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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, September 27, 2009
In this Issue:
Special Feature: 5 Biggest Home Repair Rip-offs
Tips & Tricks: Create a Keyboard Shortcut to Open a Program
This Week's Topic: Backing Up to a USB Drive
Question: Vista Menu: The Right Pane
Websites of Interest: Yom Kippur; Sukkot; Ten Quick Headache Cures; NatureFind
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Special Feature: 5 Biggest Home Repair Rip-offs
The following is from Readers Digest
http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how
Repair Scams Are On the Rise
When Ron Harrison was buying his house outside Atlanta, the professor of entomology at Mercer University wanted to inspect it for termites himself. With the help of two knowledgeable colleagues, he gave the home a clean bill of health.
At the closing, though, Harrison got a surprise. The house had recently been treated for termites. But he could tell that it never had termites. The seller had been ripped off for more than $1,000 -- by a pest control firm that had both inspected and treated the house.
Home repair rip-offs are on the rise, up 60 percent over the past five years, according to the Council of Better Business Bureaus. And the cons could cost you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
Here's how today's five biggest scams work, and what you can do to protect yourself.
Leaky Roof Wrangling The Rip-Off
Water is coming through your roof. Or is it? A con artist will say water is seeping through the shingles and you need to tear off all the old layers and build a new roof, a job that typically costs $5,000 or more.
The Reality
Most of the time, roof leaks occur because the sealing around vent pipes has failed, the metal flashing on the chimney has deteriorated or the connections between roof sections have eroded. Replacing the sealing or flashing, simply and cheaply, will often solve the problem.
Normally, an asphalt shingle roof lasts 15 to 20 years. You need to replace the roof if you see curling or missing shingles or a large amount of granular material from the shingles collecting in gutters.
Don't get talked into having the bad roof torn off, at a potential 50 percent increase in costs, unless your building code demands it. Many towns will allow a second or even third asphalt roof to be installed if the home's framing can support the extra weight.
And beware a roofer who says you need an entirely new deck, the wood base beneath the shingles. That will cost thousands of dollars more. In fact, a completely new deck is needed only one in 1,000 times. Usually only a portion of a deck needs to be replaced, but only if it's rotted.
Basement Boondoggle
The Rip-Off
If your basement is chronically wet, unscrupulous contractors might tell you they need to dig out your entire foundation and waterproof it, for anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000. More often, though, the solution is simple and costs very little.
The Reality
Many basement leaks are caused by overflow from clogged gutters, misrouted downspouts, unsloped land around the house or even improperly aimed lawn sprinklers.
"Think of your masonry foundation as a rigid sponge," explains waterproofing expert Richard Barako. If the water volume is above normal, water will wick through the cinder blocks. So before calling in professional help, try to reduce the moisture along the foundation by cleaning gutters, rerouting downspouts, repositioning sprinklers, or packing fresh soil six inches high against the foundation and sloping it back to level within about three feet.
Damp walls may be caused by high humidity. To test, attach a piece of aluminum foil to the foundation wall; if moisture shows up on the patch in a day or two, it's just condensation. Start shopping for a dehumidifier.
If water is still seeping in, repair any cracks with hydraulic cement, available at home stores, and apply a quality waterproof paint such as Latex Base Drylok Masonry Waterproofer. As a last resort, consider hiring a professional engineer, whose impartial advice would be worth the expense. Home inspectors are less expensive, but be sure they're certified by the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Termite Trap
The Rip-Off
Myths about termites abound. In a recent survey by the University of Kentucky, 60 percent of people thought termites could take a house down in six months or less. Nothing could be further from the truth, yet con artists use this fear to pressure homeowners into quickly signing on the dotted line for unnecessary or shoddy work that could cost up to $3,000.
The Reality
By arming yourself with a few facts, you'll be able to ask informed questions and avoid a scam. The most common termite in the United States is the subterranean, of which there are two main kinds: workers and swarmers, or winged termites. The workers hollow out the wood, while swarmers mate and create new colonies. Termites live underground and burrow through soil until they find wood or woodlike products, and water. To get into your house, they'll often build moist, earthen tunnels across foundations to your home's lower frames, a clear sign of infestation.
Wood that's been damaged by termites is hollowed out along the grain, with bits of dried mud or soil lining the feeding galleries. Be wary of exterminators showing you termites on wood piles or fences unconnected to your house: This may be a scam. You have a problem only if there's evidence of termites inside the house or close to the foundation.
