Speeding up your PC

Are you a victim of slow-PC syndrome? Do you wish your computer boots up Windows in seconds instead of minutes? Well fear not, you’re not alone! Many people have this issue and it can be remedied by several simple and proactive steps. In this Tech Tip, we examine 10 simple ways to quickly speed up your computer regardless if it’s a laptop or desktop.

1.) Turn off unnecessary programs during start-up.

Click START – RUN – and type “msconfig” – click STARTUP tab - uncheck the programs that are not needed upon startup such as ADOBE ACROBAT, GOOGLE UPDATE, QUICKTIME – You can see the program name, its file extension and location by the Manufacturer, Command and Location, respectively.

WARNING – IF YOU’RE UNSURE ABOUT A CERTAIN PROGRAM,DO NOT UNCHECK IT AS IT CAN HAVE UNPLEASANT CONSEQUENCES. ONLY UNCHECK THE PROGRAMS THAT YOU RECOGNIZE AND DO NOT NEED TO HAVE RUNNING AT START-UP (i.e. WINAMP AGENT)

2.) Use a free cleaning utility to clean out your system.

Free programs like C Cleaner delete old junk files, cached pages, temporary files and other unimportant data from your computer, thus freeing up your hard drive. If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution,Tune Up Utilities is an excellent program that can tackle all things cleaning-related so you don’t have to use multiple programs to clean your computer. C Cleaner also has a Windows Registry cleaning feature that can help clean out your registry for increased performance.

3.) Upgrade your computers hard drive to a new/bigger/faster one!

Hard drives are getting faster, cheaper and bigger so pick up a new one! Whether your current one is old, sputtering on its last spindle rotation, or almost at full capacity, you can purchase a 500GB, 750GB or 1 Terabyte drive that has much more buffer cache, faster spindle speeds and can even consume less power! (eco-green models) Even if your current drive is working fine, a second hard drive is handy as a large dumping ground for files or can serve as a place to store back-up images of your current hard drive. If you don’t feel like cracking open your case, you can opt for an external hard drive and dump your archive files there to free up space. The reason is because as a hard drive gets full, its performance decreases because it has to work harder to access files.

4.) More Computer Memory (RAM) Scotty!

Now is the time to buy RAM/Memory if your computer was built within the last 5 years. The prices of DDR2 and DDR3 RAM have gone down significantly so it would be in your best interest to pick up at least 1-2 GB on top of what you have now. More RAM means that the computer can do a better of job of booting up programs, delegating tasks and increase overall system performance. Check with your respective PC manufacturer to determine how much RAM you computer can accommodate.

5.) Utilize Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware and Anti-Malware programs

It’s not rocket science that if your computer is infected with a Trojan, botnet or other type of malicious infection, it can slow down your computer considerably. (And possibly compromise your IT security) Pick up a good anti-virus program like MS Security Essentials or AVG Antivirus if you fancy free versions. If you don’t want to have your system hijacked by a Trojan, pick up Malwarebytes’ Antimalware which can find and quickly eliminate programs such as “Avira AV” which auto-install and trick the unsuspecting victim that he/she is infected. (Then it will try to collect payment from “product activation” but it’s really just a hijacking program) Bottom line, your computer will run faster and much more efficient without these kinds of infections.

6.) Update Drivers

This obviously sounds like a chore but keep in mind that with the super fast pace of technology, having the most up-to-date software is important for a computer’s stability, compatibility and performance. For example, if you play PC games or do heavy graphics editing, your gaming/editing performance might suffer if you’re using outdated drivers from the video card manufacturer. (Or OEM PC maker)

7.) Take advantage of READYBOOST!

If you’re running Windows Vista or 7, utilizing ReadyBoost is one of the simplest speed tweaks you can perform! Just pick up a 2-4 GB USB flash drive, plug it into your computer and wait for it to be recognized. Afterwards, right click on the flash drive letter under My Computer and click the READYBOOST tab. Check USE THIS DEVICE and click OK and voilá! You’re done!

