How to post and delete tweets directly via e-mail in Twitter

Normally you can enter tweets via the app from anywhere directly to Twitter, there is also an option to tweet via email. This even comes with some advantages as it offers more
functionality.
To begin, you must log in to the free service Twittermail. Head to the website twittercounter.com/pages/ twittermail and click “Sign in with Twitter” on the top left corner. In a new window, confirm the link by clicking “Authorise app”. On the next page, you can deactivate all the options for Twitter Counter from the Settings. Once done, click “Save and go”. Then, you will come to the dialog for “Twitter mail Settings”. The “Twittermail address” generated here is very important. Here you can take the suggested encrypted name or you can change the address in the field. However, please note that every email sent there would automatically generate a tweet in your profile in the future.
Also take note that, addresses that can be guessed easily, can lead to Spam in the tweets. You only have to enter your “Twitter password” when you want to forward images in your tweets. In the field
"Cut of phrase”, you can define a text that marks the end of the text to be forwarded in the email. With this, you can prevent the publishing of your signature too. You can also keep the field empty and use the two line breaks as end markers. With the Setting "Message body”, the combination field
“What to tweet” determines whether the message should be published on Twitter. You can also choose "Subject" for the subject line or for both. Copy the encrypted mail address in your address
book. Once the "Save settings" options is clicked, the service will be ready to use.

How to use the new stickers in Facebook chat

Other than small emoticons, there are also larger stickers available, which you can use in chat messages on Facebook. If you don't like the pre-installed ones, you can download more for free. To do this, open a chat dialog in the Facebook app. While you can insert the available emoticons via the plus sign to the left of the input field, there is a new smiley to access stickers to the right of the input field. The first set of stickers is already available.

The lower menu bar facilitates the access to the recently used stickers, different sticker collections as well as the purchase basket of sticker store. You can select more sticker sets here and download them free of cost via the arrow symbol. Scroll through the respective collection and click the sticker to send it in the current chat. Unlike the emoticons, the image is not inserted in the text, but separately and immediately without further confirmation. The whole thing is a rather amusing form of nudging via images. TIP On the Facebook website, the smiley is in the input field. The standard Smileys and a mini-selection of stickers are available here you can expand it as suggested via the Facebook app.

How to charge your battery free of risk via USB

Smartphones batteries have to be recharged often even while traveling. Handy USB ports used for recharging is now available almost everywhere; but it could also pose a risk. The USB connection to an external systems may result in data exchange. This is now common not just for PCs but also other devices.
Depending on the configuration of the smartphone and external system, it can lead to automatic connection – which you may not realise.
For example, photos may be uploading to a service like Dropbox in the background. On Android, there is a high possibility that malware may be installed on the device. Therefore, the safest thing to do is to switch off the smartphone completely before connecting it to the external USB port. If you want to or have to leave the device active, you should be careful while connecting and be aware if the
device is requesting for a mode. If it is, always select the option “Charge only”.
In Android's “Developer options” in the settings, be sure to check here whether “USB debugging” is deactivated. Also, be sure to go to the “Security” settings and deactivate the option “Unknown source” in order to prevent the installation of apps or malware from unreliable sources.

How to manage search engines access for Firefox on Android device

If you use Firefox on your Android device, you normally get hits from Google, Amazon, Twitter and Wikipedia when you search for a keyword. If you want to limit the search only to Google or want to extend it to other search engines like Yahoo, you do not have the option to manage the search engines
from the search box like on the PC.
The configuration of search engines is available in the add-ons menu. For this, open the settings of the app and the tap on "Extras" and then on “Addons”. Besides other possible extensions this list shows the set search engines where the aforementioned four search engines are integrated. In order to switch off any one of it, tap on it and then on “Deactivate” in the following dialog. With the same method, you can later reselect the search engines later by tapping on “Activate”. To insert additional search engines, tap on the icon to the right next to "Your Add-ons". Only in the following dialog, enter the search keyword as “Yahoo” or “Bing” in the field on the page and then tap on the green arrow. Search for the suitable add-on such as “Yahoo Search for Firefox Android” in the list. Then open the detailed display and tap on “Add to Firefox”. Confirm the request for the new search machine by selecting “Add”.

How to set individual vibrate patterns for different callers in iPhone

While setting different ringtones for different contacts allows you to easily identify them, it doesn't quite help when your phone is set to silent mode during a meeting. With the iPhone, you can also set a different vibration pattern for each contact so that with some practice you can also tell who is calling. To do this, you have to first open the Contacts app and select the respective contact you want. Select “Edit” and search “Vibrate” in the menu, which is usually set to standard.

 

In the section "Normal”, there already some typical patterns available which you can select by clicking on them. If you want to personalise it further, you can also "Create a new vibration". You can easily create the sequence by specifying a scheme by selecting any of the grey areas on the screen in the desired time sequence. The compilation begins automatically with the first tap. Subsequently you can test the vibration with the option "Repeat" and, if required, "Record” it again. If you are happy with the sequence, select “Save” and give the vibration pattern a name. After that, this pattern will be immediately available in the menu for selection.

How to solve vague BIOS messages during system start

If BIOS error messages constantly appear during startup and it seems like it doesn't have any effect on the operation of the system, it could probably be caused by the back-up battery that has run dry. Previously, this could be easily detected from the incorrect system time, but now, since this - as well as other settings - are synchronised over the Internet. It is no longer a reliable indicator.

How to solve the graphic cards problems when mounting and installation

Depending on what type of user you are, a performance graphics card is sometimes necessary, so that the latest games runs smoothly and with high quality. However, before buying, make sure to check whether your motherboard is compatible with the new card. Some high performance models actually take up the entire length of the PCIe slots even on a ATX sized motherboard. Therefore, you should make sure if it actually fits into your computer chassis. Sometimes the hard disk cages or the fan of the CPU and the cases can get in its way. These days, the connection technology will never be an issue: as the PCIe connection has been a standard that has been established for many years. However there are several different revisions. To ensure that the card performs to it fullest, you should compare the specifications of the motherboard and the graphics card before making a purchase. The installation is usually not critical. But older drivers can cause problems. So before you start working with driver removal tools, you should consider a clean reinstallation of the system. This often solves all the problems.

How to increase the battery life of a mobile

Have you ever felt that the battery of your mobile phone or camera must be constantly recharged after a short while? This is actually because the performance of the battery reduces over time. Here are some power-saving measures for you to try out, so that you can prevent it from happening. With this, even smartphones can stay powered up for awhile longer. To improve the performance of the battery slightly better on your own: just simply charge and discharge the battery in repeated successions within a short time. Be sure to always completely discharge it but simultaneously do not leave it for the whole day or else it will total discharge and that could possibly make the battery unusable permanently. This tip is particularly handy for devices, whose batteries are not compatible or have already lost massive amounts of running time due to frequent short time charging.

Useful tips for refilling toner cartridges

If you seriously want to save money by refilling your ink or toner cartridges yourself, here are a few basic rules you should follow to get yourself prepared. Make sure everything is ready before proceeding with the task, because nothing is more annoying than when you have to search for something with ink on your fingers. You will need: Disposable gloves, paper towels, window cleaner, stationery knife, disposable syringe with needles and a drip-resistance base so that the ink does not stain your table top during the process. Do not hesitate when it comes to refilling! As soon as the first light-colored stripes are seen on a print image you should get into action.

This is because empty cartridges dry up quickly, causing it to clog up very easily. As for Bubble Jet printers, the nozzles are cooled by the discharging ink. If the nozzles run dry the excessive heat can destroy them. Air also plays an important role while refilling: Of course the air must basically be cleaned out from the empty cartridge and the ink. However, do pay attention while refilling and make sure the cartridge is not filled to the brim and that there are no air bubbles in the syringe and later in the cartridge. Air bubbles can prevent the ink from discharging when it lies in front of the nozzle. Lodged air bubbles cannot be removed even if you use reduced or excessive pressure, as the air can compress and expand. Depending on the printer and cartridge model, there are additional hurdles like security chips or coding that you must deal with separately. Moreover, there can be slight variation in colors, light and abrasion resistance. So, firstly do check on the Internet to find out which refill method should be used and what are some of the things to take into account..

We are actually against the storage of refilled cartridges since these are or were opened before so they tend to dry out quickly. You can remove the rest of the ink residues on the hands by using soft soap(this can be found and purchased from a hardware store or pharmacy)

How to overcome problems of your keyboard

Every key on the standard keyboard handles over thousand of strokes - without making a mistake. Despite this fact, keyboards can start acting up but this is mainly because of external sources: Dust, crumbs, hair, cigarette ash, liquids and so on, which often falls into the spaces between the keys of the keyboard over the course of time. All these things affect the mechanics and can cause contact issues. If the keyboard is not working properly and it is not due to a drained battery and pinched or broken cable then the first you should do is shut down the computer and turnover the keyboard once and shake it vigorously so that the rough and loose particles will fall out. The next step is to clean it with a vacuum cleaner and upholstery nozzle. A possible film of dirt on the keys and frames can be removed with the normal wet wipes.

