Green's Help and Hint's thread for new sweepers!!

[greensthings]

If you have any questions for me please feel free to ask them here!
I can help with Graphics, computer problems, sweeping hints etc, so don't be shy! the first half of this thread will deal with computer programs and stuff, the second half is sweeping hints and tricks!

I will start off this thread by showing you how to put a picture into your posts!
1. First you will need to have pictures saved on your computer (a great place to find pictures is to use google picture search function http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi&q= ), and when you find a picture you like, right click on it and "save" to your "My Pictures" folder in "My Documents"
2. go to www.imageshack.us and upload a picture from your computer (you do this by hitting the "browse" button) when you have found the picture you want to use, click the "host it" button (imageshack also has a cool resize feature that allows you to make you picture any size you need)
3. after you selected the picture you want to upload from your computer, at the bottom of of the imageshack page is a button that says "host it", by clicking this button (and waiting) imageshack will open up the page with all the html coding you will need to copy
4. when it is done uploading a new page will open up. on this page you will see several lines of HTML coding. look for the one that says "Hotlink for forums (1)" you will want to copy the entire line.
5. paste that line into your message reply box here at SweepsAdvantage (it will look like [URL =http://imageshack.us]

[/URL]
6. hit your submit button and that code will now change to look like this;

 

[greensthings]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

for emails:
I reccomend eprompter, it is a free email text reader.
a description from the eprompter website;

ePrompter automatically and simultaneously checks and retrieves your email messages from up to sixteen password protected email accounts AND lets you read, delete and respond to any of your messages with a simple click on the account of your choice - without ever having to launch your email program or go to your webmail's site. Importantly, when ePrompter retrieves messages, it leaves the original messages on your various email accounts' servers and/or webmail sites.

ePrompter works with AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, POP3, Earthlink, Excite, iName, Juno, Lycos, Mail.com, Mindspring, MSN, MyWay, Netscape, OneBox, Rediffmail, SBC Yahoo, Switchboard, USA.net and hundreds of other email domains.

ePrompter notifies you which accounts have new messages and how many new messages you have in each account, once new messages have been retrieved.

ePrompter lets you forward and reply back through the account that your messages were retrieved from. You can also send original messages through any account that you have working on your ePrompter without ever having to launch your email program or go to your webmail's site. It also features an address book.

ePrompter let's you delete unwanted spam or suspicious looking mail - the kind that might contain viruses - again without having to launch your email program or go to your webmail's site.

ePrompter notification features include a unique rotating tray icon, the main ePrompter screen, audio alerts for new messages, and a choice of five unique screensavers that let you know at a glance the number of new messages in each account.

ePrompter is so easy to set up and use, you'll have it up and running in minutes. One of our loyal ePrompter users, Sam McCord, put together this demo that shows just how easy it is to set up and use ePrompter. (This may take a minute or so to load). http://www.eprompter.com/eprompter-demo/eprompter.html

you can download ePrompter here http://www.eprompter.com/download.htm (click on the red Cnet icon)

 

[greensthings]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

Protecting your computer from virus's and hackers and running FAST! (All programs I have listed are FREE);

the best is FREE..for virus protection
Avast is FREE at www.avast.com/i_idt_153.html Better than Norton, Mcafee and AVG all put together. No 30 day trial..this is 100% FREE Freeware avast! 4 Home Edition
avast! 4 Home Edition is a full-featured antivirus package designed exclusively for home users. Our company offers Home Edition free of charge, since in our opinion, it is possible to avoid global virus spreading by efficient prevention; however, many user are not able or do not want to pay for antivirus software. This page will show you the most important features of this program.

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for one the best Firewalls around is sygate..also FREE at http://smb.sygate.com/products/spf_standard.htm also better than zone alarm, black ice, nortons all put together. no 30 day trial..100% free for home use.
Protects against Trojans, spyware, worms and other known & unknown threats
Prevents unauthorized or malicious applications from bypassing the firewall
Enables even inexperienced users to easily customize and fine-tune security policies
Provides best of breed evidence logs for intrusion analysis
Easiest-to-use PC firewall and still free for personal/home use

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For those of you that might be interested,esp since xp service pack 2 causes some problems with certain firewalls, so you might wanna check out sharepoints free personal firewall
http://usa-01.securepoint.de/securepoint_pcfirewall_setup_3.6.exe

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To get rid of spyware;
Best Free Adware/Spyware/Scumware Remover
If you are using Windows XP SP2 my top recommendation is Microsoft's just-released Windows Defender program [1] which is currently available as a free beta. Defender is the latest re-incarnation of the excellent Giant Antispyware product that Microsoft purchased late in 2004. I'm still in the process of testing Windows Defender but the early indications are very favorable. It's a notch or two better than its immediate predecessor Microsoft Antispyware, itself a very capable performer. Importantly, it appears to have the best protective capability of any of the free anti-spyware products. I tried it on several drive-by download sites and Windows Defender's multiple real time monitors provided effective (though not watertight) defense. It appears to be a little vulnerable to polymorphic trojans in particular and for this reason I suggest it should be used in combination with regular on-demand scans from the free Ewido anti-trojan program. Note that you need a legal version of Windows XP SP2 to run this program. I've been told cracked versions of Defender that will run on any XP SP2 PC are currently circulating on the P2P networks but I'd approach those with caution. The idea of a cracked security program strikes me as an oxymoron.

