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Fun Apps for Elders
Tech Support

Fun Apps for Elders

by Jeff Dailey
written by Jeff Dailey

Not Just for Calls: Fun Apps to Get Seniors Familiar with Their Smartphones

The best thing about smartphones is that they aren’t just for making phone calls. There are tons of different things you can do on today’s mobile devices and learning how to use one can be a fun experience for seniors. Fun Apps for Elders
Oftentimes, seniors may not want to worry about learning new technologies, but smartphones are actually easy to learn and worth taking the time to do so. Not only can they help keep you in contact with your family, they can provide hours of entertainment. Here are a few apps that can help seniors learn about their smartphones. Fun Apps for Elders

Coloring Book for Me & Mandala

The main way the people interface with smartphones is through the touchscreen capabilities. Knowing where to touch and when to touch are important to know, and this coloring book app can help seniors learn the different touching techniques.
By using a coloring book, seniors can learn how to hone in on the areas they want to interact with. This will quickly teach them about the touch technology properties through trial and error while having a visible reward when they succeed.
The app has hundreds of colors and designs to choose from, so they will always have something new to color: everything from plants and animals to geometric designs like mandalas are available for free through the app. They can also share their creations with their family and friends through social media or email. A few praises from the people they care about can really go a long way in making seniors want to stay with a hobby. Fun Apps for Elders

Skype

Another prominent smartphone feature is cameras, which can be a little tricky to learn at first for some seniors. By using a face-to-face call service like Skype, seniors can quickly learn how to manipulate the cameras so they can talk to their family and friends.
Skype will show seniors how to use the forward-facing camera to have conversations over the phone as if they were in the same room as the person they are talking to. The app will show the other person on a large portion of the screen, while they will be able to see themselves in a small window at the bottom. This can help them familiarize themselves with the smartphone orientation and camera capabilities. Fun Apps for Elders

Games

There are too many games that seniors can enjoy on their smartphones to name any specific ones. If they browse the store, they will be sure to find one that appeals to them quickly.
After they learn the basics of the smartphone, they can play almost any game offered, whether it’s an old-school game like chess, checkers or even board games like Monopoly, or a new puzzle or mystery game, there are hundred — if not thousands — of games that seniors can enjoy when they want a little time alone.
Seniors may balk at the idea of having a smartphone, but these apps can really help them quickly learn how to use one.

Fun Apps for Elders

Fun Apps for Elders Fun Apps for Elders Fun Apps for Elders Fun Apps for Elders Fun Apps for Elders

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3 Ways Seniors Can Get More from their Smartphones
Tech Support

3 Ways Seniors Can Get More from their Smartphones

by Jeff Dailey
written by Jeff Dailey

With the rapid pace of new developments in smartphone technology, it can be hard to keep up with all the changes, especially if you grew up in an era when phones were attached to a cord. 3 Ways Seniors Can Get More from their Smartphones
Phones these days aren’t what they used to be — but that’s for the best, as smartphone technology can actually improve your life. Here are three easy ways that seniors can get more from smartphones:

  1. “Read” audiobooks.

Whether your hands are tied up gardening or cooking, or you simply want to give your eyes a rest, consider listening to books on your smartphone. You can purchase audiobooks a la carte or opt for a subscription plan, which offers deals, such as unlimited selections for a flat monthly fee.
Features like bookmarks and back buttons make it easy to “flip through” a digital audiobook.

  1. Use health apps to manage conditions.

Well-designed health apps can help patients manage their conditions. For example, ArthritisPower, a free app for patients with arthritis, allows users to track symptoms and treatment outcomes, and share the information with their doctors.
Created by CreakyJoints, a go-to resource for arthritis patients and their families, in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the app is also a data-gathering tool for researchers. Via informed consent, user data is helping researchers better understand how different treatments work for different people.
“One out of every five U.S. adults of all ages lives with doctor-diagnosed arthritis and it’s important that patients actively engage in managing their own treatment plan,” says Seth Ginsberg, President and Co-Founder of CreakyJoints and Principal Investigator of ArthritisPower.
To download the free app or learn more, visit arthritispower.org.

