. · • Limekilns Parish Church - Webmaster • · .
The Webmaster
This page is packed with lots of advice about your PC. There are the random tips at the top and a lot more information further down the page.
Ever wondered who The Webmaster is? Well, everything you couldn't care less about is on this page.
Anyway, this is me, and I am the one who is responsible for the content of the Limekilns Parish Church web site.
Mrs. Webmaster and I moved to Charlestown in December 2005. We have both worked, in Africa, with Mercy Ships, together we lead the New Life Service and also run a house-group at our home every second Thursday.
A few things about me which you might not know (and probably won't care - The Webmaster).
I like heavy rock music
I love useless pieces of information
I make rock buns and pancakes for house group
I can do a Rubik cube in less than 3 minutes
And, I have a tendency to take things less seriously than I possibly should, which might explain some of the little asides which are littered throughout the site. (Just because you go to church doesn't mean you have to be completely boring - The Webmaster)
PC Hints and Tips
so what about windows 7
Windows 7 has finally been released and is hailed as the best operating system Microsoft has produced - funny, they said that about Vista! But is 7 better?
To say Windows 7 is better than Vista would be like comparing the current Leader of Germany to Hitler. When something has been as bad as Vista was, almost anything will be an improvement.
As soon as it is installed and updated, you see some obvious improvements. Best thing is that all of the hardware on my laptop worked straight away. It automatically looked for and found my internet connection. Started faster than it has before and also shut down faster. it uses less system resources than Vista did, although both use far more than XP ever did!
One of the annoying things which Vista did was continually ask you to click 'Continue' even if you had done some mundane task like rename a program! Now, 7 did this as well but great news, you can tell it not to! Also, when I stop unnecessary programs and services from running automatically, some installs of Vista would always tell you there were some programs blocked at start-up. I know, I blocked them, but there was no way to say don't tell me again. I ended up switching off these pesky Balloon Tips; you know? the ones which tell you you have 'unused icons on your desktop'!
Anyway, suffice to say there are some cosmetic features which have been added which make it less annoying
The worst thing I found was the way 7 handles home networks. Many people will have a home network, (A proper home network means more than one PC which can share folders and all print from the same printer- The Webmaster) and want to keep things the way they were before Windows 7. This proves to be more of a problem than it needs to be. 7 uses, primarily, home groups. Home groups look for other PCs on the same home group and very easily connect them to each other, making sharing folders, files and printers very easy. The problem is that home groups only work with Windows 7. If your other PCs have Vista or better still, XP, it's more problematic creating the same kind of network you may have had before. That's not to say it can't be done, it is just a bit more difficult.
Another thing I noticed is that there is no Windows Mail; this was Vista's replacement for XP's Outlook Express (or, as it was affectionately known in certain circles - Outlook Distress!). You can download Windows Live Mail, but it's not as good! I also could find no trace of Windows Defender and when I tried to install it, it said it was already part of Vista! A strange message considering I don't have Vista, I have 7. Anyway, I finally found Defender but it was well hidden and switched off!
Anyway, is 7 better than Vista? Yes it is. Are either of them as good as XP? Not even close!
it just appeared one day!!
Despite my article in the Summer '08 Village Link (Available for download on this site - The Webmaster), I STILL see PCs where I have noticed something on the desktop which looked suspicious to me. When I asked the owner if they installed it many say, "No, it just appeared on day!".
Sometimes an icon may appear on the desk top which wasn't there before. Ask yourself where did it come from? Sometimes you might get a window appearing, usually saying you are infected with something or other. Unless this comes from you Anti-Virus program, it is more than likely not only bogus, but an infection claiming to be something which will help you.
It is important that you DO NOT CLICK IT - ANYWHERE!. That means don't even click the red cross in the corner. If you click on it, you will likely bring in further infections Best advice would be to disconnect from the internet and then restart the PC.
Sometimes these windows claim to be a Windows Security Alert or words to that affect. In most cases, this is highly unlikely. What is more likely is that they are wanting you to click them, which will bring in an infection. Then, surprise surprise, they will ask you to buy their product which will, they claim, fix the problem. Main thing here is that any problems which now exist were caused by them in the first place; or to be more precise, caused by You when you clicked the pop up window in the first place.
sending group emails
Would you let me put your email address on the church web site?