For Windows 9x and ME users I suggest two free products: Ad-Aware SE V1.6 [2] and SpyBot Search and Destroy V1.4 [3]. Both work well together and between them you'll get excellent protection. If you have a relatively fast PC, I suggest you turn on the TeaTimer option when you install SpyBot. It will give you reasonable active protection but at the cost of eating up some of your processing power. The active protection offered by TeaTimer is not as comprehensive as the Microsoft product but Internet Explorer users can augment it by using SpywareBlaster
[1] http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=435bfce7-da2b-4a6a-afa4-f7f14e605a0d ( 6.4MB)
[2] http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ (2.7MB)
[3] http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html (4.8MB)
[4] http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html (2.45MB )
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http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Best/xp-free-defrag.html
Fast Defrag is a tool that can free and optimise RAM (Random Access Memory) and the swap-file usage. It features with one of the powerful engine ever released and uses very low system resources (less than 1%) Defragging your computer on a regular basis will keep your computer running fast!
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Free disk space, make your computer run better/faster and protect your privacy - all in one easy solution. All for free!
Introducing Windows CleanUp!, the quickest and easiest way to delete temporary files from your system.

CleanUp! is a powerful and easy-to-use application that removes temporary files created while surfing the web, empties the Recycle Bin, deletes files from your temporary folders and more.

CleanUp! frees disk space and reduces the "clutter" on your computer helping it to run more efficiently. It also can be used as a way to protect your privacy on the Internet. You can even instruct CleanUp! to securely delete files making it impossible to retrieve their contents using lower-level disk tools - just another way of protecting your privacy.

No gimmicks here, CleanUp! is so easy to set up and use that you'll have a lean, clean, mean machine in minutes.

download here http://www.stevengould.org/software/cleanup/download.html
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Best Free Web Browser
Internet Explorer (IE) is a competent browser but it has become such a target for malicious exploits that it is now a major security risk. Quite separately, the browser itself is now looking dated with most alternative products offering tabbed browsing and other productivity enhancements.

There are several excellent alternatives with Mozilla Firefox [1] the stand-out pick. It's safer than IE, so safe in fact that many users have reported no spyware infections since they started using the product. It's also browses faster than IE, is very stable and is fully standards compliant. It loads a little slower than IE but once running, it positively zips along. With tabbed browsing and over 600 free extensions that allow you to customize your experience, it provides most users with a major surfing upgrade. Firefox is now my everyday browser though I still leave IE on my PC for the occasional web site that's designed around IE's non-standard features.

If you don't like Firefox then you should check out Opera [3]. It's always been a fast and full featured browser but until recently was only available as shareware or in advertising-supported versions. Now though, it's free. There's much to like about Opera but I do miss all those Firefox extensions.

Users who don't want to drift too far from the Microsoft stable can get some of the advantages of Firefox and Opera by using one of the many customized shells for Internet Explorer. These offer tabbed browsing and many other features missing in IE. On the downside they share most of the same security problems as IE as they utilize the IE engine.

The IE shell that I like most is a freeware product called Maxthon [4] . After using Maxthon for a while, Internet Explorer seems totally out-of-date and painfully cumbersome. Don't expect a lot of documentation though but if you read the FAQ [5] you'll have no problems. Some folks prefer the free Avant browser [6] to Maxthon. It's a close call; Avant has a cleaner look while Maxthon has more features. In the last analysis it's Maxthon's ability to accept Internet Explorer plug-ins that put it a nose in front.

Last but not least is the K-Meleon browser [7], a slimmed down cousin of Firefox that's optimized for Windows. Of the four browsers I use regularly, K-Meleon is the quickest loading and along with Opera, the fastest for surfing. On the downside there are only a limited number of add-ons and plug-ins available so you are pretty well limited to
the features available in the standard product. If you are the type of person who prefers performance to bells and
whistles you should definitely try K-Meleon.

