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NEWSLETTER

Martin KadanskyWelcome to my free electronic newsletter, “Practical Computer Advice from Martin Kadansky.”

On a regular basis I write about real issues for typical computer users, my way of sharing useful computer advice, ideas, and tips.

If you would like to subscribe, please type your email address into the box below and click Sign Up. This list will be kept strictly private, not shared with or rented to anyone else.

Or, just send me an email telling me that you want to receive my newsletter: martin@kadansky.com

As always, I welcome your comments and feedback.

Read the latest issue of my newsletter

Newsletter Archive:

Date

Contents

2/29/2024

Writing Better Emails: Use More Whitespace and Other Simple Ideas

1/31/2024

Do Your Scans, Copies, or Faxes Have Lines or Streaks or Spots?

12/31/2023

Top Reasons to Create a Spare User Account on Your Computer

11/30/2023

Email: How to Handle "Mailbox Full"

10/31/2023

Are Your Computer Speakers Too Soft?

9/30/2023

Do You Need a USB Wifi Adapter?

8/30/2023

Check Washing: How to Protect Yourself Against Fraudulent Altering of Your Checks

7/31/2023

How to Handle "Your Online or Cloud Storage Is Almost Full"

6/30/2023

Your Printer's Ink or Toner Is Low - Wait Longer or Replace Now?

5/31/2023

Two-Factor Authentication: What If Your Cell Phone Is Not Working or Lost?

4/30/2023

LibreOffice: Free Software That Can Open and Convert Older and Obsolete Documents, Including Word, Excel, Publisher, WordPerfect, AppleWorks and More!

3/30/2023

Does Your Phone or Tablet or Computer Screen Turn Black Too Quickly?

2/28/2023

Your Cell Phone: Reduce Screen Brightness, Extend Battery Life

1/31/2023

Social Media: What's a #hashtag? #confusion #curiosity #WhyShouldICare

12/31/2022

Find Your Vaccination Records Online: COVID, Flu Shots, and More

11/30/2022

How to Spot Fake Antivirus Renewal Scam Emails

10/31/2022

Dictation: Talk to Your Computer or Mobile Device, It Does All the Typing

9/30/2022

How to Stop a Runaway Printer

8/31/2022

Online Bill Payment: Pros, Cons, & Myths

7/31/2022

Should I Turn My Computer Off, or Leave It On?

6/30/2022

Cut, Copy, & Paste: Not As Simple As You Might Think

5/31/2022

Why Is My Computer Slow? What Can I Do About It?

4/29/2022

Legitimate Companies and Government Agencies Do Not Have You Buy Gift Cards to Pay Them--It's a Scam! Hang Up the Phone!

3/31/2022

Your Gmail May Stop Working on 5/30/2022 When Google Removes the 'Less secure apps' Option

2/28/2022

Did Your Email Inbox Suddenly Change - Missing Messages? Can't Find Anything? Just Looks Wrong?

1/31/2022

Protect Your Privacy When Searching: Use Startpage or DuckDuckGo instead of Google or Bing or Yahoo

12/31/2021

iPhone/iPad/Android: Forgot Your Passcode? Reset Will Erase All of Your Data, Unless You Have a Backup

11/30/2021

How to Research a Product or Service Online More Effectively

10/31/2021

Windows 11: Don't Rush to Get It, Let the Next Computer That You Eventually Buy Come With It

10/30/2021

Older Macintosh: Are You Getting Strange Errors Loading Websites? Why It Started 10/1/2021, How to Fix It with an Updated Security Certificate

9/30/2021

I Sent an Email - Did They Receive It? Did They Read It? Part 2

8/31/2021

Internet by Candlelight: Are You Prepared for a Power Failure?

7/31/2021

Simple Ways to Improve the Battery Life of Your Computer and Mobile Devices

6/30/2021

Proofread Before Send: Avoid These Common Email Mistakes

5/31/2021

Online banking & credit cards: How to get useful alerts via email or text messages

4/30/2021

Proximity Sensor: Useful New Security Feature or Major Remote-Help Inconvenience?

