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Need to capture part of your screen? This free snipping tool will change your life

<p><em><strong>Lisa Du is director of <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://readytechgo.com.au/" target="_blank">ReadyTechGo</a></span>, a service that helps people gain the confidence and skills to embrace modern technology. </strong></em></p> <p>The other day a client asked me how they could save some information from a PDF document. The information they wanted to save contained text and images, and they wanted to save this, and use it in a report they were creating using Microsoft Word.</p> <p>What's the quickest way to capture part of your screen?</p> <p><strong>Introducing the Windows Snipping Tool</strong></p> <p>Using the tool, you can capture any of the following types of snips:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Free-form snip</strong> - Where you can draw a free-form shape around an object. For example, if I wanted to snip a basketball from a picture, and paste it into another file</li> <li><strong>Rectangular snip</strong> - Where you drag the cursor around an object to form a rectangle (the type of snip I use most)</li> <li><strong>Window snip</strong> - Where you can select a window, or a window of a internet page you are viewing, and capture that window</li> <li><strong>Full-screen snip</strong> - Capture your entire screen</li> </ul> <p>Once you have captured your snip, it is automatically captured into the Snipping Tool window, where you can annotate (draw on the snip), save it or share the snip.</p> <p><strong>How to use the snipping tool:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="NaN" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e785dd9ba906ed79fad48bd7e/images/a8891076-ce96-4a03-8d22-99ec65127555.png" class="mcnImage" style="max-width: 1366px; line-height: 100%; outline: none; vertical-align: bottom; height: auto !important;"/></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">WINDOWS 10 USERS:</span></p> <p>1. Click the Start button (bottom left corner of your screen)</p> <p>2. Type snipping tool in the search box on the taskbar, and then select Snipping Tool from the list of results</p> <p><strong>SAVE IT</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="NaN" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e785dd9ba906ed79fad48bd7e/images/417aa0da-3fe2-4fdd-91ed-7307f59d923b.png" class="mcnImage" style="max-width: 869px; line-height: 100%; outline: none; vertical-align: bottom; height: auto !important;"/></p> <p>Once you have your snip, you will be able to save the snip as a file.</p> <p>1. Click File</p> <p>2. Choose Save As...</p> <p>3. Pick a location to save the file in, give it a name, and click Save.</p> <p>The snipping tool is very handy. I use it to snip information I found on the internet, or to snip information from PDFs.</p> <p>Try it, and let us know what you think!</p>

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How to protect your PC from ransomware

<p><em><strong>Lisa Du is director of </strong></em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://readytechgo.com.au/" target="_blank">ReadyTechGo</a></span></strong><em><strong>, a service that helps people gain the confidence and skills to embrace modern technology. </strong></em></p> <p>By now you've probably heard that there’s been a recent spate of ransomware attack holding computer systems hostage worldwide, with increasing cases reported in Australia.</p> <p>Here are the three tips you need to know to avoid becoming a victim:</p> <p>If you are running older versions of Windows, you could be vulnerable:</p> <ul> <li>Windows 8</li> <li>Windows XP</li> <li>Windows Server 2003</li> </ul> <p>To make sure you are protected, please upgrade your computer to the latest version of Windows.  </p> <p><strong>Turn on Windows Update</strong></p> <p>We see many people disabling Microsoft's automatic updates because it can auto install at a time which is inconvenient to you.</p> <p>To turn on Windows update, head over to the Control Panel and switch your automatic updates back on.</p> <p><strong>Install a ransomware blocker</strong></p> <p>You may have antivirus protection on your computer, and it won’t hurt to install a dedicated Ransomware Blocker. Try <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Ransomware/3000-2239_4-77531704.html" target="_blank">Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomware</a></strong></span> (in beta) or <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://download.cnet.com/RansomFree/3000-2239_4-77455697.html" target="_blank">Cybereason Ransomfree</a></strong></span>.</p> <p><strong>Back it up</strong></p> <p>Back up your computer! Either to an external hard drive or to cloud storage.</p> <p>If anything happens, you won't lose your precious information!</p> <p>Remember, if you receive an email from a scammer, it can look pretty legitimate.  Always look for signs of a scam before you click or open attachments!</p> <p>Have you ever fallen victim to an online scam?</p>