[1] http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/ (5.0MB)
[2] http://www.techsupportalert.com/firefox.htm
[3] http://www.opera.com/ (3.6MB)
[4] http://www.maxthon.com/en/index.htm (2.0MB)
[5] http://maxthon.cafedeux.com/faq/
[6] http://www.avantbrowser.com/ (1.4MB)
[7] http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/ (6MB)

 

[greensthings]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

Best Free Browser Protection Utility
There's a scumware plague at the moment. All it takes is a visit to a pushy web site or a loaded shareware install and next minute your Internet Explorer homepage has been changed, your default search setting altered, unwanted ads pop up on your screen and worse. You can help protect Internet Explorer against these attacks by using SpywareBlaster [1]. It's is not a system scanner rather it is monitor that's designed to prevent an initial infection. It provides active protection for Internet Explorer users against thousands of malevolent products that use ActiveX based exploits and offers defenses against hostile sites and unwanted cookies as well. SpywareBlaster can be used with Firefox but there's not much point as Firefox doesn't need to be protected against ActiveX exploits. SpywareBlaster is free but the automatic update service costs $9.95 annually. A companion program to SpywareBlaster is SpywareGuard [2]. It is also a protective program that checks programs before they are run for malware behavior and also does some signature checking as well. However of late SpywareGuard seems to have been rather neglected with no new updates for more than a year so I can only give it a qualified recommendation. SpywareBlaster though, is a terrific product and a must-have for Internet Explorer users who also use the free version of Ad-Aware. If you are using Microsoft Antispyware, Ad-Aware Pro or other anti-spyware utility with a real-time monitor, you don't really need it.
[1] http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html (2.2MB)
[2] http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html (1.96MB)
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Best Free Trojan Scanner/Trojan Remover
Ewido is the best of a new crop of anti-Trojan programs. On my recent tests over at www.anti-trojan-software-reviews.com it emerged as was one of the few products that could reliably detect polymorphic and process injecting Trojans that were totally missed by anti-virus products like Norton and AVG. Unfortunately the free version of Ewido doesn’t have a memory monitor and this omission significantly reduces the level of active protection provided. However the on-demand scanner is excellent. I recommend that all average PC users who don't have an anti-trojan scanner download Ewido and scan their PCs weekly. I suspect you may be surprised at what you will find. Ewido is also pretty good at removing some spyware infections so bear that in mind next time you encounter a spyware product you can't remove with normal anti-spyware products like Ad-Aware. Note that Ewido only works with Windows 2000 and later so Win 9X users should consider the free version of a2 (a-squared) anti-trojan as an alternative. It's not quite as effective as Ewido but is still an excellent product. High risk PC users such as P2P file sharers and frequenters of hack sites, should however consider the industrial strength protection of Trojan Hunter or the full version of Ewido both of which offer the active protection they need. Note: The free version of Ewido is actually the same as the paid version but after 14 days the active protection (i.e. memory monitor) becomes non-functional.
http://www.ewido.net/en/ (2.2MB)
http://www.anti-trojan-software-reviews.com/review-ewido.htm <= review of Ewido
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Best Free Rootkit Scanner/Remover
Rootkits are a special kind of software tool used to hide trojans, viruses and other malware from your anti-virus scanner and other security products. Unfortunately, they are extremely effective which means that some of you reading this will be infected even though you believe your PC to be totally clean. Thankfully there is a new class of security product now available called rootkit detectors that use specialized techniques to detect these dangerous intruders.

Most of these detectors require quite a bit of technical skill to interpret the results but one of the simplest to use and most effective is also free. It's called BlackLight [1] and is currently available as a free beta from F-Secure until the 1st of May, 2006. I suggest everyone download this product and scan their PC. The chances of you being infected are small but for five minutes work it's not worth taking the risk.

A good second choice for experienced users is SysInternals RootkitRevealer [2]. It's a bit prone to false positives so take care before deleting items.

BlackLight and RootkitRevealer will detect most rootkits missed by AV scanners but can still be fooled by state-of-the-art rootkits like some of the custom versions of Hacker Defender.

To detect this and a few other insidious rootkits, you need heavier artillery. Currently the biggest gun in the rootkit detection war is a free Chinese product called IceSword. It's not really a detector like the other products rather it offers a set tools that will reveal the presence of a rootkit. These tools include a special process viewer, startup manager, port enumerator that are not fooled by rootkits. It's left to the user though, to interpret the results. In the hands of an skilled user, its an amazing tool but not much use to beginners. The Chinese download site [3] is very slow but David Wasson has provided a local mirror [4]. The reality is that at the present time full protection against rootkits may require the use of multiple products.
[1] http://www.f-secure.com/blacklight/cure.shtml (911KB)
[2] http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/RootkitRevealer.html (210KB)
[3] http://www.xfocus.net/tools/200509/IceSword_en1.12.rar <= slow Chinese site, 565KB
[4] http://tinyurl.com/ckqsn <= Local mirror for IceSword
[5] http://www.techsupportalert.com/rootkits.htm <= How to deal with the threat of rootkits

