We notified you earlier that Microsoft was planning to prevent old versions of Skype from working. Since yesterday, all versions of Skype below Skype 6.13 for Windows and Skype 6.14 for OS X are blocked and do not allow you to sign in. If you are not happy with the latest bloated version with obtrusive ads, here is a temporary workaround which will allow you to bypass the version check and run Skype 5.
Disable the yellow warning sign from the network icon on the Windows taskbar
Starting with Windows Vista, the operating system is able to show internet availability via an icon besides a network connection indicator. Windows can check if the internet is down and only the local network is available. If the Internet is not available, you will see a yellow warning icon over the default network icon in the taskbar. When the internet is working, you see only the network icon - either a wired or wireless one. If you are not happy to see this yellow overlay icon on top of the network icon, here's how you can disable it.
Disable and remove the search box from the new tab page in Firefox
Mozilla released a new stable version of the Firefox browser for desktop (Windows, Mac and Linux) and mobile (Android) platforms. In desktop version of Firefox 31, there is a search box that has been added to the New Tab Page. But Firefox already has a dedicated search box. If you found the search box on the New Tab page redundant, you can remove it. Just follow these simple instructions.
Disable safe browsing and prevent Firefox from sending downloaded file info to Google
I have noticed that with the upcoming Firefox 32, which is currently in Nightly state, the browser will use Google's safe browsing database to check files you have downloaded from the Internet. For every executable file you download, Firefox will perform a check against the online database which is provided by Google. The current version of Firefox 31 also ships with a similar option, but it uses a local database and does not send any request to Google's sites. Firefox 32 will continue to use the local database, however, if the downloaded file isn't found in the local database, Firefox will send the information to Google. You might be interested in disabling this behavior due to privacy concerns. Here's how you can turn it off.
Nature HD#44 theme for Windows 8
Beware of sites which bundle and spread crapware using Winaero apps
Today, a friend pointed me to a site which covered the Explorer Toolbar Editor. While I was happy to see that the reviewer provided very positive feedback about my app, I noticed that the link he used is not the official home page but some link to an installer which bundles crapware. This isn't the first time we experienced this problem, and I would like to warn you about such sites.
Add or remove buttons from the Windows 7 toolbar with Explorer Toolbar Editor
The Explorer app in Windows 7 comes with a toolbar which includes various command buttons for fast access to common tasks. It is not possible to customize it. Windows 7 does not include any option to change the set of buttons on the toolbar. I am happy to introduce my freeware, Explorer Toolbar Editor, which allows you to add more buttons to the toolbar, or remove them easily.
How to run System Restore in Windows 8.1 and Windows 8
System Restore is a feature of Windows 8 and several previous versions of Windows, going back to Windows Me. It was created to help you fix the OS with just a few clicks when system files or settings get damaged. It automatically creates restore points, which are snapshots of system files, program files, drivers, and registry settings. Later, if you use System Restore to restore your computer to a point in time before some problem happened, System Restore will roll back your PC to a previous version of files and settings from the restore point that you specified. System Restore does not affect your personal documents or media. Plus, you can undo the last restore operation itself if does not resolve your issue. In Windows 8, Microsoft removed the shortcut link to start System Restore from the Accessories -> System Tools folder. In this article, we will see how to open System Restore in Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.
How to access System Recovery options in Windows 8
System Recovery options in Windows 8 have changed compared to previous versions of Windows. There are a number of tools including Refresh your PC, Reset your PC, System Restore, System Image Recovery, Automatic Repair, Command Prompt and others. On UEFI devices, there are some additional UEFI-related options. It is very useful to have access to these tools when your Windows 8 installation does not start up properly and you have to troubleshoot and fix it. Unfortunately, the F8 key to access recovery options no longer works in Windows 8. Let's see the various ways to access System Recovery options in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.
Startup Sound Enabler for Windows 8
Earlier this year, we covered how you can get back the Startup sound played during logon in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. It requires you to complete several steps manually which can be quite tedious for some users. A number of our readers had issues following all the steps correctly.
So to make things simple, I decided to create Startup Sound Enabler for Windows 8. This app will allow you to assign a startup sound with just one click! It does the job of creating the script with the sound you pick and setting it up in Task Scheduler automatically.
