1. WooBox

Woobox is  one of those really cool tools that does it all. The main feature of Woobox is to show your Pinterest boards and pins as a tab on your Facebook page. Creating Facebook Tabs is easy but this tool makes it one-click-easy to draw your Facebook fans over to your Pinterest page. Just click on the “Install Pinterest” tab in Woobox and allow the app access to your Facebook account.

Next, you will associate your account by entering your Pinterest Username. The Page Mode can be set to display “All Pinboards” or “Pins From A Selected Pin Board”. In the “FanGate” section, you can enable one of the features to require visitor’s to Like your page before they can view your Pinterest tab.

Once it’s set up, you’ll see it displayed as any other tab under your cover photo with the Pinterest logo.

To see the viewers perspective, click on the tab to open your boards. The first view will show all of your boards just like they are displayed in your Pinterest account. Each of those boards can be clicked and viewed independently so the boards and individual pins can be repined.

You can further analyze your Pinterest interactions by click on the “Stats” button.

It will display the current tally of Views, Visits and Likes. Once your app has been active to collect information, you can choose to Export The Stats From The Last 90 Days as a spreadsheet.

2. Pinzy

Pinzy isn’t a marketing tool but it can help you see what the competition is posting. It’s a handy Chrome extension that allows you to view the thumbnail images on Pinterest in full size just by hovering over them! No need to click through just to see the enlarged photo.

To use it, just hover over any pin and you’ll see the image enlarged. I love this tool because I don’t have to click through to see if it’s something of interest. I don’t use Chrome often so hopefully Pinterest will roll this feature out as part of their website soon!

3. PinAlerts

PinAlerts is a great tool if you use Pinterest for business. Within seconds of setting up your account, you’ll receive an email of the pins that were added from your site that day and be notified when anyone pins something from your website thereafter. Register and verify your email then enter the domain you want to receive alerts from. Select the interval you want to receive alerts and press “Create A PinAlert”.

You can add multiple domains to receive alerts on and manage all of them from within that dashboard. Use the alerts to thank the people who are repining your content and ask them to follow your other boards.

4. PinPuff

PinPuff calculates your “Pinfluence” measuring your popularity on Pinterest and the value of your pins. Simply register by entering your email address and Pinterest username and PinPuff does the rest! This could be very useful if you’re using an eCommerce site or planning to do some advertising as the first section gives you the “Pin Worth” and the “Cost Per Click” your content would generate.

The next few sections show the scores for your “Reach”, “Activity”, and “Virality Scores” along with some encouragement or suggestions to improve the scores.

A summary of all your board stats can be found at the bottom and your total Pinfluence Score along with your top boards in the right sidebar.

There are so many neat tools being developed everyday as Pinterest gains momentum and catches on around the world. Try these tools out and let us know what you think. We’d also love to know what tools you use and love! Leave a comment!

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1. iPhoto for Mac

iPhoto is the photo management application that we all know and love. iPhoto comes with all Macs, or $14.99 if you purchase it from the Mac App Store. iPhoto for Mac is more than enough of a photo management and editing application for the average user. You can organize your photos by date, location, individuals, and more. iPhoto for Mac also allows you to do color correction with the “Enhance” tool, add filters like Sepia and Black and White, as well as your run of the mill cropping tools.

For professional photographers, iPhoto for Mac is more useful as a photo management app rather than a photo editing app. Personally, I use it for personal photos and when I need a nice database of all of my imported photos.

iPhoto for Mac ($14.99)

2. Aperture For Mac

If you enjoy the feel of iPhoto, but need to take advantage of more professional features to get any use out of it, then Aperture is for you. You can still organize your photos into folders, providing a great home for them once imported. You can also edit the photos, like found on iPhoto. On top of that, Aperture allows you to make use of brushes for making light touchups and even more for making heavy changes. If you are unfamiliar with the setup at first, Aperture comes with professional preset effects so you can learn while you use it. If you feel like going on the wild side, you can even create some yourself. Once the photos are complete, you can find them available on your iPhone and other iOS devices and Macs through Photostream. With RAW importing support, advanced search tools, and the ability to adjust white balance and more, Aperture is the step up for Apple photographers just growing out of iPhoto, but not experienced enough for Photoshop just yet.

Aperture For Mac ($79.99)

3. Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements

Now we are at the point where you can navigate through iPhoto with your eyes closed and can probably help someone else out with their Aperture for Mac needs. If this is you, then it’s time to upgrade your applications to Adobe Photoshop and/or Photoshop Elements. Let’s look a bit into both of them. First, we have the household name photography software – Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop is the ultimate photography application that allows you to add 3D effects, process your photo, and even share within Photoshop with a support of a ton of file types. The features that Photoshop has are endless. It is (almost) the industry standard for professional photo-editing and the latest version (CS6) makes it even better.

Along with Photoshop, there is also the Photoshop Elements which is more appealing to the average consumer. If you feel the need to compare, Photoshop is like to Apple Aperture as iPhoto is to Photoshop Elements. They are the elements, the basics, of what Photoshop is. Photoshop Elements allows you to make subtle changes to your photos, share the photos on various social networking websites, and more. Photoshop Elements, unlike iPhoto, will cost all users money because it doesn’t come shipped on any desktop.

Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements

4. DoubleTake

Panorama photos allow you to get the full landscape of the subject you want to shoot to fit all in one photo. These images are perfect because they don’t require any special file types, meaning there can be JPEG, PNG, or even GIF landscape photos, the only difference is that the aspect ratio is usually the length being double the width. DoubleTake allows you to make panorama photos easier to not exactly take, but to match together into one photo. DoubleTake can even be useful outside of photography. If you have a large document you want to make easier to read, DoubleTake makes this possible. If you want to make a book easier to create, DoubleTake makes this a possibility.

DoubleTake ($24.95)

This is definitely not a conclusive list of the photo apps for Mac. Let us know which photo apps is your favorite, in the comments.

Image credit: By raruschel

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1. Enable AHCI

The Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) is a paramount feature for ensuring that Windows will support all of the features that come with running an SSD on your computer, especially the TRIM feature, which allows Windows to help the SSD perform its routine garbage collection. The term “garbage collection” is used to describe the phenomenon that occurs when a drive gets rid of information that is no longer considered to be in use.

To enable AHCI, you’ll have to enter the BIOS of your computer and enable it somewhere within its settings. I can’t tell you exactly where the setting is, as each BIOS functions differently. You’ll have to do a bit of hunting. Chances are that newer computers will have this enabled by default. It’s most recommended that you enable this feature before installing the operating system, although you might be able to get away with enabling it after Windows has already been installed.

2. Enable TRIM

We’ve talked about TRIM enough in the previous section. You could see how such a feature would benefit your computer’s speed greatly, so let’s get to enabling it!

Open up your command prompt and enter the following: 

fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify 0

That’s all you have to do! Onto the next step!

3. Disable System Restore

This isn’t an obligation. But, just so you know, your drive doesn’t exactly have infinite space. System restore undermines both the speed and space of your SSD. Why don’t you just get rid of it?

Click your Start menu, right-click “Computer,” and click “Properties.” Click “System Protection” on the upper left-hand corner:

Once in the window, click “Configure,” like so:

Once in the configuration dialog, click “Turn off system protection.” Click “OK” and you’re all set!

4. Disable Indexing

A good part of your SSD speed is consumed in indexing files for Windows search. This could be useful if you store everything you have on your SSD, but you might be annoyed by it if you experience slow-downs due to the periodic indexing process that occurs every time you add new data to the drive. You’re better off without it in an SSD, because the speed boost from the indexing process is superfluous in such environments.

Click your Start menu and click “Computer.” Right-click your SSD and click “Properties.” De-select the box labeled “Allow files to have contents indexed in addition to file properties” and click “OK.” Once you do this, the operating system will apply this to all the files and folders on the drive. If you see a dialog telling you that it couldn’t remove a file from the index, click “Ignore All.” That will streamline the process and ignore any errors.

5. Disable Scheduled Defragmentation

Because the SSD is a solid media with no moving parts, you often don’t see a performance drop due to file fragmentation. Therefore, there’s no need to actually defragment the drive as frequently as you would defragment an HDD, per se. That’s why we’re about to disable this!

Access your Start menu, click “Accessories,” click “System Tools,” and then click “Disk Defragmenter.” Click “Configure schedule,” like so:

Once in the schedule configuration window, uncheck the box labeled “Run on a schedule.” Click “OK,” and you won’t have to worry about scheduled defragmentations again.

6. Remove The Page File

The page file in Windows refers to a file on a disk reserved for the storage of application components that would otherwise fit into physical memory. It’s like a form of RAM on your hard drive. Disabling the page file on a solid state drive would greatly increase the focus it would have on running system processes. Don’t do this if you run your computer solely on one SSD. If you paired an SSD with an HDD, then you can easily configure the HDD to handle the page file. The most ideal setup, though, is one SSD to run the page file, another SSD to run Windows, and an HDD for storage.

The process of configuring the page file differs based on your setup, so we’re only going to teach you how to reach the configuration window.

Right-click “Computer” in the Start menu and click “Properties.” Click “Advanced system settings” on the top left-hand side of the window and access the “Advanced” tab. Click “Settings” under “Performance.” You should now be at a window like this:

Click the “Advanced” tab and click “Change.” The rest of the configuration process should be easy enough!

