Township of Hamilton Technology News
September 2012 Issue No. 9
• • • • •
This newsletter will be published as an informational tool for all our technology users. You will find “tips of the trade” for your pc, printer, phone, software and Qalert. If you would like a copy of a prior newsletter or there is anything that you would like to see published in our newsletter, please contact the Technology Office.
• • • • •
STEPS FOR UPLOADING PICTURES IN QALERT
- From mobile device or camera send picture to your email or save picture under a file on your computer such as desktop so it is easily located. - Go into the “WHAT” tab of q-alert and on the far right of your screen you click on add file. - A new window will open that says upload files. - Click on browse. - Search for the picture in the file that you saved it to and then click on the picture directly. - Click open - You should now see the picture under the upload files window. - Now click on the upload button. - Click the close button at the bottom of upload files window. - You will know this worked when you see the picture under files in the “WHAT” tab of q- alert and the upload files window has disappeared.
• • • • •
September 2012 Issue No. 9
CHECKING YOUR TOWNSHIP EMAIL FROM YOUR HOME PC
The web link to our webmail has changed.
Enter the following in your web browser address bar: (If you forward this to your home email, you can just click on the link below) https://mail.hamiltonnj.com/owa
Then type in your normal township username and password where indicated.
• • • • •
OUT OF OFFICE REPLY SETTING
If you are having trouble setting your out of office reply in Outlook, please contact the Technology office via qalert. We have identified a glitch that only effects some of our Email users and are working to rectify it, your help would be appreciated in this regard.
• • • • •
COMMONLY USED COMPUTER JARGON
Adware Advertising program often installed along with other programs Attachment A file attached to an e-mail message for sending between computers Blog Web log. Personal web page where the author can post their views and experiences and receive comments. BMP Bitmap. The most common graphics file type for Windows PCs Bookmarks List of your favorite web sites Browser Software that displays web pages such as Internet Explorer and Firefox Compression A method of reducing the storage space a file takes up. Files must be decompressed to be used again Cookie Data that tracks visits to web sites and remembers user preferences Crash Occurs when a program causes your computer to stop responding Demo Free demonstration version of software that allows you to try before you buy
September 2012 Issue No. 9
Directory An index of web site links arranged in categories Disk Space The size of the area on the hard disk where files can be stored Domain name URL or Address of a web site on the Internet Download Transfer a file from another computer to your own Driver Software required for Windows to use a piece of hardware such as a graphics card E-mail Electronic mail passed between computers Favorites List of your favorite web sites Firewall Program or device that blocks or allows Internet access to a network or a PC Flash Software to create and play web site animations Font Text of a particular size and style Freeware Software that is free to download and use for as long as you like Hardware Physical parts of a computer system such as the hard disk, keyboard and printer HTML HyperText Markup Language. The code that makes up a web page Home Page The main page of a web site, often a welcome page Hyperlink A text or graphic you click on to go to another page or a different web site Internet A collection of inter-connected computer networks Install To load and copy program files onto a computer JPG / JPEG Compressed graphics file for sending across the Internet Link A text or graphic you click on to go to another page or a different web site Malware Malicious software such as virus or spyware programs Modem Device that links a computer to the Internet through a telephone line
September 2012 Issue No. 9
MP3 Compressed audio file to save disk space and for transfer across the Internet Netiquette Acceptable behavior online Online Connected to the Internet Phishing Fraudulent e-mails and web sites trying to trick you into giving out personal details Plug-in Extra programs that can be installed into larger programs to handle special tasks, such as playing certain types of movie files in a browser Podcast Internet audio broadcast that can be played back on PCs or MP3 players such as the iPod. Pop-Up Small window that appears on a web page, often used for advertisements. Program A set of instructions to make a computer carry out a task Rootkit Software that hides system files and can allow attackers to access your computer undetected Router Device used in home Internet networks to send data from the web to specific computers RSS Really Simple Syndication - a system to feed you news stories from web sites Search Engine Tool that searches the Web for keywords and provides relevant links Server A computer that holds Internet data such as web site files and can send it to another computer when requested Shareware Software that is free to download but you pay a fee if you want to continue using it after the trial period Shortcut A link you can click to go straight to a particular program or web page Social Networking Web sites based on communication and relying on users to add content Software A program or a set of instructions to make a computer carry out a task Spam Junk mail messages to e-mail addresses
