Quick Tips Lock It Up!

Lock It Up!

Here's a super-quick quicktip for everyone out there using Windows XP through Windows 7. If you want to lock your computer the super-duper quick way just press your Windows Key + L.



Voila! Your computer is locked!

Quick and easy!


Create a Windows 7 System Repair Disk

Did you know that Windows 7 has a utility that allows you to create a system repair disk? If you've ever turned on your computer and found you can't get into Windows, this is a great thing to have, because it contains a suite of recovery tools that will help you recover from a serious system error or restore your computer from a system image.

Here's how you do it:

Click Start, then in the Search Box, type Create a System Repair Disk. An icone should appear in the list above. Click on it.

A wizard should open up. Put a blank CD/DVD in your CD/DVD Writer and follow the on-screen instructions.



That's all there is to it! If you ever find your computer in an un-bootable state, just pop this baby in and you'll be on your way back to good!

Note: You may need to go into your system's BIOS to change the boot order of your devices so your CD-RW or DVD-RW is the first boot device.

Quick Tips Windows Media Player 11 Shortcuts Pt. 2

Windows Media Player 11 Shortcuts Pt. 2

Want more Windows Media Player 11 shortcuts? Well, you're in luck, because here's part two!

Open Help - F1
Enable Classic Menus (menu bar) - F10
Full-screen mode - F11
Edit information on a selected item in the library - F2
Add media files to the library - F3
Change how items are displayed in the Details pane - F4
Refresh information in the panes - F5
Increase album art size - F6
Mute the volume - F7
Decrease volume - F8
Increase volume - F9
Decrease the size of album art - Shift+F6
Zoom to 50 percent - ALT+1
Zoom to 100 percent - ALT+2
Zoom to 200 percent - ALT+3
Show video in full screen - ALT+Enter
Switch to previous view (Back button) - ALT+Left Arrow
Switch to next view (Forward button) - ALT+Right Arrow

I have heard that your computer can get too hot and ruin it. It’s summer now so I guess I will have to watch out for that. How do I make sure it stays cool? How can I check to see if it’s too hot?

Q:
I have heard that your computer can get too hot and ruin it. It's summer now so I guess I will have to watch out for that. How do I make sure it stays cool? How can I check to see if it's too hot?
-Jerry C.

A:
This question is so important – great question!



First off, you are on the right track – summer can make your computer run hotter. But computers can run hot any time of the year! I can give you some tips that will really help you keep your computer cooler all year around. But first, some basics:

The three parts that tend to overheat the most are the CPU (Central Processing Unit), the Power Supply, and your video card.

#1: The CPU (Central Processing Unit).

For reference, an AMD Athlon CPU looks like this:



The CPU is the "brain" of your computer. It interprets the instructions that the hardware and the software give, and make it so that the hardware and software can talk to each other. Transistors are the main culprit for the power of a CPU; the more transistors, the more current it will draw. (The AMD Athlon has an incredible 222 million transistors!)

A CPU produces an incredible amount of heat, especially if you are into video or sound editing, gaming, and playing movies. Your CPU might be overheating if you experience errors such as "This program has carried out an illegal operation and will be shut down", or it will freeze ("hang"), or it will give you the infamous "blue screen of death. (Please note that these signs can indicate another type of hardware problem, not just overheating).

#2: The Power Supply.

For reference, a Power Supply looks like this:



The Power Supply takes the power from the outlet and changes the voltage to what your computer needs. Obviously this is a process that produces heat, but a power supply has a built-in fan to keep it cool. The power supply fan is the primary cooling source for the entire computer. If the fan stops working or sticks, then your power supply may be overheating. When you look at the picture, you can see vents to keep the circulation at an optimum.

#3: Your video card.

This is an ATI Radeon video card:



The latest video cards have even more transistors than a CPU, so cooling is especially important. If you are having slowdowns or lockups in 3-D applications, graphics glitches, or your screen is blacking out, then your video card may be overheating. If you are having huge crashes or your monitor is shutting off and then comes back on with a frozen screen, then your fan may be broken – spinning slowly, or not spinning at all.

