Maintaining your Mac

Mac and the OS X are very stable and reliable. However, if you want your Mac to work perfectly you have to maintain it properly. Most of the errors and glitches that happen to your mac are caused by incorrect permissions table. Mac OS X as a UNIX based system has a UNIX way of handling the files. UNIX as a multi-user system has a special way of manipulating file access. (More about file permissions you can read here). When the new software is installed on your Mac or you did some other system tweaks, it's very likely that permissions will mess itself up so you wont be able executing applications or it may happen that your mac is acting weird. The easiest way of fixing permissions is by using Mac OS X "Disk Utility" which can be found in /Applications/Utilities folder. Fixing permissions is...

How to Dual-Boot Windows 7 and Windows 8 On the Same PC

If you want to try out the new Windows 8 but don’t have a CPU that supports virtualization, check out our guide on how to get all the goodness of Windows 8 along side Windows 7 by dual booting. The scenario: you are in a situation where you have Windows 7 installed and you really want to try out Windows 8, but your PC does not support virtualization and you don’t want to have to format since Windows 8 is still in pre-beta and the chances are that there are some things that are broken. The only option you have here is to dual boot. The only thing that is required in order to dual boot is a hard drive with at least 20 Gigs of free space, it will work with a bit less but this is the minimum we recommend. Dual Booting Windows 7 and Windows...

7 Tips For Buying Cheap Laptop

Laptops are gaining in popularity these days. Almost everyone is carrying one now either for work or entertainment. Laptops with the latest technology are introduced to the market everyday and these new laptops come with a huge price tag. However, that does not mean you cannot get a good and cheap laptop. I have put together a guide that may help you out in your hunt for a cheap and good laptop. Buy cheap laptop with older technology Rapid advance in technology makes it meaningless to buy the latest technology at a high price. When laptop with wireless capability first came to the market, a unit with this technology can cost up till US$2500. NOw after 2 years, you can get a relatively fast centrino laptop for less than US$1000 Buy used or refurbished laptop The depreciation of a laptop...

5 Reasons To Purchase Desktop Computers

If you are in the market for a computer, there are a number of factors to consider.  Will it be used for your home, your office or perhaps even your home office combo?  First off, you will need to set a budget for your new purchase before deciding whether to shop for notebook or desktop computers.  Many offices use desktop computers because they are not intended to be moved around a lot.  In addition, affordability often plays a large role in someone’s decision as to whether to purchase notebook or desktop computers. While you are shopping around, it’s important to keep in mind some of the benefits that go along with owning different types of computers.  To that end, this article provides five important reasons to purchase desktop computers. 1 Desktop computers are...

A Safer Way to Recover Damaged Partitions

Repairing damaged partitions on is a risky business. Even if you use the best toolkit and are absolutely sure in what you are doing, you are still risking your files shall something go wrong. Changes made to the damaged partition are irreversible; it is just too easy to overwrite an important system structure that holds vital information about your disk, files and data. Bottom line: it's good to backup before performing data recovery. But is this really the best way to do it? There is a different approach to do data recovery that is even safer. No need to backup and restore during the recovery. Instead of making a backup copy of corrupted data, you can simply take a binary snapshot of the partition being repaired, and attempt the recovery with different settings as many times as you need...

Protect Your Data with an External Backup Drive

Computers are a very important part of our society, both in a business environment and personally. Having a home computer has been very common for both fun and work purposes. It is common to have pictures saved on your computer as well as some of your financial information. Losing data due to a virus or computer crash can be devastating. The process of recovering all that information is very time consuming and expensive. In many such instances the data is simply lost forever. If you have important information that you don’t want to be without you need to protect yourself now. Too many people wait to invest in an external backup drive until after they have experienced such a loss. You will find them readily available for desktop and laptop computers. With an external backup drive, the data...

