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Archive for the ‘Windows 7’ Category


Update Your Windows Installation Now

Posted by Rich On May - 12 - 2017

Some nasty ransomware—WannaCry—is making its way around vulnerable windows machines today.

If you’re reading this, update all of your Windows PCs now. If you have automatic updates turned on, you should be secure; however, Microsoft only recently patched this vulnerability so it doesn’t hurt to check.

How to update Windows

What you need to know about the WannaCry ransomware

Access Files from a VHD Image in Windows [Quick Tip]

Posted by Rich On July - 7 - 2013

If you’ve created a virtual hard disk for use with a virtual machine (i.e. XP Mode—how to create a virtual machine), you may want to access these files without booting in to the virtual operating system. To access files on a VHD from Windows:

  1. Press Windows Key + R (or click Start > Run), type diskmgmt.msc, and press Enter
  2. Click Action > Attach VHD

    attach-vhd-windows01

  3. Browse to your VHD file and click OK

attach-vhd-windows02

 

When you are finished using the VHD, open Disk Management (step 1), right click the virtual drive and click Detach VHD

attach-vhd-windows03

Thanks to John Henderson for the tip.

 

Restore accidentally deleted SKYPE contacts [How To]

Posted by Thomas On June - 3 - 2013

skypeLogo You know the drill. You finally decide it’s time to clean up the cluttered contact list in Skype. Too late you realize that you’ve deleted some important contacts. Problem is you can’t remember their screen name, nor their email and you’re even unsure as how they spell their name. Sounds familiar ?

By default, Skype will store your chat log (unless you tell it not to). So the first thing you should try, is to look in the log file (You find it under the Recent tab). It’s really easy – unless of course you have deleted all the logs as well!

Then what ?Do you have to yield to defeat ? No, not just yet – There is a way… It’s a tedious task, BUT there’s a way.

 

Read the rest of this entry »

Create a Guest Account 04

If you share your PC with others or let friends use it when they come to visit, you may find settings changed, files deleted, programs installed etc. when you next use it. With previous versions of Windows, I’ve used Windows Steady State, which provided a mode to allow access without setting complicated policies to protect your settings. Thankfully with Windows 7, Microsoft has made this level of protection much more readily accessible. Learn, in this guide how to set up a Guest account—available in all Windows 7 and 8 versions—for infrequent users of your PC.

Please note two things before getting started:

  1. You should not use a guest account if you have parental controls set on your children’s accounts
  2. You cannot use Guest mode in an Active Directory environment
    In other words, you probably wont be able to add a guest account if you use company hardware

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When you store your data with a third party provider like Dropbox, you put trust in the storage provider’s security controls to protect your data. While all good storage providers encrypt their data locally and during transmission, you can add an additional layer of security to really lock down your data and keep prying eyes away.

In the past, we’ve shown you how to create a secure, encrypted volume on your PC or USB drive; however, you need to use a PC to access the data. In this guide, we share an application that encrypts your data while still providing access to your data from any Windows, Mac, or Linux PC as well as from an iOS, Android, or Windows RT device.

Read the rest of this entry »

Copy Error / Warning Dialog Box Text to Clipboard [Quick Tip]

Posted by Rich On December - 19 - 2012

Often we face errors on our PCs which, with a quick web search on the error text, are easily resolvable. Did you know you can copy the contents of an error message (or any dialog box) to your clipboard? When you’re faced with an error, press Ctrl+C to copy the error title and text to your clipboard.

This:

Becomes this:

—————————
Warning, grasshopper
—————————
You haven’t paid homage to Windows Guides today
—————————
OK
—————————

Simply paste the error message into the search field; I find this a lot quicker than transcribing the error message in to your favorite search engine yourself.


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