  1. Video chat with loved ones.

Talk and see grandkids and other far-flung friends and loved ones between visits with video chatting. It’s the perfect way to ensure you don’t miss important milestones.
Many such video communications services are free, even internationally, and can present affordable alternatives to placing long-distance calls on a landline.
Your smartphone is the world at your fingertips. Make great use of it.
– Courtesy of StatePoint Media
 

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Tech Support

Techboomers top 5 antivirus programs

by Steve Black
written by Steve Black

Viruses are some of the most common threats to computer security, so it’s essential to know how to defend your computer against them. A key tool in this fight is having the right antivirus program. But there are so many different brands of antivirus software out there, and not all of them are legitimate or efficient… so which is the right one to pick? In this article, we’ll explain what viruses and antivirus programs are, and list our top 5 picks for antivirus programs to shield your computer from infection. Techboomers top 5 antivirus programs

What is a computer virus?

A computer virus is a computer program that is (usually) intentionally designed to copy itself. This can happen independently (i.e. a “worm”), or it may be triggered when another program on your computer is run, or a file on your computer is opened. Copying itself may be all that the virus does, which can slow down your computer’s processing speed and take up memory space. Nastier viruses can replace or erase other files on your computer, or disable its security systems so that hackers or other viruses can get in.

What is an antivirus program?

An antivirus program is a program developed to watch other programs or files on your computer for certain patterns of code that are identical or similar to those of known viruses, or that do things characteristic of viruses. It then isolates the infected file(s) and attempts to remove the virus program, or delete the file(s) along with the virus if they have been too heavily overwritten or damaged. The exact order and extent of these actions may be different, depending on how an antivirus program is set up.

So, which antivirus program is right for me?

Ah, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? There are lots of options out there, some of which are free to use, and others that you have to pay some sort of subscription to use. Many offer a “freemium” model, where you can use them for free, but have to pay a subscription fee if you want extra features like identity protection or computer tune-ups. Here are five of the brands that we’ve heard the best things about.
Avira_logo_2014.svg A German-based Internet security company, Avira has some of the best free antivirus software, and its paid antivirus software is good, too. Avira antivirus software is notable for using cloud computing (click here to read our What is The Cloud article for more on cloud computing) to speed up scans and not take up as much memory or processing power on the computer that it’s installed on. The free version comes with just antivirus and antispyware capabilities. The paid upgrade includes an email scanner, network file scanner, an additional web browsing protection system, and a feature that puts notifications on hold when you’re playing a game or watching a movie on your computer.
287px-Avast-2010-Logo.svg
 
 
Named after the nautical term for “stop”, this company based in the Czech Republic is notable for having some of the best free antivirus software around. In addition to antivirus and antispyware functions, its other features include a web browser add-on to keep Internet programs from tracking your actions, a virtual backup disk for your computer, and even a system that helps you update any program on your computer! Its paid version has anti-spam tools and a “firewall” for controlling what programs can access the Internet from your computer, and vice-versa. But if you don’t mind the advertisements and newsletters in your email, Avast offers great protection for free.
250px-Kaspersky_Lab_logo.svg
 
A company formed by Russian computer security expert Eugene Kaspersky (and his ex-wife Natalya), Kaspersky Lab has earned high marks for its antivirus software from independent testers. Its free programs offer good protection from viruses and malware, and some phishing scams. Its paid subscription services, however, are what have really garnered attention, offering advanced forms of spyware protection, filtering of spam emails and online advertisements, and a “firewall” that controls the activities and permissions of certain programs. It has lost marks for its software being somewhat large and slowing down computers a bit, but it’s definitely one of the safest options around.
Bitdefender_dragon_wolf
 
 
Based in Romania, BitDefender has some of the best antivirus software out there today. It’s quick to install, easy to use (with a minimal interface and many “set and forget” functions), and provides good protection against many types of viruses and malware. Some of its primary features (which may require a paid upgrade) include a spam filter for your email that learns patterns that are common in spam and phishing scams, a virtual environment to test programs for malware-like functions, and continuous monitoring of programs to see if they start acting like viruses or spyware. Most of BitDefender’s praise has gone towards its paid services, though its free ones are said to be pretty good, too.
Trend_Micro_red_t-ball_logo
 