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5 quick tricks to speed up your computer

<p><strong><em>Lisa Du is director of <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a rel="noopener" href="http://www.readytechgo.com.au/" target="_blank">ReadyTechGo</a></span>, a service that helps people gain the confidence and skills to embrace modern technology.</em></strong></p> <p>The best thing about modern technology is that everything is just so fast. Computations that once took days to get through are now completed within seconds by modern computers. Everyday living has never been more convenient or efficient.</p> <p>That’s why it’s so frustrating when computers go slow on you. For those of you out there suffering with a snail’s-pace Windows computer, here are five tips on how to improve its speed:</p> <p><strong>1. Clear out your desk space</strong></p> <p>Having a full hard drive can slow down your computer considerably. To give it a little more breathing room, go through your folders and delete any files you don’t need anymore. Some good places to look are My Documents, Downloads, and your hard drives on My Computer. Examples of files you may no longer need are photos, videos, or documents that you may have downloaded from the internet and that now show up in your Downloads folder.</p> <p><strong>2. Uninstall unneeded programs</strong></p> <p>Programs will take up the most disk space than any other file on your computer! You can therefore clear out a lot of disk space by uninstalling any programs that you don’t use anymore. To do this:</p> <ol> <li>Click on the Start icon on the bottom-left corner of your screen.</li> <li>Search for “Control Panel”, and then click on it.</li> <li>Go to “Programs”, then “Programs and Features”.</li> <li>You will see a list of all the programs installed on your computer. Select any that you don’t use anymore and click “Uninstall”.</li> </ol> <p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/25796/one_500x364.jpg" alt="One" width="500" height="364" /></p> <p><strong>3. Check for viruses</strong></p> <p>If you’ve noticed that your computer has all of a sudden slowed dramatically, this could be a symptom of malware. Perform a quick malware check on your computer to ensure that it’s not under attack from a virus. If you don’t have the antivirus software to do this, we suggest you install one immediately! Some good, reliable antivirus programs are: Symantec Norton Security, Bitdefender Internet Security, and Kaspersky Total Security.</p> <p><strong>4. Disable start up programs</strong></p> <p>The first sign of a slow computer is a slow startup! If your computer takes centuries to boot up, oftentimes it’s the result of too many programs automatically starting up with your computer. For some programs (such as antivirus software), automatic startups are probably a good thing - but for programs you don’t really need (such as Skype), here’s how to disable automatic startups.</p> <p>For WINDOWS 7 users:</p> <ol> <li>Click on the Start icon on the bottom-left corner of your screen.</li> <li>In the search bar, type in “msconfig.exe”, and then press ENTER on your keyboard.</li> <li>The MSConfig window will pop up. You will see some tabs along the top of this window. Click on the “Startup” tab.</li> <li>Under this tab, you will see the list of all programs that start up with your computer. Uncheck the box next to any program for which you wish to disable automatic startups.</li> <li>Click “OK”.</li> <li>A window will pop up, asking you to restart your computer. If you do not wish to restart your computer now, you can choose to exit without restarting.</li> </ol> <p>For WINDOWS 8 and 10 users:</p> <ol> <li>Open up Task Manager by holding Ctrl, Shift, and Esc down on your keyboard.</li> <li>Once the Task Manager window pops up, click on “More Details”.</li> <li>A new window will pop up, and you will see some tabs along the top of this window. Click on the “Startup” tab.</li> <li>Under this tab, you will see the list of all programs that start up with your computer. Select any program for which you wish to disable automatic startups, and then click on “Disable”.</li> </ol> <p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/25795/two_498x335.jpg" alt="Two (1)" width="498" height="335" /></p> <p><strong>5. Install more ram</strong></p> <p>If you’re desperate for more speed, you can add more RAM (i.e. storage) onto your computer at a relatively low cost. Installing more RAM is a manual task, so you will need to take your computer to your local computer store to get this done. This will speed up your computer noticeably.</p> <p>Failing the RAM addition, it’s probably time to upgrade to a new operating system (or even a new computer) if you really, really can’t stand the crawling speed of your machine. However, a lot of the time, the reasons for low speed will be specific to the computer. So if you’re really eager to keep your machine, take it to your local computer store to have it checked out.</p> <p>Do you have any issues with the performance of your computer? Do you think you’ll try and of these tips? Let us know in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/06/how-to-compress-large-files-to-send-over-email/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>How to compress large files to send over email</em></span></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/06/how-to-keep-your-facebook-messages-private/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>How to keep your Facebook messages private</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/05/hints-for-using-gmail/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>5 hints for using Gmail</strong></em></span></a></p>

