Have you been in a public place with your laptop (usually an airport) and noticed a Wi-Fi network called “Free Internet” or “Free Wi-Fi,” or something like that, and yet, when you try to connect, it won’t? Here’s what’s going on: Your Wi-Fi-enabled computer is able to go into “ad-hoc†mode. That means that it […]
Networking has always been voodoo in Windows. That’s because it is innately complicated with many layers of software and hardware working together to send and receive data between computers. Windows Vista makes networking a lot easier. In developing the new technology, Microsoft created a new Network and Sharing Center that controls much of the settings […]
Having your browser remember your log-in sequence is a perfectly comfortable way straight into trouble. Especially if it fails. Now what? Often, password management is like the weed in the garden. It can take control of everything. It can be overwhelming, and downright impossible to manage all of your passwords. What’s worse, most of your […]
Imagine you use your Internet browser to find a page on, perhaps, how to tend for bees, or some such innocent topic. You get the appropriate page, but when you click on it, you get a hard-porn site, filled with ads inviting you to take part in the merriment. Annoying, embarrassing and, to put it […]
Many a user is of the mistaken view that once you’ve got a Windows operating system set up and running, that’s it, and only Microsoft programmers can tweak it. What comes under the seal, stays under the seal, so to speak. Right? Wrong. If you want to personalize your settings as much as possible and […]