 
Another trusted name in Internet security, Trend Micro antivirus software includes several computer protection features. These include virus and spyware scanners and blockers, a hyperlink scanner (to identify hyperlinks that download dangerous files or take you to dangerous websites), an email scanner to block spam and phishing scam attempts, and a system that warns you when you’re about to visit a dangerous website. The downside is that most of its core options require a paid subscription, but it does offer some free peripheral computer security tools as well.
Antivirus program descriptions source: Best Free (and Paid) Antivirus Software Solutions by TechBoomers.com
Consider switching to one of these antivirus programs to better protect your computer today! Or, if there’s another brand of antivirus software that you trust, then let us know about it. Above all, stay vigilant and stay safe on the Internet!
For more tutorials about Antivirus software and other important Internet safety topics, click here check out TechBoomers.com’s detailed Internet Safety course. Techboomers top 5 antivirus programs

Techboomers top 5 antivirus programs

Techboomers top 5 antivirus programs

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How to use Paypal
Tech Support

How to use Paypal

by Steve Black
written by Steve Black

At Techboomers, one of the most common security questions that we get from our users is with respect to websites that require you to pay for something: “is it safe to put my credit card details into this website?” Often, the answer is “yes”, but some people are still a little uncomfortable with entering their credit card details into every single website that requires payment, either for a subscription to a service or an item that they want to buy from someone. And with all of the horror stories about how permanent information on the Internet is, and how often others try to steal it (and sometimes succeed), we totally understand that. How to use Paypal
That’s where a website like PayPal.com is useful. Just enter a few of your personal and financial details into PayPal, and you can use it as a payment method on millions of websites across the Internet! And here’s the kicker: you don’t have to reveal your credit card details to any of those websites. That’s right; authorization of your PayPal account is all that you need to seal the deal! How to use Paypal

So what exactly is PayPal? How to use Paypal

PayPal is a financial tool that lets you conduct transactions online without entering your financial details into every website you deal with. Link your credit card and/or bank account to PayPal, and then add to (or withdraw from) a secure money pool, shop at retailers who accept PayPal, or send money to other PayPal users.

How does PayPal work? 5 key ways to use PayPal

1. Pay from your credit card or bank account

When you sign up for PayPal, you can link your credit card account, your bank account, or both to your PayPal account. That way, when you pay for something using PayPal, you get to choose where the money comes from!

2. Create a secure pool of money How to use Paypal

You can transfer money from your bank account to your PayPal account. That way, when you want to send money or pay for something with PayPal, you can just use the money in your PayPal account. You don’t have to involve your credit card or bank account details at all in the transaction!
 

3. Draw money from your PayPal account when you need it

If you need to make a purchase that can’t be completed with PayPal, don’t sweat it! PayPal allows you to easily transfer money back into your bank account from your semi-anonymous pool on PayPal if liquid cash would be more useful to you in a certain situation.
 

4. Seamless online shopping through PayPal

Millions of websites accept PayPal as payment, and shopping with PayPal is a snap! When you go to check out, simply select PayPal as your payment type, log into your PayPal account, and select where you want the money to come from: your bank account, your credit card, or your balance on PayPal. No credit card details required!

5. Transfer money quickly and easily to other PayPal users

If your friends or family members use PayPal, too, then you can send them money when they need it with just a few quick clicks! Just type in their email address or phone number, choose how much money you want to give them (and in what currency), write them a note if you want, select where the money’s going to come from — your credit card, your bank account, or your PayPal balance — and send your gift off!
 

 
That’s an introduction to what PayPal is and what it does! Throughout our PayPal course, we’ll teach you everything you need to know to make PayPal your best friend when it comes to transferring money online. We’ll show you how to sign up for a PayPal account, transfer money to your PayPal account, use your PayPal account for online purchases, and do all this and more as safely as possible. Let us be your guide for using PayPal to move money online safely and quickly!

