How To Move Off Screen Windows Back On The Visible Screen

By Violeta | Published: March 7, 2010

If you use your laptop with an external monitor and you make that monitor primary, you always need to remember switching the settings back to the initial ones before disconnecting that monitor. If you forget, you’re in trouble, because the Display Properties window doesn’t show on your screen, so you can’t access the display settings (I’m talking here about Windows-operated computers). This is very tricky, because the Display Properties box doesn’t show in the taskbar, so you have no chance to use any menus that may show up when you right-click that tab.

This is what you need to do for bringing your off-screen window back on screen:

  • Right click anywhere on the desktop (on the free space, not on icons). The following menu will appear:

display properties

  • Left click on Properties (last item on the menu that will show up after your previous command)
  • Press F10 on the keyboard (this will move the current cursor position on the Display Properties window which you can’t see yet)
  • Press Down Arrow on the keyboard (this will activate the following menu, which you also can’t see, but I’ll show it to you here, so you realize what I’m talking about)

move display properties (Notice that the current cursor position is already on the Move item)

  • Press Enter. The Move command is now selected (but you also can’t see because the box is positioned off-screen)
  • Press either left arrow or right arrow on the keyboard.
  • After pressing any of the arrows once, just start moving the mouse left or right, until you see the Display Properties box on the screen.
  • When you’re happy with the new positioning of the box, left-click once and you’re done, you can now make your laptop screen primary again and thank me for saving you from disaster.
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10 Must-Have iPad Accessories

By Violeta | Published: February 23, 2010

Not long after the sound launch of the iPad, after the long-awaited gadget was labeled as just a big iPod Touch by prestigious publications in the industry,  the first iPad accessories didn’t wait too long to be announced. Of course, after Apple announced their envisioned accessories for their “not just another tablet computer”, lots of  third-party electronics manufacturers announced their cheaper alternative to the original iPad accessories from Apple. Here are some tips and tricks on what you may still need to buy in order to get the most out of your new iPad:

Apple Original iPad Accessories

The iPad Keyboard Dock

ipad accessories - keyboard dockIf you ever used a touch screen device, then you probably know that touch screens and working are not quite a match. After all, how fast can one type on a touch screen? As real life proved, touch screens are cool and nice to use when we only need to press a couple of buttons to scroll through pictures or to browse the web. However, when work implies some real data entry, a “flash and bones” keyboard is a must-have if you don’t want to have the productivity of a snail hurrying up to climb a leaf. Priced at $69, this iPad accessory solves the problem of Apple fans who need more than showing off with their cool gadgets. The iPad keyboard dock is not only a simple keyboard, but also a charging and syncing dock, which will allow the iPad to have the same functionality of a netbook. You may ask (and you’d be right) why not buying a netbook, then and have everything included from the start, without having to buy additional accessories? Well, netbooks are so popular lately, that it’s simply not cool enough to show off at your favorite cafe with a netbook. An iPad is something else. It’s cool. It’s lifestyle. It’s Apple.

The iPad Dock

ipad dockIf you decide the virtual keyboard is just fine, then you can have the dock without a keyboard attached for as little as $29. The dock will allow you to charge your iPad, to sync it with your computer or to plug in some speakers or the camera connection kit.

The iPad Case

ipad accessories - caseWell, if you got the iPad dock, you may still need something to be able to keep your iPad in a comfortable position while typing on the virtual keyboard. Just putting the gadget on your desk could be tricky, because that’s not the best position for typing at all and besides, you may involuntarily move it when you type, so you’ll be soon finding yourself chasing the iPad on your desk surface. For $39, you can call one of these cases yours.

The iPad USB Power Adapter

Even if you decide you don’t need a keyboard nor a dock, you may still wish to be able to charge your iPad directly from the power outlet. This cable is 6-foot long, a feature that’s supposed to make you happy that you can charge the device from such a distance (as if extension cords weren’t yet invented).

The iPad Camera Connection Kit

This accessory allows you to download photos and videos from a digital camera into the iPad. There are two ways of doing this: either by using the camera’s USB cable or by inserting the card directly into the card reader on the camera connection kit. The kit works with SD cards. I don’t know if other card formats fit.

Griffin iPad Accessories

Griffin announced a series of cases, sleeves and protection covers for iPad. They don’t disclose any prices yet, but here’s what you’ll be able to buy soon:

FlexGrip iPad Case

FlexGrip is a flexible silicone skin for iPad. It offers a good protection for your gadget, while allowing full access to all ports, jacks and controls. This protection case will be available in a few colors. Although I don’t quite get why people buy beautiful things only to cover them with such cases, I have to admit this case looks nice.

iPad Screen Care Kit

This kit includes a protective sheet and a cleaning cloth. The protection sheet is not just a piece of transparent plastic, but a low-glare, matte-finish “static peel screen protector”. The low-glare feature will be useful, I suppose, because it will help enhancing screen visibility during sunny days.

Trendy Digital iPad Accessories

Trendy Digital is a manufacturer of sleeves and cases for gadgets such as Amazon Kindle or Sony Reader. They didn’t miss the chance of launching a few practical cases for Apple’s new tablet computer.

