If you use a browser to read and send gmail (as opposed to using a program like Outlook, Mac Mail or Windows Mail), here are a few tips to eliminate some annoyances or make this digital part of your life easier.
By default, the page is set to display 50 messages. You can easily make that a bigger number. Settings – General – Maximum page size.
Undo Send. Do you hit the send button too quickly? You can set the amount of time after hitting that button to actually undo sending the mail. Settings – General – Undo send
Stars. You can star email to more easily follow up on the messages—but that one yellow star is a default that’s easily changed to include more color options. Here is a link to step by step instructions to moving from only yellow to other color options to make this more productive.
One More Google Perk
Google maintains its own eyes on the dark web, which it uses to try and protect its users. It’s not perfect, but if Google detects that your email address (which could be used as your login information on sites you’ve signed up for) has been detected, it’s a good sign that either your email, Google account, or one of your signed-in sites has been compromised. In this case, Google will flag your email and send you a notification.
Tip of the month
2 tweaks to make your Windows computer run faster
1. Eliminate browser plug-ins you don’t use.
We all spend a lot of time on the Web, and your browser is like your PC. If you’re using plug-ins and add-ons that you don’t need, either disable them or remove them entirely. By doing so, you’ll reduce the amount of memory your browser consumes, which will then improve your PC’s overall performance.
In Google Chrome, open the menu with three vertical dots in upper right-hand corner. Scroll down to More tools, then Extensions. Remove or disable anything you don’t need.
In Microsoft Edge, click the ellipsis menu (three dots, horizontally) and navigate down to Extensions. That will open a small popup window where you can remove unwanted extensions.
2. Disable unwanted startup programs for a faster computer.
Stop programs from starting up automatically. This will speed boot times and help reduce the strain on your computer’s RAM or memory.
Programs want to helpfully load themselves into memory to be available right away! But that’s really not necessary in all cases. Simply launching the program will do all that, costing you a spare second or two. (The exception are some security programs like antimalware, which should always run beginning at startup). Go to:
Settings
Apps
Startup
This will show you all the programs on your computer. Simply slide to Off the programs that you don’t need to run automatically.