7. Disable Hibernation

Windows occupies at least 2 GB for the hibernation state image. If you want to keep it, that’s fine by me, but you’re not getting all the juice you can out of your drive. Type “powercfg -h off” in your command line to disable it. You’ll be thankful for those two extra gigabytes when you have an intense game to install on it!

8. Disable Prefetch and Superfetch

Windows sometimes places information in your physical memory and virtual memory belonging to programs that you don’t currently use, but use very often. This is known as “Prefetch” and “Superfetch.” If you are stuck with having to cope with virtual memory on your SSD, you’re better off just doing away with these two features. You can find them on your registry editor under

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters

as two values: EnablePrefetcher and EnableSuperfetch. Set both values to zero and be done with it!

9. Configure Write Caching

On many SSDs, user level write caching can have a detrimental effect on the drive. To figure this out, you’ll have to disable the option in Windows and see how the drive performs afterwards. If your drive performs worse, enable it again.

To reach the configuration window, right-click “Computer” on the Start menu and click “Properties.” Click “Device manager,” expand “Disk Drives,” right-click your SSD, and click “Properties.” Select the “Policies” tab. In this tab, you’ll see an option labeled “Enable write caching on the device.”

Benchmark your SSD with and without the option and compare results.

10. Disable Services for Windows Search and Superfetch

Even with the above-mentioned registry tweak and index removal, your computer might continue slowing your hard drive with their respective services. Press “Win+R” on your keyboard, type “services.msc,” and press “Enter.” Find both services mentioned in the title of this section and disable them.

11. Disable ClearPageFileAtShutdown and LargeSystemCache

Windows is quick to implement things that are no longer necessary. An SSD operates on flash memory, making it possible to easily overwrite things on the disk. Therefore, the page file doesn’t need to be erased while the computer’s shutting down. This will make the Windows shutdown process much faster. LargeSystemCache, on the other hand, exists primarily in Server versions of Windows, and tells the computer whether to use a large cache for pages on the drive.

Both these options are found in your registry editor under

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\Memory Management

Set them to 0.

12. Set the “High Performance” Power Option

This should be a no-brainer. When your SSD powers on and off all the time, you’ll notice a slight lag whenever you use your computer after you’ve been idle for a while.

To switch your power options, access your control panel, click “System and Security,” and then click “Power Options.” Select “High Performance” from the list. You might need to click “Show additional plans” to find it.

The Finale

And that’s how you reach SSD Nirvana! If you have any questions, shoot them at us in the comments section, and we’ll get to you as soon as we can!

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1. sl

Thanks to Asdasd, I discovered “sl”. An incredibly useless but very necessary program that just shows a train in ASCII art going through your terminal. Maybe one of the most appealing commands of this top ten.

2. pi

Credit goes to cameronhorsburgh for bringing this one up. “pi” displays an approximation of PI, useful if you are making some calculation, I guess. The syntax is:

pi [number of digits to display]

3. dog

Coats was the one to bring this one up. “dog” is an alternative to “cat” (see the humor?), as it uses the same syntax to display a text stream into the console. You will probably have to install it as it is not a command offered by default, but when you do, I invite you to take a look at the manual page.

4. vdir

“vdir” is useless in that it is a redundancy. Its main function is to list the content of a directory, displaying the name of the files, the permissions, the dates of modification, the sizes, etc. However, all of this can be done via the good old command “ls” and its composite like

ls -l

5. clear

“clear” is also a redundancy. With this command, you will erase the lines from the terminal and “clear the screen.” But anyone adept with the console will save time by using the shortcut “Ctrl+l”, which does exactly the same thing.

6. ul

An interesting command, “ul” can be used to underline characters in the terminal. I still have not figured it out completely but I know that, for example, it will transform

echo $'hello w\b_o\b_r\b_l\b_d\b_ ' | ul

into “hello world“. As you can guess, it replaces the meta-character “\b_” with an actual underlining.

7. w

You can say whatever you want about “w”, but it is to my knowledge the shortest command you can find by default on your machine. And I think that it therefore deserves to be in our list just for that. Surprisingly, “w” allows you to see information about the current users, like their name, their login time, etc.

8. filters

A moore’s contribution: filters is a set of tools that transforms text to give it some phonetic accent. “man talkfilters” will give you the list of the possible accents. But as an example,

echo "make tech easier is cool" | fudd

will give “make tech easiew is coow ” which supposedly imitates Elmer Fudd’s accent (the guy who hunts Bugs Bunny in Looney Tunes). And one of my favorites, the filter “warez” will give you your input in H4x0r code. The previous example becomes “]\/[ak3 73k]-[ 3az13r YZ c0ol" with "warez" instead of "fudd" at the end of the command.

9. fortune mods

Last time, I presented to you the famous fortune command which gives you a (relatively) short and random geek sentence each time you call it. However, if you can add your own fortunes to the database, it is also possible to download extensions, or mods, which add fortunes from a specific source, like Star Wars, the Chuck Norris facts, different languages, Matrix, Futurama, Calvin and Hobbes, and more. Install the mod that you want and do

fortune [name of the mod]

As an example, I installed the Chuck Norris fact extension in English, so by doing

fortune chucknorris

I get "Chuck Norris grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage."

10. snow

Finally, a little script to end the top ten. I could not stop myself from sharing the snow.sh script from myh3r3.com which creates little snowflakes falling into your terminal. Copy-paste the code into a text file, name it "snow.sh", make it executable, and launch it in a terminal to admire.

#!/bin/bash
 
LINES=$(tput lines)
COLUMNS=$(tput cols)
 
declare -A snowflakes
declare -A lastflakes
 
clear
 
function move_flake() {
i="$1"
 
if [ "${snowflakes[$i]}" = "" ] || [ "${snowflakes[$i]}" = "$LINES" ]; then
snowflakes[$i]=0
else
if [ "${lastflakes[$i]}" != "" ]; then
printf "\033[%s;%sH \033[1;1H " ${lastflakes[$i]} $i
fi
fi
 
printf "\033[%s;%sH*\033[1;1H" ${snowflakes[$i]} $i
 
lastflakes[$i]=${snowflakes[$i]}
snowflakes[$i]=$((${snowflakes[$i]}+1))
}
 
while :
do
i=$(($RANDOM % $COLUMNS))
 
move_flake $i
 
for x in "${!lastflakes[@]}"
do
move_flake "$x"
done
 
sleep 0.1
done

Conclusion

First, I want to thank you all for your comments on the previous article. I tried to put here a synthesized version of what you reported in order to share it with more people. Of course, this list is still not complete, and even if I personally doubt that it will ever be, I still invite you to continue to share.

So again, if you can think of more, or if you have an example in mind of when these commands become handy, please leave us a comment.

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You probably guessed that these would be WordPress plugins if you don’t need to know how to code. While you do not want to run an over abundance of plugins on your WordPress site, a handful of plugins won’t slow down your site.

1. Drop Caps

Sites covering certain topics might need to have a fancier look to them. For example, a site about web design would likely have a more well designed and detailed look than a site about animal chew toys. In this case adding what is known as a Drop Cap will make the writing a little classier looking.

A Drop Cap adds a large first letter in the first word if the first paragraph on the page. I am sure you have seen something like this in your travels around the web. The Drop Caps plugin lets you choose where you want the Drop Cap to show up (i.e. only on single blog posts, archive pages, feed, etc.)

2. Simple Pull Quote

Personally, I like when sites accentuate important parts of an article I’m reading. I can scan the article and see if I want to take the time to read it thoroughly. Using a Pull Quote can add a nice addition to headers and bullet points.

Adding a Pull Quote is super easy. When the plugin is installed and activated, you can highlight the text you want to show up in the quote and click the new button in your WordPress text editor. Alternatively, you can add [pullquote] highlighted text here  [/pullquote] around the text to get the same effect.

3. Readability

One of the things that separates one site from another is how easy it is to read. Text, distracting ads and other elements of your site can take away from the readability of the content. What the Readability plugin does is lets the reader click a link to see the article in a lightbox-like popup window.

There aren’t a lot of adjustments to the Readability plugin. You can adjust what displays as the name of the link on your page and the minimum word count on the single page for the link to appear.

4. WP Google Fonts

Adding a font to WordPress isn’t the easiest thing to do. And let’s face it, the choices are kinda lame in most themes. Using the WP Google Fonts plugin, you can add fonts from the Google directory to your WordPress site and there are a lot of them in there.

You can change the fonts for the body text independently from the H1 headlines and blockquotes. Keep in mind though, in some cases the CSS for the theme may override the plugin.

Conclusion

Even if you aren’t a master of WordPress, you can still look like you know a little something. These plugins make it super easy to add little details to your site to set it apart from the millions and millions of sites on the web.

What are your code free tips to make your site stand out to your readers?

Image credit: intro image

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1. Use a 4-Digit PIN to Log In to Windows Instead of a Password

While Windows 8 might still integrate the logon capabilities of its predecessors, it also adds a bit of a twist: You can log in to Windows 8 using a 4-digit PIN code. Since several applications in the banking and telecommunications industries use PIN codes, it might be simpler to log in with a PIN code for those who are used to this kind of authentication. However, the Windows 8 PIN authentication method was chiefly designed to make the authentication process simpler for those with touchscreens, who would take upwards of 30 seconds to type in a complex alphanumeric password.

