Q:
How can I make sure something I deleted from my computer is really gone for good? Please help!
A:
Excellent question! When you go to delete a file from your computer, what do you do? Do you send it to the Recycle Bin and then empty that? Do you then leave your computer, thinking that took care of everything for you? Don't feel bad if you do, because you're certainly not the only one. Depending on the Recycle Bin to remove data from your computer "for good" is one common misconception.
In all actuality, when you delete a file from your computer, your system recognizes that there is some open space, but the file still lurks around on your hard drive. You see, your computer will mark the space as "this space available," but until Windows decides to reuse that space, the file is still in action. Along with that, it's hard to tell when Windows covers up that space, so the information you wanted removed could linger around for quite some time.
So, I'm sure you're wondering what you can do to actually delete those files, right? Well, there are utility tools, called shredders, you can use to get the job done and there just so happens to be several available on the Internet today. There are various different kinds, depending on how much deleting you're going to be doing, but they are all handy in every situation. Some of the more popular shredders are ShredIt, Wipe and Delete and File Shredder 2000. Start shredding your files today and be rid of them forever!
~ Erin
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Quick Paragraph Relocation in Word
Do you sometimes find yourself highlighting entire paragraphs in an MS Word document for relocation?
(As we discussed yesterday, every time you hit the Enter key, you've finished a paragraph and are creating a new one, so just remember that "paragraphs" in Word could be as small as a single word in a bulleted list).
So, what do you do?
I bet I can guess! You first highlight the entire paragraph, then you use the mouse to grab and hold the paragraph and while still using the mouse, you run the pointer up and down the document to find the "right place" to drop the paragraph.
Then when you need to move something else, you start the process all over again. Am I right?
Whew!
That's a lot of repetition.
Well, here's a mouseless, three key solution to the situation that works so much better!
The next time you need to move an entire paragraph, try this little trick:
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Put your cursor in the paragraph you want to move.
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Now, hold down the Alt + Shift keys.
(Here's the move. Don't blink or you'll miss it!)
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Press the up or down arrow in whichever direction you need to move your paragraph. That's it!
Each time you press an arrow key (while still holding Alt + Shift), your text is moved one paragraph up or down.
To move something a long way, simply hold down the arrow key and let it go!
For those of you who are already asking what makes this so different from the recent F2 trick I showed you, the answer lies within the highlighting and in the amount of text it moves. First, the F2 trick only moved the highlighted text. That tip never even instructed you to highlight! Word automatically grabs the whole paragraph and takes it along for the ride. On the other hand, if you have a couple of consecutive paragraphs to move together, you can highlight part of each one and use this trick, which will move both of them at the same time.
It's way easier than any other paragraph moving trick I've ever used!
~ April
GooglePreview
Do you use Internet Explorer quite a bit? How about Google or Yahoo!? If you do, are you tired of opening Web search results, only to find out they're duds? Have you wasted enough of your precious time on those broken links? Well, apart from avoiding Web searches altogether, there is a solution and it's called GooglePreview. Originally designed for Firefox, this handy little gadget (or add on) displays a thumbnail of the Web page next to the search result in Google and Yahoo! Sound good? If so, here's how to install it in Internet Explorer:
1.) Go to http://www.googlepreview.com and at the very top of the page, there's a link for the Internet Explorer version of GooglePreview (titled GooglePreviewIE).
2.) There are two ways you can download GooglePreviewIE. If you're worried about spyware (I don't blame you!), choose option A below. If you trust me, go to option B.
a.) First, I just want you to know that I would never subject you all to spyware, but with it being all over the Internet these days, it's good to be cautious. I mean, eight out of 10 computers are infected with some sort of spyware and 50 percent of computer crashes are caused by it. So, if you want to take the safest route, choose the CNET Download.com option (on the right in the picture above). CNET is a reputable company that always checks its hosted material for malicious activity.
b.) On the other hand, if you trust me, go ahead and click on the "Install version 1.4" option (on the left). Click Run and then install the software.
3.) Next, take some time to read through the End User License Agreement and checkmark the box below it when you're finished.
4.) Install the program and then click Finish to complete the process.
5.) Open up a new Internet Explorer window and then go to www.google.com. Right away, you'll notice a toolbar at the top of the page that looks like this:
6.) If that bothers you, right click on the toolbar and click on GooglePreview Toolbar to make it disappear.
7.) Type any old search term in the box (if you're strapped for ideas, try WorldStart, which is what I'll be using as an example) and hit Enter.
8.) What's that? A thumbnail for each of your search results is positioned to the left of the search result itself!
How cool is that? Give it a try for yourself today and as always, happy Googling!
