Advanced Computer Tips & Tricks

Cyber Clean

The slime-like Cyber Clean is a product that “blots out the muck from every crevice of your keyboards with a grime-slapping antibacterial action.”

Cyber Clean is a true revolution in the cleaning of hard to reach cavities. It cleans, absorbs dirt and dust, disinfects and kills germs. It can be used on a variety of surfaces, glass, plastic, metal. It is safe for sensitive high-tech electronic equipment like cameras, keyboards, mobile phones, games controllers, etc.

While compressed-air sprays and tiny brushes will just move the dirt around in your keyboards, telephones and other electrical gadgets, this devilish ooze will splurge into every tiny corner, swallow up dead skin, hair and food and absorb it back into itself.

Because it’s made from an unique antibacterial formula, the dirt is actually neutralised and sanitised while it’s inside the putty - up to 80% of all germs can be destroyed in this way.

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Wash me ! KeyBoard guys says

Why have to clean it anyway?

A new UK study shows that keyboards swabbed from an ordinary London office had more harmful bacteria than—you know what's coming—a toilet seat. Yakkks!The accompanying survey showed that most users clean their keyboard infrequently (if at all), and clean their mouse even less often.

To clean a keyboard that is moderately dirty, start by disconnecting it from the computer and cutting power to the keyboard. Using a compressed air can, spray between the keys to remove loose hair and dirt, and then shake the keyboard gently upside down to loosen any caught material.

Then, dip a cotton swap in rubbing or isopropyl alcohol and use that to swab down the tops and sides of the keys. Finish up with a lint free cloth, wiping down the keyboard.


And they do have stuff like a CYber Clean is a Swiss made (first of it’s kind?) cleaning slime that can get at hidden dirt no matter where it hides. Roll the goop over your keyboard or any other device and it will slink in and pick up any bit of filth and debris. It cleans and kills germs while binding with dirt due to its special viscosity and elasticity. It can be used repeatedly until it gets filled with junk and will change color to let you know it’s through. When you’re done, just throw it away - it’s also biodegradable.

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Wash Me! - Mouse

Very often this behavior happens because the mouse has accumulated dust or dirt. If you are using the usual type of mouse with mechanical rollers and contacts, it is almost a given that sooner or later the mouse will need cleaning. (Optical mice generally don’t have this problem.) Fortunately, cleaning the mouse is a simple operation but should be done while the computer is off or the mouse unplugged (not because of any electrical danger, but because otherwise Windows can be very unhappy and even freeze during the cleaning.)

Turn the mouse over and pop off the bottom cover. Usually, this is done by twisting the cover. Remove the ball that is inside and clean off any debris that is on the ball. A paper towel dampened with alcohol is one way of cleaning but watch out for stray fibers from the towel. Also clean the roller contacts that are inside the mouse with a cotton swab such as a Q-tip dampened with alcohol. Make sure all dust and debris are removed from inside the mouse. Let the inside dry and replace the ball and the cover.

Not only the mouse but also the mouse pad should be clean. If you use the free, throw-away types, replace your pad periodically.

How to clean your mouse?

Cleaning your mouse:

1.Unplug the mouse from the back of your computer.
2.Turn your mouse upside down.
3.Locate the plastic ring that holds the mouse ball in place.
4.Using both thumbs, rotate the ring in the direction of the arrows until it won't turn any further. If you don't have arrows, just turn it whichever way it will go.
5.Pick up your mouse and pour the ball and ring into your hand.
6.Set the ring aside and wash the ball under lukewarm water.
7. Set the ball aside and let it air dry.
8.Carefully remove any lint and debris with the tweezers. (You can use a couple shots of compressed air to remove some stubborn lint from the inside of your mouse.) Use caution to keep the can upright so you do not spray moister into your mouse.
9.Put some rubbing alcohol on the end of your cotton swab (do not saturate the swab) and swab the rollers and the inside compartment.
10.Let your clean mouse air dry. For you impatient folks, using a hairdryer on a low setting will work fine to speed this process.
11.Re-assemble your mouse and plug it back in to your computer when you are sure that it is completely dry.

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Another 5 tips for your computer

1. Do keep at least 300 MBs of your C: drive free for Windows to use. If you use Windows XP or Vista then you should have 400-600 MBs of free space on your C: drive.
If you do not have enough free space you will choke Windows and it will start dumping data to your hard drive, or it will just get really, really, slow.
Use the ADD/Delete tool in the Windows Control Panel to delete unneeded programs from your drive.
You can also use Cleansweep included in Norton Utilities to clean up your drive. If you do use Cleansweep or another hard drive cleaner, do not delete shared files unless you back them up. The cleaners do a rotten job of knowing if another program uses shared files.

