Manage your PayPal recurring payments

 General  No Responses »
Dec 272015
 

Sometimes you just click something and accidentally set up a recurring PayPal payment.  To check yours, just follow the steps below.

  1. Log into PayPal
  2. Click the Settings Gear at the upper right
  3. Scroll down and select Pre-Approved Payments

Below is a sample of what Pre-Approved payments look like.

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When you see one with an Active status, just click on it to review the details. There usually is a way to cancel it at the bottom of the page as shown below. Cancel Subscription means to cancel any further payments.

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You can also see if you’re logged in for a long period as follows:

  1. Log into your PayPal account.
  2. Click the gear icon.
  3. Click Security.
  4. Click Edit next to “Stay logged in for faster purchases”.
  5. Click Log Out Everywhere.

Controlling Windows 10 Updates

 Windows  No Responses »
Dec 272015
 

Win10 Pro and Win10 Pro Version 1511 let everyone push off updates — for weeks or months.

Win10 Home users are mostly out of luck, but a couple of options will still let you take some updating control.

Two safe ways to control Windows 10 updates

As anyone who follows Windows should now know, the task of patching Microsoft's newest OS is a big change from Win7. One aspect of Win10 updating is superior: the updates are cumulative, so you need only the most recent update to get fully patched — handy when setting up a new PC, rebuilding Windows, or upgrading from an older OS.

On the other hand, Win10 — especially the Home edition — offers fewer options than Win7 and Win8 for controlling whether and when updates are installed.

Win10 Home users have very few options for delaying updates. But they can use a trick that's reported in an InfoWorld article — tell Windows that you're on a low-bandwidth, metered Internet connection.

Microsoft knows that there are Windows users accessing the Net via cell-based connection or even dialup. To help prevent big updates from blowing through ISP data caps, Win10 includes the Set as a metered connection option (Settings/Network & Internet/Wi-Fi; note: if your PC doesn't have a wireless adapter, the Wi-Fi menu option won't appear).

A Microsoft FAQ lists what happens under a metered connection, but the main point is that only priority updates will be downloaded. Presumably, “priority” updates are typically security patches.

The better way for Win10 Home users to get more control over updates is to upgrade to the Pro edition. That will let you use Windows' group-policy settings. (To upgrade, click Settings/Update & Security/Activation and click the Go to Store button.) The upgrade will cost you U.S. $99. You'll then have the options discussed below.

Windows 10 Pro users can select the Defer updates option (Settings/Update & Security/Windows Update/Advanced options). That will put off feature updates for some unspecified number of weeks or months (until the next major update) but allow security updates to install immediately. That's better than nothing, but the recent Win10 upgrade adds more.

Managing updates in Windows 10 Professional

Pro versions of Win10 Version 1511 have settings Microsoft calls “Windows update for Business” — but in fact they're merely group-policy settings. Don't let the name fool you — it's possible to delay feature updates even if you're not a business or attached to a domain.

Here's a summary; you'll find additional details on an MS TechNet page.

Starting the group policy console: In Win10 Pro, click Start, enter gpedit.msc, and hit enter. When the editor opens, I always get a Namespace error. According to MS Support article 3077013, you can ignore the message and simply click OK.

Change to 'Current branch for business': In the group-policy editor, navigate to Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Windows Update.

The Windows Update section has several adjustments I typically make that aren't related just to Win10. For example, to ensure I don't accidentally install updates upon system shutdown, I enable Do not display 'Install Updates and Shut down.' (You can also set this value via the Registry, as noted in an AskVG blog post.

Enable deferred updates: In Win10 Version 1511, while you're in the Windows Update options, enable the group-policy setting: Defer Upgrades and Updates. That action lets you put off feature upgrades for the next several months or until the next major feature release (or “branch” — Version 1511 was a branch release). The original Win10 RTM (the July release) has similar settings, but they didn't include an option to defer upgrades.

Some Windows Update settings caveats: Note that if you used group policies to turn off telemetry or make updating adjustments, the options within Defer Upgrades and Updates won't function.

