by Gabe Goldberg
Computers are fragile creatures; because of internal moving parts and delicate electronics, they dislike jostling and shaking. Less obviously, they’re also subject to damage or destruction by electrical problems.
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April 9, 2009
How Can I Protect My PC From Power Problems?
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April 8, 2009
Free Virus Scan Offers May Not Be Safe
by David Hakala
Quite often, you will see an ad on a Web page, in a pop-up window, or off to the right of Google search results offering a “free virus scan.” A virus scan is good, and a free one is better, isn’t it? Not necessarily.
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April 7, 2009
What Is the Difference between PCMCIA and Express?
by Tina Gasperson
Your laptop probably has a slot for either a PCMCIA or an ExpressCard. PCMCIA is the older standard, used many times for modems or wireless broadband cards. Lately, however, laptop manufacturers have been building machines with Express slots instead of PCMCIA. That might throw you for a loop if you’re not careful, since the slots for PCMCIA and Express are similar. You’ll quickly find that they are not interchangeable, however. If you buy a new laptop with an Express slot and your broadband wireless card is PCMCIA, it will not work in your new system.
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Choosing a Gaming Mouse
by David Hakala
A mouse can make the difference between “life and death” in a computer game, between winning and losing, enjoying the game or screaming in frustration. Fortunately, there are plenty of good gaming mice from which to choose, and they are not very expensive. Here are some key features to look for in a gaming mouse:
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April 6, 2009
What Is an IP Address, and How Do I Find Out What Mine Is?
by Tina Gasperson
Computing was much simpler before the days of the World Wide Web, but it was probably a lot less fun too. These days, most of our computer time is spent online, connected to other computers, looking for information housed on some other computer that might be halfway around the world.
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How to Stop Secretmaker HOSTS file change attempt Alerts
by David Hakala
Q: I use Windows XP Home Edition. Via Secretmaker I keep on getting the message, “A HOSTS file change attempt has been watched on your computer, we advise you to reject it as normally no changes are necessary.” I thus click on reject and the message is removed, only for it to return some 3-4 minutes later. This has been going on for several days. Apart from clicking on accept, which I gather is not wise, or uninstalling Secret Maker, is there anything else I can do to prevent the message reappearing? — Victor
Yes, Victor: you can find out what is trying to change your HOSTS file and put an end to it. I highly recommend that you do so ASAP, because it’s probably meaning to do you harm.
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How Can I Use Multiple Monitors with My PC?
by Gabe Goldberg
If you’ve used Microsoft Windows for a while, you likely have several — or many — favorite applications open simultaneously. And if you frequently switch among them, you’re likely frustrated by apps appearing and disappearing, depending on which ones you’ve clicked most recently.
Fortunately, Windows has a nifty but little-known facility for increasing your computer desktop real estate, and recent industry developments help take advantage of this. The first step is checking whether your video card — the part of your PC innards that controls what’s displayed on your computer monitor — has two connection ports. If so, you’re ready to proceed. If not, it’s simple to replace your video card or add one with a second port.
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April 5, 2009
How to Synchronize Your Computer Clock with an Online Time Service
by Tina Gasperson
One of the nice things about having an Internet connection is that you can synchronize your computer clock so it is always perfectly on time. Because it is a continuous synchronization you don’t have to worry about having the wrong time due to a user error or a slow clock.
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