If you would like to use a 4-digit PIN, click the “Control Panel” tile in the Metro UI once you’ve logged in.

Within the control panel’s “Users” section, search for a button that says “create a PIN.”

A screen will show up asking you to authenticate using your current long and boring password. Do that and click OK. Now, you’ll be able to enter your PIN and configure everything to your desire. Enjoy!

2. Log In With a Picture

Although this might be a bit less safe of an authentication method, you can use Windows 8 to log you in using a photograph. The software lets you use any picture you want and apply gestures around the picture. Let’s say you put a picture of your kid as the logon picture. You can configure the computer to authenticate you by circling your finger or mouse cursor around your kid’s eyes and poking his/her nose. This authentication method is much faster than conventional alphanumeric authentication, almost at the same level as the PIN authentication mentioned earlier. Let’s configure your picture!

Just use the same method as the previous section, except that you’ll be clicking “Create a picture password” instead of “Create a PIN.” Just walk through the steps and you’ll have this authentication configured in no time!

In the below example, someone configures a picture in a way that he pokes the woman on the left’s nose, draws a circle around the head of the man in the middle, and draws a line between the noses of the two ladies on the right:

3. Remove Visual Effects for Better Performance

Every version of Windows since XP has had visual effects designed to give the user a more “fluid” experience. The only problem with this is that, if you do not have a high-performance computer, your computer is going to freeze slightly while minimizing or maximizing windows. This is also true for Windows 8, an operating system jam-packed with visual effects.

While it’s not necessary to remove visual effects seen in Windows 8, you must do this if you experience slight skipping when modifying a window. This kind of thing is visible chiefly in computers that have low amounts of physical memory, graphical memory, and slow CPUs.

To configure this, search for “SystemPropertiesPerformance” and press “Enter.” Once you’re in, click the “Visual Effects” tab and configure the visual effects, enabling and disabling what you want.

4. Configure OpenDNS to Browse Faster

If you haven’t heard of it already, OpenDNS is a very fast DNS server that is more reliable than what some ISPs have to offer. If you notice that you’re taking a long time to connect to a web page (right before the page starts loading), then you probably have a weak DNS server on your ISP. Many service providers have heavy DNS resolution traffic, making it difficult to hold their own. Give your ISP a break and configure OpenDNS on Windows 8 to make your experience more magical!

To configure OpenDNS on your computer, first make a search for “ncpa.cpl“. Once in your network interface window, right-click the network interface you use to connect to the Internet and click “Properties.” Select “Internet Protocol Version 4″ and click “Properties.” Select “Use the following DNS server addresses” and configure the following two addresses: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.

5. Configure Metro App Links to Open in Your Desktop

Windows 8 introduces the Metro UI, an interface that runs above the desktop, allowing you to have full-screen applications that operate on cloud storage and include tons of other features that give you a very unique experience. While you might like to use some of the apps in Metro, you might not like them opening a full-screen version of Internet Explorer every time you click a link. Fortunately, you can configure Metro to open the desktop version of Internet Explorer instead.

To configure Metro applications to open the desktop version of IE, you must first go to your Internet options. Do this by opening the “Search” charm and searching for “inetcpl.cpl“.

Select the “Programs” tab and, under “Choose how you open links,” select “Always in Internet Explorer on the desktop.” Once you click “OK,” you’ll see links open up in the desktop instead.

Bonus! Tweak Your Desktop to Make it More Accessible for Touchscreens!

Here’s one thing that drives people nuts: Accidentally touching something you shouldn’t on your screen. This happens often on Windows’ desktop. All that said, let’s hop straight to modifying your desktop!

Touch your desktop background and hold it down until a small context menu appears. Once there, touch “Screen Resolution.” Inside the screen resolution window, touch “Make text and other items larger or smaller.” Make them huge, click “Apply,” and restart the system!

Now, get back to that context menu we told you to go to in the previous paragraph. Touch “View,” and touch “Large icons.” That’s much better, isn’t it?

We’re not done yet! Get to your “C” drive and select “Large icons” near the top of the window. Now, we’re going to help you configure all icons on every folder of the computer to look like this!

Hit “File” and go to “Change folder and search options.” Once there, get to the “View” tab. Hit “Apply to Folders,” and then click “Yes” to confirm your action. Once you click “OK,” you’ve got yourself a touchscreen-friendly desktop!

Any More Thoughts?

If you’ve got some tweaks you’d like to talk about, hit us up in the comments section. Please let us know if something is not working or if you can’t follow the steps. We usually respond rather quickly to inquiries. Have a great day!

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With these numbers in mind, it can become an issue for the users to update their software to the latest version, particularly if they have installed hundreds of software on their PCs. To counter this problem, the concept of automatic software updaters was introduced which would check for updates of all the software installed in the computer and notify the user of all the updates available for their PCs. These software are also called software updates monitors.

In this article, we will be discussing almost all the software updater available publicly today. If I miss one, you can share it in the comments below. Please note that all these software are not alike. Some software may be used for monitoring general software updates while some may be related to security apps and patches only.

1. FileHippo Update Checker

FileHippo Update Checker is one of my favorite as it is extremely small in size and very easy to use. After the installation, FileHippo Update Checker will scan for installed software and send the information to FileHippo servers to compare the versions of software installed on the PC and available on FileHippo.com.

It will then display a list of updates available and the download links to new updated software. One has to manually download the software and install it on the computer. FileHippo Update Checker is very good for those who want to keep an eye on everything that is being updated or installed.

One drawback of FileHippo Update Checker is that it does not support all the new software being released daily but it supports majority of the popular software. FileHippo Update Checker works on all versions of Windows but it requires .NET Framework 2.0 or later to be installed.

Download FileHippo Update Checker

2. CNet TechTracker

CNet TechTracker is from the owners of download.com which is considered to be a one stop destination for software downloads. Usually the updates to the software are available on CNet software catalog sooner than other sites. Another advantage of installing CNet TechTracker is that most of the software are tested for spyware and malware before being updated.

CNet TechTracker is the best tool for those who want to have a “set it and forget it” functionality. One thing to note that while installing this software updater, it will also install a search toolbar which can be annoying for many users. You have to be careful while installing TechTracker and select “I do not accept” when the toolbar offer is made.

Download CNet TechTracker

3. SUMo

SUMo (Software Updates Monitor) is another great software updater which is easy to use and can automate the software updates process. The biggest disadvantage of SUMo is with its installation procedure. You have to be very careful while installing SUMo because it will ask you to install some useless toolbars and software which you should always decline.

After the installation, SUMo will give you an option to either open SUMo settings or automatically detect installed software. After automatic detection, you have to click on the next button “Check for updates for your installed software”. The scanning and updating process is very fast and takes just a few moments to get the results. You can update the software by selecting it and clicking on the Get Updates button. You can also select multiple items by using Ctrl and Shift keys.

SUMo makes use of different software download sites in order to get the updates. The download sites include FileForum, Softonic, Download.com, Softpedia, Snapfiles, FileHippo etc.

Download SUMo

Note: The best way to keep away from bundled software which comes with SUMo is to download the zipped versions of SUMo instead of the installer.

4. UpdateStar

UpdateStar is another popular software updates client. UpdateStar is one of the first software updater that I started using. The interface of UpdateStar is not as user friendly as other software updater discussed above. There are two editions of UpdateStar – free and premium. The premium edition is paid and is fully automated. You don’t have to touch anything in order to update the software installed in the system. UpdateStar premium will automatically update the software and let you know in the system tray. This feature is not available in the freeware edition of UpdateStar.

UpdateStar delivers only major releases of the installed programs making sure that you always have the stable version of software installed.

Download UpdateStar

5. R-Updater

R-Updater is a light weight software updates monitor program which does not take a lot of resources when running. It is available as an installer as well in portable edition. R-Updater starts with Windows and keeps on checking for new versions of installed software every now and then. You can also change the checking schedule in the settings.

The best feature of R-Updater is that in addition to checking for new updates, it also offers to download Giveaway of the day software daily. Going to giveawayoftheday.com and checking for new giveaway daily is hard while R-Updater notifies about the latest giveaways on your desktop.

Download R-Updater

6. Secunia PSI (Personal Software Inspector)

Secunia PSI is another popular automatic software updating solution. When it comes to security updates and patches, Secunia PSI is the best in the competition. I’m currently using Secunia PSI 3 beta. With version 3, the software gets a really simple and user friendly interface. It takes a few moments to open. You will need to scan your PC for installed software in order for Secunia PSI to start working. It will also scan for Windows security updates and let you install the updates from within the program interface.

Overall Secunia PSI is a bit slower than other software updaters but it delivers solid security and software updates.

Download Secunia PSI

Other software updaters

The above mentioned software updaters were the most popular update monitoring software used by millions of users. There are a few others worth mentioning. I found all these updating software while researching for this article.

• Carambis Software Updater – includes multilingual support and a very quick scanning engine with one click scanning option.
• Glarysoft Software Update – informs whenever a new update of a software is available. You can share information and comment on the new software updates.
• RadarSync – automatically download and installs new updates to installed software.
• Appupdater – very similar to Linux apt-get and yum and provides the automated installation and maintenance of installed software.
• Update Notifier – a portable software updater with a watch list feature where you can add programs to your watch list.
• Ketarin – Ketarin keeps the setup packages up to date instead of the installed programs. So if you have a software repository in your computer, Ketarin will keep it up to date.
• Software Informer – lets you find new software according to your needs while keeping the installed software up to date.
• FileREX Update Checker – automatically detects installed apps and then gives download links to the latest versions available.
• Patch My PC – checks for the latest versions of popular software. Patching those popular programs in time keeps the hackers away from the computer.
• Seven Update - very much like Windows Update but it keeps third party software updated. It is free and open source.
• Software-UpToDate - a very simple program which notifies about the recently updated software and gives download links to those software.