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Tech Support

Eliminate your Long Distance Phone Bill with Skype

by Steve Black
written by Steve Black

Hi everyone! Corbin from Techboomers here again to get you started with another great Internet service: Skype! Skype is a bit different from the websites that we’ve covered so far in that the website is by-and-large just a means to get the really useful part of Skype: the Skype program, which you can download and then install on your computer. Once you do so, you can use the Skype program to communicate with other people over the Internet in various ways. Send instant text messages back and forth, or swap computer files, for example. Want to make things a little more personal? Skype lets you have a phone call with someone, or (if your computer has a “webcam” attached or built in) even a live face-to-face video chat! Eliminate your Long Distance Phone Bill with Skype
To get started with Skype, we’ll go over three basic topics: how much Skype costs, how to download and install the Skype program, and how to create a Skype account.Skype
Is Skype free?
Skype is free to use as long as you use it to communicate with another person who is also using Skype. You can use Skype to call or send text messages to people at their home or mobile phone numbers and vice-versa, or have Skype forward calls or text messages you receive on Skype to your home or mobile phone. However, these actions cost money or “Skype Credits” (a Skype-only currency that you can purchase), and how much they cost is generally determined by where messages are coming from or going to. For a more detailed breakdown, see this tutorial on Techboomers.com: Is Skype Free?.
Download and install the Skype program for Windows
If Skype sounds like something that you want to use, you’ll have to download the program first. Go to www.skype.com and click “Get Skype” in the top-right corner. From there, choose “Computer”, and then click “Get Skype for Windows Desktop”.
Skype1
A download prompt will appear; simply click “Save File” and choose where on your device you want to save the installer. Once the installer downloads, find where you saved it on your device, and open it. Here, you can choose what language Skype will display in, as well as whether or not it will automatically launch when you boot up your computer.
Click “I Agree – Next” to continue to the next page, where you can then decide whether or not you want to install Skype Click to Call. This is a service that lets you call phone numbers that you find on the Internet instantly with Skype, though it’s kind of clunky and not always reliable, so you should probably just deselect it.
Clicking “Continue” will take you to the next page, where you can decide whether or not you want to make MSN (Microsoft Networks) your home page when you start up your Internet browser. If you like your home page the way that it is, then deselect this option, and click “Continue”.
The Skype program will install, and then start automatically. Congrats! Not that far to go to start using Skype now!
(If you’d like to see a more detailed explanation of the process, illustrated by pictures, we have a How to Download and Install Skype tutorial on Techboomers.com that you can read.)
Create a Skype account
Once you have the Skype program up and running, the next step is to create a Skype account. This lets other people find and contact you on Skype, and vice-versa. With the Skype program open, click “Create an Account” at the bottom of the screen.
skype2
On the next screen, fill in your first name, last name, your email address, a copy of your email address, your country, and the language that you primarily use. Further down the page, pick a Skype Name (i.e. a name that you want to use to identify yourself with on Skype), choose a password for your account, and then type in a second copy of that password. Finally, where it says “Type the Text Above Here”, fill in the letters and/or numbers that you see in the distorted picture above to complete a security check. You can fill in any other details (such as your birthday, gender, home city, or mobile phone number) if you wish, and then click “I Agree – Continue”.
That’s it! Your Skype account is ready to go!
(Again, if you’d like more detailed instructions supported by pictures, then see our How to Create a Skype Account tutorial at Techboomers.com.)
From here, all you have to do is find other people you know who use Skype, and then add them as contacts. Then you can start swapping messages, computer files, phone calls, and even video chats over Skype… all for free! To learn how, check out the rest of our Skype tutorials on Techboomers.com!

