Our recently expired poll, Free or Subscription based Anti-Virus?, unsurprisingly resulted in subscription based anti-virus coming top.
However, we were worried to see that 41% of voters have either free anti-virus or no anti-virus whatsoever! Whilst free virus protection is better than none it doesn’t provide your computer with the full protection that it requires to run successfully and safely.
Here at PCToolbox we recommend AVG Internet security. Around June-July last year we ran an investigation, testing all the big name anti-virus protection programs against each other and concluded that in our opinion AVG Internet Security is by far the best. Click to read the summary – ‘Antivirus Comparison – The Final Ratings and Rankings‘.
A couple of months ago we received our copy of Office 2010, so it must be about time we start blogging about it! Sparklines is a new Excel feature which we’ve been impressed with. Basically they’re miniature charts that fit into a single Excel cell to allow the user to view individual trends at a glance. A feature such as this is ideal when managing money, e.g. to assess how expenditure for different items has varied over a year.
Here’s how to create Sparklines:
Click on the ‘Insert’ tab and locate the ‘Sparklines’ box
Next you must select the type of Sparkline you wish to use by clicking on either Line, Column or Win/Loss
Finally in the ‘Create Sparklines Box’ you need to select your data range and location range
The site saynoto0870.com is a genius little website which saves you money!
It offers alternative phone numbers to numbers starting in 0500, 0800, 0808, 0844, 0845, 0870 and 0871…all of which charge you! These numbers also generally charge you even if you have an all inclusive landline or mobile phone deal, whereas the 01 or 02 is more likely to be included in your pre-paid minutes!
All you need to do is click ‘Search to find an alternative number’ and then search the company or type the number in and wait for an alternative!
We recently wrote a post about performing a ‘Disk Cleanup’ on XP and we thought it would be a good idea to do one for Vista too! Disk Cleanup is a computer maintenance application included in Microsoft Windows operating systems. It’s designed to free up disk space on your computers hard drive. Therefore, it’s worth performing a cleanup every so often. The feature searches and reviews your hard drive for files which are no longer necessary. It will then, after you’ve made some selections, remove any files that are not needed on your machine.
Here is how to perform Disk Cleanup on Vista:
Firstly click on the start Orb and type ‘Disk Cleanup’ in the box. Then click on the ‘Disk Cleanup’ option under programs (Click on image to enlarge)
Secondly, select whether you’d like to perform the task for just your account or every account on the system.
Next choose which drive you would like the cleanup to be performed on. For this example we’ll use option (C:). You can choose the drive from the drop down list. Once you’ve chosen click ‘OK’
The computer will then scan your selected drive
Next you should make selections regarding which files you would like to be removed. Simply click on the option, read the description and if you’d like this to be removed click in the box next to the option so it has a tick in it. (Click on image to enlarge)
To confirm your selections click ‘delete files’
Your computer will now perform a Disk Cleanup
We hope this has been helpful. Running Disk Cleanup can be a great way to increase the performance of your computer. If you have any questions comment below!
Disk Cleanup is a computer maintenance application included in Microsoft Windows operating systems. It’s designed to free up disk space on your computers hard drive. Therefore, it’s worth performing a cleanup every so often. The feature searches and reviews your hard drive for files which are no longer necessary. It will then, after you’ve made some selections, remove any files that are not needed on your machine.
Here is how to run a Disk Cleanup on XP:
Firstly click ‘Start’ and select ‘All Programs’
Then Select ‘Accessories’, followed by ‘System Tools’ and finally ‘Disk Cleanup’ (Click on image to enlarge)
Your computer will now run a scan to locate files that could be removed or compressed.
Next you should make selections regarding which files you would like to be removed. Simply click on the option, read the description and if you’d like this to be removed click in the box next to the option so it has a tick in it. We recommend that you don’t select to compress files as it will slow down your computer considerably (Click on image to enlarge)
Your computer will now perform the Disk Cleanup.
Hopefully this tutorial has been helpful and will encourage you to run a Disk Cleanup. It’s a free way to improve the speed of your computer!
We will post about Disk Cleanup on Vista next week!
Just over 1 1/2 years ago we wrote a post titled ‘Quick Tip – Resize Multiple Images Quickly‘. One of the programs we mentioned in the blog only worked for machines running XP. However, a company called CodePlex have adapted the software so it can be used for Windows 7 and Vista machines! Here is a tutorial for the software:
Downloading and Installing
Before you do anything you need to download the program. The software can be downloaded from phototoysclone.codeplex.com.