These options include the following (see Figure 1):

Defer upgrades for the following duration: “Upgrades” means the large feature/branch releases. They can be delayed for up to eight months, in one-month increments. (For Win10 Pro users, the recent Version 1511 release will become a mandatory upgrade in eight months.)

Defer updates for the following duration: “Updates” include both security updates and cumulative updates. These can be delayed for up to four weeks, in one-week increments.

Pause Upgrades and Updates: This option pauses upgrades and updates until the next monthly upgrade/update release. (The installation of Windows Defender definition updates won't be affected by this setting.)

Defer Upgrades and Updates

According to the deferral information, if Specify intranet Microsoft update service location is enabled, none of above three options will function. Nor will they work if the Allow Telemetry policy is set to Enabled and the Options value is set to 0.

A 4sysops blog and a Microsoft post discuss the Pause Upgrades and Updates option, but it's still not sufficiently explained. For example, it's not clear is how the option interacts with Defer updates …. Does it push updates off for an additional 30 days?

Other important changes in Windows Update

Long-time Windows users will have to remember that, with Win10, there's no Windows Update in the Control Panel — you can access it only via the Start menu's Settings.

Also, to read the Windows Update log, you must open an elevated PowerShell window and run the Get-WindowsUpdateLog -ForceFlush command. That will put a plain-text version of the log on your desktop, as noted in MS Support article 3036646.

 

Migrating from Windows Live Mail to another Mail Service

 Software, Windows  No Responses »
Dec 212015
 

Introduction

Since Microsoft has not been updating Windows Live Mail it is likely that they will abandon it in the not too distant future. To be on the safe side you should have a backup plan. There are two choices as follows:

  • Switch to another Desktop Email program such as Outlook, which you have to purchase, or Thunderbird which you can download for free from here.
  • Switch to a Web based email service from Gmail, Yahoo Mail and others.

 

If you have any trouble with the directions below you can search Google for direction. Different version of the software mentioned may have slightly different instructions.

Preparation

The first thing to do is to export you contacts so you can import them to your new email service. You can also export your messages.

Follow the steps below to export contacts from Windows Live Mail.

  1. Click Contact tab at your bottom-left.
  2. Click Export in the toolbar.
  3. Make sure CSV (Comma Separated Values) is highlighted.
  4. Click Export.
  5. Now click Browse. Pick a folder to save the exported contacts.
    Type the desired name under File name.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Now click Next.
  8. Make sure all the address book fields you want included are checked.
  9. Note that Windows Live Mail does not export first and last names separately, even though there are First Name and Last Name fields. Do choose Name instead.
  10. Click Finish.

Note: It’s not possible to export your Windows Live Messages into the correct formal to import into another email service. You can copy and paste any important messages to a word processor if you need to keep the information.

Importing contacts

  • In Gmail, go to contacts, click the More button and choose Import
  • In Yahoo Mail, click the Contacts icon as shown below and choose Import Contacts
    Yahoo
  • For Outlook, click File, Open & Export, click Import/Export, click Import
    • Select Import from another program
    • Click Next and choose CSV
    • Navigate to where you Exported your contacts to
  • For Thunderbird, go to Tools, Import. Keep the default selection and click Next.
    • Select CSV and click Next
    • Navigate to where you exported your contacts to
  • For other email services you can search for instructions

 

Should you use Windows Live Mail?

 Windows  No Responses »
Dec 192015
 

If you currently use Windows Live Mail you may want to read the following. I don’t plan on using it and will try to wean my clients away from the program.

The Microsoft Essentials pack, consisting of Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Live Writer (which is now available as an open source project) and Live Mail, has been in a state of limbo for quite a while now. The latest major update for the pack dates back to 2012 and still uses the Live branding that Microsoft abandoned in the same year.

All of these apps are still available for download, but one of these apps, Live Mail, will soon stop working without the installation of a new required update.

Because of underlying updates on the Microsoft mail platforms (Outlook/Hotmail), Live Mail will lose the ability to receive emails. However, since the application still has quite a few users, Microsoft has provided an update that will prolong the life of the mail application and allow it to receive mails once again.

Microsoft does recommend that any users of the Live Mail application switch over to the new Mail application that has been built-in to Windows 8 and Windows 10. These applications are still actively being developed, so it might be a smart choice to move over, since the support for Live Mail will probably end soon.

