I Started new website http://skalltricks.com/

please check new reviews and many more news click below link,
http://skalltricks.com/

"this is my new website"

OS Flaw Leaves Android Wide Open for App Hack Attacks

A flaw in Android's GUI framework let university researchers hack into applications with up to 92 percent success rate.

They tested apps from Gmail, H&R Block, Newegg, WebMD, Chase Bank,Hotels.com and Amazon.

"Changes in the shared memory side channel allow an attacker to infer if there is an activity transition going on in the foreground," researcher Zhiyun Qian, an assistant professor at the University of California at Riverside, told LinuxInsider.

"This is a design choice by modern OSes ... . The same attack may work as well [on other mobile OSes]," he added.

Details of the Flaw

When a new screen or window is shown, the GUI framework allocates a fixed amount of memory in the shared memory register that's proportional to the size of the screen, Qian said. This memory is allocated inside the app process and shared with a separate window compositor process.

Shared memory is commonly adopted by window managers to receive window changes or updates from running applications. This gives rise to the side channel.

When a user downloads a malicious app, the shared memory lets attackers steal information such as login credentials, and obtain sensitive camera images such as photos of personal checks sent through banking apps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QZZwiT-Df1U

Existing attacks can be enhanced in stealth and effectiveness by providing the target UI states; further, user behavior can be inferred by tracking UI state changes.

How the Attack Works

The researchers first built a UI state machine based on UI state signatures constructed online.

In real time, they inferred UI states -- called "activities" in Android -- from an unprivileged background app.

They then exploited the designed functionality that allows UI preemption, commonly used by alarm or reminder apps on Android, to break the GUI integrity.

"This is akin to a combination of other well-known flaws such as the Trojan Horse approach," Al Hilwa, a program director at IDC, told LinuxInsider.

Trojan Horses capture user data with a decoy UI before error messages are put out, and the real app is brought up once the data is stolen. However, in the researchers' attack, "the real app is used but another app is capturing the data, then throwing out an error message," Hilwa said.

The findings put paid to the common notion that downloaded apps cannot interfere with each other.

The Killing Fields

The researchers achieved success rates for their attacks of 92 percent for the Gmail and H&R Block apps; 86 percent for Newegg's app; 85 percent for the WebMD app; and 83 percent for the Chase Bank and Hotels.com apps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPpfoCVoOkI&feature=player_embedded

They had the lowest success rate -- 48 percent -- with the Amazon app, because it allows an activity to transition to almost any other activity, making tracking difficult.

"We will shut down the vulnerability on Android first, followed by iOS," James Wu, CTO and COO of Newegg North America, told LinuxInsider. He expects these fixes to be in place by next week.

"At this time, there is no indication that any H&R Block client data has been compromised as a result of this vulnerability," said company spokesperson Gene King.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Bbw9AqUVRbc

"H&R Block takes privacy and security very seriously, and we are in contact with appropriate parties to address these reports," he told LinuxInsider.

The researchers had not yet notified Google of the flaw, UCR's Qian said.

On Responsibility and Defense

As for fixing the flaw, Newegg's Wu said, "everyone is responsible -- the OS makers, app developers and phone users."

The researchers "did a good job at pointing out and educating everyone about a possible vulnerability," he continued. "Now it is up to all of us to do something about it."

OS vendors could eliminate the shared memory side channel, Qian suggested, although that could impact backward compatibility. Or they could redesign the GUI framework to avoid frequently allocating and deallocating memory, instead preallocating double the size of the memory. That approach would increase memory consumption, though.

There are "not always perfect solutions," Qian admitted, noting that each imposes its own penalties. 

Nvidia's Tegra K1 Stars in New Acer Chromebook

Acer America on Monday rolled out a new Chromebook contender featuring a 13.3-inch display and an Nvidia Tegra K1 mobile processor.

With a battery life of up to 13 hours, along with a light, fanless design, the Acer Chromebook 13 is available with two display options: a full HD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, 2 GB of memory and a 16-GB solid state drive for US$299.99; or 1366 x 768, with similar specs, for $279.99.

Another version for commercial and education customers will feature a 1366 x 768 display, 4 GB of memory and a 16-GB Solid State Drive for $329.99.

Either way, the Chromebook 13 boots up in less than 10 seconds and resumes nearly instantly from sleep mode, Acer said.

"The primary target for this product is families and students," Lisa Emard, an Acer spokesperson, told TechNewsWorld.

