Tiplet expert tips & tech support

March 25, 2009

Pros and Cons of Microsoft Windows Defender

Filed under: privacy & security,Vista,Windows — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 1:00 pm

by David Hakala

Microsoft Windows Defender is an anti-spyware program included in Windows XP and Vista. Do you need it, and does it do its job well?

First, note that Windows Defender is only an anti-spyware program. Spyware intercepts or takes partial control over the user’s interaction with the computer, without the user’s informed consent. For example, spyware may log all of your keystrokes – including financial site passwords – and send them to an unknown party. That’s bad, but spyware is hardly the only kind of threat. You will still need anti-virus software, most of which also scans for spyware.
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March 22, 2009

Open Office 2007 Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Files With Office 2003 Versions

Filed under: applications,Vista,Windows — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 1:00 pm

by David Hakala

There is a bit of a battle going on among Microsoft Office users worldwide. Some have upgraded to Office 2007 while others stick with Office 2003. The problem is that the default file format in which Office documents are saved is not the same for both versions. So users of Office 2003 cannot open documents created and saved by Office 2003.

“Save it in 2003 format!” they cry.

“No, you upgrade!” reply the state-of-the-art crowd.
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March 18, 2009

Using Windows Remote Desktop Function

Filed under: computer performance,Internet,mobile computing,Windows — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 1:00 pm

by David Hakala

Imagine you are away from the office, or home, or home-office, about to make a presentation to an important client. In the waiting room, you discover you’ve left your PowerPoint presentation and, more importantly, the contract the client was going to sign on your desktop PC! It’s time to die … unless you have Remote Desktop running back home.
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March 17, 2009

“Cannot Restore” Errors When Trying to Use System Restore

Filed under: computer performance,data storage and recovery,Windows — Tags: , , , — admin @ 5:00 pm

by Tina Gasperson

Q: I’ve been having trouble trying to restore my system to an earlier date. The restore program goes to the point where it says pick a date to restore to. There will be several dates highlighted to pick from, and when I pick one the program goes through its paces and then gives the message that it cannot restore to that date. No matter what date I pick it does the same thing. Is there a way to correct this? — Thomas

Unfortunately, the odds are you will likely not be able to correct this error, since Windows has probably deleted the files. One of the ways this can happen is if you have upgraded your Windows to a newer version. When the files are updated, Windows doesn’t keep old system restore checkpoints since they would not be compatible with a newer version of Windows. Neither can you “degrade” to an older version of Windows with system restore.
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Where Did “Spyware Threat Has Been Detected on Your PC” Come From?

Filed under: applications,privacy & security,Windows — Tags: , , — admin @ 1:00 pm

by David Hakala

As you surf the Web, you may be startled by a window that pops up with a message like one of these:

warning spyware threat has been detected on your pc

spyware threat has been detected on your pc

Sometimes the window jiggles nervously in a way calculated to make you anxious. Always, there is a button to click for a “free spyware scan.”
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March 15, 2009

How to Set Your Default Folder Views for Consistency in Windows XP

Filed under: Windows — Tags: , , , — admin @ 5:00 pm

by Tina Gasperson

When you’re looking for a file, do you find yourself constantly changing the folder view so you can see all the details about a file? I do. Seeing the date that the file was created or last modified helps me figure out if I’m seeing the file I really want. Or do you like to see thumbnails of the files and folders? When you have a lot of pictures or videos on your computer, the thumbnail view really comes in handy. In Windows XP, you can change the default folder view so that you never have to go through the process again, unless you decide you want to see your folders a different way.
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March 12, 2009

How Can I Control What Installing or Updating Software Does to My PC?

Filed under: applications,computer performance,Windows — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 9:00 am

by Gabe Goldberg

After you start most software installation and update processes, perhaps after accepting whatever terms and conditions the vendor imposes, you see buttons with labels such as “Express (Recommended)” and “Custom.”

If you wouldn’t let an amateur handyman work on your house without detailed instructions, or let a car salesman pick your automotive options and accessories, you should learn advantages of the “Custom” choice.
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March 11, 2009

How to Detect Potentially Malicious Processes Running on Your Computer

Filed under: computer performance,privacy & security,Windows — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 6:00 pm

by Tina Gasperson

If there’s one constant with Windows computers and the Internet, it’s that one must always remain vigilant. The Internet is a dangerous place for computers because some people with too much time on their hands are always looking for ways to exploit weaknesses in your system, whether those weaknesses come from your computer itself, or from operator error. One way you can stay on top of the nasties is to keep an eye on running processes to make sure nothing malicious is there.
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Best Ways to Get Microsoft Windows Updates

Filed under: computer performance,privacy & security,Vista,Windows — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 2:00 pm

by David Hakala

Microsoft Windows needs to be kept up to date to close newly discovered security vulnerabilities and patch bugs that can degrade performance or crash your computer completely. There are several ways to get Microsoft’s frequently released Windows update packages, including one that works with Web browsers other than Internet Explorer.
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March 7, 2009

Help, My Task Manager Is Disabled

Filed under: computer performance,data storage and recovery,privacy & security,Windows — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 2:00 pm

by David Hakala

Windows’ built-in Task Manager is a pretty useful tool. It can help you shut down programs that are frozen or misbehaving. It can even shut down background processes that may be causing problems. Many people use Task Manager almost every day, so they are startled when they click on the Taskbar or press Ctl-Alt-Del and get something like this:

“Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator.”

If you work in an office that has a systems administrator go talk to him or her about the problem. But if you don’t have an administrator, how did Task Manager get disabled and how can you turn it back on?
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March 3, 2009

Why and How to Turn Unneeded Services Off in Windows

Filed under: computer performance,Windows — Tags: , — admin @ 2:00 pm

by Tina Gasperson

Services in Windows are executable programs that run in the background without user interaction. Usually, these services facilitate user actions or help other programs run. They can be loaded automatically, disabled, or set to run only when instructed to do so by the computer user. Since each service uses a share of the available system resources, it makes sense to check your services from time to time and shut off the ones you don’t need. Additionally, if you have a lot of services auto-starting at boot time, setting these services not to automatically start can reduce the amount of time it takes to boot up.
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