How to know any unknown activity in gmail account to avaoid hacking

In Gmail, you can also monitor your account activity easily, which can help you to avoid hacking, but not many of you are aware of it or don't know how to fully utilize it. You will find this information at the bottom of the Gmail webpage.

 

Using this option, you may find many useful details in it including :

1. Which web browser was used to open / check email account.
2. If any software / web service tried to pull some information from your account, it will be listed in the list.

3. How the email account was accessed (PC or Mobile).
4. The location (Country / City) from where the Inbox was accessed.
5. The IP address of the PC
6. Time and Date when it was last accessed.

After viewing these details, you can easily identify whether anyone else has accessed your account or not. Most importantly, the information is displayed in such a way in the Activity information log that any person can read it and identify unusual / suspicious activity.

 

Save power with GO Power Master in your Android device

A great application that lets you take control of your power usage quickly and easily

 

GO Power Master is a great and simple-to-use battery optimisation app that gives you a score based on how well your phone is using its energy. You can tweak a lot of settings straight from the app, including the brightness of your screen and which connections you have running, as well as creating your own custom battery profiles to make your own specific battery saving routine. There are lot of tweaks and changes you can make with GO Power Master, so here we will inform you about getting the app set up and running your first optimization check.

 

Get the app set up

Once you’ve downloaded the app, run it. You’ll notice a battery level indicator appears in your notifications bar and that the app gives you a score. If the score is green you’re doing fine, if it’s
not, you’ll need to do some work.

 

Run your first check

Tap on the button that says Optimize Now. This might take a few seconds, but it’s running a check to see what apps and connections you have running, and to see the quality of your battery. Your score should go up a little afterwards.

 

Go a little deeper
Underneath the new score you’ll see a series of suggestions for making things smoother. Some you’ll want to keep running, others are pretty smart, like turning off Wi-Fi when your screen is off. Tick boxes to see your score go up.

 

Still facing a problem?

If you’re still having a problem you might find that there’s something wrong with your battery itself. Head to the Tool tab and tap on Battery Info. This will give you a breakdown of your battery and tell you if it needs replacing.

Top five battery-saving tips for Android mobile and tablet users

Top five battery-saving tips for Android mobile and tablet users

1. Built-in App
Many phones and tablets have their own built-in power saving mode. Make sure you activate this.
 

2. Screen brightness
Your screen is the biggest drain on the battery. It’s not really a surprise, considering how big some modern smartphones are. Knock down the brightness and you’ll fi nd that your battery lasts noticeably longer.
 

3. Charge when necessary
It’s a good idea to run your battery to empty very occasionally to reset it. It’s good to try and let the battery drop to around 40% before you charge it, there’s no need to keep it at 100%.
 

 

4. Bring a spare cable
If you’re using your phone as a tether to connect your laptop to the internet on the go, take a connecting wire with you so you can charge your phone from your laptop.

5. Don’t be afraid to change
If you find that one of your apps is using a lot of energy, why not look for an alternative. There are thousands of apps on the Play store and you should be able to find a replacement no matter what app you’re using.

Useful Android Jargons

OS
Short for ‘operating system’. Often the Android ROM will be referred to as the OS – this just means the system files on the Android device that make up your user experience, similar to Windows, Mac OS X or Ubuntu on a desktop computer.

ROM
Stands for ‘read-only memory’. In the context of Android, the ROM refers to the files that make up the operating system installed on your device. Gaining root privileges allows for replacement of the standard ROM with a custom one.

 

ROM Manager
An app available from the Android Market that enables you to install a whole new version of your OS with a single click. It requires a rooted phone to use and is ideal for those new on the scene.

Root
‘Rooting’ your phone gives apps access to parts of the OS that are normally hidden from consumers. This enables you to run more powerful software and install custom ROMs on your phone.

Titanium Backup
This app from the Market enables you to back up everything on your phone – apps, data, settings and all. It means that you can restore your phone to how it was, even after you’ve updated or changed the ROM.

Unrevoked
Available from www.unrevoked.com, this is a one-click tool that can be used for rooting many popular HTC smartphones.

ADB
Stands for ‘Android Debug Bridge’. ADB is mainly used for software development, but it also has some uses for hacking your phone. It can be used to push fi les onto the system folder, for instance.

Nandroid
You might come across the phrase ‘perform a Nandroid backup’. This means using a custom recovery tool to make a back-up image of everything currently on your phone: OS, apps, data, etc. It’s very useful should you wish to restore your phone to its previous state later.

Radio
‘Radio’ refers to the software on your Android device that deals with making phone calls and data connections. Updating your radio version can bring better battery life and signal strength to your device. Some ROMs require the latest radio.

Flash
The storage in your device comprises flash memory, a type of solid-state storage. The terms ‘flash’ or ‘flashing’ mean installing new software onto your device’s storage.

9 Open Source Tools for Building E-Commerce Sites

Here are a list o 9 Open Source Tools for Building E-Commerce Sites:

 

Zen Cart E-Commerce Shopping Cart: This is a PHP  based e-commerce shopping cart built on OScommerce’s GPL code. It’s easy to setup, highly customizable, and can be run from your own webserver, thereby giving you full in control over its features and capabilities.

 

Symphero: This one runs on Linux and other Unixlike OSs, supports multiple databases (MySQL and PostgreSQL), distributed object storage (in beta), marketing and affiliate tracking capabilities.

XOS-Shop E-Commerce Shopping Cart: This is an open source shopping cart software, written in PHP/MySQL, and originally based on osCommerce.

PrestaShop: A robust, professional-grade e-Commerce solution with a full-featured back-office application to manage your online business, which includes inventory, orders, shipping, and customers--all in real-time.

VirtueMart: An Open Source E-Commerce solution to be used along with the famous CMS Joomla.

Axis 0.8.7.2: A popular e-commerce tool based on PHP, MySQL, ExtJS, jQuery and the Zend PHP framework. It has features like a product catalog manager, products organizer, order management, customer mgmt, discounts mgmt, store statistics, and much more.

CF Shopkart 5.5 build 006: Here’s a shopping cart utility for the ColdFusion development stack, which is currently inactive, but mature enough to be used for online stores today. A few key features of the software include mgmt. modules for products, categories, customers, orders, wishlists, support tickets, taxes, and payment gateways. Plus, there are modules for blogging, statistics, comment moderation, product reviews, and much more.

Magento Community Edition 1.7.0.2 / 1.8.0.0 Alpha 1: Create advanced stores in just a few clicks. Spend more time entering product information instead of customizing HTML code. There’s an easy to use Permissions Editor so that you can create users for all your employees and then assign them to groups like “Full Admin”, “Customer Service”, “Warehouse”, etc.

VamCart 0.9: This software allows users to easily install and run an online shop, without any technical knowledge. Built on CakePHP framework, the software provides SEO, unlimited categories and products, Multilingual and Multi currency support, automatic image resizing, coupons, product reviews, and much more.

How not to miss out on important Tweets

Depending on the number of people you follow on Twitter, your Twitter timeline is bound to be flooded with hundreds of tweets every day. In this deluge of Tweets, it’s quite possible that you may miss out on some important ones, or something that might interest you. If you want to keep a track of tweets, then you can use services that will alert you to tweets from people or topics that you follow. One such service is Tweet Alarm.

Go to www.tweetalarm.com and create a new account. When registering, you will have to provide your Twitter handle and the keywords that you want to keep track of. You can add and remove words
whenever you want. If you want to ignore tweets from some people, then you have the option to create a list for that as well. Simply add the keywords separated by a comma, and click on "Add". Once you connect your Twitter account to the site, you will also receive alerts about new followers and people who've unfollowed you. You will receive all the information you have requested via email. You also have an option to manage the frequency of email alerts. You can choose between daily, weekly or as often as the service finds relevant tweets.

How to keep tabs on your child’s activity on social networking sites

As a parent, it is quite natural to be concerned about children's safety online. But children may not want to give you access to their social networking accounts, and might mistake your concern as intrusion into their lives. In such a scenario, you can take help of applications such as Social Media Child Protection (SMCP). This application is available for Android and iOS, and lets you monitor basic data about your child’s account.
After you install the app on your smartphone, you will have to enter the login ID and password of your child’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. You can ask your child to key in the login details of their accounts; this way they won’t have to worry about you knowing the password. The app will then monitor the registered accounts. It will provide you with information such as incoming and outgoing friend requests on Facebook; pictures on their timeline; messages with people not on the Friends list; and who they're following on Twitter. However, it won’t let you access any conversations they have. This app provides you with a perfect way to keep a tab on your child’s activity on social networking sites, without needing to be connected with them.