8.) Turn off User Account Control (UAC) and Aero

For Windows Vista and 7 users, turning off UAC not only eliminates the annoying pop-ups but also speeds up the computer.

Just go into Control Panel – Security Center – USER ACCOUNTS – TURN USER ACCOUNT CONTROL OFF.

For those of you who don’t care about the graphical fancy pants that is Windows Aero, you can turn it off and thus save Windows from performing unnecessary gratuitous graphics when you’re simply navigating.

For Vista - right-click on the desktop – PERSONALIZE – click WINDOW AND APPEARANCE – OPEN CLASSIC APPEARANCE PROPERTIES FOR MORE COLOR OPTIONS – COLOR SCHEME – WINDOWS VISTA BASIC.

For Windows 7 – right-click on desktop – PERSONALIZE – Select Windows 7 Basic theme – OK.

9.) Remove unnecessary programs in Windows

If you buy a computer from an OEM such as Dell or HP, it’s most-likely filled with “bloatware”, the programs that are usually trial but are installed with the OEM’s copy of Windows. While these programs are harmless, they get annoying because they slow your computer down considerably. You can either manually uninstall each program from CONTROL PANEL – ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS, or you can download and install PC Decrapifier. This program searches your computer, targets the programs that are considered bloatware such as “Auto Backup – Free Trial!”, “McAfee 90-day Trial”, and “eMusic” and un-installs them to not only free up hard drive space, but also increase performance.

10.) Defrag the right way!

Defragmenting your hard drive the proper way can speed up your PC in addition to organizing your files. Some programs like Puran Defrag not only defrags your hard drive(s), it also defrags your boot files so your Windows start-ups are quicker. In addition, there are comprehensive programs like Raxco Perfect Disk that optimize the placement of data for maximum performance depending on the settings you choose.

While there are many ways to speed up your computer, the goal for these 10 speed tips are simplicity and ease of use. Yes, you can tinker with your Windows Registry files but if you make a mistake, you can crash Windows just like that! The most important thing to keep in mind is remembering to perform the above cleaning tasks every now and then. (At least once a month) Just like proactively keeping your car in good running condition (ahem, Skyline GT-R!) with timely maintenance, running these applications from time to time keeps your computer running in peak performance. Regardless of whether you have a dual-core, triple-core or quad-core CPU computer, you did pay for your computer’s performance so it makes sense to able to utilize all of it.

Twitter Tips and Tools

Social networking and micro-blogging site Twitter just celebrated its fifth year on March 21. It began as a small project at a podcasting company in San Francisco called Odeo. Thanks to the creative genius of Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams and Biz Stone, the world is closer and more “real-time” than ever before. There is no clearer evidence of this than the role Twitter (and Facebook) played in the recent uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.

It took Twitter 3 years, 2 months and 1 day to reach the first 1 billionth tweet. Now there are a billion tweets a WEEK. While the actual number of Twitter users is a moving target, it is no doubt in excess of 200 million. Over the last month, there has been an average of 460,000 new Twitter accounts per day.

People have different reasons for joining Twitter. Whether you want to generate more traffic to your business or you want to increase your social relationships, you can tweet to achieve your goals. In this Tech Tip, we’ll explore some helpful tips and tools you can use whether you’re a beginner or an experienced tweeter.

We’ll assume that you know how to set up a Twitter account and have a basic knowledge of the platform. You’re limited to 14 characters for your user name so choose something that will identify you. Also, be creative with a custom background for your Twitter page. You can change that on the Design tab and use themeleon to really pimp out your page. Make the most of the personal information on your account. On your Profile, fill in your location, web site URL (if you have one), plus a nice picture or avatar. Most important will be your BIO where you describe yourself in 160 characters or less. If you’re looking to find new customers or people with similar interests, use keywords in your bio that will attract that kind of following.

Twitter Tips

Your tweet will stand out more if it's shorter, especially if it's sandwiched between other tweets that push the character limit. If you can't say it in 140 characters, reevaluate whether you should be posting it on Twitter. Best practice is to tweet an average of 1-3 times per day maximum. Share good stuff—keep it topical, informative and useful.

