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Laptop repairs

Laptop repair specialists? Turn off extra visual effects (Windows Vista and 7). If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, the Aero desktop effects may be slowing your computer down. Disabling these effects is highly recommended for older computers, and can result in a big performance boost. Reinstall your operating system (OS). Oftentimes the easiest way to speed up your computer is to wipe it clean and start from scratch. Reinstalling your OS usually won’t take more than an hour or so. This will erase your entire hard drive, and will often make your computer operate as if it was brand new. See the following articles for details on reinstalling specific OSs.

Backing up your data regularly is an overlooked step in personal online security. The top IT and security managers follow a simple rule called the 3-2-1 backup rule. Essentially, you will keep three copies of your data on two different types of media (local and external hard drive) and one copy in an off-site location (cloud storage). If you become a victim of ransomware or malware, the only way to restore your data is to erase your systems and restore with a recently performed backup. Don’t use a public Wi-Fi without using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). By using a VPN, the traffic between your device and the VPN server is encrypted. This means it’s much more difficult for a cybercriminal to obtain access to your data on your device. Use your cell network if you don’t have a VPN when security is important.

Data backups ensure that if there is any data loss or theft, files can be recovered. You should always backup your data in a different location so hackers cannot access both areas and you should also backup your data regularly. Firewalls are designed to prevent unauthorized access from a private network. You can create a set of rules on your firewall so that it knows what to allow in and what to block out. A good firewall should monitor incoming and outgoing data.

Windows 10 passwordless feature: As part of the sign-in experience, Windows 10 is introducing a new Require Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts option, which perhaps one of the best new features on version 2004. When the features is enabled will switch your Microsoft accounts (those configured on your device) to modern authentication with Windows Hello Face, Fingerprint, or PIN. (This option will remove the password option from the “Sign-in” page and across the operating system.) In addition, the “Sign-in options” page now is splitting the ability to restart apps automatically after a restart under the “Privacy” section. This change means that moving forward, you’ll now be able to control whether registered apps can launch automatically after a restart using the new Restart apps setting. Find more details at Computer repair specialists.

Windows Sandbox makes a great security and testing tool, and its new configuration file makes it easier to manage startup. You can use this to set up access to shared folders, to a vGPU, networking, and supporting startup scripts. Shared folders can be marked as read only, allowing quick access to suspicious files, and scripts can force the Sandbox image to download and install specific applications, ready for use.

Note that you should beware of those “Speed Up Your PC!” ads for registry cleaners, which often lead to malware. Microsoft categorically does not support the use of registry cleaners for Windows 10. Something that is recommended is keeping your OS version up to date. This seems perhaps a bit too obvious to include below as a separate step. Periodically head to the Settings app’s Windows Update section to see whether there are any security and reliability updates you should install. Your PC may run faster after one of these, since they also can include hardware driver updates. Do this even if you don’t want yet want a big feature update—you can delay those major updates in the same section of Settings. Discover more information at Hove laptop maintenance.