Speed up your PC

Posted by M Qasim A Siddiqui

Are you sure that you're getting the very best performance out of your PC? Whether you're runningWindows Vista or Windows 7, try these tips to give your PC a little extra zip.

Limit how many programs run at startup

There are a lot of programs that load automatically when you boot up your PC—which can really hamper performance. To manage these programs like a pro, learn how to get a comprehensive view of what's running:

• Click the Start button , type System Configuration in the search box, and then click System Configuration in the list of results.

  

  The System Configuration dialog box

• Click the Startup tab. The programs set to run at startup are indicated with a check mark. You can clear the check boxes for any nonessential programs to disable them, but make sure you only disable programs you're familiar with. When in doubt, don't clear the check box.

Delete, delete, delete

A clean machine is a fast machine. That means your best option is to uninstall all the programs you don't use. Delete things like trial software, limited-edition versions, and anything else you're never going to use. Antivirus software? Just testing. You always want your security program, but make sure you're only running a single, up-to-date program. To uninstall software:

• Click the Start button , and then click Control Panel.
• Under Programs, click Uninstall a program. (If you don't see this page, change the View by option in the upper-right corner to Category.)

  

  Uninstalling a program in Control Panel

• Click the program you want to delete, and then click Uninstall.

Run fewer programs at the same time

If your PC bogs down while you're working, check to see how many programs you have running. All programs take up system memory, which can have a huge impact on performance. In some cases, having multiple instances of a program (such as several open email messages) or multiple versions of a program type (more than one antivirus program) can use up memory. Respond to and close your messages right away and keep open only the programs that are necessary for the work you're currently doing—and you'll see a boost in speed.

Make ReadyBoost your friend

It's all very well to advise you to close programs you're not using—but just because you're not using it now doesn't mean you won't be using it in 10 minutes. The answer is ReadyBoost, a helpful feature that can use the extra space on a flash card or USB storage device to speed up your PC. Plug in a compatible storage device and click Speed up my system when you see the AutoPlay dialog box.

Troubleshoot

If your PC was whizzing along merrily and then suddenly started lagging, run a virus scan. Clean bill of health? Try a troubleshooter:

• Click the Start button , and then click Control Panel.
• In the search box, type Troubleshooting, and then click Troubleshooting in the list of results.
• Under Systems and Security, click Check for performance issues.

  

  Troubleshooting in Windows 7

• Run the Performance troubleshooter by clicking Next in the lower-right corner.

Clean your hard drive

The more you use your PC, the more programs you use and the more services you're running. Closing a program doesn't always close the service. That's why restarting fixes so many problems; it clears out the memory.

You should also make a habit of cleaning your hard disk to remove temporary files, emptying the Recycle Bin, and getting rid of system files you don't need any more:

• Click the Start button , type Disk Cleanup in the search box, and then click Disk Cleanup in the list of results.
• After the utility runs, you'll see how much disk space you can free up.
• Click OK, and then click Delete Files.

  

  Deleting files with Disk Cleanup

Check your hardware

Is your PC still slow? Take a look at the Windows Experience Index, a method of rating your PC on five key components. Depending on your particular hardware, you might need a new PC or some hardware upgrades. To see your Windows Experience Index:

• Click the Start button , type Performance Information and Tools in the search box, and then clickPerformance Information and Tools in the list of results.
• Click Re-run the assessment in the lower-right corner of the window.
• Check out your base score. If your score is lower than 3, it might be time to consider a new PC.

Keep your PC up to date

One of the best things you can do to protect your PC is also one of the easiest: Make sure you are set up to get automatic updates from Microsoft. If you use Windows and other Microsoft software, such as Microsoft Office or Windows Live Essentials, then you should use the Microsoft Update service. You'll also get notices about newMicrosoft software that you can download for free.

So how do you turn on automatic updates? Simple: Go to the Microsoft Update website. If you don't have automatic updates turned on, we'll help you through the process.

The Microsoft Update website

Adjust visual effects

"Pretty is as pretty does,” my grandmother used to say. Maybe she wasn't referring to computers, but the principle still applies. Windows includes some stunning effects, but if you need more speed you can customize the settings you want to use for the appearance of Windows on your computer.

