Simple Tips to Speed up Your Windows 7 System!

Windows 7 has been the most popular operating system among users, which was developed with an idea of providing the best user experience. This idea has been made successful with Windows 7, as it has many awesome features to make the work easier of a user.

Here are few of the features that we are going to discuss, to make Windows 7 work faster and more efficiently.

Jump list:

The recent applications are shown in this list. All the versions of Windows operating system before Windows 7 have the feature of displaying the recent used programs in the ‘Start’ menu. However, Jump list of Windows 7 has a feature of adding up the most frequent used programs to it, so that it becomes easier for you to launch the program.

Sleep functions:

This is often used by the users, who do not stay in front of their system continuously, but work in instalments. Every time, it is not possible to turn your system off and on. This problem can be easily solved by putting your system on ‘sleep’ mode.

This mode doesn’t let any power consumption and the programs will return to a running state, once you switch the mode.

Windows XP mode:

This mode can be used, when your operating system has to run on a lower end system. Less RAM and a hard disk with less capacity makes it difficult for the operating system to carry out the higher tasks. In such a scenario, you can switch back to Windows XP mode to process the jobs and disable all the higher end effects.

Uninstall the unwanted programs:

Do not clutter your system with unnecessary programs. Unnecessary programs take too much of space on your hard disk and contribute to the wear & tear of it. To keep the computer safe, you should figure out the programs that are no more in use and clear them up from your system.

These are few of the tips that you should remember to optimize your Windows 7 computer.

Control a Remote Computer over the Internet

The concept of remote desktop is not a hidden secret, but not many of you make use of it and many do not know the procedure of setting it up. Remote desktop can be used to control the computer over the internet remotely, with the help of a remote desktop program, such as—TeamViewer and VNC.

However, if your system deploys a professional edition of Windows, then remote desktop will be certainly installed in your system. The only thing you need to do is configure a VPN connection and forward the ports. Here is how, you can do it.

Configure VPN connection:

You can set up VPN connection in many ways. We suggest you to download and install ‘LogMeIn Hamachi’. Once you have downloaded it, you need to create a user account. Once the account is created, log into the remote computer and connect both the computers under the network of Hamachi.

Start the remote desktop session, by connecting through IPv4 address of another computer.

Forward Ports to router:

Recognise the computer with remote desktop application and find the IP address of this system. Launch the Control Panel, choose ‘View network status and tasks’ followed by selecting the present connection. Locate the ‘details’ button, click on it and note down the number on the right of it.

Launch the router’s web interface, log into the account and select the ‘Port Forwarding’ section. Direct the TCP port 3389 to IPv4 address.

Now, you will be able to connect to a computer remotely, over the internet.

The Potential System Threats!

Virus and other malicious attacks, put together known as malware, are developed to target your wallet. Initially, developers created virus to test their knowledge of programs and codes. However, the scenario is entirely different today. You need to be awfully careful, while using your computer in the internet. Before taking any precaution, you should know the enemies well, so that your measures taken against them are efficient. If I put it another way, know the potential PC threats.

Virus

Virus is a program that generally, attacks a document or an application. It has the ability of spreading the infection through the files or programs, spread around the computer, results in making them ineffective. If the affected files are shared, then the virus comes along with the file and there are chances that the viruses will damage your system files.

Worms

Virus needs a human action to come to action. However, worm can work on its own, without the user’s help. It replicates itself, and can damage a network of computers. There was a news in 2001 about Code Red worm, which infected around 250,000 systems in a time frame of 9 hours.

It could be harmful like—infecting your PC as a virus does or stealing your sensitive password, while you’re typing it on.

Trojans

Trojans prove to be deadly as they mask themselves as some applications or programs. Once you run this app, Trojan hidden in it will trigger and then, it will start executing its plan of destruction. Trojan conceals every kind of malware that you can think of, right from the low level of file infecting programs to higher level of programs that can accomplish the task of stealing information.

Botnet

Usually, a network of computers is connected together to communicate via certain same kind of programs. When the control of this particular network is taken over by some third party users, just by transmitting a program from malicious source and without the knowledge of the owners, then this network is said to be a botnet.