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5 Tips That Will Improve Your Use of Gmail
Tech Support

5 Tips That Will Improve Your Use of Gmail

by Kimberly Johnson
written by Kimberly Johnson

Gmail is the most used and many including myself consider it the best free email service today but are you aware of some of these ways shown below that can help you to better use it? 5 Tips That Will Improve Your Use of Gmail
1. Multiple Inboxes – Do you have more than 1 email? Do you have an email for work and one for personal use? You don’t have to log into each account individually to get email for it. With your selected email account you also can send and receive email for up to 5 additional email accounts. So with your personal account you also can send and receive email from your business account. Go to the “Accounts and Import” tab in “Settings”
2. Check Out Email Labs. In the “Labs” tab in “Settings” is Google’s testing ground (as they describe it) for features that are shall we say “pilot features”. These can change, break or be discontinued anytime but while they are available you want to take advantage of them. They also could become standard down the road. This could take years however.
3. Create another email address with a dot – this is not nearly as complicated as it sounds. By inserting or deleting a dot between any characters in your email address, you create another email address. It will still go to your same email account. This is because Gmail does not recognize dots as characters in an email address. Mike123456@gmail.com is the same as Mike.123456@gmail.com and Mike.1.2.3.4.5.6@gmail.com. This is a good way to organize email. One friend has your email address at Mike123456@gmail.com and another has it as Mike123.456@gmail.com. All of these will go to the same inbox. I can filter my email according the email address used. Further if you subscribe to an email list, you can use a variation of yours using dots to see who is sending your email to a spammer. If you get other email sent to that address, you know who is giving them the address.
4. Use Gmail shortcuts – like Windows, Gmail has shortcuts for you to get the task done faster. From any screen in Gmail press the “?” key. You will then see a list of all shortcuts you can use in Gmail.
5. Block Users – Tired of getting email from someone you asked not to send you email, or mail from a store that you have not used in a year? With Gmail you can block them. Next to the reply arrow is a drop-down arrow. Click on it and where it says “Block…” (… being the name of the sender) click “Block…” and then confirm that you wish to block it. You will no longer see emails from them in your inbox. It will instead go to your “Spam” folder.
These are just 5 ways to improve your Gmail experience. What Gmail tips and tricks are you using?
By Mike Klubok
Mike@computerconciergeny.com
5 Tips That Will Improve Your Use of Gmail 5 Tips That Will Improve Your Use of Gmail

5 Tips That Will Improve Your Use of Gmail

5 Tips That Will Improve Your Use of Gmail

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Tech Support

Teaching Seniors Pinterest

by Steve Black
written by Steve Black

Have you ever kept a collection of interesting things in a scrapbook, on a bulletin board, or perhaps on your fridge door? Pictures of friends or loved ones? Drawings or school assignments that your children or grandchildren did? Inspirational quotes or sayings? Newspaper clippings of stories that hit close to home? Pinterest.com is like the Internet’s version of that.
Pinterest is what is known as a “visual bookmarking tool”. A bookmark helps you remember what page you were on when you put a book down, so you can pick it up again and continue from the same spot, right? Similarly, your Internet browser also has a “bookmark” function that lets you tell it to remember important or favourite web pages, so you can get back to them quickly if you need or want to. Pinterest takes the principle even further by letting you store collections of web pages that you find, computer files that you upload, or even things that other people have bookmarked on Pinterest!
The “visual” part of the name refers to the fact that bookmarks on Pinterest have to be — or be accompanied by — a picture, animation, or video. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes!

So what is Pinterest, in a nutshell?

Pinterest is a website that lets you find, collect, and organize interesting image-based things that you find on the Internet, find on Pinterest itself, or put on Pinterest yourself. It does this through a series of user-created categories, called “boards”, and a series of visual bookmarks, known as “pins”.
Pins on Pinterest can be all sorts of picture-based elements: photos, drawings, videos, animations, Internet links… some will even show you the location that they depict on a map! And boards on Pinterest are used for all sorts of different topics, as we’ll demonstrate below.

Why use Pinterest?