• Click the Start button , type Performance Information and Tools in the search box, and then clickPerformance Information and Tools in the list of results.
• Click Adjust visual effects.
• Here you can decide if you want to let Windows choose what's best for your computer, adjust for best appearance, or adjust for best performance.

  

  Adjusting visual effects in Windows 7

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4 Ways To Copy Files (Faster) In Windows

Posted by M Qasim A Siddiqui

Windows 7′s file copy dialog is okay — but just okay. It isn’t the fastest when copying a large number of files, and it will stop the entire process if you have to deal with file conflicts or other errors. However, there are faster ways to copy files that will deal with file conflicts more intelligently.

The traditional Windows file copy dialog’s worst problem is the way it stops and waits for input when it detects a problem, preventing you from leaving the process alone to finish on its own. Luckily, Microsoft improved this with Windows 8. If you’re not using Windows 8 yet, you can get this feature on Windows 7 or even older versions of Windows.

Use Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

Most users are going to do most of their file-copying from within Windows Explorer. For a small file or a handful of small files, Windows Explorer’s default file-copying experience is just fine. Using TeraCopy won’t speed up the process of copying a Word document to a different folder — but these tricks will.

Keyboard shortcuts can help dramatically speed up file management operations, just as they can speed up your web browsing and other things you do on your computer. These are the important shortcuts you’ll need to know:

• Ctrl+C: Copy the selected files
• Ctrl+X: Cut the selected files
• Ctrl+V: Paste the copied or cut files in the current folder

You can also right-click on a file or group of selected files, hold the mouse button down, drag it to a different location, then release the right mouse button. This right-click drag-and-drop will open a special menu that allows you to easily choose whether you want to copy or move the files. Left-click drag-and-drop will generally just move files, not give you an option to copy them. This trick allows you to copy files with a drag and drop.

Upgrade to Windows 8

Third-party file copiers like TeraCopy, mentioned below, aren’t necessary for most people on Windows 8. Windows 8 adds a new file copy dialog to Windows Explorer — now known as File Explorer on Windows 8. Not only does this file-copy dialog copy files faster than Windows 7′s, it combines multiple file copy operations in a single window and allows you to pause individual file-copy operations. This new dialog even deals with conflicts intelligently, continuing the operation rather than pausing and waiting for your input.

Windows 8 is controversial, but the file-copy experience is one dramatically improved feature for desktop users. If you’re using Windows 8, you don’t really need to install a third-party file-copying tool.

Install TeraCopy

But, let’s face it, you’re probably not using Windows 8. Like most Windows users, you’re probably still using Windows 7 — or even Windows XP. If you are, you don’t have to upgrade your operating system just to get a better, faster, and more robust file-copying dialog.

We recommend TeraCopy, which uses an algorithm to speed up the copying of files, allows for pausing and resuming of file transfers, and incorporates a more robust system for dealing with errors. If file conflicts occur, you can see them all and deal with them at any time during the process. TeraCopy doesn’t pause and wait for input as Windows Explorer does on Windows 7.

Best of all, TeraCopy has shell integration, so it can seamlessly integrate with Windows Explorer — whenever you copy or move files, you’ll see the TeraCopy dialog instead of the dialog integrated into Windows. If you don’t like this, you can also activate TeraCopy from the right-click menu in Windows Explorer when you need it and leave the shell integration disabled.

Note that the shell integration is off by default. To enable it, open TeraCopy, click the Menu button, select Preferences, and enable the Use TeraCopy as default file handler checkbox.

Use the Robocopy Command in a Batch Script

Starting with Windows Vista, Windows includes a command-line tool known as Robocopy, or “Robust File Copy.” This command should copy files faster than Windows 7′s graphical file copy dialog. If you’re an average user, you’ll probably want to stick with the graphical options — but command-line tools can be very flexible.

You can run the Robocopy command from a command prompt, but you could also write a batch script that uses the Robocopy command. This is particularly useful if you need to perform the same file-copying command over and over. Instead of clicking around in Windows Explorer, you’d just need to double-click the batch file to run it.

You could even set up your batch script to run as a scheduled task, so it could function as a sort of do-it-yourself automated backup solution.