3/31/2021

What It Really Takes to Make Your Existing Passwords More Secure

2/28/2021

Can You Save an Online Form and Return to It Later?

1/31/2021

You Don't Need a Microsoft Office Subscription to Get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook, You Can Just Buy Office

12/31/2020

Getting Rid of Your Old Printer/Copier/Scanner/Fax? Do This First to Protect Your Privacy!

11/30/2020

If Your Internet Connection Stopped Working, What Would You Do?

10/31/2020

Is Your Keyboard Driiving yoU crzy? Are You Suddenly Unable to Sign In to Your Account, or Even Your Computer?

9/30/2020

Zoom & Skype Virtual Backgrounds: How to Use Them, Do They Work?

8/31/2020

Black Screen: What to Try When Your Computer Won't Power On

7/31/2020

Two-Factor Authentication: Improve Your Online Account Security, Decrease Your Convenience

6/30/2020

Word & Excel: How to Fit Your Document onto One Page

5/31/2020

Is Your Modem or Router Preventing You from Using the Full Speed of Your Internet Service?

4/30/2020

Smart Surge Protectors: A Mostly-Dumb Idea

3/31/2020

Zoom.us: How to Join or Host an Online Meeting

2/29/2020

Should You Use an Ad-Blocking Extension in Your Web Browser?

1/31/2020

Meetup.com: Find Social, Educational, Business Events and More Near You

12/31/2019

Passwords: Give Them to Your Executor & Power of Attorney In Case You Die or Become Disabled

11/30/2019

Organizing Your Passwords on Paper: A Simple Approach

10/31/2019

Do Not Upgrade Your Macintosh to macOS 10.15 Catalina Now, Wait 6-12 Months

10/30/2019

Windows 7 Support Will End on January 14, 2020 -- It's Time to Move to Windows 10

9/30/2019

Convenience vs. Security: Should You Use Your Web Browser to Remember Your Passwords and Credit Card Numbers?

8/31/2019

Printer Advice: Simple Ways to Save Ink and Toner

7/30/2019

The Top Reasons You're Having Trouble Clicking or Double-Clicking with Your Mouse

6/30/2019

Don't Start (or Renew) Another Online Subscription Before Asking These Important Questions

5/31/2019

Don't Forward Another Email Newsletter Until You Learn How to Protect Your Subscription

4/29/2019

Can Your Bookkeeping Be Automated?

3/31/2019

QuickBooks Online: A Brief Look at the Pros and Cons of Cloud-Based Bookkeeping

2/26/2019

Have You Ever Lost Everything That You've Typed Into an Online Form? Me, Too!

1/31/2019

Web Page Bookmarks and Favorites Don't Always Work, Here's Why

12/31/2018

11 Simple Ways To Take Better Digital Photos and Videos

11/28/2018

Capitalization Confusion: When Does It Matter If You Type UPPERCASE Letters vs. lowercase?

10/31/2018

Skype for the Holidays: How to Improve Your Next Online Video Chat with Family, Friends, Colleagues, and More

9/28/2018

Email confusion: What is your "account"? What happens if you delete it?

8/29/2018

A Brief Look Back at 20 Years of Computer Consulting

7/31/2018

My Most Common Troubleshooting Advice: Power It Off, Then On Again

6/29/2018

Going Paperless, Carefully Part 3: An Updated Perspective

5/29/2018

Don't Make These 6 Common Email Mistakes

4/30/2018

What's the Best Way to Clean Out Duplicate Files from Your Computer?

3/27/2018

The Problem with Carbonite, a Popular Online Backup Service

2/28/2018

Buying a New Computer in 2018? Read This!

1/30/2018

Gmail: "Allow less secure apps" Option Must Be ON for A Regular Email Program to Access Your Account

12/29/2017

Google: How to Search Inside a Specific Web Site Using the "site:" Operator

11/29/2017

Did You Change Your Email Password? Here Are 8 Other Places You May Need To Update Next

10/31/2017

Does Your Computer Suddenly Power Itself Off? It May Be Overheating

9/30/2017

Moving to Another Country? Cartridges You Buy There May Not Work in Your Printer

8/29/2017

I spilled something into my keyboard--Now what do I do?

