Windows Tools, Help & Guides

Windows Forums member, walt1019, made the following suggestion in our suggestion box:

Tips on securing home wireless networks could be useful. So many are still using the default settings which are wide open while some just use WEP, MAC filtering or not broadcasting the SSID which offers little to no protection.

This guide will show you how to do the following:

• Access your router’s administration panel.
• Secure your wireless network.
• Secure your router.
• Disable SSID broadcasting.
• Connect to a non-broadcasting network.

Why do You Need to Secure Your Home Network?

With an unsecured network, I can get access to your router, PC, private documents, printer, peripheral devices, and can even monitor your instant messaging activity, emails, bank passwords etc. I can also use the internet you pay your hard earned cash for, without paying for it myself. It’s important to protect your home network and this guide will show you how. Read the rest of this entry »

We already know from Deck’s great posts and RSVR85’s Media Center customization guide that Windows Media Center is a robust media hub with a great user interface. The ability to pull in internet TV, act as a DVR for broadcast TV, and serve as a library for music, pictures, and videos has made it my choice in my home entertainment center. However, it does have its shortcomings, one of which is its inability to play some types of video files without third-party software. I’m going to show you how to make this a non-issue by configuring Windows Media Center to utilize non-Windows Media Player programs to play these files.
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First of all, it is fair to say, that this article is written by a former Mozilla Firefox user of many years and a current Google Chrome user.

Microsoft is planning to release the beta of Internet Explorer on September 15, 2010. Before the beta arrives, we can see many of the new features in the Internet Explorer Platform Preview.

The most recent Platform 4th was released on august 4.

Since the beginnings of Internet Explorer, it’s had two main problems: support of web standards and poor performance.

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I’ve done a major rework on the PC Maintenance Handbook and the second edition is now available as a free download. Below is a changelog of some of the changes you’ll see in the new edition. As always, feedback–whether positive or constructive–is always welcome.
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Got a “love-hate” relationship with your TV?  Love the shows, but hate the commercials? Viewing your favorite TV Series on DVD is an excellent way to watch TV.  Dropping those DVD’s down to your hard drive makes the experience close to perfect.

There are several ways to get  TV shows on to your PC – the most popular is probably downloading the shows from a bit.torrent site – another way is to buy the series on DVD and then make a backup copy (where this can be done legally of course) on your hard drive.

Many current TV series are available on iTunes, and even YouTube is getting into the act.  Here in New Zealand our national broadcasting networks (we have two!) started “On Demand” services a year ago and a clever user might find a way record the material fed by their streaming media.

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In our last post we looked at the TV Tuner part of Windows Media Center (WMC). Adding  a TV Tuner card turns your PC into a very respectable DVR (Digital Video Recorder) rather like a TiVo box. Individual shows and indeed, an entire series can be tagged for recording.

This short post will look at the “play-back” aspects of the shows you’ve selected to record.
Recorded programs are kept in a user-selected folder on disc and made available for viewing through the “Recorded TV” icon.

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