When you read tweets you may notice some contain a hash tag (#) followed by a word. A hash tag is simply a way for people to search for tweets that have a common topic. In a way, it allow you to create communities of people interested in the same topic by making it easier for them to find and share info related to it. Just remember that when tweeting the hash tag will come out of your 140 character tweet limit.

If you’re wondering who to follow other than friends, co-workers and family, follow the followers of those you respect. There’s a high probability that the majority of those users are real people with similar interests. Your follow back rate could triple using this tactic.

Be diligent when replying to tweets directed to you. If you just hit “reply” remember that tweet will be seen by ALL those following you and they may choose to unfollow you. That can diminish your presence on Twitter. If you’d like to keep it more private then type a “d” before the user name to send a direct message, such as d computergeeks.

Don’t auto-reply to everyone who follows you with the AutoDM (direct message). That’s sure to bring you a slew of unfollows. Try to keep an even balance between “following” and “followers”. Let’s say you have 200 followers and are following 1,988 people; that could raise a red flag and Twitter might put a hold on your account until you bring the two into more of an alignment. Of course, if you’re Charlie Sheen with over 3 million followers, that rule is out the window. But for those of us who aren’t #winning, best to keep an eye on your follow status.

On March 15, 2011, Twitter enabled users to turn on HTTPS, improving the security of your account to better protect your information if you’re using Twitter over an unsecured Internet connection, like a public WiFi network. The plan is to make this the default setting in the future, but for now go toyour settings and check the box next to “Always use HTTPS,” which is at the bottom of the page.

Twitter Tools

If you’re looking for an easier way to grow your followers, you can try a software called TweetAdder. It offers a great feature where you can simply enter a user’s name and it will extract their followers and add them to the “follow list” that you can use in the software. While there is a charge for TweetAdder, it can be cost-effective in the amount of time it will save you. The web site offers a detailed demo, so give it a try.

Hootsuite and TweetDeck are by far the most popular third party Twitter clients available today. They have many similarities - ability to schedule posts, post to other channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare all at once. They both have their own URL shorteners.

Known by its cute owl mascot, Hootsuite is a web-based tool that can handle multiple Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Page, LinkedIn, MySpace and Foursquare social profiles. Unlike TweetDeck, Hootsuite offers a robust statistical analysis of your accounts which may or may not be what you need. The free version allows for up to 5 social media profiles but you can upgrade to unlimited for as little as $6 a month.

TweetDeck is a free desktop tool that uses Adobe Air and for that reason can be a little wonky at times. But it also has many great features. You can attach photos and videos to your tweet, schedule your tweets in advance. TweetDeck will display columns of each of your accounts, your mentions, direct messages, lists, a hash tag you want to monitor, trending topics and more.

You can’t go wrong with either one, they’re free so try them both and see what works best for you.

If you want to tie in your blog posts with your tweets and other social networks, there’s a handy tool call Twitterfeed. Again, free so check it out if that fills a need.

Share some of your interesting pictures on Twitter so that others can get to know you better. This is easy to do with a free tool called Twitpic. You can upload a picture or video, compose your tweet and then post your message. You can also email your picture and tweet via Twitpic. It’s compatible with mobile devices which make it easier to share pictures from your phone.

Here are some other tools you might find helpful:

1. Twitterfall allows you to narrow down tweets by city and/or keyword.
2. Twellow: like the Twitter Yellow Pages- a search directory of people by area of expertise, profession or other attribute listed in their personal profiles.
3. TweetBeep sends you alerts based on keywords; stay on top of breaking news.
4. TweetGrid helps you monitor multiple topics at once.

BONUS TIP

Since tweets are limited to 140 characters, URLs are usually shortened. Are you just a tad wary of clicking on those bit.ly,is.gd or TinyURL!™ from people you don’t know or necessarily trust? Well, there’s a way to find out exactly where they’re sending you before you click that little link. Go tohttp://www.untiny.me, put in the short link, extract the actual URL and decide if you want to go ahead and click through.