The good thing about these software updaters is that usually they do not conflict with each other. If you want to install multiple software updater monitoring programs, you can do it without any problems.

I have tried my best to collect all the software updaters in one place but in case I have missed one, please share it in the comments below.

Image credit: update button concept by Big Stock Photo.

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Why Hibernate is disabled by default in Ubuntu 12.04?

Some of you who are used to the Hibernate feature in Ubuntu might be asking “why is this missing in Ubuntu 12.04?”

The reason behind this is because Ubuntu’s Hibernate feature has always not been working well in many computers. For new hardware models, the Hibernate feature often don’t work by default. In some instances, the Hibernate feature will even lead to data loss. The rationale behind the removal of the Hibernate button is:

For Ubuntu to present a Suspend function that doesn’t work is unprofessional, and presenting a Hibernate function that doesn’t work (and destroys data by never waking up) is even worse.

After much discussion and debating, the final decision is to disable Hibernate by default on all computers, unless the computer is on a whitelist. The whitelist will include all “Ubuntu Certified” computers that have been tested and proven to work with the Hibernate feature. So if you are not seeing the Hibernate button, most probably your PC is not “Ubuntu Certified”.

Where to access the Hibernate feature?

Currently, the Hibernate feature is only available in the “Power -> When power is critically low” settings. You can get your laptop to go into Hibernate mode when your batter power is critically low.

How to get back the Hibernate feature?

If you are not sure if your PC supports the Hibernate feature, open a terminal and type pm-hibernate. If your PC succeed in going to Hibernate mode and you have no problem waking it up, your PC supports the Hibernate feature. You can then proceed to the next step to restore the Hibernate option.

In the terminal and open the following file:

sudo nano /etc/polkit-1/localauthority/50-local.d/com.ubuntu.desktop.pkla

Add the following:

[Re-enable hibernate by default]
Identity=unix-user:*
Action=org.freedesktop.upower.hibernate
ResultActive=yes

Save (Ctrl + o) and exit (Ctrl + x).

Restart the PC. The Hibernate option should return now.

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Downloading Printopia to your Mac automatically opens up the System Preferences pane. This allows you to set up Printopia exactly as you would like to use it. It finds all the printing options available to you on your Mac. This includes your home and work printers, and other transferring options, such as Evernote and Dropbox. It also automatically puts in an option for “Send to Mac.” At the bottom you can add in any other saving option you want, such as saving either a .pdf or image to any application, folder, or PDF workflow.

Those of us without an AirPrint printer are used to seeing no available printers. Instead, when I try printing out the confirmation email after I purchased Printopia, I get all the options I just set up on in the Preferences on my Mac. I don’t use Dropbox, as I just never liked it, and I chose not to send files to Evernote either. That leaves me with just the two options to either print the email directly to my printer or save it to my Mac.

Choosing to send the email to my printer brings up a dialog box where my only option is how many copies to print. The other options such as paper size, print quality, etc. are available in the System Preferences app on the Mac by double clicking on the printer where it’s listed. That isn’t the best way to have to configure it, but more often than not it’s just a quick printing of an email, file from an email, or a web page anyway that usually doesn’t require a special size or quality.

After I tried saving a file to my Mac, I didn’t like where it sent it, which was my Documents folder. It’s probably great for others, but I prefer storing all my new files in a Downloads folder. It’s more or less my “go to” spot, where I always know I’ll find what I have just downloaded, sent, saved, etc. I went back into the System Preferences and added this option. In the bottom I clicked on the plus sign and chose to “Save to Folder on Mac.” I then chose my Downloads folder, which added it as an option here. Now if I want something saved to my Downloads from my iPad or iPhone, I simply have to click Print, then tell it to Send to my Downloads, and it will be there waiting for me.

This app just solved many problems for me. And Windows users aren’t left out in the cold either. While researching this, I turned up a comparable app that says it will do the same for Windows that Printopia does for Macs, AirPrint Activator.

Enjoy!

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• 5 Ways To Make Earth Day Year-Round

1. Refurbish and Recycle

Purchasing refurbished products is one of my favorite ways to be earth friendly year round. It’s like a little secret only us super savers seem to know about. It’s ridiculous that many people dismissed refurbished product as their purchase option. When purchased from a reputable source (for example, your Mac directly from Apple’s refurbished program), you can be sure that it is in a good working condition, comes with warranty, and at a much lower price than a brand new product.

The second way to be an earth friendly techie is to recycle your old devices. You’d be surprised how many devices you have in your home that you have no use for. This spring, when I started spring-cleaning the house, I was able to recycle an old Blackberry and Microsoft Zune I found in my gadget drawer. In some instances, recycling devices can even be a bit lucrative. Many websites allows you to trade your devices in for some cash. Websites like Best Buy and Gazelle specialize in trading used devices. Help save the planet and make some money, isn’t that cool?

2. Observe a Time Off

One thing that many individuals forget about is that excessive use of electricity can heavily affect the planet in the long run. Excessive use of electricity adds to your environmental footprint. Electricity is generated using various fossil fuels, fuels that take years to develop and aren’t as renewable. In a nutshell, limiting your current use will help reduce your footprint and help make the environment a bit better.

It is very easy and rewarding to limit your electrical use. I personally give myself a plug off day, from Friday evening until Saturday evening, I cut off from work I have to do online and shut the computer down for 24 hours. This can be difficult for many individuals, and those who find it difficult can take just an hour or two out of their day to cut the plug. When you do so, you can use the time to go out for a run, take care of some errands, and more.

3. Use Earth-Friendly Apps

In case you are running out of means to be earth-friendly, Apple has a ton of applications available out there that will make being earth friendly year-round a bit easier.

iRecycle

For most individuals, recycling isn’t necessarily a difficult process. They are just lazy at finding out where the nearest recycle center is. iRecycle allows you to know where to throw away everything from paint to hazardous materials and everyday items like glass and plastics. This allows you to make recycling an everyday part of your earth friendly routine.

Good Guide

This application is one that helps out while at the grocery store. GoodGuide is your guide to finding not only healthy foods, but also those that are environmentally friendly and humane. GoodGuide allows you to find foods that are friendly to animals and even foods that are more energy efficient. You can find out this based on a score given to each product, based on their averaged out score from health, environment, and societal factors. You can set your own score, and if they meet your expectations, they get a green “pass” check. If not, then they fail and you should at least rethink purchasing it. If an item does in fact fail, GoodGuide gives you better alternatives.

4. Make Things More Digital

We each use about 700 pounds of paper each year. While we aren’t carrying this with us everywhere we go, we encounter it through our mail, notes to ourselves, cards we purchase and send, and much more. A majority of the paper that gets in out contact is essentially wasted, thrown away and never recycled.

If recycling seems a bit too difficult for you, you can still save the earth by reducing your use of paper. You can reduce your paper consumption by sending e-cards or even cards made from recycled paper. This last holiday season, I sent some environmentally friendly holiday cards. While they cost a couple of cents more than regular paper cards, they were well worth it. This is a perfect option if e-cards are too impersonal in your opinion. Even the cards made from Apple with the Cards app is environmentally friendly, making use of more durable cotton paper than that from wood.

We all know that we don’t send cards every day. For that reason, there are things in our daily life that we should implement to make a larger difference. Do you get the New York Times sent to your home each morning? No need to cancel the newspaper, the New York Times subscription is heavily intertwined with the iOS application, allowing you to still keep up with the same news as the newspaper but in digital form. The costs are less as well.

5. Purchase Earth Friendly Gadgets

Yes, you recycled your devices, even purchased refurbished, but you still aren’t sure if that’s enough. No worries, you can even go a step further by purchasing earth friendly gadgets. No, we don’t mean gadgets that run on water or by sunlight. There are various gadgets and companies out there that are earth conscious by using environmentally friendly packaging or materials.

For Apple, their gadgets are smaller for a reason. Yes, thinner equals more modern, however the thin iPads and Macbook Airs also use less aluminum and other materials. Gadgets require less transportation because Apple makes them with a majority of Apple products. They are sent to Apple stores or approved retailers, not random tech stores on the edges of the earth. Apple runs its own recycling program, and all devices you use are Energy Star approved, everything from iPods to Macs.

Conclusion

Making Earth Day a regular part of your year is seamless, however making it apart of your daily life is where the real benefits can be found. It is important to make sure to be environmentally conscious all year-round. As you can see from today, you don’t have to be a tree hugger to do this. From iPhone applications to purchasing energy efficient gadgets, being environmentally conscious can be hip and easy. What are some ways that you are being earth conscious inside and outside of technology? Let us know in the comments below!

Image credit: Baby And Earth by BigStockPhoto

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1. Disable Search Indexing

One of the most resource-hungry features of Windows 7 is search indexing, which creates a dictionary for your files, allowing you to perform faster searches. The problem is that, while it’s creating that dictionary, it consumes your hard drive’s read/write speeds significantly, making it difficult to navigate through applications while indexing is taking place. That’s why Microsoft included an option to turn this off.

