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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, February 22, 2009
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Medical Identity Theft
Tips & Tricks: Twenty Five Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette: 9. Use Current Antivirus Software
Featured Computer Term: The C Drive
This Week's Topic: Cleaning Up Your Hard Disk: Remove Unnecessary Windows Components
Question: Serial Number
Websites of Interest: Mardi Gras; Ash Wednesday; Today in History; Google Directory of Health and Medicine
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Special Feature: Medical Identity Theft
Medical identity theft occurs when a medical identity thief uses your Social Security number or health insurance information, either to get free medical treatment or to collect insurance money for services that were never performed.
It can cause erroneous and fictitious information to become part of its victims' medical records. For example, an incorrectly updated blood type or allergy record could result in serious consequences, and perhaps even a patient's death.
There are financial damage as well. Hospital collection agencies may turn to victims for payments not collected through insurance.
There are two types of perpetrators who commit this crime.
First is the person who needs medical treatment. This person walks into an emergency room, claiming the identity of a neighbor or friend, in order to get emergency treatment they can't afford. Or they use another person's Social Security number, stolen driver's license or health insurance card to get a surgery for which they have no medical coverage.
But more often, medical identity theft is committed by a crime ring that includes health care insiders. The black market will pay a health care employee as much as $50 for a stolen medical record, compared to a dollar or two for a Social Security number, according to the World Privacy Forum.
The World Privacy Forum says to carefully review insurance statements for anything that seems wrong, even if you don't owe any money. Look for:
-- Charges for services that you did not receive.
-- Charges for office visits you did not make.
-- Charges for medical equipment you did not use.
Action: Ask to get a copy of your medical records from each health care provider you use once a year. That way, if your medical records are tampered with in the future, you'll have a copy of the correct information.
In addition, request a listing of benefits paid for in your name from your health insurer each year. By proactively asking for this record, you will uncover problems even if a criminal has attempted to redirect bills to a new address.
Under HIPAA (The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ) you have a right to see your records from every health insurer and provider you have used. If you see payments you do not recognize, ask questions.
If you think you may be the victim of medical identity theft, call your local police or the Medicaid/Medicare fraud hotline at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477); or the Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Toll-Free Hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).
You can find more tips for victims here:
http://www.worldprivacyforum.org/medidtheft_consumertips.html
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Tips & Tricks: Twenty Five Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette: 9. Use Current Antivirus Software
This article is part of our ongoing series on Email Etiquette. With the help of Heinz Tschabitscher from about.com, we are taking an in depth look at email etiquette. To read previous editions of this series, please visit our newsletter archives:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/etiquette.html
The rules of email etiquette are not rules as much as they are guidelines that help avoid mistakes (like offending someone when you don't mean to) and misunderstandings (like being offended when you're not meant to).
These core rules of email etiquette help us communicate better via email.
Use Current Antivirus Software and Keep it Up to Date
Email worms and viruses are spreading via messages that are sent without your knowledge, and spammers use open relays established by viruses to send their junk mail through innocent computers turned spam zombies — yours, if you're not paying attention.
It is, thus, a command not only of security but also of online etiquette to use current antivirus software, to update it frequently, and to keep up to date with security fixes of your email software.
To read previous editions of this series, please visit our newsletter archives:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/etiquette.html
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Featured Computer Term: The C Drive
Question: Why is the hard drive called C?
Answer:
The first personal computers had a single floppy drive called A. The user had to put a floppy disk in to start the computer. Once the computer was started, that disk had to be removed and one containing the program to be used had to be put in.
To save a file, the floppy disk with the program on it had to be taken out and a blank floppy, to save files on, had to be put in.
As you can imagine, the “floppy disk shuffle” got annoying pretty quickly. With that in mind, computer manufacturers added a second floppy disk drive, which was called B, so that the program disk could be left in A and the disk to save files on could be left in B.
Computers with only floppy drives were around for quite a few years. The hard drive was added so users would no longer have to put in that floppy disk to start up the computer. The hard drive contained all the startup files the computer needed to get it running. It was called the C drive, because the computer still had the two floppy disk drives.
Floppy drives have since become extinct, but the hard drive has kept the name C.
