How to turn off DEP (Data Execution Prevention) in Windows
Posted on May 10, 2009 - Filed Under Windows XP | 1 Comment
Data Execution Prevention, otherwise known as DEP, is a set of technologies incorporated into Windows XP SP2 and later that prevents code from being run in certain regions of memory that are for storage.
This helps to prevent all kinds of attacks and exploits that would normally be able to run freely on your system. Data Execution Prevention comes in two flavors, hardware-enforced DEP and software-enforced DEP.
Most users will never need to worry about DEP because it works in the background and normally only protects Windows system binaries or programs that “opt-in”. However, if DEP is turned on for all programs, it can cause issues with some certain programs.
How to set preferred Wi-Fi networks in Windows XP
Posted on April 13, 2009 - Filed Under Windows XP | Leave a Comment
If you travel a lot and use a lot of different WIFI networks, sometimes you will want to set a list of preferred networks to automatically join. The main reason is security, you would not want to connect to a WIFI that you don’t trust, especially if you need to visit sites that contain your private information (SS number, bank details, credit card info, etc).
The other reason is performance, you would not want to connect to a slow network if you have a faster network in range. Sometimes you would forget to connect to the right network so maintaining a list of preferred network is a good idea.
Send Ctrl-Alt-Delete in a remote desktop session
Posted on March 14, 2009 - Filed Under Windows XP | 3 Comments
Remote Desktop is a nifty little windows feature that allows you to remotely connect to another PC and manage it as if you were physically at the console. You can read my previous post on how to setup remote desktop in Windows XP.
When connecting to another machine, just about all keyboard actions are transmitted to the remote machine, i.e. pressing Enter, typing, pressing the Windows key, etc. However, that is not the case for some key combinations.
How to setup a VPN connection to your corporate network [VIDEO]
Posted on March 11, 2009 - Filed Under Windows XP | Leave a Comment
If you have an office job like I do, your company probably has a VPN (Virtual Private Network) setup so that you can access network drives at your office while working at home. Personally, I never ask about VPNs because it eventually means you’ll work 8 hours and the office and then more at home!
Anyway, if you are one of the poor souls who is forced to work from home by connecting to a VPN, there may come a time when you would want to setup the connection on more than one computer or reconfigure it on your current computer.
How to use the MS Office research capabilities
Posted on February 12, 2009 - Filed Under MS Office Tips, Windows XP | Leave a Comment
MS Office Office 2003 had integrated a research button on the interface of Word, Excel, OneNote, Outlook and Powerpoint. The tool will let you search for word definitions, stock quotes, and more in-depth sources like the Encarta Encyclopedia.
To start using this functionality on MS Office 2003, click the Research button under the Tools menu:
A window will appear where you can type a keyword you want to research. See the example below where I searched for “Battlestar Galactica”:
Turn off or remove “Your computer might be at risk” in Windows XP
Posted on October 26, 2008 - Filed Under Windows XP | 8 Comments
I recently reformatted my computer because it was running slow and after installing all updates and programs, I started getting that annoying message that started in Windows XP SP2, which is:
Your computer might be at risk. Antivirus software might not be installed.
It’s fine if you don’t know how to use a computer or forget to install something, but if you know what you are doing, then this nagging popup message is useless. So how can you turn off that message? Here’s how!