This free update is now available here and is dubbed “Update for Windows Live Essentials Mail 2012” (KB 3093594).

Here’s an email that Microsoft is sending out.

In a few weeks, we will be making some changes to our email services that might impact your @outlook.com, @hotmail, @live or @msn email account. These changes will prevent your email from being delivered to the Windows Live Mail 2012 application that you use.
In order to continue using Windows Live Mail 2012 to send and receive email for your account, you need to install the latest update published here.
If you use Windows Live Mail 2012 on Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, we recommend that you switch to the built-in Mail app in Windows to stay connected and get the latest feature updates on Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
Windows Live Essentials 2009 and 2011 are not supported any more, and you will need to update to Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 10 and use the Mail app, or use www.outlook.com. To learn more about the Mail app, please click here.
We also recommend all Windows Live Mail users on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 to upgrade to Windows 10 and use the built-in Mail application to stay connected and get the latest feature updates.
We suggest saving this email so you can refer to it later.
Thank you for your understanding and continued use.

Windows 10 install methods

 Windows  No Responses »
Dec 192015
 

There’s basically 2 methods and I’ve tried them both.

  • Performing an upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8
  • Performing a clean install. This basically erases the hard drive and installs Windows 10 from scratch. See how to do this here.

Usually, performing an upgrade keeps all of your data and installed programs intact. However, it’s been my experience that following an upgrade, you may encounter some programs not running properly. There’s pros and cons to both methods but in my case, after a clean install, my PC was faster and required a lot less hard drive space. However, one or two programs that I used previously did not install at all.

I stuck with the clean install but had to replace two older programs. Your mileage may vary.

Note: After a clean install you might have to install 1 or 2 drivers that Windows 10 doesn’t include. To be on the safe side backup all of your drivers first and store them in a safe place. A free program for doing this can be found here.

Here’s some numbers:

I upgraded my Windows 7 PC to Windows 8 and just recently to Windows 10. My 128 GB Solid State Drive had only 15.8 GB of free space. However, after performing a clean install and reinstalling all of my software I had 71.8 GB of free space. This is a huge difference. So what caused my original multi-upgrade to occupy so much space? Well, over a period of 4 years of installing and uninstalling software there’s a buildup of files on your hard drive. There are possibly other factors as well but it’s nice to have a clean system. Now that I’ve done it once the next time will be easier.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Using Canon Cloud Printing Center

 Hardware, Windows  No Responses »
Dec 182015
 

Using Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center

Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center is a service that links with the cloud function of the printer and allows you to perform operations such as registering and managing apps from your smartphone or tablet device, and checking the print status, print error, and ink status of the printer. You can also print photos and documents from your apps.

If you are using this service from your computer, you can manage the apps.

Before using Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center

First, check your environment.

  • Printer specification

Check that Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center supports the printer.

  • Network environment

The printer must be connected to a LAN and to the Internet.

Important

    • The user will bear the cost of Internet access.
  • Printer software (firmware) version

If the printer’s firmware version is earlier than Ver. 1.000 on an MX530 series or earlier than Ver. 2.000 on models other than the MX530 series, you need to update the firmware.

Refer to “Firmware update” for your model from the Home of the Online Manual for details.

Important

    • When you update the firmware of this product, the displayed screens, the operation procedures, and the functions may change.
    • If you register a photo-sharing service to your printer and then later update the printer firmware, the photo-sharing service will be deregistered. Please perform the account setup again.
  • Operating requirements

Important

  • This service may not be available in certain countries or regions. Also even if the service is available, there are apps that cannot be used in certain regions.

Preparations before using Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center

To use the Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center, you need to follow the steps described below and register the user information.

Print registration information from the printer

  1. Check that the printer is connected to the Internet

If your LCD monitor is a color model

    1. From the home window, select Setup -> Web service setup -> Web service connection setup -> IJ Cloud Printing Center setup -> Register with this service
    2. In the registration confirmation window, Select Yes
    1. In the print settings, select the display language

If your LCD monitor is a monochrome model

    1. On the printer operation panel, select the Setup button, and then select Web service setup -> Connection setup -> IJCloudPrintingCtr -> Register w/ service
    2. In the registration confirmation window, Select Yes
    1. Select the print language
  1. Follow the instructions displayed in the window, and print the URL of the authentication site and the Printer registration ID

Set A4 size or Letter size plain paper and select OK.
The authentication URL and Printer registration ID are printed.

