http://askTCL.com (computer newsletter)

I have been a reader of this newsletter for years and highly recommend it. I signed up for it to come into my email. That is the only sure way for me to remember to read it. She always has good advice. In this issue she covered questions that I am frequently asked so decided to share the entire newsletter.
Barb B.


Registered: Library of Congress, Washington DC - ISSN: 1525-6332
Written by Elizabeth Boston, http://askTCL.com
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In This Issue...
1. Introduction
2. Another Safe Way to Eject a Thumb Drive
3. How To Send A Word Document to the Desktop
4. How To Send A Word Document by Email
5. Free Public Wifi Security





Dear Reader,
Welcome to this issue of Ask The Computer Lady!
This morning, I am thankful for the, "Undo" button in Notepad!
I spent quite a bit of time writing an answer for this newsletter, and
when finished, I selected the entire document, then instead of using
Ctrl + C to copy the article, I hit Ctrl + V and accidentally pasted
my last article in. I sat there for a minute staring at the screen
thinking that I was going to have to type the whole thing again, when
I thought to look for an "Undo" command, and there it was! I was able
to breathe a big sigh of relief and keep right on working.

If you find this newsletter helpful, please forward to your friends.
 
If you were sent this newsletter, please consider subscribing at.
http://www.stretcher.com/subscribe/subscribeTCL.cfm
 
To become a patron just visit Patreon using the link below and sign up. 
Your support helps me to keep writing this newsletter.
https://www.patreon.com/computerlady 

Have a great week,
Elizabeth

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Ask The Computer Lady
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(2)
Dear Computer Lady, 
I look forward to your articles because they are so helpful to me. 
My problem is that I can’t safely eject a thumb drive from my computer.
My son and my sister who are both really computer smart can’t figure
out why it doesn’t give me this option. I have had my computer since
2012 and have never been able to do anything but just pull out any
thumb drive I put in. 
Can you help me with this please? Linda
Dear Linda,
While I can't tell you why you don't have the option to eject your
thumb drive without actually taking a look at the computer, I can give
you some suggestions.
First, it is not a good idea to just pull out the thumb drive while the
computer is running. If you have information on the drive, it could
become corrupted by doing that.
Second, when I occasionally get a drive that won't let me eject it, (I
keep getting a message that the drive is busy and can't be safely
removed) I simply shut down the computer, remove the USB device and
then turn the computer back on. This is a safe way to remove the thumb
drive, and for me it is often faster than waiting for the drive to be
ready.
Elizabeth

You can read this article online, view & leave comments at:
http://wp.me/pwwRq-2fA
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Get More Computer Answers Here! www.askTCL.com
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(3)
Dear Computer Lady,
I read and enjoy your newsletter. I also use a lot of your tips. 
I do have a problem. I use MS Word 2016 and would like to know if and
how to send a Word document to my desktop.
Thanks for all your help, Julian
Dear Julian,
There are several ways to get a Word Document on your desktop.
1. If you have the document open in Word, click on "File" then "Save
As". Click "Browse" and find "Desktop" in the left column. Click on
"Desktop" and then click the "Save" button in the lower-right corner
of the dialog box.
This will save a copy of your file on your desktop.
2. If you know where your document is located on your computer, you can
open File Explorer, find your document and using your right-mouse
button, drag it to your desktop. Once you release the mouse button,
you will see a menu where you can choose to move the document to your
desktop, make a copy on your desktop, or just make a shortcut to the
document on your desktop. Just select the one you want.
If you make a copy of the document on your desktop, you need to
remember that you now have 2 copies and changes you make in one copy
will not be reflected in the other one.
Elizabeth
You can read this article online, view & leave comments at:
http://wp.me/pwwRq-2fD
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If you find this newsletter helpful, please forward to your friends.
 
If you were sent this newsletter, please consider subscribing at.
http://www.stretcher.com/subscribe/subscribeTCL.cfm
 
To become a patron just visit Patreon using the link below and sign up. 
Your support helps me to keep writing this newsletter.
https://www.patreon.com/computerlady 
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(4)
Dear Computer Lady,
I read and enjoy your newsletter. I also use a lot of your tips. 
I do have a problem. I use MS Word 2016 and would like to know if and
how to send a Word document to an email recipient.
Thanks for all your help, Julian
Dear Julian,
The best way to send a Word document to an email recipient is to send
it as an attachment. 
I don't know what email program you are using, so I can't give you step
by step directions, but I can give you some general guidelines.
First, you need to know where your Word file is located. You can either
look through your documents folder, or follow my directions above for
saving a copy of the document on your desktop.
Once you know where your document is located, go to your email program
and start to compose your email. In the new email window, look for an
icon that looks like a paper clip, or for a button or link using the
word, Attach. 
Click on the paper clip icon, or the word, "Attach" and navigate to the
location of your document. If you saved it on your desktop, click,
"Desktop" in the left column to find it.
Click once on your document, then click the button that says either,
open or attach. This should take you back to your email and the
document will now be attached.
Send the email as usual.
Elizabeth

You can read this article online, view & leave comments at:
http://wp.me/pwwRq-2fH
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(5)
Dear Computer Lady,
I have Cortana on my computer but haven't configured it because I'm
leery about surrendering the kind of personal security information
that it requires. My wife would love to buy either Google Home or
Amazon's Echo etc. but again, I've resisted because I'm afraid of
leaving our information and computers vulnerable. Are these services
and devices safe or am I just being paranoid?
Thank you.
Sal
P.S. We connect our computers via a free public wifi hotspot; We live
across the street from a park.
Dear Sal,
As I read your email, I was getting ready to tell you that services and
devices like Cortana, Google Home and Amazon Echo are fairly safe, but
it depends on your comfort level. Then, I got to the end of your
message and learned that you connect through a free public wifi.
Your information and computers are more vulnerable because of that
public wifi connection than they will ever be if you used Cortana,
Amazon Echo or Google Home on a secure, password protected wifi
network.
There are easy to use software programs available that allow people on
public wifi networks to view the web pages you visit and even hijack
them. 
Another example is that a criminal could set up a fake wifi hotspot
that looks just like the one you usually use, and if you connect
through the fake one, they can then harvest your personal information,
including any passwords you type.
Hackers can also use the unsecured, public wifi connection to plant
malware on your computer, or cause pop-ups to appear on your computer
that will trick you into installing the malware by pretending to be an
upgrade.
My advice would be to get off the public wifi and invest in a secure,
private connection.
Elizabeth