2 Built-in Features in Windows That Can Improve Productivity

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Productivity can always be maximized, no matter much space you might have. For example, even if one has two monitors, there’s always the desire to get one more.

And since there are only so many monitors you can get, thanks to monetary constraints, there are other ways to maximize the space that is already at your disposal.

That said, here are 2 features that can help you do so, and are already built into Windows:

#1: Modern snap

The newest way to share desktop space in Windows 8 is Snap. This version is very different from the Windows 7 desktop snap which will let you display two modern apps or the desktop and a modern app simultaneously.

This version has improved dramatically in Windows 8.1 due to new sizing options since it first appeared in Windows 8.

All you have to do is move your pointer to the lower right corner of your screen to where the Start button is. Don’t click but move your cursor upward so that a sidebar open with all your current apps are displayed.

#2: Windows 7-Style Desktop Snap

Modern Snap might be useful if you want a number of apps open while you work but it won’t work if you want to view two desktop apps simultaneously. For this, you’ll have to use the desktop version of Snap.

Now let’s suppose you want both Google Chrome and Microsoft Word open on desktop. All you have to do is open Word and tap the Windows key + the left arrow so as to resize the program to take up the left half of your screen. For Chrome, all you have to do is tap Windows key + right arrow so as to move the browser to the right end of your screen.

How to Remove Toolbars From Your Browser

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Even if it is 2014, here are still a number of issues (related to the web) that might trouble us here and now.

For example, if you download an app such as Vuze, Skype or even AVG, it’s only a matter of time until they will add a few toolbars to your computer or even change the default home page and browser.

So, here’s how you clear up the mess caused by toolbars:

#1: Internet Explorer

Even if this browser will not let a toolbar run automatically, this can happen especially when you’re hardly paying any attention. But to make sure you get rid of them, click on the cog in the upper right-hand corner and select Manage Add-Ons. You’ll see a new window open with the toolbars installed. Highlight the ones you don’t like and click the Disable button.

#2: Google Chrome

With Google planning to ban all toolbars by June this year, it’s pretty clear that this browser prefers browsers ever lesser than the other two. But just in case you install a toolbar, all you have to do is select the menu icon at the top-right hand corner. Select Extensions in the left-hand navigation column. Scroll down until you find the toolbar you are looking for and uncheck the Enabled checkbox or even click the trash icon.

#3: Mozilla Firefox

It’s even more difficult to accidentally enable a toolbar in Firefox but it does happen. So, for this, click on the orange button at the top right corner of your screen and select Add-ons. In the navigation column that opens on the left-hand side, select Extensions. Find the toolbar that you would like to remove and click Disable. Make sure you restart your browser as soon as you have disabled all toolbars that you would like to.

Is Someone Looking Around Your Gmail Account? Here’s How You Can Find Out…

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Almost everyone’s Gmail account has some sensitive information be it pictures that you’d like to keep private, emails from family members and friends or even account information of the numerous services that you use.

But what if someone has been looking around? Can you find out who it is?

Yes, Google has provided its users with tools just to do this.

For starters, go to the bottom of our screen after opening your Gmail account, to the link that says ‘Details’. It is located at the lower-right corner of your screen, to be exact.

When you click this link, you’ll find out the last 10 times someone logged into your account, how they accessed it (browser, email app etc.), when they did as well as the IP address.

So, once you review this list, and find something suspicious, you can change your email password immediately.

Another method that has become popular is the two-factor authentication method. Activate this for your Google account, and enjoy another layer of protection as a result.

As for knowing your IP address, there’s no need to feel bad if you do not know what your IP address is. All you have to do is visit the website WhatismyIP.com at locations where you use your computer the most.

This could be at home, work or even that coffee shop that you visit regularly. Another thing to do is to check for your IP address when you are connecting to a new network. Storing all these IP addresses in a text document will come in handy later.

4 Windows Features That Can Be Replaced with Free (and better) Alternatives

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There’s no doubt that Windows has a number of built-in features that are great and a number of them that aren’t up to the mark.

Thankfully, there are a number of free alternatives that can be used to replace the ones that aren’t so great.

So, here is a list of 4 Windows features that can replaced with better ones:

#1: Search

While Search in Windows 8 is fast and well-integrated with the Start Screen. Unfortunately, it can’t find documents or executables. Which means that you will have to look for these files using File Explorer search. Instead, try using a search utility called “Everything”.