14.4 Million Units by 2017

Chromebooks have been selling relatively well compared to the rest of the PC market, Bob O'Donnell, founder and chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research, told TechNewsWorld.

Indeed, new research released by Gartner on Monday conveys much the same message.

Sales of Chromebooks will reach 5.2 million units in 2014, Gartner predicted, representing a 79 percent increase from 2013. Chromebook sales will nearly triple to reach 14.4 million units by 2017.

"Competition in the Chromebook market is intensifying as more vendors launch Chromebooks, with eight models in the market in 2014," said Isabelle Durand, principal analyst at Gartner.

"Now that the PC market is no longer growing strongly, vendors are searching for new business opportunities. They launched Chromebooks to revive interest in sub-$300 portable PCs once the netbook bubble had burst," she observed.

With a 21.4 percent share of the Chromebook market in 2013, Acer focuses on price-sensitive customers, according to Gartner.

'Like Netbooks All Over Again'

Much of the success of the Chromebook category so far has stemmed from strong demand in the U.S. educational marketplace, TECHnalysis' O'Donnell said.

"A lot of schools are finding that tablets, while great for a lot of things, are not the do-all and end-all many people hoped they would be, so they're reverting back to clamshell form factors," he noted. "It's kind of like netbooks all over again."

Acer's new entry, meanwhile, is "an interesting one because it has the K1, giving it great battery life," he pointed out.

Retail's Q4 Factor

The Chromebook's success in education aside, retail and e-commerce are a different matter, Jeff Orr, a senior practice director at ABI Research, told TechNewsWorld. Perhaps most notably, the latter markets tend to be dominated by fourth-quarter sales, he pointed out.

In any case, ABI predicts Chromebook sales of 3.3 million worldwide this year, with some 78 percent of those in North America, Orr said.

Whereas the overwhelming majority of Chromebooks use Intel processors, Acer's choice of Nvidia's chip instead "suggests that it sees an opportunity to broaden its portfolio -- touch that lower end of the notebook market and see where it can gain some advantages," Orr concluded.

'A Competitive System'

The new device "looks like a feature-rich system," Craig Stice, senior principal analyst for compute platforms at IHS iSuppli, told TechNewsWorld.

"There are a lot of new releases from OEMs jumping onto the Chromebook bandwagon, but this seems like a competitive system," he explained. "It has a nice larger screen, inputs from USBs and HDMIs -- it's creeping up on the specs full PCs might give you."

Hard-drive storage is not as strong, Stice noted, but "these systems are meant more for cloud computing," he pointed out.

Overall, "it's a bit early to understand if this is a winner or loser on the processor side," he concluded. "The market is still new, and OEMs are trying to find their differentiating models to gain market share."

Google May Start Grooming Little Googlers

"Companies realize that children are a huge, financially lucrative market," said the Center for Digital Democracy's Jeff Chester. While they may present their efforts under the guise of improving education or other aspects of children's lives, "marketers just see huge dollar signs," he charged. "We have real concerns. ... We're going to take a very close, critical look at this."

Google is working on a plan to allow kids under 13 to have their own personal accounts on services such as YouTube and Gmail, according to reports.

Under the new system, parents will be able to set up accounts for their children, control their use of those accounts, and regulate the information collected about them, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Google declined to comment for this story, noting that it does not comment on rumor or speculation.

'Just Recognizing Reality'

It's long been commonplace for children to lie about their age when signing up for online services such as YouTube and Facebook, and there's been little the Internet providers could do about it.

"On one level, you could say that Google is just recognizing reality," Greg Sterling, vice president of strategy for the Local Search Association, told the E-Commerce Times.

"Children under 13 do use Google services such as Google.com and YouTube. Large numbers of under-13 kids also have Gmail accounts already. This would just put a formal process or procedure around that usage," he said.

Google's likely motivation is "a desire to compete with Facebook and other properties like Instagram, which see significant usage among kids under 13. It's seeking to cultivate the next generation of Google users," Sterling pointed out.

'A Piece of That Action'

"It looks like a basic growth strategy to me," agreedPaul Gillin, blogger, podcaster and author of Attack of the Customers.

"Google is probably seeing subscriber growth slow in the U.S. and wants to find new customers," he told the E-Commerce Times. "It knows that kids who really want Google accounts can easily get them, and I'm sure it's hearing from some parents that they'd like to indulge their kids' interest in going online at an earlier age.