2. Do not let a lot of programs load up when you start your computer. They use valuable memory and Windows Resources (Windows internal workspace).
All programs in your Windows System Tray (in the lower left of your screen) are running on your computer. Close them if you don't need them or run them and configure them not to load when you boot up.
Other programs running in the background can be found by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete at the same time.

3. Do use a virus checker regularly. Everyone should use a virus checker. The best type of protection is continuous monitoring from a dedicated anti-virus program like Norton Antivirus.
The second best thing is to use is the free online virus checkers such as Housecall provided by Trend Micro.

4. If you have a high speed Internet connection you need a firewall program. A firewall program keeps those who want to hijack your computer from gaining access to your system. You really do not want someone else running your computer.
I suggest you purchase and run Norton's Personal Firewall program. Your firewall should boot up with your computer to protect it from invasion.

Case in point: When I am online 10 hours or more with my DSL connection, my computer is usually attacked by a hacker at least once.
Do not think you are safe from hackers!! Hackers use search programs to seek out computers at random. Get a firewall program and use it.

5. Keep track of the software disks you receive with your computer and new peripherals. These disks contain valuable software drivers and programs for Windows and are needed when Windows must be reloaded. Keep these disks and your Windows software disks in a safe, dry, place -- you never know when you will need them.

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Five computer maintenance Tips

5 Tips if you love your computer!

1. Never, never, turn your computer off with the power switch until Windows has shut down.

The one exception to this rule is when your computer locks up and your hard drive is not running (hard drive light is not blinking). In this situation, you can turn the power off without harmful effects to the hard drive. As cutting the power can also result in lost data or Windows files, you should only do this when you have to.

Following this rule will prevent permanent hard drive defects caused by the hard drive heads contacting the surface of the drive disc, and it will prevent a host of Windows problems.
Whenever possible, recover from crashes by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys at the same time. Press them again to reboot your computer.

2. I highly recommend that you purchase an UPS (uninteruptable power supply) for your computer. This will keep your computer from crashing during power outages, and will protect your computer from low and high voltage occurrences.
An UPS is far superior to a surge protector and will save your computer from almost any type of power disaster. (See #1 above for what happens when your computer crashes.)

3. Backup, backup, backup, any data you cannot afford to lose to at least two separate physical drives. So backup data to external hard drives, Zip disks, CD-RWs etc.
The time to backup is when you create something you can't afford to lose. Don't wait until tomorrow.

4. Run Scandisk and Defragment at least once a month. This will keep your hard drive healthy and prevent crashes. Alternatively, purchase Norton Utilities and use it to keep your hard drive healthy.

5. Never unplug peripherals from the computer when it is powered up. Unplugging with the power on can short out the connector socket or the motherboard.

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Recovering Lost data - part 11

Instant recovery of lost files from any media storage device is possible. Whatever your gadget, device or equipment, you can safely recover all your lost files within the shortest possible time from any media storage device such as usb flash drive, pen drive, memory stick pro duo, zip drive, digital camera, digital audio player, computer hard drive, etc.

First check the recycle bin and see if it is there however, if it is you can drag it to the desktop or rich click and hit "restore" and it will place it back where it was deleted from. If it is not in the recycle bin and not lost somewhere in another folder then you have properly deleted it and your operating system will not be able to find it.

There are now two ways you can get your file back. The first is by restoring your windows operating system to an earlier version. Windows can rollback changes done to it as it periodically saves versions of itself which you can rewind to in essence. This earlier version may still have your file but it may also lose newer files so that may be just as bad. The second option is to get a commercial file restoring program which has the capability of finding that lost data by scanning the hard disks "free space" and being able to identify the file even without a reference from windows.

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Recovering Lost data - part 1

The best approach in recovering back all your lost files from a failed or crashed system, corrupted or virus-infected drive, error formatting or executed delete command prompt on any PC is to get a third party software that will completely, efficiently and protectively make the recovery process a success.

First of all one of the most common mistakes people make is thinking that they have deleted their file when they may have just moved it into another directory accidentally. You can make sure you have not just lost a file by bringing up the search option on a windows system and typing in the file name or part of a file name. If you only know a part of the name put a * at the points you do not know the rest. So if the file was called Administration Duties.doc but you can only remember it had duties in the name somewhere enter *duties* and it will find all files with that test somewhere in the file name; this is also useful in case the name was changed. Also make sure you search from the base drive to search the whole computer so you do not miss any folders to search in.

Information and data are stored essentially as files on a hard disk drive, micro sd card, usb flash drive, memory stick duo, compact disc, zip drive, etc.

The worst scenario that can befall an average computer system user or operator is to suddenly and unexpectedly lose data especially in a situation where there is no backup to copy from or reload, restore or reprocess again.

