Computers

How do I delete my cookies in my browser?

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What? my computer has cookies in it? How do I get them out? I’m hungry!

Not exactly those kind of cookies. Cookies in computer terms are little files on your computer (harddrive) that stores some information about you. They can store your preferences for certain websites, your authentication information if you need to login etc.

Have you ever been told you should delete your cookies? Well, generally this is a good practice as it will remove these text files from your computer and in the process clean away your personal information as well. There are some drawbacks when doing this, as it will *forget* all your stored authenication information for sites.

If your browser is set to remember your passwords, it will still know them when you login, but setting this option is not a recommended practice

To remove your cookies in IE follow these steps:

Tools \ Internet Options \ Browsing History \ Delete button
on the popup remove the check marks from all options but Cookies

To remove your cookies in FireFox follow these steps:

Tools \ Options \ Privacy Tab \ remove individual cookies
from here, you can remove individual sites cookies, or all.

To remove your cookies in Chrome follow these steps:

Wrench \ Options \ Personal Stuff \ Clear Browsing Data… \ Delete Cookies \ Clear browsing Data

As you can see on those pages, there is other options for passwords, browsing history and some other options. I also recommend that you periodically update / remove these bits of your personal information as well.

Clearing your Cookies is something that you should do time to time just to make sure that you have removed the settings, and personal data for websites from your computer.

What Malware removal tool do you use?

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I get asked this question a lot. People are always being infected with a virus, or some piece of software that is just plain ol’ bad for your PC.

What software do I use to get rid of those nasty programs? The ones that are trying to get your information, or destroy your PC. I use a couple of programs depending on how bad the infection is, but as my start I always use Malware Bytes.

Once you have installed this program, its really easy to use it, and keep your machine clean.

Image

Just click on “Perform Full Scan” and “Scan”.

Once you have run this atleast twice then you can run quick scans after that. If the program find anything it will prompt you to remove it, or clean it automatically.

Here are the settings that I use

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and I recommend that you click on the update tab and check for updates every time that you go to run the software after your first download.

You don’t need to purchase the software to get the functionality, but if you like the software, why not give the developers something

I get asked this question a lot. People are always being infected with a virus, or some piece of software that is just plain ol’ bad for your PC.

What software do I use to get rid of those nasty programs? You know the ones that are trying to get your information, or destroy your PC. I use a couple of programs depending on how bad the infection is, but as my start I always use Malware Bytes.

Once you have installed this program, its really easy to use it, and keep your machine clean.

malware

Just click on “Perform Full Scan” and “Scan”.

Once you have run this atleast twice then you can run quick scans after that. If the program find anything it will prompt you to remove it, or clean it automatically.

Here are the settings that I use

malware_settings

and I recommend that you click on the update tab and check for updates every time that you go to run the software after your first download.

malware_updates

You don’t need to purchase the software to get the functionality, but if you like the software, why not give the developers something for their time.

Why should I use a NAS?

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A NAS is a device that sits on your home network, and it allows your to have a centralized location for all your files to sit. NAS stands for Network Area Storage, and that’s exactly what it does. It is a self contained box that plugs into your home netowrk, normally into your switch or router, and it provides a place to dump common files.

People use NAS devices for storing Photos, Music, Movies, and other programs. Some NAS devices will allow you to have access to the files from remote locations as well.

These devices can be used in a variety of configurations, and normally hold atleast 2 Hard Disks. They will allow for RAID configurations, such as:

RAID 0 – Striping – Faster Data access as data is written across both disks.

RAID 1 – Mirroring – copies the files from Disk 1 to Disk 2

RAID 5 – Striped Disks with Parity – Copies the information across the disks, but keeps one for parity information. Requires 3 disks at a minimum.

RAID 1+0 – Mirrored Data Set which is Striped – Minimum of 2 Disks needed.

Most NAS devices will only allow for 2 Disks (drive bays) to be added to the unit, but there are 3 disk versions which are normally a lot more expensive.

Having a NAs in your network is a great way to not only share files across multiple computers, but also to have a place to store files, so they are not residing on your personal pc. The best application is to use the NAS to store images of your hard drive, so if you ever experience a crash, your data can easily be recovered.

