Secure/hide folders without any software

This tip is very helpful to hide and secure your personal data from other users, particularly on your home computer. You can use third party softwares but at times they can be costly. There is a way to hide your folders using the built-in Windows (XP, 2003, Vista) Attrib commands option. With the Attrib command, you can change the attributes of a folder (Read only, Hidden and System attributes) and safeguard your data.

Follow the given steps to edit the folders attributes to secure your data:
Note: To enable this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with administrative rights.

1. Create a folder that you want to hide on any computer drive. (For example, you have created a folder on D drive with the name 'Data'.
2. Click on Start button and type CMD in the Run box then press O.K. button to display the Windows Command Prompt
3. Now type the command "attrib +s +h D:\Data" (without quotation marks) and press Enter button to execute it

This command will hide your "Data" folder from D drive and now you can verify it.

Any one cannot unhide this folder using the Windows' "Show hidden files and folders" option also.

When you want to unhide this folder, open command prompt and type the command "attrib -s -h D:\Data" and press Enter button. If you want to hide some files, then simply move them to this 'Data' folder.

Shortcut keys for Internet Explorer

In Internet Explorer, you can use the combination of different keys to access many of it's functions. Shortcut keys help you speed up your surfing without lifting your hands from the keys. You do not need your mouse to select menus and buttons options. Basically keyboard shortcuts keys help you save time and perform tasks without leaving the keyboard.

Useful Internet Explorer shortcuts keys:

CTRL+A - Selects the all items on active page

CTRL+B - Display the "Organize Favorites" dialog box

CTRL+D - Add the active page to your favorites list

CTRL+F - Display "Find" dialog box to search text on active page

CTRL+I - Display the Favorites pane

CTRL+H - Display the History pane

CTRL+N - Use to open new Internet Explorer page

CTRL+W - Closes the active explorer window

CTRL+Tab - Go to address bar of current explorer page

ALT+Home - Use to open the home page of internet explorer

ALT+Left - Arrow Go to previous page of active page

ALT+Right - Arrow Go to next page of active page

ALT+A - Go to Internet Explorer Favorites Menu

ALT+D - Go to address bar of current explorer page

ALT+E - Go to Internet Explorer Edit Menu

ALT+F - Go to Internet Explorer File Menu

ALT+T - Go to Internet Explorer Tools Menu

ALT+V - Go to Internet Explorer View Menu

Tab - Move forward between all items on active web page

F5 - Refresh the active web page

CTRL+P - Use to print the active web page

F11 - Press F11 key to view any webpage in full-screen view and then again press for normal view.

Ctrl+Enter - Windows will automatically add both "www" and ".com" to a domain name. For example, if you type cooltechcheck.blogspot in your address bar and press Ctrl+Enter, then it will automatically become www.cooltechcheck.blogspot.com.

These shortcuts certainly speed up your browsing and save time. Once you get used to them, you'll see the difference.

Intel's Quad-core Mobile Chip to hit the market next month

Intel will release it's first quad-core processor for laptops next month, rounding out a broad update to its mobile computing platform.

"We're bringing quad-core to mobile in August," said Sujan Kamran, regional marketing manager for client platforms at Intel in Singapore. Kamran declined to disclose specifics of the quad-core chip, which will carry Intel's Core 2 Extreme moniker.

Getting a quad-core processor into a laptop is more about bragging rights than a genuine boost in performance. Very little PC software is designed to take advantage of multiple cores and it's unclear what performance benefits a quad-core chip would offer over a dual-core chip, such as the 3.06GHz Core 2 Extreme QX9100.

While official details of the upcoming quad-core chip are scarce, Australian PC maker Pioneer Computers is taking preorders for laptops based on an unreleased quad-core mobile chip, the 2.53GHz Core 2 Extreme QX9300.

The chip is advertised as a A$1,449 (US$1,390) upgrade to Pioneer Computers' DreamBook Style 9008 laptop. But adding a quad-core processor to the laptop doesn't come cheap: the cost of the upgrade is more than the laptop's A$1,399 basic price.

Read More ..

Inyopocket.com - Buy Back Guarantee Website

Is your 5-6 month old camcorder outdated now? Well it may happen with any gadget you spent your hard-earned money on.

Technology advance everyday and the result is the market getting flooded with new products each day. The newer gadgets are usually more attractive and functional than their old counterparts and tend to replace them gradually. No one wants an old device when there is a better one available. But everytime you cannot replace your older one as it need to be used for some time and there's a big possibility that your new gadget will also be outdated pretty soon.

How about a solution to this problem? Well, there is this website Inyopocket.com. These guys let you take any product available on their site and use it till the time you get bored or annoyed with it and wish to buy a new gadget. They give you buy back guarantee on their products. It means that once you're over with the device, just send it back to them and they'll refund the money you agreed at while buying the product. It's a pretty good deal and you get a good amount of money back. The amount of money you receive also depends on the condition in which you return the product. If it's bad, then some reduction in the amount may happen and if it's excellent, you get a+10%. Buy back guarantees can even be acquired for products up to 60 days after the initial purchase.

It's a really good way to get the latest gadgets, use them until you hate them and then get something new from the money earned by returning that product.

Take a look at what's it all about ..

Uninstall Windows XP using command prompt

This tip will help you uninstall your upgraded version of Windows XP using the command prompt. This will only work if you have upgraded your operating system from a previous versions of Windows like Windows 98 Second Edition, or Windows Millennium Edition (Me) and now want to revert to the operating system that was previously installed on your computer.

Follow these steps to revert to the operating system that was previously installed on your computer:

Note: To perform this trick, you need to have administrative rights.

1. First boot your system in Safe mode by pressing the F8 button as soon as the BIOS screen appears.
2. Once you get into the Windows XP Safe mode, click on Start button and type 'cmd' in Run option then press OK.
3. At the command prompt, type 'cd/' command and press enter.
4. Now again type the command 'cd\windows\system32' and press enter.
5. Now type 'osuninst.exe' to start the uninstall process.

Once you give the above command, you can begin with the OS uninstall procedure. Follow the instructions on the screen to restore your previous operating system.

Vista Firewall Control 1.3

Vista Firewall Control protects your applications from undesirable network incoming and outgoing activity, controls applications internet access. Allows you to control personal information leakage via controlling application network traffic.

Manages and synchronizes port forwarding provided by external network connection (firewall/router) box with applications requirements and activity.

Features:

• Designed for Windows Vista
• Zone based network permissions management
• Integration with Window Explorer for direct access permission management
• Integration with Windows Security Center
• Instant notifications of blocked activity
• Free versions available
• Special editions for portable devices (USB flash/HDD drives, iPod etc)
• Special editions for U3 smart devices
• Protection from incoming and outgoing threats
• External network connection (firewall/router) box support
• Automatic network connection box detection/management
• External/worldwide access to selected local application
• Port Forwarding management
• Automatic Port Forwarding-to-applications synchronization
• Simplicity of operation
• Per-application security settings

Download Vista Firewall Control 1.3 ..

Linksys WRT610N Dual N-Band Wireless Router

Linksys' Dual-N Band Wireless Router just became official, giving users simultaneous 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands so 802.11N users and 802.11G users can coexist without N users having to use the crowded 2.4GHz space. Also, since it's dual N-band, two N users can connect (one to each frequency) without interfering with the other. It's styled in Linksys' new form factor, which helps emphasize that Linksys is more for consumers (especially compared to their parent company Cisco).

The Price: $199 MSRP.