Today marks the end of mainstream support for Windows 7. With all the attention given to the end of support for Windows XP last year, it is probably easy to get confused about what exactly happens today. As far as basic users are concerned, the end of mainstream support means very little. The end of extended support (which is what occurred with XP last year) is much more important to note.
Mainstream support primarily involves non-security updates and the ability to request new features and changes. So, if you haven't asked Microsoft to add a new feature to Windows 7, it's too late! Microsoft may add a few more non-security updates, but the majority of these updates will cease after tomorrow.
With mainstream support ending, Windows 7 now enters extended support. During extended support, Microsoft will continue to send out security updates and offer paid support. When extended support ended for Windows XP last year, security updates stopped (unless you paid Microsoft a very hefty sum of money to continue support). This is why I--along with many other experts--recommended that you no longer use an XP computer, or at least not use one for sensitive data.
You will not notice any changes with your Windows 7 computer today. Your computer will continue to function as normal, and it will still be as secure as it was yesterday. The date for the end of extended support for Windows 7 is still a few years away: January 14, 2020.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Monday, January 12, 2015
Best Apps to Improve Your Travel
I've done some travelling recently. I spent a few days in Chicago in between the Christmas and New Year holidays, and I made a day trip to Lexington this weekend. I vaguely remember my parents planning trips when the best way to plan a vacation was to consult with a travel agent. Now, the internet is the travel agent of choice for most people.
When planning a trip, here are three apps you might find helpful:
TripAdvisor - TripAdvisor is a great site to obtain travel information and reviews. Like any review site, you must be willing to sort through the good and bad reviews to get the ones that seem the most reasonable. Glowing reviews could have been posted by the location itself or by a company paid to manage their reputation. Poor reviews could be by a competitor or by someone who would never be satisfied.
If you are willing to look for reviews that seem reasonable--not overly glowing but not extremely negative--you can find out a lot about potential destinations. I have unearthed some great places to visit near me simply by using TripAdvisor.
However, TripAdvisor also has some free apps. Not only do these apps give you easy access to all of TripAdvisor's content, but they also can provide offline access to some content in major cities. To see what TripAdvisor apps are available, visit the TripAdvisor App Page.
Wi-Fi Finder - Sometimes, finding a place to connect to Wi-Fi can be difficult. Yes, you can always look for a McDonalds or a Starbucks, since most have Wi-Fi available. However, if you don't have one of these nearby, you might have to drive around for a while to find a hotspot.
Wi-Fi Finder is a database of Wi-Fi hotspots. You can use it to locate a hotspot and then provide directions to it. One caveat: since hotspots change frequently, you may find that a hotspot that once worked is no longer available. However, when you don't know where to go for Wi-Fi, this app can help you find the right direction. You can download the app for iOS here, and the Android version here.
GasBuddy - Gas prices have come down lately, but they are still higher than when I started driving. (I remember filling up for 89 cents per gallon once!) If you want to save money on gas, GasBuddy can give you the cheapest prices along your current route.
Now, GasBuddy has an app! Use it to find the cheapest gas along your route. You can find the appropriate app for your mobile device here.
When planning a trip, here are three apps you might find helpful:
TripAdvisor - TripAdvisor is a great site to obtain travel information and reviews. Like any review site, you must be willing to sort through the good and bad reviews to get the ones that seem the most reasonable. Glowing reviews could have been posted by the location itself or by a company paid to manage their reputation. Poor reviews could be by a competitor or by someone who would never be satisfied.
If you are willing to look for reviews that seem reasonable--not overly glowing but not extremely negative--you can find out a lot about potential destinations. I have unearthed some great places to visit near me simply by using TripAdvisor.
However, TripAdvisor also has some free apps. Not only do these apps give you easy access to all of TripAdvisor's content, but they also can provide offline access to some content in major cities. To see what TripAdvisor apps are available, visit the TripAdvisor App Page.
Wi-Fi Finder - Sometimes, finding a place to connect to Wi-Fi can be difficult. Yes, you can always look for a McDonalds or a Starbucks, since most have Wi-Fi available. However, if you don't have one of these nearby, you might have to drive around for a while to find a hotspot.
Wi-Fi Finder is a database of Wi-Fi hotspots. You can use it to locate a hotspot and then provide directions to it. One caveat: since hotspots change frequently, you may find that a hotspot that once worked is no longer available. However, when you don't know where to go for Wi-Fi, this app can help you find the right direction. You can download the app for iOS here, and the Android version here.
