Microsoft Security Tools

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sec...s/default.mspx

 

Pretty decent article titled

How to make wireless networking work

 

Try this
http://www.widowpc.com/2005/08/fix_dead_pixels.php

Saw it posted over on DSL Reports.

 

When using windows explorer to manage your files, would you prefer that is automaticly displayed the contents of a specfic drive right away rather then having to click on it. If so, all you have to do is modify an existing shourtcut.

The standard "target" in the shortcut should look like this "%windir%\explorer.exe"

Change it to this "%windir%\explorer.exe /e, C:\" to have it automaticly display the contents of the C:\ drive or change C to whatever drive letter you want to it show automaticly.

I will say that it's best not to choose the drive letter of a CD/DVD device as if you don't have anything in those drives at the time, it can cause a long hang/pause which can ultimately cause the explorer shell to crash.

 

Relocate your "My Documents" folder.

Why? To prevent loss in event of a system crash or hard drive failure.

Right click "My Documents", then "Properties". Under Target folder location, click "Move", and select the new location. Click OK, then watch it work. From now on, your documents will be stored there, but will work like usual. Just remember where they are so you don't accidentally delete it!

For most machines, a secondary internal hard drive is the ideal place to relocate your documents. If you do this, create a directory on the secondary drive and point the new target to that. I wouldn't recommend an external drive, because those can be turned on and off too easily. Another possibility is to partition your main drive... one for the OS and programs, and one for your documents. Problem with that is if you run out of space, you're stuck unless you have a partitioning tool like Partition Magic.

Lots of possibilities with this, but the idea is simple... to preserve your files. Also, this is not a substitute for regular backups... it just adds to your peace of mind.

 

I have been visiting that site daily for 5 years now.


CCleaner...trust me your PC will thank you. get it at www.ccleaner.com

 

Nice. Works on 7 too.

 

Spybot S&D is known to plant it's own viruses, malware and spyware, not to mention it drains system resources bigtime, and it hides it's own stuff very well. Stay away from it as well as AVG Free. The only one I use is Windows Defender, and my computers have stayed virus free.

I've done computer repair for years and have used it on my customers computers and have never had one complain of a virus. In fact, every time I found a customer that had Spybot S&D or AVG, I've removed it, installed WD, and that cleared up the problems they were having.

But yes...definitely beware of those popups that want to scan your system, and if one comes up (careful, they look awfully real) immediately exit out of it or disconnect your internet. That one will ruin your day easily with millions of IE windows randomly opening, and it's near impossible to remove from your system once infected without a complete OS reinstall.

 

All 4 of these plant their own viruses, malware, spyware, and adware. ESPECIALLY Adaware. Probably one of the worst offenders. Anything with names that include spy, ad, hijack, or slang like cool, awesome, best, all junk. Pretty much just about every free downloadable antivirus/spyware program will plant it's own junk. Remember when our parents taught us nothing in this life is free? Install Windows Defender, available from Microsoft, keep it up to date, run regular scans, and you will be fine. It's free if you're using a Microsoft Genuine OS, and since it comes FROM Microsoft, you can be certain it is virus free, and won't plant it's own junk.

Sorry for the multi-post. Just saw a few things I wanted to throw my 2 cents in on.

Oh, and here's a tip:

If you've run your antivirus program, it reports your system is clear, and you still have incredibly slow performance (eg windows takes 10 minutes just to load), you more than likely have a bad memory module. You can find out which one(s) it is by shutting down, removing one and starting the system back up. Remember to ground yourself to the case, either with a strap or by keeping your arms touching the metal.

If Windows loads properly, you've found the defective module. If not, put the one you just took out back in, and move to the next one. Repeat the process until you've found the defective one. If Windows still loads slowly, all of your memory modules may be bad, or incompatible with the system. You have to remember that even though the part may fit, and it's the same type, it may not be compatible with your system due to firmware differences. A lot of BSOD errors (Blue Screen of Death) are caused by memory problems too.

 

my legitimate tip, if u think u can, install win 7 i have this AMD computer and i had so many driver problems in xp, which i didnt think was possible i loved xp, they all smoothed right out when i installed 7 instead, i personally love what windows 7 can do for u

for virus protection
i ALWAYS use AVG free and would NEVER touch norton or mcafee (sp?) the former is almost impossible to get rid of, and they both slow down ur computer more than they should, and i have not used mcafee personally but i used norton once, hated it.

one word for browsing: firefox, ive heard decent things about opera but never used, anything but IE really

with win 7 install 64 bit if u can, allows for the most expansion and best utilization of multiple cores.

thats my tips, take them as u will

 

Uh, Josh, Trend Micro's hijackthis is most assuredly NOT loaded up with that kind of crap. It's actually a very powerful tool for not only removing that bunk but also really really really good at messing up a Windows install if you don't know what you are doing since you have to interpret the results to determine what is bad and what is critical to system stability. hijackthis is not a program that you keep running all the time, it does nothing to protect your system.

Also, people should be ignoring the post at the top of page 2. You should buy all your cables from http://monoprice.com unless you don't like the idea of paying $4 for a 10' hdmi cable.

 

Regarding avg free: I never had any problems with them until this year. It worked great and was actually a very good av program. I deleted it this year though, because it was very slow and started to act like mcafee with all the popups and reminders.

For security, go with windows defender. The new security suite is far better than any other 3rd party software you will find.

 

X2monoprice.com got 2 USB cigerette chargers for my phone for a dollar each there. Best buy wanted 29.99 they have all of your cable needs at a steal of a price.

 

not too sure a charger for 1$ each will last you too long...but who knows..

 

It's a money saving PC tip... sorry don't have all your random problems on my Mac

You're generally not paying for quality from a store. You're paying for that guy who doesn't really know what he's talking about who wanders around and attempts to 'assist' and for shelf space.

 

sorry lol i edited my post because I was dumb and forgot to read earlier posts...my bad. I use a mac BTW

 

hehe it's cool just was teasing about the pc joke. Wasn't tryin to spam though, just tryin to help people save some money on random computer stuff.

 

I know my mistake i didnt read through all of the posts. Oops

 

Two years and the ones I bought still work.