"Facebook is already popular with teens, and I'm sure Google would like a piece of that action," Gillin added.

'They Influence Parental Spending'

It's very difficult to convince teens and adults who already are using other social networking sites to switch to Google, noted Jim McGregor, founder and principal analyst with Tirias Research.

"So, Google is attempting to target the next generation of users, which is what Apple initially did when they targeted the education market," he told the E-Commerce Times.

The potential benefits for Google are clearly compelling.

"Long term, there would be a benefit from more loyal users," Sterling noted. "In the near term, many people are already seeing the ads."

Kids may not have credit cards, "but they influence parental spending," he added.

'A Seeding Strategy'

Still, Google would be wise not to focus on any immediate financial benefits, Gillin warned.

"If they know what's good for them, it means nothing to them financially," he said. "The FTC looks down upon any marketing to children, and that would particularly apply in Google's case, because so much of its marketing strategy is based upon behavioral analysis."

Rather, Google's best option is to look at this as "a seeding strategy," Gillin suggested.

In other words, "use the new accounts to let kids play safely online under strict parental supervision, and nurture them toward becoming Google loyalists in the long term," he explained. "I think Google knows this, and I doubt it would make the mistake of trying to cash in financially before any of its new customers are 18."

'Complicated Waters'

What remains to be seen is how well Google can protect younger users, McGregor said, noting the potential for this to "turn into a legal nightmare."

Google is "wading into complicated waters," said Sterling, "because it will have to filter content and ads, and may be opening itself up to litigation by saying it's going to provide a 'safe' or 'more controlled' environment for kids to use its services."

Still, the company "has done a pretty good job in the past of staying within legal boundaries," Gillin pointed out.

"Note that no details have been released at this point, so it's pure speculation how they might structure such an offering," he added. "It's also possible that Google is letting this idea leak to see what the reaction is and then will decide how to proceed based upon that. That's a smart strategy."

'Huge Dollar Signs'

The Center for Digital Democracy is worried, however, and it's already shared its concerns with the Federal Trade Commission, said CDD Executive Director Jeff Chester.

"Companies realize that children are a huge, financially lucrative market," he told the E-Commerce Times.

While they may present their efforts under the guise of improving education or other aspects of children's lives, "marketers just see huge dollar signs," Chester charged.

"We have real concerns," he added. "We think Google operates its data-targeting system in diverse and largely nontransparent ways. We're going to take a very close, critical look at this.

"We intend to ensure that Google is honest with parents and doesn't engage in the same targeting practices" that it does with adult consumers, he said. "Otherwise, kids will be at risk -- everywhere they go, Google will be a silent adult presence lurking behind their screens, capturing information that will be sold to advertisers in real time." 'Not Alarmed at All' Some kids' advocates are taking the rumor in stride.

"I'm not alarmed at all," Parry Aftab, a privacy lawyer and executive director of WiredSafety.org, told the E-Commerce Times.

"Most of the big networks have been looking at ways to 'bite the preteen bullet,' and all of us know there are tons of kids who lie about their age to use YouTube and Gmail -- some are even encouraged by their teachers," she pointed out.

"The good thing is, we already have a law that specifies what can and can't be done," Aftab noted, referring to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA.

Moreover, "Google is very good about reaching out to all of us in the privacy and safety community, all the time," she added. "They talk to the right people, and they have a road map because COPPA tells them what to do." 

Smart Phones – The Pivot of all Technology Today

Almost all the recent technological advances are somehow related to the gadget we call a smart phone. This is precisely the reason why it sees an increase in its demand by every passing day. No other piece of technology has every been so scalable and flexible so as to accommodate every happening advance in science.

The reason we call them ‘Smart’ phones is that these are not just ordinary communication gadgets. Their purpose is beyond all this. Be it a new application that lets you talk around the world for free, or a software that will let you run your company, a smart phone will not only give you assistance in achieving all these tools, it makes the user experience so complete that the need to develop another counter technology is not in the question. The only change that can be thought of with regard to this technology is further developments in the smart phone.

Application developers are also raising their standards, providing more and more features, and trying their level best to offer as much functionality in their products that customers can utilize the smart phone technology to the full. Also, because they know that this is the final pivot of all technology so might as well stay in the domain of smart phones.

