Question: How can I send faxes from my computer? 

Dave, Kandiyohi, MN

Answer: Sending faxes is as easy as printing. But first you must have a fax/modem and a faxing software such as Bitware Fax, SuperVoice, Phone Tools, etc. To send a fax, whatever windows document you have open, in the upper left corner, click on "File".  Then click on "print". That will open up a box with your default printer shown, from that menu choose your fax "printer". Then click "ok" and your fax software will open a box with a place to type in the phone number to where you want to send the fax to.  Then click on ok again.

Question: How can I tell if an e-mail is a hoax or not?

Cindy, Willmar, MN

Answer: I have seen a couple of "hoax e-mails" that follow the same pattern. One is, you may get an e-mail from someone you know.  It has been forwarded many times, and it usually says something like "if you e-mail this to 10 people a video will "pop up" on your screen. It will also say  something like "I can't tell you what it is, only that it is hilarious!" Another is the federal government  supposedly charging internet users 10 cents for each e-mail sent because of the declining use of the Postal System. And another popular one is the ones that say "The first "X" amount of  people who we can trace on our list will win a free "gift". It says something about they can trace the list by the e-mail addresses.

Question: My computer does not  go to the "It is now  safe to shutdown your computer" screen when I try and turn it off.

Jim, Willmar, MN

Answer: The majority of the time, this is a video problem. You may need to download or get a different video driver from your manufacturer. If you have recently upgraded to Windows 98 SE this has been a common issue. There is a "patch"  that can be downloaded  from   the Microsoft website that will usually fix the problem.