To effectively disable this feature, follow through this path: “Start -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Services”. Once in that window, scroll down to “Windows Search.” Right-click the item and click “Properties.” Within the window, select “Disable” under “Startup type,” like so:

Click “OK” once finished. Once you reboot or stop the service manually, you won’t have to worry about your hard disk being eaten alive.

2. Disable Aero

If your computer gets kind of clunky while playing a movie or has difficulty emulating the graphics when you minimize or open a window, it’s probably time to sacrifice the pretty effects that Windows 7 Aero brings with it and just live with simple bland colors. The interface will function similarly to how Windows 7 Starter does. Removing Aero will give your computer a little more breathing room, especially if the display adapter uses some of the PC’s physical memory to perform.

Remove Aero by right-clicking your desktop, clicking “Personalize,” scrolling down the list of themes that appear, and selecting “Windows Basic.” You’re done!

3. Use MSConfig to Your Advantage!

Although we’ve discussed this before, it never hurts to reiterate that MSConfig is an important tool to help you improve your boot time. There are several services and startup applications that take up tons of resources while Windows boots. For those of you who have to bear a sluggish boot process, this is the tool to use. Here are some services you should consider disabling:

• Application Experience
• Diagnostic Policy Service
• Distributed Link Tracking Client
• Offline Files
• Portable Device Enumerator Service
• Protected Storage
• Secondary Logon
• TCP/IP NetBIOS Service
• Windows Media Center Service Launcher

If you are aware of any other services that can be disabled without losing core system functionality, show them to us below in the comments section.

4. Disable Visual Effects

For many people, Windows works just fine without all the fancy visual hoopla that comes attached to it. Some would even consider it preferable! Visual effects are the kinds of things that make your computer hang when you minimize, maximize, open, and close a window. Windows 7 introduces a whole series of new visual effects that also can make a computer hang when hovering the cursor over an open window’s icon. If you don’t want these things to use up the visual resources on your computer, you can easily disable them.

All you have to do is follow this path: “Start -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> System -> Advanced system settings -> Advanced tab -> Settings (under “Performance”).” Once there, select “Custom.” Now, just deselect anything you think might not be important and click “OK” after you’re done.

Disabling the majority of these items will still keep most of the capabilities in Windows without requiring that you sacrifice a certain amount of RAM as a tribute. As a downside, you’ll have a blander look on your computer which might take some getting used to.

5. Use ReadyBoost

Of all the features on Windows 7, ReadyBoost seems to be one that most people are oblivious about. The problem is that it’s also one of the most important features, allowing you to significantly boost your system memory using a USB flash drive. If you have a ReadyBoost-compatible USB drive, you can configure your operating system to use it as a RAM module, effectively increasing the amount of physical memory you have by the amount of memory available on the drive.

To configure ReadyBoost on your USB drive, right-click on its icon in “Computer” and click “Properties.” Once there, click on the “ReadyBoost” tab. If you don’t find one, your device is not compatible with this feature. Once in the tab, select “Use this device.” The slider below the area you selected allows you to configure exactly how much memory you’d like to dedicate to ReadyBoost.

Depending on the speed of the drive, and the speed of your USB port, you’ll be able to significantly increase the speed at which Windows interacts because of the sudden spike in the amount of memory available to it. You can run more programs at the same time. This also frees up the hard disk’s virtual memory a bit, since it doesn’t have to store so much data.

6. Get Rid of Features You Don’t Use

There’s one more way to get rid of things you don’t necessarily need in Windows: by turning Windows features off. Just go to your control panel, then go to “Programs -> Programs and Features.” Click on “Turn Windows features on or off,” found at the top left-hand corner of the “Programs and Features” window.

Follow the instructions at the top of the new window, and deselect features you’re absolutely sure you don’t need. After you click “OK,” your problems just went “poof!”

Questions?

Instructions like these can’t be easy for everyone to follow. If you have a problem, talk to us in the comments section below or click the “Ask Our Experts Now” button on the right-side of this page. We’re always watching!

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Create A Site

Navigate to Google Sites and enter your Gmail account information to begin. Click Create to start a new web page leaving the tab on Blank Template. Name your site and the Site Location will auto-fill. The name will need to be unique so if you have trouble getting a name to be accepted, just add an ending title that is unique to your Tab and it will process.

For the theme, choose the Blank Slate template and click Create.

In your site settings, click Site Layout. To customize the way the page displays on Facebook, we want to change the layout. Click on the tab Change Site Layout.

In the Site Width column, un-check the default tab and set the width to 100%. This is so your content will occupy the entire width of the Facebook canvas. We don’t need the Sidebar, Header, or Footer features here either so you can un-check those boxes and click OK.

The next thing we can hide are the customized footer settings. In Systems Footer, click on Customize System Footer Links and check all of the boxes to hide those options. Click OK and save all your changes.

The last thing in this step is to enable Google Analytics for the site so you can track visits to your Facebook Page. You can do this by going to the General site settings and scroll down to the Statistics tab. Enable Google Analytics and enter your Web Property ID and Save.

Create A New Page

Go to the Home tab of your new Google Site and click on the page icon in the top right of the tool bar.

Name the page and press Create at the top of the screen.

Compose your new page in Google Sites by adding some content. If you know how to write code, switch to the HTML view and add the code directly to your page. If you prefer to use the standard view, simply use the built in editor to enter your text as you would in a Word document.

You can add anything from pictures to video, maps, or even spreadsheets and tables. Just click on the Insert tab to see your options.

To make a Tab with a map to your location, create a new page as you did above but this time click Insert and choose the Maps tab. Enter the Address or Name of the location and click on the search box to propagate the map. When you have it directed to your location, click Select to add it to the page.

App Settings

Now that you have created your app, it’s time to configure it to be displayed in your Facebook Page. Go to the Facebook Developer Site and choose Apps. If you’re using this site for the first time, you’ll have to give the app permission to access your page. Click on Go To App and then click on Create New App.

Give your Facebook App a name and click Continue.

You will need the URL from your Google Site Page for the next step so go back to your Google Site and right click on the page you want to display as a Tab in Facebook. Copy the URL and paste it in the box for Page Tab URL.

Scroll down to the Page Tab Options and give your Tab a name. For the Page Tab, you will need to remove the ( S ) from https:// Repeat this step for the Secure Page Tab URL but leave in the ( S ). You should also use a custom image here that will be displayed on your Facebook Page to make your Tab stand out. Click Change to browse your files and upload a new image.

Adding a custom image can be done for the default Tabs created by Facebook by following the steps to add a Page Tab Image.

Add Your Custom Tab To A Facebook Page

Enter the following URL into your clip board and replace the XYZ at the end with your App ID from the Developer Page you were just working in.

After you add your App ID to the URL, copy the entire URL and open it in your browser. It will open the Add Page Tab menu. Select your page from the drop down menu and click Add Page Tab. Now you will see your new Facebook Tab displayed under your Timeline cover photo.

Now that you see how easy it is to create your own custom Tabs for your Timeline Page, give it a try and make your Facebook page stand out from the crowd! come back and post some links to your custom tabs so we can see what cool designers we have out there!

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1. News Republic

News Republic is a one of the most beautiful apps on the list. The home screen is tiled with the top news stories from your feeds. You can personalize the feed categories and choose the default content providers. There is also an option to add hot topics to your home screen tiles. These are trending topics like the Republican Party, Apple, Euro, Petroleum and others.

2. Pulse News

Pulse News is one of the most popular apps in the Google Play Store. Not only does Pulse let you read the current news from the preloaded sites, you can add your own blogs and other news sites. Think of Pulse as half news and half RSS reader.

When you are adding your news sources, Pulse lets you make extra pages so you can organize a bit. The tiles are similar to News Republic but the stories are laid out in rows versus clicking on the topic and seeing the new stories.

3. Sky News

Sky news is a super popular UK and world news application. When you install Sky News on your Android, you not only have news coming to you, there is an option to send in your own newsworthy stories to them.

There is a whole lot of video to watch if you have the time or ambition. You can also read the lastest news as it is breaking. Sky News is not available in the US.

4. Congress

When you live in the US, there are a lot of reasons you may want to know what Congress is doing. Currently the build up to see who will run in the next presidential election is happening. You can favorite your local Congressional representative, bills they are sponsoring and other information to keep you abreast to information  that affects you or your business.

There is also a possibility you are the kind of person who thinks the government is trying to pull one over on you and others. This is a good way to see what Congress is hiding in plain sight.

5. Onion News Network

The Onion is just plain funny. If you haven’t checked out the paper or the videos on Youtube, you are missing out. The ONN app is sure to bring you a chuckle by taking real news stories and adding a comical twist. The headlines alone are enough to make you laugh out loud.

The ONN app is packed with lots and lots of videos and shows. If you are a fan of news and comedy shows like The Corbert Report, download this one.

Conclusion

When you have the urge to get news on any topic you may be interested in, there are a lot of different Android news apps out there to feed your need. Depending on what you are interested in, you may find something predesigned for your tastes or you can customize something to make your ultimate news source fit in your pocket.

irina slutsky

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1. Windows 8 Introduces a New File Transfer Window

A lot of people have been frustrated at the fact that, despite all the advances in technology that Windows Vista/7 introduced, neither of them included the ability to pause a file transfer or view more details about it, such as the speed. Windows 8 now includes this, giving you both the speed and the ability to pause. When you rename a file and Windows cannot complete the operation, you also get details regarding the error.

