of or damage to data or hardware that may occur if you attempt your own data recovery.

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Gospel: 1. The proclamation of the redemption preached by Jesus and the Apostles, which is the central content of Christian revelation. Messianic: 1. Of or relating to a messiah: messianic hopes. Messiah: 1. The anticipated deliverer and king of the Jews. Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved.