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Tutorial: How to Encrypt Your iTunes Backup with Password

July 11th, 2016 by Admin

It’s a good practice to create a backup of your iPhone in iTunes in case you accidentally delete your iPhone data. One important problem with iTunes backup is that it’s not encrypted by default. If you create a local backup stored on a computer, your backup could be accessed by anyone who has physical access to your computer. To prevent data leakage or data loss, I would recommend you encrypt your iTunes backup with a password.

How to Encrypt Your iTunes Backup with Password?

  1. Connect your iPhone to a computer (or Mac) with iTunes installed. Launch iTunes and then click on the little iPhone icon in the upper toolbar. This takes you to the Summary page.

    iphone-icon

  2. Under the Summary page, you will see a section called Backups. Check This computer and also check Encrypt iPhone backup checkbox.

    encrypt-itunes-backup

  3. You will be asked to create a password that will used to encrypt your iTunes backup. Make sure you set a good password you won’t forget.

    set-itunes-backup-password

    If you’re running Mac OS X, there is an additional option lets you save the password in Keychain access, and I don’t suggest you ticking that option.

  4. Once you clicked the Set Password button, iTunes will encrypt all your local backup immediately.

    backing-up-iphone

  5. When it’s done, you can verify that your backup is encrypted. Within iTunes, click the Edit menu and select Preferences.

    itunes-preferences

  6. Once the Preferences window opens, click the Devices tab. If you spot a tiny lock icon in the row of your latest backup, it indicates your iTunes backup is encrypted successfully.

    itunes-encrypted-backup

After encrypting your iTunes backup with a password, nobody can restore a device from the backup without knowing your password. The data in the backup is encrypted too, and no need to worry about data leak even when your computer is stolen.

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How to Turn Off or Disable Touch Keyboard in Windows 10

July 4th, 2016 by Admin

If your computer has a physical keyboard, then you might not need to use the Touch keyboard at all. In this tutorial we’ll show you a simple way to turn off, remove or disable Touch keyboard in Windows 10.

touch-keyboard

How to Turn Off or Disable Touch Keyboard in Windows 10?

  1. Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard to open the Run box. Type services.msc and press Enter.

    run-services

  2. When the Services applet opens, click on the Name column to sort the services by name, and then scroll until you locate the “Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service“. Double-click on that service.

    services

  3. In the resulting Properties window, change the Startup type to Disabled, and click the Stop button if this service is running now. Click OK to save your change.

    touch-keyboard-service

  4. If the Touch keyboard shortcut icon is displayed in the system tray, you can remove it by right-clicking on the taskbar and deselecting the “Show touch keyboard button” option.

    remove-touch-keyboard-button

  5. Reboot your computer. No more annoying keyboard icon in the system tray and the Touch keyboard will not pop up automatically and bother you anymore.

This will of course, disable both the Touch keyboard and handwriting service, so you won’t be able to use the handwriting. If you need to enable Touch keyboard again, just change the Startup type of the “Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service” service back to Automatic.

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How to Open and Use Windows 10 Touch Keyboard

July 4th, 2016 by Admin

Touch keyboard is Windows’s built-in tool that lets you type on touch devices, or even type with a mouse when you don’t have access to a physical keyboard. In this tutorial we’ll show you the simplest ways to open Touch keyboard and use it in Windows 10.

Part 1: Open Touch Keyboard in Windows 10

Just press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type tabtip and press Enter. It should be the fastest way to launch Touch keyboard in Windows 10.

tabtip

If you want to access Touch keyboard frequently, you can add the Touch keyboard shortcut to the taskbar. Simply right-click on the taskbar and select/check the “Show touch keyboard button” option in the context menu.

show-touch-keyboard-button

You’ll see a keyboard icon appear in the lower-right corner of the taskbar. Click that icon and you can open Touch keyboard immediately.

touch-keyboard-button

Part 2: Make Windows 10 Show Touch keyboard Automatically

By default, Windows 10 will not make the Touch keyboard appear when you type on the address bar or text fields. The good news is that you can change that behavior in just a few steps:

  1. Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app. Click on Devices.
  2. Select Typing in the left side, scroll down and toggle on: Automatically show the touch keyboard in windowed apps when there’s no keyboard attached to your device.
  3. The Touch keyboard will automatically pop up when tapping on text forms, address bars, or anywhere else that you need to type on.

