We know, updating your PC is a hassle–but it’s essential. New security flaws are discovered on a regular basis, and most companies are pretty good about issuing fixes for those flaws as they crop up. Plugging those holes, ho…
The more software you install on your computer, the longer it may seem to take to start up Windows. Many programs add themselves to the list of programs started when you boot your computer, and that list can get long….
Windows normally animates windows whenever you minimize or maximize them. These animations can be disabled, if you like, making windows hide or appear immediately. This option is available on all modern versions of Windows, i…
Your PC makes lots of Internet connections in a day’s business, and not all of them are necessarily sites you’re aware connections are happening with. While some of these connections are harmless, there is always a chance tha…
User Account Control is an important Windows security feature. If a running application wants full access to your system, it has to ask with a UAC prompt. If you disable UAC, all running applications can gain Administrator ac…
From Enhance Pointer Precision to DPI and pointer speed, there are a lot of options that affect how your mouse pointer moves in Windows. The below tips will help you move your mouse pointer more accurately—and even allow yo…
Your PC’s hard drive could fail tomorrow, or a software bug could erase your files, so backups are critical. But you don’t need to back up all the files on your PC. That would just waste space and make your backups take lon…
Most laptop touchpads make it possible to perform a middle-click, but not all do. In some situations, you may need to enable this option in your mouse driver’s control panel or install the appropriate drivers first….
Reinstalling Windows isn’t as simple as just clicking through an installer. You’ll want to have important data backed up first, and then you’ll need installation media and a product key before continuing—and those are jus…
Remote Desktop is disabled by default in Windows, but it’s easy enough to turn on if you want your PC to be remote control requests from the network.
If you’ve previously added or removed the some of the “special” icons like Computer, User, and Control Panel to the desktop—or just want to know how to add them in Windows 10—here’s how to do it.
If you’ve ever bought a new computer with Windows already installed, you might be annoyed by the default name of your PC. Or maybe you’re just ready for a change. Here’s how to rename your PC to whatever you like….
The Run box is a convenient way to run programs, open folders and documents, and even issue some Command Prompt commands. You can even use it to run programs and commands with administrative privileges….
If you’ve ever browsed through Task Manager, you may have wondered why there are so many Service Host processes running. You can’t kill them, and you sure didn’t start them. So, what are they?
You are no doubt reading this article because you stumbled across the Desktop Window Manager process and are wondering just what it is. We’ve got the answer.
If you’ve got a lot of AVI videos in your media collection, you might want to be able to play them on your DVD player—or even more likely, give a DVD to a family member to watch. Here’s how to create your own DVDs easil…
Figuring out whether you’re running a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows only takes a couple of steps and the tools are already built into Windows. Here’s how to find out what you’re running.
There are all kinds of ways to open a Command Prompt window from File Explorer—and you can even run commands right in the File Explorer address bar—but did you know it’s just as easy to open a File Explorer window from th…
If you’re worried about someone trying to guess your Windows password, you can have Windows temporarily block sign in attempts after a specific number of failed attempts.
Whenever an application wants to make itself accessible over the network, it claims a TCP/IP port, which means that port can’t be used by anything else. So how do you check open ports to see what application is already usin…
Windows plays a startup sound and other sound effects regularly, and they can get obnoxious. They’re especially annoying on Windows 7, where Windows plays a click sound every time you switch folders in Windows Explorer. You…
You’re likely reading this because you noticed a gigantic hiberfil.sys file sitting on your system drive and you’re wondering if you can get rid of it to free up some space. Here’s what that file is and how you can delete it…
The built-in backup utilities in Windows are pretty solid. Let’s take a look at how to create a full backup image of your PC without the need for a third party utility.
So you’ve just unpacked that spiffy new monitor, and it sits fresh and new on your desk putting your other little displays to shame. Now you have to give it some sartorial splendor: a kick-ass wallpaper from the online reposi…
If you’ve configured Windows to automatically log you in rather than having to enter a password, you might find it annoying that you still need to enter a password when your PC comes out of sleep mode. Here’s the fix….