Source

Software developers are in high demand and so is their work. Recently, the smart phone industry has experienced an interesting climax with the coming of the smart phone spy idea. This idea came about a few years back and spread in the common market like fire. Of course the practice had always been there but was limited to secret agencies and hackers. It was never this easy to just throw in some money and get a whole new perspective of your target person by spying on them. Many developers, specifically Mobiespion continue to improve their deliverables, and thus guaranteeing a safe zone for the technology of a smart phone spy.

Other drastic changes in the smart phone zone, that prove the sustainability of this gadget, include high definition screens, amazing camera lens, more convenient communication opportunities, all are focusing on bringing a whole new level of smart phone experience.

There, however, does remain the concern of the over-use of this tool. Smart phones decrease communication gaps but alongside increases social gaps. People tend to consume their free or idle time with this one and only friend- the smart phone. Hence when it comes to children distancing away from their parents, or spouses having low communication between each other, smart phone use could be easily provided as one of the options of the cause. People do not seem to realize but their persists great capacity for improvement in ‘people communication‘. Most of the relationships today seem to be hanging by a thread because there is this ‘other’ person on the other side of the smart phone who will always understand the problems more understandingly. OR there is this much better time pass on my smart phone which can help me vent out my feelings, instead of discussing my problems with an actual concerned person.

Teenagers today might not even know the contents in being covered in their classes, but they certainly would know the definition of the new game application released. They would be aware of the specs of a new smart phone, but might not know what career they want to pursue in the future. This situation might argue in favor of smart phones having the same effect of humans as does the television. You become so connected and attached to this piece of technology that real-time or real people do not seem to matter anymore.

Another factor that contributes to the smart phones being so central is the portability they provide in comparison to a general purpose computer. Almost all the functions can be carried out on a good smart phone that can done with the help of a computer. So smart phones are the real heroes in the world of technology today and as far as the future is concerned, the popularity of the smart phones can only be seen as rising by the minute.

Create Your Own Personalized Web Browser In Two Minutes

Have you ever thought about having your own web browser?

“Dude, I will have to learn to code first.”

That’s what I heard when I asked my friends about it.

I just received an email from one of my readers, Chris Winston who has created an awesome application that he wants me to check out and I couldn’t resist myself to write about it.

So here I am just going to share with you an awesome tool to fulfill your wish to have your own web browser.

So are ready for the ride?

Okay now without wasting another moment in telling you a story or creating some suspense I would love to directly jump to the meat inside.

So the application we are talking about is named “Make My Browser” (isn’t the title interesting? Thanks to Chris)

Make My Browser is a web app which makes it really simple for anyone who knows to click and type to create a browser.

The web browser it creates is based on the chromium browser which is an open source project by Google.

And yeah you guessed it right, the world’s most popular browser “Chrome” works on the same Chromium browser.

Every chrome extension which is built for Chrome will work on your customized browser too so you have nothing to worry about.

And I don’t think I need to tell you that it is the best and the fastest one available on earth till now.

So now before I start with the tutorial, let me just talk about one more thing.

Why would anyone need his/her own browser?

Two things to talk about,

1)      Privacy, after all you don’t want your family members to get hold of your personal information stored in your browser (cookies, history and stuff).

2)      The Feeling, that feeling of owning your own browser, having your own browser on your name. That is something to brag about among your friends who don’t know about Make My Browser.

So now I am done. (You know I try my best to directly jump to the tutorial, but I love to talk)

So here are the steps you need to follow in order to create your own personalized browser.

Go to MakeMyBrowser.com

On the homepage you’ll see the start now button, click on it to start creating your own browser.

On the next page you will need to give your browser a name and select an icon for it.

Any JPEG image will work, when you select the image it will be uploaded automatically and you’ll see a crop option below from where you need to cut out the icon. You can also see the preview on the right hand side to see how the icon will look like when completed.

On the next page you’ll be asked to set bookmarks for your browser and select the homepage.

You could set your own personal bookmarks, your Facebook profile or any other thing you want to add. You are the BOSS!

Then proceed to the next step, where you will be asked to select the theme for your browser.

Though the themes to choose from are quite less but they’ll work.

When you have selected the theme of your choice, click on “Finish and Download”.

There you have it, your download will start.

First the downloader will be downloaded which will then download the actual browser and install in on your system.

Over to you

So how does it feel having your own web browser?

Make sure to share your views on this post with me and for any of your queries I am there to help you.