This only scratches the surface of the many Twitter tools out there with more launching all the time. But some other highly recommended ones include SocialOomph, Posterous® andSeesmic. Since all the tools mentioned in this Tech Tip are either free or have a free trial, take them for a test drive and see what you like best.

Have you tried these or any other tools and tips? Let us know in the comments.

Use Twitter to make new friends or promote your business and have some social networking fun.

Data Security FAQ

Some frequently asked questions about how to safeguard your computer data on a personal and business level. It assumes that you DO NOT have gigabytes of music and movies that require extensive security measures to protect.

1.) How should I begin to secure important data on my desktop computer or laptop?

First, it makes sense to designate 1 or 2 specific folders on your computer as the main folder for confidential file back-ups for several reasons. If you have to do a quick back-up, all you do is copy that folder to an external drive for an instant back-up.

Second, It provides a centralized location for all important data. Instead of having to hunt down the menu, sub-menu, sub-sub-menu of where you normally download company financial spreadsheets, you can set your browser and programs (such as Quickbooks, etc.) to save/download all important files to this folder.

Third, let’s say you only save ALL important files on a flash drive/external hard drive. If your notebook gets lost/stolen, the thieves only have the programs and not the actual confidential files which are on the cheap flash drive.

2.) Great, now how do I actually back-up my designated BACK UP folder(s)?

Here’s where it gets tricky. You have several back-up options such as:

A.) Cloud – Services such as Carbonite and Mozy offer low-priced back-up solutions. You basically upload all your confidential files to their cloud servers and are able to access them anywhere in the world where there is Internet access. The main issue is that, from a business security perspective, you have no idea where your data is stored.If, for example, it’s stored in a server farm in China which gets hacked, then you’re in trouble.

B.) External Hard Drives – These nifty devices come in portable 2.5” and larger 3.5” flavors and offer more than generous dumping grounds for all things important. Once you plug it in, your OS recognizes it and pops you up with a folder showing it as a (giant) external drive with a letter (i.e. G:) Some even feature OTB (One Touch Backup) so you press one button and it backs up either your entire system or certain portions of it. Some external hard drives offer plug-in encryption that prevents unauthorized access. The issue with this solution is that you have to lug it around, which means it has a chance of getting lost/stolen and the formality of performing a back-up might become time-consuming to some.

C.) Flash Drive – These little drives are more nimble, have zero moving parts and are highly portable. Unfortunately, this is also its Achilles’ Heel as its relatively small size makes it prone to becoming misplaced or stolen. Also it does not have the capacity of a larger external drive. The good news is that some flash drives have built-in encryption which can be useful if it lands in the wrong hands.

D.) Home/Office Network Attached Storage Drive – Also called NAS, this is an excellent solution for comprehensive back-up protection as these hard drives function as dumping grounds for an entire home or office network. It provides a centralized location for files, folders and documents which any connected computer can access and come in large drive sizes. However, security precautions should be utilized if the NAS has built-in measures as an unsecured NAS may be prone to prying eyes. For example, a NAS without security protocols activated while connected to a home Wi-Fi network is prone to being breached. Because of this, it’s crucial to configure the NAS security as well as the router/network security for optimal protection.

E.) Backing up to CD/DVD/Blu-Ray – Optical media back-up is actually a very cost-effective solution because CDs and DVDs are very cheap nowadays. Furthermore, if you’re looking to close the books for a certain month on your business, burning to a CD-R or DVD+R sets the data in stone so it can’t be manipulated on the disc. The problem is that if you have lots of data to back-up, the formality of using several CD-R or DVD-R discs to save might also become time consuming. In addition, you would have to make sure said back-up discs are placed in a safe place where the chance of it getting stolen is minimized.

3.) Which back-up method should I pick?

While the above solutions offer many ways to back up your confidential data, the best way to minimize a data breach/loss is to follow a combination of multiple back-up solutions and proactive behavior. For example, it would be a good idea to store important sensitive data on your flash drive and encrypting it with TRUE Crypt while also saving duplicate file copies on your home NAS drive via secure VPN connection. If your flash drive is lost/stolen, True Crypt prevents the drive from being used without proper credentials and you can still access the very same duplicate files on your NAS server.