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Best Free Anonymous Surfing Service
There are lots of reasons folks have for wanting to surf anonymously, ranging from simple paranoia to possibly being murdered by a malevolent foreign government. Whatever the reasons, commercial services that offer anonymity are doing real well. However one of the best services JAP, is totally free. In fact JAP is perhaps a little too good. That's why the German Police insisted in 2004 that a backdoor be put into the product to allow interception of child pornographers. This was done but subsequently removed as a result of court action by JAP. An alternative to JAP is another system called Tor. It not only allows anonymous browsing but anonymous email, IM, and IRC chat as well. Given the US Navy origin of Tor, the suspicion arises that this system may indeed have a permanent backdoor. However the source code is now publicly available so that suspicion can be set aside. Whatever, both JAP and Tor offer a level of secrecy that is better than many commercial systems. However expect your surfing to slow down as you'll be relayed through a chain of servers. You'll also need to change your browser settings to work through a proxy. Note: the latest V5 release of JAP now allows Tor users to use JAP as a software access point.
http://anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/index_en.html
http://tor.eff.org/
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Best Free Software Suite
The Open CD site [1] offers for free a wonderful collection of just about every application software product you need to run a PC including the latest version of OpenOffice. Many of these freebies substitute admirably for expensive commercial products. There is Abi Word as an alternative for MS Word, OpenOffice for MS Office XP, Thunderbird for Outlook, The Gimp for Adobe Photoshop, 7-zip for WinZip and many more. If you then add to this collection some of the other utilities from my lists, you will have all the software you'll ever need without spending a cent. Note: All of the Open CD utilities can be downloaded for free as a CD ISO image. If you have a slow connection you can purchase the CD for a as little as $1.99. In addition to the Windows versions, the CD also contains the same collection of programs implemented under a version of Linux called Ubuntu that can be booted and run directly from the CD. That way you not only get to try all these great programs you can try Linux as well, without interfering in any way with your current Windows installation. Update: the folks at Ubuntu [2] are now giving away free CDs containing the latest version of Ubuntu Linux together with most of the programs on the Open CD. They will send you the full Ubuntu installation CDs plus a live CD where you can run Ubuntu directly from the CD. You can order as many CDs as you want and you don't even have to pay the mailing costs! When you get your CDs read this this simple introduction to Linux [3] before starting.
[1] http://theopencd.org
[2] http://www.ubuntu.com/download/support/documentation/faq/shipit/
[3] http://www.paulstamatiou.com/2005/10/24/how-to-ubuntu-linux-for-novices/
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Best Free Screen Capture Utility
Two recommendations here: The first is PrintScreen. It does exactly what I want, in the way I want and furthermore avoids the trap of providing lots of useless and confusing features. It's the little things that count like making the hot key PrtSc so I don't have to remember it, and automatically sequentially naming the output files for multiple screen shots. A second recommendation is Screen Hunter. It's a commercial product but the "lite" free version is excellent, offering more features than Gadwin at the cost of a little added complexity. Both products work with Win 98 and later.
http://www.gadwin.com/printscreen/?prnscr (976KB)
http://www.wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter.htm (381KB)
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Sweeping form filler;
RoboForm http://www.roboform.com/ (has a free and a paid version on the website...the only differance between the two is the limits that the free version puts on how many passcards, saved passwords, custom forms that you can save)
Roboform is the top-rated Password Manager and Web Form Filler that completely automates password entering and form filling.
RoboForm was named PC Magazine Editor's Choice, and CNET Download.com's Software of the Year. RoboForm:
Memorizes your passwords and Logs You In automatically.
Fills long registration and checkout forms with one click.
Encrypts your passwords to achieve complete security.
Generates random passwords that hackers cannot guess.
Fights Phishing by filling passwords only on matching web sites.
Defeats Keyloggers by not using keyboard to type passwords.
Backs up your passwords, Copies them between computers.
Synchronizes passwords between computers using GoodSync.
Searches for keywords in your passwords, notes and Internet.
Portable: Pass2Go RF runs from USB key, no install needed.
PDA-friendly: sync your passwords to Pocket PC and Palm.
Neutral: works with Internet Explorer, AOL/MSN, Firefox.

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Spell Check;
http://www.iespell.com/
ieSpell is a free Internet Explorer browser extension that spell checks text input boxes on a webpage. It should come in particularly handy for users who do a lot of web-based text entry (e.g. web mails, forums, blogs, diaries). Even if your web application already includes spell checking functionality, you might still want to install this utility because it is definitely much faster than a server-side solution. Plus you get to store and use your personal word list across all your applications, instead of maintaining separate ones on each application.