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Three hidden Windows 10 tricks you should use

<p>If you’ve bought a new computer or upgraded your software lately then chances are good that you’re running the Windows 10 operating system. Being able to get the most out of the program is essential for ensuring a good experience. Here are three hidden features that you might want to check out now.</p> <p><strong>1. The hidden battery report</strong></p> <p>If you’re conscious of your battery use, Windows 10 offers a nifty full battery report.</p> <p>To access it, Right-click on the Start menu button then choose Command Prompt (Admin), then type powercfg /batteryreport /output "C:\battery_report.html" into your new command window.</p> <p>Open the HTML file to get a host of useful stats and data on your battery. In fact, different versions of this battery report are available in older versions of Windows too.</p> <p><strong>2. Print to PDF</strong></p> <p>The print to PDF function is a new edition to Windows 10 which allows you to save and print PDF’s directly.</p> <p>To use this function, choose Microsoft Print to PDF from the list of available printers. There isn't much in the way of print options, but in many ways that's a bonus. You just choose your filename and location and you're all set.</p> <p><strong>3. Tablet mode</strong></p> <p>If you only use Windows 10 on a tablet, you may not know that there’s a dedicated tablet mode that you switch to. This offers a clearer, cleaner layout and optimized touchscreen control.</p> <p>To use this function, click the notifications icon to bring up the Action Centre sidebar, then choose Tablet mode to make the change. </p> <p>Do you use Windows 10? What’s your favourite feature? Let us know in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/07/why-you-should-use-paypal-for-online-shopping/"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Why you should use PayPal for online shopping</span></strong></em></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/07/how-to-silence-those-windows-10-upgrades/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>How to silence those Windows 10 upgrades</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/07/how-to-send-a-text-message-from-your-computer/"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">How to send a text message from your computer</span></strong></em></a></p>

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How to make your computer healthier in five minutes