Botnet attack turns your system into a zombie that performs on the wish of the hacker, which will definitely wreak havoc on the users.

If you’re thinking that you should take care of your computer, then let me tell you that it is not only your computer that is vulnerable, but also all your mobile computing devices—be it a tablet or a smartphone.

Don’t panic, as you can keep your device away from these attacks, if you follow the safety practices on the internet and install security software in your device. Do not forget to update it periodically.

Web Browser Features: Reason for Plugins Extinction!

Web technology has entered an extremely advanced zone and web browsers are not lagging behind anyways. Developers have added cool features to the browser or we should say cool features with every updated version of the browser.

With the eventual addition of features in the browser, it has become easier for the website to use the browser for different purposes. This is a very new concept, which many of you wouldn’t be aware of. So, here is how it works.

Drag & drop

Few years ago, you would click a ‘choose’ button to upload files in a browser window. Here is a good news, you can drag and drop your file on the browser window to share your files or attach a file, as many of the websites have enabled the feature of dragging and dropping on the web browser.

3D graphics

You do not have to install an additional plugin in your browser, as browsers are welcoming the WebGL feature, which will allow users to have 3D graphical view of the web pages. Google Maps is one of the best examples of a website that uses WebGL. A user can have an animated view of the lanes and the exact location can be determined by the user easily and in a better way.

Video & audio, but no flash

HTML 5 based videos are gaining popularity extensively. You may not distinguish between the quality of HTML 5 videos and flash videos. There is no need of installing Flash plugin, to play videos with audio in many of the websites. However, there are websites that demand the existence of DRM, which is why users have to make use of flash to play the videos of those websites.

Offline web apps

By now, you might have heard about offline apps. These apps make use of local database to use the resources, even without the internet connection. Kindle Cloud Reader is one of the examples of such apps, which allows the user to download e-books and can be opened later in the browser, without the need of an internet connection.

With the updated version of browsers, it has become possible for the users to dump plugins gradually, which can be serious issues in the long run. Web features are expected to be way better eventually, eliminating all the plugins. 

Bring Back A Faster Google Chrome Browser!

Browser is for browsing the World Wide Web, but it may sometimes give the user a world sized headache by crashing at an unexpected time or crashing down, when you’re in the middle of an important work. Slow browser is no less annoying. Although it is annoying, but you can tweak your browser to get it back in the previous working state. Reasons behind a slow browser or often crashes could be many—an extension, plugin, browsing data and many others. So, you need to be patient to reach out to the root cause of the issue. Today, we are going to discuss the tweaks of Google Chrome. Let’s get started with it!

Deactivate the plugins

When you install a Chrome browser, plugins get automatically installed in the browser. These plugins make it easier for user to use Chrome for processing different kinds of content, related to—Flash, Java, etc. However, many of the installed plugins are not required and more the number of plugins, slower your browser will become. So, you can disable the unwanted plugins to beef up your system. Here’s how: You need to type ‘about:plugins’ in the Chrome’s address bar. It will list down all the plugins that are installed in your browser. Go ahead and click on ‘disable’ link below the name of the plugin.

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Disable Extensions 

Disable Extensions Certain programs require to be added in the browser, to pull out the maximum functionality out of the Chrome browser. Adding too many extensions in the browser may give adverse effects, which can be taken care of, by disabling few extensions that are not crucial.

 Extensions are added to the Chrome browser, and visible in the address bar of Chrome as a button, which can be disabled by right clicking on the button and selecting the option of ‘uninstall’.

When the extensions are not visible in the address bar, you need to click on the wrench icon of the Chrome browser and navigate to the ‘Tools’ option. Select ‘Extensions’ from there. This will give you the list of all the installed extensions..

 Click on the extension that you need to disable and uncheck the ‘Enabled’ box that is at the adjacent right of the particular extension.

Get rid of the browsing data

Browsing data can be one of the most responsible factors for slowing down your browser. So, it is better to clear the browser of the browsing data, at a frequent period. To clean the browsing history after a particular session, you need to choose the wrench icon and select ‘tools’ from the list of options. Next step is to choose ‘Clear browsing data’ option.