So what do you use your NAS for? Do you have a favorite manufacturer?

A NAS is a device that sits on your home network, and it allows your to have a centralized location for all your files to sit. NAS stands for Network Area Storage, and that’s exactly what it does. It is a self contained box that plugs into your home netowrk, normally into your switch or router, and it provides a place to dump common files.

People use NAS devices for storing Photos, Music, Movies, and other programs. Some NAS devices will allow you to have access to the files from remote locations as well.

These devices can be used in a variety of configurations, and normally hold atleast 2 Hard Disks. They will allow for RAID configurations, such as:

RAID 0 – Striping – Faster Data access as data is written across both disks.

RAID 1 – Mirroring – copies the files from Disk 1 to Disk 2

RAID 5 – Striped Disks with Parity – Copies the information across the disks, but keeps one for parity information. Requires 3 disks at a minimum.

RAID 1+0 – Mirrored Data Set which is Striped – Minimum of 2 Disks needed.

Most NAS devices will only allow for 2 Disks (drive bays) to be added to the unit, but there are 3 disk versions which are normally a lot more expensive.

Having a NAs in your network is a great way to not only share files across multiple computers, but also to have a place to store files, so they are not residing on your personal pc. The best application is to use the NAS to store images of your hard drive, so if you ever experience a crash, your data can easily be recovered.

So what do you use your NAS for? Do you have a favorite manufacturer?

Students can get a discounted copy of Windows 7

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By now you would probably know that I am a supporter of the new Windows 7 Operating system. This is the best OS that they have made sine they released XP for home users. They have had a few flops in the home markets namely Windows ME, and Vista (until they made patches for the OS.)

I have liked this OS since I have had time to try the first versions of Public Beta, and I am still using the pre-release on my main system now.

I have a special bit of news for all you students out there. I know that times are tough and that you need to pinch every penny so you can get by, but for a limited time Microsoft is offering a full license of Windows 7 Home Premium for $29.99 USD. A full operating system for under $30! Can’t complain about that one.

You will need to provide your College/University email address in order to qualify. If you qualify, they will send you an email with purchase details, then you will be able to download the software.

If you are not sure if you can run the new OS on your older laptop, here is a link for your to run the windows upgrade advisor which will let you know if it will work.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

Want to know if your school is included in the list of acceptable institutions? Here is a link for you to check out your schools information as well.

http://windows7.digitalriver.com/store/mswpus/ContentTheme/pbPage.Schools

If your school is not listed you will need to provide information to Microsoft about your course, and they will ask some information and add your school if it meets their criteria.

Sadly this site doesn’t say anything about Canada or any other country, but I have learned that they will be eligible but not until Oct 22nd. No prices have been set for these countries yet.

This is great news for students. I know that I will be purchasing a full version of Windows 7 soon.

By now you would probably know that I am a supporter of the new Windows 7 Operating System. This is the best OS that they have made since they released XP for home users. They have had a few flops in the home markets namely Windows ME, and Vista (until they made patches for the OS.)

I have liked this OS since I have had time to try the first versions of Public Beta, and I am still using the pre-release on my main system now. So I thought I would let you all know about a special offer that Microsoft has on right now.

I have a special bit of news for all you students out there. I know that times are tough and that you need to pinch every penny so you can get by, but for a limited time Microsoft is offering a full license of Windows 7 Home Premium for $29.99 USD. A full operating system for under $30! Can’t complain about that one.

You will need to provide your College/University email address in order to qualify. If you qualify, they will send you an email with purchase details, then you will be able to download the software.

If you are not sure if you can run the new OS on your older laptop, here is a link for your to run the Windows upgrade advisor which will let you know if it will work.

Want to know if your school is included in the list of acceptable institutions? Here is a link for you to check out your Schools information as well.

If your school is not listed you will need to provide information to Microsoft about your course, and they will ask some information and add your school if it meets their criteria.

Sadly this site doesn’t say anything about Canada or any other country, but I have learned that they will be eligible but not until Oct 22nd. No prices have been set for these countries yet.

This is great news for students. I know that I will be purchasing a full version of Windows 7 soon.

What do I do if I get a pop-up that says I am out of memory?