<p><strong><em>Lisa Du is director of <a href="http://readytechgo.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ReadyTechGo</span></a>, a service that helps people gain the confidence and skills to embrace modern technology.</em></strong></p> <p>A healthy computer is a happy computer. A happy computer will make you happier while using it. But what makes a computer healthy?</p> <p>Speed is an important indicator of a computer’s performance. A key factor that goes towards keeping a computer speedy is its storage space. With lots of free capacity, your computer will be able to run at full speed. Think of it this way: if you’re carrying a backpack up a hill, and that backpack is filled to the brim with heavy equipment, the weight of the backpack will slow you down.</p> <p>So what should you do? Empty your backpack of all the unnecessary junk, and only keep the equipment you really need inside.</p> <p>Here are some good sources of junk to target.</p> <p><strong>Downloads folder</strong></p> <p>There are many people who don’t take much notice of their Downloads folder, or who aren’t even aware of its existence! The Downloads folder is the default folder for your Internet downloads - this means that if you download something from online onto your computer without specifying a particular folder to save it in, your computer will automatically save it in the Downloads folder.</p> <p><img width="428" height="273" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/25437/ready-tech-go-in-text-1.jpg" alt="Ready Tech Go In Text 1" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>You can find the Downloads folder in the sidebar under File Explorer (Windows Users) or Finder (Mac Users).</p> <p>When you’re surfing the web, you may inadvertently click on a link that downloads a document, image, video, or any other type of file onto your computer. These files will automatically end up in your Downloads Folder... and most of the time, they will be absolute junk! For this reason, you’ll want to clear your Downloads folder out.</p> <p>However, one thing to keep in mind is that there might be files that you had intended to save, but which happened to end up in your Downloads folder. It’s a good idea, then, to first go through your Downloads folder and copy and paste the files you actually want to keep into another folder (such as your hard drive) before you clear it out. Once you’re sure that everything in there is junk, you can simply delete everything in your Downloads folder.</p> <p><strong>Recycle bin</strong></p> <p>This brings us to the next culprit: the Recycle Bin. The Recycle Bin (or Trash for Mac users) is where all your deleted files end up. That’s right - they haven’t actually been deleted yet! What you need to do to be rid of them for good is go into your Recycle Bin and permanently delete them. You can do this by simply deleting the files the way you normally would; by selecting them and pressing DELETE on your keyboard. It's kind of like needing to delete the files twice.</p> <p><img width="260" height="163" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/25436/ready-tech-go-in-text-2_260x163.jpg" alt="Ready Tech Go In Text 2" style="float: right;"/></p> <p>You can find Recycle Bin on your Desktop (Windows Users) and Trash on your Dock (Mac Users)</p> <p>If these files are in your Recycle Bin, then chances are you’ve already deemed them useless. However, if you’re still uncertain, you can go through Recycle Bin and check to see if there are any files you may have accidentally deleted. You can recover these files by right-clicking on them, and then clicking on “Restore”. They will then appear in their original folder.</p> <p>Mac users will need to go through each individual file, right-click, and choose "Put back" to recover a deleted file. Furthermore, Mac users can only permanently delete files from Trash by clicking on "Empty Trash". This will delete every item in Trash, so make sure there is only junk in there first.</p> <p><strong>Your hard drives</strong></p> <p>For those Windows users who are looking to be really thorough, you can clean up your hard drives with a little tool called Disk Cleanup. It’s a utility that’s been automatically installed onto your Windows computer, which you can use to eradicate some of the more obscure files that are unnecessarily taking up space.</p> <p>To access this utility, you can simply click on the Start button on the bottom-left corner of your screen, type “Disk Cleanup” into the search bar, and press ENTER on your keyboard. Next:</p> <ol> <li>A window will pop up asking you which hard drive you want to clear out. You can select any hard drive you want, and then go back later for the others - the more hard drives you clear out, the better!</li> <li>The Disk Cleanup window will appear. This window will show you all the files that you can remove. Click on the box beside any file that you wish to remove</li> <li>Only the files whose removal won’t affect the operation of your computer will be listed. Thus it’s fine to tick all of the boxes and remove all of the files</li> <li>Once you’ve ticked every file you wish to delete, the window will show you how much disk space you will free up on this hard drive. Click on OK</li> <li>Click on “Delete Files”, and then wait while the files are cleared out.</li> </ol> <p>What useful tips! Do you have any additional computer health tips you would like to share with our readers? Let us know in the comments.</p> <p><em>For more information about ReadyTechGo, visit their <a href="http://readytechgo.com.au/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">website here</span></strong></a>.</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/06/how-to-compress-large-files-to-send-over-email/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>How to compress large files to send over email</strong></span></em></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/07/how-to-silence-those-windows-10-upgrades/’"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>How to silence those Windows 10 upgrades</em></span></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/06/how-to-keep-your-facebook-messages-private/"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> How to keep your Facebook messages private</span></strong></em></a></p>

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How to send a text message from your computer