Part 3: How to Use Touch Keyboard

Once the Touch keyboard is open, you can drag it around the screen or re-size it. Here are 4 main features for Touch keyboard:

touch-keyboard

  • To add languages to the keyboard, tap the button in the right corner and select Language Preferences. Or, add them from the Settings area in Settings > Time & language > Region & language.
  • Tap the button in the bottom right corner to change the keyboard layout to a standard keyboard, a minimal keyboard, or a handwriting panel for writing. After switched to standard keyboard layout, you’ll have access to the Alt, function, tab, and other keys missing from the default Touch keyboard.
  • Autocorrect and suggestions. As you type or write with your finger, word suggestions appear at the top of the keyboard. See the one you want? Just tap to select it, then keep typing.
  • Both the basic and split keyboards include a wide range of emoticons and emojis, including different skin tones. To view the many categories, click the smiley face icon, then tap the left arrow button to move through them.

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2 Ways to Turn On / Off Network Discovery in Windows 10

July 3rd, 2016 by Admin

Network discovery is a Windows setting that can control whether your PC can find other computers and if other computers on the same network can see your PC. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to turn on or off network discovery from Control Panel or Command Prompt in Windows 10.

network-discovery-off

Method 1: Turn On / Off Network Discovery from Control Panel

Open the Control Panel in Large icons view. Click Network and Sharing Center.

network-sharing-center

In the left pane of Network and Sharing Center, click the Change advanced sharing settings link.

change-sharing-settings

Now you can find 2 different profile: Private, Guest or public. Expand the options of the network profile that you want to change, select the Turn on network discovery option to enable network discovery, or select the “Turn off network discovery” option to disable network discovery. Click Save changes.

turn-on-off-network-discovery

If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes. If network discovery is turned off, your computer won’t be able to view the other connected devices, and conversely, won’t be visible to the other devices as well.

Method 2: Turn On / Off Network Discovery from Command Prompt

To get started, Open the Command Prompt in administrator mode.

Copy and paste the following command into the Command Prompt and press Enter. This will turn on network discovery for private and public network profiles:
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Network Discovery" new enable=Yes

enable-network-discovery-cmd

If you want to turn off network discovery again, copy and paste this command into the Command Prompt, and press Enter.
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Network Discovery" new enable=No

When finished, you can close the elevated Command Prompt.

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Automatically Sync Windows Time More Often Than Default

July 1st, 2016 by Admin

How often does Windows sync time? Is there a way to set a frequent period for Windows to sync time automatically? By default, domain controller will sync clock once per one hour, and standalone computer will sync clock once every week. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to change the time synchronization interval/frequency and make Windows automatically sync time more often than default.

windows-time

How to Make Windows sync time more often than default?

  1. To change the time synchronization interval, we have to access the Registry Editor. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type regedit and press Enter.

    regedit

  2. Once the Registry Editor opens, navigate to the following registry key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient
  3. Look for the SpecialPollInterval entry in the right pane. This entry specifies the interval in seconds for the Windows Time service to sync the time. The default value on standalone computer is 604800 seconds, that is equal to 7 days.

    SpecialPollInterval

  4. Double-click on the SpecialPollInterval entry. From the pop-up dialog, click Decimal and enter the time interval (in seconds). For example, if you want to let Windows sync time each hour, just type 36000. Click OK and close Registry Editor.

    change-time-syn-interval

  5. Now we need to check if the Windows Time service is configured to start during boot. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type services.msc and press Enter.

    run-services

  6. From the service list, find the service named Windows Time and then double-click on it.

    windows-time-service

  7. Change the Startup type to Automatic and click OK.

    W32Time

    Reboot your computer and Windows will automatically sync the time at the interval you specified. Every time Windows loads up or you start or restart the Windows Time service, it will also sync time immediately.
    That’s all there is to it.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista

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Remove PST File Password with Freeware pst19upg

June 30th, 2016 by Admin

How to remove forgotten password from Outlook PST file? If you do not remember the password to your PST file, you lose access to mail messages in the file. In such situations, it is necessary to remove / unlock PST password.

pst-password

Many years ago, Microsoft released a free utility called pst19upg.exe which was originally designed to upgrade the PST format to version 19. One of the side effects is that it can strip out PST password. In this tutorial we’ll walk you the steps of removing PST file password using the freeware pst19upg.exe.

How to Remove PST File Password with Freeware pst19upg?