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What do I do if I get a pop-up that says I am out of memory?

Periodically, while operating your computer, you might get a popup from Windows that says “Insufficient Memory” or something similar to this.

This is a general system error that your computer is letting you know that you may have 1 of 2 conditions happening. Either your PC doesn’t have enough RAM to open the applications that you want to run, and hence you might have too many running at the same time. The other option is that you might have some old processes still running from applications that were shut down already.

Depending on the amount of RAM that you have in your computer is normally what will dictate how often you get this error. To check on the amount of RAM you have in your PC, read my other post here. If you have a very small amount of RAM, you might want to purchase more for your PC, if you have enough space to install it (slots for it to sit in on your motherboard).

If you have RAM that is not being freed when you close applications, this can be due to a memory leak or a rogue process that is not shutting down correctly. There are 2 ways to get rid of this message. The first is to simply do a cold boot of the machine, so all memory is wiped clean. A cold boot is done by shutting down the system and waiting 10 or more seconds before starting it again.

If you have applications running that you can’t shut down at the moment, yet you need to get some RAM back, you can “kill” the process that is causing the issue.

***WARNING*** terminating processes that you are unsure of, might lead to data loss in applications that are open.

Let’s start shall we?

First open the Task Manager for Windows. Right click on your task bar and select Task Manager

Image

when the task manager launches select the Performance tab

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If your system is running out of resources the second graph will be very close to the top.

image

select the Processes tab and sort by memory used

Here you will be able to see which applications are using the most RAM on your system. You can select the application, and select end process.

This will terminate the application, and get you back some of your RAM. Remember if you don’t know what the process is, it might not be safe to terminate it.

Periodically, while operating your computer, you might get a popup from Windows that says ‘Insufficient Memory’ or something similar to this.

This is a general system error that your computer is letting you know that you may have 1 of 2 conditions happening. Either your PC doesn’t have enough RAM to open the applications that you want to run, and hence you might have too many running at the same time. The other option is that you might have some old processes still running from applications that were shut down already.

Depending on the amount of RAM that you have in your computer is normally what will dictate how often you get this error. To check on the amount of RAM you have in your PC, read my other post here. If you have a very small amount of RAM, you might want to purchase more for your PC, if you have enough space to install it (slots for it to sit in on your motherboard).

If you have RAM that is not being freed when you close applications, this can be due to a memory leak or a rogue process that is not shutting down correctly. There are 2 ways to get rid of this message. The first is to simply do a cold boot of the machine, so all memory is wiped clean. A cold boot is done by shutting down the system and waiting 10 or more seconds before starting it again.

If you have applications running that you can’t shut down at the moment, yet you need to get some RAM back, you can “kill” the process that is causing the issue.

***WARNING*** terminating processes that you are unsure of, might lead to data loss in applications that are open.

Let’s start shall we?

First open the Task Manager for Windows. Right click on your task bar and select Task Manager

select_taskmgr

when the task manager launches select the Performance tab

taskmanager

If your system is running out of resources the second graph will be very close to the top.

tskmgr_show

select the Processes tab and sort by memory used

tskmgr_memory

Here you will be able to see which applications are using the most RAM on your system. You can select the application, and select end process.

tskmgr_kill

This will terminate the application, and get you back some of your RAM. Remember if you don’t know what the process is, it might not be safe to terminate it.

What are System Restore points?

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Have you ever wondered just what a system restore point was, and just why you need them?

Your not alone. A lot of people don’t know how to effectively use them, and they can be a great tool for backup. However; that being said, it should never be your ONLY form of backup of your system. System Restore points should be considered the front line of your backup solution.

System Restore points can be made in Vista or Windows 7 by opening the Control Panel and choosing System.

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Select on System Protection

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Here we are able to choose the specific settings of our backup. Choose configure, and Select the following options:

Restore system settings and previous versions of files.

The amount of Disk Space that is used is up to you. I would normally recommend about 10% of your total Hard Disk.

Once these options are enabled, then your system should be backing up the data. The default for the task in Windows is to run at midnight each day.

I do not consider this to be a full backup of your system, however if used correctly, this can be used as one component of a full backup routine for your data.