People use Pinterest for all sorts of different reasons:

  • Some use it to show off things that they like.
    Teaching Seniors Pinterest
  • Some use it to find inspiration for art or decorating.
    Teaching Seniors Pinterest
  • Some use it to help them find delicious and nutritious recipes.
    Teaching Seniors Pinterest
  • Some use it to discover exotic travel destinations.
    Teaching Seniors Pinterest
  • Some people use it just to see something that will make them laugh.
    Teaching Seniors Pinterest
  • Businesses can even use Pinterest to advertise themselves and reach out to potential customers.
    Teaching Seniors Pinterest

How Pinterest works: 4 steps to using Pinterest

1. Sign up for Pinterest, and let it know what you would like to see

Creating a Pinterest account is fast, easy, and free! Just enter your name, age, gender, and email address, and pick a password (or sign up with your Facebook account instead). Then, pick at least four categories of stuff that you’re interested in. This will help Pinterest show you some neat bookmarks right off the bat to get your inspiration going!
Teaching Seniors Pinterest

2. Create your own custom Pinterest “boards” to organize your “pins”.

Before you make any bookmarks on Pinterest, you have to have places to put them! You can create categories — or “boards” — to store your bookmarks in. Give one a title and a description, and then file it under one of Pinterest’s pre-set topics so that it’s easier to find. You can even add map locations to your bookmarks for a board, get other people to add their own bookmarks to a board, or make a board private so that only certain people can see it or add to it.
Teaching Seniors Pinterest

3. Add “pins” to your “boards” from websites, other users on Pinterest, or files on your computer

Once you have some “boards” to store your bookmarks on, it’s time to start making your bookmarks — the “pins”! If you have a photo, video, or animation file on your computer, you can upload it to Pinterest and make a pin out of that. Or, if you see a pin that you like posted by somebody else on Pinterest, you can copy it to one of your boards. And there are many websites with built-in functions that allow you to quickly and easily turn their content into pins for Pinterest!
Teaching Seniors Pinterest

4. Connect with friends by linking your Pinterest account to other social networks.

Your Pinterest account can be connected to your accounts on other social media websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. By doing so, you can find your friends who are already on Pinterest, and share pins or collaborate on boards together. You can even go the other way and share the things that you find on Pinterest with your other social networks!
Teaching Seniors Pinterest
As you can see, Pinterest is both a way to collect interesting things to look at, as well as a social network with which to share and work together with friends (both old and new). Best of all, it’s safe, easy to use, and absolutely free! Our Pinterest course will show you how to use the website by setting up an account and getting inspired about things to collect, creating different types of boards, creating pins in different ways, and searching and adjusting your settings. Your free Internet scrapbook is waiting… what memories will you keep — or make — on Pinterest?

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What is Etsy and how does it work?
Tech Support

What is Etsy and how does it work?

by Steve Black
written by Steve Black

Sometimes, not everything you want can be found in a retail superstore. Items go out of production and disappear from shelves, and become rare items sought after by collectors. Other products never touch store shelves in the first place, and are instead created and sold by local vendors at flea markets and craft fairs. But those kinds of events usually aren’t held every day, and it can be tough to find time to make it out to one. What is Etsy and how does it work?
If you’re looking for a convenient place to shop retro, rustic, or both, it’s time you met Etsy.com. What is Etsy and how does it work? What is Etsy and how does it work?

So what exactly is Etsy?

Etsy is an online marketplace emphasizing people, communities, and creativity. It allows you to search for and buy vintage products and unique arts and crafts that are difficult to find anywhere else. Almost everything on Etsy is made and/or sold by people like you (and perhaps their small businesses). What is Etsy and how does it work?

Why use Etsy?

Express yourself by buying unique creations — Etsy’s “Handmade” section is full of original merchandise designed by the people who sell it. Toys, clothing, jewellery, home decor… there are plenty of wares to discover!
What is Etsy and how does it work?
Collect treasures from the past — Etsy’s “Vintage” section contains items that are at least 20 years old. If you’re into gathering antiques, memorabilia, or things that you just can’t find on store shelves anymore, you might hit the jackpot here.
browsing-vintage-items-on-etsy-2
Give the gift of choice — If you want to buy a unique present for someone but can’t figure out what they want, buy them an Etsy Gift Card instead! The perfect gift is the one they pick themselves!
What is Etsy and how does it work?
Find handmade or vintage stuff near you — You can use Etsy find craft fairs and other events where handmade goods and other antiques will be sold, so you can know where to go to support artists and artisans in your local area. You can also visit events and workshops put on by Etsy, too.
communicating-with-eharmony-matches-4
Put your artistic passion to work — If you’re an artist or artisan yourself, Etsy can help you sell the things that you make. Why just peddle in your local community? There are people on Etsy from all over the world who might want what you make as a must-have accessory, the perfect piece of home decor, or an original gift idea!

