Five steps to ultimate Firefox security

Over the years, many have touted Mozilla’s Firefox as one of the most secure Web browsers. But as with other browsers, the security level offered depends on the settings. Some security features need to be manually enabled. Those turned on by default should still be double-checked.Follow these five steps to lock down Firefox. Start with the essentials in the browser’s own settings, then choose some useful add-ons. Finally, keep track of your plug-ins...

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How to upgrade your external hard drive to USB 3.0

Ready for an unconventional upgrade? How about this: You can turn an old, pokey external hard drive into a blazingly fast one with about 10 minutes of your time and $15 of your money.See, most modern computers have at least one USB 3.0 port. You can plug an older, USB 2.0 drive into one, but you won't get the faster throughput afforded by the newer technology.Thankfully, you don't need to get a new drive just to enjoy speedier file transfers; you just need a new drive enclosure.You can buy one for around $15, give or take $5, and from there it's...

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How to create a Windows 8 shutdown tile

1. It starts, ironically, in Desktop mode, which you can reach by clicking/tapping the Desktop tile or pressing Win-D (that's the Windows key and the letter D).2. Right-click in any open spot on the desktop, then choose New, Shortcut.3. We're going to make a Shutdown shortcut, so in the location field, type shutdown /p and then click Next.4. Choose a different name for the shortcut if you want, or leave it as "shutdown," then clickFinish.5. Right-click the new shortcut and choose Pin to Start.Presto! You're done....

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Why some Web sites are much slower than others

You can't set a clock by your Internet download speed. A great many factors make one page faster than another. And a great many other factors can make the same page fast one day (or hour) and slow the next.Most of these variables are completely out of your control. But it's still worthwhile to understand them.First, there's the page itself. Pictures take more time to download than text, and large pictures take more time than small ones.A well-written page--and I'm talking about code, not text--will take less time to load than a poorly-written one.And...

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How to undo accidental browser zoom

For example, somehow, while using his laptop's touchpad, he'd made everything in his browser bigger. Consequently, he had to scroll pages left and right, not just up and down.Welcome to the Curse of the Multitouch Touchpad. Most laptop owners know that dragging a finger across the touchpad moves the cursor. On some systems, dragging two fingers up and down enables scrolling. But there's another "gesture" that's easy to perform by accident, and the results often leave users scratching their heads.It's the pinch-zoom gesture, which works just like...

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Passwords: You're doing it wrong. Here's how to make them uncrackable.

For years now I've harangued relatives about their shoddy password practices. Either they use easily-hacked passwords or forget the passwords they've created—sometimes both.If you won't take it from me, beloved family, consider this Password Day (yes, apparentlyit's a thing) statement from McAfee's Robert Siciliano: "74% of Internet users use the same password across multiple websites, so if a hacker gets your password, they now have access to all your accounts. Reusing passwords for email, banking, and social media accounts can lead to identity...

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File extensions control which application can open a file

Windows uses a file's extension--the part of the file name after the period--to identify what program should open it. When you double-click, say, a .docx file, Windows checks to see what application is associated with that extension (probably a word processor) and opens the file in that program.You can change these associations yourself, and you can associate multiple programs with a single extension. In fact, there's a good chance Windows has already...

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Three quick ways to ease your transition to Windows 8

Indeed, for anyone brand new to Windows 8, anyone who's already familiar with an earlier version of Windows, that tile-based interface can be startling, confusing, and ultimately very frustrating.Can you learn it? Sure. Should you have to? No. With a few simple steps, you can make your new Windows 8 PC much more familiar, both in look and operation.1. Forget that Metro existsWindows 8 may boot to its fancy new digs, but you've got work to do. For now, I recommend switching to Desktop mode (which might as well be called "Windows 7 mode"), where...

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Keep your laptop battery healthy: Use it sparingly

What wears down a battery? Charging and discharging. Obviously, you can't avoid either of those acts entirely (although if you could, you wouldn't have to worry about wearing out your battery). The trick, of course, is to do as little charging and discharging as possible. And one way to avoid charging and discharging is to remove the battery when you don't need it.Ideally, you would remove the battery (with the laptop shut down, of course) before plugging in the AC adapter and working at your desk. Then, before you take your PC on the...

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