7/25/2017

How to Clean Your Keyboard

6/27/2017

Skype: The Top Good (and Bad) Things You Should Know

5/30/2017

Should you install software updates and patches immediately? What's your hurry?

4/30/2017

Is Your Computer Acting Strangely? Don't Panic! Your Network or Internet Connection Might Be Down

3/31/2017

No Sound? Sound Too Low? Try These Ideas

2/28/2017

Online Dating: How to Protect Your Privacy

1/31/2017

Label Your Wireless Network, Printer, and Computer, It Will Help You Later

12/30/2016

More Fun and Useful Web Sites

11/30/2016

The Best and Worst Places to Store Your Passwords - Are Yours Secure?

10/31/2016

Sending some photos in an email? If you add captions, send a Word or PDF file instead!

9/30/2016

Should your website be mobile-responsive?

8/30/2016

Microsoft Word: How to see your document "life-size" on screen (hint: it's not 100%)

7/31/2016

Watch YouTube Videos in Less Time and with Better Comprehension

6/28/2016

Too many USB devices? Get a USB hub!

5/31/2016

Want to get rid of an old computer? Don't sell it, donate and deduct it instead

4/29/2016

What's a Blog? Should You Start One?

3/31/2016

Does Your Printer Have the Secret Ability to Print On Both Sides?

2/29/2016

Microsoft Word: What's the Best Way to "Push" Text to the Next Page?

1/31/2016

Do You Ever Wish You Could Be Notified When a Web Page Changes? Try FollowThatPage.com

12/31/2015

Should You Use Online Bill Payment? Can You Throw Away Your Checkbook?

11/30/2015

How to Write Better Emails, More Likely to Be Read

10/30/2015

My Most Universal Computer Advice: Turn It off, Then Back on Again

9/30/2015

How to Drive from Here to...Halfway There

8/31/2015

A "Virus" Warning Popped Up? Don't Call That Number, Don't Get Scammed

7/29/2015

Hackers Can Break Into Your Online Accounts *Without* Guessing Your Password! Use This Simple Tip to Protect Your Email and Other Accounts

6/30/2015

Disposing of a Computer or Phone or Tablet? Don't Give Away Your Personal Data as Well!

5/28/2015

A Cheap and Careful Way to Clean Your Computer Screen

4/28/2015

ZAP! How to Deal with Static Electricity

3/31/2015

I Attached My Files to an Email and Hit Send, but It Won't Go!
[Because I attached more than 8mb of attachments]

2/28/2015

I Sent an Email, Did It Arrive? Did They Read It?

1/31/2015

A Voice on the Phone Told You What? Don't Believe It!

12/30/2014

Going Paperless, Carefully Part 2: Use Document Scanning to Reduce Your Mountains of Paper!

11/30/2014

How to Measure Your Internet Speed, and Possibly Improve It For Free

10/31/2014

Are Things on Your Screen Sometimes Too Small to Read? Here Are 8 Ways to Make Them Larger

9/30/2014

Are You Always Searching Through Your Email? Try Saved Searches!

8/31/2014

The Top Three Things You Should Know About Using a UPS (an Uninterruptible Power Supply or Battery Backup)

7/31/2014

The Top Two Things You Should Know About Surge Suppressors

6/30/2014

Microsoft Word: Problems with Paste? Try Paste Special!

5/30/2014

How to Send Secure, Encrypted Email for Free
["Print" to an encrypted PDF, send that PDF as an attachment]

4/25/2014

Microsoft Word: When I Type, It Replaces (and Forward-Deletes) My Existing Text!
[Overtype mode vs. Insert mode]

3/31/2014

Use Email Rules & Filters to Organize Your Messages

2/28/2014

Moving Your Email from POP to IMAP? Read This!

1/31/2014

Buying A Computer Monitor? Read This!

12/30/2013

More Amazing, Wonderful, and Useful Web Sites

11/29/2013

Buying A New Computer? Read This!