GasBuddy - Gas prices have come down lately, but they are still higher than when I started driving. (I remember filling up for 89 cents per gallon once!) If you want to save money on gas, GasBuddy can give you the cheapest prices along your current route.
Now, GasBuddy has an app! Use it to find the cheapest gas along your route. You can find the appropriate app for your mobile device here.
Friday, January 9, 2015
The Biggest Digital Camera Myth
If you've ever shopped for a camera (or a device that has a camera--like a phone or tablet), you've probably heard of the term "Megapixels". Today, our cell phones produce pictures with more megapixels than the cameras of just a few years ago. However, most people only have a limited idea of what a megapixel is, and many will fall for a simple marketing trick involving megapixels.
A "pixel" is the smallest physical point in a digital image. It can refer to the display on your monitor or TV (anything your see is simply a combination of pixels that change rapidly) or it can refer to a point in a still image. If you take a digital picture and attempt to enlarge it over and over, you will find that the image becomes unclear, eventually looking like a series of boxes more than an image. This happens because you have enlarged the image so much that you are starting to see the individual pixels.
A pixel consists of three instructions denoting the strength of red, blue, and green (the primary colors of light). All the colors you see on your screen are a compilation of varying strengths of these three colors.
A "megapixel" is something that is comprised of one million individual pixels. So, a three megapixel camera will produce a image comprised of three million pixels. Monitors and TVs are usually expressed in their resolution--the number of pixels horizontally by the number of pixels vertically--instead of megapixels. Therefore, a monitor with a maximum resolution of 2560 x 1600 would be a four megapixel monitor (2560 x 1600 = 4,096,000 pixels).
For a camera, you would think that the greater the number of megapixels, the greater the quality of the image produced. However, this is not the case! A camera may actually take a picture at a lower resolution and then duplicate the pixels to produce a higher resolution image. This is especially true for lower-end smartphones and tablets. Yes, it may say it takes 8 megapixel images, but the quality may not be nearly as good as 8 megapixel images from more expensive devices.
If you are concerned about the actual quality of the images, then you need to look for another piece of information: the sensor size. This will allow you to compare the quality of the images cameras will produce. It may not be nearly as well-publicized, but it is available in the technical documentation for every camera.
More megapixels does not mean better quality images, it simply means bigger images. For most people, the actual quality of an image will be of little concern. However, if you are considering entering the field of high-level photography, don't be fooled by a typical sales myth that treats the quality of an image the same as the well-publicized number of megapixels.
A "pixel" is the smallest physical point in a digital image. It can refer to the display on your monitor or TV (anything your see is simply a combination of pixels that change rapidly) or it can refer to a point in a still image. If you take a digital picture and attempt to enlarge it over and over, you will find that the image becomes unclear, eventually looking like a series of boxes more than an image. This happens because you have enlarged the image so much that you are starting to see the individual pixels.
A pixel consists of three instructions denoting the strength of red, blue, and green (the primary colors of light). All the colors you see on your screen are a compilation of varying strengths of these three colors.
A "megapixel" is something that is comprised of one million individual pixels. So, a three megapixel camera will produce a image comprised of three million pixels. Monitors and TVs are usually expressed in their resolution--the number of pixels horizontally by the number of pixels vertically--instead of megapixels. Therefore, a monitor with a maximum resolution of 2560 x 1600 would be a four megapixel monitor (2560 x 1600 = 4,096,000 pixels).
For a camera, you would think that the greater the number of megapixels, the greater the quality of the image produced. However, this is not the case! A camera may actually take a picture at a lower resolution and then duplicate the pixels to produce a higher resolution image. This is especially true for lower-end smartphones and tablets. Yes, it may say it takes 8 megapixel images, but the quality may not be nearly as good as 8 megapixel images from more expensive devices.
If you are concerned about the actual quality of the images, then you need to look for another piece of information: the sensor size. This will allow you to compare the quality of the images cameras will produce. It may not be nearly as well-publicized, but it is available in the technical documentation for every camera.
More megapixels does not mean better quality images, it simply means bigger images. For most people, the actual quality of an image will be of little concern. However, if you are considering entering the field of high-level photography, don't be fooled by a typical sales myth that treats the quality of an image the same as the well-publicized number of megapixels.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Scan for PUPs
PUP stands for Potentially Unwanted Program. While they are not necessarily malware, they are software programs that most people do not want on their system. PUPs can add toolbars and extensions to your browser window, install other programs, change your home page and search settings, tell you that you have malware on your computer and need to pay money to have it removed, and even track everything you do to sell you targeted ads.
