Microsoft’s Security Essentials has been our favorite anti-malware application for a while—it’s free, unobtrusive, and it doesn’t slow your PC down, but now it’s even better with the new 2.0 release, which adds network filtering, heuristic protection, and more.
Just to be clear and direct with you: we absolutely recommend Microsoft Security Essentials as your anti-malware / anti-virus utility over any other option—and how can you argue? It’s totally free! continue reading…
The Windows registry is a mysterious place, but if you’re comfortable editing it, you have the power to tweak nearly every Windows setting you can imagine. Here are 10 of our favorite registry tweaks that make life easier.
All of these hacks work in Windows 7, even if not labeled as such. Many may work in Vista or earlier versions of Windows, but varies, so be sure to read up more on the tweak before you go meddling in Vista’s registry. And, of course, be sure to make a backup of your registry before you start hacking away. continue reading…
If you’re having boot problems on your Windows PC, it’s often helpful to repair the MBR (Master Boot Record) to restore the Windows 7 boot loader—and you can do it easily from the Windows installation disc.
This is generally most useful if you’ve broken something and there’s a boot loader error, or if you have made the mistake of installing an older version of Windows on the same PC that already has Windows 7 which wipes out the boot loader.
Note: If your PC starts booting into Windows but fails, you should probably try using Safe Mode instead
The first thing you’ll need to do is boot off the install disc, and then click through until you see the “Repair your computer” link in the lower left-hand corner.
To windows users, now use the screen-saver as a way to scan your computer for viruses since your computer is idle anyway.
If you are a Microsoft Security Essentials user and want to get this cool feature in MSE too, here is the solution. Jwils876 from Deviantart has created a screensaver which is pretty much similar to the Avast screensaver.
How to use:
1. Download the screensaver from here. Extract the contents to a folder to see two screensavers. Right-click on a screensaver (the NG or No Graphics screensaver will update and scan silently with hidden CMD prompt ) and click install to install the same.
2. Right-click on desktop, select Personalize and then click Screen Saver option to open Screensaver dialog-box. Make sure that the MSE screensaver is the default screensaver. Here, you can change the default wait time to your desired one.
3. From now onwards, when the system is in idle sate you will see the MSE screensaver and the screensaver starts the above mentioned tasks.
