Author: admin

3 IoT devices That Can Help You At Work

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With the entry of consumer-level gadgets in the workspace, technology has become fun to use.

Of course, smartphone and tablets aren’t the only devices that can help you become productive. There are a number of wearables and Internet of Things gadgets that simplify a number of other tasks too.

Here are 3 IoT devices that can help you at work:

1: Smart Locks

You can keep your business secure with this device which is not very different from key card systems that corporations use. These locks connect to the internet via your office’s Wi-Fi and can be used either with a smartphone or otherwise. A number of options are available such as Samsung’s SmartThings, Apple’s HomeKit, Wink, Nest, August SmartLock and Kwikset Kevo. Just one app should be enough to handle your entire locking system.

 mysystemjournal42: The Smart Receptionist

While smart locks help you unlock your door remotely, a smart doorbell will help you see who’s at the door. The Ring doorbell, for example, sends you a message if the main door to your office is locked. Also, they send you a photo of the visitor especially if you’re busy in a meeting. Depending on this, you can decide to let them in or otherwise. This doorbell also comes with intercom facilities that will help you to talk to your guest if necessary. Better still, you can have motion sensors as well as the ability to monitor the outside of your property if required too.

3: Sales

There are options for those who sell goods or service and accept payment with a credit card. For this, credit card readers that can connect to your smartphone will help you save on POS rentals as well as credit card processing fees. Square and Intuit offer these solutions that are well worth considering.

4 Ways to Deal With A HTTPS Error Message

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There are times when using our PCs, an error message saying that theHTTPS secure Internet connection has failed.

You might wonder whether this message is serious. Hardly. It’s a common error message that we all get, actually.

Here are 4 ways to deal with this HTTPS error:

1: Reboot

Probably the first thing that you should do when you see an error message such as this one is to reboot the system. If that doesn’t fix it, then you should move on.

mysystemjournal3 2: Check the system time

Now, check the system time on your PC. If it is incorrect, then the date and time on the SSL certificate on the server will not match up with the time on your PC. To fix this, access the Date and time settings located at the bottom when you select the time in your taskbar. If Windows is setting the time automatically and it is still wrong, then turn that option off. Click Change time and date manually.

3: Are you not at home?

One suggestion that Google Support state is that if this is happening on public Wi-Fi, then you might have to log in again through the network’s splash page. In other words, visit a non-HTTPS site and check to see if you end up having to agree with the site’s terms and conditions prior to accessing the Internet.

4: Run a complete antivirus scan

Do not run a quick system scan but a long, complete one. This might be taking place because of malware or viruses too. If you have an antivirus program that checks your network connection security, such as Avast Free Antivirus, then run that as well.

How to Change Your Windows Admin Password in Windows 7, 8 and 10

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It doesn’t matter if you have forgotten your Windows password. You can still log in even if there isn’t any other administrative account on the PC.

This might seem a bit scary from an administrative point-of-view but there are good reasons to use these tricks. Of course, what this also points to is the need for encrypting sensitive files.

Let’s look at the instructions for both Windows 7, 8 and 10:

 mysystemjournal2Windows 7:

For this, you will need a System Repair disc. You can even use one from someone else’s PC provided that one isn’t 32-bit and yours is 64-bit or vice-versa. So, to change the password, boot from the System Repair Disc. Press any key when prompted so as to reach the System Recovery Options screen. Check the location of the operating system be it C:, D: or otherwise. Hit Next. Select Command Prompt at the next screen.

Now enter each of the following commands and hit Enter:

x:

cd windows\system32

ren utilman.exe utilhold.exe

copy cmd.exe utilman.exe

exit

Now, remove the disc and reboot. Now, click the Ease of Access icon in the bottom left-hand corner to bring up the command prompt. Now type “net user username password” with username being the current one as well as the new password you want.

Finally, close the command prompt and log in with your new password.

Windows 8 (and 10)

Since your Windows 10 user account is linked with your online Microsoft account, this makes the process of replacing your password so much easier and secure.

For this, use another computer and go to Microsoft’s sign-in page. Click ‘Can’t access your account’. Of course, you’ll have to prove that you are the owner of this account based on the phone numbers and answers that you’ve provided before. You should be able to change the password easily.

Now, if you’ve created a local account, you’ll have to boot from the Windows 10 Recovery Drive. Also, the Ease of Access icon is located between the Power and Connect to Internet icons – in the lower right-hand corner.

3 Tools to Help With Email Productivity

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Email usually makes the idea of a productive workday difficult. Yet it doesn’t have to be this way since Gmail has a number of built-in features apart from third-party tools that can change this.