For more information on using Robocopy, read the Robocopy documentation on Microsoft’s website — it will give you a list of the many command-line options this tool supports.

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3 Ways To Speed Up The Windows 7 Shutdown Process

Posted by M Qasim A Siddiqui

One of the key improvements of Windows 7 is its lightning fast start-up. Aaron Dietrich of the Windows Client Performance team received a lot of praise for this achievement. However, what the developers apparently failed to optimize and speed up was the shutdown process.

Ever since I switched to Windows 7 on my laptop, which had previously shut down within seconds while running on Windows XP, the slow shutdown has been nagging me. If you also happen to be looking for ways to kick-start a Windows 7 slow shutdown, look no further! Here I will introduce you to 3 ways to optimize or speed up the logoff process, so that you can leave the office or get into bed faster.

Prologue

I tested these tips one after the other on my Windows 7 netbook (which shut down significantly faster after upgrading to 2GB RAM). I booted into Windows, started some standard programs, including Skype and Chrome with several different tabs open, waited until they had fully loaded, and then shut down the computer. In its native state, the shutdown took 32 seconds from clicking the ‘Shutdown’ button until the laptop had fully shut down.

Initial shutdown time on test machine: 32 seconds

1. Reduce Timeout To Kill Service Or App

Before Windows shuts down, it attempts to properly close all running processes. If a service doesn’t close immediately, Windows waits for a few seconds, until it prompts the user that the service is not responding to the shutdown request. The amount of this waiting time is defined by registry keys and you can reduce it.

These are two fairly harmless registry hacks. If you follow the steps outlined in this article, it should in no way harm your system. Nevertheless, I have to issue a warning:

Editing the registry can damage your operating system! I or MakeUseOf take no responsibility whatsoever!  Make a backup of your registry before continuing.

For the first hack, click the key combination > [WINDOWS] + [R], type > regedit into the text field, and click > OK to launch the registry editor.

In the registry editor, navigate to this folder:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control

Within that folder (on the right) find and double-click the string > WaitToKillServiceTimeout.

In the > Edit String window, change the > Value data from the default of 12000 (12 seconds) to 2000 (2 seconds). Click > OK to save the change.

For the second hack, navigate to the following location via the registry editor:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

On the right, find and double-click the string > WaitToKillAppTimeout.

If this entry does not exist, you can create it. Right-click into the folder and click through >New > String Value, and name it > WaitToKillAppTimeout.

Set > Value data to 2000, click > OK.

In the same registry folder, if you see an entry called > AutoEndTasks, set its > Value data to 1, then close the registry editor.

Shutdown time: 27 seconds

2. Create a Fast Shutdown Shortcut

As of Windows 2000, Windows has come with a remote shutdown tool to shut down and restart Windows. You can control this tool through the command line, but a much faster alternative is to create a shortcut.

• Right-click your Windows 7 desktop and select > New > Shortcut.
• Enter > shutdown.exe -s -t 00 -f in the location field, click > Next, give the shortcut a descriptive name, e.g. Shut Down Computer, and click Finish.

The letters (options) added above tell the tool to shut down (-s) with a timeout of zero seconds (-t 00), and to force running applications to close without forewarning the user (-f). Basically, it unites the registry hacks from the first tip in the shutdown process. You can see a full list of options when typing > shutdown.exe into the command prompt, which you can open via > [WINDOWS] + [R] then type > cmd into the text field and click > OK.

You can move this shortcut from the desktop to your quick launch bar or pin it to the taskbar. Double-click the shortcut to instantly shut down the system.

This trick is courtesy of Seven Forums.

Shutdown time: 24 seconds

3. Brute-Force Method

This method is also known as hard boot, as it is typically used to shut down and immediately reboot the computer. It should be used with extreme caution!

If you’re in a hurry and cannot wait for 20 seconds or if your computer responds slowly or even froze, simply hold the power button for several seconds and Windows will shut down immediately. Since this method literally kills not only the operating system, but also the hardware, it should not be used as a routine way of shutting down your computer. In a worst case scenario, it could cause your hard drive to crash.

