PCTips Box

I use firefox web browser every where, at my office pc, on my home desktop pc and as well on my laptop.

I always wanted to sync up my firefox on all these locations automatically, including my firefox bookmarks, browser settings ,add ons so I don’t have to configure my firefox at all these places etc.

So. I decided to google out the ways for syncing up my firefox browser with my google account.

Basically there are certain things which needs to be in sync like firefox settings , its bookmarks, browsing history etc.

Let’s cover them one by one

Following are the firefox extensions required in order to sync up your firefox with your google account. (more…)

The first thing that you will have to make a decision on while planning out your home network is will your network will be wired or wireless. The notion in each case will stay put the same where in all your computers will join up to a central router, which will talk the connections to your ISP from side to side a cable or a DSL modem.

It is a frequent fact the wireless home network provides much more expediency than wired networks. They do not necessitate cabling and permit users to move from one room to another with freedom. But wired networks are more secure and dependable and if you can use again the existing phone lines or the electrical wiring, then the cost of installing new cables are reduced radically. (more…)

The System tool in Control Panel uses currentspeed to do its reporting rather than maxspeed, but the System tool may display the wrong clock speed for the Central Processing Unit (CPU).

As of January 2002, Windows XP uses the currentspeed value rather than the maxspeed value because the maxspeed value was reporting inconsistent values.

After startup, the processor may not correctly reflect its correct speed until a program utilizes processor cycles.

The computer basic input/output system (BIOS) in some laptop computers may throttle the processor because of heat, load, power AC/DC. (more…)

Does your laptop run way too hot? I mean, hot enough to make you hands uncomfortable? Hot enough to burn your lap on the couch? Hot enough that the CPU seems to “throttle down” or the system “locks up” after a period of intense & extended computation? (Video editing or Windows Media playback for example)

I own a Compaq Evo n610c and this sucker leaves my leg red and my left palm scalded. The thing runs hotter than any laptop I’ve ever used and while it’s a reasonably power machine, even by today’s newer standards, it’s downright hard to use because of the heat coming off of it. So I started pursuing resolutions to the problem. Here’s a few tips I’ve researched and found useful. (more…)

If you travel on behalf of your organization, you likely bring along a laptop so you can stay productive while you’re away. And because many airports, hotels, and coffee shops are now equipped with so-called hotspots access points that let you surf the Web using a wireless Internet connection you probably take advantage of these opportunities to check your email, log in to your nonprofit’s intranet, and generally find out what’s going on back at the office.

But while using a public hotspot to surf the Internet can help you get work done from the road, it can also potentially compromise your organization’s privacy. (more…)

This will cycle Aero Glass’s color over a period of time. I have my colors cycling right now, and dwm.exe’s CPU usage is only hovering at 1-3%, up from 0-1%.
If you have a laptop, and noticed that when transparency shuts off, it looks like crap, you can also set this to go to a different color than normal when on battery…..Or even set it up so that the color is based on your battery life. (The screenshot doesn’t show it, but I added another checkbox for this option.) (more…)

Remote File Lock protects your most valuable computer files from theft and loss by enabling you to “lock” them remotely from another computer.

If your computer is then lost or stolen, you can sign in to the TrendSecure.com website and remotely “lock” your protected files. At that point, your protected files are locked tight, ensuring that your private data stays private. (more…)

ARLINGTON, Va.–Simply booting up a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop can tell people sniffing wireless network traffic a lot about your computer and about you. Soon after a computer powers up, it starts looking for wireless networks and network services. Even if the wireless hardware is then shut-off, a snoop may already have caught interesting data.

Much more information can be plucked out of the air if the computer is connected to an access point, in particular an access point without security. “You’re leaking all kinds of information that an attacker can use,” David Maynor, chief technology officer at Errata Security, said Thursday in a presentation at the Black Hat DC event here. “If the government was taking this information from you, people would be up in arms. Yet you’re leaking this voluntarily using your laptop at the airport.” (more…)

Removing the text below an icon on your desktop has been a classic Windows tweak for years. In Windows Vista, the same old tweak works.

1. Right click on the icon and select Rename.
2. Then hold down the ALT key and type in 255 on your right keypad. If you are on a laptop turn on numlock and use the K and I keys to enter in 255. This is the code for a space.
3. Hit Enter when you are done.
If you want to remove the text from multiple icons then make sure that you do ALT + 255 a different number of times for each icon.

If you take your Wi-Fi enabled laptop with you on your travels then, like me, you are always on the lookout for a free Hotspot hook-up when hanging around at airports, hotels or cafes. If you do your homework and visit sites like free-hotspot. Before you go you should be able to find one. However, be on your guard if you are casually trawling for a free connection, you could be opening up your PC and its contents to a hacker.

Here’s how it works. A crook with a Wi-Fi laptop sets up shop by hanging around a legitimate hotspot. Their PC is logged on to the web and set up for Internet Connection Sharing. Along comes our weary traveller and the Wi-Fi monitor on their PC flags up the bogus connection as open and available. They think it is Christmas, click on it to log on and bingo, the two PCs are linked by an ‘ad hoc’ or peer-to-peer connection and the data on the victim’s laptop is exposed.
(more…)