What To Do When Your Keyboard Fail

Do you think the keyboard is important? Try using your computer without it.Your computer will be almost useless without the keyboard.And like all other PC peripherals,the keyboard can and will put you down. The keyboard is a simple peripheral and when it does go on the blink,you will be much better off pyrchasing a new one rather than considering repairing it,unless the problem is something simple like a stuck key. TROUBLESHOOTING BASICS As we look into problems with the keyboard,remember the check the obvious first and as with all problem solving procedures,don't be tempted to take shortcuts. Follow these procedures to resolve common keyboard problems. KEYBOARD WILL NOT RESPOND 1st. Restart the computer. This sometimes will resolve a computer that has froze or locked up during the first...

5 Reasons to Choose a Notebook Over a Computer Desktop

Many of us are so used to working on a computer desktop that when it comes time to purchase a new computer, we don't consider other options. Today, computer notebooks - which were once called laptops - offer a number of advantages over a computer desktop. Here are just five reasons why you should take a second look at notebooks. 1. Mobility You might be used to pulling up a chair to your computer, but it makes much more sense to pull your computer up to your chair. Laptops can certainly be used at your desk, but you also have the option of bringing them to the spot where you're most comfortable. Maybe you'd like to surf the Web in the evening out in the living room or catch up on your favorite blogs before bedtime. Notebooks with wireless connectivity can travel with you throughout your...

Cell Phone Etiquette You Need To Know

Owning a cell phone can be a lot of fun. It’s portable, convenient, and is comforting to have when driving alone late at night. But now that there are millions of people who own cell phones, proper cell phone etiquette is becoming a concern. Owning a cell phone doesn’t give a person a right to be rude or inconsiderate of others. It may be okay to take your phone with you and have it on while you are in business settings, with the exception of business meetings, but it’s not okay in some social settings. People in a movie theater aren’t going to appreciate it if your cell phone is ringing during a movie. They’ll be even more annoyed if you answer it and talk during the movie. A nice leisurely dinner at a restaurant can be ruined if someone at the table next to you has their phone on and...

10 Tweaks that will make your Windows Vista fly

1. Speed Up Windows Vista Start Menu Search As you execute a search you will be using the search box located in the start panel. Then Vista will start searching the file index without any prompting. Keep in mind that the file index will be very big due to the fact that it has all files included on your hard drive. If you are looking to speed up your searching methods then you can try this. Go to your Start Menu and narrow down the scope of the search. In other words try to narrow down what you are looking for. Instead of a general term use something more specific. There are two ways in which you can do this. The first way is called the Registry hack and for that this is what you have to do. Step one: Open up the registry editor using the word regedit. Step...

Finding the Security Suite that meets your needs

Before proceeding to read this article, it is important that we state something up front.    It is essential for the reader to understand and appreciate that there is no such thing as a secure operating system or web browser.  While the use of security suites and other complementing products can significantly reduce your risks, they are not magic wands that you can wave to eliminate 100% of your risk.  Any product claiming they can do this should be viewed with great skepticism.  With that being said, let’s talk computer security and security suites.  There are numerous ways in which the security of your computer can be breached.  The most common threats come from worms, viruses, Trojans, phishing, hackers and crackers. ...

Who are the Players in the Antivirus Industry?

Everyone in the United States has heard of the leading antivirus vendors Symantec, Mcafee, Computer Associates, and Trend Micro. These companies have market-leading presence in the United States.  Microsoft, as well, has plans become a key player in this market.  Microsoft acquired intellectual property and technology from GeCad software in 2003, a company based in Bucharest, Romania.  They also acquired Pelican Software, which had a behavior based security as well as Giant Company Software for spyware and Sybari Software, which manages virus, spam, and phishing filtering. A lot of discussion has centered on whether Microsoft with come to own a dominant position in the antivirus market by simply bundling its technologies with its operating...

Why Do I Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me?

Spyware is one of the fastest-growing internet threats.  According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, spyware infects more than 90% of all PCs today.  These unobtrusive, malicious programs are designed to silently bypass firewalls and anti-virus software without the user’s knowledge.  Once embedded in a computer, it can wreak havoc on the system’s performance while gathering your personal information.  Fortunately, unlike viruses and worms, spyware programs do not usually self-replicate.   Where does it come from?Typically, spyware originates in three ways.  The first and most common way is when the user installs it.  In this scenario, spyware is embedded, attached, or bundled with a freeware or shareware program...