Tips & Tricks | Computer Profiler

Cleaning Your Computer

Many people who have owned their computer for a year or longer begin to experience problems with it’s performance. This is very common and if you are experiencing a slow computer than you might want to consider some simple tips to fix it. Your computer isn’t unlike a car. It needs some basic tune-ups every so often to get it back to its tip top form.

The first thing you can do is go into your system tools menu and clean the disk space. Many times your computer is storing things that you don’t need. It’s wasteful and it can harm the integrity of the product. Your best bet is to get yourself on a schedule of cleaning it every month. This will keep it from getting slow.

Additionally you want to make sure that your cookies on your browser. This is in your internet options screen. Took many cookies can create a problem and that’s the last thing that you need. You have to make sure that you clean those every month as well. It will save you valuable time and stress.

Defragmenting your hard drive is another thing that you should be doing every month. Your computer has gaps in its memory that often makes it run slower. This will erase that. Make sure you defragment and allow an ample amount of time to get the job done. It will make all the difference in the world. You have to do your best to keep your computer running at an optimum level.

Filed Under: Computers, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Defragmentation, Hard disk drive, Microsoft Windows

Internet Explorer: Shortcuts and Task Tips

Internet Explorer (IE) is a Microsoft browser that allows searching the Internet for information easy and efficient. To make things even easier, keep these shortcuts and task tips handy the next time you search for information.

Shortcuts

Ctrl + N – opens the current webpage in a new window
Ctrl + P – prints the displayed webpage
Ctrl + I – opens the favorites list
Ctrl + D – adds current webpage to favorites list
Ctrl + H – opens the browser history
Ctrl + B – opens the organize favorites list
Ctrl + T – opens a new tab
Ctrl + E – opens search in explorer bar
Ctrl + W – closes the current window
Ctrl + F4 – closes the current tab
Ctrl + tab – moves through the open tabs
Spacebar – moves down the page
Shift + spacebar – moves up the page

Navigation Shortcuts

F1 – opens help menu
F5 – refreshes the page
F11 – allows user to toggle between full screen and regular view of the browser window
Esc – stops page from downloading
Alt + Home – brings user back to default webpage
Alt + left arrow – brings user back to previously viewed webpage
Alt + right arrow – brings user forward to next webpage
Page Up – scrolls up through webpage
Page Down – scrolls down webpage
Home – brings user to the beginning of the page
End – brings user to the end of the page

Task Tips

Want to disable add-ons? Hold down the Windows logo key + R > iexplore.exe –extoff
Want the browser to auto complete website addresses as you begin to type? From the menu select tools > Internet options > advanced > and then click on the box next to use inline AutoComplete
Need to delete cookies, temporary files, or form data? From the menu select tools > delete browsing history
Want to print only a part of the webpage displayed? Highlight the text to print, press Ctrl +P, under page range select selection, and then click on print
Need to zoom in? Select Ctrl plus the “+” key
Need to zoom out? Select Ctrl plus the “-“ key
Want to zoom to 100%? Select Ctrl + 0

Filed Under: Computers, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Internet Explorer, Web browser

Finding the Best Laptop for You

Laptop computers are so common today. Not that long ago all you saw in the stores were desktop models, but things have changed. People know that they can take their laptop computer just about anywhere with them, and they can really enjoy the freedom that it gives them. Even getting on the Internet isn’t an issue, because most places have wireless options that they can use. That’s true of places like McDonalds and Starbucks, and also true of hotels that they might stay in overnight. If you want to have access to your computer and to the Internet no matter where you travel, a laptop is the way to go.

You can check your email, do your work, and even play online casino games among other fun things. That’s a great way to get to do the kinds of things you want to do even though you’re far from your home or your office. Of course, a laptop also works great when it comes to sitting around on your couch or reclining on your bed and playing around online. It’s convenient, and the best one for you is out there. If you’re looking for something to use to play online games, make sure you get one with a lot of disk space. Also, get a fast processor and a lot of memory. That way your games will load right and you can play and enjoy.

Your Internet connection has to be fast, too. You can’t ignore that. If it’s slow, you aren’t going to be able to do much with your game, and you may lose out on money (and fun) because you can’t make the kinds of bets and moves that you’d like to make. Avoid all of that by getting a fast Internet connection, and set it up to be password protected so that other people can’t get access to your information.

