How to Make Your Screensaver Ring in Your Christmas Spirit

If you're like me, chances are you spend many hours at your computer working. I get restless and take a break to walk around, do essential chores, get food, change the music playing in the background and generally take a break from close up work. Everyone that works on a computer should take such breaks for at least 5 minutes every hour. When you get up to leave, your screensaver will turn on. Why not make your screensaver put you in the mood for Christmas by cycling through your favorite Christmas photographs? Better yet if elves begin to dance and carols chime happy nostalgia and touching Christmas croons while snow trickles gently down. Just putting several of your favorite Christmas pictures into a file on your PC can create an easy screensaver. What picture should you use? Winter snow scenes, family celebrations, your decorations, the possibilities are endless.

How to Set Up Your Screensaver to Use Your Pictures

When you download a free screensaver, what the install program is doing is creating a directory and downloading pictures into it. Animated programs will load a program. Screensavers with music will also download music files. You can see a similar set of instructions by clicking on Help and Support and then doing a search on screensaver on your PC.

Step One : Click on your start button, then control panel.

Step Two : Double click on Display

Step Three: Click on the Screensaver Tab

Step Four : Click on the downward arrow of the control box, then slide your mouse down until the option "My pictures slideshow appears" or use one of the pre-defined files. When you down load a free screensaver, they automatically put them on this list.

Step Five : Click on the settings button.

Don't do the next two steps if using a free screensaver:

Step Six : Click on the browse button

Step Seven : Click the file that has the pictures you want to use.

Step Eight: Click on the box for select transition effect if you want each picture to slowly merge into the next. This is a slow effect.

Step Nine: Adjust the speed of transition and the size of the picture on the screen by pulling the tabs.

Step Ten : Click Ok.

Step Eleven : Click Apply, then Click Ok. This should make the control panel leave your screen.

Where to Find Free Screensaver Programs

To find a Christmas screensaver, try any of the following web sites to find snowmen, candles, trees, bells, Christmas night, snowflakes, greeting cards, wrapping paper, ornaments, Santa Claus, and many more.

Cool Screens, ScreenSavers, Christmas ScreenSavers, Christmas Buzz (this site had questionable pictures in their ad that show up when you roll over them so you might want to supervise underage children in this task) or do a search on "Christmas Screensaver".

How to Protect Your Computer From Harmful Downloads

Do a backup of your computer before downloading any files.

One of the new features of a Yahoo search is that it lists any potentially harmful links. This can save you a real hassle. I don't know if Google eliminates potentially harmful sites or if it flags them because my searches didn't return problems.

Use McAfee, Norton, or one of the other virus protection programs to automatically warn you of potentially harmful downloads and automatically delete the file.

If you are really paranoid or in need of protecting your PC, don't download any animated screen avers. Chances are that they will not have any problems.

If you change screensavers on a regular basis, be sure to delete the old files and compact your hard drive to keep your computer at peak efficiency.

Have Fun!