Regarding proactive behavior, you should be mindful of back-ups so you don’t lose something you wish you saved 2 weeks ago.

There are also programs out there that can help secure data such as:

• Folder Lock – Locks and can hide any folder you wish from prying eyes.
• True Crypt– secures drives with extensive hardware encryption.
• Acronis Drive Cleaner – Completely erases all drive data with several methods (DoD, Gutmann method, etc.) – works great if you’re planning to get ride of old computer hardware.

Remember, it’s all about being proactive and being mindful of what back-up security solutions to use for your personal or business needs!

Recover Dead Drive

One of the most dreadful feelings that you can have is having a pc computer or laptop die that hadn’t been backed up recently; especially if you have valuable pictures, music, videos, documents or other files on it.

In this Tech Tip we’ll take a look at how to recover your valuable pictures from a dead computer.

Where to start

Computers are complex machines and when they work right, they are fun to use – but when something goes drastically wrong, it can feel as if your world crashed down around you. If your hard drive is still in working order, there is a very good chance that you’ll be able to recover your pictures, music, videos and valuable documents (and other data) simply with another computer; a specialized cable, a screwdriver; and a little time.

To start off, your best bet it to get a specialized USB cable that can plug directly into your hard drive that you’ll recover from the dead computer. There are several types, and I’d recommend getting one that can handle both PATA (IDE) and SATA hard drives (the two most common used in consumer computers) as well as 2.5” (laptop) and 3.5” (desktop) hard drives. You can also use a hard drive dock or external drive cases as well - but personally I find the specialized USB cable to be the easiest and most flexible option.

Next, remove the hard drive from the dead computer. On desktops it is usually held in with four Philips screwdrivers and on laptops it is usually under an access panel on the bottom of the computer. Remove any cables and caddies that the drive may have – all you need is the bare drive. Then plug in the USB cable into the hard drive (and a power cable if it is a desktop drive – also provided with the USB cable kit) and then plug the other end of the USB cable into a working computer. The computer will then set up the drive ad an external storage device and voilà! you’ll now have access to the files on that drive (provided that the drive is not encrypted or using some type of security feature).

Where to look

OK, so the drive is now plugged into your computer and seen as an external drive, now what? You have several options. One option is to simply look for the files on the drive from the dead computer that you plugged into the USB port and copy them onto the working computer. This is my preferred method personally. I like to “brute force” my way through the drive with Windows Explorer (or a similar file browsing tool) and manually copy/paste the data from one computer to the other. Another option is to follow a Windows dialog box (that usually pops up when you plug in an external drive) and have it help you copy your data from one computer to the other. If you are manually choosing to “brute force it” personal data is usually stored by default in the computers operating systems “home directory” for users.

Common Locations

for home directories (where <root> takes the place of the drive letter):

1. Microsoft Windows 95-Me <root>\My Documents
2. Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/2003 <root>\Documents andSettings\<username>
3. Microsoft Windows Vista / Windows 7 <root>\Users\<username>

Other “What ifs”

What if the files on the drives are erased? If they are, you can use a free recovery program such as Piriform’s Recuva to look for and (hopefully) restore the files. This simple, easy-to-use tool is terrific for recovering pictures from a camera’s memory card that have accidentally been erased as well!

What if the hard drive is the reason that the computer died (actual hardware failure)? If the hard drive is the part that caused the computer failure, then you may be out of luck. Yes, there are specialty recovery services that will pull apart the drives data platters and attempt to recover data (and they are usually successful - such services were used, for example, to recover data from the hard drives that were used on computers from the space shuttle Columbia after it broke apart in 2003) but such services are usually very expensive.

A word to the wise

Backup, backup, backup! Whether using one of the Internet based cloud services or a separate external hard drive – if you make it a habit of backing up regularly, chances are good that you’ll keep the loss of such a failure to a minimum if a computer fails. Of course one of the benefits of using cloud-based backup services is that you can have access to your pictures anywhere you have Internet access.