How to come to know about new book releases on Kindle

If you like to buy and read rare books from Amazon's ebook store on the Kindle, you must wait for them to make it to the store. But instead of checking regularly if Amazon offers the book for Kindle, you can delegate this task to the free service, eBookWatch.de. This is a German site, but you can use Google to translate the website into English for you.
Open the website and enter the ten-digit ISBN number of the book you're looking for under the "ISBN-10 / ASIN of the book:" field. You can find this number on Amazon under "Product information" or on the book's website. Next, enter your email address in the "Email alert for:" field
and confirm your request by hitting the "Settings eBookWatch" button.
The service regularly checks whether Amazon has announced the specified book for Kindle. If the book has been released for Kindle, the site will then inform you on the email address you had provided. The site will email you a link to the book you mentioned, and another link with which you can prevent the site from sending you messages in the future if you don’t want to avail of the service any longer.
NOTE: You can also use the link "Bookmarklet" given on www.ebookwatch.de. If you use Firefox or Safari, click on "Install eBookWatch", click on and hold the link with the right-mouse button and drag it to the bookmark bar of the browser. This lets you add books that you want to keep an eye out for to eBookWatch.de from the Product information page of any book you look up on Amazon.

How to use cross-references in large documents for easy navigation in MS Word

When you are working with large Word documents, it often gets difficult to find the desired information and you may have to leaf through the complete document. Instead, to aid navigation and easily access required information, you can add cross-references. A cross-reference will act as a link that will point you directly to the referenced sub-head or section.
To add cross-references, click on the "References" tab. Here, you will find the option "Cross-reference" in the "Captions" section. Place the cursor next to where you want to add the cross-reference and click on "Cross-reference". You can provide a cross-reference to Numbered items, Headings, Bookmarks, Equations, Figures, Tables, etc. After you select the item you want to refer to, the dialogue will show you all the items.
For instance, if you select a "Numbered Item", then you will see all the items that are numbered in a list below. You should now select the item you want to refer to. Next you will have to select the information you want to insert in the document from the "Insert Reference to" box. Check the "Insert as hyperlink" box, as it will allow users to jump to the referenced item upon clicking the link. Click on "Insert" to complete the action. When you come across a cross-referenced marker in the document, hold down [Control] and then click on the hyperlink to go directly to the section of the document that is being referred to.

How to verify CPU load on your smartphone or tablet in Android

It's very natural for the number of apps on your smartphone or tablet to increase after some time. To determine which apps require higher memory and CPU resources, you can download an app called "Usage Timelines", which you can find on the Play Store for free. You can also download the app "Pro CPU Monitor", but you'll have to pay Rs 126 for it. These apps show a list of the running apps and their current usage. Switch off the option "Start with system start" to avoid the app hogging resources every time you start your phone. Tap on the list entry to view a lot of information and to retrieve details. By using the "Display SysApps" option, you can examine hidden services. The option "Display time series" is quite interesting; it displays only a small symbol in the status bar that lets you see the CPU workload even when you have other apps open. This app lets you easily identify which actions or apps are responsible for high system load and so reduce the battery life. You must decide whether you really need a power-hungry app, and should get rid of such apps and look for alternatives.

How to check the amount of memory used by extensions in Firefox

Firefox tends to get sluggish after a period of time. The reason behind this could be the large number of extensions and add-ons that you may have installed. The memory used by these can considerably slow down your browser. There is a way to find out which extensions and add-ons hog resources. You will have to install an extension for that. You can install the extension from: addons. mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/aboutaddons- memory/. Click on "Add to Firefox" and confirm by clicking on ‘Install’. You will not need to restart the browser.
To check which extensions are hogging resources, type “about:addons-memory” in the address bar and hit [Enter]. It will list all the extensions that you have installed and the memory used by them. You can then get rid of the extensions that are hogging the resources. This tool is especially useful if you have too many add-ons installed in your browser.

How to use functions of Modern UI from the desktop in Windows 8

The application utility Start Charming is a package of three small tools that improve how Windows 8's Modern UI and desktop view work. You can find it on this link: http://goo.gl/VzLCkw. The tool will
install three programs—Charms Button, Charms Tray and Start Charming. Clicking the link “Start Charming” will activate the new mode, which will display the Modern UI with the Windows button
as a configurable area on the desktop. Click the link “Stop Charming" to go back to the normal view. However, this display is a matter of taste and offers no real advantages. The buttons in the information area of the taskbar are useful for this. In order to keep it visible, click the small arrow next to the information area and select “Adjust”. Now select the entry “Displays symbols and information” and confirm the dialogue box by clicking “OK”. You can now click the permanently visible symbol to display the Charms bar on the desktop.

How to deactivate the lock screen for quick access in Windows 8

The lock screen is included in Windows 8 as an additional security measure. You must first click there or press a button to go to the logon screen. But if you find it troublesome, you can deactivate the lock screen to quickly go to the logon screen. You will need to make some changes to the Windows registry to enable this. Change to the Desktop view and press the buttons [Windows] + [R]. Now enter “regedit”, press [Enter] and confirm the user account control dialogue box by clicking “Yes”. Navigate to the key “HKEY_LOCAL_MACINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\ Microsoft\Windows\Personalization”. If the subkey “Personalization” is still not available, create it with the command “Process | New | Key”. Once done, click on the right-hand panel and open the option “Process | New DWORD value”. Name the new value “NoLockScreen” and press [Enter]. Double-click the new entry, change its “Value” to “1”, and confirm the changes by clicking “OK”. Now close the registry. The lock screen has been disabled and the logon screen will be presented when you next start the system.

How to configure the Windows button to trigger the Start menu in Windows 8

Till Windows-7, the Start menu could be triggered by pressing the Windows button, but this functionality is missing in Windows 8, and pressing it opens the Start page of the Modern UI. But you can set Windows to trigger the Start menu with a mouse click, by writing and running a small script. To do this, open notepad and type the following:

 "Set.WshShell.=.WScript.CreateObject(_WScript.Shell”)WshShell.sendkeys..^{ESC}”

Save the new text file as an EXE file under a name such as “win_key.exe”. This is necessary so that you can pin it to the taskbar. Now open Windows Explorer and navigate to the file you saved. Right-click the entry and select the context command “Pin to taskbar”.

Now right-click again on “win_key. exe” and select the context command “Rename”. Change the name to “win_key. vbs”. Confirm the warning for changing the file type with “Yes”. Now you must edit the target for the shortcut in the taskbar. To do this, press and hold the [Shift] button and right-click on the file you pinned earlier. Select the context command “Properties”. In the "Target" field, change the link to the location of the VBS file. You can also choose to set an icon of your choice using the button “Other icons”. The file offers several selections such as “C:\Windows\ System32\shell32.dll”.

On the other hand, you will find a typical windows logo in the file “C:\ Windows\ehome\ehdrop.dll”. Finally, confirm the selection and acknowledge the settings with “Apply” and “OK”. The new icon will be updated in the taskbar. Clicking this icon will let you open the Start menu easily and without too much of a fuss.

How to configure the logon menu to give you additional options in Windows -7/8

The Windows logon screen suggests an accessibility symbol to make it easy for impaired users to log-in, but most of us barely even notice it. However, you can make it more useful by having it show applications and input options with the help of a free tool and some tweaks. The tool you need is called Ease of Access Replacer and can be found on this link: http://goo.gl/z1NoPb.

Before you can use the tool, you must allow Windows access to the relevant file. To do this, open the folder “C:\Windows\ System32” in Windows Explorer and search for the file “utilman.exe”. This file is called up from the logon screen and must be replaced. You need administrator access to
make this change.

Right click on “utilman.exe” and select the context command “Properties”. Now, click in the section “Safety”, click on “Expand” and activate the field “Owner”. Select “Administrators” in the list below
and confirm the selection by clicking on “Accept” and then on “OK”. Now click again in the section “Safety” and then on “Process”. Select the group name “Administrators”. In the list below, select the option “Approve” in the row “Full access”. Confirm that with “Apply” as well as “OK”, and close the dialogue. Now open the folder you unzipped earlier in Windows Explorer. In the sub-folder, “EOAR”, right click on “EOAR Setup.exe” and select the context command “Run as administrator”. Confirm the user account control dialogue box by clicking on “Yes”, and in the following dialogue, deactivate the option for the restore point because only the file “util.exe” is replaced and the original file will be backed-up. Now click on “Install”.

If the process ends with an error message, you have not changed the necessary authorizations correctly. If the process runs successfully, you will see the file “utilman.exe” with another symbol and only 191KB in size. For the new functions, click on the accessibility symbol on the logon screen. A small dialogue with some useful features will now be available.

How to determine the Google PageRank of websites

The term 'PageRank', as the name suggests, refers to the rank that Google uses to determine the importance of the webpage. However, you will be amused to know that the word ‘Page’ is actually derived from the name of Google’s co-founder Larry Page, who developed the algorithm that is actually used to determine the rank of a webpage. The mathematical procedure is explained on Wikipedia page http:// bit.ly/9GTDKt. The Google PageRank is expressed as a numeric value between 0 and 10. If you wish to check the PageRank of a particular site, then there are a number of web services that you can use, such as PRChecker (http://bit.ly/Lt5g). Navigate to the site, enter the domain name of the site you want to check in the provided box and click on "Check PR". PRChecker will then show you the PageRank of the site. PageRank is determined by the number of links that lead to the page. With the number of web pages growing exponentially, there are hardly any sites with a PageRank of 10.