Most antivirus programs include the ability to scan for PUPs, but for many of them, this feature is disabled by default. Here is a rundown of how to enable scanning for PUPs in some of the most common antivirus suites:
AVG - PUP scanning is enabled by default in AVG, but it is always a good idea to check and make sure it is on. To check, click on "Options" from the AVG menu (upper-left corner) and select "Advanced Settings". Then open the menu for "Computer Protection" and select "AntiVirus". On the right side, you will see a box for "Report potentially unwanted programs and spyware threats" and one for "Report enhanced set of potentially unwanted program". Ensure both are checked.
Avast - Avast has PUP scanning turned off by default. To turn it on, go to "Settings" and select "Active Protection". There are three categories of protection: File System Shield, Mail Shield, and Web Shield. For each one, click the "Settings" button (or the button that looks like a gear), choose the "Sensitivity" tab, and check the "Scan for potentially unwanted programs (PUPs)". Click OK, and then go back and follow the same instructions for the other two shields.
Kaspersky - Kaspersky has PUP scanning turned off by default. To turn it on, click the "Settings" link at the bottom left corner, select the "Additional" tab, and click on "Threats and Exclusions". Check the "Detect other software that can by used by criminals to damage your computer or personal data" box.
McAfee - McAfee has PUP scanning turned on by default, but again, it is good to double-check. Click on the "Schedule and Run Scans" link, then select "Real Time Scanning", and finally, select "Settings". Under "Scan for These Threats", check the "Spyware and other potentially unwanted programs" box.
Norton - Norton's antivirus suite does not include the ability to scan for PUPs.
Most antivirus programs include the ability to scan for PUPs, but for many of them, this feature is disabled by default. Here is a rundown of how to enable scanning for PUPs in some of the most common antivirus suites:
AVG - PUP scanning is enabled by default in AVG, but it is always a good idea to check and make sure it is on. To check, click on "Options" from the AVG menu (upper-left corner) and select "Advanced Settings". Then open the menu for "Computer Protection" and select "AntiVirus". On the right side, you will see a box for "Report potentially unwanted programs and spyware threats" and one for "Report enhanced set of potentially unwanted program". Ensure both are checked.
Avast - Avast has PUP scanning turned off by default. To turn it on, go to "Settings" and select "Active Protection". There are three categories of protection: File System Shield, Mail Shield, and Web Shield. For each one, click the "Settings" button (or the button that looks like a gear), choose the "Sensitivity" tab, and check the "Scan for potentially unwanted programs (PUPs)". Click OK, and then go back and follow the same instructions for the other two shields.
Kaspersky - Kaspersky has PUP scanning turned off by default. To turn it on, click the "Settings" link at the bottom left corner, select the "Additional" tab, and click on "Threats and Exclusions". Check the "Detect other software that can by used by criminals to damage your computer or personal data" box.
McAfee - McAfee has PUP scanning turned on by default, but again, it is good to double-check. Click on the "Schedule and Run Scans" link, then select "Real Time Scanning", and finally, select "Settings". Under "Scan for These Threats", check the "Spyware and other potentially unwanted programs" box.
Norton - Norton's antivirus suite does not include the ability to scan for PUPs.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
WiFi or Ethernet
Laptops with WiFi are wonderful. We can sit anywhere in the house (at least, anywhere in the house that has a decent signal) and connect to the internet. However, there are some people (myself included) who still prefer to use a traditional desktop. For me, I prefer the additional power and the ability to set up multiple monitors.
Since desktops have to be plugged into the wall, it was common for them to only have an Ethernet port for a wired internet connection. However, it is now becoming more common to see them have both a port for a wired connection and the ability to connect over WiFi. This raises an important question: if a computer has both options, which should you use?
Here are three factors to consider:
Speed - Generally, WiFi has been much slower than Ethernet. Most Ethernet cards today can transfer at speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps), which is about 1000 Megabits per second (Mbps). This number refers to the amount of data that can be transmitted during a one second interval. Higher numbers mean that more data can be sent each second. Until 2008, the most common standards for wireless connections worked at a mere 54 Mbps. Even when 2008's standard (802.11n) came out, it was still limited to 600 Mbps if you had the right equipment. For most equipment using the 802.11n standard, 300 Mbps was the fastest you could get.