You can choose the time frame for the deletion of the data and click on ‘Clear browsing data’. 

Follow the above tweaks, whenever you’re not satisfied with the performance of your browser. These tweaks will give you a beefy browser, once again.

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Get Text Pasted In Plain Format In Word 2013!

Every time you paste a text from a different source, it will carry the format of the source, which may not match the format of your document. Isn’t it annoying? Users always want the copied text to be in the plain format, but it is not the case usually and you need to do it manually.

However, you can change the settings in the Word document, to get the plain text of the copied content. Today, we’re going to discuss the procedure to change the ‘paste’ settings in Word 2013.

Locate the ‘home’ tab and click on it. Under the ‘Clipboard’ section, click on ‘Paste’ and this will give you three options and from there, choose the option of ‘Keep Text Only’.

Note: The use of ‘Ctrl+V’ to paste a text will give you the text with the formatting. To get the plain text pasted, even with the use of this keyboard shortcut, you need to do the following changes.

Again, choose ‘Set Default Page’ under the ‘Clipboard’ section. This will open up an advanced window, with many options.

Navigate to the section of ‘Cut, Copy & Paste’; it has four ‘pasting’ options. Select the option that is suitable for you and change the setting to ‘Keep Text Only’ from the drop down menu. This is it!

Whenever you copy content and paste it to your document, it will not carry the original format.

Locating a file is quicker in Office 2013!

There have been many times when I forgot the location of the saved file. Every time this happened, I had to go for ‘Save As’ option to find the location of the document and I’m pretty sure that many of you would also, have faced this issue. However with Office 2013, it has become easier to locate the files.

• Launch a new Word document and click on the ‘File’ tab at the top right corner of the window.

• This will give a drop down menu of options, and you need to choose ‘Options’ from the list.

• ‘Word Options’ window will open up, where you need to choose the option of ‘Quick Access Toolbar’. Upon clicking this option, you will see a ‘Choose commands from’ drop down menu. Select the option of ‘Commands Not in the Ribbon’ from there. This has narrowed down certain options and made your work easier.

• Now, navigate through the list of commands, to choose ‘Document Location’. Once you select this option, click on the ‘Add’ button to include it in the list of Quick Access Toolbar.

• Click on ‘Ok’ to bring it into effect and then, close the ‘Word Options’ window.

• This will display the ‘Document Location’ on the toolbar of the word document. You may not be able to see the entire path in the box though. Click on the box and move the cursor to the right to view the entire path.

No more fumbling for the document! You can get the document without any hassle, when it is urgently needed.

Screwed up Motherboard: Easy Symptoms and Troubleshoot

Is your Laptop doing well? Probably it’s not because if it was so, then you wouldn’t be reading solution for a dishevelled Motherboard. And a disoriented Motherboard simply means that you are just left up with a bare outer covering of the laptop. As you very well know that it’s your motherboard that needs to be in a perfect sphere. And in case it fails to do its work when its warranty period has already expired, I can tell it for sure that you are in a big trouble and you would just think that it’s almost a time to get a new Laptop. And as you know it very well that the cost of a motherboard is usually higher than the current value of a laptop.

So it would be better than you prior pay attention right from the time when your laptop has started showing so hardening symptoms. Now before you ask that how would one know what the symptoms are? I’ll give you an answer in the format of frequently occurring symptoms:

The trouble starts when you try to plug in the power adaptor and try to start the laptop.

• You don’t feel anything happening.

• You feel the lights to be on and you can even feel the fans to be working, but you lack to see anything on the screen. In other words on the screen (black) and you can’t hear the HD working after 10-15 sec.

• The light is on the ‘ON’ mode and the fan spins too but it manages to go off after a few seconds.

• Or the last situation is that after pressing the “ON” button the screen still doesn’t show anything rather it stays black and you can hear a quiet high-pitched sound coming from the laptop.

Troubleshooting:

So now when you are already messed up, it’s high time that you work out something productive.

