Microsoft urges upgrade to IE11 – even if you don’t use it
Microsoft has recently issued a warning to ALL Windows users to urgently upgrade to IE11 (Internet Explorer 11) – even if you don’t normally use it.
The reason is that IE is so tightly integrated with the Windows Operating System, components of it are used every day without the user being aware of it.
Even if you regularly use browsers such as Google Chrome, Firefox or Opera the vulnerabilities existing in earlier version of Internet Explorer render your system subject to attack.
Searches through your Browser: BEWARE!
Most modern browsers – Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and even Microsoft’s new Edge – provide a search feature directly from the address bar.
You should be aware that inadvertently using the search facility to find a web site or download can often take you to a malicious, malware infected site or download which can have a devastating impact on your computer.
Only today I attended a client who did exactly this in looking to download a copy of Google Chrome. Instead of browsing directly to Google’s download site (at www.google.co.uk/chrome) the browser search, in this case, took the user to a malicious site which provided a corrupted version of Chrome which installed multiple pop-up advertising banners.
The importance of network connections for your printer
If you are in the market for a new printer – whether it be monochrome or colour, single or multi-function – there is a good chance it will be Wi-Fi enabled as well as having the traditional USB connection and, perhaps, a wired LAN connection too.
If you are not network savvy there is a great temptation to take the simple approach and just plug in the USB connection. You should be aware that this is NOT the recommended solution and, in doing so, you will likely miss out on significant features offered by many of these more modern devices.
Windows 10 – what you need to know
July 29th 2015 is a date for the diary – it’s the date that Microsoft have announced the release of Windows 10.
Many of you will have already noticed the little white icon appearing in your Task Bar asking you to register for the upgrade and if you have a fully licensed copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 you can obtain the upgrade free of charge for a 12 month period from the release date.
However, there are a lot of things to be aware of before you make that jump.
Tools for testing your Internet speed
There are many reasons Internet speed will become noticeably slower — including not getting the bandwidth you’re paying for.
By Patrick Marshall via Windows Secrets
Internet speed testing services might help reveal whether your ISP is at fault, but only if you understand how they work.
When streaming House of Cards, do you find that Frank Underwood can’t make a threat without stuttering? Does uploading a new video to YouTube seem to take forever? Are you really starting to wonder whether you’re getting the faster Internet service that’s costing an extra £15 a month?
The 7 Deadly Sins of Computer Maintenance
How sinful is your computer maintenance? Inadequate Virus protection, poorly managed systems and out-of-date operating systems are all contributors to your computers health problems, to name a few.
Below is the full list of “sins” that you can look out for on your own system.