What is Readyboost?

Question: What is Readyboost and how can it increase my computer’s RAM?

Answer: Windows Vista has a new performance feature called ReadyBoost. Readyboost is the use of a USB storage device to increase your computer’s RAM. A portion of the memory of your USB will be used as temporary/physical memory for your computer. Although, it is not as effect as having another stick of RAM fixed onto your computer, you should be able to see the faster performance. Readyboost does not work for Windows XP and 2000.

Please also note that you will need a USB that qualifies the following to use it for the Readyboost feature:

1) The device must have at least 64MB storage (3 times the amount of your current RAM. For example, if you have 500MB of RAM, then you should get a 1.5GB USB)
2) The device must be USB 2.0 compliant.
3) The device must have a minimum read speed of 3.5 MB/s.
4) The device must have a minimum write speed of 2.5 MB/s.

Speed up your system and increase RAM without Readyboost – Article to be published in four days.

Resize Windows Vista Icons

Question: How do I resize my desktop icons or Windows Explorer icons in Windows Vista?

Answer: You can easily resize the both the icons on the Vista desktop and also the icons in Windows Explorer by clicking on a blank space on the desktop to resize desktop icons or on Windows Explorer to resize Explorer icons. Then use the scroll in your mouse to scroll up and down in order to resize the icons. There are over 20 sizes. But windows expert Paul Thurrott claims that there are 28 variations! Wow!

Classic Shut Down dialog

Question: How can I get the classic version (XP Version) of the shut down dialog. This is when I gte a small pop up letting me to choose which operation to perform such as shut down, restart and sleep, etc.

Solution: You can get the classic version of the Shut Down dialog by doing the following:
1) Click on a blank space on your desktop.
2) Press ‘ALT + F4’. Now you will see the classic shut down dialog pop up window.

Use the Vista Desktop Address Bar for easy access to websites, applications, etc.

Question: What can I use to have instant access to websites, applications and documents from my Vista desktop? / How do I enable the Windows Vista Desktop Address Toolbar?

Answer: For instant and easy access to websites, applications and documents,you can enable the Windows Vista Desktop Address Toolbar. The toolbar is very IE-like Address bar like and isn’t just good for Web addresses, but also great for Run command and launch applications and even documents.

To enable this feature, please do the following:
1) Right-click a blank space on the Start Menu taskbar.
2) Click on ‘Toolbars’ then click on ‘Address’.

Note: You will need to unlock the taskbar in order to move or resize the Address bar.

How to change my screensaver

Question: How do I changer my screensaver?

Answer: You can change your screensaver by doing the following: (For Windows Vista only – XP method will be publish in two days)
1) Right-click on your desktop and click on ‘Personalization‘.
2) In the pop-up window, click on ‘Screen Saver‘.
3) In the small Screen saver pop up window, select the screen saver you would like in the drop-down menu. (Note, you can first preview the screen saver by selecting the screen saver and click on preview) After selecting the screen saver, click on ‘OK‘.

Make Windows Vista Sidebar always appear on top of other windows

Question: How can I make the Windows Vista sidebar always appear on top of other windows?

Answer: To make the Windows Vista sidebar always appear on top of other windows, do the following:
1) Right click a blank space on the sidebar and click on ‘Properties’
2) In the small pop-up window, tick ‘sidebar is always on top of other windows’.
3) Click on ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’.

Now the Vista sidebar will always appear on top of other windows you open. To make the sidebar disappear on top of other windows, untick the ‘sidebar is always on top of other windows’ option.

Clear private data in Firefox

Question: How do I clear my browsing history, download history, cache cookies, saved passwords and authenticated sites in Firefox?

Solution: You can clear all those data by doing the following:
1) Click on ‘Tools’ located at the top menu bar in Firefox.
2) Click on ‘Clear Private Data’ in the drop-down menu.
3) in the small pop-up window, select your options/tick the ones you want to delete and then click on the ‘Clear Private Data Now’ button.

Clear the download list in Firefox

Question: How do I clear the download history list in Firefox?

Solution: You can clear the download history list in Firefox by clicking doing the following:
1) Click on ‘Tool’ located at the top menu bar in Firefox.
2) Click on ‘Downloads’ in the drop-down menu.
3) Click on the big ‘Clean up’ button at the bottom of the pop-up window.

Now you have successfully deleted all of your download history.

Turn on/off Automatic Updates

Question: How do turn on or off Microsoft Automatic Updats?

Answer: You can turn on or off Windows Automatic Updates by doing the following: (Answer is for Windows Vista users, XP method will be available in two days from this post)

1)Open the Windows Update windows in the programs list. Click on Change Settings in the left  sidebar.
2) Tick the option that you want and then click ‘OK’. In Windows Vista, you will be prompted with the User account control screen. Click on ‘Continue’ to continue.

Security Guide Series: How to protect your PC

Protecting your PC is very important especially in the modern days. Now, if you are a Mac user, you might laugh at Windows users about them having to worry about viruses and spys. But the truth is that you do not have to do a lot to secure your PC. Of course if you want extra protection or if you own a large business, you might want to look further.

So lets start with the basics. The operating system you are using may largely affect the security of your computer and also what steps you have to take. For example, if you compare Windows Vista with Windows 2000, the difference is huge. For users of Windows ME and 98, I really recommend you to upgrade. You do not have to have Vista but something like XP would be fine. Or even better, why not reward yourself with a new PC. You can get quite a good PC at a very cheap price these days. So as I said before, the operating system you are using greatly affects what you have to do to secure your PC.

The next thing you should care about if what Security Suite you are going to use. For XP, 2000 and 98 users, I recommend getting the top performance security suites. I recommend NOD32 and also Kaspersky. For a detailed security suite comparison, click visit Tech Centre or Top10 Reviews. They both do a great job and unlike Norton, they do not slow down your PC very much. If you are using Windows Vista, then you are rewarded for getting the newest and safest operating system. All you actually need for Vista a very light weight and average security suite. I currently use Windows Live One Care which is not highly rated but I find it just fine. Paul Thurrott who is a Windows expert uses the free edition of AVG anti virus combined with Windows Defender that comes standard on Vista. (You can also download Windows Defender for XP) In addition, AVG also have their own anti-spyware program which is free. In addition, PC Tools has got a great free Anti-Spyware Program that comes with Google Pack. I have been using it for nearly two years and so it is the best Anti-Spyware program I have ever used. As you can see that you do not have to do a lot in Vista.

The web browser you use to surf the web is very important too. I always recommend to use the latest version of a web browser. Firefox 2.0+ is a little safer than Internet Explorer 7 and you can even go further with Firefox by installing security add-ons. Both of them have a phishing filter which I think is a got to have feature) I mainly use Firefox and occasionally use Internet Explorer 7.

But probably the biggest factor that will affect your security is you. What you browser on the net and your behaviour is extremely important. Try to avoid going to bad sites and be suspicious when opening an email or attachment from a sender that you do not know.

Having a firewall is also a must. Both Windows XP and Vista have a standard Firewall when purchased (It is called Windows Firewall). Windows Firewall does a good job and is free. But nearly all Internet Security Suites have their own firewall to give you extra protection.

In addition, it is very important that you install the required Windows Updates for your PC. To ensure that you do not forget to keep up with updates, turn on ‘Automatic Updates’. This will automatically update your PC without you having to do anything. To find out how to turn on auto-updates or see if you have auto-updates on, please click HERE.
(This article maybe edited for improvements and updates) If you have any Security tips and recommendations, please leave a comment.

Stay tuned for the next article: Security Suite Comparison.