Quick Tips and Hints: Spam, The New Generation

We are now being barraged by a new generation of spam, have you seen it yet? A message alert appears on your screen from nowhere when you are surfing with ad information in it. It appears to be an alert triggered by your own system. You worry that you have a virus or worm. No, it is the new generation of spam just appearing on the Web!

When you get a Messenger Service Alert, you are not sure whether you should click okay or close the box using the x at the top corner. Will clicking okay release code for a virus, worm or trojan? Not to worry, we have the solution to get rid of those annoying Messenger Service Alerts once and for all!

Don't be scammed into buying software to get rid of Messenger Service Alerts, you can get rid of them by changing your Administrative Tools settings.

• Messenger Service Alerts and How to Get Rid of Them
  
  
• Windows 98 and ME
1. Sorry you can not disable the Messenger Service. Maybe it is time to upgrade to Windows 2000, our personal choice for a stable operating system.
   
   
• Windows NT
1. Click Start, then Control Panel
2. Double click Administrative Tools
3. Select Services, double click on Messenger
4. In the Messenger Properties window, select Stop
5. Then choose Disable as the Startup Type
6. Click Okay
   
   
• Windows 2000
1. Click Start then Settings, then Control Panel, and then Administrative Tools, and finally Services
2. Scroll down and highlight Messenger
3. Right click the highlighted line and choose Properties
4. Click the Stop button
5. Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar
6. Click Okay
   
   
• Windows XP Home Edition
1. Click Start then Settings, and then Control Panel
2. Click Performance and Maintenance
3. Click Administrative Tools
4. Double click Services, scroll down and highlight Messenger
5. Right click the highlighted line and choose Properties
6. Click the Stop button
7. Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar
8. Click Okay
   
   
• Windows XP Professional Edition
1. Click Start then Settings, and then Control Panel
2. Click Administrative Tools and then Services
3. Double click Services, scroll down and highlight Messenger
4. Right click the highlighted line and choose Properties
5. Click the Stop button
6. Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar
7. Click Okay

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What's All The Buzz About Opera?

If you are tired of the security vulnerabilities of Microsoft's Internet Explorer and the endless patches you must download and install to keep your files safe, there is an alternative to Internet Explorer. In fact, a really great alternative, and it is called Opera.

Opera is a fast. With keyboard features, mouse gestures, and windows management, Opera moves you through the Web fast.

Opera is small. Using less memory and less space on your hard drive than competing browser applications, Opera allows you to be more productive and allows other applications to perform at their best levels.

Opera is innovative. With multiple document interfaces, mouse gestures, and integrated search functions, Opera's unique tools are being copied by other browser manufacturers.

What McCord Web Services loves about Opera, is it's easy to use interface, customizable options, integrated search function, and tabs for each browser page. The tabbed browser pages make it easy to click back and forth with no load time, to pages you have visited in one session. A great feature when you are doing research or want quick comparisons of pages. Opera even has a built-in pop-up ad blocker! Superior cookie and password management are just some of Opera's easy to love features. You can even download skins (browser frames) to personalize your window to the Web.

Opera is our pick for our own personal Web browsing use. Once you try it out, we think that you will love it's unique features. Download Opera 7 now free!

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Do You Have Microsoft Auto-Update Enabled?

With the wave of worms and security vulnerabilities that Microsoft products have experienced recently, it makes good sense to enable Microsoft auto-update. With the auto-update service pack installed on your computer, you can make sure that you don't miss a patch or software upgrade in the future.

Visit the Microsoft Download Center. The interface will scan your system for updates. If you do not have the service pack installed for your system that allows auto-update, you will see it as an option to download. The auto-update feature is listed within one of the contents of one of the Service Packs. Make sure to download the option so you can be up to date.

Once auto-update is installed, when Microsoft releases a patch or software update, an icon will appear in your System Tray by your clock in the bottom right. You will simply click on the icon and approve the download and installation options. The installation wizard will do the rest for you.

Microsoft's new operating system called Longhorn, due to arrive in 2005, is said to have an auto-update function built into the system.