Perhaps one of the best things in Windows 8 file transfers: All file transfers taking place are moved into one universal window.

Windows error handling has improved, providing a queue of errors instead of stopping the entire transfer. Kudos to Microsoft for that! This is a very sought-after feature and we’re not sure why it hasn’t been included in previous versions, but here it is in Windows 8.

2. Windows 8 Lets You Mount ISOs!

That’s right! Windows now comes with the ability to mount ISO files using its native “mount” function in Windows Explorer. When you mount a file, you’ll see a new CD/DVD drive with the contents of the ISO inside it, just like you would with third-party applications. You will no longer have to consume resources in an application like Virtual CloneDrive or Power ISO.

3. Windows 8 Fits Itself in Your USB Drive

A feature called “Windows To Go” now exists in Windows 8, allowing you to have an “operating system in a box”, or rather, a tiny box. A bootable version of the operating system installs itself into a USB drive that can fit it, allowing you to take your Windows wherever you go and run it on computers that didn’t upgrade. You don’t have to worry about the USB drive being accidentally knocked off, either. The operating system freezes when you disconnect the drive, but continues its normal function once plugged in.

4. Windows 8 Introduces Metro to Desktop Environments

A number of people are upset at the introduction of Windows 8′s Metro UI into the desktop arena, but it’s really not all that bad. It’s kind of tough to navigate, at first, but you can get used to it very quickly because of its fluid design. I’m also slightly irked at the Metro UI, but it’s grown on me and others shouldn’t have a problem adapting to it. After all, the full-screen apps are a plus! With no taskbar and no other elements on the screen to interfere with the app, you get tons of precious real estate to work with.

5. Native USB 3.0 Support

In Windows 7 and other previous versions of Windows, you would have had to install a special driver to get the OS to recognize USB 3.0 adapters. For those of you who don’t know yet, USB 3.0 is an improvement over the existing USB 2.0 technology and offers connectivity at data rates up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0. At this point, the only operating system with native USB 3.0 support is Linux. With Windows 8, you’ll finally get that extra speed boost from your brand new digital video camera.

6. Windows 8 Gives You a Cloud-Based Environment

Microsoft’s SkyDrive allows people to store up to 25 GB of data on their Cloud storage system with their Windows Live accounts. Windows 8 will partially integrate with SkyDrive to allow data from applications to be stored on the Cloud. That way, any settings you had on your apps can easily be recovered in case you have to re-install the operating system. With program data, I’d assume you’d have to manually store the information.

As you might notice while running Windows 8, many apps ask you for Windows Live credentials and tell you that logging in will give you the best experience. They’re not lying here! It can make the difference between enjoying the application the same way all the time and having to start from scratch. Once you log in, all data from the application is stored automatically in the SkyDrive.

In anticipation to the release of Windows 8, you might want to start getting a Windows Live account if you don’t have one yet. There’s no harm in having extra 25GB of storage space in the cloud.

7. Windows 8 Might Do Away With NTFS

NTFS has been around for over a decade now, and one of the surprising things about Microsoft is that it never introduced a newer solution for storage, at least one that attempts to repair corrupted areas of the disk. They said they’d release WinFS in Windows Vista, which was a file system that would allow you to sort items by their relation to one another. For example, you can sort images of people in your contact list by their relation to another person. This file system was cancelled.

Enter the Resilient File System, dubbed “ReFS” by Microsoft. This file system, known only to be released for the Server versions of Windows 8, will probably be entering the consumer editions in the future, once a viable test of this revolutionary file system is completed. ReFS automatically attempts to recover broken portions of the hard drive without interrupting normal activity, but still keeps some of the most important features of NTFS, including BitLocker.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that Microsoft intends to immediately release a consumer version of Windows 8 with ReFS implemented. However, it seems that they might be releasing it in future Windows 8 products. Take it with a grain of salt, though, as we don’t know what will really happen. All that said, it feels rather exciting to consider the possibility that we could one day have more robust file systems on our computers that repair themselves silently.

To prepare for the release of ReFS, we suggest you partition your hard drive with a sizable system partition and another partition for storage, programs, and other things. As far as we know, ReFS might not work on bootable partitions.

Probably one of the best features of ReFS, you have Copy-on-Write, also known as “COW.” This type of functionality within a file system allows for lower virtual memory usage as two processes referring to the same memory won’t have private copies of the memory until one of them tries to modify it. Why show two different processes two different versions of the same data?

Anything Else?

We’d love to hear what other features you’ve found in Windows 8 that you liked. These were just some of the most important ones, but perhaps you found something that you believe is more worth noticing. Let us know in the comments section below!

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How Google Currents work?

Instead of subscribing to RSS feeds like any other RSS feed reader, Google Currents allows you to subscribe to publication. Each publication is just like a magazine and can make up of blog posts, videos, images, Google Plus update or any other stuff that the publisher wishes to place in the publication. When you first start the app, you should be already subscribed to a few default publication, like Fast Company, Forbes and so on. You can tap on the “Add More” button and subscribe to publications from various categories.

Once you have subscribed to your favorite publications, you can set it to sync in the background at regular interval, so it will always be populated with the latest content. In addition, you can also get it to download the images and content and read it offline.

* Make Tech Easier is on Google Currents too!. Subscribe to our publication now.

How to create your own publication?

Let’s say you are a web publisher and you wish to get onto the Google Currents platform and enable readers to subscribe to your publication. The only problem is, how do you create a publication without any technical coding knowledge? Google Currents Producer is the answer. It is an online publishing service (provided by Google) that allows you to publish your own edition/publication without any coding knowledge. All you need to know is a few mouse clicks, and where to locate your site’s RSS feed URL.

1. Go to Google Currents Producer. You need to be on Google Chrome and sign in to your Google account. Once you are logged in, the first thing to appear is the Publisher Agreement. You will need to read through it (supposedly, but I don’t think you will, right?) and agree to it.

2. On the next screen, you will be prompted to enter the name of your edition and the RSS feed of your site. If you are running a video site on YouTube, you can add the channel name as well.

3. Once you click the “Create” button, it will start to pull articles from your site and compile them into a magazine format. At this stage, the barebone of your publication is ready and you can publish it anytime to make it live.

Configuration

At the main screen, there are plenty of options for you to customize the look and feel of your edition. The first part is the Edition Settings. This is where you can change the name, category, icon, splash image of your edition, and whether to collect email address from the reader and track its performance using Google Analytic.

The sections is the important feature of Google Currents as it allows you to add content to your publication. You can add feed(s), upload articles from Google Docs, pull photos from Flickr, Picasa or the web, YouTube channel, and even update on your Google Plus account. There are plenty of content you can add here to make your publication interesting, so be creative.

If you are proficient in CSS, you can go to “Sections -> Blogs -> Section Template” and edit the stylesheet of your publication look-and-feel.

The “Grant Access” section allows you to grant permission to others to manage your edition.

At any point of time, once you have made an update, you can click on the Android, Tablet, iPhone or iPad link to check how your publication looks like in each device. You can even rotate it to check the landscape view.

Lastly, after you have completed all the configurations and are happy with the result, go to the “Distribute -> Publish” section and click the “Publish” button.

That’s it. Your site publication is now live!

* Make Tech Easier is on Google Currents too! You can subscribe to our update by clicking on this link on your mobile device.

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1. Microsoft Invents Tablet, Audience Indifferent

While everyone today is nuts about the iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, these aren’t the first tablets. These are simply ARM-based devices that have sprung up after a long silent period. That silent period came after Microsoft invented and debuted the tablet. The announcement came in 2001 when Microsoft demonstrated tablets running the Windows XP operating system. The only disadvantage of these tablets is that they could only run for about 2 hours, like a laptop.

The old tablets included a keyboard and a stylus, allowing you to type quickly and pin-point areas of your touchscreen with more precision. They thought about practically anything and ended up with a near-zero market share as a “thanks” for the introduction of this invention. It was one of Microsoft’s biggest blunders, and today the company still goes unnoticed in the tablet market. Despite the fact their tablets really aren’t that impressive, they should have been back in 2001.

Of course, we’re not really saying that Microsoft was the sole inventor of the tablet computer. Apple tried a similar stunt in a project that started in the 80s. It was known as the MessagePad 100, and looked like an over-sized PDA:

This is far from the modern idea Microsoft came up with, however, which had many more features and gave way to the tablets we use today.

But if you want to say that Apple was first, you’re also wrong. The first concept for a tablet was the teleautograph, patented in 1888.

2. Microsoft Creates “TellMe”, Siri Gets all The Attention

Everyone knows about Apple’s Siri, included in the iPhone as a part of the iOS operating system. However, not many people tell you that they would love to have a phone that includes Microsoft’s TellMe. Besides the obvious fact that Apple’s Siri is better than Microsoft’s TellMe, the latter of the two hasn’t been marketed so well, making the public less aware of its availability. Recently, I’ve watched as Siri beat TellMe in a comparison, yet many people seem to have no problems using TellMe to perform web searches, regardless of their accent. Here’s someone with a Hungarian accent using both systems:

If you notice, there were times when TellMe actually understood something Siri didn’t. Both are search-based, but Siri does a bit better with interpreting the results. The point is that Microsoft put the idea on the table long before Apple presented Siri. However, I think both are admirable and have their merits. Compare that test of TellMe to the marketed concept video that presented what it could do in the future:

Besides the obvious, it seems that MS is going in the right direction. Sure, it just pulls up web results most of the time, but we can only hope for a better version in Windows 8 Phone. Besides, Microsoft doesn’t look that far behind Apple when it comes to mobile computing. The problem is always in delivery, however. Apple just sits quiet and delivers lots of innovative material while Microsoft receives a bad rep because it markets a product that doesn’t exist yet, develops it below the expectations of the audience, then attempts to pick up the pieces while the catastrophe ensues. I still think that Microsoft is underestimated and over-criticized, though.