Shutdown time: 5 seconds

Epilogue

Finally, you may experience an issue that can not be solved with the two hacks above. If you see a message saying “1 program sill needs to close: (Waiting for) Task Host Window”, then you should look into this Hotfix released by Microsoft.

Moreover, a slow logoff can be caused by outdated drivers or antivirus software. Therefore update all your drivers, remove antivirus programs like Norton and McAfee and replace them with a better alternative, such as Avast or Avira AntiVir. Note that fingerprint scanners have been known to cause a particularly slow log-off.

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Use VLC Media Player As A Video Converter

Posted by M Qasim A Siddiqui

Hello Friends,

VLC player probably is one of the most feature rich media player used. Back then (before I knew vlc can convert) I used to waste a lot of time trying to download different kind of video converters that didn’t even get my job done properly, until recently I came to know that i already have the best free video converter possible. To convert a video or mp3, 3gp, AVI, FLV and more is very simple and today we go know how.

These are the simple steps to take if you want to convert your audio/ video using VLC player

FOR WINDOWS SYSTEM

1. Click Media at the top left corner, and then go to “Convert/Save…”

2. Select the file you want to convert using “Add” button. Now click on “Convert/Save” button and next window will appear.

3. Now click on browse, select where you want to save the converted file to and put the filename.

4. For the destination file you will see the location of the path where you want to convertthe file to

Change the last extension from .ps to whatever you want to save it as (screen shot below)

FOR MAC SYSTEM

1. Click File Streaming/Exporting Wizard and check Transcode/save to a file and hit Next.

2. Click choose and select the file you want to convert and hit Next again. Check Transcode video and audio boxes and select the output formats for you video, after hit Next twice.

3. Select the location where you want to save the output using Choose button, hit “Next” and later Finish.

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Remove “This website has been blocked for you” virus (Survey Scam)

Posted by M Qasim A Siddiqui

The “This website has been blocked for you!” notification is a computer virus, which will block your from visiting Facebook, Google, Youtube and other websites, and instead it will display a fake error message asking you to complete a survey.

This threat is distributed through several means. Malicious websites, or legitimate websites that have been compromised, may drop this trojan onto a compromised computer. This drive-by-download often happens surreptitiously. Another method used to propagate this type of malware is spam email containing infected attachments or links to malicious websites. The threat may also be downloaded manually by tricking the user into thinking they are installing a useful piece of software.
The “This website has been blocked for you” virus is also prevalent on peer-to-peer file sharing websites and is often packaged with pirated or illegally acquired software.

Once install on a computer, “This website has been blocked for you” virus will drop several malicious files, and it modify the HOSTS file by adding additional rules which will redirect your web browser.
The HOSTS file is like an address book, when you type an address like www.facebook.com into your browser, the Hosts file is consulted to see if you have the IP address, or “telephone number,” for that site. When infected with this trojan, the cyber criminals will add to your Hosts some new rules,which will resolve domain names to their malicious IP addresses.

After your HOSTS file was changed, whenever you’ll try to visit Amazon, eBay, PayPal and other popular websites, you’ll be redirect a to malicious domain which will ask you to complete a survey before allowing you visit to any of these websites.

This website has been blocked for you!

This website has been blocked because of your recent activity. Your actions have been marked as spam bot like, to visit this website again follow instructions on the left. This is made for security reasons. Please take your time to go through the verification process to restore you access to blocked websites, thank you for your time!
Click here to unblock

The “This website has been blocked for you” message will ask you to verify that you are a human and not a computer by filling in the survey. If you agree to take this survey, you’ll have to enter your phone number and by completing the survey you automatically agree that you will pay $5 a week for a service you definitely do not need.

The “This website has been blocked for you” message is a scam, and you should ignore any alerts that this malicious software might generate.
Under no circumstance should you enter your phone number or pay any amount of money as this could lead to identity theft, and if you have, you should contact your bank and dispute the charge stating that the program is a scam and a computer virus.

“This website has been blocked for you” message – VIRUS REMOVAL GUIDE

STEP 1: Reset the Windows Hosts file back to its default settings

The “This website has been blocked for you” trojan has modified your Hosts file, so that you’ll be redirected to those survey websites. To reset the Hosts file back to its default settings, we will runMicrosoft Fix it 50267.

