PCS | Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10

Keyboards shortcuts are usually made with two keys and are used to perform tasks that usually require a mouse. Many people are aware of CTRL + C (Copy) and CTRL + V (Paste), but are not familiar with any other keyboard shortcuts. Microsoft compiled a list for Windows user’s everyday needs. The end of the list contains a few more keyboard shortcuts that were added to Windows 10. WINDOWS SYSTEM KEY COMBINATIONS F1: Help CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs ALT+F4: Quit program SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently Windows Logo+L: Lock the computer (without using CTRL+ALT+DELETE) WINDOWS PROGRAM KEY COMBINATIONS CTRL+C: Copy CTRL+X: Cut CTRL+V: Paste CTRL+Z: Undo CTRL+B: Bold CTRL+U: Underline CTRL+I: Italic MOUSE CLICK/KEYBOARD MODIFIER COMBINATIONS FOR SHELL OBJECTS SHIFT+right click: Displays a shortcut menu containing alternative commands SHIFT+double click: Runs the alternate default command (the second item on the menu) ALT+double click: Displays properties SHIFT+DELETE: Deletes an item immediately without placing it in the Recycle Bin GENERAL KEYBOARD-ONLY COMMANDS F1: Starts Windows Help F10: Activates menu bar options SHIFT+F10: Opens a shortcut menu for the selected item (this is the same as right-clicking an object CTRL+ESC: Opens the Start menu (use the ARROW keys to select an item) CTRL+ESC or ESC: Selects the Start button (press TAB to select the taskbar, or press SHIFT+F10 for a context menu) CTRL+SHIFT+ESC: Opens Windows Task Manager ALT+DOWN ARROW: Opens a drop-down list box ALT+TAB: Switch to another running program (hold down the ALT key and then press the TAB key to view the task-switching window) SHIFT: Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you insert a...

PCS | Stay Secure Online!

Online threats are evolving at an increasing rate day after day. It seems like every week you turn on the news, you hear of another data breach. Most of these breaches are against large companies. While there is not much you can do to prevent someone from hacking a company that stores your data, there are some things you can do to protect yourself while browsing online. The best ways to protect yourself online would be to use strong passwords, be cautious of unexpected emails, install anti-virus, and use extensions to block pop-ups and malware. A strong password should consist of at least eight characters, is different than your previous passwords, and should include uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numeral digits, and symbols. Your passwords should not include your user name, real name, company name, or a complete word. Secure password managers are great to use if you do not want to keep up with all the account passwords. Palmetto Computer Solutions (PCS) recommends LastPass for this purpose. Don’t forget, if you are a student and have an .edu email address, LastPass provides free access to their services for six months. Unexpected emails show up in everyone’s inbox. If you do not recognize the email sender, do not open or download the message. Though the email may look authentic, it could be a phishing scam. If you click a link in any email that sends you to a login page, always check the domain in the URL to be sure it is a legitimate site. A good anti-virus can help protect your computer if you download a virus or malware....

PCS | Data Recovery!

Have you ever deleted files or photos from your computer and not mean to? Has your computer restarted for an update and you were in the middle of typing in a word processing application? Are your family photos missing from where they used to be? Most of us have had these issues. As horrible as they may be, we want to let you in on a secret, the files are not gone! They can be recovered. You do not have to start all over again! User errors happen to everyone at some point in time. But don’t worry! A file is not removed from the hard drive when it is deleted. The file that was deleted is stored in another location until another file overwrites it. If you notice you are missing any files, STOP immediately and do not save any files until you have taken your PC to a Palmetto Computer Solutions technician to have the files recovered. If you have a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), data recovery has a high possibility of success! If you have a Solid State Drive (SSD), it becomes more difficult to recover the data because the data is always being moved around on the drive. Additionally, anytime power is applied to the SSD, there is a good possibility that data may be erased. There are custom tools that many PC technicians can use to recover the data. However, they are expensive. Palmetto Computer Solutions offers inexpensive recovery software for SSD’s and we are glad to help! Contact us for a...

PCS | System Requirements for Today’s Windows Operating Systems…

Today’s operating systems (i.e. Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10) do not require as many resources as you may think. In fact, the system requirements for Windows 7, 8, and 10 have not changed much at all. While Palmetto Computer Solutions recommends exceeding the minimum system requirements, these new operating systems will run on the requirements below. If you want to run Windows 7 on your PC, here’s what it takes: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit) 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver If you want to run Windows 8.1 on your PC, here’s what it takes: Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2 (more info) RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit) Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver. If you want to run Windows 10 on your PC, here’s what it takes: Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster. RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit) Free hard disk space: 16 GB. Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver. A Microsoft account and Internet access. If you would like to upgrade or buy a new computer that will run one of these operating systems, please give Palmetto Computer Solutions a call at ...

PCS| Ashley Madison Summary Data and Paid for Delete for SC

The Ashley Madison Agency, established in 2001, is home to around 33 million users. Of the 33 million users from around the world, about 0.6% were from South Carolina. With that being said, South Carolina has been ranked at number 36 for most unfaithful state in America. While analyzing the data from South Carolina, we found 218,840 users signed up for service. That is a staggering 85% male and 15% female. If you crunch those numbers is comes to 185,700 male users and 33,140 female users. These users may have never paid for the service offered but they did create a profile. Ironically, we also found that there were 2,015 users in South Carolina that had paid for their account to be deleted. That means 1% of South Carolina users paid for delete. Of the 2,015 South Carolina users that paid for delete, 1,857 were male users and 158 users were female. It has been interesting to learn about the users involved in the Ashley Madison leak. We analyzed the data with social media platforms and learned more about the people who had signed up with Ashley Madison. However, due to legal concerns, we will only be sharing summary data here. In the coming days, we will release more data and analytics regarding Ashley Madison users from South...