PCQuickTips

Windows 8

2012-08-06T20:39:00.003+01:00

Are you going to get Windows 8?

If you have seen the latest version of the operating system, seems like quite a radical change!

Will you be purchasing it in October?

Let us know via email

What is a Firewall?

2011-07-05T06:00:00.000+01:00

Ever wondered what a Firewall is, basically its a piece of software that you just install on your computer and protects you from things like viruses and spyware when you are on the Internet, it does this by monitoring Internet traffic coming from your computer and being directed to your computer.

You can also have a hardware firewall that is built into a wireless router.

It is always advisable to have a firewall installed on your computer as well as Anti-Virus software.

Recommended Downloads - Smart Defrag

2011-06-24T06:00:00.004+01:00

Windows has a perectly capable Disk Defrag utility built in, but if like us you would like one that is a bit quicker and more attractive to look at you could always try Smart Defrag made by a company called iobit

Onr particularly useful feature we find is the option to shut the computer down when it has finished the Defrag, this means that you can leave your computer to do the task before you go to bed and it will shut down when complete meaning you don't have to keep checking to see if it has finished.

You can download Smart Defrag, which is free, from here.

"Defrag"

2011-06-21T06:00:00.004+01:00

Over time your computer may become slow when trying to access files from the machine, this can sometimes happen when the Hard Dick Drive becomes fragmented.

When the computer saves a file, this is saved in the next available space and not in any particular order, when the computer has to look for the file it has to search over all un-used as well as used space.

One aid to this is to "Defrag" your computer if you are on Windows Vista just type defrag into the machine to find the program and in Windows XP click Start then All Programs, Accessories, System Tools and then click Disk Defragmenter.

When the defragmenter starts to work it moves all the data into one logical area so that when you are looking for a particular file the computer can quickly use this logical order to find the file.

Icon sizes

2011-06-17T06:00:00.000+01:00

Ever thought that the icons are too small on your desktop well in Windows Vista you can now change the size of them.
Click on the desktop and hold down the CTRL key whilst moving the scroll wheel on your mouse up and down you should now see the icons increase and decrease in size as you move the wheel.

Handy QuickTip - Shutting Down

2011-06-13T06:00:00.000+01:00

To quickly shut down your Windows XP computer press the Windows key then press U twice.

Questions

2011-06-10T06:00:00.000+01:00

At PCQuickTips we are always happy to answer your questions and we would like to thank everybody who has sent us a message for there question to be answered.
Please keep your questions coming in to us either by emailing us on our contact link or by posting a question under the tips we provide.

Handy QuickTip - Web searching

2011-06-08T06:00:00.000+01:00

When searching for a website, there is no longer any need to go to a search page to do so, just type in what you are looking for directly into the browsers address bar at the top of the page.

Installing Windows on more than one computer

2011-06-06T06:00:00.001+01:00

You may have a Windows disc that came with your computer and we have been asked if this can be installed on another computer.

The simple answer to this is no, each copy of Windows come with its own unique "product-key" which is kind of a serial number for that copy you have.

The disc will let you go as far as installing the software but will ask you for the serial number and then you have to activate either via the Internet or by phone.

Recommended Web Sites - myhotspots.co.uk

2011-06-03T06:00:00.001+01:00

Staying on the Wi-Fi theme this week we have a web site to recommend.

If you are visiting an area in the UK and want to find a place to connect to the Internet you can find out where to connect to by using www.myhotspots.co.uk

Just type in the name of the town you are visiting and the site will give you all of the hotspots in the area.

You can even click on a map of the hotspot to see exactly where it is.

Click here to visit the site.

Handy QuickTip - Increasing size of text in your Internet Browser

2011-06-01T06:00:00.005+01:00

Having trouble reading text on a web page in Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Firefox?

Hold down CTRL and the "+" key and the text will enlarge, press a couple of times to make the text bigger still.

If you would like to decrease the size hold down the CTRL key and the "-" key.

Wi-Fi Hotspot

2011-05-30T06:00:00.000+01:00

A lot of people ask us what a Wi-Fi Hotspot is.

All this means is a place where you can log onto the Internet either free or for a small charge.

Many of the large chain of coffee shops and fast food restaurants have Wi-Fi hotspots for you to log onto, all you need is a laptop or other Internet device to log on.

Handy QuickTip - Saving a document as a PDF

2011-05-25T06:00:00.001+01:00

If you have the lastest version of Microsoft Word you can save you document as a PDF easily by using the save as command and selecting .PDF from the drop down menu underneath the box where you name you file.

What is a PDF?

2011-05-23T06:00:00.001+01:00

PDF files or to give them there long name portable document files are a way of displaying a document on any computer while still retaining the format of the document.

Created by Adobe the format can be used on all computers providing they have a piece of software known as a PDF reader installed. On such reader is Adobe Acrobat Reader which usually comes pre-installed on many computers.

Recommended Downloads - Dropbox

2011-05-20T06:00:00.002+01:00

With most of our lives going digital nowadays, its always nice to be able to backup some information to the Internet so you can retrieve it from any computer, anywhere.

This is where Dropbox comes in.
Dropbox is an online storage website that allows you to upload 2GB of your data for free, there are various options for more storage which costs more.

All you do is sign up for a free account and you can upload your data immediately, you can then sign in anywhere and retrieve your information on any computer, you can even upload files from any other computer too.

You can download DropBox from Dropbox.com

Handy QuickTip - Undo

2011-05-18T06:00:00.002+01:00

You may have just typed something into a document and want to undo the action quickly, press CTRL and Z for a shortcut to this action.

CAPTCHA

2011-05-16T06:00:00.002+01:00

You may have signed up for a service on the Internet such as a web mail service and at the end of the form you fill in you will see some strange characters for you to type in - this technique is known as CAPTCHA

Basically what this does is it makes sure that the person typing in the details is a "real person" and not a computer filling in the form. This cuts down on junk emails and false account setups on web sites.

You may also see these symbols on web sites where you can make comments.

Bookmarking

2011-05-13T06:00:00.001+01:00

Adding bookmarks in a browser is a great way to save your favourite sites, in Internet Explorer this feature is called Favourites.

To quickly add a boomark when visiting a web site press CTRL and D.

Handy QuickTip - F3

2011-05-11T06:00:00.001+01:00

Pressing F3 will open a search box allowing you to search the files on your computer, this option works only whilst viewing the desktop.

Creating a new folder

2011-05-09T06:00:00.001+01:00

If you would like to create a folder to place documents or photographs in just right click where you want the folder to be created and select NEW then Folder, the folder will created and will allow you to rename it.

Recommended Downloads - Picassa

2011-05-06T06:00:00.002+01:00

Windows already has a built in system for organising your photographs, especially the new versions, but you may like to try another piece of software.

If you like to edit you photographs before you store them, Picasa has tools to do this as well, you can also add tags to them so you know where they where taken.

Picasa is a great piece of software to edit and show off you treasured photographs, to download Picasa, click here.

Handy QuickTip - Quicker Startup

2011-05-05T06:00:00.001+01:00

If you are using a laptop, instead of turning the computer off when you have finished using it, just close the lid, the computer will go into sleep mode and when you re-open the lid the computer will start where you left off.

Recommended Web Sites - Vevo.com

2011-05-04T06:00:00.001+01:00

If you like listening to music and also like watching music videos, then this weeks recommended web site is suited to you.
This week we are recommending www.vevo.com

Vevo is very much like YouTube.com but is based around music videos, the videos are high quality both in sound and video quality.

To visit Vevo click here.

Handy QuickTip - Print

2011-05-03T06:00:00.000+01:00

If you would like to print a web page or document press CTRL and P