File management
How to hide sensitive files on your computer
Most of us probably have material on our PCs that we regard as confidential. Lists of passwords, income tax data, bank accounts, and many other possibilities come to mind. Many average home PC users are unaware that there are a variety of methods available for either hiding or encrypting sensitive material. I like the free [...]
File extensions still hidden in Windows 7
Microsoft claims that it listens to what its customers say but there are some areas where Microsoft is deaf. Ever since Windows 95 (and maybe before, I’ve forgotten), the default setting has been to hide the extensions of files. Because file extensions are core to handling and managing files, this choice of default configuration often [...]
Quick way to configure Vista folder options
Managing files and folders in Windows is done through Windows Explorer and there have always been a number of settings for configuring the ways that folders are presented and managed. Many of these settings can be found in the Folder Options dialog panel. There are a variety of possible ways to open Folder Options, depending [...]
Microsoft file copying utility
One common complaint about Windows systems is the slowness of copying multiple files. Apparently, Microsoft has been using a utility internally to get around this problem. Until recently, the utility was for use within Microsoft only. Now, however, it has been released for general use as an unsupported free utility. It is called RichCopy and [...]
What does Windows System Restore do?
Microsoft’s opaqueness about many aspects of Windows is sometimes puzzling. I suppose the near-secrecy about technical things like the details of the Registry is because Microsoft doesn’t want anybody to mess with it. But I can’t figure out why the descriptions of useful functions like System Restore are so vague. Without more information, far [...]
Desktop search tricks in Windows Vista
The desktop search function in Windows Vista is different from the one in Windows XP, supposedly for the better. However, not everybody likes the change. For one thing, at first glance, it doesn’t seem to have advanced search with filters like XP does. For example, how do you find files with certain extensions? You can [...]
Find that file you just lost
It seems to happen to a lot of people. You download or save a file and then can’t find it again. You forgot where you put it. There are ways to use the Windows search function to find recently downloaded or saved files but there is also a free utility program designed to help with [...]
Alternatives to Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer (the other Explorer, not Internet Explorer) is the basic interface in Windows. It provides file management, access to programs, and is involved in just about everything you do on a Windows computer. Unfortunately, many computer users find Windows Explorer to be a poor interface. There are a number of alternatives available, some free [...]
How to download a single file from a ZIP archive
On the Web, large numbers of files are often archived together in a single ZIP file. Generally, downloading the whole archive file is what you want; for example, that is how most programs are obtained. Sometimes, however, you only want one or two of the files and not the whole archive.
The Google Operating System [...]
Resolve to backup
I don’t put much stock in New Year’s resolutions but one resolution I urge you to make and keep is to back up your computer or at least to back up important personal data. I have had a lot of people tell me that they don’t need to back up because they keep nothing important [...]
What’s an ISO file?
A lot of useful things come packaged in a large file with the extension ISO. Unfortunately, neither Windows XP nor Windows Vista knows what to do with an ISO file. Neither do many home PC users. They download some application they want to try out and are then baffled by what to do next. Some [...]
