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Copyright © 2011
Boldt, Carlisle & Smith, LLC.
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Adjust Your Performance Options

Why?  Windows has various visual effects that can be configured for better appearance and performance.  While these effects are by default controlled by the operating system automatically, you can set them manually to improve system response time.  While dramatic improvements probably will not be seen across the board, for a computer that is already hurting for speed & resources, these modifications can make a big difference.

How? Right-click the ‘Computer’ or ‘My Computer’ icon and choose properties.  In Windows XP, select ‘Advanced’ and under ‘Performance’ choose ‘Settings’.  In Windows Vista & 7, the same screen can be found under performance options.  All of the options under the ‘Visual Effects’ tab are completely safe to modify at will.  Try the ‘best appearance’ and ‘best performance’ options first to assess the difference these adjustments can make.  Then adjust the settings to achieve the desired balance between appearance and performance.

Can I undo it? Yes!  Any changes you make in this section can be undone individually or simply by selecting the ‘Let Windows choose what’s best for my computer’ option.

This article is specifically targeted at Windows Vista, but many of the screens and options are the same in XP, Vista and Windows 7.

September 9, 2011

Left-Click, Right-Click & Middle-Click

Most mice have three buttons.  We are all generally familiar with using the left mouse button for selecting or opening files, folders & links.  Just as the left mouse button is the ‘select’ button, the right button is usually the ‘menu’ or ‘more options’ button.  Right-clicking will tell you what you can do with things, and will sometimes tell you what left-clicking does (in bold).  Want to copy a picture?  Right-click it and choose copy.  If you want to get rid of it, right-click and select delete.  Many antivirus programs let you scan specific files by right-clicking them, many other programs add items to your right-click menu and Windows has many other options built in – including the ability to right-click & drag an icon to a new location.  You may be surprised what you can do with files, toolbars, pictures, text, folders and more.  Middle-Clicking is much less straightforward.  The middle button on most mice is actually the scroll wheel; if you press on the wheel, it clicks.  In most documents, middle clicking turns your mouse pointer into a scroll bar and until you click the middle button again, moving the mouse will scroll in the direction you move.  Web browsers, like Internet Explorer, have adopted a very useful standard for the middle mouse button: new tab.  When you left-click a link on a web page, it takes you from the webpage you are on to the target of the link. When you right-click it will give you more options of all the things you can do with the link.  When you middle-click, it will automatically open a new tab containing the target.  This is extremely useful when searching on the internet.  Middle-click several promising search results, then explore those options without losing your other search results.  Mozilla Firefox has taken this feature far enough that you can middle click your back & home buttons to open those pages in new tabs.  These tools are literally at your fingertips and can greatly increase the ease and control you have when using your computer.

July 21, 2011

Take control of your Outlook address book.

Loosely defined, the ‘address book’ is made up of 2 important parts – 3 in a business environment.  The business only component is the list of all the users with the same email domain; coworkers for example.  This list is maintained by the network administrator and cannot be edited by a standard user.  The second component is your contacts list(s).  Contacts are easy to create, modify & delete.  These sites for Outlook versions 2007 & 2010 can tell you more.  The third and most elusive component is your auto-fill email addresses.  These are the addresses that pop up when you create a new email and begin typing the name or email address of the recipient.  Every time you email someone new, their address is recorded in the auto-fill listing. To edit these entries, double click on the address after Outlook underlines it – underlining indicates that the address has been entered into the auto-fill data store.  Astute observers may notice that a never before entered email, if left in the ‘To’ field long enough, will be underlined & added to the auto-fill without regard to whether or not the email is eventually sent.  The tricky part about this list is removing items.  Fortunately in this case, while the method is not obvious, it is simple.  Type part of the email address: enough that the dropdown list contains the entry that you wish to delete.  Use the arrow keys to highlight the address you want to delete, and then press the delete key.  The delete key is part of a group of six often ignored keys between the num-pad & the main keyboard, above the arrows.  If the entry disappears, it is gone until a subsequent message is sent to this recipient.

April 26, 2011

Understand Web Browser Add-ons.

What? Web Browsers use add-ons like plug-ins and ActiveX controls to increase their capabilities.  Many companies release entirely new types of content and functions on the internet every day – far too quickly for web browsers to keep up.  In order for web browsers to handle this content, they need additional features installed. For example, Adobe has a program called Flash that can create movies.  In order for your web browser to display these movies, Adobe has created the Flash Player plug-in.  Another example is Dell.  In order to update your Dell computer, the Dell website needs to be able to see what you have installed on your computer – much of that data is hidden from your browser to maintain your privacy.  To overcome this issue, Dell created an ActiveX control called the Dell Driver Scan Utility which you can install on your computer.  An ActiveX control is the type of add-on used by Internet Explorer while most other browsers use plug-ins.  This ActiveX acts as a go between for your computer and the Dell webpage, telling it what updates your computer needs.

Why? The downside to add-ons is that they expose more of your computer to malware – Adobe flash is so universal on the internet that some viruses are written to infect computers via flash.  Susceptibility can be mitigated by installing updates to Flash Player many of which are released by Adobe very shortly after the vulnerability is discovered.  Less common add-ons are practically immune to this type of infection because the bad guys do not bother writing a virus for an uncommon vulnerability.  Another downside to add-ons is that they have to be loaded into your browser.  The more you have, the longer it takes to start or use your browser.  You can read more about this in our article on Browser Toolbars.  A third downside of plug-ins is that they can reveal more information about you.  While this information is usually innocuous, the sum can be used to uniquely identify your computer.  This type of privacy leak is usually inconsequential because this type of profile changes whenever your computer is updated or changed.

