What You Should Keep in Mind on Black Friday

Black Friday is widely regarded as the busiest shopping day of the year for customers and one of the most profitable days of the year for businesses. Many items are heavily discounted on this day to mark a strong start to the holiday buying season. It’s a common misconception that all items are heavily discounted on Black Friday. Likewise, it’s also a misconception that an item that is on sale on Black Friday is a savings over its normal price. By keeping just a few things in mind on Black Friday you can help to make sure that you’re actually getting that good deal you think you are.

Pay attention to an item’s normal price in the months and weeks leading up to Black Friday. Items in stores like Best Buy are rarely sold at their manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Because Black Friday is most commonly associated with excellent deals, a particular store may return the price to its suggested retail price and discount from that, as opposed to giving further discounts of an items normal price. This could result in a savings of only a few dollars off of what you could get a particular item at any other day of the year, which is certainly not worth standing in line for hours to get.

You don’t necessarily have to go to the store to score all the best deals. This goes for “door busters” as well. Stores like Best Buy allow customers of their Reward Zone Premiere Silver program to access all Black Friday deals, including door busters, online. Additionally, most of these same stores allow people to start buying discounted products the Monday before Black Friday even begins. If you’re a member of one of these services or know someone who is a member you could potentially get the same deals with none of the hassle commonly associated with Black Friday crowds.

Electronic equipment is typically heavily discounted. Part of the reason why items like computers and high definition television sets are marked down on Black Friday is because the new models are just around the corner. Stores are trying to clear out their stock of all old inventory items to make way for new models that will debut after the first of the year. Because of this, Black Friday is traditionally a great day to pick up these types of items. Just be aware that you’re picking up something that will become outdated and potentially obsolete in a short period of time.

Pay attention to the brands that are being discounted. Certain stores have their own “in house” brands of products that they sell. For example, the Insignia brand that is sold exclusively at Best Buy is also a brand manufactured by Best Buy. Because of these, Insignia brand televisions and electronic devices are likely to be discounted heavier than other brands on Black Friday. An in house brand may also not be reviewed as highly as devices from other brands.

How to Add Keyboard Shortcuts to Your Apple iPhone

Keyboard shortcuts can be a great way to save some time when typing out long e-mails or text messages on your Apple iPhone. A keyboard shortcut is a short phrase that triggers your iPhone to automatically insert a much longer phrase into a message. For example, instead of constantly typing out “I’m on my way” in a message, you can just type “omw” or some variation thereof. Your iPhone will then automatically insert the longer “I’m on my way” in place of the shortcut. You can set up any keyboard shortcut you’d like on your iPhone in just a few short moments.

Step 1

Turn on your iPhone and navigate to the unit’s main “Home” screen. Scroll through your icon pages and folders until you find the “Settings” application. Open the application to continue the process.

Step 2

Tap “General.” Though the “General” category should be selected by default, if it isn’t you can select it by tapping on its name one time in the list of options. Scroll through the “General” setting until you find the menu option labeled “Keyboard.” Tap the “Keyboard” option one time to continue.

Step 3

Scroll to the bottom of the “Keyboard” screen. The section labeled “Shortcuts” will show you all of the shortcuts that already exist on your iPhone. Each iPhone comes pre-programmed with certain keyboard shortcuts. Tap the button labeled “Add New Shortcut” to create a new keyboard shortcut of your own.

Step 4

Type the phrase you want to create a shortcut for into the box on screen labeled “Phrase.” You should type the longer phrase that you want your iPhone to automatically type each time you enter the keyboard shortcut into a particular box. This can be whatever phrase you’d like, no matter how long or short.

Step 5

Type the shortcut you want to use into the box labeled “Shortcut.” Type something simple that you can remember. When finished, tap the button labeled “Save.” Your new keyboard shortcut will be saved. Every time you type the shortcut, your iPhone will automatically replace it with the longer phrase that you specified.

You can add as many keyboard shortcuts as you’d like to your iPhone by returning to the “Keyboard” window and tapping on the “Add New Shortcut” button.

How to Run a Full System Scan in Norton Internet Security

Running a quick scan of your computer’s hard drive using Norton Internet Security will check only the directories on your computer where viruses are most likely to be. While these quick scans are capable of weeding out a lot of threats and getting them off your machine, you can’t expect a quick scan to find every last piece of malicious software on your hard drive. Performing a full system scan of your computer in Norton Internet Security is the only way to be completely sure that your computer and the content contained on it is safe.