And once again, Cheers to Chris for creating this awesome app.  :-)

OnePlus One

• EY SPECS
• NEWS

Display

5.50-inch

Processor

2.5GHz

Front Camera

 5-megapixel

Resolution

 1080x1920 pixels

RAM

 3GB

OS

 CyanogenMod 11S

Storage

16GB

Rear Camera

13-megapixel

Battery capacity

3100mAh

OnePlus One detailed specifications
GENERAL
Release date	Apr-14
Form factor	Touchscreen
Dimensions (mm)	152.90 x 75.90 x 8.90
Weight (g)	162
Battery capacity (mAh)	3100
Removable battery	No
Colours	Sandstone Black, Silk White
SAR value	NA
DISPLAY
Screen size (inches)	5.5
Touchscreen	Yes
Touchscreen type	Capacitive
Resolution	1080x1920 pixels
Pixels per inch (PPI)	401
Colours	16M
HARDWARE
Processor	2.5GHz  quad-core
Processor make	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801
RAM	3GB
Internal storage	16GB
CAMERA
Rear camera	13-megapixel
Flash	Yes
Front camera	5-megapixel
SOFTWARE
Operating System	CyanogenMod 11S
Java support	Yes
Browser supports Flash	Yes
CONNECTIVITY
Wi-Fi	Yes
Wi-Fi standards supported	802.11 a/ b/ g/ n/ ac
GPS	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes, v 4.00
NFC	Yes
Infrared	No
DLNA	No
Wi-Fi Direct	No
MHL Out	No
HDMI	No
Headphones	3.5mm
FM	No
USB	Micro-USB
Charging via Micro-USB	Yes
Proprietary charging connector	No
Proprietary data connector	No
Number of SIMs	1
SIM Type	Micro-SIM
GSM/ CDMA	GSM
3G	Yes
SENSORS
Compass/ Magnetometer	Yes
Proximity sensor	Yes
Accelerometer	Yes
Ambient light sensor	Yes
Gyroscope	Yes
Barometer	No
Temperature sensor	No

Nikon D5300 – First Nikon DSLR Camera with In-built Wi-Fi/GPS

Best Price - Rs.46,295
Nikon D5300 Features:
Type      - Compact SLR
Sensor   - 24.2 MP
LCD      - 3-inch
Others    - EXPEED 4 Processor

Nikon has launched the new Nikon D5300 , a 24.2MP DSLR camera , the successor of the hugely popular Nikon D5200 . The key new additions to this DSLR camera are the in-built wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) and GPS connectivity . Also it sports more powerful Expeed 4 image-processing engine , improved battery life , and is also Nikon’s first DSLR camera capable of recording 1080p video @ 60p . The in-built WiFi feature can be quite useful as now you can use the Nikon’s Wireless Mobile Utility app for Android and iOS smartphone/tablet and use them to remotely control the camera and easily import the content from the camera .

The key things which have not changed are FPS top shooting speed and the same 39-point auto-focus system as is in the Nikon D5200 . Along with the two existing colors (Black , Apple Red) , it will also be available in a bluish-gray color .

Nikon D5300 key features :

24.2MP DSLR Camera

First Nikon DSLR with In-built Wi-Fi and GPS Navigation

Pair with Android/iOS smartphones using Nikon App

Expeed 4 image-processing engine

Full HD 1080p video shooting @ 60p

39-point auto-focus system

3.2-inch LCD with 360-degree tilt

Available in 3 colors – Black , Red , Gray

Nikon D5300 Price in India : Rs.46,295 (with 18-55mm VR Lens). It is now available in India . It is costlier than the current Nikon D5200 , but that additional amount is worth spending because of addition of WiFi and GPS .

Internet tips and tricks

You don't need the http:// portion of a web page

When entering an Internetaddress you do not need to type http:// or even www. in the address. For example, if you wanted to visit Computer Hope you could just type Google.com and press enter. To make things even quicker, if you are visiting a .com address you can type Google and then press Ctrl + Enter to type out the full http://www.google.com address.

Quickly move between the fields of a web page

If you are filling out an online form, e-mail, or other text field you can quickly move between each of the fields by pressing the Tab key or Shift + Tab to move back a field. For example, in the example form below you can click in the "First Name" field type anything and press tab to switch to the next field.

Know your Internet browser shortcuts

There are dozens of different shortcut keys that can be used with Internet browsers. Below are a few of our top suggested Internet browser shortcuts.

·         Press Alt + D to move the cursor into the address bar.

·         Hold down the Ctrl key and press the + or - to increase and decrease the size of text. Ctrl + 0will reset the text.

