With all the doom and gloom talk over the last few weeks, I just wanted to send a note of encouragement out and let you know that we’re not all effected the same…

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.

He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

I love the big G (Google that is).  Whenever I run into a problem on my computer that I don’t fully understand, I Google the error message.  Here’s an example…

For the last 24 hours I was getting an error message for one of my (many) email accounts.  18 of 19 email addresses were sending and receiving just fine, but this one problem address kept returning an error message that read something like “…(youremail@example.com – Receiving) reported error 0x800CCC0F. Connection to the server was interrupted…

So, what did I do to fix the problem?  I went to http://www.google.com, entered  the exact error message I saw and clicked “Google Search”.  The #1 result was a page on Microsoft.  Cool.  I figured since they make the software, they’re probably also familiar with error messages and what causes errors.  So, I went there (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/813514) and saw a bunch of potential causes to my error, including…

These error messages may occur if Microsoft Outlook or if Microsoft Outlook Express cannot establish a connection with your e-mail server. These error messages are frequently caused by one of the following:

• You are not connected to the Internet or a network
• Incorrect account settings
• Your user profile in Outlook is damaged
• An e-mail item on your POP3 server is damaged
• Incorrect configuration of your AV software
• Outlook Express has been removed from the computer or the installation is damaged
• Incorrect configuration of personal firewall software

So, let’s narrow this down…

• Am I connected to the internet? Yes.
• Are my account settings correct? Yes.
• Is my user profile in Outlook damaged? Don’t know, but will revisit if nothing else works.
• Is an e-mail on my POP3 server damaged?  Possibly.
• Is my AV software configured correctly?  What the heck is AV software?  Maybe I’ll come back to this.
• Has Outlook Express been removed from my computer?  Don’t think so and don’t care.  I use Outlook.
• Is my personal firewall configured incorrectly? No.

Now, what’s the easiest thing to tackle first?  Answer to self: damaged email.

If you have POP3 email, you also have access to your email through a web interface, generally referred to as “webmail”.  You didn’t know that?  Cool.  Now you do.

So, I log on to my webmail account for this “problematic email address”, look at the email messages there, read them, print what needs to be printed, download attachments I need, delete everthing with which I’m finished and log out.

Now back to Outlook… Click the “Send / Receive” button and BINGO!  No more error message.

Takeways…

1. Use Google

2. Be very specific with your search.  For example, don’t do a search for “email problems”.  Use the exact error message in your search.  If it includes some cryptic reference like 0x800CCC0F, include that.

3. When you find possible fixes to your problem, start by tackling the easiest things first.

Lastly, if you ever have a “Microsoft issue” and cannot figure it out, you might consider paying a small fee to get help.  You can call Microsoft’s paid tech support line (800-936-5700); and for a small fee (was $35 last time I used it), they’ll stick with you until your problem is fixed.  I’d rather spend 15 minutes on the phone with an expert and pay them to help me fix a problem than spend (waste) hours trying to fix something on my own.

Sometimes things get lost during transitions.  This website transitioned to its current design a couple of months ago, and I found a short (3:21) audio that I wanted to put back up here.

Listen and, if inspired, visit the site below the audio player.  They have a short but very powerful video on their home page that tells their story.  It’s worth a click.

Click Here to Visit FreeWheelchairMission.org

Ya, I know it’s a file… but what kind of a file is a .dat, and how do I open it?

Have you ever received a file attachment with an email and when you went to open the attached file, your computer didn’t know what to do?  If yes, you may have received a .dat file, and there may be a very simple solution.  The following 3 minute video demonstrates what I do with .dat…

Click Here to Watch the “What’s .dat?” Video.

A friend, Mike Riley, sent me the following information today about little known applications of your cell phone. One could even save your life, so I thought I’d share them:

FIRST
Emergency
 
The emergency number worldwide for cellular phones is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency connection for you This number can be dialed even if the keypad is locked.
 
SECOND
Cell phone car key

If you have locked your keys in your car and your car has remote keyless entry, here’s a useful method.  If your spare keys are at home, call someone at your home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button on your car key while holding it near the phone on their end.  Your car will unlock. This way, no one has to drive your keys to you.
 
THIRD
Hidden battery power
 
If your cell phone’s battery is very low, press the keys *3370#. Your phone will restart using a special energy reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery power.  This reserve will get charged the next time you charge your phone.
 
FOURTH
Foil a thief: protect yourself

Here’s how to disable a STOLEN cell phone: first, check your phone’ s serial number. To do so, key in the following digits:

*#06#.

A 15-digit code will appear on the screen.  This number is unique to your handset.  Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone gets stolen or lost, you can phone your service provider and give them this code.  They will then be able to block your handset. Even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless.   
 
FIFTH
Free Directory Service
 
Cell phone companies charge $1.00 to $1.75 for 411 information calls. To avoid this charge, simply dial (800) FREE 411, or (800) 373-3411. It’s probably worth adding this number to your speed dial list for future use.

I use Google Adwords to generate traffic to various offers, and this morning I received the following email message…

Perhaps it was coincidence, but I recently updated my credit card information with Google’s Adwords program.  So, when I received the above message, I thought perhaps I’d entered something incorrectly.

When I clicked on the link in the email message, I noticed that the URL in the address bar looked suspicious.  So, I immediately closed the browser window before it had a chance to fully load.  Then I logged into my Adwords account as per my regular secure route.  Normally, if there are any issues that require your attention, Google will place a brief message on the main login page.  I had no message.  I checked the billing status of my account and everything was cool.  Google had collected their toll a few days ago.

Was this a phishing message?  I’m 99.9999% sure it was.  No, I’m 100% sure it was.  Those low down phishing scumbags are getting really sneaky.  Stay on the ball, and if you receive messages from banks, credit card companies, PayPal, or even Google… don’t use the links in the email messages.  If you’d like to make sure your account is in good standing, use secure login processes and make sure the URL is a secure (i.e. https://… rather than http://…) connection.