How to protect your sensitive data from malicious apps in Facebook

Those who friends with you on Facebook have access to some of your data, as do the apps they use. You can restrict this to apps used by friends by tweaking certain security settings. Log into your Facebook account, click on "Settings" and select "Privacy Settings". You will see the "Apps" category to the left; click on it. Here you will find several options, but click on ‘Edit’ next to ‘Apps others use’. Here you will see all the information that can be accessed by apps your friends use. This includes information like your bio, birthday, status updates, photos, links, activities and much more. If the box next to any of these categories is checked, then it means that the information is available to that app. Uncheck the box if you do not wish to share this information and confirm with "Save changes".

How to take a backup of your tweets

If you tweet frequently, then you may want to have a backup of all your tweets. You don’t have to depend on external tools for this, as Twitter now lets you archive your tweets. To do so, click on the cog symbol and go to "Settings". Here, at the bottom you will see the option "Request your archive". When the file is ready, you will be sent an email with a link to download the .zip fi le. The time taken will depend on the number of tweets you have. When you click on the link received via email, you will have to log into your account to download the "tweets.zip" fi le.
Once you unzip the file, you will see several files and folders, to view your archived tweets, double click on the "index. html" file. You will now be able to see all your tweets. For easy navigation, these are displayed according to the month and year they were posted on. You can now easily browse through all your tweets and also search through them. Also, if you wish to retweet or reply to a tweet, you can click on the same, and you will be directed to your account.

How to update fields in large sized documents in MS word 2007/2010

In larger documents, in addition to the table of contents, you may also use an index and cross references that refer back to the chapter and/or page number they link to. Before you forward such a document or convert it to PDF, you might wish to ensure that all references also contain the correct values. You can right-click on each field or directory and then manually update the links with the "Update fields" context command. This may work for a table of contents, but is not feasible for numerous cross-references. It would be quicker to select the entire text with the key combination [Ctrl]+[A] and then update the fields using F9. But even this method is imperfect because it does not include fields in areas like headers and footers.

 

Now instead of manually adjusting all sections, you can use a trick for the same. First, go to "File | Options" and select the "Display" option to the left.

 

Then, open "Print options" and activate the setting "Update fields before printing" and confirm your
changes with "OK". Now, using the "File | Print" command, open the print preview. That will be enough to refresh the field contents. You do not need to actually print the document; click "Cancel" on the print dialogue box. Now save the text.

How to copy formatting across documents easily in MS office

In some cases, you may need to copy just the formatting to another document, not the content. In Word and PowerPoint, you can do this easily with the key combination [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[C] for copying, and [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[V] for pasting the formatting. These shortcuts also work in Outlook because Word serves as its default text editor. Or, you have to use the menu bar.
First click in the section which has the desired formatting and then, in the menu bar, click on the "Format Painter" button. This button will be represented by a paint brush symbol in the "Clipboard" section. Now, in the document, click in the paragraph to apply the formatting. If you want to copy the format to several elements, double-click on the Format Painter button. The paint brush symbol will now remain in place at the mouse pointer until you quit the mode by pressing the [Esc] key. This is somewhat more difficult to do in Excel. The convenient key combinations don't work here, although you can also execute the relevant command through the menu bar using the keyboard and a series of access keys. To do this, copy the cells with the output format using the key combination [Ctrl]+[C]. Then, in the "Start" button at the top, click on "Clipboard" under the "Insert" option. Now, select the first symbol in the "More insert options" section. You can also carry out this process using the keyboard by consequently pressing the keys [Alt], [R], [V] and [R].

How to write write emails faster with the help of templates in MS Outlook

In order to create a template in Outlook, first begin writing an email. Before sending it, use the option "File | Save as". In the following dialogue box, change the file type to "Outlook template". The target folder automatically changes to template folder. Now, enter the name for the new template and click on "Save". You can now send your mail if required. In the future, you can write new emails much faster on the basis of such pre-defined templates. However, opening a template will need you to go deep into the menus. Click "File", then "New" and then "Choose Form". Here you will find some internal templates ready to be selected. In the "Look In" drop-down box, choose "User Templates in the File System". You will find the OFT files you had created stored here, and can open these by selecting "Open". Their contents can be supplemented or changed as required before you send the mail.

Increase the number of apps you can select in the Windows Store in Windows 8

The Windows Store has quite a large number of apps, you'll find that some tools you might have heard of aren't available. That is because you only see apps that are meant for India by default and the apps for the rest of the world are hidden. In order to have all the apps on display, open the store and click on "Settings" in the Charms bar that'll open when you hover the mouse on the right-side margin. Select "Settings" once again in the new menu and then set the slide switch for "Find apps faster in the preferred language" to "No".
You can now return to the store. The search results will come up with a greater number of apps in the future.

How to mask out information on the lock screen in Windows 8

Windows 8 can display information from some apps in the form of individually configurable notifications on the lock screen. But that may not be desirable if your system is used by more than one person. However, you can set the notifications to be invisible to some users and even prevent them from changing the settings for the same by adding a few entries to the Windows registry.
To do this, switch to Desktop view and use the key combination [Windows]+[R]. Then, type in "regedit", press the [Enter] key and confirm the user account control dialogue box with "Yes" . Once the registry editor opens, navigate to the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System", click in the right-hand section of the window and create a new entry by clicking "Edit | New | DWORDValue". Name the new entry "DisableLockScreenAppNotifications" and double-click on it to open it for editing. Change the value to "1" and confirm that with "OK". Now close the registry editor and restart the system. There will be no more notifications displayed on the lock screen. If you wish to activate notifications again, set the registry value for the same entry to "0".

How to make a shortcut for the "All apps" overview in Windows 8

The "All apps" overview is easyway for looking up specific apps. However, you must first get there, and that involves first triggering the Charms bar to the right and then opening the search field. Instead, you can directly carry out the operation with a single link. You can create such a shortcut
in the Desktop view.

First, switch to Desktop view and right-click on an empty spot and select the context command "New | Link". Now enter in the special Shell call in the dialogue box: "%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{2559a1f8-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}".

 

Click on "Other" and enter "All apps" as the name, and then click on "Done". The new link will work immediately. If you want, you can also assign an icon to it. To do this, right-click on it and select the context command "Properties". Now click on the "Change icon" button and select a suitable one. You can even add icons from another file if you want to. Finally, rightclick on the link once more. Now select the context command "Attach to start". This option will let you position the symbol as a small tile in the Start screen. Now you can reach the overview and the quick start menu for the apps quickly by just clicking or touching on the new shortcut. Moreover, you can also use the context command "Attach to taskbar" to enable direct access to the All apps menu even from the Desktop view.

How to avoid loss of data during parallel operation

You are advised to exercise caution while installing Windows 8 on a system with another operating system. Windows 8's new hybrid Standby mode (Hybrid Boot) really reduces the amount of time needed to boot the system, but in the process it makes changes that are not compatible with other operating systems. These settings may even prevent the other operating systems from booting.

Those who install Windows 8 on a hard drive that already has an operating system installed are safe. The set-up wizard detects the OS and automatically deactivates the Hybrid Boot. It is riskier to install Windows 8 on a separate hard drive and access other hard drives for data exchange. If an operating system does not exist on the second drive, Windows 8 also uses this drive for the hybrid Standby mode. So if you access the drive later with an older Windows system, it will recognise these changes in the file system and try to carry out a lengthy repair. Sometimes this may lead to loss of data.

Those who wish to install Windows 8 on a computer with several hard drives and operating systems should first take a backup of their data. Then, install the system on the same hard disk as the other OS or remove all other hard drives, execute the installation and then manually deactivate the Hybrid Boot. Only after that should you reconnect other hard drives and allow Windows 8 to access it. To switch off Hybrid Boot, open the Control Panel and click on "Hardware and Sound" and then on "Power options". Now select the link "Select what should happen after pressing the power switches".
The next dialogue box will show another link "Some settings are not available at present", which you must also click on. Now, you will be able to view the configuration options for "Shut down".

Here, deactivate the option "Activate Quick start" and confirm the changes with "OK". This ensures that the idle state remains in effect, but the PC always shuts down completely when you switch it off.
You can also make complete shut downs with the command "shutdown.exe /s /t ". However, this might be too risky for dual boot systems.