1. Download Microsoft Fix it 50267 from the below link.
   MICROSOFT FIX IT 50267 DOWNLOAD LINK  (This link will automatically download Microsoft Fix it 50267 on your computer)
2. Double click on MicrosoftFixit50267, then follow the prompts to reset your Windows Hosts file.
   

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STEP 2: Remove “This website has been blocked for you” malicious files with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware FREE

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a powerfull on-demand scanner which will remove “This website has been blocked for you” malicious files from your computer.

1. You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link, then double click on it to install this program.
   MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free)
2. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the setup process.
   DO NOT make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, make sure you leave both the Update Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware andLaunch Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware checked,then click on the Finish button.
   
3. On the Scanner tab,select Perform quick scan and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer.
   
4. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for “This website has been blocked for you” malicious files as shown below.
   
5. When the Malwarebytes scan will be completed,click on Show Result.
   
6. You will now be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has detected.Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked) and click on the Remove Selected button.
   
7. After your computer restarts, open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform a full system scan to verify that there are no remaining threats.

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STEP 3: Remove “This website has been blocked for you” rootkit with HitmanPro

In some cases,”This website has been blocked for you” will also install a rootkit on victims computer.To remove this rootkit we will use HitmanPro.

1. Download HitmanPro from the below link,then double click on it to start this program.
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro)
   IF you are experiencing problems while trying to start HitmanPro, you can use the Force Breach mode.To start HitmanPro in Force Breach mode, hold down the left CTRL-key when you start HitmanPro and all non-essential processes are terminated, including the malware process. (How to start HitmanPro in Force Breach mode – Video)
2. HitmanPro will start and you’ll need to follow the prompts (by clicking on the Next button) to start a system scan with this program.
   
   
3. HitmanPro will start scanning your computer for “This website has been blocked for you” malicious files as seen in the image below.
   
4. Once the scan is complete,you’ll see a screen which will display all the infected files that this utility has detected, and you’ll need to click on Next to remove this malicious files.
   
5. Click Activate free license to start the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   

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STEP 4: Remove “This website has been blocked for you” redirect from Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome

Remove “This website has been blocked for you” from Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the gear icon  (Tools for Windows XP users) at the top (far right), then click again on Internet Options.
   
2. In the Internet Options dialog box, click on the Advanced tab, then click on the Resetbutton.
   
3. In the Reset Internet Explorer settings section, check the Delete personal settings box, then click on Reset.
   
4. When Internet Explorer finishes resetting, click Close in the confirmation dialogue box and then click OK.
5. Close and open Internet Explorer.

Remove “This website has been blocked for you” from Mozilla Firefox

1. At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, go over to the Help sub-menu (on Windows XP, click the Help menu at the top of the Firefox window), and select Troubleshooting Information.
   
2. Click the Reset Firefox button in the upper-right corner of the Troubleshooting Informationpage.
   
3. To continue, click Reset Firefox in the confirmation window that opens.
4. Firefox will close and be reset. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click Finish

Remove “This website has been blocked for you” from Google Chrome

1. Click the Chrome menu   button on the browser toolbar, select Tools and then click on Extensions.
   
2. In the Extensions tab, remove (by clicking on the Recycle Bin button) Flash Player Update 11.0 and any other unknown or unwanted extensions.

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STEP 5: Remove “This website has been blocked for you” residual damage from your browser with AdwCleaner

1. You can download AdwCleaner from the below link. 
   ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download AdwCleaner on your computer)
2. Before starting this utility, close all open programs and internet browsers.
3. Double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool.
4. Click on Delete, then confirm each time with Ok. 
5. Your computer will be rebooted automatically. A text file will open after the restart.
6. NEXT, double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool.
7. Click on Uninstall, then confirm with yes to remove this utility from your computer.

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How To Renew Your IP Address

Posted by M Qasim A Siddiqui

Now get new IP Address for your computer. Just follow some steps and change it.

1) Goto Start -- Run.

2) In the Run box type cmd and press enter.

3) Now type below commands and press Enter after each line.

ipconfig/flushdns

ipconfig/release

ipconfig/renew

exit

4) Now clear your cookies and check ur IP, your pc is assigned with new IP.

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