Note

    • You will use this printed page in the next step.

Important

  • The operation to complete the registration should be done within 60 minutes.

Access the URL on the printed page, and then enter the e-mail address and other necessary information

Important

  • Do not use the Back button of the web browser while an operation is processing. The screen may not transition properly.
  1. Use the web browser on your PC, smartphone, tablet, or other devices to access the authentication URL
  1. On the Login screen, select Register from here
  1. Enter the E-mail address and Printer registration ID of the printer’s owner, and then select OK

Important

    • There are character restrictions for the e-mail address, as shown below.
      • You can use up to 255 alphanumeric characters consisting of single-byte characters and symbols (!#$%&’*+/=?^_{}|~.-@).
      • Multibyte characters cannot be used.
        You will get an error if the e-mail address you enter contains a character that cannot be used.
    • If you registered a different e-mail address by mistake, you can cancel the registration by going to the printer’s Home screen and selecting Setup (or by pressing the Setup button on the operation panel) -> Web service setup -> Connection setup -> IJ Cloud Printing Center setup (IJCloudPrintingCtr) -> Delete from this service.
    • You may not be able to receive the notification if you are using a spam filter. If you have a setting to receive only the e-mails from certain domains, be sure to change the setting to allow receiving e-mails from “[email protected]”.
      There will be no error display even if you could not receive the e-mail because of the spam filter setting or if you entered an incorrect e-mail address.
  1. The registration page URL is sent to the e-mail address entered

Access the URL in the e-mail, register the information, and complete the user registration

  1. When an e-mail with the subject “Information on Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center” is sent to the e-mail address that you entered, select the URL
  2. In the License agreement and Privacy statement windows of Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center, read the statements, and select Agree if you agree

<License agreement>

 

<Privacy statement>

  1. Configure required settings on the User information input screen, and then select OK

Time zone

Select your region on the list. If you cannot find your region on the list, select the one closest to your region.

Apply daylight saving time

This appears only when there is a daylight saving time in the time zone that you selected.
Select whether or not to apply the daylight saving time.

Password

Enter the login password for Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center.

Password (Confirmation)

Enter the password again for confirmation.

Important

There are character restrictions for the password, as shown below.

      • The password needs to be between 8 and 32 characters long, using single-byte alphanumeric characters and symbols (!”#$%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?@[\]^_`{|}~). (Alphabets are case-sensitive)

The registration is completed. The registration completed message appears.
When you press OK, the Login screen appears.

Enter the registered e-mail address and password and log in to the Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center.

Using Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center

When the user registration is completed, you can log in to the Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center and use the service.

  1. From your PC, smartphone, or tablet, access the service login URL (http://cs.c-ij.com/)
  2. On the Login screen, enter the E-mail address and Password, and then select Log in

Important

    • The e-mail address and password are case-sensitive. Make sure the case is correct.

E-mail address

Enter the e-mail address that you entered in the user registration.

Password

Enter the password that you entered in the user registration.

Important

  • If you fail to log in five straight times, you will not be able to login again for an hour.
  • You remain logged in for an hour after the last access.
  • If you do not log in for 400 days, you will be unsubscribed from the Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center automatically.
  • The service may not function properly if you log in from multiple devices at the same time.

After logging in, you can use useful services such as adding/managing apps that work in conjunction with this product’s cloud functionality and checking the ink status.

For the description of the screens and operation, see here.

Printing procedure

This section introduces the photo printing procedure by using CANON iMAGE GATEWAY as an example.

Important

  • The available functions differ depending on the app.
  • The printing procedure differs depending on the app.
  • You need to get the account and register photo and other data beforehand.
  • The following file formats can be printed: jpg, jpeg, pdf, docx, doc, xlsx, xls, pptx, ppt, txt, and rtf.
    The file formats that can be printed differ depending on the app.
  • Before you print, check that printer is on and is connected to the network. Then start.

