When you download a file from the internet you expose yourself to unknown threats. An attacker can easily change the extension of a file and disguise it as harmless file. For example, an MP3 file can be actually an WMA file containing code to download malware from a malicious site. The only safe approach left is to identify a file type using their binary signatures.
Read moreDisable Burn to CD/DVD in Windows Vista
Optical disk burning feature embedded inside the Windows Explorer in Windows Vista allows you to burn files to a disk right from the Windows Explorer. It is a very useful tool but does not offer as many features as some commercial software like Nero CD/DVD Burner. If you use a third party optical drive burning software, then you may want to disable the CD/DVD burn feature.
Read moreDisable Send To in the context-menu in Windows 7
When you right click on an item (file or folder) in Windows 7, you are shown a context-menu. One sub-item of this context menu is Send To which is useful to copy a file over a device or special folder. You can follow these steps to disable this Send To from the context menu.
Read moreClear recently typed URLs in Internet Explorer
When you type a URL (website address) in Internet Explorer, it is stored in the Windows Registry for easy access later. Soon you have a collection of URLs in your location bar of Internet Explorer. You can clear these typed URLs one by one from within Internet Explorer or clear them all at once using a command.
Read moreDisable power management settings in Windows Vista
Windows Vista power settings manage when your system is going to sleep mode. In some systems it is necessary to disable Windows default power management settings in order for a drive or program to function properly. If you want to disable the Windows Vista power management settings, then here is how.
Read moreCreate a System Restore point in Windows Vista
Windows Vista has a System Restore feature which can be used to restore your computer back to a specified point of time. Every time you install something, it creates a restore point. System Restore makes it easy to roll back changes made by a software installation. Here is how you can manually create a System Restore point in Windows Vista.
Read moreChange the taskbar buttons width in Windows 7
Windows 7 shows all the running applications in the taskbar in form of buttons. The width of these buttons decreases as more and more applications populate the taskbar. The default minimum width of these taskbar buttons is 225 pixels. But you can increase or decrease this minimum width if you want.
Read moreForce install bluetooth dongle drivers in Windows 7
Although Windows 7 supports a wide range of bluetooth dongles, yet there are some bluetooth dongles for which installation of drivers fails. But you can make Windows 7 install the default Microsoft bluetooth drivers using the Bluetooth Drivers Installer tool.
Read moreProtect yourself from USB malware using the Ninja Pendisk
We have earlier posted an article about how to automatically scan an inserted USB stick for viruses. That article makes use of the USBVirusScan tool from Didier Stevens. Pendrive Ninja Pendisk is another such utility which can be used to prevent infection from an inserted USB stick.
Read moreShow icons of files instead of thumbnails in Windows Vista
By default, Windows shows the thumbnails of various files (like pictures, Word documents etc.) in the Windows Explorer. This can put extra load on the CPU, and it can also make the Windows busy trying to create the thumbnails of each file inside a folder when you open that folder. You can choose to display the icon of a file instead of the thumbnails.
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