Malware is a whole different ballgame, and is much more common and prevalent in today's "internet" world. A common, everyday search can easily ring in loads of pop-ups, adware, and deeply buried malware, spying on keystrokes, monitoring cookies and just being down right annoying. The problem is that it's always evolving, and many protective products can't always prevent malicious activity. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't attempt to block

In order to be preventative, it would be nice to maybe give some of these products, which usually have a trial version, a run for their money before making the plunge and purchasing the full product. I've found a few tools to give each of these a test run, and see how well they actually are protecting

Step 1: Go to "Start," "Run," (told you we use it a lot) and type regedit .Step 2: Navigate to the following: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionApps Path Step 3: Create a new folder/key under Apps Path. (Right-Click Apps Path and click "New," "Key.")Step 4: Title the new folder/key the name of the application, e.g. firefox.exe.Step 5: Right-Click the default string value (the thing automatically created in your new folder) and click Modify .Step 6: Change the value to the path of the executable you are attempting to run. E.g. C:Program FilesMozilla Firefoxfirefox.exe .Step 7: Create a new "String Value" by right-clicking under the default value (the thing we just edited) and select "New," "String Value." Name it Path and enter the value as the same path you previously ente

In the folder, you will see all of the items that show up in the drop down. Most of these are actually shortcuts to those places, though a few are drives, commands to zip, or special system shortcuts to places like the Desktop or 'My Documents'. Because they're shortcuts, any other shortcuts you place in this folder will also show up in your Send To drop d

You may be on a network with some sort of firewall or content filtering that you wish to bypass. If you are able to get out on port 22 (or any other port, you'll just have to set up your SSH server accordingly), then you'll be able to surf wherever you want without issue through the dynamic tun

No matter how much of a geek you are, lets face it some information must NEVER EVER be given when on public computers. This includes credit card numbers, paypal accounts or any other personal informat

Now when you first saw this tool, if you even noticed it at all, you probably thought it was pretty terrible. Most of the locations on the list, by default, are fairly useless. The only way I ever used 'Send To' in the past was to create shortcuts and put them on the Desktop. What you see above is my newly cleaned-up and customized 'Send To' m

If you're like me, you frequently need to move the same types of files to the same places over and over again. While you could keep a shortcut pointing to that location on your Desktop, there's an even easier (and more flexible) way to quickly move files to a favorite place. The secret lies in the "Send To" command found in your right-click contextual m

If you are a Linux or UNIX user, you probably use SSH (Secure Shell) to access the command line on your machines remotely. In addition to providing secure access to shell accounts, SSH can also securely transport other kinds of web traffic as well. In a sense, it can provide you with a quick and easy VPN (Virtual Private Network) into the remote network where your SSH server resi

Too many times we rely on our Anti-Virus/Anti-Spware to just work. We think since we have it installed, that it's safe and sound. I think we've come to find these days, many Anti-Virus applications do a very poor job of protecting you against ad/mal/spyware, even though they claim to do

It is also useful if you are surfing on a network where you may be concerned about others observing your traffic. Perhaps you are connecting from a hotel, a client site, or from work (you didn't learn that from me) and you do not want others monitoring your traf

You will need to access the Local Security Policy, To access Local Security Policy, open Control Panel, double-click on Administrative Tools, and double-click on Local Security Policy. Then, click Security Options in the right-hand pane and scroll down to Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile. Double-click that item and make sure it's enab

Although not mandatory on all PCs, having some type of protection on your computer today is almost always a must. The problem that most tech savvy users have with them, is that most, just don't work and most eat up way to many resources. Having a way to actually test some of the options out there, is a fantastic way to make your final decision. So you try it out...Download the latest AVG, Symantec or NOD32 trial and see which comes out on top with each of these to

As you can see above, I cleaned out my folder so it only has a few items in it. Now I have the ability to create shortcuts to the Desktop, zip files, and send files to My Documents, My Pictures, and Screenshots. This last folder, 'Screenshots', I added by holding the Alt key while dragging Screenshots into the 'Send To' folder. This created a shortcut of the selected folder instead of moving it. If you don't feel comfortable with that hotkey, simply right click the desired item, click "New->Shortcut" and windowsmastery.com official drag your new shortcut into the 'Send To' fol