The program installs as a new button in the IE toolbar (as well as a new menu item under "Tools") - after filling in a form, just hit the ieSpell button and it pops up a dialog, similar to the MS Word spell check. ieSpell also works (right-click menu only) on other IE based browsers such as SlimBrowser, CrazyBrowser, MSN, MyIE, etc.

ieSpell is not spyware or adware. It's free for personal use only

Completely standalone spell checker for your web browser. Does not require Microsoft Office or any other third party components.
Integrates flawlessly with Internet Explorer and other IE based browsers.
Three ways to start the spell check; via the right click context menu, the toolbar or the menu bar.
Supports a wide range of web applications including simple text forms, rich text editors, forums, blogs, webmail (including Outlook Web Access and Lotus iNotes) and more!
Spell check in any of the 3 variants (US, UK and Canadian) of the English Language!
Suggestions are sorted by the degree of closeness with the misspelled word.
Intelligent suggesting for misspelled words using typographic “looks like” matching.
Easily add/remove your personal words in ieSpell via an intuitive user interface!
Organise your personal words in individual custom dictionaries! Share them with your friends and co-workers over the network!
Integrates with Microsoft Office's proofing tools. Have ieSpell share the same copy of the custom dictionary so that when you add/remove your personal words in ieSpell, the same is reflected in Microsoft Office and vice versa!
ieSpell suggested a word that you are not familiar with? Look up its meaning in an online dictionary!
Powerful API for web application developers.
Force users to spell check the document before submission.
Ignore certain text fields.
Refuse a form submission if the user cancels the spell check!

Download here; http://www.iespell.com/download.php

 

[pennymb]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

Really good info.
However Greenthings would you explain simply how to copy/paste.
Lots of people do not know how to do this.
I do since I spend many years doing data entry, word processing and testing and I know teach keyboarding (typing to us old folks, LOL). So that is one thing I really know how to do.

 

[pennymb]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

Me again!
What am I doing wrong?
I went to imageshack.
The upload button is checked, if I uncheck it then I don't get the browse button. So I left it checked, I clicked on browse found a picture, clicked open but then when I click on upload the url disappears.
am I supposed to sign up for imageschack or load it?

 

[greensthings]

Re: : Green's Help and Hint's thread

Good information to know! and it truly is very simple!!

How To Copy and Paste:
Take your mouse, and place your cursor at the beginning of the text you want to copy, then click and hold the left mouse button, while pulling your mouse over the text. This should highlight the text.
Now release the left mouse button.
Then, with the cursor over the highlighted text, right click the mouse for options, and select 'copy'.
To Paste, go to the page/document you want to information to appear,
Click once with your left mouse button to get the cursor in the right place then right click your mouse again, and select 'paste' and you will have copied and pasted the text.

Cut and paste is the same as above, except you choose 'cut', instead of 'copy'. If you want to move text from one place to another, highlight the text then hold down the Ctrl key and hit the letter "x". Click on the place you want to move it to, hold down the Ctrl key and hit the letter "v" to paste it in the new place.
(This cuts it from the original place, copies it to the invisible clipboard and then pastes it in the new place.)

Once you have this mastered, you can shorten the steps by using shortcuts!

Shortcuts
To Highlight: Press 'Ctrl' + 'A'.
To Copy: Highlight an area, as shown above, then hold 'Ctrl' + 'C' (For Mac users 'Apple' + 'C').
To Paste: Click your mouse where you want the text pasted, and then press 'Ctrl' + 'V' (For Mac users 'Apple' + 'S'.

The ability to cut, copy, and paste is found in most programs. Sometimes, the ability to do these tasks via the mouse is disabled, but is still quickly achieved through the use of the shortcuts outlined above.


HIGHLIGHTING USING THE KEYBOARD
Another quick tip to make life easier is learning how to use the keyboard to highlight things.

Put the cursor at the beginning of what you want to copy by clicking there once with the left mouse button.
Now hold down the Shift key and use either the arrow keys, the Home key or the End key to highlight.

The arrow keys are self-explanatory. (Try it!)

Holding down the Shift key and then hitting the Home key will highlight from the cursor to the beginning of a line.
Holding down the Shift key and then hitting the End key will highlight from the cursor to the end of a line.

 

[greensthings]

Re: : Green's Help and Hint's thread

you are doing everything right...
BUT I left out a step!!
LOL after you selected the picture you want to upload from your computer, at the bottom of of the imageshack page is a button that says "host it", by clicking this button (and waiting) imageshack will open up the page with all the html coding you will need to copy

 

[pennymb]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

You do have to register!
However it still took me three tries. Every time it would go to a different page. It was the third time before it went to the "Hotlink for Forums"

See Birthday Greetings under General.

When stuff like this happens I just say it's an AOL thing.
But this is great because my niece has been asking me how to insert pictures but she has a different IP.

Watch out SA I'm A picture inserting fool now!! :lol:

 

[greensthings]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

I think the registering thing may be an AOL thing...
I have a registered account, but do not always use that link to upload a picture (as they give you a personal Link to upload to your own folder if you register)

 

[pennymb]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

Copy/Paste
go to email and make a new email. You don't have to send to anyone you just want a blank page (or open a document if you have Word)

type a few lines and practice what Greenthings suggests. Once you get the hang of it, it is simple. I primarily use the Crtl and Shift key method because I have better control.