Here are 3 tools that you should start using with your Gmail account as soon as possible:

 mysystemjournal11: Unroll.me

Signing up for subscription offers, newsletters and daily deals usually results in your inbox overflowing with spam. Using Unroll.me can change all of that in a hurry. When you connect your Gmail account to this service, it will scan for subscriptions and compile the senders into a list. Now, click the Unsubscribe button next to each sender to get rid of subscriptions you don’t want.

2: Rapportive

If you’re one to receive a lot of emails from a number of people, turning to Google to find out more information about them is the next step. This tool built by LinkedIn will help you to find that information without having to search for it. One excellent aspect of using this tool is that it replaces Gmail’s sidebar ads while offering you emails with detailed information about the sender of an email.

3: Todoist

What this tool helps you to is process your emails much faster by turning them into task list items. Integrating this popular to-do tool with Gmail will help you clear up your inbox as much as possible by prioritizing email as well as assigning deadlines and reminders too. Best part about using this app is that it syncs across all devices so you can clear out your inbox regardless of the device that you use.

How To Make The Cursor or Mouse Pointer More Visible

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If you can’t see the mouse pointer when you move the mouse around, then it’s time change how the pointer looks and behaves.

Of course, the simplest way to do this is by making these changes through the Control Panel’s Mouse tool.

As you should know, there are different procedures for each version of Windows.

Let’s look at these procedures for Windows 7,8 and 10:

 mysystemsjournal3Windows 7: This method is the simplest of the lot. First, click Start, select Mouse in the Control Panel section. Now, make the changes necessary.

Windows 8: Go to the Charm bar,type ‘mouse’ in the text box. Select the option that says Mouse. Avoid the Ease of Access mouse settings. It doesn’t have as many options as the Control Panel tool.

Windows 10: For this, type Mouse in the search field. Now select ‘Change your mouse settings’. After this, click ‘Additional mouse settings’ in the Settings app.

Regardless of whichever version of Windows you use, you should be in the Mouse properties dialog box.

Now select the Pointers tab and the Scheme menu and pick something. There will be a variety of colors, schemes and fonts to select from.

When you pick one scheme, it won’t change the mouse pointer but will display your selection in the box to the right of the Scheme menu.

If you want to see how the mouse pointer actually looks, then click Apply.

Also look at the Pointer Options tab as you will find more possibilities there to make your mouse pointer visible.

What You Need To Do When Your Windows Backup Fails

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There’s a reason why experts recommend two backups instead of one. This is because there’s always a chance of that backup that you created not working at all.

However, there is a fix for this problem and in particular for image backups.

But first: what is an image backup?

Simply put, it is able to copy an entire partition or drive into one large file.

 mysystemsjournal2While you can use it to backup documents and other files, you can literally back Windows and all your installed programs as well.

Even then, your data is usually more about important. Installing Windows is always a possibility as being able to retrieve your child’s pictures or that quarterly report you saved.

If you have backup either locally or in the cloud, then you can restore that. Or else, if you use OneDrive or Dropbox, then you obtain at least some of your files from there as well.

The next option is to mount your image backup as a drive. Most backup programs give you the option to do this.

All you have to do is double-click the backup file on your computer where your backup program has been installed.

If it isn’t completely corrupted, then it should appear in Windows as a virtual partition. You can then copy and paste files to another drive as a result.

This also works with Windows backup files as well. If you are using the WindowsImageBackup folder, you’ll find the files there as well. However, you have to access each folder in order to obtain VHDX file.

This is no different with Windows 7.

Now if these tips don’t work, the other option is to buy an external drive while attempting to recover the entire drive to it.

If this works, then try cloning it to the internal drive. Or try the restoration on another computer. But it will have to be an external drive.

Finally, if this doesn’t work then use HDDScan to run a diagnosis on the backup drive.

How to Search With Google When Using Cortana

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If you launch a web search from Cortana, it uses the Bing search engine and not Google.

So, what if you’d like to use Google for web search instead?

Of course, there’s a perfectly good reason for this – Cortana’s “brains” are powered by Bing, so a multi-engine search is not possible.

For some users, this should be enough especially if they need help with simple tasks such as checking the weather, solving math problems or even tracking flights. But when it comes to search engine results, most people still prefer Google to Bing, quite honestly.

 mysystemsjournalYet there are ways by which you can redirect your search but it will only work with Firefox or Bing.

Before we look at how this possible, it must be said that this will not be possible with Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer or Opera.

(Also, if you don’t care about Google, then these solutions should work with DuckDuckGo and Yahoo too.)