There are other things that can overheat, too (your motherboard chipset, for instance, but for now we won't go there), but the ones that overheat most often are these three. Oh and for the record, your computer may have some (hopefully not all) of these symptoms and overheating may not even be the culprit (you could have a virus, for instance), so don't assume that overheating is the problem when your computer acts up.

Okay, so my computer may be overheating. How can you tell?

Let's talk temperature. What temperature should your computer run at? Look up the manufacturer and model number of your computer and you can get the ideal temperature for your particular computer. Computers come in so many flavors that it is pretty much impossible to give a general temperature.

Now you have to find out what your computer's temperature is running at right now.

There are three basic ways to find out the temperature of your computer. The first one is going into BIOS (basic input/output system), the second is through mother board software, and the third is through third party software. So which do you choose?

If you know how to do the first two, then I am fairly certain that you know how to check the temperature of your computer. I am all about the simplicity of things so I'll take Door #3, Monty. Since it makes it easy, let's use third party software.

One that I would recommend is SpeedFan. It worked pretty well for me. It not only monitors your CPU's temp, it monitors your hard drive temperature(s), voltages and also control fan speeds. It is basically a hardware monitor; it can access the temp sensors on your motherboard to see how much heat has built up. On top of that, it's easy to use. It is also – my other fave besides simplicity – free.

There's another program that was just released that I am hearing raves about, and I am thinking about trying it myself. It's called VeeSee Free. It gives detailed information on your computer's hardware and keeps your computer monitored. There is also a version you can purchase that adds more features, but for your basic monitoring needs, this one should work great.

Except that my computer isn't overheating – yet. What can I do to make sure it isn't going to?

CLEAN YOUR COMPUTER: The top reason why computers overheat is – you guessed it – dirt! (Well, maybe you didn't guess it, but that's what it is). Dust is the number one enemy of electronic equipment, and computers seem to catch more of their fair share.

PUT YOUR COMPUTER IN RIGHT PLACE: Make sure that your computer vents aren't up against a wall. Don't put the computer on the floor; have it located at least several inches above the floor to reduce the amount of dust that gets into it. If you can, get a computer table or desk and get it up (my tower is the same height as my desk) and away from the wall so that the area is ventilated properly.

ARE YOU HOT? Chances are if you are too hot in the room, the computer is going to be, too. If it's 85 degrees Fahrenheit in the room, it's probably about 110 degrees Fahrenheit inside the computer case/tower. The general recommendation is to keep the room at 75 – 85 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid overheating.

IT'S STICKY IN HERE: It can't be too humid in the room, either, but there has to be some. In other words, keep the humidity between 35-40 percent; if it gets really low you can start getting static and that's not good, either. This is where the computer monitoring software comes in, it'll help.

DO YOU REALLY NEED THREE PRINTERS HOOKED UP TO YOUR COMPUTER: Gosh, I hope you knew that I exaggerated on that one! Limit the amount of peripherals you hook up, like speakers, monitors, etc. Hooking a lot of things up causes more heat. (And if you do have three printers hooked up, please re-read this article and highlight this paragraph.)

Hopefully you've got a handle now on this overheating stuff. It really is a serious thing to watch out for. My daughter fried her CPU from not keeping it clean inside the case and we (very obviously) had to get her a new one. Let's just say that she has her own can of compressed air now.

Enough said. Have a great summer – and stay cool!

Quick Tips Windows Media Player 11 Keyboard Shortcuts Pt. 1

Windows Media Player 11 Keyboard Shortcuts Pt. 1

Hey all you Windows Media Player users out there – looking for some keyboard shortcuts? Well, load up WMP 11, open a video and follow along, because here's a bevvy of them to try out!

Switch to full mode - CTRL+1
Switch to skin mode - CTRL+2
Switch to the first view in a media category - CTRL+7
Switch to the second view in a media category - CTRL+8
Switch to the third view in a media category - CTRL+9
Play the previous item - CTRL+B
Move the focus to the search box in the library - CTRL+E
Play the next item - CTRL+F
Turn shuffle on or off - CTRL+H
Eject CD or DVD (won't work on PCs with two or more CD or DVD disc drives installed) - CTRL+J
Show or hide the Menu Bar (full mode only) - CTRL+M
Create a playlist - CTRL+N
Open a file - CTRL+O
Play or pause a file - CTRL+P
Stop playback - CTRL+S
Rewind video - CTRL+Shift+B
Turn subtitles on or off - CTRL+Shift+C
Fast-forward - CTRL+Shift+F
Play faster than normal speed - CTRL+Shift+G
Play at normal speed - CTRL+Shift+N
Play slower than normal speed - CTRL+Shift+S
Repeat the playlist - CTRL+T
Specify either a URL or path of a file - CTRL+U
Close or stop playing a file - CTRL+W

Part 2, coming soon!