How Etsy Works: Things you can do as a buyer, seller, or either

You can use Etsy to buy handmade or vintage goods from people who have signed up on Etsy to sell them. You can also join Etsy as a seller and use it to hawk your handmade or vintage wares. Etsy can also be used to find local craft sales, or to get advice on how to buy or sell handmade or vintage items.
What is Etsy and how does it work?
Etsy doesn’t sell anything themselves; they do the “middleman” work, like taking care of the paperwork between buyers and sellers, as well as organizing events to get buyers and sellers together in real life. Therefore, most of the people who use Etsy are either buyers or sellers.

Using Etsy as a buyer

Buyers on Etsy may be looking for handmade goods to create or complement their own unique fashion or home decor style, or as an original gift idea. Or maybe they just want to support small-scale artists and craftspeople in their neighbourhood and around the globe, as opposed to big corporations. Those looking for vintage merchandise may also be doing so for fashion or decor reasons, or they may be collectors looking to show off rare and valuable items that are difficult to find nowadays.
As a buyer on Etsy, you can do things such as:

  • Decide whether you want to look for “handmade” items, “vintage” items, or both
  • Browse or search through categories such as clothing, toys, accessories, jewellery, home decor, craft supplies, and more
  • Add items to lists, or to your “favourites”
  • Ask sellers about their items or their selling policies
  • Leave reviews of items that you’ve purchased and received
  • Find local events that sellers on Etsy will be attending

 
For more information and specific instructions, see our How to Buy on Etsy tutorial.

Using Etsy as a seller

Sellers on Etsy may be looking to make a bit of money on the side with things that they create as a hobby. For some professional artists and craftspeople, though, Etsy is the selling platform for their small business; it’s how they make their living. And some Etsy sellers might just be trying to clear out old memorabilia found around the house, and see if it’s worth anything to collectors.
As a seller on Etsy, you can do things such as:

  • Set up a free shop
  • List items on Etsy, either publicly or privately
  • Buy shipping labels for Canada Post or the United States Postal Service
  • Advertise on Etsy, so your shop and items show up more frequently when people browse or search for things on Etsy
  • Partner with a wholesale company to help create your items faster and in greater numbers
  • Register for an Etsy Event to learn how to create items or manage your shop better

For more information, see our How to Sell on Etsy tutorial.

Things that anyone on Etsy can do

Whether you’re a buyer or a seller on Etsy, you can also:

  • Hop on Etsy’s forums and discuss your top shopping tips, how to get your merchandise cleared out, your favourite shops, things you’d like to see improved with the website, or anything else you want to talk about.
  • Check out Etsy’s blog, where you can read the latest news and advice about Etsy from the people who run it. You can even add your voice to the discussion.
  • Join a “team” on Etsy. Etsy Teams are basically groups of people who share common interests, such as the types of items they sell, the types of materials that they like to use to create their items, or the types of items that they like to buy. Some groups are open for almost anyone to join, while others have strict guidelines, and may require an application to join. Share your top tips for getting a business running with your teammates, or point them to shops that have the best merchandise that you’re looking for!

Etsy is one of the most popular specialty shopping websites on the Internet, whether you’re a buyer looking for unique creations or rare collectibles, or a seller looking to make some money off of your hobby crafts or memorabilia lying around the house. The rest of our Etsy course will go over the basics of what you need to know to use Etsy. These include how to create an account, how to search for and buy items, how to use coupons to reduce the prices of your purchases, how to track your purchases, how to write a review of a seller, and how to get in touch with Etsy customer service if you need help. If you’re looking for a popular shop that carries items hard to come by anywhere else, Etsy is the place to be!