Bugs flying in the home during the spring are another sign of infestation. These may be flying ants, however. Termites have a full waist, straight antennae and wings of equal length; ants have elbowed antennae, pinched waists and forewings longer than hindwings.
There are more than 17,000 pest control companies in the United States, but bigger doesn't always mean better. You want a firm with good recommendations, lots of experience and a fair price. Question the company carefully and ask that it send an experienced technician, says Michael Potter, a professor of entomology at the University of Kentucky. And if an exterminator claims you have termites, he should show you the evidence.
Some companies charge thousands for a typical job that could be done for less than $1,000, so take notes on the exact kind of treatment and compare apples and apples when getting estimates. See at least two or three companies before hiring one. And don't skip the guarantee. Pest control firms offer two types: "re-treatment," meaning the company will re-treat any area where termites show up again, and "repair," meaning it'll fix any damage caused by the pests. Such agreements tend to be complex and may be limited in coverage; read carefully before you sign. In either case, buy the guarantee that lasts at least five years. The relatively small annual fee (usually 10 percent of the original price) is well worth it. Even if the initial treatment was successful, termites could still be back within a year.
Chimney Sweep Swindle
The Rip-Off
In a classic bait and switch scam, a chimney sweep calls from a "boiler room" or comes to your door telling you he's just fixed a neighbor's chimney and is offering an inspection for the low price of $39.95. Once inside the chimney, he may claim to find problems, saying you need a new liner, for instance. Suddenly that $39.95 price tag rises thousands of dollars.
The Reality
There's no question fireplace chimneys can be hazardous. An oily, blackish substance called creosote accumulates inside the chimney and may catch fire if it's more than a quarter-inch thick. Occasionally, but not as often as chimney sweeps would have you believe, a blocked chimney can route carbon monoxide into your house.
Experts recommend an annual inspection to check for creosote buildup and the structural soundness of the chimney. This usually costs $100 to $250 (not that ridiculous $39.95), and if cleaning is required, an additional $100 to $150. Hire only certified chimney sweeps who've been taught and tested by the Chimney Safety Institute of America. Also, watch the technician as he makes his inspection. Lately, sweeps are using video cameras fed down the flue, so ask to see the video and have the technician explain it as you watch. If he balks, he's scamming you.
Chimneys for oil and gas burners are far less a concern. An oil-heat system that's serviced every year before winter hardly ever causes problems, says Kevin Rooney, CEO of the Oil Heat Institute of Long Island. But before you look for a professional chimney sweep, call your local fire department; some conduct inspections for free.
Mold Mayhem
The Rip-Off
Mold is making a comeback -- not in your home, necessarily, but with con artists, especially since Hurricane Katrina. Playing up fears about disease from mold, particularly over the Internet, they try to convince you to run $300 to $600 tests to identify your mold. Then they recommend a remediation company for removing the mold -- a firm they're in cahoots with.
The Reality
What you need to know about mold is simple: Healthy people usually have nothing to worry about. "If you're immunosuppressed or have allergies or asthma, it can be problematic," says David B. Callahan, MD, medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Other than that, mold isn't dangerous."
The CDC doesn't even recommend testing mold, because if it's a problem to the occupants, it should be removed no matter what kind it is. And you don't need a remediation company for small areas. Just clean nonporous surfaces with soap and water, followed by a solution of one cup bleach mixed with one gallon water. To control future growth, eliminate excess moisture by keeping humidity levels between 40 and 60 percent. Promptly fix leaky roofs, windows and pipes, and ventilate shower, laundry and cooking areas.
The CDC (www.cdc.gov) and Environmental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov) have plenty of good information on their sites -- for free.
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Tips & Tricks: Create a Keyboard Shortcut to Open a Program
A Keyboard Shortcut is a combination of keys (usually Shift, Ctrl and/or Alt and a letter key) used to give a command. Keyboard shortcuts are convenient to use when your hands are on the keyboard; you do not have to reach for the mouse when you want to give a command.
This Keyboard Shortcut can be used to open a program. Here are the steps:
Find the program in the Start Menu. Right click on it. A menu will open; left click Properties.
Click the Shortcut tab at the top. Look for the Shortcut Key box. If no keyboard shortcut is already assigned, None will display in the box.
All shortcut keys are used in a combination with the CTRL and ALT keys. Hold down the CTRL and ALT keys and press the letter that you would like to use. (Note: You may not use keys like ESC, ENTER, TAB, SPACEBAR, PRINT SCREEN, SHIFT, or BACKSPACE to create keyboard shortcuts along with CTRL +ALT)
You will see Ctrl + Alt + the letter you have chosen appear in the Shortcut Key box. Click the OK button. (Note: in Windows Vista, you will be prompted to grant Administrator privileges; click the Continue button).