Filed Under: Internet, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Games, Hardware, Laptop, McDonalds, Notebooks and Laptops, Personal computer, Starbucks, Video Games

Online Gaming

There is a plethora of time wasters and games out there on the internet today. Anyone could spend hours watching movies on the Windows Media Player or another media player of their choosing. And you could spend hour upon hour wasting time with a p2p program that downloads files and shares them with others. It’s extremely hard not to get sucked into them, but as long as you are able to reign yourself in and control time spent online, then there’s no harm in enjoying yourself by playing some online games.

Here’s a few tips to help get you started.

1. Downloading Free Trials
When you are starting out playing computer games, you might not know what types of games catch your interest. So, one of the best sites you could visit is popcap.com. Here you will find a huge variety of different games, and you can try them all out for free. All you have to do is download the game, and you get a 60 minute trial for free. If you don’t like it, simply remove the program from your computer. If you happen to like it, then you can pay for it. It’s a really simple way to get to know what games you enjoy.

2. Online Free Play
If you don’t want to download anything to your computer, you could also select a game from PopCap’s online selections. These games are always free, and you don’t have to make any commitments or changes to your computer to be able to play them. Granted, there’s a lot less selection when it comes to online only games, but it does save you time trying to download games.

Filed Under: Computers, Internet, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Online game, PopCap Games, Yahtzee

Laptop Safety

: Image via Wikipedia

Laptops are really great! You can go anywhere and have your information with you. But, you do have to be very careful when it comes to using a laptop.

For instance, laptops can get very hot, almost to the point of burning your skin. So, to keep your laptops temperature down, there’s a few things you should keep in mind. First, the processing speed. Many laptops have an energy saver setting on them, which will reduce the processing speed of your laptop. By using this setting, it will not only keep the temperature down but it will save your battery as well.

Another thing you need to be careful about is how you transport your laptop. If you don’t transport it properly, then it’s really easy to drop it. Once that happens, you risk losing all your information and damaging an expensive piece of machinery. So, a laptop sleeve is a must. If you want to go a step further, you could get a good backpack or carrying bag for your laptop. It’s relatively inexpensive and will save you from having to buy a new computer.

Along with transporting your laptop safely, you need to be sure that you keep it away from others. It’s really easy for someone to snatch your valuable computer away if you aren’t paying attention. So, be sure that you keep it in your hands at all times. Even setting it down and turning your back for a few seconds is plenty of time for someone to grab it and run. You should also pay attention to who is looking at your screen when you are working. It’s really easy to steal someone’s bank information, credit card number, and passwords when they are able to just glance over your shoulder while you’re working.

The biggest thing to remember is to just use common sense when using a laptop.

Filed Under: Computers, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Hardware, Laptop, Theft

Excelling at Excel

: Image via Wikipedia

You don’t have to work in an office to find ways to use Microsoft Excel. There are thousands of things that you can use this great program for! Here’s just a few to get you interested.

1. Finances
Managing a family budget can be really hard these days. A lot of people are struggling and having to tighten their belts, so let Excel help you do that. Start off by listing all the monthly expenses that you know you have. Mortgage, credit card bills, utilities, cable, etc. Then, as you go through the next month, list all of your other expenses. For instance, gas for the car, grocery shopping, eating out, even down to the laundry soap you buy. By doing this, you can see exactly where your money is going every month, and you can find ways to cut back.

2. To Do Lists
It sounds a little funny, but it’s great to use Excel to make to do lists. Make one column the to do item, then you can other columns for a goal date for completion, an actual completion date, and a column for progress you’ve made so far. This is great for students to use to keep track of their school assignments. That way, nothing will fall through the cracks.

3. Friend and Family Tracker
We all have our little address books to keep track of friends and family, but it is so much easier to use Excel for this task. You can format each of the columns to display your input correctly, like dates and phone numbers, which will save you some extra typing when you enter the information. Also, you can use up as much room as you need. So if you want to enter birthdays, addresses, phone numbers, likes and dislikes, kids names, where they work, email address, and whatever else you can think of. It’s just a really great way to keep everything organized.

Filed Under: Computers, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Column, Microsoft Excel, Spreadsheet