Windows Tips and Tricks: Master the Taskbar and Start menu

You Windows 7 users, this is great stuff you can use, ( that I'll bet you were not aware, and so wasn't I !!), but as always, our friends at PCWorld come to our rescue with new stuff that most of the time is there but hard to find out.

Today I got an email from PCWorld, ( I get stuff from them almost on a daily basis), that I just must pass on to all of you:

"The taskbar and Start menu are so much more than simple program launchers. Help them help you work more efficiently in Windows 7.
By Loyd Case, PCWorld Aug 16, 2011 9:13 pm

In Windows 7, the Start menu and the taskbar have become both easier to use and more sophisticated. However, they also offer a slew of additional capabilities and customization options that are not obvious when you first look at them. I’ll first walk through the plethora of options for each, and then dive into how to use them more effectively."

I spent some time reading what Mr. Loyd Case had to say, I used some of the suggestions and I am definitely a happier user of windows 7.

All I have to say is: read the stuff and dive into it. All you have to do is click on the following link and you'll see what I mean:

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/238184/windows_tips_and_tricks_master_the_taskbar_and_start_menu.html#tk.nl_wvx_h_cbintro


Enjoy,

George Freire

Protect Infections by Viruses, Spyware and Unwanted Sneaky Software in Your Computer

We all know what "malware" can do to your computer. It can raise havoc, frustrations, sluggish operation, crashes etc., etc.

If you are like me, you of course have some good protection in the form of anti virus, anti fishing, anti everything... software installed. Sometimes though, a sneaky invader finds its way, because you possibly downloaded some suspicious program, opened an attachment to your e-mail or what have you.

Today I am going to introduce to you a simple tool created by Microsoft that scans your computer for viruses, spyware and unwanted software and removes any of the above when it is found. This tool has three levels of scanning: Quick, Full and Customized, each taking more or less time to run.

This tool, "Microsoft Safety Scanner" expires after 10 days after downloading. In order to re-run another scan after the 10 days, to include the latest anti malware definitions, you will have to download the utility again and start a new scan.

How to download? click on the following link and that is all you have to do. I suggest that you save the setup file in your documents folder or bookmark the page:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx

George Freire

SPECKIE Browser Spell Checker It Is Great !!!

Again, my friends, this comes from my favorite computer magazine, PCWorld with comments from my favorite tech writer Mr. Rick Broider:

Among the many reasons I'm partial to Firefox is that Mozilla's browser has long offered a built-in spell checker. (Not that I need it, of course--we payd riters learnt gud speling in skool.) Internet Explorer, even in its latest release, doesn't do bad spellers any favors. Thankfully, there's Speckie, a free Internet Explorer add-on that provides real-time spell checking.

After installing Speckie--which, incidentally, is compatible with all versions of Windows and all versions of Internet Explorer (including 9)--it immediately starts working, underlining any misspelled word with a squiggly red line. To see suggested correct spellings, just right-click the word.

If English isn't your primary language, you'll be glad to know that Speckie comes with a whopping 24 dictionaries, with languages ranging from Croation to Vietnamese.

Bottom line: if you're an Internet Explorer user who needs a spell-checker for e-mail, Web forms, and other browser-based activities, Speckie gets the job done quickly and efficiently.

--Rick Broida

For those of you who use IE this utility is a must. You can download and install this useful utility by clicking the following link:

http://www.speckie.com/home/

It installs very quickly and starts working on the spot.

For my visitors from overseas countries, take notice that you can add plug-ins for just about any language in this world !!

Once installed, click "tools" on your browser menu bar and look for "Speckie Settings". This opens another browser window where you can set up your own preferences and add any number of language plug-ins.

George Freire