Click ‘Download Now’ on the right
Click ‘Agree’ if you are willing to agree to the license.
Next save the file to your computer by clicking ‘Save File’ (Firefox Users, wording may vary between Web Browsers)
Now you need to open the downloaded file. Internet Explorer users should click ‘Open’. Firefox users should go to the downloads window and double-click on then file then click ‘OK’.
Click ‘Run’
Now follow through the installation process until the end.
Once the installation process is complete you’re ready to get resizing!
How to Resize One Image
Firstly ensure that you’ve downloaded and installed the software.
Secondly locate the image you wish to resize. For example, most images on computers are stored in ‘my pictures’.
Once you’ve found the image you wish to resize right click on it and select ‘Resize Pictures’ (click to enlarge image)
If there is size option you’re happy with select it but clicking on it and then click OK.
Alternatively, if you wish to choose specific dimensions click ‘advanced >>’. This gives you the opportunity to create custom dimensions, ask the tool to make images smaller but not larger and also ask the tool to resize originals and not make copies. When happy click ‘OK’
Your images will then appear resized (see example below for users who chose for copies to be made)
How to resize a selection of images in one folder
Firstly follow step 1 and 2 from the ‘How to resize one image’
Once you’ve located the images you wish to resize click on them all whilst holding down ‘Ctrl’ (Control) on your keyboard. If you would like to resize all press ‘ctrl + A’ (Click image to enlarge)
Next you need to Right Click on one of the images you have selected and then select ‘Resize Pictures’ (click to make the image bigger)
If there is size option you’re happy with select it but clicking on it and then click OK.
Alternatively, if you wish to choose specific dimensions click ‘advanced >>’. This gives you the opportunity to create custom dimensions, ask the tool to make images smaller but not larger and also ask the tool to resize originals and not make copies. When happy click ‘OK’
Your images will then appear in the folder resized (click to make image bigger)
We’re impressed with this program! Watch out for our review on it next week!
Hoax-Slayer is a website we discovered a couple of weeks back and a member of our team literally fell in love with it straight away. Graham described it as a ‘website after my own heart’! Therefore, I’ve been set the task to let you know what it’s all about! The description on the Hoax-Slayer website pretty much sums the site up in one paragraph:
“Hoax-Slayer is dedicated to debunking email hoaxes, thwarting Internet scammers, combating spam, and education web users about email and Internet security issues. Hoax-Slayer allows Internet users to check the veracity of common email hoaxes and aims to counteract criminal activity by publishing information about common types of Internet scams. Hoax-Slayer also includes anti-spam tips, computer and email security information, articles about true email forwards and much more. New articles are added to the Hoax-Slayer website every week.”
So in other words, Hoax-Slayer is out with a mission to remove any scams and hoaxes around on the internet to make it a better and safer place for all! The site has a variety of really helpful articles and guides to help you avoid any problems!
The site is really worth browsing over to prepare you for any potentially problematic emails/scams on the internet!
Anti-Virus Software for 2 Years on 3 Computers only £44.99!
Save your money in this credit crunching time by purchasing your AVG Antivirus and Security software from Brandstar!
With Brandstar’s offers you can save up to £38.99 on AVG Anti-Virus Software!!
Want to find out more? Click on the image below!
Product
RRP
Brandstar Price
Saving
AVG Internet Security 2 Year 3 User
£83.98
£44.99
£38.99!!
Want AVG Internet Security for 2 years for 10 computers instead? RRP is £225.99! Why not purchase 4 copies of the ‘AVG Internet Security 2 Year 3 User’ package at £179.96 saving you £46.03 and leaving you with 2 copies of AVG Internet Security left over should you need them for other machines!
Want to find out more? Click on the product image!
WeTransfer.com is a free, quick, easy, registration-free way to transfer big files to up to 20 other people. Here is how to use the service:
A couple of months ago we received our copy of Office 2010, so it must be about time we start blogging about it! Sparklines is a new Excel feature which we’ve been impressed with. Basically they’re miniature charts that fit into a single Excel cell to allow the user to view individual trends at a glance. A feature such as this is ideal when managing money, e.g. to assess how expenditure for different items has varied over a year.