·         Press the backspace key or hold down the Alt key + left arrow to go back a page.

·         Press F5 to refresh or reload a web page.

·         Press F11 to make the Internet browser screen full screen. Press F11 again to return to the normal view.

·         Press Ctrl + B to open your Internet bookmarks.

·         Press Ctrl + F to open the find box to search for text within the web page you are reading.

Internet Explorer shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Internet Explorer. See the computer shortcut page if you are looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs.

Shortcut Keys	Description
Alt + Left Arrow	Back a page.
Backspace	Back a page.
Alt + Right Arrow	Forward a page.
F5	Refresh current page, frame, or tab.
F11	Display the current website in full screen mode. Pressing F11 again will exit this mode.
Esc	Stop page or download from loading.
Ctrl + (- or +)	Increase or decrease the font size, pressing '-' will decrease and '+' will increase.
Ctrl + Enter	Quickly complete an address. For example, type computerhope in the address bar and press CTRL + ENTER to get http://www.computerhope.com.
Ctrl + D	Add a Favorite for the page currently opened.
Ctrl + I	Display available bookmarks.
Ctrl + N	Open New browser window.
Ctrl + P	Print current page or frame.
Ctrl + T	Opens a new tab.
Ctrl + F4	Closes the currently selected tab.
Ctrl + Tab	Moves through each of the open tabs.

Mozilla Firefox shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Mozilla Firefox. See the computer shortcut page if you are looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs.

Shortcut Keys	Description
Alt + Home	Open your home page.
Alt + Left Arrow	Back a page.
Alt + Right Arrow	Forward a page.
F5	Refresh current page, frame, or tab.
F11	Display the current website in full screen mode. Pressing F11 again will exit this mode.
Esc	Stop page or download from loading.
Ctrl + (- or +)	Increase or decrease the font size, pressing '-' will decrease and '+' will increase. Ctrl + 0 will reset back to default.
Ctrl + Enter	Quickly complete an address. For example, type computerhope in the address bar and press CTRL + ENTER to get http://www.computerhope.com.
Ctrl + Shift + Del	Open the Clear Data window to quickly clear private data.
Ctrl + D	Add a bookmark for the page currently opened.
Ctrl + I	Display available bookmarks.
Ctrl + J	Display the download window.
Ctrl + K or Ctrl + E	Move the cursor to the search box.
Ctrl + N	Open New browser window.
Ctrl + P	Print current page or frame.
Ctrl + T	Opens a new tab.
Ctrl + F4 or Ctrl + W	Closes the currently selected tab.
Ctrl + Shift + T	Undo the close of a window.
Ctrl + Tab	Moves through each of the open tabs.
Spacebar	Moves down a page at a time.
Shift + Spacebar	Moves up a page at a time.
Alt + Down arrow	Display all previous text entered in a text box and available options on drop down menu.

Take advantage of tabbed browsing

Take full advantage of tabbed browsing on all Internet browsers. While reading any web page if you come across a link that interests you open the link in a new tab so it doesn not interrupt your reading. A new tab can be opened by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the link or if you have a mouse with a wheel press down on the wheel to use it as a middle mouse button to open the link in a new tab.

Use Internet search engines to their full potential

Get the most out of every search result. If you are not finding what you want try surrounding the text in quotes. For example, searching for 'computer help' without quotes returns results with "computer" and "help" anywhere on the page. However, if you search for "computer help" with the quotes it only return pages with "computer" and "help" next to each other.

Try alternative browsers

Most computer users use the default browser that comes included with the computer, with Microsoft Windows this is Internet Explorer. There are many great alternative browsers that are all free to download and use and may have features your current browser does not include. Below are a few of our favorites, try one or try them all.

·         Google Chrome

·         Mozilla Firefox

·         Opera

Install plugins and add-ons

All of the above alternative browsers also have a large community of volunteers who develop add-ons and plugins that can be added into the browser. Each of these browsers has hundreds of thousands of these add-ons that can do such things like the current weather in your browser window, changing its color, and adding additional functionality.

Make sure your browser and its plugins are up-to-date

An Internet browser can have many plugins that give it additional functionality. For example, Adobe Flash is a great way to bring movies and other animated content to the Internet. Keeping these plugins up-to-date is vital for your computer stability and also security. Using the below tool you can quickly verify if your plugins are up-to-date and get links to where to download the latest updates.