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.
Read moreInstall a recovery certificate in Windows 7
Every user in Windows 7 has his/her own encrypting file system (EFS) certificate which is used to encrypt the files. A recovery certificate is a special EFS certificate you can use to recover encrypted files if your encryption key is lost or damaged. Before you can use a recovery certificate, you have to install it on your computer.
Read moreCreate a recovery certificate in Windows 7
When you encrypt files in Windows 7, it requires an encrypting file system (EFS) certificate which is issued to you by Windows 7. A recovery certificate is a special EFS certificate you can use to recover encrypted files if your encryption key is lost or damaged. You can create a recovery certificate very easily.
Read moreSpeed up your computer using Readyboost in Windows Vista
Windows ReadyBoost is a new feature introduced in Windows Vista which can use storage space on some of the removable media devices, such as USB flash drives, to speed up your computer. You can only select faster USB flash drives which support USB 2.0 and 3.0.
Read moreDisable Windows Sidebar in Windows Vista
Windows Vista has a Windows Sidebar which acts as a placeholder for various gadgets. By default, Windows Vista shows three gadgets only (Clock, Slideshow, Feed Headlines) but you can add more if you want. The Windows Sidebar auto-starts with Windows every time you login to your account. If you do not like Windows Sidebar, then you can disable Windows Sidebar from auto-starting with Windows.
Read moreEdit a webpage before printing using PrintEdit in Firefox
When you print a webpage, everything gets printed including the big images, side bars, advertisements on the the webpage and other unwanted content. This not only wastes your printer ink but also is a waste of printer paper. Fortunately, there is a Mozilla Firefox add-on called PrintEdit which allows you to select portions of a web page and edit it before you print it.
Read moreRemove Internet Explorer 8 from Windows 7
These days, when there are many secure, robust and fast web browsers like Opera, Chrome, Safari and Firefox are available, who needs the sloppy Internet Explorer? If you are using one of these third-party web browsers, then you may want to get rid of Internet Explorer. Though, it may seem impossible or very difficult to remove Internet Explorer, but you can easily uninstall it from Windows 7.
Read moreTest your antivirus with the EICAR test file
Is your antivirus software functioning correctly like it should? Will it detect if a virus is dropped on your hard disk? You can test your antivirus using the EICAR (European Institute for Computer AntiVirus Research) antivirus test file. The Eicar test file is recognized by all the antivirus products and they all should block it.
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