New Twitter spam threats.

New Twitter spam threats.

Here's a head up for those of you that have twitter accounts.

It seems that there has been an increasing number of fake twitter emails traveling around the web. These emails appear to come from twitter and have a number of different subjects. Some begin by telling you that you need to change your twitter password. Others will tell you that someone is trying to break into your twitter account.

No matter what the subject is, the email will eventually ask you to click a link and install the "twitter security module".

Do not install this module.

As I'm sure you've guessed by now, this "module" is a virus. After downloading it, it will install what appears to be a protection center. This "protection center" will put icons on your desktop for porn sites and other virus installs. It will even appear to be checking for updates while it actually downloads more viruses to your system.

Not only is this virus detected by just a handful of antivirus programs, it is also very hard to remove.

As a word of caution, do not install anyting that offers computer security unless it is from a trusted source. Using common sense in cases like this will provide you with more security than any A/V program.

Think to yourself, "why would twitter, a website, be asking me to install a protection module? How would a protection module stop someone else from accessing my twitter account?"

Hmm. Doesnt make much sense, right?

So, stay on your toes. These emails are coming from lots of places right now. As a general rule, if you think something is fishy about an email you recieve, don't click anything, and instead, go to the company's website directly. If there is a real issue, it will be there too. Then you know you can trust it.

Until next time, stay safe out there.

Quick Tips The Week in Technology

The Week in Technology

Last week, a group of hackers gained access to email accounts belonging to 114,000 iPad users, including some high-profile users such as Mike Bloomberg and Janet Robinson. The FBI even opened an investigation into AT&T and the security breach to determine if there was any wrong doing. The cellular carrier stated this week that it plans to work through legal channels to prosecute those hackers who located a vulnerability in the AT&T website allowing unrestricted access into iPad users' email accounts. The vulnerability has since been corrected.  Over the weekend, AT&T emailed those customers affected by the security breach to apologize for the incident.  "We will cooperate with law enforcement in any investiation of unauthorized system access and to prosecute violators to the fullest extent of the law", stated AT&T's Chief Privacy Officer Dorothy Attwood in the email sent to those customers who were affected.

Last Thursday, Police in Gilbert, Arizona arrested two men who posted a Craigslist ad attempting to trade their 32GB iPod Touch and an amount of marijuana for a new Apple iPad. Adding to an easier to win court case for the District Attorney, the two men even added a picture of their marijuana and the 32GB iPod Touch to their listing.  After receiving an anonymous tip, police officers responded to the Craigslist ad and met the two men.  Arrests were made once men traded the marijuana for an iPad.  Both men were arrested for possession of an illegal substance and conspiracy to sell marijuana.

According to The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News, The Federal Trade Commissions will be opening an investigation into whether Apple is illegally using its Apple Store to harm competitors.  Last month, Apple enacted rules which prohibit certain development tools from being used to develop and release applications for Apple's iPhone and iPad devices. Apple has blocked several mobile ad network apps from becoming included in the Apple App Store, as the company released their own mobile advertising platform for the new iPhone 4. The FTC believes that Apple may be creating some rules regarding their Apple App Store to prevent competitors from releasing mobile applications similar to Apple's own mobile applications.


How to Capture Screenshots in Windows Media Player

If you've ever tried to grab a screen shot of a video playing in your Windows Media Player, you've probably run across the same problem that affects many users: you don't get a frame of video at all; you only get a black square when you paste what you thought you captured into your photo software.

There are commercial software packages available that will allow you to get the frame of video you're looking for, but there are a couple of easy hacks in Media Player that will accomplish the same thing, at no cost at all. Why spend money on software when a couple of tweaks to your settings will accomplish your objective for nothing?

There are actually a couple of different ways to do this: I'll explain both. You can choose either one.