Would you lend me your address book so I can show it to my friends?
Is it OK if I put your phone number on the web site?
Probably not to the first two and maybe not to the third as well. Why then do people continually send emails to groups of people and give everyone in that group, everyone else's email address?
Some people think this is an unnecessary inconvenience and it doesn't make any difference. They couldn't be more wrong!!
Spybots and robots trawl the internet constantly looking for ways to exploit people, and one thing they do is check for emails and addresses so they can propogate infections and SPAM. Many people get an awful lot of SPAM and also get their machine infected and then complain about both.
By sending, and allowing others to send emails where everyone's address is visible to every reipient of the email can be a contributing factor.
What's the solution I hear you ask! STOP DOING IT! As some people will be aware, when I get an email which has several addresses visible and mine is one, I politely ask the sender not to do it. I also ask people NOT to send me the latest verse/joke/picture or whatever it is that they think is hilarious and which has forwarded several times already. I don't want junk mail, I don't want to be called several times a day by someone selling kitchens and I don't want my inbox full of rubbish.
Don't simply accept that this is going to happen and is OK. It's not OK and you can stop it.
Of course, you might be perfectly happy to receive these things and if that is the case then there's no problem. However, if you are someone who sends them, do you ever ask people whose address you have if they want to receive them. Just because someone has given you their email address does not mean you are invited to send them every pieve of junk you get sent; ask them first if they want it.
Consider the following Definition of Spam:
"The recipient's personal identity and context are irrelevant because the message
is equally applicable to many other potential recipients; AND, the recipient
has not verifiably granted deliberate, explicit, and still-revocable permission for it to be sent"
So, are you guilty of sending SPAM?
Did you know that more than 80% of home PCs are infected with some sort of virus or spyware?
If your PC is running much slower than it used to, it could be caused by a few things - see my article in the Autumn '08 edition of Village Link, (Aslo available for download on this site - The Webmaster). Many times it is either very short on RAM and/or there are a lot of things running which don't need to. If it is one of these, it can be helped to speed up fairly easily and cheaply and you will notice a huge difference.
other sundry tips
If your PC won't start, Get your data off it before you run any recovery discs. Just because it won't start, does not mean your data can't be saved. It is usually quite simple to get the data from a drive as long as the actual drive is not damaged.
Keep your OS and security programs up-to-date. I still see PCs with Windows XP Service Pack 1. This is not a secure operating system and should by updated immediately. But how do I know if I still only have Service Pack 1 Webmaster? Good question. The easiest way to tell is to watch your PC start up. There are small coloured lights which go from left to right as it loads. If the lights are green, you have SP1, if they are blue, you have SP2 or SP3. This only applies to XP machines. Vista currently has green lights, with or without SP1. There are other ways but this is one of the easiest.
If you have a PC with one of the expensive security programs installed, but you haven't paid for the subscription since it expired, you are at serious risk of infection. There are new threats out all the time and your security programs and OS must be updated regularly to make them effective. Remember though, you don't have to pay for security programs, there are some very good, free programs, if you know where to look.
If you are thinking about replacing an ageing PC but don't want to go to Windows Vista, don't worry just yet. It is still possible to get PCs and laptops with XP. XP machines are still available but are getting harder to find, plus they might cost a little more. However, it is worth mentioning that Vista is not as bad as many people say it is. I have Vista on my laptop and have had no problems in the last two years. Also, when XP came out, there were the same scare-mongering people who condemned it back then!
If you are replacing a PC, what it is going to be used for might make a big difference.
If it is just for Office type stuff and browsing the internet, then an entry level PC can be bought for less than £400, and that will include a monitor. However, if the kids want to play things like The Sims, you are going to need, at least, a better processor, more RAM and and a much better graphics card; it could make as much as £200 difference. (Kids Eh? You can't live with them, yet they're everywhere - The Webmaster)
In my opinion, there are certain types of processor which should avoided in any new PC as it can cost as little as £30 more to get a good one. Bottom line is get advice first!
