Windows Tips – Windows XP: Avoid Re-Activate Windows XP After a Reinstallation

Whenever you first install Windows XP, you have to activate it over the Internet or by calling Microsoft customer support on the phone. So if you ever need to re-install Windows XP because of some type of system failure, then at a later time you would have to re-activate it again.

To avoid having to do this, all you have to do is backup a single file before destroying your old copy of Windows off your hard drive. Then after you finish installing a new copy of Windows XP, all you have to do is restore the file that you had backed up.

• Copy the following file (c:\windows\system32\wpa.dbl) to some type of removable media (i.e.: floppy, USB drive, CD , or DVD).

Note: If you change any of your hardware before copying this file back to your new installation of Windows XP, you may have to reactivate your copy of Windows.

Mac Tips – New Finder Window Opens?

There are some useful preferences that are not in System Preferences but in Finder Preferences. You can get it in the Finder menu, under Preferences. The one I want to talk about today is “New Finder windows open”. This applies to when you open a new Finder window using “Command – N”. You can change it to any folder on the hard drive. 

Windows Tips – Windows 7: Resizing Desktop Icons

Want to easily change the size (larger or smaller) of the icons on the desktop? All you have to do is click on an empty part of the desktop, hold down the CTRL key, then using the scroll wheel on your mouse, scroll up or down to re-size the icons.

Video: QR Codes

QR Codes seem to be everywhere these days, and each has a unique destination. Ellie gives you a look at some of the most popular QR code reading apps for your mobile device and where to find these elusive codes!

Resources:

• Google URL Shortener
• ScanLife
• QuickMark
• Mirascape
• QR Code Reader and Scanner

Mac Tips – Erase Free Space!

“Secure Empty Trash” is a great feature for confidential data, but if you erased a file and forgot to do it, it is still possible to truly erase it. In “Disk Utility“, under “Erase”, there is a feature called “Erase Free Space…”. It will actually overwrite all the free space on your hard drive. You can choose “Zero Out”, “7-Pass” or “35-Pass”. Zero Out is usually fine, but if you want to make the data even harder to recover, 7-Pass is also a good option. 35-Pass takes just way too much time!

Anti Virus Recommendations (Windows PC’s)

Did you know that there are an average of 65 new computer viruses released everyday. They wreak havoc on your computer and can bring a person or business to their knees if not taken care of quickly. Many times when someone brings me their machine for virus removal they either did not have any virus protection, the virus protection was out of date, or their “free” software didn’t do what it was supposed to do.

Well today I’m going to give you my recommendations for the best protection for you and your data.

1. My #1 recommended paid product is Webroot Secure Anywhere Antivirus 2012. In my opinion it does the best job of protecting you and in the event of a breach it does the best at removing them. It is $39.95 a year for 1 computer or $49.95 a year for up to 3 computers.
2. My # 2 recommendation is for those that do no want to pay for their antivirus and are looking for a “free” solution. In this type of scenario I recommend Panda Securities  Panda Cloud Antivirus 2012. This is does a very good job of protecting you and because it is in the cloud, it is always updated, so it requires no maintenance on your part.
3. My #3 recommendation is for those who want a “free” product but prefer a more traditional antivirus that does not live in the cloud and is installed on you local machine. For these computers I recommend Avast Free Antivirus. This is an excellent program that protects you from downloads, emails, as well as while you are browsing the web, among others.

I do not get anything from the companies for these recommendations. 

So if your in the market for Anti-Virus, give one of these 3 products a try.

Thanks,

Jim

Web Design Tip – Template Names

When designing a site, be sure to give any template that you create a descriptive and unique name. If you get into the habit of using the same name for your templates, you run the risk of updating unintended pages. An example would be when designing a sub domain for a client with a different style. If you use the same name for the template in the 2 different sites, when you apply changes to one of the templates, all pages will update, causing problems that will make you want to pull your hair out.

Windows Tips – Windows 7: Verifying the Operating System Edition & Version

Do you need to find out what edition of the Windows Operating system you’re running (e.g. Windows Home Basic, Home Premium, Enterprise, etc.), or if you’re running the 32-bit or 64-bit version? 

There are two easy places to look:

• From the Start menu in the search field, type WINVER

or

• From the Start menu, click Control Panel, click System and Maintenance, and then click System.

Mac Tips – PDF display in Preview!

Preview is a great application that is much faster at displaying PDF files than Adobe reader. There are many options for displaying PDF in “View”, “PDF Display”. One that I like in particular is “Single Page” instead of “Single Page Continuous”. It doesn’t work very well on smaller displays, but it is great on my 23″ ACD. It basically disables scrolling and using the arrows will let you browse from page to page.

Windows Tips – Windows 7: Installing IIS

Internet Information Services (IIS) is Microsoft’s web server software and can be installed on a Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate edition machine.

It is not installed by default, so you will have to follow the steps below to enable it.

• Log on to the computer with an account that has Administrators privileges.
• From the Start menu select the Control Panel, click Programs.
• Click the link Turn Windows features on or off.
• Check Internet Information Services.
• Press the OK button when finished.

By default it will install a minimal set of features, if you need additional functionality, you’ll need to check the appropriate boxes within the Windows Features dialog box (e.g. Web Management tools).