#2: File Transfer

One of the simplest things that you can do in Windows 7 is carry out file transfers. However, it’s just as frustrating too because they take like forever. So instead of wasting an afternoon transferring files, try using a utility such as TeraCopy which will move your files faster and will avoid failed transfers too.

#3: Screenshots

By pressing Win-PrtScn, one can easily get a screenshot in Windows 8. However, what must you do if you need a number of screenshots in the process?

Truth be told, there are a number of options that are available to help you with this simple task. But most experts recommend Greenshot that allows you to do a number of things with the screenshots taken.

#4: Notepad

If there’s a reason why people use Notepad, it is for its simplicity. Doesn’t it make sense to use Word if you wanted something more complex. In other words, more features? This is where Notepad++ comes in. Some of these include spell check, edit a number of files at once as well as a customizable user interface.

Easy Solutions for Better Staff Punctuality

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By Allied Time

Just about every company will struggle with staff punctuality at one time or another. It doesn’t necessarily mean your employees are being lazy or thoughtless, often it just becomes part of the natural rhythm of the office. But there comes a time when it’s necessary to knock out the problem once and for all. And if you’ve reached that point, one of the best solutions out there is employee time clock software.

 

Thanks to modern advances in technology, there are more options than ever before. This also means that many perfectly suitable varieties are cheaper than ever too. So your company doesn’t have to break the bank in order to make sure they have time clock systems that keep people on schedule.

There are a number of different versions you can choose from of course. Some of the best, however, are those that make reporting easy. This way you can get perspective on the issue at will. You can also easily approach the employee or employees in question and let them know how big the problem is and that you’re able to keep an eye on it with ease.

Lastly, look for systems like those that check fingerprints to stop employees from trying to help each other out by checking in for them.

Allied Time sells all kinds of employee time clock options you can use to enhance punctuality. For example, your company can use web time and attendance system better track your employees’ attendance thanks to options like those from Icon time systems.

Internet Support for Start Up Enterprises

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By Rack Alley

In modern America, most if not all enterprises nowadays, whether a start up or existing are utilizing technology to improve overall efficiency. Computers are used to encode large amounts of data and transferred across a network. All these information are stored and processed through the use of servers that allocate bandwidth and is in charge of actually transferring the data from one computer to the other.

While it would be nice to be able to be independent as a company, there are some tasks that are better outsourced, either because of high initial costs and better visibility.

Required Infrastructure

Setting up your own network requires a lot of hardware, as well as software. There are many components that are required to set it up and not all start up enterprises can afford their own server and network infrastructure. This is where companies that offer la colocation, such as Rack Alley, come in. They can easily setup and maintain your servers so you don’t have to, allowing you to focus on more important tasks at hand.

Be visible and accessible

In times where computers are part of everyday life and with people turning to the internet to find what they need, it is highly crucial that your company has a website and can easily be found through a simple Google search. To make this possible, companies must enlist la web hosting services to handle their websites and make it easily accessible through any computer or mobile device with internet capabilities.

Rack Alley is an internet services provider with strong structural background and secure la data centers that are fast and reliable.

What You Should Do If You Like To Continue Using Windows XP

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Almost every expert in the world of technology agrees: we all need to stop using Windows XP.

However, taking this advice might be easier said than done. Maybe your business uses a particular application that can run only on Windows XP. Maybe you can’t afford a new PC along with your old one not being powerful enough to take an upgrade.

So, if you find yourself in any of these situations, it’s better to heed the warning since once these updates stop, your data will more vulnerable than ever.

If you still can’t give it up, then try the old-fashioned method of disconnecting it from the internet as a standalone workstation and buy another PC or tablet for your email and browsing needs.

If that still doesn’t work for you, then it’s time to consider these other steps as well. Some of these steps include:

#1: A full security suite

A simple antivirus connection will not be enough. Instead, you will have to get an entire internet security suite which includes a firewall and exploit protection. Kapersky Internet Security is an ideal option.

#2: Firefox or Chrome are your best options

An outdated browser is just asking for trouble and an open door for malware. Any version of Internet Explorer that runs on Windows XP is really outdated. However, both Firefox and Google Chrome will still run on your system protected.