Just one bit of advice, You Must Hold the Crtl down when you strike the A, C or X key, and the Shift when using the Arrow and other keys for Copy/paste.

I do have detailed instructions on the use of the Other and Arrow Keys. If anyone wants them PM me with your email address and I will copy/paste and send to you. You can then print or save for reference.
Free to anyone who wants at SA. I charge for lessons (I teach keyboarding) but I bow to Greenthings on Graphics :lol:

 

[greensthings]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

RoboForm help!


OK, look in your toolbar (under back, next, stop, refresh, home buttons) for a button that says "identity editor" (if you can't find it there, look down by the clock and look for the green computer icon, right click on it and scroll up to "show toolbar" and it will put Roboform on your toolbar),
now click it and it will open up into a pop up box.
in the pop up box you will see several tabs ( and a tiny scroll bar)
fill out the section called "person" with all your information.
scroll right to "address" and fill that out.
scroll right again, until you get to the tab that says "authentication", click it
and you can fill out your favorite password (that you use for all your sweeping sites).
if you keep going right, you will find "custom";
In this section if you want Robo to answer "no" for do you want newsletters, offers etc put this in
in the "Field Name" box put in "oi offer", in the "Field Value" fill out "no" and in "Other Match Strings" put in "oi"
to say thank you in any comment box on a sweep, out this in
"Field Name" put in "comments", in the "Field Value" fill out "Thank you, for holding such a wonderful giveaway, I truly appreciate it!", and in "Other Match Strings" put in "comment"
to have the check mark for "I have read the rules" to be filled for you..
in the "Field Name" box put in "i have read the rules and regulations", in the "Field Value" fill out "yes", and in "Other Match Strings" put in "i have read the terms"
to fill out "how did you hear about this sweep...in the "Field Name" box put in "how did you hear about the contest", in the "Field Value" fill out "a friend", and in "Other Match Strings" put in "how did you hear about us"

don't forget that when you are done, to click the button that says "save and close" (left side, just under the word "identity"

Now when ever you get to a page with a form on it (other than flash sites...robo doesn't work on those) all you have to do is look up in your tool bar for your name and click your name, and Robo will fill out the form for you!
If you come across a form, that Robo doesn't fill in correctly, make any changes as needed to the form, then look up in your toolbar for the button thats says "save" click it and it will save the form with all the changes in it, so the next time you come back to that page, you will click the name of the page (between logins and your name) and it will fill the form exactly as you saved it!!

 

[greensthings]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

I am going to try and give a run down of the biggest mistakes newbies make, and why they don't win prizes (if any others would like to pipe up and throw their two cents in, it will be appreciated!)

1. entering tons of times when it says ONE time per person or one time a day.
This is one of the fastest ways to get disqualified from a sweep! I know it is tempting to enter more than once, but if it says one time per person, that is all you can enter!
2. Not reading the rules.
If you are not qualified to enter, why bother, if the rules say 13 to 18 ages only and you are 28, you can not enter!
3. Lying on the sweep
(see number 2) or putting down that you own a business, when you do not (your last name is Smith, and you put down Smith, Inc as a business) the Sponsors will find out (It is not that hard to verify a business)
4. Sweep says one per household
and you enter you roommate, spouse and kids anyway. Most company's track IP and ISP numbers, you will be found out and disqualified.
5. Expecting to win everything you enter.
Remember there are hundreds of thousands of sweepers out there, your chances of winning are actually quite small. (Sweeping is the number 2 thing to do on the web today)
6. Not being Patient
Most sweeps do not choose a winner the day the sweep ends, sometimes it is not for months! (We have had people notified of wins more than 6 months OR MORE after a sweep had ended!)
7. Entering only 2 sweeps a day and expect to win.
(see number 5) Sweeping is a numbers game, the more sweeps you enter, the better chance you have of winning something!
8. Complaining about what you won
To most of us, a win is a win is a win, we are Happy with a t-shirt or DVD. Just because you won a sticker pack, doesn't make it right to complain it was not the million dollar win! Believe it or not, lots of Companies read the forums and notes here. (There are exceptions to this one..such as legitimate gripes)
9. Expect to get rich from sweeping
Sweeping is not a money making deal, yes you can win great prizes, but the effort you put into sweeping, the amount of prizes, the number of People competing for them makes the odds of getting rich off a sweep very very small. We all sweep for the enjoyment of sweeping, and the thrill of the elusive win!
10. Expect your life to be the same once you are addicted.
Yes, Sweeping is addictive. Once you get a taste of the thrill of a win, you will be glued to your computer. You will learn to make time for your family, housework, regular work, and outings..but the whole time, you will be getting "edgy" from not being able to enter...LOL
11. you do not have to accept offers from Company's
Most companies offer newsletters, and other offers. Unless the rules say you have to get their newsletters in order to win, you do not have to subscribe!
12. Don't spam your friends and family with sweep offers do not alienate your friends and family by sending them offers to 200 sweeps a day, just so you can get an extra entry or two...if you want refferals to send to...check out this thread http://www.sweepsadvantage.com/post/viewtopic.php?t=10178
13. Don't forget your manners, send a thank you note
Most sponsors appreciate this, and lets them know, that holding more sweeps are a good thing.
14, If you get frustrated with losing try the instants
Instant wins, can be a wonderful thing, you know instantly that you won, and what you won (most of the time). people win more often on them, because they do give out so many small wins(usually).
15. Do not feel guilty about taking a break from sweeping
Sweeping can be emotionally draining, as you get your hopes up and then have to wait and wait. It takes a Physical toll on your body, from keyboarding, mousing and getting tense while waiting to see "You are a winner" on the instants..lol
and last but certainly not least....
ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER, ENTER,
AND THEN ENTER SOME MORE!!!!!

