A Technically Helping Hand: Tips from Tech Support
Yet Another E-mail Account
All of us use e-mail; in fact I would say most people have more than one e-mail account. I know I do.
Well, those of you who are new students will need to create yet another e-mail account. If you have not already created a Utah State e-mail account you will want to do so fairly soon. Let me tell you why.
When you create an account, you choose a username and a password. This username is used by Networking and Computer Services (us) to authenticate you as a valid affiliate of Utah State University.
Having this username and password will allow you to use USU as your Internet provider, whether it is dial up or Ethernet. This USU e-mail account is also used when you take a test and record your answers on a blue scantron. The results are e-mailed to your USU e-mail account.
So, for those of you who have or will have a Utah State e-mail account, you will find that it is accessible through the Internet at webmail.usu.edu.
Webmail is a very basic mail program which cannot handle a large load; it is designed to handle ‘university related’ amounts of e-mail. This means if you start getting above 100 e-mails in your account it starts to slow down.
And, having anywhere from 300 to 1000 messages may cause webmail to do very strange things. In the case of a lot of e-mail, you may want to use a mail client like Eudora or Outlook Express which are made to handle large loads of mail. Server settings for these types of clients are available at the Help Desk.
For those who prefer to use only one email account there is an option to forward your account which will send all mail from your USU account to another existing account, like Hotmail. This and many other USU e-mail options can be found on the Help Desk Web site, Helpdesk.usu.edu, under the ‘students’ link.
Dan Chivers
Four things to keep your computer running at its best
There are a few things that anyone can do to keep their computer running well. I’m going to list the four I feel to be essential for a bug free computer.
First, for anyone running Microsoft Windows, that’s most of you, the most important thing that you can do to keep your computer running well is to run windows update. Running it once a week will make a world of difference. Go to: http://www.windowsupdate.com and follow the instructions.
Second, get a good antivirus program and keep it up to date. If you connect to the Internet through USU, you can download a good one as part of the University’s site license with McAfee. If you are interested, call the Helpdesk. Anti-virus software will not fix all your problems, but it can really help.
Third, if your Internet connection is fast, you ought to shut your system down when possible. Most hackers will want to use your computer as a resource. The more it is turned off, the less likely it is to be enticing to Internet bad guys.
And fourth, just like your car, Windows occasionally needs an overhaul. You back up your stuff, wipe your computer clean, then reinstall windows and restore your backed-up data. If this is an intimidating task, the Helpdesk will do it for a minimal charge.
If you have any questions please come talk to us, we are located at SER 108, or call at 797-4358 or e-mail us at Helpdesk@cc.usu.edu.
Joshua Dustin