Step 1

Open the Norton Internet Security software on your computer. You can accomplish this by using either the shortcut icon that was created on your desktop during the original Norton Internet Security installation or by clicking on the icon in the “Norton” folder of your computer’s “Start” menu.

Step 2

Click one time on the button labeled “Scan Now” in the center of the Norton Internet Security program window. A new section detailing a list of options related to the scanning of your computer will expand across the middle portion of the window.

Step 3

Select the option reading “Full System Scan.” Norton Internet Security will immediately begin scanning your computer for viruses, spyware and all other types of malicious programs.

Step 4

Use the drop down menu labeled “On scan completion” to tell Norton Internet Security what to do when the scan completes. You can choose to have your computer remain powered on or have it automatically shut itself down based on your preferences.

Step 5

Wait patiently for Norton Internet Security’s full system scan to complete. Depending on both the overall speed of your computer and the total number of files on your hard drive, this could take an hour or more. Any viruses that the program identifies will be automatically quarantined from the rest of the files on your hard drive and deleted for the maximum safety of your machine.

How to Perform a Full System Scan in McAfee Total Protection

It’s always important to perform a full scan of your computer system for viruses and other malware types on a frequent basis. Doing so checks every last file on your computer for traces of malicious software. McAfee Total Protection will quarantine any infected files that it finds, which also prevents those files from being executed. You can then go on using your computer worry-free, comforted by the knowledge that all of your personal documents and files are as safe and secure as they can possibly be.

Step 1

Open the main McAfee Total Protection interface on your computer. When the program was originally installed and set up, an icon labeled “McAfee Total Protection” was placed on your desktop. Double click this icon to run the program.

Step 2

Click on the section of the screen labeled “Updates” to run a check for new program and virus definitions. You never want to run a full system scan without the latest virus definitions, as doing so could potentially allow viruses to slip through the cracks. Wait for the “Updates” status on the main McAfee Total Protection” screen to read “Current” before you continue.

Step 3

Click the section of the screen reading “Real-time scanning.” A new list of options will fill the right side of the McAfee Total Protection window.

Step 4

Click “Scan your PC.” When the new “Scan your PC” section of the program window loads, click “Run a full scan.” McAfee Total Protection will now begin to scan all of the files and folders on your computer for viruses. You can track the progress of the scan using the constantly updating boxes of information on screen. Any threats that are identified will be listed in the main window. You can also see how much information in gigabytes has been checked, along with how many individual files have been a part of the scan.

When the scan finishes, close the McAfee Total Protection window to return to your computer’s desktop.

How to Turn Off Auto-Correct On Your Apple iPhone

The Auto-Correct feature on an Apple iPhone will automatically correct any perceived spelling errors that the device recognizes as you type. While this feature can be great for some, it can also lead to hilarious and even embarrassing word choices if you’re not careful. To prevent Auto-Correct-induced mistakes from happening, you can simply disable the feature at any time by taking a quick trip through your iPhone’s “Settings” application. While this won’t improve your spelling, it will help prevent sending a message that you didn’t mean to send.

Step 1

Close the app that you’re currently using (if application) and open your iPhone’s “Settings” utility. Much like entering the menu system and selecting “Settings” or “Preferences” on a regular cell phone, the “Settings” application on your iPhone allows you to drastically alter the way your device operates.

Step 2

Scroll to the very top of the third section of options on screen and select “General.” Scroll all the way to the bottom of the window that opens and select “Keyboard” to view a list of keyboard-related iPhone options that you can adjust to better meet your individual preferences.

Step 3

Look for the option reading “Auto-Correction.” This option controls whether or not your iPhone’s Auto-Correct feature is enabled. Under default settings, this option will be listed as “On” from the moment you turn on your phone for the first time. 

Step 4

Tap the word “On” one time to change it to read “Off.” The change indicates that the Auto-Correct feature of your iPhone is now off.

Step 5

Test out your iPhone by composing a new e-mail message or SMS text message. You don’t actually have to send a new message – any blank text box will do. Type a word that you know is misspelled. Because the Auto-Correct feature is now off, your iPhone should make no attempt to correct the misspelled word.