How to close apps easily and quickly after you're done working with them in Windows 8

Windows 8 gives you many options for closing apps, but the quickest way to do it is by clicking on the app's upper margin and dragging it down to the bottom of the screen. However, the app won't close if you end the motion too early or let go of the mouse button. It would be more efficient if you could drag the app till the center of the screen instead. This leaves less room for mistakes and you can close apps quicker. By means of an additional entry in the registry, you can define how far an app needs to be dragged so it closes.
To open the registry editor, switch to desktop view and press the key combination [Windows]+[R]. Now key in "regedit", press the [Enter] key and confirm the user account control dialogue box with "Yes". Once the registry editor opens, navigate to the key "HKEY_CURRENT_ USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell" and create a new key by clicking "Edit | New | Key".
Type in the term “Switcher” in the new box and press the [Enter] key. In case the key is already present, skip the previous step and open it. Now, click in the right hand window section and create the entry "MouseCloseThreshold" with "Edit | New | DWORD-Value". Double-click on it to open it for editing. In the following dialogue box, change the base to "Decimal" and A value of zero means that the function is completely deactivated, while "1" defines the default lower image margin and "1000" defines the upper margin. Enter "500" to get a sensible, mean value or use a somewhat higher value. Confirm the changes with "OK".
Also recreate the DWORD value "TouchCloseThreshold" and assign a suitable value to the function. This defines the behaviour of the function in touch operation. Close the registry after you're done and restart the system.

How to place images from Flickr or Picasa as your screensaver in Windows XP/Vista/7

Your screensaver can display many images, but if you want to personalize it a bit, you can use your Flickr or Picasa albums as a screensaver. Flickr offers an RSS feed with photos, but to integrate it with Windows, you need a suitable screensaver that uses data from an RSS feed. For this, you can use Google Photos Screensaver, which you can download with Picasa.

CAUTION: While installing Picasa, remember to deactivate all unnecessary settings or the viewer if you do not want to use it. After the installation, navigate to "C:\windows\system32" and look for the file "gphotos.scr". Create a backup copy of this file in another location. If you do not want to use Picasa, you can uninstall the program. Once you're done, copy the backup fi le "gphotos.scr" to the system folder once more.
To set up the screensaver, click on "Appearance and Personalization" in the control panel and then on "Change screensaver" in the "Personalization" section. Now, select "Google screensaver" from the drop-down box and click on "Settings". Here, click on the "Configure" button to activate sources for the screensaver, including "Picasa", "Photos from specific folders on my computer", or "Photos from public websites". You can specify the sources for each option with the "Configure" button. To set your Flickr images, click on "Photos from public websites" and then on "Configure". Now enter the URL for the Flickr feed in the "Other photo feed sources" box and click on "Add".
After a short test, the entry will appear in the list and inform you of whether it can access Flickr. You can add and activate several feeds to add different sources. Confirm the changes with "OK". Lastly, set the visual effects, the time each image should be displayed for and choose to display captions. Close the dialogue by clicking on the "OK" button.

NOTE: The feeds load only 20 images and stores them temporarily on your machine. To get new images again, you must empty the Cache folder in your user profi le regularly. To do this, open the user profi le in Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder "AppData\Local\ Google\GBScreensaver\imgcache". Delete the existing JPG fi les so that new ones are automatically loaded.

How to pass on the same IP addresses from an older device to a new one

Whenever you replace a device in your network with a new model, you usually have to change the configurations in all the other devices so that they work properly in tandem again. But you don't really have to go through all that trouble. You can choose not to change the configurations of the other devices in your network by assigning the new device the IP address of the previous device. But it's often the case that your router registers the IP address of the old device and does not give you an option in the configuration menu to reset this. In order to solve the problem, make sure that the old device is no longer connected to the network.
Now go to the network settings of the new device and ensure that this device is connected to your home network. Now deactivate the option “DHCP” or “Get network address automatically” in the menu of the new network device. Now enter the desired IP address as a static IP address and restart the device. Verify in the router menu whether the device is visible with the IP address you entered. If
your router offers the option, check the option to “always allocate the same IP address to this device”. Subsequently, go to the network menu of the new device and switch on the DHCP. The router shall henceforth allocate the desired address to your network device and you will not need to change the configuration of the other devices in the network.

How to remove drivers successfully from the Windows system

If you repeatedly get errors while installing your new  scanner, printer, or other devices, you might need to delete the drivers of the old device from Device Manager, and start the process all over again. Windows only shows active devices in the device manager, and to remove the drivers of the old printer or scanner, you must connect the device again to the PC. If this is not possible, the invisible devices will stay hidden. To delete the drivers, press [Pause|Break] when holding down the [Windows] button. This will throw up the System Properties window. Click “Advanced” in the window and then on “Environment variables”. Now click “New”. In the next Window, type “devmgr_show_nonpresent_Device” next to “Variable name” and type the number “1” in the field next to “Variable value”. Close the window, click the OK button on the System Properties window and  restart the computer. Once the computer restarts, press [Pause|Break] when holding the [Windows] button again. In the next Window, click “Hardware” and then on “Device manager”. In the following window, go to “View” and activate “Show hidden devices”. Now the devices that are not connected will appear, but the rogue drivers are still installed. Right-click on the concerned device in the Device Manager and uninstall it along with its drivers.

How to troubleshoot memory sticks not appearing as drives

Sometimes USB stick will blink when inserted into a USB drive on the PC and appear as a removable drive in the My Computer folder, but Windows reports that the drive is not inserted and does not assign any character or drive label to it. This is mostly due to the drive having a corrupted file system. First verify whether the file system can be read on the stick. If you are sure that the drive was not used earlier in a Linux or Apple computer, then you can assume that a partition has not been created on the stick or the existing partition has been damaged. Your computer may also consider the USB stick as a removable hard disk. You must therefore ensure that all partitions on the stick are properly formatted and the partition table is intact. Open the Windows disk management utility by right-clicking on “My computer” and selecting “Manage”. Now click on ‘Disk Management’ and check whether the USB stick appears as a formatted partition or whether it is accessible. You could have accidentally deleted the partition tables on the stick or the partition tables were damaged.
Right-click on any unallocated space on the flash drive and select the option "New partition" to create a partition on the stick. Any data available on the stick will now be deleted and the wizard will begin
formatting the disk. If you have special requirements such as a specific cluster size, you can format the drive manually.

How use Windows 8’s built-in resources to replace the system disk safely

Windows 8 may sometimes report that your primary hard drive or system disk is problematic and it must be replaced. But you may not notice anything wrong with your computer, and probably won't feel like reinstalling Windows as well as all your applications just to get rid of the error. But don't fret: Windows 8 can manage disk removal—as opposed to Windows Vista and Windows 7—on its own. Open the Control Panel, go to “Maintenance” and select “Save complete computer”. Windows will now ask you which hard disk must be saved where. You have the option to burn all your data onto DVDs. However, a standard 50GB Windows installation would occupy 12 DVD blanks. However, you can use a second, internal hard disk to back-up your system. Make sure the target disk drive is a basic data carrier. Dynamic disk drives are rejected by Windows and must be converted in the Disk Management section to basic. Before the backup process, make sure that the disk has enough free space and that it is formatted in the NTFS file system. The backup process doesn't take long: our 60GB Windows 8 installation was copied onto an external disk in less than half an hour via USB 2.0. The PC must be shut down before you replace the defective drive. Afterwards, restart the computer and insert the Windows 8 installation DVD. After booting, the Windows 8 installation routine will begin. Now select “Repair options” instead of “Installation”. Click “Next” and the wizard will lead you through the steps to successfully repair your computer.

How to explore the vicinity using the Facebook application

Facebook app also help up as a travel guide. If you want to seek out good restaurants or hotels in your vicinity, use the ‘Nearby’ feature. To do so, click on the Menu icon on the left. Here you will see the ‘Nearby’ option; clicking on it will show you nearby places. For the feature to function, the app will need to access your current location, so ensure ‘Location Access’ is enabled; you can change the same from Settings.
When you click on ‘Nearby’, the app will list the places nearby along with a map. You can click on a listed business to get more details, such as the distance, timings and recommendations. You can
even filter this listing depending on the type of business. To do so, click on the ‘Places Nearby’ that you will see on the map. If you want to browse for places in another area, then you can easily do so by selecting the area on the map.

How to get the statistics for your Facebook profile using WolframAlpha

WolframAlpha, the computational knowledge engine, offers an analysis tool that evaluates your Facebook profile. If you are interested in analyzing your Facebook profile, then go to www. wolframalpha.com/facebook and click on “Get your Report”. You will have to log-in to Facebook, and authorise “Wolfram Connection” and allow WolframAlpha to access your profile.
Next, you will be asked to enter a password for Wolfram ID and create an account. You can now access the portal with your own search field, and use the browser-like functions. After a while, WolframAlpha will produce a comprehensive statistical analysis of your Facebook profile. You will find information like your activities, favourite shares, frequently used apps and lots more. It will also analyse your network of friends and display friends as per age, gender, place, and even the types of connections.

How to Email Tweets to your friends

Here's an interesting way. You can actually send Tweets to those not on Twitter. To do so, log-in to Twitter, go to the tweet you want to share with others and hover your mouse over it. You will see the additional options Reply, Retweet and Expand. Click on ‘More’ and you will see the options ‘Email Tweet’ and ‘Embed Tweet’. The email option is also available for other people's tweets on your stream.
You can email the tweet to whomever you want, and there is also an option to add comments in the message box. The recipients will see your Twitter handle, and you can choose to include your email address so that the recipients can reply via email. On the Twitter mobile app, first open the desired tweet and then click on options to view additional functions. You will find the ‘Mail Tweet’ option here.

