Windows Tools, Help & Guides

In a lot of the guides on this site, we ask you to show hidden files. If you are not sure of how to do this, this guide is for you.

Although the interface of Windows has changed since Windows XP, the steps taken to show hidden files are the same for Windows XP, Vista, and 7. I’ved used XP for the screenshots in this guide.

Read the rest of this entry »

I must admit that I am a big fan of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). Since Microsoft has the most popular consumer operating system in the world, why don’t they take up the responsibility in releasing a security program for their users for free? Of course, I am aware that Microsoft has previously released a few – less noticeable security programs, like Windows Defender (pre-installed in Windows Vista/7 and will be disabled if the user installs MSE) and Windows Live OneCare (which was a paid subscription and discontinued), but most Windows users still prefer to use some free security software offered by third parties (and most of them are ad-supported), due to various reasons. Don’t be surprised that some of new PC users aren’t aware of the importance of a security product for Windows, and some don’t have security software installed (and they aren’t aware that they are exposed to the various threats during browsing), so it is pretty important (and I think it’s quite fundamental) for Microsoft to have a competitive in-house security program for all Windows users, for free of course, and the answer is Microsoft Security Essentials. Read the rest of this entry »

There are many ways to hide your secrets, using encryption, hidden folders, hidden partitions etc. Sometimes the best place to hide something is in plain sight. Here’s an old forgotten trick that might prove to be the best hiding place ever…

Inside your images

Read the rest of this entry »

Being infected by virus or malware is something very common these days. Sometimes it’s very hard to remove these infections. Modern forms of malware try to avoid detection by altering the Operating System. Others attack your antivirus so it cannot work properly. This means that if you get infected by a virus newer than your antivirus definitions there is a chance you can’t get rid of it.

In this post I am going to address this problem and show you a way to solve it.

Read the rest of this entry »

What’s one of the most common ways to get unauthorized access to someone else’s computer – especially that of a friend or family member? By guessing the password!

Someone who knows you well may be able to figure out your password, especially if he can try different possibilities before hitting on the right one.

If you’re running Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate edition (or the equivalent edition of Vista), you can set your Windows account to temporary lock if someone enters the wrong password several times in a row.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you want to test a downloaded program but don’t want it destroying your data and sending your bank passwords to the other side of the world, you should probably test it in a safe environment that’s not connected to the rest of your home network. You can do this a number of ways; here are two suggestions:

• Download the program on a spare computer that’s not connected to the rest of your home network.
• Download the program in a virtual machine that’s isolated from your host machine.

If you don’t have a spare computer or want the convenience of testing without using a separate machine, you should use a virtual machine. In this guide, we’ll show you how to set up a virtual machine and how to isolate it from your home network so you can test software.

Read the rest of this entry »