If you can admit to any of these…we need to check you into the Betty Crocker Email Rehab clinic.it’s my job to get you to “zero inbox rule” and that means, you leave work, you have no email. Every email is organized, tasks are created and you can have a life again. Email can suck the life out of you if you don’t know how to manage it.
Oh yes, there are contact hoarders too and I have found, you are one or the other. No two hoarders are the same!
Need help now?
Maybe you do, maybe you don’t? Many of my clients have told me over and over that when they book an appointment with me, they feel like they are booking a therapy appointment. I am guessing it’s because of the calming methods I use to get information out of them and how they manage their inbox. Or because they feel they went through a minor exorcism. Either way, at the end of our appointments, I have you thinking completely different about how you manage your email and more importantly, your email life.
I have written many blogs about Outlook and helping. If you’re not sure you’re ready to book an appointment yet, please go to our search function at the top of the page and type in “Outlook” and you will find many more blogs I have done on the subject to help. Are you ready right now? Please call 612-865-4475 and ask to get on Lisa’s calendar. I’m here to help!
A lot of people like using free email accounts such as Google, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. I occasionally use Gmail, and 
understand why these “free” email accounts are so appealing. What I don’t understand is that people consistently and continually get hacked, yet they continue to utilize the account. If you are one of the people who have been repeatedly hacked, you should consider paying about $50 a year to get your own paid-for email account. The fun thing about it is that you can get a domain that matches your name. Say your name is Suzy Sharpe and you’ve been using SusieSharpe@gmail.com your whole life. With your own domain, you could use Susie@SusieSharp.com or Susieisthebest@SusieSharp.com, instead. This way, your email is more secure, because it’s run through a secured server rather than one of the free ones.
The main reason free email accounts get hacked so often is because they are vulnerable to all of those annoying social media applications, like Facebook. The second biggest target is, of course, Twitter. LinkedIn actually got hacked a few months ago, too! For years, Facebook has been the main source for hackers, and the reason why is that most people log in with the exact same username and password that they do when they log into their email. So, when the hackers get their Facebook information, it’s right there to log into Hotmail or Gmail or whatever, and they will meddle with it and then takeover your account.
So, my recommendation is that people spend about $50 a year on their own email system, set up their email for IMAP, and then synchronize their email with their devices. By having their own private personal email account, the vulnerability of getting hacked goes way down, plus it adds a nice spin on their personal life. Plus, if and when they want a website, they have their own domain! It’s super simple to put up your own website nowadays.
If you happen to have a large family, we recommend that you get your own domain, such as the JohnsonfamilyMinneapolis.com, or something like that. Larger families have wanted to set up blogs, websites and other sharing opportunities, too. Family blogs are very popular and it’s a nice way to share updates from anywhere in the world.
If you would like help setting up your own personal domain for email and/or a family website and email please contact Call That Girl computer support and repair by filling out the form below or call 612-865-4475. Ask for an appointment on Lisa’s calendar and we will set up a time for a free consultation to discuss your needs!
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Saturday A.M. I got an alert from Google that someone in Austria tried accessing my account on a device. Interesting…never had this happen before. I’m guessing they noticed this either by too many log-in attempts or they caught the IP address (how the computers track where we are logging in from). I logged into Gmail, read the alert and changed my password anyway. I know that no one had it but me, but I guess you can never tell.
As much as I am not a fan of using Google for business email, I am a fan of using it for free accounts over Hotmail or Yahoo because of the security. When clients call in and say they have been hacked, I have only seen one or two come in from Google, most, if not all, are from Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. I’m happy to post that with this Google suspicious email alert I got, I became more of a fan of using it for free email needs. There’s an example of the message below.
Do you know how to do these important computer-related functions? Here are the answers we promised!
1.) How do you save to a flash drive?
A: Insert your flash drive. A window should open up that opens your flash drive. If you do not get this window, then go to “Computer” or “my computer” and you will see your flash drive as a “drive letter.” Your computer is always the C: drive. Your flash drive might be the E: or F: or G: etc. Then when you go to save documents or pictures, you can find your flash drive letter in the list of places to save.
2.) Do you know how to download software, install it and use it?
A: When you download software, it usually downloads to the “downloads” folder. It’s best to always keep your downloads there so they are organized. Once a download is finished, you go to the “downloads” folder and double click the software and it’s usually just as easy as clicking the “next” button. Once installed, you can view the software by going to your start menu and clicking on “programs” and it should be listed there.
3.) How do you back up your data to a flash drive or external hard drive?
A: Save as answer #1, but you can copy and paste full folders of your pictures and documents to the flash or external drives.
4.) How do you find out if the link you’re clicking on goes to the site you intended or if it is taking you to a virus?
A: When you see the link, put your mouse on it and right click and view “properties”, then it will show you where the link actually goes. If it appears to be what you think it is, you can click on it. If it looks foreign to you, then click with caution.
5.) Do you know how to Google properly?
A: Many people try to Google their own computer repairs. Here is a tip if you are one of those folks…search for the exact problem you are having. Then read the list of searches. Try to click on only reputable websites that you recognize. If you are curious, have good Antivirus on your computer! Also, when you are clicking on the links, if you get a pop up to download software, close the box immediately, this is a virus more than likely. If you are asked on a website to download software to fix, keep in mind most are free, but want you to pay to “really fix” it and many times, those are fake as well.
6.) Do you know how to do a basic search on someone on the internet?
A: Search “name + town” in quotes, that will give you better results
7.) How do you blind copy (BCC) people in emails (So people can’t see the email addresses of others that you included in an email)?
A: Turn on BBC (meaning, you can send many people the same email, but they don’t see each other’s addresses). Some email programs have it already on, with outlook you may need to turn on the feature.
8.) How do you properly turn off your computer?
A: Go to “shut down” and shut it down. Just holding the power button is not the best way to shut it off. The power button shut downs just shuts it off without Windows helping to do it right.
9.) How do you perform a system restore?
A: Sometimes when your computer goes crazy, you may or may not have caused this problem. Either way, a simple system restore may help! What this does is take you back to a few days before it went crazy.
It may depend on what operating system you have, but you can search your computer for “system restore” and you will get a wizard that pops up. Do the restore to the date before it stopped working right. Then hit finish and it will take 10-15 minutes. After that, then see if your problem is gone or still there. If still there, you may need our help!
10.) Do you know how to find Call That Girl on Google maps and call us when you need help!?
A: Check out our website for directions, Google our name/address or just call us at 612-865-4475!
Do you know how to do these important computer-related functions? Take the quiz and see how well you do!
1.) How do you save to a flash drive?
2.) Do you know how to download software, install it and use it?
3.) How do you back up your data to a flash drive or external hard drive?
4.) How do you find out if the link you’re clicking on goes to the site you intended or if it is taking you to a virus?
5.) Do you know how to Google properly?
6.) Do you know how to do a basic search on someone on the internet?
7.) How do you blind copy (BCC) people in emails (So people can’t see the email addresses of others that you included in an email)?
8.) How do you properly turn off your computer?
9.) How do you perform a system restore?
10.) Do you know how to find Call That Girl on Google maps and call us when you need help!?
Check back in on Friday or subscribe to our RSS feed to check your answers and see how well you did!