What is Etsy and how does it work?

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How to Manage Your Passwords
Tech Support

How to Manage Your Passwords

by Steve Black
written by Steve Black

Yesterday we taught you how to make a strong password and avoid a weak one. To support these essential skills, we’re now going to go over some general strategies of how to keep your passwords in order and get the most security possible out of them. How to Manage Your Passwords

Tips for managing your passwords

1. Use some sort of memory trick to remember your passwords.

In the last tip for our How to Make a Strong Password tutorial, we suggested starting with a memorable (but uncommon) phrase, writing down the first letter of each word, and then substituting numbers and symbols based on sounds and shapes. This would result in a strong password that was easier to remember. While it’s probably simpler to work from the ground up like this, you may be able to remember a complex password that you build from the top-down by using the other tips in that article. How to Manage Your Passwords
For example, “gh$nd4B&8xq%” might be remembered by sounding out some of the letters, numbers, or letters that look similar to symbols. You might come out with something like “ghost and four Band-Aid execute”. Okay, that sentence doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but hopefully you get the idea of how you can sound out what a password looks like in order to develop a memory trick.

2. If it’s easiest for you, write your passwords — or better yet, just clues about them — down.

We realize that memory tricks might not be for everyone. The simpler thing to do, if you need help remembering your passwords, might be to write your passwords down. Even if you do use memory tricks, you might want to write those down, too, just so you can remember them.
If you’re going to write your passwords (or memory tricks) down in order to remember them, don’t do so right on your computer or other digital device. If a hacker installs a spyware program or otherwise takes control of your computer, they might be able to find all of your passwords and use them to break into all of your Internet accounts.
Instead, the best idea is to write your passwords down on a physical piece of paper, or in some sort of address book or diary. Make sure that you store your list of passwords in a secure place, where only you know where it is and/or can get at it.
If you’re able to use memory tricks effectively, write them down instead of your actual passwords. That way, if someone else finds your list, they will have to figure out how your memory tricks work in order learn your passwords, instead of having them spelled out in plain view.

3. Don’t use the same password(s) for multiple websites.

“Remembering all of these passwords is hard!” we hear you say. “Can’t I just make things easy on myself by using a few strong passwords that I know off by heart for all of my accounts?”
While you might be able to get away with this, depending on how strong your passwords are, know that you’re generally taking a large (and rather unnecessary) risk by doing so. The reason for this should be obvious: if a hacker manages to break the password on one of your accounts, then they don’t have to do any extra work in order to break into any other of your accounts that share the same password.
It may be tedious and time-consuming, but the best way to make sure that your Internet accounts stay secure is to use a different password for each of them. This ensures that if a hacker breaks into one of your accounts, you will not have made it easy for them to break into any others.

4. Change your passwords occasionally.

Even if you use strong passwords, hackers and malicious programs can pick away at them and try to figure them out over time. Therefore, another good way to keep your passwords secure is to change them occasionally, perhaps every three months or so. This undoes any progress that troublemakers may have made at cracking your passwords, ensuring that you always stay one step ahead of them.

5. If you think an account has been hacked, try resetting its password.

As we noted in our How to Reset Your Password tutorial, resetting your password for one of your Internet accounts is a strategy that you can use if you think that someone knows how to get into that account without your permission. As an added bonus, some websites (such as Facebook) will kick out anyone who happens to be using your account when you reset your password, so you may be able to turn the tables on an intruder.
If you wish to reset the password for an account because you think someone has hacked into it, one suggestion that we’ll make is to do so from someone else’s computer. The reason for this is because if someone hacks one of your accounts, they may have also hacked into your computer (or they may at least be able to access the information necessary to do so). Therefore, if you try to reset your password from your own computer, the hacker may be able to manipulate your computer’s actions in order to block your attempts, or even lock you out of your computer.
A final tip that we’ll give for remembering your passwords and keeping them secure is to use a password manager. We’ll get into what these are and how to use them in the next few tutorials in this course.

How to Manage Your Passwords

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