Now, using Firefox is the easiest way access Google Search. There’s no need for add-ons either. Simply download the latest version of Firefox and set it as your default search engine. Cortana will follow suit if you’ve not used it before.

In fact, by default, Cortana will open Yahoo. Change that by clicking on the magnifying glass icon in the search bar.

Alternatively, for Chrome, you can use an add-on such as Chrometana. Once you’ve downloaded this, go to Extensions and look Chrometana. Click Options. Pick either Google, DuckDuckGo or Yahoo and close the tab.

You’re all set to use Google as your default search engine.

5 Precision Touchpad Features

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With the introduction of trackpad gestures in Windows 8, Microsoft changed its operating system for the better.

These trackpad gestures eliminate the need for the two buttons that are present at the top of your device’s touch area. With Windows 10, they have taken this even further by improving on the foundation they set in Windows 8.

 mysystemsjournal4Apart from adding existing features, they have also added new touch controls while removing a few that served no purpose whatsoever. One example of the latter would be swiping in from the right for the Charms bar since there isn’t one in Windows 10.

The only thing that you must keep in mind is that to use these gestures, one will have to use a precision touchpad. This won’t work on older laptops.

If you want to know whether your device supports gestures, then go to the Settings app as well as Devices> Mouse & Touchpad.

If it displays “Your PC has a precision touchpad”, you can swipe and tap using these features too.

Here are 5 ‘precision touchpad’ features:

1: Select an item

Tap once on the touchpad.

2: Scroll

Put two fingers on the touchpad and swipe horizontally or vertically.

3: Open Task View

Put three fingers on the touchpad and swipe up. In other words, swipe in the direction away from you.

4: Right-click

Either tap the touchpad with two fingers or press gently in the bottom right-hand corner.

5: Open Cortana

Tap the touchpad with three fingers.

What You Need to Know About Using Cortana in Windows 10

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Switching from Windows 7 to 10 can be a bit of a shock for any user. Without a doubt, Windows 10 is a much better experience overall.

Yet with so many changes, it can be quite confusing. Apart from learning how to use the Windows Store, a number of features have been moved around since the release of Windows 8.1.

 mysystemjpurnal4So, what does a new Windows 10 user do? Read Windows 10 tutorials found on Google?

No, you can ask the new digital assistant launched by Microsoft known as Cortana.

If you don’t know this already, Cortana is already placed on the taskbar and can be used to find both features as well as programs too.

Of course, you can find the information you want in Windows 10’s search function. So, if you don’t use Cortana, you can still use this feature to get your answers.

So, all you have to do is type in your question in the Cortana/Search box and the answer will show up right at the top of the results panel.

There are times when you won’t be able to find what you’re looking for with the words you type in. For this, try and change the phrasing a bit and it will still give the right information as a result.

For example, if you type in “Is this copy of Windows genuine?” or “Genuine windows”, you might not find the right answer. Yet typing in ‘Is Windows activated” does the trick.

Apart from this, you can search for both apps on your system as well as at the Windows Store. You don’t even have to open the Windows Store to find these apps.

As you will soon discover, it is very simple to use Cortana. Especially if you like Windows 10.

3 Windows 10 Tweaks For Your Taskbar

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With every version of Windows, a new set of taskbar toys are thrown your way. With Windows 10, this is no exception.

By itself, the default taskbar setup will work alright. Yet if you want to customize the operating system to your PC, then a few tweaks are in order. Here are 3 tweaks to consider:

mysystemjpurnal3 1: Shrink Cortana

While Cortana has changed everything for the better for Windows, it still consumes a large amount of taskbar space. So, you can either condense Cortana or get rid of it completely. For this, right-click on the Cortana search box or any free space on the taskbar. When in the context menu, select Cortana > Show Cortana Icon. The search box disappears and will be replaced by Cortana’s icon. Now, click on the icon to activate Cortana itself.

If you want to get rid of Cortana, then click Cortana > Hidden and you can find your will a lot of space. No, Cortana isn’t removed but the icon is hidden from the taskbar.

2: Remove Task View

If you’re not one to use Task View’s virtual desktops or you use the shortcut key (Windows key+Tab), then just get rid of the icon. For this, right-click on the Task View icon or on free space in the Taskbar. Then finally, de-select ‘Show Task View button’.

3: Add Toolbars

This feature is hardly new but there are very few people who know anything about it. Two toolbars that you must absolutely have are the website launcher and a launcher to File Explorer. Using the former involves typing in a web address and your browser launches the site. For this, right-click on your toolbar and select Toolbars>Address from the context menu. For immediate access to system items, select Toolbars>Desktop.