Early last year, the newest wireless standard was released: 802.11ac. This has a theoretical speed reaching up to 7000 Mbps, which is faster than the most Ethernet connections, but it requires that you purchase the right equipment for both your devices and your router. (There is also an Ethernet connection that is faster--reaching as much as 10,000 Mbps--but it is only common in workplaces that transfer high amounts of data.)
In equipment that is most commonly found today, you will get a faster speed using Ethernet.
Signal Strength - Have you ever been somewhere and kept losing your WiFi signal? That can get very annoying. Wireless connections require you to be within range of an access point. The further away from the access point you go, the weaker the signal, leading to temporary losses in service and slower speeds. There is also the possibility of interference from other devices. Cordless phones and microwaves work in the same frequency that some of your WiFi signals use.
With an Ethernet connection, you don't have to worry about losing signal. If the cable reaches, you will have signal. There is still the possibility of interference, especially if the cable runs close to items that can generate a magnetic field. However, you can use shielded cables to reduce the interference. I know someone who works for a company where the servers are in one room, and the Ethernet cable passes over the boiler room on its way to the cubicle farm where most of the employees work. Their internet service was very slow because the equipment in the boiler room kept interfering with the cables until they replaced them with shielded ones.
Overall, you are most likely to have a better quality signal if you use the wired Ethernet connection.
Security - With a wired connection, your router will usually only send data down a cable if the data needs to go to your computer. (There are some exceptions to this.) This makes it difficult for anyone else to read what is being sent. For someone to read the data as it comes into or out of your computer, they would need access to the cable or to the router. While there are ways to do this over WiFi (if you have it enabled), it is somewhat difficult to do.
With WiFi, the data being transmitted is broadcast through the air, and anyone can pick it up. This is one reason why it is important to secure your WiFi network with encryption. If you download your bank statement over an open WiFi network, anyone else connected could use their computer to capture everything that is sent and reconstruct that statement to get your account number. Encryption makes the job much more difficult, but it is not foolproof.
For security, Ethernet is the clear choice.
As you can see, there is a common pattern among these three areas. Yes, WiFi is convenient, and it works great if the computer is in an area of the house where it is difficult to get a cable. However, if your computer is already tied to the wall for power, Ethernet is a clear winner if it is available.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Run Older Programs with DosBox
A subscriber emailed me over the Christmas holiday asking if there was a way to run older programs from the Windows 95/98 era on computers today. While you cannot run them on Windows itself, there is a way to make them work inside of Windows.
Prior to Windows XP, the major versions of Windows used a graphical interface over top of a separate operating system called DOS. At a basic level, Windows served as a means to transfer what you did in Windows into commands that DOS could use. Beginning with Windows XP, Windows served as a totally separate operating system that no longer required DOS.
I have had some success getting a couple DOS programs to run in XP, since it contains support for DOS-based programs. However, if you want to run a DOS-based program on Windows Vista or later, you must use an emulator like DosBox.
With any emulator, there will be some programs that will work perfectly, others that may function well but be somewhat unstable, and some will be completely unusable. Sometimes, tweaks inside of DosBox may help a program become more stable. If you are having trouble getting a program to work, you can try searching for instructions on how to make that program work inside of DosBox.
Prior to Windows XP, the major versions of Windows used a graphical interface over top of a separate operating system called DOS. At a basic level, Windows served as a means to transfer what you did in Windows into commands that DOS could use. Beginning with Windows XP, Windows served as a totally separate operating system that no longer required DOS.
I have had some success getting a couple DOS programs to run in XP, since it contains support for DOS-based programs. However, if you want to run a DOS-based program on Windows Vista or later, you must use an emulator like DosBox.
With any emulator, there will be some programs that will work perfectly, others that may function well but be somewhat unstable, and some will be completely unusable. Sometimes, tweaks inside of DosBox may help a program become more stable. If you are having trouble getting a program to work, you can try searching for instructions on how to make that program work inside of DosBox.
Monday, January 5, 2015
What's Slowing Your Computer
It is frustrating when your computer is running slow. What's worse is the fact that there are so many things that can cause your computer to slow down. It could be hardware (physical components) or software (programs). In the hardware area, the problem could be the processor, the memory, or your network connection. In software, it could be Windows or another program you installed. It might even be a program you forgot you had on your computer that loads in the background every time you start it up! Fortunately, Windows has a built-in tool that can help you identify the problem.