What about Broadband?
I am not going to plug any particular ISP (internet Service Provider) as you should look at your own requirements and decide from there. However, I would say that I have just left Tiscali/Pipex because of some shocking service and gone to BT.
Some companies offer really good deals but most are dependant on having their own equipment in the exchange. Unfortunately, in Limekilns and Charlestown, we are on an exchange which is unlikely to support these better deals for quite a while. That means some of the really good deals like O2 are not going to be an option. However, there are still some good options available.
Don't go for a package which offers you more than you are going to use as it will probably be more expensive and therefore wasting money. If all you want is broadband, just get broadband. If you are not going to watch TV or make internet calls, don't pay for such a package. For example, the package I have gives me broadband, line rental and free calls 24/7, but you might not need free calls through the day!
What about Wireless?
Wireless broadband connections are great when they work, and to be fair, they do work most of the time.
However, there can be times when your wireless connection is causing real problems. It might be a low signal, you could be losing the signal all together, or you may get told you have limited connectivity. This often happens when Windows resets the IP address to 169.xxx.xxx.xxx instead of the 192.168.x.x you should have. This often happens when Windows takes too long to find the router and it then sets a Windows IP address. That is the cause, but it can happen for no apparent reason and is very frustrating. Most times I have seen this has been when a PC has been made wireless by adding either a wireless card or a USB adaptor.
I have come across several machines which have displayed this problem and getting them to hold the connection can be problematic; if the machine is connecting, it is difficult to diagnose what is causing it to drop, and when it drops, it usually can't even see the network.
One of the best, and easiest fixes, is to connect to the router using you electric cabling. There are a few different makers who supply devices for this and like most things, some are better than others for a variety of reasons. The ones I use require no setting up - you just plug them in and they work! Main thing is that just because you are one of those who keeps losing your signal, there can be a relatively inexpensive fix.
If you have been with the same ISP for years and are still using a USB ADSL MODEM, you should get in touch with your ISP and get them to send you a free router. If they tell you it will cost you to get it or they will have to increase your package, tell them you are going to cancel and go somewhere else where you can get a free router. I haven't heard of any one who will want to lose you as a customer for the price of a free router!
Free laptops?
I have been asked a few times about these free laptops which some companies offer. In most cases, you are going to be paying around £35 per month for mobile wireless and usually for a minimum contract of 18 months, which is around £630. You can get basic broadband for as little as £15 per month and only £7 for the first three months of that for a minimum 12 month contract. Even carrying that on for the 18 months, it is only around £260, which is around £400 less than the free laptop deal.
If you really need mobile broadband, my recommendation would be to get a basic Pay-As-You-Go mobile broadband package, then buy a basic laptop for around £360 and get a lot of sweets with the money left over.
Tips and advice
For PC tips and advice, go to the top of this page and click the refresh button on the browser, and the tip will change to a new one.
I have also written articles for the Village Link Magazine which are available on the Village Link page.
- † Summer '09 - Better Broadband Signal
- † Spring '09 - SPAM
- † Winter '08 - Replacing a PC
- † Autumn '08 - Old PCs
- † Summer '08 - Security
If you are not sure about anything, or just want some help, I would be happy to give free advice via email, my email address is at the foot of every page
The web site
I wanted to contribute something to the church, so in 2006 I offered to build and maintain this web site and, after working on it for while, uploaded it on February 21st, 2007. Since then, it has grown quite a bit and now gets more than 1,000 visitors a month.
The Limekilns Church web site is gradually growing into a complete record of information about our church.
The site itself has several scripts running which do a few things automatically. E.g. the PC tips at the top of this page and the service times on every page. The verse of the day script on the home page checks to see which month it is, then calls an array of verses and puts the correct one on screen. This takes its readings from your PC's clock, so if your clock it not set to the correct date, you will get a different verse to everyone else. This script lets me input the verses for several months in advance. There are similar scripts running on other pages; e.g. random quotes on the Worship page.
If, for any reason, you don't have Javascript enabled on your browser, you won't get this information.
If there is anything you would like to see added to the site, let me know.