Today we will look at your trusty, hardworking mouse, and see what tricks it can do for you. That friendly neighborhood rodent can sometimes drive you crazy when you cannot find the pointer on the screen. Other than that, you may not pay much attention to it. So here are a few things you can do with that .

Click Start, Control Panel, Mouse. Or you may have to click Start, Control Panel, then something like Printers & Other Hardware, or Hardware (NOT Add Hardware). Now you are at the Mouse Properties dialog box. Click the Pointers tab, and in the Scheme section, click the little down arrow and try different display options for the .

You will immediately see your selection to the right of the little down arrow. For a somewhat startling result, try for example, “Windows Black (extra large) (system scheme)”.

Now move on to the Pointer Options tab. In the Visibility section, check the box marked “Display pointer trails”; move the around to see the result. Adjust the length of the trail to your taste by moving the slider back and forth. It should now be easier to find the pointer on your screen. You may also want to check the box, “Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key”. That should help!

Click the Buttons tab for more options you can experiment with. If you have a mouse with a wheel in the middle, click the Wheel tab and adjust the scrolling speed, or action. Finally, click OK to exit the Mouse Properties window.

While we are on the subject of that middle wheel, here is yet another dandy trick your mouse will perform. When you are on a Web site or in a file or document, click that wheel. You will see a double-edged arrow on your screen. Move the mouse slowly up or down without clicking, and the screen will follow. Move it sharply, and the screen will scroll fast. Click the wheel again, or either button, to cancel.

It takes some getting used to, but if you are like me you will soon love this feature and use it often. Note, however, that it does not work in some documents and on some Web sites. If your mouse does not have a center wheel, consider getting a new mouse equipped with the wheel. They are not expensive, and the wheel is very handy and useful.

Syd Tash is a noted computer security consultant and author of How to Protect Your Computer Online. He has been keeping Internet surfers safe and secure since the last century. Find out how he does it; protect your own computer with five layers of protection right here:
= > http://MyPCSecuritySite.com

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