The Windows Task Manager is a great tool for identifying why a computer is slow! To access the task manager, simply hit Ctrl+Alt+Del and then select "Start Task Manager". (Remember, Ctrl+Alt+Del means you press and hold down the Ctrl key, press and hold down the Alt key, and then press the Del key.) You can also go to the start menu search box (in Windows Vista/7) or the search window (in Windows 8) and search for "Task Manager".
Once there, you will find a variety of tabs in the Task Manager window. I like to start at the performance tab. The Performance tab will give you a graph of the CPU and memory use. Ideally, you want these to both be under 75% of the total. If either one is high, then it is time to check out what is using your resources.
Go to the Processes tab. Under that tab, you will see a long list of items. Each item in the list is something on your computer that is using the computer's resources. Once again, you have a CPU column and a Memory column, but in this case, it is broken down by the amount of resources each item is requesting. If you click on the title, you can sort the list by the CPU percent or memory amount. Check to see if one item is unnecessarily taking up a large amount of resources. If you don't know what a particular file is, do a search for the file name and check it out. It could be a legitimate Windows file, or it could be a type of malware!
If you find that your memory is being used up by your programs, then you might want to consider adding more memory. Adding memory is a relatively simple task on most computers (even many laptops). However, all computers have a limit on the amount of memory they can handle, so make sure to find out how much memory your computer can take before you purchase more.
While running out of memory is a fairly common problem (although it is becoming less common due to cheaper memory), running out of processing power is much less common. Most processors (even on older computers) are more than capable of handling today's programs. I am writing this on a laptop that is almost ten years old, and I have more than enough processing power to write on my blog and play a Youtube video at the same time. I also have an Excel spreadsheet open in the background, and I am still only using 13% of my processing power. If you find that your processor is constantly running at 90-100% and you aren't doing anything that complex, it might be time to scan your computer for malware with one or two different programs.
To put it simply, you don't have to deal with a slow computer! There are ways to speed them up, and if that doesn't work, you can always wipe it and put a fresh copy of Windows on it. I have been able to take computers that are ten or more years old and get them running nicely again. Yes, they don't run as fast as a brand new computer, but they will work fine for the majority of tasks we use them for.
The Windows Task Manager is a great tool for identifying why a computer is slow! To access the task manager, simply hit Ctrl+Alt+Del and then select "Start Task Manager". (Remember, Ctrl+Alt+Del means you press and hold down the Ctrl key, press and hold down the Alt key, and then press the Del key.) You can also go to the start menu search box (in Windows Vista/7) or the search window (in Windows 8) and search for "Task Manager".
Once there, you will find a variety of tabs in the Task Manager window. I like to start at the performance tab. The Performance tab will give you a graph of the CPU and memory use. Ideally, you want these to both be under 75% of the total. If either one is high, then it is time to check out what is using your resources.
Go to the Processes tab. Under that tab, you will see a long list of items. Each item in the list is something on your computer that is using the computer's resources. Once again, you have a CPU column and a Memory column, but in this case, it is broken down by the amount of resources each item is requesting. If you click on the title, you can sort the list by the CPU percent or memory amount. Check to see if one item is unnecessarily taking up a large amount of resources. If you don't know what a particular file is, do a search for the file name and check it out. It could be a legitimate Windows file, or it could be a type of malware!
If you find that your memory is being used up by your programs, then you might want to consider adding more memory. Adding memory is a relatively simple task on most computers (even many laptops). However, all computers have a limit on the amount of memory they can handle, so make sure to find out how much memory your computer can take before you purchase more.
While running out of memory is a fairly common problem (although it is becoming less common due to cheaper memory), running out of processing power is much less common. Most processors (even on older computers) are more than capable of handling today's programs. I am writing this on a laptop that is almost ten years old, and I have more than enough processing power to write on my blog and play a Youtube video at the same time. I also have an Excel spreadsheet open in the background, and I am still only using 13% of my processing power. If you find that your processor is constantly running at 90-100% and you aren't doing anything that complex, it might be time to scan your computer for malware with one or two different programs.
To put it simply, you don't have to deal with a slow computer! There are ways to speed them up, and if that doesn't work, you can always wipe it and put a fresh copy of Windows on it. I have been able to take computers that are ten or more years old and get them running nicely again. Yes, they don't run as fast as a brand new computer, but they will work fine for the majority of tasks we use them for.
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