3. Microsoft Contributes to Linux And All We Hear Are Crickets

On April 3, 2012, Microsoft has been declared the #17 contributor to Linux. Despite being called a company that wants to obliterate free software and establish a monopoly over the computing industry, that same company gave Linux some of the drivers it just recently integrated into the operating system to help it operate more efficiently in virtualized and native environments. Microsoft doesn’t stand to profit from this as much as you think, and paid some of its best developers to come up with the driver software in Linux. This seems like a move of good faith.

Not only did the company also contribute drivers, but it turns out that MS has been helping the Linux project since the release of kernel version 2.6.36, contributing 688 of the accepted changes.

Granted, a significant amount of those changes have to do with its new Hyper-V virtualization technology, helping Linux become compatible with what the company’s about to roll out with. This new Hyper-V technology will allow users of Windows Server run Linux and Windows simultaneously more seamlessly than previously possible. This will effectively cut costs for data centers wanting to offer the best of both worlds, making it possible for them to run a server on both Windows and Linux, while simultaneously offering both types of hosting from one single unit.

4. Microsoft Bob – One of The Worst Tech Inventions in History

Declared as the 7th worst technological invention, Microsoft Bob was an interface that MS quickly took out of the market. It was meant to modify the Windows 95 graphical interface in a way that would be more easily navigable by a computer beginner. It attempted to accomplish this by making the Windows operating system into a house you can walk through, with icons around each “room”. You started out in the “family room”, where a companion would walk you through normal operation of Windows. There were reasons why it failed, even if the concept was very friendly for those who didn’t know how to properly operate a computer.

Here’s what might have caused the failure:

• It required more system resources than were generally available at the time the software was released. Although you can run it today on even the most run-down computer, it doesn’t compare to how computers were pre-Windows 95.
• If you wanted a computer that was easier to use, you could just opt for Apple’s Macintosh systems at the time. The same holds true today.
• Bob sold for $100.
• Windows 95 came out in the same year as Bob did, making the software slightly superfluous due to the introduction of Windows Explorer.

Anything Else?

That’s all we’ve got! If you think you have a fact about Microsoft that would interest people, leave it in the comments below!

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1. Online Educational Database

This is a great place to start. You can look up specific degrees, and it will tell you where you can obtain these degrees online. However, it doesn’t offer options for finding individual coursework. It does have invaluable resources, however. These include resource materials, broadcast learning sources, and digitized textbooks, both in audio and text versions, that are offered for free. Anyone who has purchased college textbooks recently can tell you how much of a savings that could be. You obviously wouldn’t be able to find all your textbooks this way, but could save yourself some money. It’s worth the time to search.

2. StraighterLine

They don’t offer degrees, only savings. They stress that they aren’t a college, but there are online colleges who have partnered with them, and they have also partnered with the American Council on Education (ACE)’s College Credit Recommendation Service. If your target college is part of ACE or partnered with StraighterLine, the credits will transfer. They also stress that sometimes you can get a college not partnered with them to accept your classes for credit if you show them the website and ask. The prices are indeed the draw here. For a $99 monthly subscription service, you can take classes for as cheap as $39. Or, you can avoid the subscription and pay $399 instead.

3. Worldwide Learn

Worldwide Learn isn’t offering you anything other than finding the schools for you that will offer you the types of degrees you want online. This holds for whether you’re looking for an Associate’s degree or a PhD. Although I have to admit getting a PhD online just sounds like it wouldn’t hold much water to be very respected. Yet, it is available. The colleges they feature include DeVry University, University of Phoenix, and Ashland University.

4. Make Use Of

Free. Who can’t resist free? That’s the obvious upside to this one. The downside is a big one, though. The courses aren’t for credit. However, some of them are complete courses. If the credit doesn’t matter to you and you are just into learning, this is perfect. If you need a little extra help on top of the paying course you’re already taking, it could also be of benefit. Even MIT has made some of its coursework available in this list.

5. DistanceEducation.org

This one offers complete degrees. The price isn’t cheap, but it’s what many universities charge for just one year. They feature two hundred accredited colleges with degrees from Computers and Technology to Education to Legal and Criminal Justice. If you’re looking to get your entire degree without leaving home, this is a great place to start.

The point of all this is that it’s out there for the taking. College degrees don’t have to kill you (or your parents) financially. You don’t have to go that far from home, even if the local community college isn’t your cup of tea. There are no reasons left to not pursue a college degree. It can be as easy or as cheap as you want. And now I just need to convince my son of the same thing.

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1. Add Registry Editor to the Control Panel

One of the most frustrating parts about modifying the registry is the extra steps one must take to open it and find it. You actually have to remember the name “regedit“, and when you’re not editing the registry, you have to go through the torture of finding the name. That’s not a problem if you have a handy solution to add the registry editor to your Windows control panel. Download the registry editor hack, open the zip file, and double-click the icon representing what you’d like to do. It’s as simple as that. You can now find the registry at this location of your control panel:

2. Get Rid of Aero Shake

Windows 7 was wise to think of an idea like Aero Shake. If you don’t know what it is, Aero Shake allows you to maximize a window by shaking it around a bit in its default state. After a bit of a wiggle, Windows maximizes the current window whenever possible. Some people might not like that feature, and Windows doesn’t come with settings to disable it. They assume you’d like it, as usual.

To remove it, open the following path in your registry: 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

With the “Windows” key folder selected, go to the right-hand side of the window and create a new DWORD value called “NoWindowMinimizingShortcuts“. The value should be a decimal “1″. Actually, in numbers smaller than 10, it doesn’t matter whether you choose decimal or hexadecimal.

Once you reboot your computer, you won’t be bothered any longer by the Aero Shake feature of Windows 7 or 8.

3. Disable Balloon Tips

Since Windows XP, Microsoft has implemented balloon tips to notify users of any problems or new events in the computer. Many people are annoyed by the balloon tips that pop up every once in a while and might not take kindly to them. If you don’t know what we’re talking about, here’s the ever-famous image of a balloon tip in action:

They always show up in the right-hand side of the taskbar and can be utterly annoying when you’re trying to get work done. To disable them, open your registry editor and navigate to

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

In that key, create a new DWORD variable on the right-hand side called “EnableBalloonTips“. Make the value “0″. Once you restart your computer, you won’t see balloon tips ever again.

4. Remove “Shortcut” Text From Shortcuts

We all know what shortcuts we have, and sometimes, it’s a bit redundant for a shortcut to have the “Shortcut” indicator on it. Let’s show you what we mean:

Clearly, the small arrow on the bottom left-hand corner of the image already indicates that it’s a shortcut. Why does Windows have to tell you that it’s a shortcut in other forms? There’s a way around this through the registry, as always. This one’s a little trickier than the others, though.

First, go to

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

in your registry. You’ll find a value called “link” within that key. Its value is “1e 00 00 00″. Change that to “00 00 00 00″. That’s it! After a short reboot, you’ll see that the “Shortcut” text disappeared.

5. Change The Registered Owner of The Windows Installation

If you get a computer from someone, you might notice that the person’s name is there in “winver.exe.” Here’s what we’re talking about:

This might not bother you, but if it does, there’s a way to change it. Just navigate to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion

in your registry and change the “RegisteredOwner” value to anything you’d like. Restart your computer, open the Start menu, and type “winver”. Once you press “Enter,” you should see the new name in the window that shows up.

6. Add a Right-Click Shortcut to Control Panel on The Desktop

You don’t have to always resort to opening the Start menu on your computer to open the control panel. You don’t even have to make a shortcut that occupies space on your desktop. What if we told you that you can modify Windows to add the control panel to the right-click context menu? It’s possible, and we’ll show you how!

First, quickly go to

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell

in your registry. Create a new key under “shell” and call it “command.” Now, modify the “(Default)” value under “command” to “rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL”. After a restart, you’ll see “Control Panel” in your context menu on the desktop.

7. Open Command Prompt From Anywhere

Have you ever roamed around your computer, wishing to open a command line program from a location, but were too lazy to type its path into the prompt itself? One of the beautiful things about some Linux distributions is the ability to open the terminal from any file location within the GUI. Windows can do this also, but doesn’t do it by default. Instead, you’re going to have to get in the system’s innards and actually improvise.

The registry contains an “Extended” property to every shell command key, so what we’re going to do here is rename the property to nullify it. First, go to

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\cmd

in the registry and have a look at the right-side of the editor. Rename “Extended” to anything you want, like “Extended-BAK.” Do the same at “HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd”. Now, when you restart your computer, you’ll be able to see “Open Command Window Here” in the context menu when you right-click on any icon on your computer.