TrendyDigital WaterGuard Waterproof iPad Case

This case offers a good protection against dust, sand, water or dirt, thus being suitable for people who think to use their iPad at the beach, by the pool or while they are relaxing in the bathtube. Waterguard features an adjustable strap, so you can wear your iPad around your neck or like a shoulder bag. If you need such a case, then find out that they are already available on Amazon for the  price of $19.99. There are two options of color:

TrendyDigital WaterGuard Waterproof Case for Apple iPad, Blue Border
TrendyDigital WaterGuard Waterproof Case for Apple iPad, Purple Border

Belkin iPad Sleeves

ipad sleeve vueipad sleeve maxipad sleeve grip

Belkin is one of the most-known manufacturers of computer sleeves and bags and of various other accessories for laptops, iPods, iPhones or netbooks. They didn’t miss their chance to have a slice of the iPad accessories pie Apple Computers just offered with the occasion of the new iPad launch. They came up with three 10-inch sleeves (Vue, Max and Grip) and a screen overlay. The Vue and Max sleeves cost $39.99, the Grip sleeve costs $29.99 and the screen overlay is $19.99. I’ve read somewhere that Belkin holds more than 25 iPhone and iPod accessories patents and that their annual sales exceed one billion US dollars. If iPad will manage to overcome this initial wave of disappointment, the iPad accessories market could also become huge in a very short time. Or it could turn out to be a flop. We’ll live and see.

What do you think: is iPad going to be a winner or a loser?

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Spyware Blockers: How To Keep Your Computer Spyware Free

By Violeta | Published: January 29, 2010

If you are like I used to be until not so long ago, you don’t worry too much about your computer getting infected with spyware, viruses, trojans, malware or any other malicious software, if they don’t visibly interfere with your work. It’s true that sometimes you may notice the computer slowing down, becoming more and more sluggish, but you’d be tempted to think it’s a fault of Windows. Is this true? Well, I had to find out the hard way that one should keep the computer free from spyware and similar programs: I woke up one day to all my websites being hacked and infected with malware. Moreover, a few sites of my clients’ were also infected, despite the fact that they were on separate hosting accounts. So, it was not the hosting company’s fault, as I initially believed. Actually, the only link between those attacked websites was that I was using an ftp client in my computer to update them. As I researched the issue, I discovered that my PC was infected with a keylogger, a malicious script that stole my ftp passwords as I was typing them, then logged into my accounts and added those bad pieces of code to my sites.

I was lucky to have fresh backups for almost all sites, therefore installing them from clean was just a matter of time. Please don’t ask me how much time, though…

Anyway, after getting the problem fixed, with all sites up and running again, I started to investigate possible options for keeping my PC protected against such things for the future. I found one good free malware remover compatible with Windows XP and Vista, which I’m still using to this day. However, free comes with some drawbacks, one of them being that it doesn’t offer active protection. I need to update it manually and remember to periodically scan my computer to see if it was infected since the last scan. That’s OK, but there are times when I forget to do this, so I’m considering buying some anti-spyware that updates itself automatically and offers active security guard, so I can take that of my mind.

SpyZooka: 100% Guaranteed Spyware Removal

SpyZooka attracted my attention, not only because of the recommendations they’ve got from prestigious computer experts and publications, but because of their 100% guaranteed spyware removal offer. Basically, they claim that if SpyZooka can’t remove any piece of spyware from your computer, the Blue Penguin specialists will give you a free updated version which does. Basically, they promise to include your hard-to-remove spyware in their work, so that they release an update of ZpyZooka that fixes your problem. As they are members of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), I think they are trustworthy, as this means they’ve already proven they are able to solve customer complaints if any.

SpyZooka Anti Spyware Features:

  • Computer immunization
  • Daily updates
  • Free customer support
  • Powerful spyware destroying robot that finds new spyware threats before they become a mass problem
  • Automated advanced features
  • 60 days money back guarantee

If any of you wants to find out if their computer has been infected with spyware, you can do that for free with SpyZooka. The spyware detection scan is free, but removal is not. Anyway, at least you can see if your computer is clean or not. The free detector is not an online application, you’ll need to download and install it by clicking on the green button below:

Free Spyware Scan

You may suspect your computer is infected with spyware or malware in any of the following cases:

  • Popup windows open without any possible reason
  • The browser has been hijacked, which means that you type a URL in the address bar, but you’re taken elsewhere
  • The browser’s home page changes by itself
  • New browser toolbars are installed without your knowledge
  • Some keys don’t work anymore

These are only a few symptoms that may indicate a spyware infection. Anyway, keep in mind that you should never click on any popup window that may appear promising you that you’ll get rid of malware if you install whatever it says in there. Those are fake antimalware programs which would infect your computer, then ask you to pay a fee to get them removed.

For those of you who think of buying SpyZooka, I’d say that you first go for the free PC scan. Then, you’ll be able to upgrade to the paid version directly from the user dashboard, in case you consider it helpful for your situation. However, if you are convinced and want to buy SpyZooka now, here’s the link: buy SpyZooka single computer license. If you buy from my link I’ll be getting a small incentive from Blue Penguin Software, but you’ll also get a discount of 10%. In order to claim your discount, use the coupon code SPY10 in your shopping cart.

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