 

[greensthings]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

I'll add a couple of snail mail hints

Size Does Matter.
When a Sweep asks you to send a 3.5 X 5 paper, you must do just that. Any old size is not acceptable. This is, in part, to keep a level playing field. So don't take the chance on wasting your stamp...send the right size.

Card vs. Postcard.
If I sweep asks for a card, you send cardstock weighted paper in an envelope. If a sweep asks for a postcard, send a postcard (ie: like the kind you send on vacation or buy at the post office). Postcards do not go in envelopes.

Handwriting is key.
Write your entries so that someone who doesn't know anything about you can read your entry without straining or guesswork. This is a huge factor is being disqualified.

postcards from the post office I fill out like this;

 

[greensthings]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

reposted from another group (not written by me)...

The biggest tip I can add is RESPECT THE SPONSORS, THEIR RULES AND DON'T BE A JERK BOASTING THAT YOU ARE A SWEEPER.
Everyone here is what a sponsor calls "Professional sweeeper" and there is a reason they dont' like us. I have been on the other side in the Marketing area. I can tell you some horror stories about professional sweepers.


One time our newspaper gave away a Hyundai (when they first came out) and this VERY obese woman won and complained to the sponsor and us about how she couldn't fit in that car and that she wanted ANOTHER MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE car. In the end, the car showroom gave her another car but they then cut out their advertising for 6 months because they were mad at us!! That was a huge amount of money we lost, almost $25,000. That also affected the salesperson who was not involved, she lost commission and she lost out on a couple of bonuses. The next year, the Marketing director wanted to do a car give away. The sales person threatened to quit and no car dealer would do it.. they all heard about the disaster the previous year.

We had a two contests where the grand prize was a trip to the Super Bowl. The first year, the guy won and told us he wanted cash. He said he had a lawyer go over the rules and since there was "no cash substitution" allowed, he demanded cash. The papers lawyers had to be called, and paid, to see if that was legal. We were in the right and he didn't want the prize, he wanted money. We picked another win who was thrilled, but it left a bad taste in the Marketing manager mouth.
A year later, another professional sweeper won and wanted the tickets early so he could sell them. He didn't get them and he never even bothered to go on the trip, so our paper had to pay for the airfare, the tickets that weren't used and press passes to two parties.

The next year, we didn't bother having another contest.

Sweepstakes are from a marketing budget. A budget is a set amount of money. There is not millinos of dollars to piss away. Sweepstakes are the worst type of marketing, they do not bring in results as well as some other ones. Even the Pepsi Billion may not be done again because the marketing shares were not good nor did they go up. Adweek said they weren't happy with the results. That's not the fault of sweepers, but it shows how a huge campaign can spend millions and do nothing.
Marketing is a real science and to be blunt, they know more about it than you do. The sweeps are geared towards people in their realistic market. If you are 45, there is little chance that you are a partier who is going to be going out on weekends drinking, as well as a 16 year old is not where they gear Pampers too.


That is why there are liquor sweeps geared towards the under 30 and that is why they put in age limits. There was a liquor company that had a contest for a hot and fun vacation for two to Bahamas. A 90 year wheelchair bound crank won it. The next year, they put up age limits. A lot of nasty professional sweepers wrote nasty emails about how they at 55 were being discriminated against because they couldn't win the contest. I hardly believe many even drank at bars but they wanted to win and were NASTY.. and that is honesty what MANY professional sweepers are to Marketing people. The company hasn't had a contest since, they now sponsor concerts, go to bars and have give away and honestly spend their money on their real target audience.

And don't think that a Marketing director who had to deal with nasty comments from a winner or someone who won who didn't fit the criteria isn't going to be remembered in the next years budget meeting. Budets are being slashed big time, by the way. Coke Sweepstakes cut out $10 million of their advertising budget last year.
YOu are not owed cash, you are not owned anything to be honest. If you dont' want something, don't enter. Don't expect them to work around the rules. They shouldn't and usually won't.

