7 Great Computer User Tips – For Windows® Users Only
An Easy Performance Enhancement
If you’re using the NTFS filing protocol on your system, rather than FAT32, you can get a bit better speed by disabling Windows® Indexing. The downside to this is that exploring your drive for a specific file might take a moment or two longer, but everything else should run more speedy.
To disable this feature open ‘My Computer’ and then right-click on the drive you desire to reset – usually C-drive. Now click on Properties and then uncheck “Allow Indexing Service”. It will take Windows® a few moments to complete this task, depending on your processor speed. If you have other hard drives, execute the same process for them. After this is accomplished, it’s a fair idea to empty the Recycle Bin and then go for Defragment of your hard drive(s).
FREE Software
If you own a system and it does not include an office suite, such as Microsoft Office, and you don’t want to spend several hundred dollars to get one, you should try Open Office. This is a great option for other suites, and it’s free! Simply open www.openoffice.org in your browser and follow the given instructions for downloading and installation. Make no misstep, this free office suite is an incredibly robust set of software tools – easily a match for any competitor.
Internet Explorer (a browser that is provided by Microsoft) is unarguably the standard in computers. This is why hackers develop so many malware applications to intrude it. If you are using a different browser, you have much less chance of an invasion by malicious software. There is a great alternative known, and it’s free. You can download Firefox by accessing the URL www.mozilla.org/products/firefox. You know, you can even move your Internet Explorer settings into Firefox automatically – so you don’t need to worry about losing your Favorites, etc.
Laptop Printer Fix
If you’re using a laptop that is running Windows® ME, and you’re having trouble printing via the USB, try this straightforward fix. Go to the website of the company that manufactures your printer. If you operate a Hewlett-Packard, for example, go to www.HP.com and download the right drivers and install them. ME has drivers that identify the USB printer is present and attached, but not the drivers required to make it print. Which drivers you download and install will depend on your printer. After installing new drivers, update the printer as required in the Control Panel.
Save $$$ When Shopping Online
If you’re making a buy online, and you know the thing you desire to buy, you can effortlessly compare pricing all across the Internet. This can amount to a very significant savings.
The My Simon website only checks for pricing, it does not deliver a platform for buying anything, though it does provide a link to such places. It also provides a rating for the sellers’ and other users’ input regarding their experiences with the company. You can sort the results of the search for your item by price so that you can fast find the lowest price from the highest rated dealer.
Windows® XP Professional Only
A feature of Windows® XP Professional, that is not available in the Home Edition, is the power to encrypt files. This encryption stops others from opening the files in the folder you have encrypted. To encrypt one or more folders, follow these easy steps.
Click Start, then go to My Documents. Now locate the folder you want to encrypt and then right-click on it and choose Properties.
On the General tab, choose Advanced. There put a tick mark in the box for Encrypt Contents to Secure Data. Now Click okay two times and the confirmation dialog box will appear letting you select the folder, the folder and all files, and/or the subfolders within it.
Now you can place files in this folder (or folders) and others will not be able to access them, since they’re encrypted.
Internet Safety
You should never disclose your username or password to anyone who e-mails you and requests it. This data is oftentimes asked for by an Internet scheme named “phishing.”
In a typical phishing scam, you receive an e-mail that appears quite official. It often appears to come from a bank or credit card company. A common header for these e-mails is “We need to verify your account information.” Another is “Please log on to your account and verify your settings.” If you do click where demanded, you’ll end up on a site that seems to be the real one. If you fill in the username and password for your online banking account, you can hope for serious problems within twenty-four hours.
If you think that a company or business that you do online business with really does need your info, then simply contact them. In this way, you will know where you are sending your info, and most importantly, what it will be used for.
CD Burning Error Fix
Burning music, video, and data CDs have become quite popular over the past few years, and the growth of the supporting technology has delivered hardware and software that is more reasonable than ever – and very well priced. CDs present a great place to store significant amounts of data in a small, easily retained format. They also provide us with new control over elements of our entertainment.
A somewhat common error received during CD burning notifies you that the CD cannot be burned, or that there was an error during burning. Of course, you could have a faulty CD drive, but this is usually not the case.
If you receive a notification stating that your CD cannot be burned, go to the website of your CD drive manufacturer. Look for the list of CD types (manufacturers/numbers) that are consistent with your device. Most usually, you’ll find that your CDs are not listed. The two types that seem to have the slightest difficulty being burned are manufactured by Sony and TDK. These cost a bit more, but they burn extremely reliably.
Along the same lines – H-P has presented a recent CD burner. This new burner needs the use of particular CD blanks, but after you burn your data into the CD, you can flip it over and close the drive again. Then you can use the laser to burn a title for the CD straight onto the CD itself. It’s a new technology, but possibly it will catch on and we’ll see newer, better such devices shortly.
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