Option 1: Overlays

Inside Windows Media Player, click Tools and then Options.

Choose the "performance" tab.

Click "Advanced" at the bottom of the tab (near "Video Acceleration.")

In this new window that opens up, remove the checkmark next to "Use Overlays."

Done! That's all you have to do.

Pressing the "print screen" key (for your entire desktop) or alt-"print screen" (for just the contents of the Media Player window) will now include the video frame you expect to see.

Option 2: Disable Video Acceleration

Instead of removing "overlays," the same thing can be accomplished by removing video acceleration.

The steps are very similar to those for removing overlays:

In Windows Media Player, click "Tools" and then "Options."

Select "performance" (tab at the top).

Under "Video Acceleration" (bottom) you'll find a slider. It's probably all the way to the right (at "Full.") Slide it all the way to the left (to "none.")

You're done! You can now capture still frames of video from Windows Media Player -- or screen shots of your entire desktop with the video in the player like you expect!

Tip of the Day Hide Your E-mail Address with Whspr!

Hide Your E-mail Address with Whspr!

If you manage an online work schedule and spend a lot of time surfing the internet, there are high chances that you get spam emails every day.

Spam emails directly affect your productivity – you spend quite a few minutes reading the subject lines, the message body and then delete it from your inbox.
There is a simple way to deal with email spam – do not share your email address with people you don't trust.

You must be thinking – "Now wait a second, I can't afford to hide my email address when a prospect walks in, how can I share my email address and yet reduce email spam at the same time?"

Whspr is the answer! It's a site that lets you create email aliases so that you can share an email alias with anyone, while keeping your real email address "private".

The idea is very simple – you use the Whspr service to create an email address in the form of http://whspr.me/XXX. This email alias is nothing but a pointer to your real email address (let's say johnsmith@gmail.com). Whenever you want to share your real email address with anyone, just give him the email alias.

After some days, if you continue to get spam emails from the person with whom you shared your email address – simply delete your email alias. Hence, your real email address is kept private while you can share a contact address with anyone on the internet.

Let's learn how you can create an email alias using the Whspr website:

1. Go to the home page of Whspr and enter your real email address in the text box, as shown below:



2. Enter the expiration time of your email alias in the "Expire in" textbox. The expiry time can be set for any period of time – say one week or 6 months.

3. Now hit the "Create my Whspr" button and you are done! The site will instantly create a random email alias and show you the address, as shown below:



4. Take note of this email alias because you will use this address to share your email address privately.

Whenever you want to share your email address with anyone, just send them the address of your email alias. The person who wants to contact you will see the following interface:



To send an email to you, all one needs is to enter the message and his email address in the respective fields and hit "Send". You will receive the message in your inbox instantly.

The email message which you will receive looks like any other email, as shown below



The sender of this email never sees your real email address.

This is very useful when you are sharing information in social networking sites, forums , blogs or in any other website which is "public". Consider a situation where someone asks for your email address in an open forum thread.

You don't want to expose your email address, yet want to build a relationship with the person.

In such situations, the email alias trick will come in handy. There are no limitations on the number of email alias you can create with Whspr.

Do you care about your email privacy?

Quick Tips Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Help

Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Help

We all know that accessing the Windows Help viewer is as easy as clicking on a blank area of the desktop and hitting F1, right? Well, if you didn't, then now you do! Here are some helpful keyboard shortcuts to make you help experience a lot smoother! Give 'em a try!



F10 - Shows the Options menu

F3 - Snap to the Search box

ALT+C - Shows the Table of Contents

ALT+N - Shows the Connection Settings menu

ALT+LEFT ARROW - View previously viewed topic

ALT+RIGHT ARROW - Move forward to the next topic

ALT+A - Show the customer support page

ALT+HOME - Show the Help and Support home page

CTRL+F - Search the current topic

CTRL+P - Print a topic

HOME - Go to the beginning of a topic

END - Go to the end of a topic

Helpful!

Drag Me Home, Firefox!

Say you're browsing around in Mozilla Firefox and you come across a page that's so awesome you want to set it as your home page.

Here's the quickest way:

Just highlight the address up in your address bar and drag it over to the "Home" icon in your toolbar.

Like this:



Now click OK when the dialog box pops up and you've got a new home!



Fantastic!