Summing it up

A computer that dies can be a loss – but don’t lose hope that your valuable pictures (and other stuff) are gone forever. With a little work, you can retrieve your data off the hard drives from a dead computer!

Essential Softwares

It’s safe to say that among the critical software elements for any computer, Microsoft Office, Windows Updates and an antivirus/antimalware applications are the bare minimum for most people. However, if you’re looking to squeeze out further productivity, we have 12 applications that can help you get things done more quickly whether you’re a student, working professional or a hardcore gamer!

1.) Gadwin Print Screen – This neat little program allows you to print-screen shot and capture the activity happening on your system if you’re trying to document tech support issues, making a how-to guide/presentation and need illustrative pictures or show other co-workers what you’re looking at for comparison purposes. It has a host of features such as image capture format, configurable shortcut buttons, destination and capture such as whole screen, currently active screen or selective rectangular area.

2.) Log Me In Hamachi – Hamachi is great if you want to have a secure connection between your notebook and home or office network. It creates a VPN tunnel which is encrypted so all your network traffic is safe from prying eyes which comes in handy for public Wi-Fi networks.

3.) Teamviewer – Offered in both commercial and free personal-use flavors, this remote desktop application enables you to connect to your home or office computer and access your files like you’re actually in front of that computer. It works great at transferring files, helping clients or family members with tech support issues and for managing your home/office IT network from a mobile location.

4.) PDF995 Printer – Along with the PDF995 printer driver, this awesome piece of software functions as a virtual printer and allows you to physically print any document or web page as the output is a PDF file on your desktop. Saving a web page via CTRL-S or SAVE AS in HTML is hardly practical and this program does an excellent job of documenting important pages like online academic resource database articles, newspaper articles, confirmation pages and reduces the need to have 50+ browser tabs running and eating up system resources.

5.) Alcohol 120% - CDs and DVDs are so 2004. This advanced application can rip and save your optical discs as a simple image file on your computer. Instead of having to deal with the possibility of scratched and/or unreadable CDs/DVDs, Alcohol 120% functions as a virtual optical drive on My Computer. If you want to load an image, you click “Mount Ghost Recon.iso” and Windows will load the game image file as if you’re putting the CD in the actual drive.

6.) VLC Media Player – With no shortage of media players in existence, VLC proved itself to be robust and very useful when it comes to reading a wide variety of formats. Whether it’s a divx file or DVD, VLC can play it back without additional installation such as video codecs.

7.) CPU-Z – This awesome application is geared more towards gamers and computer users looking to identify and monitor their computer’s configuration. For example, it can not only identify the computer’s CPU, but will also show its current speed, FSB, clock multiplier, RAM amount and which memory bank holds what stick.

8.) WinRAR – WinRAR enables file compression and decompression, works quickly and is perfect for archiving or trying to make files smaller for quicker file transfer. It supports a wide variety of formats including traditional ZIP and even has a password encryption feature so unauthorized parties cannot extract & uncompress your important RAR files.

9.) True Crypt 7.0a – While it is free, this open-source encryption tool is worth more than its weight in gold considering its wealth of features. Its most impressive feature allows you to encrypt flash drives and your own hard drive(s) which reduce the chance of any unauthorized parties from accessing your personal or company confidential data.

10.) Download Accelerator Plus – It comes in free and premium versions but I’ve found the free version to be fast enough for being free. Downloads like drivers, patches and other large files are quick for this program as it searches for the best connection and availability of download mirror sites.

11.) Evernote – While Windows 7 does come with notepad and stickypad built in, Evernote offers advanced note-taking features that ca help you remember and finish that paper or report just in time!

12.) Handbrake – Need some mobile entertainment on the go? Handbrake allows you to rip DVD movies in MPEG format to your laptop and is perfect for long airline flights, car rides or long downtime at the airport.

Of course, there are other software programs out there that are just as valuable to have that are either free or low-cost.