If you surf the internet frequently you may want to consider using a so-called Password Manager as few of us these days can keep track of the multiple passwords we have created when joining various social networking sites, forums, email account and what have you.

Password Managers are programs that provide secure access codes and store them in encrypted form on a computer. You then just copies the given password into your web browser’s input field. The password manager itself is then protected by a hard-to-crack access code.

A secure password. It should be at least eight characters long, includes both capital and lower-case letters, special characters and numbers. Also, nonsensical combinations are always better than real words.

By using Strong Password Generator (downloadable at http://strongpasswordgenerator.com), you can create hard-to-crack passwords ranging from 5 to 21 characters with just one click of a button. And in addition to that, it also provides you with a mnemonic feature to help you in remembering the given password.

1. Start

2. Control Panel

3. Power Options

4. Advance tab

5. Under “Power buttons” section:
    “When I close the lid of my portable computer”, select “Do nothing”

Although the latest wireless communication standard 802.11n promises data transmission speed that rival or exceed typical wired connections, wired or Ethernet-based internet connection still has advantages over it.

In addition to speed that is dependable and consistent, wired network offers increased security over wireless one because it’s easier for hackers to break into a wireless internet connection than a wired one, especially if you have not or do not know how to properly and securely configured it. Furthermore, wireless broadband connections are unreliable and face frequent drop-lines.

After plugging in a new device or peripheral, such as a printer, you are prompted to install a driver. What is driver, where to find it and how to install it?

Driver is a software code that acts as an intermediary so that your computer can “talk” to the related device plugged into it. While operating system like Windows XP and Vista already have many drivers pre-installed, you will have to manually install drivers for some devices.

Usually, the driver will come together with the device you purchase in the form of a disc. (If the disc is missing or lost, check out the device manufacturer’s website for the correct driver basing on the device model. Alternatively, you can go to www.driverguide.com to download the driver you want.)

To avoid running into problem, when attaching peripherals such as printer to your Windows system, it’s advisable to install the driver software that comes with the peripheral BEFORE you plug the device into your computer.

That way, when you plug in the new device, Windows will indicate it has detected a new device by displaying the “Add New Hardware” window and you can simply have it search for the driver software automatically by just follow the simple instructions given.

If this does not work, unplug the device from your computer, insert the driver disc, click on My Computer, right click on CD/DVD Drive (D:) and then click on the file named Setup to install the necessary driver.

You will normally be required to reboot your pc after installing the driver.

What is hibernate? Hibernate is a special way of shutting down your computer in which its current state is saved to the hard disk before powering off. Later when the computer ‘wakes up’ from hibernation it will restore to the same state it was in when hibernation was invoked thereby saving you time and the trouble of having to open up the same documents/programs again.

To enable hibernate feature:

1. Go to Start > (Settings >) Control Panel

2.  Double click on “Power Options’

3. Select the ‘Hibernate’ tab

(Note: If the Hibernate tab is not shown, it means your computer does not support hibernation.)

4. Select ‘Enable hibernation’

5. Click ‘Apply’ and you are done.