Four Ways To Open Task Manager

As you probably know, Task Manager is what you use in Windows to view (and kill) currently active processes. There are several ways you can easily open Task Manager so I thought I would list four easy ones here:

1. Ctrl + Alt + Del > Click Task Manager. This is the most commonly used method.
2. Right click on the Task Bar and select “Task Manager” from the popup menu.
3. Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
4. Start > Run > taskmgr. This is handy for making a shortcut.

There you have it. If you have an easier way, post it in the comment section.

How to disable or enable homepage setting in Internet Explorer

Sometimes you might accidently get spyware installed on your computer and it locked your IE homepage to somewhere else. Or may be you will be sharing your computer with your son or kids where they like to modify your homepage setting. You can lock your homepage and make it uneditable. To lock or unlock the homepage, simply follow the steps below:-

- Click Start => Run type regedit and click OK.
- Goto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel
- Right Click at the empty place of right panel, select New => Dword value
- Name it HomePage
- Double click on the HomePage and enter 1 or 0 (1 = lock homepage, 0 = unlock homepage) as the value

- Next, Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel
- Right Click at the empty place of right panel, select New => Dword value
- Name it HomePage
- Double click on the HomePage and enter 1 or 0 (1 = lock homepage, 0 = unlock homepage) as the value

Once you finish all the steps above, close all your Internet Explorer and re launch it again. You will see the Home Page will be set according to your setting.

Note: If any of the key (example of key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer) do not exists, you need to create them. To create key, just right click on the Parent Key and choose New => Key.

Turn automatic updating on or off

To have Windows install important updates as they become available, turn on automatic updating. Important updates provide significant benefits, such as improved security and reliability. You can also set Windows to automatically install recommended updates, which can address non-critical problems and help enhance your computing experience. Optional updates are not downloaded or installed automatically. To learn more about the types of updates that Microsoft publishes, see this Knowledge Base article on the Microsoft Help and Support website.

1. Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button , clicking All Programs, and then clicking Windows Update.
2. In the left pane, click Change settings.
3. Choose the option that you want.
4. Under Recommended updates, select the Include recommended updates when downloading, installing, or notifying me about updates check box, and then click OK.   If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Enabling Firewall

To enable Windows Firewall, follow these steps:

• Click Start, click Run, type Firewall.cpl, and then click OK.
• On the General tab, click On (recommended).
• Click OK.

Blogger vs. Wordpress.com Comparison Chart - 2011

Blogger and Wordpress.com are the two best known free blog hosting services. The tables below compare features on the two systems, although tumblr.com is now the fastest-growing free service.

Updated November 2011

Disadvantages of Blogger (Google Blogs) and Wordpress.com

1) Blogger's Dynamic Views and the advertising on Wordpress.com mean these free services are not suitable for every type of blog. 2) New features at Blogger (blogspot.com) and Wordpress.com are turned on by default. You have to take action to opt-out if you don't want to include them in your blog (e.g. Blogger's Lightbox). 3) A paid upgrade is required to remove ads from WP.com blogs. 4) Terms of Service — Blogs can be deleted without warning.