Help Squad Bob's Blog

Is Facebook Your Friend?*

Bob Stallings — Tue, 04 May 2010 23:50:24 +0000

I am not a Facebook fan, although I do have an account (www.facebook.com/bobstallings). That aside, what should concern you if you are on Facebook (or are thinking about signing up) is Facebook’s privacy policy: “. . . your name, profile photo, list of friends and pages you are a fan of, gender, geographic region, and networks you belong to are considered publicly available to everyone . . .” (Dec. 9, 2009). To change Facebook’s default settings, click on the “Account” pull-down menu (upper right corner of your home page), then click on “Privacy Settings.” There are five different sets of controls: Profile Information, Contact Information, Applications and Websites, Search, and Block List. Go through each one and set controls to the level of privacy with which you are comfortable. What’s right for someone else may not be right for you. Facebook has a list of “Recommended Settings” (www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.php), but a better discussion may be found at www.allfacebook.com/2010/01/facebook-privacy-tips.

NOTE: Since this article was written, Facebook had changed its privacy policy and settings once again.

* This post originally appeared in the “Senior Cyber Tips” column of the USC Retiree Community Newsletter 29:2 (May 2010), p. 6.

It’s About Time*

Bob Stallings — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:03:12 +0000

Ever need to reset your watch, only to discover that every clock in the house displays a slightly different current time? Find out the correct time by going to the Web site, www.time.gov, a public service of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Naval Observatory. In the address line of your browser, simply type “time.gov.” (No need to type “www,” for World Wide Web; it is assumed.) When the map of the United States appears, left click on California, and soon the exact time in the U.S. Pacific time zone will appear.

Now that you know what time it is at your own house, you can find the current time in other parts of the world by visiting the Web site, timeanddate.com/worldclock. (As before, adding “www” is not required). Click on the name of a city to see more information such as current local weather conditions.

* This post originally appeared in the “Senior Cyber Tips” column of the USC Retiree Community Newsletter 28:1 (March 2009)

Got Skype?*

Bob Stallings — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:17:05 +0000

If you have a computer and a high-speed Internet connection (via DSL, cable, or satellite), then you might be interested in Skype. Skype is a free downloadable application that allows you to make (free) voice calls over the Internet to anyone who is also running Skype on her/his computer (including multi-party conference calls), (free) video calls, and (inexpensive) calls to landlines and mobile phones almost anywhere in the world. With an inexpensive Webcam and headset (or Webcam with a built-in microphone), you can see and hear—and be seen and be heard by—anyone with a similar setup. Skype runs on all three major operating systems (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux) as well as selected mobile phones. Note that, like all VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) applications, there is no 911 capability through Skype. Check out Skype and its numerous features at: www.skype.com.

* This post originally appeared in the “Senior Cyber Tips” column of the USC Retiree Community Newsletter 28:3 (September 2009)

Changing Your USC Password*

Bob Stallings — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:16:16 +0000

At least once a year, USC’s Information Technology Services (ITS) requires that you change your university computer account password. This is easy to do, provided that you know your 10-digit university ID number.** If you don’t remember your number—or didn’t know that you had one—Maricela Hinojosa (213-740-8169) at the Emeriti Center can get it for you.

To change your password, use your browser to go to USC Web Mail (email.usc.edu). Under “Help With Email” on the right-hand side, click on “Password Change.” Then simply fill in the information requested and click on “Change Password.” In creating your new password, make sure that it is a secure password (i.e., one that is not a word found in the dictionary, contains both upper and lower case letters, and contains both letters and numbers).

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* This post originally appeared in the “Senior Cyber Tips” column of the USC Retiree Community Newsletter, 29:1 (January 2010).

* * For security reasons, the university has instituted a system of unique 10-digit numbers for students, staff, and faculty—past and present—in place of your 9-digit Social Security Number and your 7-digit Employee ID number. While it is still possible to change your password using your Social Security or Employee ID number, you are strongly discouraged from doing so.

Returning to Blog Tech Stuff

Bob Stallings — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:46:09 +0000

I’m back! Well, actually, I didn’t go anywhere. I just haven’t posted anything on this blog in five months. That will change. From now on, I plan to blog regularly, sharing tech tidbits that I pick up along they way (from podcasts, other people’s blogs, Web sites, etc.). To begin, I will be adding updated posts based upon columns that I have written for the Emeriti Center’s Retiree Community Newsletter. If there are specific topics that you would like me to blog about, send an e-mail to <helpsquadbob@rstallings.com>. See you here again soon!

Forwarding Your USC E-mail to Another Address

Bob Stallings — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:19:10 +0000

How to Post on colleaguesforlife.blogspot.com

Bob Stallings — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:25:21 +0000

This tutorial is intended only for those with administrative rights to the blog, colleaguesforlife.blogspot.com. It demonstrates how to post new items to the blog.

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Enlarging the Size of Text in Your Browser

Bob Stallings — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:37:57 +0000

If you sometimes have difficulty reading text on a Web page because it seems too small, did you know that you can enlarge the size of text in your browser? Web browsers such as Firefox and Internet Explorer offer both pulldown menu options and keyboard shortcuts that make this easy to do. Read this posting to find out how.

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Shortcut to RFA Web Site

Bob Stallings — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 18:52:50 +0000

If you haven’t visited the USC Retired Faculty Association’s Web site, here is a shortcut that will take you directly to it. Once you are there, you can bookmark the page so that the next time you visit all that is required is to click on the entry in your “Favorites” list.

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Emeriti Center Computer Help Squad Ready to Help You

Bob Stallings — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 15:14:52 +0000

The newly-formed Emeriti Center computer Help Squad is now up and running.

If you have asked your neighbor’s teenager to help you too many times and are looking for another source for (free!) help with a computer- or Internet-related problem, give us a try. Our Web site is:

www.usc.edu/org/emeriti_center/helpsquad/

There you will find the names of four initial “contacts” who will either try to assist you themselves or will identify another Help Squad volunteer that can do so. Even if we can’t solve your problem, we can recommend where you can turn for expert help.

Contact Bob at: helpsquadbob@rstallings.com .