Note

  • You can use CANON iMAGE GATEWAY to print jpg and jpeg file formats.
  1. On the Main screen, select the app to be used
  2. Enter the information according to the instructions on the authentication screen, and then select Log in
  1. In the displayed album list, select the album of your choice
  1. In the displayed image list, select the image that you want to print, and then select Next
  1. Make the necessary print settings, and then select Print
  1. A print job completion message appears, and printing starts

To end the printing, select Exit and return to the Apps list screen.
To continue printing, select Continue and repeat the procedure from step 3.

Important

  • If a print job is not printed within 24 hours after the print job is issued, the print job will expire and cannot be printed.
  • With premium apps that limit the number of print jobs, print jobs that expire and cannot be printed are also included in the print count.

Troubleshooting Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center

If an app cannot be installed

Check the country or region where the printer was purchased.
If the printer is taken outside the country or region where it was purchased, apps cannot be installed.
For an app that is already installed, if the new region supports that app, you can continue to use it. However, if you uninstall an app, be aware that you will not be able to install it outside of the country or region where the printer was purchased.

If the registered app is not in the Apps list

Check the display language of Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center.
If the display language is switched to a language that does not support an app, the app will not be displayed in the apps list but will continue to be registered.
If you switch back to the target language of the app, it will be displayed in the apps list and you will be able to start, register, or unregister the app.

If the information is not updated when you press the Update button

Because the Properties screen requires network connection with this product, the information may not be reflected immediately. Please wait awhile, and then try updating the information again.
If the information is still not updated, then check that the product is connected to the Internet.

If you do not receive the registration e-mail
Printing starts on its own even if you do not do anything

You may have entered a different e-mail address during the user registration of Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center.

If your LCD monitor is a color model
On the printer’s Home screen, select Setup -> Web service setup -> Web service connection setup -> IJ Cloud Printing Center setup -> Delete from this service to prevent unauthorized access using this address.

If your LCD monitor is a monochrome modelTo delete parties who can access the service illegally, select the Setup button on the printer operation panel, and then select Web service setup -> Connection setup -> IJCloudPrintingCtr -> Delete from service.
After resetting the printer, repeat the user registration of Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center from the beginning.

 

Installing Wireless Printers

 Hardware, Windows  No Responses »
Dec 182015
 

When installing a wireless printer that's already installed on one of your PCs and connected to your network, it's tempting to go Devices and Printers and clicking Add Printer. This usually works but it may only be temporary. If your router should be powered off and back on, your printer may be assigned a new IP address and it would stop printing.

The best way to install it is by using the CD that came with the printer or by obtaining the software from the manufacturer's web site.

You may just want to install the drivers without the other features, especially if it's on a laptop.

Canon, for example, offers 2 downloads for their recent printers. A full install or just the required drivers for printing and scanning.

What is Windows Hello?

 Windows  No Responses »
Dec 172015
 

Windows Hello

Windows Hello is a more personal way to sign in to your Windows 10 devices with just a look or a touch. You’ll get enterprise-grade security without having to type in a password.

How does Windows Hello keep my info private?

Surface Pro 4, Surface Book, and most PCs with fingerprint readers are ready to use Windows Hello now, and more devices that can recognize your face and iris are coming soon.

Select the Start Start icon button, then select Settings  > Accounts > Sign-in options to set up Windows Hello. Under Windows Hello , you’ll see options for face, fingerprint, or iris if your PC has a fingerprint reader or a camera that supports it. Once you’re set up, you’ll be able to sign in with a quick swipe or glance.

Best Printers

 Hardware, Windows  No Responses »
Dec 152015
 

Printers: Only Canon Stands Above the Crowd

This year we broke up our printer category into separate charts that cover each major type of printer. The most significant story appears at the bottom of each chart, where respondents continue to criticize Lexmark and Xerox on most measures of reliability, ranking those companies’ products below average for the second year. Users of Brother, Epson, and Dell inkjet printers, and Brother multifunction printers (all-in-one printer/copier/fax machines) expressed wide dissatisfaction as well.

PS – I had a Canon printer problem and Tech Support (1-800-OK-Canon) resolved it in minutes including wait time.

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