To use this shortcut, hold down the CTRL and ALT keys with one hand, and press the letter you chose with the other hand. The program will open.
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Today's Topic: Backing Up to a USB Drive
First, make sure you have a drive that is large enough to store all the files that you want to back up. Visit our newsletter archives for our article Backing Up Your Files:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/092009.html
Backing Up
Insert the flash drive into a USB port on your computer. If this is the first time you have put the drive in your computer, it will take a moment or two for the computer to find it and get ready to use it. Once it is ready, a window should appear asking you what you want to do with the drive. Click on Open Folder to View Files. A window will open for this drive. (On some computers, a window will automatically open)
Move the flash drive window over to the side of the screen.
Open the folder that contains the files you want to backup. Move that folder to the other side of the screen so that the two folders are next to each other. The easiest way to do this is to right click on a blank spot on the taskbar (the bar at the bottom of the screen) and from the menu that you now see, click on Tile Windows Vertically or Show Windows Side by Side (depending on your version of Windows).
Click on any file in the My Documents window. It will now be selected. To select all the files, click Edit on the menu and then click Select All. You will see that every file is now highlighted. Point to any file, press and hold down the left mouse button, and drag the file into the flash drive window. You will see that all the files come along. A window will appear showing a progress bar. Once it completes, all the files will now be copied on your flash drive.
Flash drives must be stopped before they can be removed from the computer. In the system tray (bottom right, but the clock), there will be a small green icon with a checkmark. Click on it and then follow the prompts to stop the drive. Windows will display a message when it is safe to remove the drive.
To learn more about Flash Drives, take a look at our article USB Flash Drives:
http://www.computerkindergarten.com/html/092307.html
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Question: Vista Menu: The Right Pane
I just bought a new computer with Windows Vista. There are many items in the right column of the Start menu. Can you give a brief rundown of what these things are?
Answer:
The items on the right side of the menu are links to quickly access folders and commands that most people use frequently.
Personal Folder: The personal folder, which may have your name listed, contains your files like documents, contacts, music, and favorites.
Documents: This opens your documents folder. This is where you would save files like word processing documents, spreadsheets and any file that does not fit into pictures, music or any other folder you see in the Personal Folder.
Pictures: This is the folder where you would save your digital pictures.
Music: This opens the music folder where you can save music and other audio files, organize your music, and copy them to your MP3 player.
Games: This is a list of the games installed on your computer.
Recent Items: Point to Recent Items, and a menu will open with a list of files that you have created or open recently. Click on a file to open it. to clear the recent items list, right click on Recent Items and then left click on Clear Recent Item List.
Computer: This opens the My Computer window where you can access all drives, printers, scanners, attached cameras, and card readers.
Network: This link opens a window where you can access the computers and devices on your network. Most home computer users will not use this link.
Connect To: If you are using a laptop equipped with Wi-Fi, use this link to connect to the internet from different locations.
Control Panel: This opens Control Panel where you can change different settings on your computer.
Default Programs: you can choose which program you want Windows to open for web browsing and email, working with your pictures and music and more.
Help and Support: For Windows help.
Power Button: in the lower right section of the start menu: puts the computer into sleep mode.
The lock button is to the immediate right of the power button. Click it to lock your computer without turning it off (make sure you remember your password!) You would use this when you are away from your computer and do not want anyone else to use your computer.
To the right of the lock button is a small right arrow. Click for a menu containing options for switching users, logging off, restarting or shutting down.
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Websites of Interest:
Yom Kippur
Thursday is Yom Kippur. Learn more about this holiday at this website:
http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday4.htm
For the children, you’ll find coloring pages, greeting cards, games, and more at this website:
http://www.torahtots.com/holidays/yomkipur/yomk.htm
Send Yom Kippur greeting cards online to your friends and family.
http://browse.postcards.org/postcards/cards/0925/
Sukkot
The Festival of Sukkot begins the fifth day after Yom Kippur. Learn all about Sukkot at this website.
http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday5.htm
Ten Quick Headache Cures
http://organizedwisdom.com/Slideshow:10_Quick_Headache_Cures
NatureFind
Find family outdoor activities such as camping and fishing spots, zoos, parks, wildlife sanctuaries and more.
http://www.nwf.org/naturefind/
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