Inadequate battery technology is one of the biggest problems we face these days and despite all the research and money thrown at the subject, they still run down far too quickly. How healthy is the battery in your laptop computer? Does it still hold the same charge as it used to when it was brand… Read More
Right from the start, the internet was very slow today. Instead of the fast responsive world wide web, pages were appearing noticeably more slowly in the browser window and some websites were even producing errors. It would sometimes take two or three tries to connect to a website and get a page. Even common sites… Read More
Remember Windows Vista? It was not a pleasant memory for some, but it did introduce the concept of desktop widgets. There was a nice clock that you could place on the right side of the desktop and it was permanently visible and showing the time. You could add a calendar too. Widgets continued with Windows… Read More
Windows has a built in search engine that can be used to find documents, apps, settings and other files on the disk drive. It is actually quite good at finding Windows settings and apps, but it is quote poor when it comes to finding files on the disk. Poor is actually an understatement and if… Read More
The address box in Google Chrome performs two functions and it is used to enter and display website addresses and it is used to search the web. Instead of the normal address box, it can be customised to make it simpler and clearer to use. It just takes a couple of simple tweaks in the… Read More
Google Chrome has supported multiple users for a long time and you could add users in settings and then switch from one user to another. It wasn’t very convenient for people that switched profiles a lot, so recently Google added a profile switcher to the title bar. Do you use it though?
There are lots of scams on the internet and it isn’t difficult to find them. A recent search for Windows 8 tips at Google led me to a website that demanded instant payment from me or suffer dire consequences. Needless to say, I didn’t hand over any money and neither should you. Here is… Read More
The Control Panel provides access to a lot of Windows configuration settings and it is frequently accessed. It is on the Start menu in Windows 7, but you must right click the Start button in Windows 8 to see the menu with it on. Then you must find the tool you want. You can… Read More
It is easy to change the Windows theme and give it a makeover. New desktop wallpaper and colours can be selected, new mouse pointers assigned, a different sound scheme selected, and so on. If you have created a great theme, did you know that you can also share it with other people? You can… Read More
Have you ever wanted to perform some action on the computer automatically? Shutter Lite is a utility that enables you to monitor events and define actions that are automatically performed. Using these facilities it is easy to automatically shut down the computer at a predetermined time of the day, when it is idle or… Read More
It is easy to make a mistake when writing an email, especially if you are in a hurry. Sometimes we are not sure of the correct spelling of a word, other times we know the spelling, but our fingers accidentally hit the wrong keys and a typing slip results in an incorrect word. Grammarly… Read More
There is more malware for Windows computers than for any other operating system or device. That is because it is so popular and there are so many Windows PCs around – it’s a big target that attracts malware writers and scammers. To help combat these, Windows 8 has something called SmartScreen and you can… Read More
Some people have unlimited internet access, but not everyone does and for those that don’t, the question is, how do you monitor the amount of data you have uploaded and downloaded? If you have Windows 8.1 then this is easier than you might expect and it is monitored for you. You just have to… Read More
Uninstalling Windows software using Programs and Features in the Control Panel frequently does a poor job of removing all the files and settings. It is not Windows fault and the uninstaller is provided by the software, not Windows. Uninstalling software can leave registry settings and files on the disk drive. The solution is to… Read More
How do you protect the files on the computer’s disk drive so that only you can access them? One way is to encrypt them on a file by file basis and there are several utilities that can do this, but it is slow and tedious. A better method is to create a virtual disk… Read More
There is no doubt that Windows Explorer is a useful tool and it enables you to browse the disks, folders and files on a Windows PC. You can view thumbnails of images, run programs, open documents, play music and much more. Is it the best way to explore the disk though? Q-Dir is four… Read More
Is the disk drive in your PC perfectly organised? Do you know where every file is and is there a folder for each type of file? If you are like most people your disk drive will be a bit of a mess, with files and folders all over the place in a disorganised mess.… Read More
How much memory is in your PC? What type is it? What processor is on the motherboard? Which type of graphics is used? Who made the motherboard and what is the model number? All these questions and more can be answered by special utilities that analyse the hardware inside the PC and reveal the… Read More
I have looked at a lot of privacy and clean-up tools for Windows computers and some of them are pretty good. However, they are all very similar and they usually offer the same features. Apart from ease of use and a nice interface, there is little to choose from. However, PrivaZer is genuinely surprising… Read More
Hardly a day seems to pass by without another security issue hitting the headlines and we have to update Windows or the software on our computers to patch it. With all the software on a typical PC, it can be difficult keeping up with the latest versions of everything. The solution is a utility… Read More