Simple Things Every Computer User Should Know - Roger Samara

1
Computer Tricks Every Geek Should Know
Roger Samara
2
Find New Uses for the Programs You Already Have
Chances are, youve probably already found a few
awesome tools and added them to your productivity
arsenal, but most programs can be used for more
than just their inteded purpose. Cloud storage
tools like Dropbox, for example, are also great
for monitoring your home computer, printing files
from afar, and even downloading stuff with Bit
Torrent. Savvy folks can use Gmail to store
files in the cloud or find out if someones
stolen your laptop. Any tool can become
multipurpose if you know its ins and outs.
3
Use the Command Line Like a Ninja
Using the command line isnt as exciting as it
looks in the movies, but it can be a very useful
tool Its pretty easy to learn, too check out our
command line primer for beginners to learn some
basic commands. Once youve got that down, read
up on the best shortcuts that help you navigate
the command line like a ninja. Those guides
apply to UNIX-based systems like Linux and OS X,
but if youre a Windows user you can grab
something like Cygwin to get a similar experience
4
Read and Understand Your Resource Usage
When your computer starts acting a little slow, a
lot of people jump to their resource monitor to
see whats causing problems. However, just
looking at a bunch of charts and graphs isnt
going to tell you whats wrong unless you really
know what youre looking for. High network
activity could be the cause of slow internet or
slow file transfers over the network. RAM usage,
however, is where a lot of people get thrown off
high RAM usage isnt inherently a bad thing. Know
the difference between good and bad RAM usage
before you start blaming processes.
5
Run Everything on a Schedule
Stop performing all that system maintenance
yourself and set it all up to run on a schedule.
With Windows built-in Task Scheduler, you can
run just about any kind of task whether its
maintenance, picture uploads, or even a simple
alarm through Windows built-in tools. Mac users
looking for something similar should check out
Tasks Till Dawn.
6
Know Your Computers Hidden Features
Every operating system has hidden things lying
under the hood, you just have to know where to
look. Windows users should check out the hidden
features of Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10,
while Mac users should peruse the hidden features
of OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, Yosemite, and
Mavericks. If you want to find even more, you
can often find them in Windows Registry or in OS
Xs terminal. System tweakers like Ultimate
Windows Tweaked, OnyX for Mac, and Ubuntu Tweak
are also great places to find secret features.
7
Learn to Crack Passwords (So You Can Protect
Yourself)
Everyone should know how to create a secure
password, but responsible geeks can take it a
step further by learning how to break into a
computer. This skill whether used on a Windows
machine or a Mac can really help you understand
how computer thieves and hackers will try to get
at your data. Learning the process means you
know how to protect yourself against the process
not just with strong passwords but with
encryption and other settings tweaks that keep
thieves out. Similarly, you may also want to
learn how to crack a Wi-Fi networks WEP and WPA
password.
8
(No Transcript)