Is there a computer term or phrase that you'd like to see an explanation of? Email it to info@computerkindergarten.com and we'll put the term and its definition in an upcoming newsletter.
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Today's Topic: Cleaning Up Your Hard Disk: Remove Unnecessary Windows Components
Today's computers come with hard drives that have amazing amounts of disk space. But no matter how big, new programs, caches, and temporary files can use up this free space pretty quickly and cause clutter on the drive and computer slowdowns.
You will see many programs out there offering to help you free up hard disk space, for a fee. Windows has built-in tools that will do just as thorough a job in cleaning up your hard drive – and, they’re free!
This is the second article in our Cleaning Up Your Hard Disk series. Over the next several editions of this newsletter, we are going to show you how to use the Windows tools to clean up your hard drive.
Remove Unnecessary Windows Components
Double-click the Computer or My Computer icon on your Desktop. A window will open, listing the drives found on your computer. We are going to clean up the C: drive, which is the primary hard disk on your computer.
Right click on the C: drive. A menu will display, left click on Properties. This will open the C Properties window. You will see the amount of used space (blue), the amount of free space (pink) and the total capacity of the hard drive. Below that, you will see a pie chart diagram showing you the amount of used and free space.
Click the Disk Cleanup button, which is found right below the pie chart. Windows will calculate how much space can be freed up. This may take a few moments, depending on the size of your hard drive.
When Windows is done with the calculation, the Disk Cleanup window will display. At the top of this window, click the More Options tab.
In the Windows components area (if you have Windows XP) or the Programs and Features area (if you have Windows Vista), click the Clean up button.
If you have Windows XP
You will see a list of components that can be uninstalled if you don’t use them. Components with check marks are installed.
To see what programs are included in that category, click on the category and then click the Details button.
To uninstall a program, click the check mark to clear it, click the OK button and then follow the on-screen directions.
If you have Windows Vista
After you click the Clean up button, the Uninstall or change a program window will open. On the left side of this window, click on Turn Windows features on or off. Depending on your settings, you may see a window asking you to confirm this action. Click Continue.
The Turn Windows features on or off window will open displaying all the features available for your version of Vista. An entry can be a single feature or a feature with subfeatures. Entries with subfeatures display a plus (+) to the left of the name; click the plus to see the subfeatures. When adding or removing features that have subfeatures, you can add or remove as many of the subfeatures that you want. This lets you finely tune how you want Vista to operate.
Next to each feature is a box that can have three states. If the checkbox is checked that means that the feature, and all of its subfeatures if it has any, are enabled. If the box is filled with a solid blue color, then that means that some subfeatures of this feature are enabled but not all of them. If the checkbox is empty, then that feature and none of its subfeatures are enabled.
To enable a feature, simply put a checkmark next to the feature name. To disable a feature simply remove the check from the feature or one of its subfeatures. When you are happy with how you disabled and enabled the features, you should click on the OK button to save these changes.
In our next newsletter: Remove Unused Applications
To read our previous articles in this series, visit our newsletter archives:
Windows Disk Cleanup
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/020809.html
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Question: Serial Number
Does my computer have a serial number? Where can I find it?
Answer:
Most computers will have a serial number. They are used for inventory purposes and to help manufacturers keep track of the make, model and warranty information for customers. They can also use the serial number to keeps records of any problems you may have with your computer.
The serial number is usually found on a label on the back or bottom of the computer tower or on the bottom of a laptop. Of course, each computer is different, but you should be able to find your number in that general area. Once you find it, you may want to write it down elsewhere, or save it in a file on your computer. Then, if you need it in the future, it may be a little easier for you to find.
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Websites of Interest:
Mardi Gras
Tuesday is Mardi Gras. Visit this website to read all about the celebration.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras
Ash Wednesday
February 25 is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Learn about the history, rituals and observances at this website.
http://tinyurl.com/3xvxy8
Today in History
From the Library of Congress. Visit this site to read about what happened on this day in American history.
http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/today/today.html
Google Directory of Health and Medicine
On this reference page, you can find sites about health news, history of medicine, medical dictionaries and much more.
http://www.google.com/Top/Health/Medicine/Reference/
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