Locking your PC will prevent unauthorized access to your machine when your away (eg, lunch, coffee break etc-).

To lock your computer simply press Windows key+L (the "Windows Key" is located between the Ctrl and Alt keys on your keyboard).

Note your account should be password protected.

Windows Vista users:
Go to "Start" > "Control Panel" > "User Accounts" > "Add or remove User accounts". Here you will see the Guest user account, if on you can simply click the account name and then select the option to Turn off the Account.

Windows XP users:
Go to "Start" > "Control Panel" > "User Accounts" > Here you will see the Guest user account, if on you can simply click the account name and then select the option to Turn off the Account.

Increasing the length of a password by just one character significantly increases the time and effort required to discover the exact combination of letters and numbers. A truly impenetrable password is not possible, but a strong password requires a lot of time and powerful computer systems to crack.

Strong passwords integrate all of the following features:

At least eight characters in length

A combination of letters of mixed case, and numbers

Easily typed

Something known only to the user (i.e., not present in any database).

Not found in an English or foreign language dictionary

Never shared

Never written down.

Companies can adopt effective strategies for the creation of lengthy as well as memorable passwords. One such strategy could involve combining the first letter of the words in the title of the user’s favorite drink, in this case XXXX Beer. For example, Ijl4X is a strong password and one highly unlikely to be found in any dictionary. It combines the letters in “I just love XXXX (beer)”.

The key to an effective password is to combine creativity with memorability.

Microsoft regularly releases free downloads that help fix security problems with Windows, Internet Explorer and other software including Office. The service will automatically examine your computer. It will then provide you with a list of downloads which if desired can be reviewed. Once you are satisfied a simple click will download and install the updates automatically.

It is recommended that Microsoft Updates be run on a regular basis, the updates provided ensure your computer and your personal information is kept private, secure and safe from unwanted intruders.

To visit Microsoft Updates Click Here

The world wide web has become a way of life. Users can use it to communicate, research, purchase and explore all from the comfort of their home or office. So it makes sense that any business out there wanting to increase their exposure should have their own company website. A place where they can advertise and show off their products or services.

Depending on your market you may want to include advanced features like the ability to purchase online, or the ability for customers to search through your products for an item that suits their needs.

For more information Click here.

It is considered by some to be poor practice for businesses to run a peer to peer networks, especially in offices with more than 4 workstations or those with sensitive data. By upgrading to a dedicated file server you gain the ability to control your network from a central location with greater control.

To learn more about file servers and in particular Small Business Server 2003 Click here.

A problem being faced by more and more business owners is data loss. In 99% of the cases its a catastrophe that could have been easily prevented with regular backups.

For general home users the built in Microsoft Backup utility is a great piece of gear. For server systems we recommend Symantec Backup Exec.

Read more about Symantec Backup Exec here.

There will be times when you’re surfing the web and you will be stopped by what appears to be a genuine warning from Windows. It may say something like, “Your computer is in infected, click here to download antivirus program”.

These are just ploys that hackers use to gain access to your PC or viruses made by ill intended internet users. So in future always carefully read the boxes, you will find that they’re just another pop up ad trying to lure you to a product site by clicking “Yes”. If you happen to come across something that you are not certain about simply close the box and move on.

This is a cool tip to minimize all your open windows (web browsers, programs etc-). You could minimiza them all by using your mouse and selecting minimize on each window (one by one), but if you want to do this quickly then with the keyboard simply press Windows key+D (Usually between Ctrl & Alt).

A screen capture will basically take a photographic image of what you see on your monitor. This is a great tool when trying to communicate with computer technicians. For example, when you intermittently receive an error message but always when the technician is not around. You can capture an image of that message which can then be saved as an image or inserted into a file (eg. a Word Document or an outlook email).

To capture an image simply press the PrtScn button, this is commonly located to the right of the F12 key. Pressing the PrtScn button will save an image of your screen to the clipboard. You can then open Microsoft paint, Word or Outlook (depending on your intentions) and paste the image by using Ctrl+V.

To capture only the current active window (in this case Internet Explorer and thus excluding the task bar, other open windows and/or the desktop) use Alt+PrtScn.