Author Archives: Dominic

Files to Backup before Reinstalling Windows

Microsoft Windows is the most widely used operating system in the world. I am sure many people reading this post from their laptops or personal computers are using some version of Windows. Many situations may require the re-installation of Windows on your PC. This may lead to loss of vital personal files unless you backup your files or if these files happen to be saved on some other remote drive.

Because of this, it is important to know exactly what files to to backup just before you reinstall Windows on your desktop or laptop computer. One nice thing is that Windows provides options for both automatic and manual backup of your important files. An important recommendation is that you do not backup your files to the same drive in which the windows OS is installed. The reason is that when you reinstall Windows, these files will be wiped. Instead, save them to an external hard disk, a CD, a DVD, a removable USB drive, or even to the cloud. read more

Computer Turns Off By Itself: What To Do

A computer that just goes off without any error messages or warnings can be pretty frustrating. There are a few reasons that a computer is turning off by itself with no warning. A few of the most common reasons are overheating, a hardware issue, or even malware. Let’s look at how we can identify and fix these issues.

Overheating Computer

When a computer turns off by itself, one really common reason is overheating. If this is the case, then the only way to correct it is by first finding out what causes the overheating. In most cases, it’s the accumulation of dust and dirt over time inside the computer that leads to a degradation of the internal cooling system. As such, the next step at correcting the problem would be by clearing out the dust. Please note that your computer does not necessarily have to be hot for it to shut down unexpectedly. Manufacturers place several safety parameters when designing computers, and one of them is the coordination of the power system with the cooling system. So, if for any reason, such as the presence of dirt particles, the fan cannot run or runs slowly, the power supply may still shut off. read more

Quick Tip: Disable the use of USB Drives on Your PC

USB Devices are one of the top ways a computer virus is contracted. If you are a network administrator or really anyone who needs to manage a PC that is publicly used, you may find it quite useful to block the use of USB devices on a PC or group of PCs. Generally, this may not be too useful for the average home user. However, if you let others use your PC often or if you are worried that other people, say kids, may bring home a USB device with a virus, then this might be worth setting up. In this article, I will look at two ways you can disable the use of USB drives on your PC. read more

The Best Windows 8 Email Clients

If you have Windows 8 as your operating system, you may be interested in the best Windows 8 email clients. There are quite a few email clients that are recommended for all users. In this article, you can read top 5 email clients for your computer. The email clients below are all solid choices and they offer many great features and benefits. Let’s get right to it.

Opera Mail

This is a free email client that is available for all computer users. You can use this program for your Windows 8 system. This client smoothly supports the POP, IMAP system, RSS, newsgroups, and also Atom feeds. Many people are interested in using this mail client because it offers a ton of great features. It offers top-notch spam protection, threaded views, a simple user interface, and many more solid features. read more

Benefits of Securing Your Private Documents (and how to do it)

Document passwords are often used to protect files from unauthorized users. They make your private data tamper proof in a sense that nobody else can read, write, or delete data from it. Whenever someone tries accessing the protected folders, an instant dialogue box will appear on the display screen. They can only open files when a correct PIN is entered. When it comes to Excel Sheets the process of protecting them is known as cell locking, this procedure secures content from accidental deletion and prevents hackers from messing with your private calculations. In the case where you have complex Excel formulas which have already been tested, it would be appropriate to secure them so as to avoid manipulation. read more