10/29/2013

Web of Trust: Additional Protection From Malicious Web Sites

9/30/2013

join.me and LogMeIn: Two Good Ways to Get (or Give) Remote Assistance
- Kadansky Consulting, Inc. Celebrates 15 Years in Business

8/26/2013

Your Computer Will Probably Die Sooner Than You Think -- 10 Simple Things You Can Do Now To Prepare

7/30/2013

Can I Add A Second Monitor To My Computer? What About A Projector?

6/30/2013

9 Reasons I Don't Like Gmail.com

5/28/2013

The Biggest Myth About Gmail
[Myth: Using Gmail means that you must use the Gmail web site for your email--Not true!]

4/25/2013

Going Paperless, Carefully: Print to a PDF!

3/29/2013

Why Do YouTube Videos (or Other Streaming Content) "Stall" During Playback?

2/28/2013

Does typing a password you cannot see drive you crazy? Me too!

1/30/2013

What To Do When Your Web Site Gets Hacked (Broken Into and Destroyed)

12/28/2012

I Delete Email From My iPhone/Android/iPad, But It Still Comes Into My Computer--Argh!
[Use IMAP (if your email account supports it), webmail, or your server's App for your smartphone.]

11/27/2012

Track Changes: What Did You Change In My Word Document? What Did I Change?

10/31/2012

I Can Receive Email When I Travel, But I Can't Send!

9/28/2012

6 Things To Do When Your Friend's Email Account Gets Broken Into

8/31/2012

When I Tap on My iPad or iPhone, I Get More Frustration Than Results!
[Try a capacitive stylus]
- 14th Reason I Don't Like Cloud (Online) Backup and Storage Services

7/31/2012

Cleaning Out and Organizing Your Email--Not Easy, But Worth the Effort

6/27/2012

13 Reasons I Don't Like Cloud (Online) Backup and Storage Services

5/30/2012

Save vs. Save As -- What's The Difference?

4/30/2012

I Try To Change The Font, But It Doesn't Always Work!
[You need to click first!]

3/30/2012

Plugging In An External Drive Automatically Backs Up My Computer, Right?
[No, it doesn't! You should use good backup software, carefully set up, with your backup drive.]

2/28/2012

Don't Let Your Computer Die From Heat Stroke!
[Get it dusted out, and upgrade its RAM to the maximum while you're at it]

1/31/2012

Dangerous Information Hidden in Your Digital Photos, Part 2
[How to detect and remove your physical location stored from your photos]

12/29/2011

Dangerous Information Hidden in Your Digital Photos, Part 1
[How your physical location can be stored in your photos' metadata]

11/29/2011

Protect Your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Files From Data Loss With AutoRecover

10/31/2011

Don't Change Your Technology Just Because Someone Tells You To

09/29/2011

Don't Let Apple's "Lion" Bite You! [Mac OS X 10.7]

08/31/2011

What Do I Do About Email When I'm on Vacation or Traveling?
[Don't try to set a vacation reply or "out of office" message in your email program. Instead, sign in to your webmail and set it there.]

07/27/2011

5 Problems With Webmail That Can Drive You Crazy!

06/30/2011

How can I get my email on more than one computer?
- Martin's E-Newsletter referenced in Chicago Tribune

05/18/2011

The "mugged in London" scam - Prevent thieves from breaking into your email account

04/26/2011

Should I forward these urgent emails to all my friends?

03/30/2011

How can I stop email spam?

02/24/2011

My computer could get infected through Skype?

01/26/2011

Your inkjet printer's dirty little secret [Waste ink collects inside your printer]

12/29/2010

Does using your credit card online make you nervous? [How to use temporary credit card numbers, also consider PayPal]

11/30/2010

My computer is infected? Or could this be a scam?

10/27/2010

How do you get there from here? Use your computer to get maps and directions

09/29/2010

Finally! Cordless phones that don't block your wireless computer
- I recommend: Gary Jorgensen, Car-buying/selling Consultant

08/31/2010

Data Security: What's the best way to protect my electronic files? Use encryption

07/21/2010

"Automatic" doesn't mean what you think
- Staples reduces its "ink rewards" from $3 to $2 per cartridge starting July 1, 2010
- Microsoft discontinues its Bing cashback program on July 30, 2010

06/28/2010

Data Security: How can I protect my paper records?