How to save your ‘safe sender’ list in MS Outlook

Whenever you need to re-install Outlook, the list of safe senders you created in the older version will not be included in the PST file. As a result, you will have to re-create the safe sender list again, which can be a tedious task.
When you create a PST file to transfer your data to the new Outlook, the safe sender list will not be included by default. You will have to transfer this information separately; this can be done by exporting the data to a text file. To do so, click on ‘Tools’, then select ‘Options’. Here, under the ‘Preferences’ tab, you will see the ‘Email’ option. Now select the ‘Junk Email’ option and select the second tab, ‘Safe Senders’. You will see all the email addresses that you have added to the ‘Safe Sender’ list. Select them and click on the option ‘Export to file’ and save it as a text file. When you re-install Outlook, you will have to follow the same steps, but instead of ‘Export to file’, you will need to select the ‘Import from file’ option.

How to rotate pie diagram to a desired position in MS Excel

The structure of a pie chart depends on the pie chart style that you have selected and is rendered automatically. The data is represented in a clockwise direction. However, it is possible to change the direction of the pie chart. To do so, select the data in the pie chart and then right click on it. You will see an option called ‘Format Data Series’. Click on it and select ‘Series Option’. To change the direction of the pie chart, specify the degree of rotation in the ‘Angle of first Slice’ box. Depending on the degree of rotation you specify, Excel will rotate the pie chart.

How to customise keyboard shortcuts in Word 2007-10

If you work in Word frequently, then it makes sense to customise certain functions that you use frequently. Having a keyboard shortcut will save you a lot of time. While it’s true that Word already has keyboard shortcuts for some common tasks, they may be too complicated. You can customise these shortcuts too.
For instance, if you are working on a whitepaper and need to add references, then you can create a keyboard shortcut for it. Click on the Office button, and then click on ‘Word Options’. Here you will find the ‘Customize’ tab on the left. Now click on the Customise button next to ‘Keyboard Shortcuts” at the bottom.
The new dialogue box will have the main commands on the left, from here select the tab your command resides in. You will now see all the functions you can assign to the command. Once you select the function, if there is an existing command then the same will be visible in the left box at the bottom. On the right you can add the new custom command and click on ‘Assign’ to designate it.

How to restart router with new IP address

If a website refuses to let you download files, you can try changing your IP address. If your router supports UPnP (Universal plug and play), use the freeware “Router reconnect” to switch your IP. This software saves you from having to restart the router every time you want to reset your IP address. Get the utility from here: http:// goo.gl/JrrOG. Extract the package, type “cmd” in the search field of the Start menu and open the command prompt. Navigate to where you extracted the utility and run “Router reconnect.exe”. Check the output messages. If the program is compatible with your router, you’ll see an indication to the identified router. Then you can set up the connection and even program a fi le to facilitate reconnections.
NOTE: Router Reconnect is not compatible with all routers. Instead of the router restarting, the tool may deactivate the LAN, making connecting to the Internet impossible. If this happens, click on “Network and Internet” in the Control Panel, and then go to “Network and release center”. Follow the link “Change adapter settings” and click the disconnected LAN connection with right mouse button and select the option “Activate”. You can now connect to the Internet again, but you won't be able to install the tool.

How to set up Windows file sharing in a few simple steps

The process of setting up Windows file sharing can be simplified with a step-by-step wizard. To run the wizard, type 'shrpubw' in the Windows 'Run...' dialogue box and press [Enter] to execute it. Click 'Next', navigate with 'Search' to the desired path, 'Open' it, and again click 'Next'.
Now you can change the 'Share name' and 'Description'. In the next step, quickly define all intended permissions such as 'All users have write-protected access'. On the other hand, to make individual exceptions, select 'Edit permissions' and then click 'User defined'. Then make the desired detailed settings and confirm these with 'OK'. After clicking 'Complete', you will see a summary of the shared folders' permissions for you to double-check them.
In order to remove a share, use the context menu of the folder. Use the 'Sharing' option and disable the options you see in the dialogue box.

How to pin important or frequently used documents and folders to the taskbar in Windows 7-8

I am sure you know you can easily place shortcuts for applications via the context menu on the taskbar, but did you know you can do the same for your frequently used documents and files too? A free application called Taskbar Pinner will let you do this in a jiffy.
Download the software from this link: http://goo.gl/3iHZc. Unpack the ZIP archive to a folder and then navigate to it. You don't need to install the tool to run it. Start the application and it'll give you a few options. For documents, select 'Pin a file', navigate to the desired file and click on the 'Open' button.
This will attach this file to the taskbar. You can remove it whenever you want from the normal Windows context menu. The option 'Pin a folder' will pin a folder to the taskbar and the 'Pin a library' option pins an entire library to the taskbar for quick access. The 'Pin a shell location' option lets you pin system dialogues such as 'Tasks', 'Energy options', 'Recycle bin' or 'Disk Management'. Activate the desired elements with the checkboxes and click 'Pin items' to pin them to the taskbar.

How to block access to Windows Store for specific users in windows 8

The Windows Store allow you download apps for Windows 8 either for free or for a pre-specified sum. But if you don't want other users to install any apps due to security reasons, or want to prevent the purchase option, you can completely block access to the Windows Store for a user account by simply adding an entry to the Windows Registry.
To do this, change to Desktop view and press [Windows]+[R]. Then enter ‘regedit”, press the [Enter] button and confirm the User Access Control dialogue with “Yes”. Navigate to the key “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsStore”.
If the entry doesn't exist, create it. Click in the right pane of the registry and create the new entry 'Remove Windows Store' by clicking on 'Process | New | DWORD value'.
Now open the new entry by double-clicking on it, change the value to '1' and press the 'OK' button. Close the registry editor and restart the computer. In order to restore access to the Windows Store, change this entry's value in the registry editor to '0' or simply delete the entry.

How to Expand explorer navigation to include important elements in Windows 7-8

By default in windwos, many important folders cannot be accessed directly using the navigation pane in Windows Explorer. But you can quickly add direct access to the desktop and your user’s profile folders with a few simple tweaks. For this, right-click in any empty space in the navigation pane and click ‘Show all folders’. Simply deselect the same option to change back to the usual view.

At first, you will see a different set of folders, since ‘Libraries’ and ‘Network’ no longer form individual groups but are in their hierarchical order under ‘Desktop’. You can also go directly to the folder of the current user profile under ‘C:\Users’ as well as to ‘Control Panel’ and ‘Recycle Bin’. Try both views and decide which one works best for you.

How to predetermine the number of tile rows on the Start screen in Windows 8

Depending on the screen resolution, Windows 8 determines how many rows of tiles will be displayed on the Start screen. In case of displays with low resolutions, you get three rows, while higher resolutions can accommodate five or more rows. You can reduce these values or increase them if you want to. For this purpose, you will need to edit the Windows registry through the Registry editor. Change to the Desktop view and press [Win]+[R]. Then enter ‘regedit’, press the [Enter] key and confirm that you're an Administrator check with ‘Yes’. Navigate to the key ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current version\ImmersiveShell\Grid’. Here, search for the DWORD value ‘Layout_ MaximumRowCount’. If you can't find it, create it with the command ‘Edit | New | DWORD value’. Open the value by double clicking it. Then enter the desired maximum set number as the decimal value (for example, 6) and confirm this with ‘OK’. In order for the changes to reflect, close the registry editor and restart the computer.

NOTE: For screens with high-resolutions, you can set the value to a maximum of ‘6’ against the standard setting ‘5’. Windows will not support values over 6, but you can always reduce the number of rows down to the minimum value of ‘1’.

How to use Dropbox on the go

You can easily setup Dropbox to automatically synchronise its folder to exchange data between different computers. This works well, but requires you to set up Dropbox on your PCs, so you can’t use it on other computers. However, if you need to carry your Dropbox folder along, you can take it with you on a USB drive. The installer for the portable version of Dropbox is available for download at www.nionsoftware.com/ dbpahk.
First, extract the archive to any folder on your hard drive and run ‘DropboxPortableAHK.exe’. The program won't be installed but will run directly. After checking your Internet connection, specify the location of the Dropbox folder on your PC. Confirm the process by clicking ‘Next’. For the next step, you must be careful. Select the option ‘Previous Dropbox folder’ and then click the ‘Copy’ command to copy the folder that exists on your hard drive. Doing this lets you avoid downloading the folder’s contents again. Click ‘Next’; now all you have to do is just confirm the process. You might need to download some program components using the ‘Download Dropbox files’ button in the last step. Now select the desired icon for differentiating the normal Dropbox application from DropboxPortableAHK and click ‘Next’. Click ‘Start Dropbox setup’ in the new window and sign-in with your Use account name and password. To go ahead with the installation, select the setup
type ‘Upgrade’ and the option ‘I want to choose where to put my Dropbox’ in the next step. Then add the path to the existing Dropbox folder and proceed with the other steps. All your Dropbox data will now be saved under the program folder or the given relative path. This process can take some time. When the icon in the notification area signals that the process has been finished, end the program and
copy the entire folder to your USB drive. If you use another computer that doesn't have Dropbox installed, it will be enough to just run DropboxPortableAHK from the USB drive. The software will take some time to verify your user name and password, and sync the data. You can now use your Dropbox folder like it was on your own PC.
Whenever you're done, exit Dropbox using the notification area icon, and safely eject the USB drive to avoid losing data due to file system errors.

