Windows Tools, Help & Guides

If you have cats or other pets (and kids) running loose around your house, you might have experienced that when you go away for a few minutes, you return to a document where they have “typed” their own indecipherable language. Might be a fun read, at first. But if this get to be an annoying situation, what do you do ?

Lock your Computer ?

Well, yes, you can do that. It’s just that, it too gets quite annoying over time. It takes too much time to “recover” from the Locked State. Even using the Windows-Key + L combination. If only you could type the Windows-Key + L combination to Unlock as well (Microsoft; if you’re reading this, it’s a free tip for you).

Lock Only your Keyboard and/or Mouse

I have come across a small freeware that let you not only lock your keyboard and Mouse, but also lets you decide HOW locked down they should be, while keeping the rest of your computer Un-Locked.

Windows Guides’ Rating	Compatible with
5 out of 5

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The XP start-menu displays your name (or the logged on user) on top. This is very handy in case you get amnesia and don’t remember who you are. But, it will also reveal who’s logged on, which can be a bad thing if you forget to remove the [Ed] *ahem* seedy content, or other non-work related stuff you’re doing on your computer. If you work at a high security environment, or just don’t want people to see who’s logged onto a certain computer, then this tip might just save your day.

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Are your children always using Facebook? Or is your brother always using your computer?You will find here a way to control access to websites at certain times.

We will do this in Windows 7 but you can do it in all Windows versions.

This post will use the hosts file and two tasks. The host file is stored in %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\ and its function is mapping  host names and IP addresses. Before DNS or WINS act the local host do this mapping so is the ideal place for controlling access to Web Pages.

So let start:

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We all know that modern programs like to use the resources of our computers. Normally when we install something, you don’t just install one executable–the program usually puts programs in your bootup sequence.

The most incredible part of this is that Windows, since XP, comes with a feature, Fetch and later SuperFetch, that tries to improve load time of applications, making most of these programs useless.

The question is, why does every great company want a process running in your computer?  The answer I suppose is to have statistic of usage, but at least for me this is not an option.

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I know, there are tons of sites and applications trying to make a living out of fixing your Windows Problems. The reason for this is mainly because Microsoft’s Solutions Center has always been so high-tech, and not very user-friendly.

Finding solutions to common Windows problems using the Microsoft Website has always been a daunting task. Making you read through tons of more or less useless Tech Information that the common user cannot make any sense of.

Now, Microsoft is finally trying to make amends, by offering a new free product called: “Fix it” .

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If I’m keeping track correctly, I’ve been asked this same question seven times since I started running this website. In fact, I asked myself this question a few years ago: “why does my computer tell me it may be a risk every time I start my PC?” Now, I could drag this guide out and try and sound really smart; however, I want to keep this simple.

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