05/26/2010

Why does Word sometimes print a blank page at the end?

04/21/2010

Data Security: Does the new law apply to you?

03/17/2010

Data Security: The new Massachusetts law you can't ignore
- From the mailbag: Two readers respond to last month's newsletter on paperless billing

02/24/2010

Should I sign up for paperless billing?

01/27/2010

Wireless is always better, right?
- Update on urgent online payroll deadline for Massachusetts employers

12/30/2009

How can I save money using my computer?

12/14/2009

If you own a business that's a Massachusetts employer, don't miss this new urgent online deadline

11/24/2009

How much time do I spend writing? [Microsoft Word - Total Editing Time]
- In the news: Real-world consequences of posting personal information online

10/21/2009

Should I leave my computer on, or turn it off?

09/23/2009

Moving to a new computer is easy, right?
- Kadansky Consulting marks 11th year in business

08/18/2009

Freecycle.org: It is better to give *and* receive

07/15/2009

A Tale of Two Computers [Dropbox & Syncplicity]

06/24/2009

How would I create a web site?

05/13/2009

The future of voice mail: Listen using your computer!

04/22/2009

How to succeed when calling Technical Support

03/18/2009

Why is my computer slow?
- Digital TV transition postponed to June 12, 2009

02/18/2009

Why would I use Quicken or QuickBooks?
- Good news: Staples broadens their Rewards program to take ALL brands of ink and toner cartridges

01/14/2009

Are you ready for the change to Digital TV?

12/17/2008

Amazing, wonderful, and useful web sites

11/19/2008

Should I get an iPod?

10/22/2008

Single-click or double-click?
- Martin's E-Newsletter featured again in Belmont Newspaper

09/24/2008

How do I send an email to more than one person?
- Update: Hot car serves as an actual oven!

08/27/2008

When I move, my email address has to change, right?
- Update: Hot car temperature measured!

07/23/2008

How can I save money on my cell phone bill?
- Summer tax tips

06/18/2008

Cut, Copy, and Paste - What's it all about?
- I Recommend: Anna Huckabee Tull, Custom Crafted Songs

05/21/2008

How do I search using Google?
- I Recommend: Michael Katz, Email Newsletter Consultant (My Guru!)

04/23/2008

How do I get the most from my printer?
- From the mailbag: A reader replies
- Martin's E-Newsletter featured in Belmont Newspaper again!

03/20/2008

The Truth About Email

02/27/2008

What's this thing on my screen? [How to take a picture of the screen]
- Martin's E-Newsletter featured in Belmont Newspaper
- I Recommend: Judy Rice, Health and Fitness Consultant

01/23/2008

My computer can help in cold weather? How? [Weather, school closings, etc.]
- Contest Winner: Send me your most horrible/most wonderful backup story
- I Recommend: Greg Antonioli, Remodeler

12/27/2007

Bonus Issue: End of year advice on protecting your computer and other devices
- Contest: Send me your most horrible/most wonderful backup story
- Summary of recent newsletter issues
- I Recommend: shopper.cnet.com

12/19/2007

What's the single best way to protect my computer? [Back it up!]
- New! Contest: Send me your most horrible/most wonderful backup story
- New! Product to avoid: Canon PIXMA MX310
- Inexpensive USB flash drives from www.microcenter.com

11/28/2007

Using the same password for everything is ok, right?
- I Recommend: Netgear XE102: Powerline Ethernet Adapter

10/19/2007

Passwords, passwords, passwords! How can I keep track of them all?
- I Recommend: John Spino, Estate Attorney

09/19/2007

After you delete something, is it really gone?
- I Recommend: Ed McManus, Insurance Broker - Automobile, Home, and Business

08/01/2007

Hot Summer Tips: Don't Leave It in Your Car! [Rechargeable batteries]
- I Recommend: Craig Tashjian, Personal Mortgage Planner

07/10/2007

How You Can Deal With All Your Piled-up Email
- I Recommend: Anne Goodwin, Professional Organizer

 

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