#3: Protect your browser

For additional security, scripts can deliver malware onto your system if left unprotected. For this, the right browser add-ins can stop them. You can customize the add-ins and make exceptions. So, when using Firefox, make sure you install only NoScript Security Suite and Chrome, use NotScripts.

Testing Tips for Display Advertising

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This article was written by Ted Dhanik

Multivariate testing is the first step an affiliate marketer takes towards scaling a successful display advertising campaign. Testing is so important that even Google does it, famously scrutinizing which shade of blue is best for its logo. Data should drive your decision making, so learn how to harness it and apply it to your situations.

Segment Campaigns

Start by segmenting your campaign based on the kinds of testing you want to accomplish. For example, testing for keyword and location, or keyword and demographic. Dividing your campaigns this way helps you focus on your objectives, and record your results. Don’t forget to encode your URLs with some kind of tracking ID so you can verify which campaigns actually deliver leads to you.

Have a Theory

Approaching your banner advertising with a certain outcome in mind will help inform your decision making. One way to make this work for you is to identify something that works about your campaign and then improve the results. For example, you might recognize that a banner gets plenty of clicks and work toward scaling that for conversions.

Create a Process

Document your testing process and be sure that you follow that protocol with each test that you set up. You need to establish what you measure, how you report those results, and some standards for changes to make. Without these rules, you risk testing yourself off-topic. It helps to establish a protocol for reporting too, because that helps you focus on the results you want.

Bio: Ted Dhanik is an expert in the field of display advertising and direct marketing. With over fifteen years of experience in sales, Ted Dhanik has the experience to help businesses convert more customers. Read Ted Dhanik online for tips on how media buying can grow your business.

What You Need to Know About Creating Email Aliases on Outlook

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One of the reasons why Outlook is such a good email service is because of the email aliases it offer its users.

But what is an email alias?

Simply put, it is a number of email addresses that actually belong to just one Microsoft account.

Why would one need an email alias?

Not only can you use one of these junk addresses when you are forced to sign up on websites but also a difficult to guess alias address as your password recovery address that hackers would never be able to guess.

That said, here’s how you can create an alias in Outlook.com:

#1: Click on the ‘settings’ cog in the upper right hand corner of your screen and select ‘More email settings’.

#2: Now select ‘Create an Outlook alias’ that is under ‘Managing your alias’.

#3: Now think of an email address that you would like, and enter it in the boxes either with an Outlook, Hotmail or even Live address at the end.

It’s as simple as that. However, if the email alias that you have picked hasn’t been taken, then Outlook will move you back to your inbox where you can choose whether to receive email from your new alias address sent to a particular folder or your inbox itself.

However, it’s a good idea to wait for a few minutes for a notification from Outlook informing you that your alias is ready for use.

Just remember that you have to use the same password of your Microsoft account so as to log in to this alias email created.

How to Create Compelling Banner Ads

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This article was written by Ted Dhanik.

Banner advertising relies on the integration of text and imagery to create compelling sales propositions. If you’re hunting for a new banner to advertise, or you are designing your own, there are some important practices you need to know if you expect to get conversions. Be prepared to spend money on testing, but you can achieve the results you want if you make intelligent decisions on your experiments.

Research

Begin by researching your audience. Find out which sites they visit, what other products they buy and get a feel for what motivates them. It’s helpful to know their age demographics, and a bit about where they live. Especially if you’re working in real estate or other programs that are highly specific to locations. The more you know, the more targeting you can do to narrow down the irrelevant clicks you’ll receive.

Copywriting

You should choose every word in your text very carefully. With display advertising, you have a very limited space to include text. You need to make sure that the text sells your products with compelling language. Too much text and your banner will look cluttered and unprofessional. Too little and you risk missing the key sales propositions for your clients. Try reviewing your competition, taking note of common words or phrases that you see in the ads you review.

Provide Value

The last trick is to provide actual value to customers. Whether that is a free report or an estimate for the service you provide, use something valuable to entice them. For instance, a mortgage offer looks more compelling when the user can see real savings figures based on their situations.

Ted Dhanik, provider of display advertising and high performance marketing solutions. Ted Dhanik is the CEO of marketing company engage:BDR. Ted Dhanik mentors business owners interested in start-ups.