Rosa Holloway's Blog

You have an option to install desktop shortcuts when you first install Microsoft Office, but sometimes those shortcuts get lost. Here’s how to make them without installing the software again.

1. Find the program that you want to create the shortcut to from the Start Menu / All Programs / Microsoft Office.
2. Right-click over the program and choose Send To / Desktop (Create shortcut)

You now have a shortcut to that program on your desktop.

How to make a shortcut to a document or a folder

You can also create desktop shortcuts to any document, file, or folder.

1. Open the My Computer or My Documents window and browse to the file for which you want a shortcut.
2. Right-click over the name of the file and choose Send To / Desktop (Create shortcut)

Now you have a shortcut to that document or folder on your desktop.

• Google Chrome 5.0.375.86
• Mozilla Firefox 3.6.4
• Adobe Flash Player 10.1
• iTunes 9.2
• Apple iPod/iPhone OS4

If you use any of these applications, check your version and upgrade if you don’t have the latest as listed.  All of these updates address security vulnerabilities.

More details at:  CERT

Different versions of Outlook data files (personal folders) have different indexing features and different size limitations.

Exceeding the recommended items/folder puts a burden on indexing and causes delays when moving between folders.

Remember that Outlook uses the data file in a similar way that your hard drive works.  So just because Outlook will hold 20 GB doesn’t mean that it will run well.  In fact, Microsoft has documented that Outlook 2007 has noticeable performance degradation when files reach 4 GB.

Malware is today’s number one security threat on a personal computer.  The term malware is sometimes used interchangeably with the broad definition of computer viruses.  Malware is malicious software such as Trojans, worms, rootkits, spyware, unauthorized adware, and true viruses.  Malware programs tend to feed off each other by design. 

A Trojan hides by disguising itself as a system file and often downloads other malware.

A worm continually changes form.  Worms make copies of themselves using random names and generally mutate during and after a system reboot.

Unauthorized adware can be one of the most frustrating types of malware.  Common tactics used by several forms of Fake Antivirus are popup windows that try to elicit activation of hyperlinks to malicious websites, usually phishing for your credit card information. Because their presentation is visual, they can be very deceptive.

Today’s most prevalent computer viruses employ a combination of all of these actions, sometimes disabling targeted antivirus programs and blocking popular antivirus websites.

It would be nice to have an omnipotent antivirus program.  Unfortunately, no single program catches everything out there.  It’s a good idea to have more than one—just remember some antivirus programs might not work in combination with others.

Check out the Wikipedia List of antivirus programs.

Also see two of my favorite supplemental programs that work well with others.

Malwarebytes                SuperAntiSpyware

Tired of searching for those little used commands in Office 2007?  Try SearchCommands from the Office Labs project.  This little add-in puts a new ribbon tab on the menu for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint where you can quickly access any command by typing the name of the command into a search box.