<p>If you’ve ever been working on your computer and received a text you’ve probably stopped what you’ve been doing to find your phone and respond. Now there’s an easier way. You can actually send and receive text message on your MAC or PC quickly and easily. Here’s how.</p> <p><strong>Apple devices – Messages</strong></p> <p>Apple has made it simple to send and receive text message by computer. If you have a Mac running operating system Mac OSX 10.10 and a synced up Apple device, such as an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch you are good to go.</p> <p>If you use the same Apple ID for your Apple device and your Mac computer, then this function should work automatically. If not you’ll need to enable text messages on your Mac computer. To do this, follow these steps:</p> <ul> <li>Activate the feature on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch by going to Settings &gt; Messages then tap ‘Text Message Forwarding’ and select the name of the Mac computer to which you want to forward messages.</li> <li>Once your “switch button” displays green, you’re good to go. Your messages will now be synced between your Apple device and your computer, as well as your contacts, meaning any messages sent between you and them should be viewable on your computer.</li> </ul> <p>If your carrier doesn’t charge you for text messages, then you won’t have to pay a thing for this feature, otherwise the cost to send a text from your computer is the same as from your phone.</p> <p><strong>Android –</strong> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://mightytext.net/" target="_blank"><strong>MightyText</strong></a></span></p> <p>MightyText is the Android version of messages. MightyText is a web-based app, and will work with Windows, Mac, Linux or Chrome OS. To enable it on your phone and computer you’ll need to do the following:</p> <ul> <li>Install MightyText on your Android phone.</li> <li>Once you’ve done that, sign in to MightyText’s web app via your preferred web browser and you’re good to go.</li> </ul> <p>As with Apple Messages, if your carrier doesn’t charge you for text messages, then you won’t have to pay a thing for this feature, otherwise the cost to send a text from your computer is the same as from your phone.</p> <p>Did you know you could send text messages from your computer? Would you be likely to do this?</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/06/the-best-technology-for-keeping-in-touch/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>The best technology for keeping in touch</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/05/hints-for-using-gmail/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>5 hints for using Gmail</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/05/trick-to-dramatically-free-up-storage-on-your-iphone/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Trick to dramatically free up storage on your iPhone</strong></em></span></a></p>

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How to silence those Windows 10 upgrades

<p><strong><em>Lisa Du is director of <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.readytechgo.com.au/" target="_blank">ReadyTechGo</a></span>, a service that helps people gain the confidence and skills to embrace modern technology.</em></strong></p> <p>I love Windows 10. I think it’s one of the best Windows upgrades to date. But I know it’s not for everyone. For those of you who’ve become accustomed to Windows 7 and 8, you may find the idea of trying to adjust to a new change incredibly tiring. Maybe it already took you a lot of effort to get used to your current operating system, and you don’t want to go through with that hassle again.</p> <p>If this is you, then you must be finding all of these Windows 10 pop-ups super annoying. Not only will your PC not shut up about the upgrade, but it’s been automatically downloading the Windows 10 installer onto your computer, just as a further attempt to wave it in your face! This doesn’t actually install Windows 10 on your computer, but it does take up a whopping 3MB of space on your hard drive. In some cases, people have even claimed that Windows 10 was automatically installing on their computers without their permission!</p> <p>Who's sick of getting these?</p> <p>There are ways for you to manually prevent these updates on your computer. If you’re looking for a simple way, however, we’ve got one for you.</p> <p><strong>Never10</strong></p> <p>Never10 is software that will help you to prevent your PC from downloading the Windows 10 installer, as well as get rid of those pesky “Get Windows 10” notifications. This software is completely free, and all you need to do is download and run it on your computer.</p> <ol> <li>Follow <a href="https://www.grc.com/never10.htm" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>this link</strong></span></a> to download Never10.</li> <li>Once you run it from your computer, it will tell you about your PC’s status in relation to Windows 10.</li> <li>Follow the program’s instructions and choose the settings you prefer.</li> <li>For example, if your PC has automatic upgrading for Windows 10 enabled, and you wish to disable it, simply click on “Disable Win10 Upgrade”. This will prevent your PC from doing anything Windows 10-related behind your back!</li> </ol> <p>Furthermore, if you wish to delete the Windows 10 installer files that have been downloaded onto your computer, click on “Remove Win10 Files”. This will clear your hard drive of those Windows 10 files, leaving you with more space.</p> <p>Never10 also gives you the option to revert to automatic upgrades. Once you’ve disabled automatic upgrading, you can re-enable it by clicking on “Enable Win10 Upgrade”. So it’s not absolutely permanent - you can go back on it in the future!</p> <p>I’ve read some of the horror stories on Windows 10 - some people claim that they left their computer alone for a few minutes, came back, and found it updating itself to Windows 10 without permission!</p> <p>Now, with Never10, you can rest easy knowing those horror stories won’t happen to you.</p> <p>Which version of Windows are you using? Have you ever thought of upgrading? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/06/14-tricks-that-will-change-how-you-use-your-ipad/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>14 tricks that will change how you use your iPad</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/06/the-best-technology-for-keeping-in-touch/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>The best technology for keeping in touch</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/05/hints-for-using-gmail/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>5 hints for using Gmail</em></span></strong></a></p>

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