Have you ever wondered just what a system restore point was, and just why you need them?

Your not alone. A lot of people don’t know how to effectively use them, and they can be a great tool for backup. However; that being said, it should never be your ONLY form of backup of your system. System Restore points should be considered the front line of your backup solution.

System Restore points can be made in Vista or Windows 7 by opening the Control Panel and choosing System.

Control_Panel

Select on System Protection

System_protection

Here we are able to choose the specific settings of our backup. Choose configure, and Select the following options:

Sys_prot_tab

Restore system settings and previous versions of files.

Restore_system_settings

The amount of Disk Space that is used, is up to you. I would normally recommend about 10% of your total Hard Disk. Once these options are enabled, then your system should be backing up the data. The default for the task in Windows is to run at midnight each day.

***NOTE***

I do not consider this to be a full backup of your system, however; if used correctly this can be used as one component of a full backup routine for your data.

Need email service for your company?

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I had been holding off on posting this, but after finally getting this to work flawlessly for me, I have decided to publish this article.

For all the different domains that I own, and all the websites that I have setup, I have always needed some form of software to be my mail server. I used to run a few different mail server programs out of my own home, so I had greater control over the application.

Then a few years ago I was invited to the googlemail beta when it was still closed. I had used hotmail, yahoo, and a few other free mail clients before this, but they just never seemed to interest me enough to keep using them. Don’t get me wrong, I still have my yahoo account, but I use that as a spam address.

The biggest problem that I was facing was I needed an application that would allow for mail client usage such as Outlook Express (Microsoft Mail now), and also for web viewing, as some of the people that I was serving mail for needed to view it over the web.

I was using a program called Icewarp, and it was great, until I starting getting innudated with SPAM. The different organizations, that I was hosting for free started to complain about receiving way too much SPAM, and asked me to decrease it. It became a never ending battle. So the search started. Then I stumbled upon it… oh could this be it? Gmail had been released for orgainzations. Yes free and paid email solutions for all! Upto 25 accounts was still free, and since my customers were all smaller, this was perfect!

Yes, yes it was all I needed until I got my first iPhone. I saw all the different mail accounts I could have and I could seperate them, and be organized! My previous Blackberry needed special apps to be able to view HTML mails, and even seperate the accounts.

Being on an exchange server at work, I was able to push emails, for my work account, and IMAP for my Gmail, and yahoo accounts. I was in heaven! Then in order to save the company a bit of money, I removed myself from the push server, freeing up my 1 available Exchange connection.

Then Gmail started to tease me. They allowed for contacts and calendars to be synced through push! I copied all my contacts from my work email, and published them into my personal gmail account. Now I had access to all the contacts that I would ever need, and they were in my personal email. This meant that if I was ever let go from the company, I would not scramble to get my contact data out of my work email account. I had seen it far too often that people were let go, and I would have to disable access to their accounts.

That’s right people. If its your work account, it doesn’t belong to you. You might think it does, but sadly, it doesnot. This was a great way for me to prepare incase any ever happened, I would retain my contacts, and my work email account would be clean for anyone else to look at.

Then a short while ago, Gmail allowed mail push. Oh Happy Day! yes that’s right, I am now able to push all my information for my gmail account in realtime to my iPhone.

Gmail for organizations has become a true leader in email services. They are second to none, as they offer free accounts for the smaller organizations, and low cost enterprise solutions as well. Everytime I am asked how to setup an email acount for a client, I always recommend Gmail, as the administrator is able to control the accounts, and the people in the organization can have an email address with their proper domain name rather than a @gmail.com account or a @hotmail.com. This is much more professional looking, and its very easy to setup.

COngratulations Google for giving us yet another stunning service!

I had been holding off on posting this, but after finally getting this to work flawlessly for me, I have decided to publish this article.

For all the different domains that I own, and all the websites that I have setup, I have always needed some form of software to be my mail server. I used to run a few different mail server programs out of my own home, so I had greater control over the application.

Then a few years ago I was invited to the Gmail beta when it was still closed. I had used Hotmail, Yahoo, and a few other free mail clients before this, but they just never seemed to interest me enough to keep using them. Don’t get me wrong, I still have my yahoo account, but I use that as a spam address.