Before getting started, close your Outlook application and make a backup of your Outlook PST file in case the PST file gets damaged or corrupted. Assuming that you’re going to remove password for a PST file stored in the C:\backup directory. Follow these steps:

  1. Download these two utilities pst19upg.zip and scanpst.zip, save them to your local folder C:\backup and unzip. pst19upg.exe is the built-in tool available in Outlook 2003 or even older version, while you can access scanpst.exe from any Outlook version.

    pst19upg

  2. Run the scanpst.exe tool. Click Browse to select your PST file and click Start.

    inbox-repair-tool

  3. After the scan is complete, a dialog reports the errors found. Click on Repair button to repair the PST file.

    repair-pst

  4. When it’s done, the scanpst.exe utility will show a “Repair complete” message. Click OK.

    repair-complete

  5. Now open the Command Prompt by pressing Windows + R key combination and typing cmd. Type the following command and press Enter. This will convert your pst file to .psx format.
    C:\backup\pst19upg.exe -x C:\backup\outlook-copy.pst

    convert-pst-to-psx

  6. When complete, type the following command and press Enter. This will create a password-free pst file from the psx file.
    C:\backup\pst19upg.exe -i C:\backup\outlook-copy.psx

    convert-psx-to-pst

  7. Now you’ve successfully removed the PST password. Run the scanpst.exe file to repair the newly-created pst file. After that, copy this PST file to the original location and you can then open Outlook application without prompting you to enter PST password.

This pst19upg.exe tool will work only on MS Outlook 2003 and earlier versions and it can process ANSI formatted PST files only. If you need to remove the password of Unicode PST file, you have to use the third party software – Outlook Password Recovery, which supports all the Outlook versions.

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5 Ways to Open Windows Defender in Windows 10

June 28th, 2016 by Admin

Windows Defender is a built-in antivirus program for Windows 10 that helps keep your computer safe from virus, spyware and other forms of malware. In this article we’ll show you 5 quick ways to open Windows Defender in Windows 10.

Method 1: Open Windows Defender Using Control Panel

Open the Control Panel and set the View by option to Small icons. Click Windows Defender to launch the application.

control-panel

Method 2: Open Windows Defender Using Cortana Search

Click the Cortana Search box on the taskbar, type defender and then click Windows Defender from the results window.

search-windows-defender

Method 3: Open Windows Defender from Start Menu

Click the Start button and select “All apps” at the bottom to see all apps and programs listed alphabetically. Look for the Windows System folder and expand it. From there you can access Windows Defender.

open-windows-defender-via-start

Method 4: Open Windows Defender Using Settings App

Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app. Click Update & Security.

Click the Windows Security tab on the left side, then click the Open Windows Defender Security Center button from the right side.

Method 5: Open Windows Defender from Run or Command Prompt

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type the following command and press Enter.
"C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe"

run-windows-defender

Or type the above command at the Command Prompt and press Enter. This will also start Windows Defender.

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How to Turn off Startup Sound in Windows 10

June 28th, 2016 by Admin

Every time you turn on your computer, Windows plays a welcome sound when the login screen loads up. If you feel the startup sound is boring or just annoying, you can turn it off easily. In this article we’ll show you how to turn off / disable the startup sound in Windows 10.

How to Turn off Startup Sound in Windows 10?

  1. Right-click any empty area of your desktop, and then click Personalize.

    personalize

  2. When the Settings app loads up, click the Themes tab on the left, and then click the Advanced sound settings link on the right side.

    advanced-sound-settings

  3. From the Sounds Settings window, click the Sounds tab, uncheck “Play Window Startup sound” as shown in the screenshot below and click OK.

    windows-startup-sound

If you want to access the Sounds Settings window directly, just press the Windows key + R and type mmsys.cpl in the Run box. To turn on the startup sound again, you can re-check the “Play Window Startup sound” option.mmsys

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4 Ways to Start Internet Explorer in Windows 10

June 27th, 2016 by Admin

Despite Microsoft Edge becomes the new default browser in Windows 10, Microsoft has not removed Internet Explorer from the latest operating system. But you’ll find a bit difficult to locate and run Internet Explorer. In this article we’ll show you 4 ways to start Internet Explorer in Windows 10.

Method 1: Start Internet Explorer Using Cortana Search

Click into the Cortana Search box on the taskbar, type internet explorer and press Enter. You can access Internet Explorer from the search result.

open-ie-via-cortana

If you want to open Internet Explorer frequently, right-click on the Internet Explorer from the list and you can pin it to the taskbar or the Start screen.

pin-internet-explorer

Method 2: Start Internet Explorer from Start Menu

Click the Start button. When Start Menu appears, click All apps, then expand Windows Accessories and click Internet Explorer.

open-ie-via-start-menu

Method 3: Start Internet Explorer Using Run Box

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type iexplore and press Enter. This will open Internet Explorer quickly.

iexplore

Method 4: Start Internet Explorer from Microsoft Edge

Open Microsoft Edge and navigate to the desired webpage. Click the three dots button at the top-right corner of the Microsoft Edge window, and then select Open with Internet Explorer.

open-ie-from-edge

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