Shortcomings of File Encryption in Windows 7 (EFS)
| May 7th, 2010 Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments » |
In Windows 7 Professional you can encrypt either files or folders and keep specific information private from other users. Encrypted files may become unexpectedly decrypted so it is best practice to encrypt folders which hold the files you want to keep private and secure.
To encrypt a folder:
Encrypting sensitive data, bank account or credit card details, also helps keep your data safe if your computer is hacked or stolen. For example, if your hard drive is removed and installed as an external drive in another computer your encrypted data is still safe – well sort of.
EFS is Microsoft software designed to work in the NTFS file system. Encrypted files will stay encrypted as long as the data is on a NTFS formatted drive. If the EFS folder is copied to a USB thumb drive formatted in the FAT file system the folder loses its encryption properties.
Managing EFS recovery keys and certificates.
If the hard drive on your PC becomes damaged and you need to recover data outside of your usual profile you will need to have “recovery keys and certificate†available. You will need to store this information off the drive with the EFS such as a thumb drive.
To backup your Recovery Keys and Certificate in Windows 7 Pro
An Alternative to EFS shortcomings is Bitlocker
Another more secure way to encrypt data is with Bitlocker to secure the entire drive. Bitlocker-to-Go is available in Windows 7 Pro for encryption of USB drives, but Bitlocker for drive encryption is only licensed to Windows 7 Ultimate or Enterprise editions, just as EFS is limited in versions other than Windows Prof.
Why does my new laptop have such crappy performance?
| April 25th, 2010 Posted in Performance | No Comments » |
As an onsite computer repair service we get asked this question all the time and it’s right up there with “which is the best laptop?”. Performance is usually equated to expenditure, i.e. the more you spend the better performance, but we get to see all the laptops out on the field and this rule doesn’t seem to always apply in the mainstrean. We seen a new gaming-level laptop with 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM that struggled to play a SIMS game. We re-configured the memory, utilized ReadyBoost with a suitable USB adaptor, and changed the CPU power settings in the BIOS before the game ran smoothly.
Some laptops are preconfigured with ‘low’ CPU settings in the BIOS rather than ‘dynamic’ to preserve battery life, but this trade-off can impact performance because the CPU is set to always run at low power. A change here can result in a change to performance when you need it, at the cost of battery life for mobile users.
Other more general issues affecting performance, and what you can do about them, are:
- bloated antivirus programs – find AV programs with a small footprint such as Avira or ESET. Most of the big name AV programs reduce performance by up to 20%.
- upgrade to 4GB RAM on 32bit systems
- in MSCONFIG carefully turn off programs you don’t need at startup, such as Adobe Reader, Messenger, itunes, etc.
- find out what those proprietary (manufacturer) system or printer programs actually do which launch at startup. Are they really needed?
In the Intel Core duo and i-series range, and with Windows 7, paying less does not always mean inferior performance in the cost-to-performance rule or ratio, and a  little tweaking can make a big difference to overall performance.
Managing laptop temperature
| April 18th, 2010 Posted in Smarter Computing Tips | No Comments » |
Here in Australia summer temperatures can reach into the high 30’s and low 40’s (C) and as the ambient temperature climbs so does the temp of the hard disk. So it’s a concern when the running temp of a laptop is 50+ when the outside temp is only 25 degrees. We would expect the temp of the disk to rise to critical levels on a 35+ degree day.
Apart from the tangible heat you can feel with the palm of your hand or on your lap, many laptops have no early warning about overheating. Heat is something that must be managed otherwise:
- your laptop could spontaneously shutdown or restart
- your hard disk could die
- raises the risk of data loss and file table corruption
- you could lose access to the master file table and your data permanently
Active Hard Disk Monitor is a free tool to monitor the temp of your drives. After downloading and  installing a temp monitor icon is loaded into the system tray and a mousover will reveal the current temperature. Temp is read from the S.M.A.R.T interface on the drive and may need to be activated in the bios.
If the temp is 50+ you are in the warning area and would be advised to buy a laptop cooler. One of our preferences is the Zalman NC-2000Â with very quiet dual centrifugal fans, which may reduce your temp by a critical 5Â degrees and bring it into a safe working temp.
Low battery and wake-on-lan safety check
| April 4th, 2010 Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments » |
If you are experiencing low battery life on your Windows 7 powered laptop a good place to start looking for reasons is component hardware set to wake-on-LAN. If your laptop is waking by itself after going off to sleep this could be draining your battery. Also, if the laptop is forced to wake by a hardware component or task the laptop could become very hot in a confined space like a bag, especially if that bag is inside hand luggage in the overhead locker!
The steps to check your wake-on-LAN settings are:
- start menu, type “cmd” (without quotes)
- right click cmd to run as administrator (Windows 7)
- in the command prompt type “powercfg -devicequery wake_armed
- when we query the power configuration settings we will see any devices set to wake prompts
- if one of the devices is a network or wireless network adaptor navigate to (start >r) to open a run box
- type in “devmgmt.msc” to list your network adaptors
- right click, choose properties, choose power management
- adjust your wake on LAN settings.
A quick guide to the new Intel Core i-series processors
| March 14th, 2010 Posted in Small Business IT | No Comments » |
Would you buy a new computer with a 3.3GHz Core i5 processor, or a 2.66GHz Core i5 processor?
The choice seems obvious at first and I notice a lot of retailers subtly exploiting complexities of core models and steppings to sell cheaper computers. In the above example the 2.66GHz processor would be your best choice because it’s more powerful, offers greater multitasking capabilities with four cores instead of two cores in the 3.3GHz model.
You can download the whitepaper at our computers perth page in a jargon-free friendly format and get a heads up on buying a new PC.
Location Aware printing in Windows 7
| March 14th, 2010 Posted in Windows 7 Features | No Comments » |
One very nifty feature in Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate we don’t hear a lot about is “Location Aware Printing”.
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Click Change my default printer when I change networks.
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In the Select network list, click a network.
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In the Select printer list, click a corresponding default printer.
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Click Add.
 When you return to a site where location-aware was established the printer will be become available where ever you have an automatic wireless connection set up.
External monitor on laptop with lid closed
| March 5th, 2010 Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments » |
In the first of our neat tips for Windows 7 you can use an external monitor with the lid closed on your laptop.
Just configure advanced power options
1. start. Type “Power options”
2. on the left hand pane click on what to do when lid closes
3. choose the option to do nothing
Enjoy your external monitor.
Microsoft Office Ultimate – a steal at $75
| April 4th, 2009 Posted in Basement | No Comments » |
It’s still on – MS Office Ultimate edition for $75.
If you are a student at TAFE or uni for example. Get all the details at itsnotcheating.com.au
Prevent users deleting browsing history
| February 28th, 2009 Posted in Vista General | No Comments » |
Most employers do not mind a little internet surfing or msn’ing during the work day but there are limits to everything, so it seems reasonable that an employer can look at someone’s browing history on any given day. But it’s easy in IE7 to delete browsing history, forms, etc under the tools menu.
To prevent browing history from being deleted you can create or edit group policy objects. This should only be done by staff with advanced IT skills or your IT Administrator.
Settings are located in both Computer Configuration\administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer\ and User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer
How secure is your password?
| December 23rd, 2008 Posted in Computer Security | No Comments » |
I seen a password on a computer recently that comprised 3 letters of the alphabet. Can you guess which three? This was a computer in a small business that did payroll, banking, and was the main MYOB retail server. Geesh. Anyway….
So, for those who want to know just how secure their passwords are you can use this password checker. It’s gives a rating between poor, to good and best. It is a non-recordable password tester from Microsoft.
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