The Grand Finale

We hope you weren’t so spooked out by the insane convenience of some of these registry hacks. We’ll be back with more in a bit. Leave a comment below if you have any questions about the material. Remember that for values lower than 10, you don’t have to distinguish between decimal and hexadecimal. Just pick one or the other.

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1. Stick With Microsoft Security Essentials

Gone are the days you have to shell out money for computer security just to get rid of a couple of viruses every year. For its customers, Microsoft already offers an application called “Microsoft Security Essentials“. It doesn’t come as part of your Windows installation, but it’s been around, and it’s been free for a very long time. You can download it if you run Windows Vista (32 or 64 bit) or later.

Microsoft’s Security Essentials software keeps you updated with its own virus definitions and helps you combat even the most complex infections. An additional bonus to install MSE is that it doesn’t take a whole lot of resources from your computer, like other “bloatware” anti-virus solutions do.

Go ahead and download MSE from here.

2. Windows Firewall Is as Competent as Any Other Firewall

It’s become a new fad lately to criticize every product Microsoft comes up with. While some of the complaints are well-merited, people often avoid using Windows Firewall because they hear it won’t really protect them. In reality, you can configure the firewall to do practically anything any other firewall can do. Contrary to many beliefs, Windows Firewall has the possibility to block outbound connections coming from a malicious application and monitor your network for anything else:

It’s all about searching. You can get to this window by clicking “Advanced settings” when you reach Windows Firewall settings in the control panel. There’s no reason anyone shouldn’t be able to have a secure system running solely with Windows Firewall. Honestly, though, configuring outbound blocks doesn’t really help you stop anything. If malware is making outbound connections through your computer, you should really consider getting rid of the malware. Blocking the malware’s access to the Internet doesn’t really stop it from hogging your computer’s resources.

On the other hand, you should really keep an eye on inbound connections, which often try to hook onto your Internet line and exploit your computer’s vulnerabilities. We can speculate as much as we want, but having Windows Firewall running on your computer is no different than using iptables on Linux. Both are very secure and difficult to exploit.

3. Download Windows Updates

Don’t listen to the conspiracy theorists saying that Microsoft Windows Update is an evil service that attempts to control your computer. While they might be right about the “control” part, it’s not like you’re going to suddenly see that you can’t go to a website because Microsoft is trying to “protect” you. The only thing that can happen is that they’ll pull an application from your system if it violates their policies, and that’s not going to happen until Windows 8 comes out. Still, they don’t need Windows Update to do that.

Downloading your updates is as important as running a firewall and keeping an up-to-date virus database. In fact, some malware has been rendered useless (like the “Conficker” virus) within a short while, when Microsoft patched up a vulnerability in Windows that it released as an update. People who refuse to use Windows Update might scoff at this, but it’s no laughing matter when you consider that many people also said that smoking isn’t bad for you.

It’s true that sometimes Windows Update might accidentally detect your Windows installation as counterfeit, but you can always ring up Microsoft on this. They’re always glad to assist you should anything go wrong on their end.

Are you annoyed by Windows Update forcing your computer to restart all the time? This isn’t an issue, as you can always configure it not to auto-restart after the update.

4. Disable UAC & Stop Downloading Suspicious Files

There’s a certain something that Microsoft should have never included in Windows: User Account Control. This intervention isn’t necessary in most systems, and certainly shouldn’t appear in home PCs. UAC basically is the pop-up that comes up whenever your computer wants to make sure you’re running an application on your own accord.  It looks something like this:

To disable it, read this article, which teaches you how to disable it under the “Disabling UAC” section.

Aside from disabling UAC, you can keep your computer secure using prevention. Download only from familiar sources and don’t download suspicious files. It only requires common sense. If someone links to a “.exe” file and says it’s a picture, don’t approach it. Someone links you to a page where you must log in to a website you’re already logged into? Don’t go to that page! These are simple and common tactics of fooling people, but as you grow more aware of what’s going on, you might prevent a major system catastrophe.

If you have a file you want to download and don’t know whether to trust it or not, upload it to VirusTotal and let its results tell you about it. The website runs the file you just downloaded through a ton of different anti-virus solutions and lets you know what each of them picks up. A few false positives might appear, but if many of the anti-virus solutions say that it’s an infected file, you’d best steer clear from it.

Following all this advice will help you thwart most common attacks, and even some rare ones, without ever having to pay for third-party software. If you have more ideas, throw them at us in the comments section below! We’d love to hear from you!

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1. Tcp1323Opts

Tcp1323Opts lets you use RFC 1323, known as “TCP Extensions for High Performance”, in 3 ways. This particular value works with timestamping and network window scaling. This allows the TCP connection to negotiate a receive window size with a server, letting computers specify receive windows of up to 1 GB. This means that you’ll be able to receive up to 1 GB at a time through a connection. Of course, such a high number is unrealistic in today’s standards, but we have the possibility when we need it. The option you’re editing is a two-bit value (no pun intended). The lower bit specifies whether you want to use window scaling, and the higher bit specifies whether you want to use timestamps. Let’s edit that value, shall we?

Windows sets this value to “3″ by default. You’re going to create the value in the registry and set it to “1.”

Navigate to the following location in your registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

Add TCP1323Opts as a “DWORD” value on the right-hand side of the registry editor once you reach the path in the registry. Modify this value to “1.”

2. MaxFreeTcbs

MaxFreeTcbs is an iffy value. It determines how many active TCP connections your computer can handle at any given time based on how much physical memory you have and how much performance your computer has bandwidth-wise. If the number is too high, your computer might not properly process TCP transactions because of the high amount of active connections talking to the computer at the same time. However, if the number is too low, you can’t host or request as many connections as you’d like. While the setting is arbitrarily determined, you might want to bump up the number when you upgrade your hardware or Internet connection.

Often times, your computer will perform best with a MaxFreeTcbs number of 65536, although you should still limit the amount of connections your computer has on applications that host and request several simultaneous connections, such as uTorrent.

To reach the location for the value, go to the following path in your registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

Create or edit “MaxFreeTcbs” and place its value at 65536. If you’re using an older computer with lower-performance hardware, you can set this at a lower number, like 16000.

3. MaxUserPort

When an application requests an available port to open from Windows, the operating system chooses one port from 1024 to a specified maximum known as “MaxUserPort”. A port on your computer allows you to establish TCP/UDP connections through the Internet and in your local network. I could get into more detail, but we really should get moving. Well, we all know that 5000 is less than 65534. What happens when you open more options to programs seeking a port? They find a port much faster than they would with only a couple thousand available choices.

Windows sets this value to 5000 by default, but you can set it up for any number from 5000 to 65534.

The location where MaxUserPort must go is in the following registry path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

Create a value called “MaxUserPort” and set it to 65534. That’s it!

4. GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize

This value has a long name, but you won’t regret modifying it if you have a big Internet connection (10 Mbps and up) and upload stuff a lot. This value represents how much data can be sent from your computer without receiving an acknowledgement (ACK) packet. Every time you send small chunks of data on the Internet, your computer has to wait for this packet, which tells your end of the network, “Everything’s OK! Send more!” Sometimes, due to latency and poor peering, this might not be ideal. So, you can edit this value to allow more data to be sent without waiting for that packet to come.

Place GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize in the following registry path, on the right side of the window.:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

Set the value to 65535 and you’re done! This will make the computer able to send 64 kilobytes without waiting for acknowledgement. If you feel a drop in speed after modifying this, either remove the value or try raising it slightly, to 128 kilobytes (by setting the value to 131072).

5. MTU

One of the most common ways to increase the speed of an Internet connection is adjusting the maximum transmission unit (MTU). This value represents the maximum size of a packet transmitted from your computer. It affects your upstream speed more than your downstream speed, but taking care of upstream is just as important, ensuring that larger chunks of data are sent at a time. While this number is normally set automatically by your network card, you can adjust this based on your Internet connection speed.

Setting this value is tricky. First, you have to find out your optimal MTU value, which is one that doesn’t require packet fragmentation because of limitations in your Internet connection speed. You can do this through the command line with “ping -f -l <mtu> <your gateway>.” Replace “<mtu>” with a number from 88 to 4294967295. Replace “<your gateway>” with the gateway your network adapter uses to connect to the Internet. If you don’t know your gateway, type “ipconfig” in your command line to find out its value, under “Default Gateway,” which shows up under the network adapter you use for the Internet.

When pinging, you’ll know you reached too high of a number when the response contains the following message: Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.

As long as you choose a number that doesn’t require packet fragmentation, you’re fine. Choose the highest possible number without packet fragmentation, and you have the most optimal MTU.

Now, to set this number, go to the following path in your registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\Interface ID

See the above image for an example of how I found my own principal network interface. There could be other network interfaces installed in a computer, especially when you use it as a router.

Replace “Interface ID” with the GUID for your network interface. Just browse across the different GUIDs that show up under “Interfaces” and look at the information on the right side of the regedit window to see if it matches the details of the network interface you use to connect to the Web.

Once you reach that interface, add “MTU” as a DWORD and set it at the number you got when pinging your gateway. That should fix plenty.

And We’re Done!

I really hope you got something out of this tutorial and learned how to properly speed up your Internet connection. If you follow the instructions to the letter, I guarantee you will feel a positive effect, albeit small, on your Internet connection. Don’t forget to do this to every computer on your local network if you have more than one! Leave a comment below if you have any questions about this. We’ll answer them as quickly as we can!

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