So, remember that when you win, be gracious. And if a contest is not geared towards you, there are more.
Lastly, write the sponsor a thank you letter. Compliment the people involved who were a help to you. If there are minor problems, let them go. If there are major problems, write a nice but firm letter about the problems. Don't name call and don't attack.

One last story...

A few years ago Pepsi and Circle K gave away a chance at a car at the Pepsi 400. I was one of the finalists. There was one guy who LOUDLY talked about how he was a sweeper and how he won 7 cars previously. The other people, all sweepers too, and I cringed.

Guess who won the car? Yep, he did. Guess who told the WHOLE AUDIENCE that the was going to sell it becuase he had won 7 cars previuosly? Yep, over the loudspeaker this was told.
The VP of Circle K did NOT look pleased and someone who won tickets in the upper section (I can't remember what it's called) was talking about how blank he was.

The next year, they didn't do a car promotion, they did a chance at getting money. THe most that was giving away was $1,500..


And lastly...

I have never seen his name on a Pepsi win since then. Can they legally do that? Well, maybe not. But don't you think the people in Marketing see your name and then will GLADLY dump you and pick another winner?

 

[greensthings]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

How Do I Handle Taxes When I Win a Prize?

Paying the taxes on winnings isn't too complicated, but we always advise that you consult with your accountant when you win a large prize.

Taxes on prize winnings are due at the end of the year, just like winnings from gambling or the lottery. You claim the amount you won, and you pay taxes on them as earned income. In most states, the minimum amount of a claim is $600. That means that if you win a prize or something of value over $600, you must claim it as earnings. Also, many sponsors will send you a 1099 Form at the end of the year with the amount of the prize you won. This can sometimes be under $600, but you would need to claim it anyway. If you decide to sell one of your prizes, keep the receipt! It's the amount on the receipt that you would claim (along with other supporting information).

You can use your supplies as deductions against those winnings, but you must keep good records of how many entries you sent in over the course of the year, and provide receipts for all of the supplies. For example, everyone buys stamps to mail their bills. For you to claim your stamps as a deduction, you have to keep records of how many sweepstakes you enter in a particular time period, and attach your receipts for the stamps (that's one great use for our worksheets...). The same holds true for your envelopes, 3x5s, postcards, and so forth.

If you have specific questions, the Arent Fox Sweepstakes Law Web site is an excellent resource. They have a message board to which you can post questions, or you can send someone there an e-mail message directly. Again, though, you can always consult with your accountant for a particular question about any local or state laws for your area.

If you use TurboTax to do your taxes with, it has a section where you can add your 1099's as well as a place to adjust the ARV of the 1099 forms (you must have, and hold on too, the proof that your adjusted ARV is correct...in other words the sponsor says the ARV is $3000, but after researching on the web, the airline tickets, hotel etc only adds up to $1800, this is what you post as the ARV and save the documents showing this is what it is worth! or the TV they said is $2000 and you found the exact same TV on sale at Best Buy for $999....save the flyer!)

 

[greensthings]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

I love this story I heard from a very nice older gentleman who has had great luck with sweepstakes. A few years back, he won a million dollars! Just a few months later, he won more cash, a lot smaller prize, but still a very nice win, when he walked into a store and was surprised by being a certain-numbered visitor. There were flowers, balloons, cheers, the whole nine yards. When they asked him if he had ever won a prize before, he said, "Yes, but never like this one!!"

 

[greensthings]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

http://www.google.com/alerts
and on that page have it set to look for "news and web" and "as-it-happens"
hints for google alerts...
put your name in quotation marks
like this "Jane Doe"
add +winner and +your state for best results...
will look like this "Jane Doe"+winner+WI
and you should get more accurate (and faster) results!
for best results get a google alert set for each of the following;
"Jane Doe"+winner+WI
"Jane Doe"+WI
"Jane Doe"+winner
"Jane Doe"

 

[amyshulk]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

Hey GT - can you explain how to take a screenshot? Especially on those ones like FedEx? I couldn't figure it out since it's Macromedia player - I couldn't make it a normal page when DH "won" and of course he didn't get the confirmation email...

Anywho - I save wins pages to bookmarks because sponsors don't take screenshots as proof, but on ones like that FedEx, or when I'd like to post the screenshot instead of a link like I just did in another thread - can you help a dingbat out? :? :lol:

 

[pennymb]

: Green's Help and Hint's thread

I'll make an attempt to explain although Greenthings can probably do better.
1. Open a new email.
2. Go back to winning screen (maximize if avail) hit Print Screen (above Insert Key).
3. Go back to Email
4. Place Insertion Point in text area of email.
5. Holding CRTL key down tap V (alpha) Key.
6. Right click on picture and you should be able to resize/crop if needed
7. Send email to yourself.
8. Save to Folder (I keep a folder of these, I sometimes save rules there).
9. You can then forward to Sponsor if needed