September 2012 Issue No. 9
Spyware Software that tracks your movements on the Web for advertising purposes without your knowledge Stream Start playing music or video as soon as it begins downloading Surfing Moving from one web page to another Trial Software that allows you to try before you buy Trojan Malicious virus program disguised as useful software Uninstall Remove program files from a computer Upload Send a file from your computer to an online destination URL Uniform Resource Locator. The address of a web site on the World Wide Web Virus Destructive program that infects and damages computer files Vlog Video web log VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol - voice conversations across the Internet WAV The standard audio file type for Windows PCs Web Page Individual page on a web site Web Site A collection of connected web pages located at a particular domain name Wiki Web site that can be edited by users to add information Windows Microsoft operating system installed on most PCs World Wide Web (WWW) Information space on the Internet stored on servers across the world containing documents connected together through hyperlinks Worm Malicious code that uses an infected PC to spread itself to others Zip Compressed file format to reduce diskspace needed by a file and to transfer it between computers more quickly
• • • • •
September 2012 Issue No. 9
INTERNET TIPS AND TRICKS
You don't need the http:// portion of a web page
When typing an Internet address you do not need to type http:// or even www. in the address. For example, if you wanted to visit Computer Hope you could just type computerhope.com and press enter. To make things even quicker, if you're visiting a .com address you can type computerhope and then press Ctrl + Enter to type out the full http://www.computerhope.com address.
Quickly move between the fields of a web page
If you're filling out an online form, e-mail, or other text field you can quickly move between each of the fields by pressing the Tab key or Shift + Tab to move back a field. For example, if you're filling out your name and the next field is your e-mail address you can press the Tab key to switch to the e-mail field.
Tip: This tip also applies to the buttons, if you press tab and the web developer has designed correctly the button should be selected and will allow you to press the space bar or enter to push the button.
Tip: If you have a drop-down box that lists every country or every state you can click that box and then press the letter of the state or country you're looking for. For example, is a drop-down box of States in the United States you could press u on the keyboard to quickly scroll to Utah.
Use Internet search engines to their full potential
Make sure to get the most out of every search result. If you're not finding what you want try surrounding the text in quotes. For example, if you were searching for 'computer help' this actually searches for pages that contain both computer and help and not necessarily pages that have computer and help next to each other. If you search for "computer help" with the quotes around the search query this will only return pages that actually have computer and help next to each other.
Tip: Many new computer users also don't realize that in every search box you can press enter instead of having to move the mouse button over to the Search button.
Know your Internet browser shortcuts
There are dozens of different shortcut keys that can be used with Internet browsers. Below are a few of our top suggested Internet browser shortcuts.
- Pressing Alt + D in any major Internet browser will move the cursor into the address bar. This is a great way to quickly enter an Internet address without having to click the mouse cursor in the address bar. - Hold down the Ctrl key and press the + or - to increase and decrease the size of text. - Press the backspace key or hold down the Alt key + left arrow to go back a page. September 2012 Issue No. 9
- Press F5 to refresh or reload a web page. - Press F11 to make the Internet browser screen full screen. - Press Ctrl + B to open your Internet bookmarks. - Press Ctrl + F to open the find box in the browser to search for text within the web page you're looking at.
Take advantage of tabbed browsing
Take full advantage of tabbed browsing in all Internet browsers today. While reading any web page if you come across a link you may be interested in open that link in a new tab so it can be viewed later. A new tab can be opened by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the link or if you have a mouse with a wheel click the link with the middle mouse button.
Make sure your browser and its plugins are up-to-date
Each Internet browser can have several additional plugins that give it additional functionality. For example, Adobe Flash is a great way to bring movies and other animated content to the Internet. Keeping these plugins up-to-date is vital for your computer stability and also security. Using the below tool you can quickly verify if your plugins are up-to-date and get links to where to download the latest updates.
• • • • •
• • • • •