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Manual dialing - Internet Connection

To dial using a phone and to be able to let the computer take over at some point you’ll need to have both the telephone and the computer connected to the phone line at the same time. This is no problem when using acoustic couplers, as the coupler is attached to the phone itself. It can be more difficult when connecting with a phone line adapter.

If you are using Windows 95 :

Microsoft has included some convenient features that you can use to simplify manual dialing if you use the Dialup Networking feature of Windows 95 to connect to the Internet. Here’s how to set up an appropriate connection for use with manual dialing.

Open the Dial-up Networking folder usually found at the top level of My Computer that is found on your desktop. Select Make New Connection and name the new connection something appropriate, such as "Manual Dialing." At the bottom of the Make New Connection’s first screen you’ll see your modem listed. Click on the Configure… button below it.

A window will come up with four tabs across the top. Click on the Options tab and then look toward the middle of the window for a section called Dial Control. Place a check mark before the line that reads "Operator assisted or manual dial."

Next click on the tab labeled Connection. Look at the line that reads "Cancel the call if not connected within __ seconds." Place a check before the line if there isn’t one already there and ensure that the number of seconds indicated is set to 60 or more. This is to give you enough time to complete your connection before your modem gives up waiting.

Also while your at the Connection tab, you may want to remove the check before the line that reads "Wait for dial tone before dialing." It doesn’t actually affect this manual dialing procedure, but it’s best to get into the habit of ensuring this line is not checked whenever you will be connecting while abroad so that your modem won’t be confused by unfamiliar dial tones.

Then hit OK to complete your modem configuration. Then hit Next to proceed to the Make New Connection wizard’s next screen that asks you to specify what telephone number you would like to dial. You don’t need to type in a phone number here, as you are going to be dialing it by hand (or having an operator do so), but Windows won’t let you pass without putting something in as a telephone number. It’s safest simply to put a single comma in as the telephone number. Windows will accept the comma and your modem will simply register it as a pause command. You can leave the Area Code blank and there’s no need to alter the Country Code that is specified.

Click on Next and then on Finish from the next screen and you should be all set to use the connection.

To the establish a connection, double click on the new item that you just created. It will that appear in your Dial-up Networking folder, named Manual Dialing, or whatever name you specified. Enter in your username and password in the opening screen and click on Connect. A new window will then appear that instructs you to manually dial the phone number at that time, and then hit the Connect button on the bottom of that window once you hear the computer on the other end of the phone line. Do as the window instructs. Dial the call manually or have the operator place the call, then hit Connect once you hear the annoying computer carrier. You can then hang up the phone, generally the quicker the better.

Now you are on! Happy browsing!

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5 tips when travel with your computer

To prevent such theft, you should first and foremost use large amounts of common sense.

1.Don’t leave your computer sitting on the seat when you head to the WC,

2.Don’t allow yourself to doze off between flights without a hand (or a foot) on your computer.

3.Many travelers have found that the best protection is a bit of camouflage. In short, you don’t want to advertise the fact that you’re packing a portable computer.

4.Find a carrying case that doesn’t scream out "computer" to every would-be thief. Find a case that looks more like a traditional briefcase or a piece of carry-on luggage.

5.Beyond this, be sure to keep backups of files you create while on the road (storing the diskettes in a different bag or on your person) and check that your insurance covers the loss of computers outside the office and outside the country.

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Notebook Security Cable - Kensington system

Laptop computers are particularly worrisome because they are a high-value item packed into a very small box that can disappear ever so quickly. Hence it is no surprise that so many travelers are loath to leave their laptops behind in their rooms - even at the safest luxury hotels. But if you can't leave the computer behind, it can quickly become your personal ball and chain.

This is where portable computer lock systems can help out. These locks, available from several manufacturers, let you attach your computer to an immovable object in your hotel - or elsewhere - so that you can leave your laptop and some of your worries behind.

The Kensington system uses a six-foot plastic-coated metal cable. A lock is permanently attached to one end. On the other end, there is a loop. By threading the lock-end of the cable through the loop, the cable can be secured to a desk leg, bed frame or other heavy or immovable object in a hotel room - or wherever you may be. The lock end of the cable is then attached to your computer in one of two ways.

The first and easiest way is to use the security slot that is built into a majority of laptop computers today. Manufacturers that equip their laptops with these slots include Toshiba, TI, HP, NEC, Digital, Apple, IBM, Compaq, Dell, and others. The slot is just an eighth of an inch wide and a quarter inch long that is located on the back or side of the computer and is usually marked by a small image of a pad lock or several links in a chain. A prong on the Kensington lock is inserted in this slot. The prong turns when the lock is locked, holding the lock and cable fast to the computer.

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