yclmanager5, Author at Your Computer Lady

October 3, 2024 By yclmanager5

Password Protection

Confession is good for the soul, they say. So here goes…

Not long ago, I tried to log onto my 2 laptops and kept getting the “Invalid password” message. I type that password twice every morning. Pre-coffee! Of course, I knew what it was. I tried rebooting. I tried CAPS ON and caps off. I called my IT support who was going to come with his reset software.

I finally quieted down enough to try the password on auto-pilot as I usually do. Oh… yeah… there are 2 more digits to it.

Later in the week, my sister wiped her iPhone clean because she got confused about her phone password. She never turns off the phone therefore she never uses that password.

I use a password protector software but I had left my Windows password out of it. My sister uses a password storage software but it doesn’t have online access, only phone access.

Confession over. Let’s talk about how you can prevent either of these scenarios happening to you.

You ABSOLUTELY can not use the same password for multiple accounts! This is a serious problem. Please! It’s worth the effort to make your data safer. A data breach at Dropbox was just to gather emails and passwords, not for info in stored files. The hackers take the passwords, try them at banks, PayPal, Google, etc. to get access to your accounts.

Option 1 – I strongly recommend this!

Use LastPass.com to record and input passwords. Last Pass will create complicated passwords for you or you can make up your own. (See Option 2!) LastPass will fill in the user name and password for you on website logins. You can see the list from your computer, your tablet, your phone. You can access it online. You can store other info like social security numbers, spouse’s auto license plate number. I will help you set it up if you need some assistance. Basic service is free. Premium is only $30 a year. Using LastPass on your tablet or phone does make it easier to access sites from those small screens. And if the phone is locked up, you can access the password list from your computer.

Could online storage be hacked? Yes. A meteor could fall from the sky and land on your head. You could win the lottery. Similar odds so don’t use this excuse.

Option 2

Create a series / pattern you can remember but changes with each account. Should be at least 10 characters including a capital letter, a number and a special character.

Example: Series is 125chAracters3434$% (3rd character is always capitalized)

Then for your Google account the password is 12goOgl3434$%

for Southwest Airlines the password is 12soUth3434$%

for Yelp the password is 12yeLp3434$%

You can remember the series. Each password is different so that if a hacker gets the Google password they can’t access Yelp.

You could have a series for bank and financial accounts. Another for business accounts. Another for personal accounts. Or you can use one series for everything.

This is IMPORTANT! Call me if you have questions or need help getting set up.

September 28, 2024 By yclmanager5

Prevent Eye Strain While Working

There are some simple tips to help prevent eye strain while you’re at your computer.

Change the brightness of your monitor screen to match the light level of your room. EX: If you’re working with the lights off in the office, dim the screen. Or the reverse, brighten the screen when the sun is shining in the windows and adding to the florescent lighting.
Adjust the monitor and/or your chair until your eye level aligns with the top of the monitor. We naturally look downward by about 10-15 degrees. Next best option: Align so you are looking at the center of your monitor. Do NOT look up at your monitor! That’s bad for your eyes and your neck.
Increase the font size of your Windows displays and of your software programs. Use at least a 12 point font. You can even use a larger font later in the day to help with eye strain.
Be wary of the colorful background designs offered by Windows, Firefox and other software manufacturers. Yes, they are entertaining but they are harder on your eyes than a simple design where the contrast between the background color and the font is greater.
Take frequent breaks. No, not to play solitaire! Blink your eyes. Look out the window, across the room, somewhere in the distance. Do a couple of easy stretches sitting in your chair or standing at your desk. Close your eyes and take some deep breathes.

September 25, 2024 By yclmanager5

How Email Marketers Should Navigate the Gmail Promotions Tab Today

“Gmail is one of the most popular inbox service providers (ISP) with over 30% of email client market share. However, ever since Gmail launched its tabbed inbox in 2013, some marketers have been clamoring for their emails to be delivered to the Primary tab vs. the Promotions Tab. There’s been a lingering perception that Gmail’s Promotions Tab equals the spam folder, but that’s far from the truth.”

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September 11, 2024 By yclmanager5

The Best 10 Personalized Email Templates by Industry and Use Case

We’ve got a few marketing secrets here at Litmus… and maybe your email team does, too.

We talk a lot about designing and coding emails from scratch. And we do a lot of that! But we also… sometimes… occasionally… use email templates. 😅

46% of email marketers have up to five emails in production at any given time. Sound familiar? And with teams averaging about 2 weeks to produce a single email, that’s a lot of concepting, designing, writing, HTML coding, reviewing, and testing in a short amount of time.

There’s nothing wrong with taking a few strategic shortcuts for your email marketing campaigns with an email template. But where email marketers go wrong is leaving templates exactly as they are, making them pretty blah campaigns—potentially sacrificing better business outcomes for speed.

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September 4, 2024 By yclmanager5

20 effective email subject lines for sales

Before you can convert an email subscriber and make a sale, you first have to get them to open your email. That’s easier said than done when faced with an overcrowded email inbox and time-pressed readers.

Still, you can improve your chances by crafting an effective sale email subject line.

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August 21, 2024 By yclmanager5

10 Tips for Writing a Blog

Start with a Checklist then expand into the details of how to write strong blog content that will draw search engines to your website.

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August 14, 2024 By yclmanager5

Email Deliverability

New laws and new procedures by Email Service Providers (ESP) have made it more important to watch the Deliver Rates on your emails. All ESPs are tightening their email upload policies. I did some research recently and found the companies I looked at were requiring explicit opt in as opposed to the implied opt in that we have worked with for years. You need to review your procedures to improve your lists now so your email campaigns won’t be penalized. I can work with you to look over your processes for when and how you gather emails to ensure you are gathering the maximum email addresses and getting the proper permissions. This article is a good review of the requirements.

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