Kevins Tips

………………..

If you have email, you have SPAM, it’s almost unavoidable. There are many ways to reduce SPAM, and here is a nifty one.

Trashmail.net

An FREE email address that forwards to your real email account. You can have it last one time, for one day, several days, or several uses, it’s up to you.

Seems like every website requires you to enter an email account, if you want to learn more about it, or get a free copy of something.

Now you can protect yourself with a disposable email that will automatically expire when you tell it, or simply delete it.

There are several other options out there, and this may not even be the best, but I’ve used it and it works quite well. If you use Firefox, there is even an add-on that makes it easier to use.

There are many ways to build your own “simple” website for FREE.

Here are three popular choices….

• FreeWebs

• Weebly

• Google Sites

They all are pretty easy to use. I think FreeWebs gives you the most choices, and Weebly is a contender. Google Sites is nice, but not a lot of pretty templates yet and is a little harder to understand, but worth a look.

Heck they’re all free, so you should try them all out and see what works best for your needs.

Vista Print offers some of the best discounts for Business Cards, checks, magnets and much more. They are a great way to get FREE stuff for business or personal use. You do have to pay shipping and handling, but it’s reasonable.

Here are some of the Free Products they offer….

* Free Business Cards
* Free Websites
* Free Sticky Notes
* Free Pens
* Free Logo Design
* Free Car Door Magnets
* Free Checks
* Free Rubber Stamps
* Free Window Decals
* Free Caricature Design
* Free Product Samples

OK, this stuff isn’t really a secret, however for many it’s hard to find and little known information.

I am a huge fan of Google (in general). Most of their products are pretty easy to use and do what they are meant to do.

One of Googles downsides, is that they have a lot of things to offer, yet most are not well advertised to the general public. Even being as tech savy as I am, I still discover new Google products or features all the time.

Over time, I will be introducing you to many Google products, and features within their products.

Here are a couple…

• Google Directory - Everyone is familiar with the Google Search using their search tool, but did you know you can search by Category?
• Search a Website - Everyone does the generic Google Search, but did you know you can search a specific website for something?

  For example, say we wanted to search “Kevins Tips” for any page that has the word “free”.Go to Google and type in…

  free site:kevinstips.com

  This will search JUST KevinsTips.com for the word “free”. So you search like you normally would search, but now you can narrow your search to a specific website by simply adding “site:<URL>” at the end of your search phrase. Note, there is NO space between the word “site” “:” and the URL

If your like me, you do a lot of Google searching all the time. How many times do you end up with Spyware or a Virus because you unknowingly went to a bad site?

Well checkout the McAfee Site Advisor - it’s FREE!!!

This is a GREAT Tool!

When you search Google, you will get a Red, Yellow, or Green Button next to each website listed. Pretty obvious what’s a Go and what’s a STOP (don’t go further). Oh there’s also gray, which basically means that sight hasn’t been evaluated yet.

When you are on a website, you’ll also have an icon in the bottom of your toolbar, with the same color codings, so even if you didn’t go through Google, you still have the McAfee Advisor with you.

Having Anti-Spyware and Anti-Virus software is important, but even better is not getting it downloaded to you computer at all, and Mcafee Site Advisor helps you avoid those bad neighborhoods on the web.

AFTER you install McAfee Site Advisor, try doing a Google Search on “free wallpaper”, and you’ll see a few RED sites. Note that a lot of RED sites come to the top of the search.

Be Safe!

Website: McAfee Site Advisor

Mozy is one of the BEST and easiest solutions to an online backup solution for your files.

You don’t have to be technical at all, to get through the easy to follow instructions. Works on a PC and a Mac.

You can try it for FREE and get 2GB of space, or pay $4.95 a month and get UNLIMITED Storage Space. There is no limitation on the type of file either.

It is sooooo easy to use and setup, and you can have it automatically backup your desktop files, even from multiple computers - something many competitors don’t let you do.

Recovering files is very easy as well.

I can’t recommend this service enough, you should at least give the FREE account a try.

Website: Mozy

You’ve heard of recycling, but have you heard of Freecycling?

There are over 5 million people who are Freecyling today.

What is Freecycling?

Freecycling is people giving away stuff for FREE instead of throwing it away. They join a local group, often as local as your own town, and post items they are giving away. The vast majority of the items are items in good working order and good condition. Maybe your child has grown out of his/her clothes, then freecycle them. Maybe you are cleaning house and have working kitchen appliances you no longer use, then freecycle it.

Ask for Free Stuff too.

You can also request items. Very often there is something you need and it’s been collecting dust in someones basement, so create a “Wanted” posting to the group, you just might be happily surprised.

See if there is a Freecycle Group in your area.