Mr. Modem: Thwarting program pop-ups
In one of my favorite programs, a pop-up that is intended to be helpful appears, but it is annoying. It’s not advertising, it’s just part of the program’s helpful tips. Is there anything I can do about it or do I have to keep clicking the X to close it every time it appears?
Without any specifics, I don’t know if there are any settings or user options available to you, but most such programs that provide user tips do have an option to disable the tips. Check your program’s Help or go into its Settings and determine what options you have.
I’m a keyboard-shortcut enthusiast because I prefer to keep my hands on the keyboard rather than expend all the energy required to move my mouse. ALT + F4 is the keystroke combination I use most frequently. The next time you encounter a pop-up or a window you want to shut down, simply press and hold the ALT key, tap the F4 key and the active (current) program or window will close. Repeat the keystroke combo for each open program until none is remaining. When you run out of programs and windows to close, if you continue to press ALT + F4, it will toggle through the Windows shut-down options.
My printer has both a parallel port and a USB port. I have a USB cable plugged into my personal laptop and a parallel plugged into a port replicator that my work laptop sits on. This setup works great and both laptops can use the same printer. My company is going to be providing a new laptop, but if it doesn’t have a parallel port, how can I still have both laptops connected to the one printer?
The best way to accomplish this is to set up Printer Sharing. While the printer is hooked up to what you’re identifying as the USB computer, go to your Control Panel and click Printers, then right-click the printer you would like to share. Click Properties > Sharing tab, then click Share This Printer.
On your other computer, go to your Control Panel > Printers > Add a Printer. Next, click Add Network, Bluetooth or Wireless Printer.
Once your computer finds your printer, click to select it. You may be asked to install drivers and if so, I would recommend doing that. You can then name your printer. (Myrtle is a nice name.) Print a test page to confirm that you can print from both computers. The computer the printer is connected to has to be powered on for the printer to work with the other computer.
A notice appears when I start my computer that the anti-virus program I have is the 2014 version and I’m eligible for a free upgrade to the 2015 version. Every year when I renew it, shouldn’t I be receiving the most current version?
Renewing and upgrading are two separate processes. Renewing simply means paying an annual fee to license your use of the product for another year. You can certainly renew without upgrading or updating. Rather than speculate, however, I would contact the company involved, through its website, to determine definitively if the message you received is legitimate.
Mr. Modem publishes “Ask Mr. Modem!” each week, featuring PC tips, tricks and plain-English answers to your questions by email. For more information, visit www.MrModem.com.
Mr. Modem's Sites of the Week
Twisteroo
A fun/tortuous logic puzzle in which you have to fill in a grid with words from famous quotes. It combines elements of Boggle and Sudoku. It’s so much fun, you’ll want to pull out your hair and gnash your teeth — which is what we call aerobics around here.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
This site provides information about a multitude of topics, including safety information about drugs and other FDA-regulated products, significant product recalls and approvals, inspections and advisory reports.
This story was originally published June 29, 2015 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Mr. Modem: Thwarting program pop-ups."