Firstly just try to look out for the “lid closed” switch and then just give a few try, and help it to push a few times. Now where will you find the switch? It generally is a small switch near the hinges and it is the one that is put to use by pressing it when the lid (the screen) is closed. At times it happens that these switches go on a ‘OFF’ mode or ‘lid closed’ position that might be resulting you in a black screen.) or non-starting laptop. But some Laptops are equipped with a magnetic switch (newer Dell’s and most Apple’s), that avoids to be stroked off.

Also try to connect your laptop with another power adaptor. Though what I am saying isn’t easy to find, but this may be a reason for a black screen. As such a situation will definitely end you up in a failed or no supply of the needed voltage even if it has a green “power on” light that lights up when you plug it in. Also in case if you measure the output voltage and it gives a fine sign then probably this only means one thing that the adaptor may have failed and wouldn’t supply that voltage under load (typically 3.5A to 6A). You may definitely approve to the option of using a universal adaptor or go to an independent repair shop and just ask the shopkeeper to check the adaptor and then pay them what you get settled with.

And if none of the given options work out then probably you need to swap your card for a new laptop.

Microsoft PowerPoint 2013- Revamped for Good

After the release of the new Windows 8 OS, Microsoft unveiled its next version of Office, Microsoft office 2013. Office is Microsoft’s second most popular product (with Windows OS being the first). Office 2013 is graced with the same Modern style of Windows 8. The designed has been streamlined in a way to suit both Tablets as well as PCs. Although it is essentially the same product, but appears way too different from its predecessors and the added features work as cherries on Christmas cake. Office 2013 mainly focuses on improving sharing of documents through cloud (SkyDrive) where you can access, edit and share documents from remote locations. This article discusses about enhancements of old features of PowerPoint along with the new ones that have been added in Microsoft PowerPoint 2013.

Renovated Landing Page:

The lading page of PowerPoint 2013 has a complete transformation. The previous version of Office (Office 2010) was comparatively bland and a bit confusing for some, but the new version has a revamped landing page and offers quick access to templates (both local as well as online database). Online templates are categorized as Business, Orientation, Industry, Design Sets, Media, Marketing, Nature, etc, which makes it much easier to work with. While you can create a new presentation in the main window, you have the left sidebar to see the most recently accessed presentations.

Choosing Color Themes for Templates:

You can use the templates with different color schemes. For instance, if the theme you are using comes with a dark color scheme, you can click on the template to choose a different color scheme from the available list. In addition, you can also change styles and color of elements in that template.

Intensified Presenter View:

The Presenter View of PowerPoint 2013 displays Active slide on left side, Next slide at top right corner and the Notes for current slide are at the bottom right corner. Extra controls are available at top and bottom of the window. Although this view was available in previous versions but it was not active by default. In fact, a lot of people were not even aware of its existence because you had to go to the Slide Show tab and enable it from there. PowerPoint 2013 adds few extra tools like a Laser Pointer Pen and options to zoom particular parts of a slide, view all slides at a time and switch Slide show among connected display monitors.

Account Management:

Account management allows user to connect to SkyDrive account and add desired services to PowerPoint. By signing into your Microsoft account, you will be automatically connected to SkyDrive account. You can also use this account to sign in to MS Office 2013 on other devices as well. This lets you save your files directly to the cloud where you can edit your document from any other device. You can access these documents wherever you go so, you do not need to carry any documents or files in a removable drive anymore.

Insert online videos, audios and images:

PowerPoint 2013 lets you add videos, audios and images directly from internet without any need to download it on your computer. It is just like embedding an object on your presentation. This option was also available in the previous version of Office where you could copy the code of the video and paste it on your PowerPoint. But, now you can directly insert online video using the integrated Bing Video Search, YouTube, SkyDrive account or from Video Embedded Code.

Other than the above mentioned enhancements, Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 has other newly introduced features that every user will adore. The features, which were previously available, but almost too hard to discover, are now made easily approachable and obvious for new users. Because of its added versatility, the app is much more usable and engrossing than ever before.