How to back up any folder automatically

Regular backups of the complete data are important but are also time-consuming when you have a lot of data. That’s why a weekly interval is usually the default for backup software. If you want to take more frequent backups of a specifi c folder, you can automate the task with a few steps. The command line tool Robocopy, which is included with Windows Vista, 7 and 8, is perfectly suitable for this purpose. Windows XP users can download the tool for free at www.microsoft.com/en-us/
download/details.aspx?id=17657.
First, type ‘cmd’ in the search field of the Start menu or anywhere on the Start screen and then select ‘cmd.exe’. Robocopy needs you to type the source folder and the target folder with the full path and
the additional options you'll need. Use the option ‘/E’ to include all subfolders. It’s possible that some files will be open, so disable the standard retry attempts to prevent the process from stopping midway. For this, the two options ‘W:0 and R:0’ will need to be specified. Lastly, you'll also require the parameter ‘/MOT:n’ for time-dependent monitoring of the source folder; ‘n’ indicates the time between repeated operations if changes to any files are detected. The complete command for backing up your folder every hour will look like this: ‘Robocopy C:\source\folder D:\backup\folder /E /R:0 /W:0 /MOT:60’. Robocopy processes and monitors your system only when the command is executed. To make the computer automatically run the command at startup, create a new text file with Notepad and type the command inside it. Now rename the file so that the extension reads ‘.BAT’. Add this file to the Startup folder of your user account to make sure it runs every time you reboot or log out.
NOTE: You will notice some system lag while files are being copied, especially if the files are very large. As with all backups, the target folder must be on a different drive; preferably an external drive or a network location so that physical disk failures do not result in the loss of both the original and the backup.

How to Conceal your friends lists in Facebook

On Facebook you may be connected with many kind of people people like your friends, colleagues, business associates and relatives who do not know each other. Log into your Facebook account and go to your profile page. Click on ‘Friends’. Here at the top right hand corner you will see an option ‘Edit’. Click on it and you will find the option ‘Who can see your friend list?’ From here you can manage who will be able to see your friend list, you can keep it ‘Public', restrict it to ‘Friends except acquaintances’ so that only your direct friends but not your acquaintances can view the information. You can even select any lists that you may have configured.

How to display notifications from Google+ in notification bar

If you do not frequently visit Google+, then you can use the Windows utility tool G+ Notifier to stay updated about what’s happening on the social network. You can download the tool from the site gplusnotifier.com/en-GB/. Download the latest zip fi le” and save the file “DanTup.GPlusNotifi er-1.11.zip”.
Extract the contained fi les and folders into any folder like for example “C:\ Programs\GPlusNotifi er”. Then open this folder in Windows Explorer and double-click on the file entry “DanTup.GPlusNotifier.exe”. It automatically opens a window in which you can view and change settings. Save the changes with “OK”. You will then have to log-in to your Google+ account. Next add a shortcut to “DanTup.GPlus Notifier.exe” in the “Autostart” folder of your ‘Start menu’. After that open the info area and click “Adjust”. Ensure that in “G+ Notifier”, the option “Display symbol and notifications” is active. You will see a symbol in the notification bar, you will be notified of new messages, comments, etc. Google + from here. Click on it to get detailed information.

How to remove stripes in a print image after refilling the cartridge

A frequent cause of printing problems after cartridge refills is air stuck in the print head itself. While filling and even while assembling and disassembling cartridges, some times tiny air bubbles enter into the print head. This is caused due to the air which can establish unwanted pressure on the print nozzles. Subsequently, these nozzles do not spray any ink on the paper and you get white, horizontal stripes on your prints. If you're facing such a problem, your printer's print head cleaning function may help you out. The cleaning utility builds a very distinctly higher print volume in order to clean out the air bubbles. A bit of ink is also reverse pumped by the vacuum in order to restore the ink flow. This procedure must sometimes be repeated to get clean prints consistently. Keep in mind that a lot of ink will be wasted if you repeat the steps and this is normal.

How to repair a defective USB stick in a convection oven

If a USB stick stops functioning abruptly, you might be able to save it. Try using it on another PC before deciding it is faulty. If it still doesn't work, you have two options to recover important data from the stick. In each case you must first carefully remove the pen drive's casing. Wrap the circuit board tightly using Scotch tape. In this way, the board is firmly insulated from contact with outside objects and safe from short circuits. Check if the drive works now. If the stick starts functioning again, quickly copy all data. If this does not prove successful, there is a possible last resort—but beware the device might thus be damaged irretrievably! Often, the solder holding the internal components together tends to get dry and does not make good contact. Re-soldering the entire circuit board is impossible by human hands because of the tiny SMD chips used.

This needs a wave soldering machine, which is not easy to procure. But you can use your oven at home to do the same work. Place the USB stick for five minutes in an oven preheated to 200° C. In this way, the solder melts a little and all contacts are strengthened. It is important that all plastic casing pieces be removed before popping the drive into the oven. If the memory modules are soldered
on one side of the circuit board, place these upturned. The plastic inside the USB plug should survive this effort unscathed. Once the five minutes are up, shut down the oven and leave the door open for cooling without moving the stick. After approximately 30 minutes, you can remove the pen drive and check whether it works again.

How to recover important data off unreadable CDs and DVDs

You want to copy photos from a scratched disc onto the hard drive. But the Windows Explorer aborts the copy process with the error notification ‘File cannot be copied’. Where the Windows Explorer fails, the mini-tool ‘Roadkil’s Unstoppable Copier’ prevails against scratch and damages on the data storage medium.

This program copies and restores data from unreadable discs—you can download it for free at ‘www.roadkil.net’. In order to recover data, select the source and the target drives using the ‘Browse’ button in the ‘Copy’ tab. Subsequently in the ‘Settings’ tab, move the slider approximately to the middle—it is a good compromise between the best and fastest recovery of the data.
You should also set the tick in front of ‘skip damaged fi les automatically’, otherwise it may take considerably more time till the tool copies the still usable data. This utility is ideal for hard drives,

floppy drives, CDs and DVDs which could have bad sectors or partially corrupted fi le systems.

How to Display Flash contents in the IE 10 app in Windows 8

There are two versions of the Internet Explorer 10: the version started as app does not display Flash content by default and only allows this for specific websites saved in a whitelist. If you need Flash for other websites, then you must start the browser from the Desktop or will be redirected there by a note. But the desired URLs may be enabled in the file “IECompatData” in the profile.
For this, fi rst input “%userprofi le%” in the Windows Explorer address bar and press Enter. Navigate further to the folder “AppData\Local\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IECompat- Data”.
Then right-click on “iecompatdata. xml” and select the context command “Edit”. You can even edit the file using another XML editor. Search the start area »<Flash>« and check the subsequent, alphabetically sorted entries. While a few standard websites are already contained, other known surfing destinations are missing. For example, “lip.pl” exists but “lip.in” is missing. But you can add additional websites line-by-line in the form “<domain>lip.in</domain>”. Then save the changes. Since this White list is possibly overwritten in case of updates, you should create a backup copy of this or manage the appropriate entries in a text file in order to be able to quickly add them again. In the end, you must delete the Browser cache. For this, start the app and press the key combination [Windows]+[I]. Click on “Delete” for this process.

How to protect a hidden administrator account (VISTA/7/8)

Even if you neither view nor use the standard administrator account in Windows 8, it is created automatically and thus represents a substantial security risk. The same also applies to Windows Vista and 7. As soon as the account is activated, it provides complete access to your system without asking for a password. However, booting the computer via a CD or a USB stick is necessary in order to activate the account using a tool like ntpasswd. You avoid this risk by activating the hidden account once and then creating a password. Then you must once again hide the account. For this enter “cmd” into the Start menu search fi eld, then right-click on the displayed “cmd.exe” and select the context command “Run as administrator”. After confirming the User Account Control, the command line is opened. Here type “net user Administrator /active” and confirm with the [Enter] key. The successful execution is displayed in the dialogue.

Now open the Control Panel and click on “User Accounts and Family Safety”, then on “Add/remove user accounts”.

Now the account “Administrator” should be visible. Select it and click on “Create password”. Enter a secure new password twice (at least eight characters with digits and special characters as well as mixture of upper and lower case), and enter a password hint in the next field. You can ignore the warning about loss of EFS-encrypted fi les since you have not yet saved any fi les using this account. Confirm the process with “Create password”. Now close the Control Panel and again switch to the command line or reopen the dialogue. Using the command “net user Administrator / active: no”, re-switch the administrator account to inactive and invisible. Besides this, you can ensure more security if you also change the standard account name “Administrator”. Automatic attack attempts which try to log into this account will fail.