April 4, 2011

Change your home page.

Why?  Your web browser goes to your home page as soon as you start it.  If your home page takes a long time to load, your web browser will take a long time before it is useful.  Also, manufacturer web pages aren’t always what you want to see.  They can be filled with advertisements and images that take a long time to load.  With many browsers, you can even set up multiple home pages.  Maybe you want Google so you can start searching immediately.  Maybe you want your E-mail so you don’t forget to check it.  Maybe you want nothing so your computer doesn’t waste any time before it is ready for you to instruct it - many browsers allow you to set the home page blank.  The benefit is that you don’t have to wait for any page to load.

How?  First, go to the page you want.  Look for tools, options, preferences or other such menus in your web browser window.  Usually on the first page of the options box, there is a field that shows your home page address.  Replace whatever is there with the address of the web page you are at.  Some browsers, like Mozilla Firefox, allow you to set the home page to the current web page with the click of a single button.

Can I undo it?  Sure, just go to a different page and set it as your home page.  Often there are buttons that will reset your home page to the default.

March 17, 2011

Don’t install toolbars

Why?  The current versions of the most popular web browsers include most of the features provided by toolbars for security and usability – things like website blacklist checking, download management and direct access to your preferred search engine.  The primary purpose of toolbars is advertising – in fact, toolbar manufacturers pay companies to include their toolbars in other downloads – like Adobe ShockWave, AVG Antivirus, and Sun Java.  The hope being that if you have a Google toolbar, you will be more likely to search on Google and click sponsored links: putting money in Google’s pocket.  Google is just an example; the same is true for other toolbar manufacturers.  Another reason to avoid browser toolbars is screen area.  Toolbars consume display space – which means more scrolling.  In addition, toolbars complicate your web browser and take up screen space.  Removing toolbars will reduce the number of files your computer has to load for you to surf the web, speeding you up and reducing your chance for malfunctions and incompatibilities. 

How?  When you install something, like Java or Adobe Flash Player, there is usually a checkbox for additional software.  Uncheck the box.  If you already have browser toolbars you do not use, use windows control panel add/remove programs or programs and features to get rid of it.

February 4, 2011

Know your web browser.

My What?  It is easy to think of the internet as a nebulous source of email, videos and streaming music.  But in reality, the internet is made up of millions of files on different computers around the world.  The web address describes the path to a specific file, on the specific computer – much like your home address describes the physical location of your home.  The web page itself is a file sent to your computer from the server where it is stored (a server is a computer that performs a specific task without human interaction, in this case sending you the web page you want is its service).  A web browser is the program that shows you the file you asked for – just like Microsoft Word shows you doc files and Adobe Reader shows you pdfs.  In fact, if you have an html file on your desktop, clicking it will open your web browser.  For most people, the web browser is Internet Explorer (it has a blue ‘e’ for an icon).  Microsoft will tell you it is the best – because it is theirs – but the universality of IE means that it is also the browser most often targeted by malware.

Why?  Your web browser is the ‘glasses’ through which you see the internet.  Sometimes a webpage looks better with a different set of glasses.  When something on the internet doesn’t work, your web browser may be to blame.  Moreover, you may find something newer, faster, more secure or just plain better.  This website will show you the browser you are using to read this article.

Where can I get a new browser? The big three are Mozilla Firefox 3, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 8.  If you have any additional questions about web browsers or need help picking and installing one, we can help.  Give us a call at 503-585-7751.

January 7, 2011

Why? Some programs never stop running.  Tasks your computer does in the background, called services, are often turned on automatically because they are required for windows and other programs to run.  Other software, called drivers, are used by windows to make the hardware work correctly.  There is a rule about computers: if someone else is using it, you can’t change it.  What that means is that while those drivers and services are running, your computer cannot update them.  Not only does rebooting give your computer a chance to update those files, but it also completely clears out your computer.  If a program freezes while closing, you may not see it anymore, but it may still be running – restarting will give you a blank slate.  Lastly, when you restart, your computer reconnects to everything.  If there were network communication issues, restarting will retry establishing those connections.  I recommend restarting at least once a week.

How? Often, when your computer needs you to reboot, it will tell you and give you a button to click.  If it doesn’t, you can always get to it via the start menu.

November 23, 2010

Clean out your temporary files.

Why? Temp files are created when you visit web pages, run files from the internet and perform many other everyday activities on your computer.  The computer doesn’t delete them because if you repeat the action, they can save you time.  But, they build up and can be a residence for unscrupulous software.

How? Every Windows computer comes with “Disk Cleanup”.  While not the best tool, it is certainly one of the most universal.  It can be found buried in Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\System Tools.  It takes a second to load depending on how much stuff you have on your computer.  You can safely check every box (except Microsoft Office Setup Files) without fear of damaging your computer or changing the way it works.  However, a cautionary note: leaving the ‘compress old files’ box checked can take your computer many hours – this option also usually frees up the most space.

Can I undo it? Yes and no.  You can’t undo it, but your computer will automatically recreate any files it needs.

November 19, 2010

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