NOTE: Using this safety measure, you may also lock yourself out of access to the administrator account. Therefore, you should save the password securely and not use it for normal user accounts.

How to call up often used applets from the Control Panel directly from the Start menu

You might use a some Control Panel commands regularly. You can add your familiar icons directly into the Start menu for quick access. Drag and drop to do this in the blink of an eye. For this, open ‘Start | Control Panel’. In ‘View’, either select ‘Small Icons’ or ‘Large Icons’. Then you can click on the desired icon and drag it into the Start menu. Repeat this process for all necessary commands.

How to upgrade context menu with the option ‘Copy to folder’

Generally, you duplicate a file by copying it to the clipboard and subsequently pasting it into the target folder. You can simplify this process by upgrading the context menu and adding the command ‘Copy to folder’. A small change in the registry makes this possible. Click on ‘Start’ and begin typing ‘regedit’.
The result shows in the Start menu. Right-click on the entry ‘regedit.exe’ and then click ‘Run as administrator’. You might then have to select an account with administrator rights and type a password. Navigate the tree structure on the left area to get to the key ‘HKEY_ CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ Context MenuHandlers’. Create a new sub-key named ‘Copy To’ using ‘Edit | New | Key’. Select it and double-click on the value ‘(Default)’ in the right window
area. Enter the GUID ‘{C2FBB630-2971- 11d1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}’ as the ‘Value’ in the dialogue ‘Edit string’. After that, move to the key ‘HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ AllFilesystem Objects\ shellex\ ContextMenuHandlers’ and here also create a new sub-key called ‘Copy To’. Set the ‘(Default)’ value using the above given GUID again.
Once you close the Registry editor from ‘File | Exit’, the context menus of files and folders will be extended with the command ‘Copy to folder’. If in the future, when you select one or more files
and choose the command ‘Copy to folder’ from the context menu, a simple dialogue appears, in which you select the target folder. The files are of course copied to this folder with just a few clicks.
NOTE: If you create a key called ‘Move To’ in ‘HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ Directory\shellex\ ContextMenuHandlers’ and in ‘HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\
ContextMenuHandlers’ and then save the ‘(Default)’ value using ‘{C2FBB631-2971- 11d1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}’, you add the command ‘Move to folder’ in the context menu for files and folders.

How to shoot shake-free photos without a tripod

You may not want to carry around a bulky tripod when you’re on a outing or sightseeing. Tripods work out best for capturing long-shutter shots in low light or HDR shots where steady frames are critical, but when you don’t have a tripod at hand, you should be willing to compromise a bit on the quality.
You should first try to lower the f-stop to the least possible value, which results in a larger aperture—a large aperture between f/1.4 and f/2.8 with the lens completely zoomed out (widest end) should work out well in dim light environments. If that still results in blurred results, boost the ISO. This increases the sensitivity of the sensor but in turn increases the amount of grain (noise) in the photographs. Very few cameras yield almost noise-free results at ISO speeds of 800 and higher. Also, keeping your elbows as close to your body while holding the camera with both your hands and breathing out and holding your breath before you press the shutter release helps you keep the camera steady.

How to batch correct photos with the same errors

If by mistake your camera’s automatic mode has led to your photographs being incorrectly exposed, processing all the defective photos may require several hours' worth of effort. However, you can easily correct all your photographs at one go by processing them as a batch. Batch processing is quite simple and is
completed in a matter of seconds. Many batch processing applications, actions and scripts come in handy in such cases. One of the best programs for image optimisation and correction is Adobe Lightroom. This application can fix similar defects in a batch of photos. To get started, import all the over/ underexposed photographs into the Library. You can choose to import only a few photos if you want to try out the software. In case of incorrect exposure, the histogram (at the top right corner) will be skewed towards the right or left— the bright areas may be over-exposed or the dim areas may be underexposed. Such an error can be easily corrected, just like rectifying noisy images. Once done, Lightroom will let you copy and apply the settings to the entire folder/ collection.

How to conveniently transfer photos from a smartphone to a PC

While many companies use their own Cloud solutions, Sony Xperia users have the option of using Box, which comes pre-loaded on most of the company's new smartphones. It’s a simple set up that enables photos to be automatically uploaded to the cloud; you can then easily access your favourite photographs on the PC. Sony Xperia handset owners who still have not subscribed to this web storage service can install the Box software on your PC to begin with. You can even access it online at www.box.com. While registering for the service, choose the free version; Box off ers you 5 – 50GB of space for free. New Xperia customers are given as much as 5GB of storage space for free.
If you find the storage space to be too low for your needs, you can choose to buy more space too. Look for the Box app on your phone. If it isn’t installed, you can download it via the Google Play store. Open the app, sign in, set up your account and you’re good to go. You can choose to upload pics manually or via other apps. Box can be used to store and share all kinds of files. The service
lets you access all your files from any supported device through the app or a browser, anywhere you might be. All you need to do is connect to the Internet.
NOTE Unlike Apple’s Photo Stream service, your photographs will remain permanently stored in Box. You will need to manually remove all your photographs and files later if the available free space gets low.

How to Remove Public WLANs From the Android/ iOS Device Memory

Once a public Wi-Fi network has been used, its access data like SSID and password remain stored in
the device. This enables your device to automatically access the network whenever you're in range. This means that there is a danger of you unwittingly logging-in to the same or another unprotected WLAN with the same SSID. This is possible because simple titles or brand names are frequently used for Wi-Fi networks' SSIDs.
But in any case, you must avoid surfing when connected to an unprotected Wi-Fi network to avoid off ering hackers an opportunity to attack. For removing such WLAN access data on your iOS device, go to 'Settings | WLAN', and click on the arrow on the right next to the concerned network. Now choose 'Ignore this network'. In Android, open the Settings menu and go to 'Wireless & Networks | Wi-Fi'. Select and hold the concerned network and then select 'Forget network'.

How to Send Text From Internet to Amazon's Kindle

If you want you can send text messages to a Kindle device from the Internet with the free tool—Send to Kindle. This tool is available for PC, Mac and Android devices. There's also a plug-in for Google Chrome. You can download it from www.amazon.com/gp/sendtokindle. If you want to load the plug-in for Google Chrome—go to the Chrome Webstore, and search for Send to Kindle for Google Chrome. Once you have it installed, log in with your Amazon account. Click on ‘Start Now’, specify the settings and click 'Save'. You can stay logged-in for as long as you wish. To log out, simply go the Menu option. After the installation, to the right side near the address field in the browser, you will find a small button with an orange coloured ‘K’ on a black background. If you chance upon an Internet page which you find particularly interesting, but don't have the time to go through it, simply click on this button. In the following menu, just select the desired action— Send to Kindle, Preview & Send or Send Selected Text.

NOTE: The desktop versions add a command—Send to Kindle in the Windows version, or in case of a Mac, a special printer driver.

How to Add Pre-defined Events to Your Facebook Timline

Facebook offers a pre-defined event category which you can use to fill your Timeline with a virtual biography, thus providing your friends and contacts a glimpse into your life. Doing so is very easy.

 

First go to your profile page, and next to “Status”, you will find Life Event”, simply click on it. You will see the pre-defined events like Work & Education, Family & Relationships, Home & Living, Health & Wellbeing and Travel & Experiences. Each of these has several sub-categories. For instance, Health & Wellbeing has options like “Over came an illness”, “Quit a habit”, “Broken Bone”, etc. If you select “Broken bone” then Facebook will also ask you the body part you broke, where you were when you broke it and with whom. There is also an option to tell the story behind the
event and upload a picture. Once you have selected the event and filled in the necessary details, click on “Save” and the event will reflect on your Timeline.

How to Control the Number of Notifications on Facebook

Facebook is an excellent place to connect with friends, constant updates can distract you and leave you exasperated. Fortunately, Facebook allows you to control the kind of updates you receive from individuals. You can do so at two levels. Firstly, you can create lists and classify people in them. For instance, you can create a list of your close friends, acquaintances, office colleagues, relatives, etc. and sort your contacts accordingly. Now click on the option ‘More’, which is on the right of your homepage, and select the option ‘Friends’. You will see all the lists you have created under this header. From here you can click a list and Facebook will display updates only from the people
on that list.
However, you may have a person on the list who habitually posts irrelevant content that may clog your news feed. In such cases, you can choose what kind of updates you wish to receive from a particular individual. To do so, click on the down arrow next to the post. Click on ‘Hide’. This action will hide the current post and then it will show you two options ‘Change what updates you get…’ and ‘Organise who you see in News Feed’. With the help of the first option you can control the kind of updates you want to receive: you can either choose ‘All Updates’, ‘Most Updates’ or ‘Only Important Updates. You can also choose the events you want to be notified about, like ‘Comments and Likes’, ‘Gaming activities’, ‘Photos’, etc. Select the things you want to be notified about and only those posts will be visible on your Timeline. The second option is similar to the first method, but with this the choice you make is a permanent one. You can add the person to one of the lists and you will have a lower number of updates from people on that list.