Your Daily Computer Security Tips

Your hard-working keyboard can do much more for you than just let you type stuff. Today we are going to look at a few tricks, and fix some common frustrations, with your trusty keyboard.

To begin, here are a couple of maddening problems that happen to most of us sooner or later (usually sooner!). First, you are typing a long document, and do not realize that you accidentally hit the Caps Lock key. Now a long section of text is in the wRoNg CaSe! No fear. Fix it in Word by highlighting the text, then click Format on the Toolbar, then Change Case. Make your selection and click OK. Now, to help prevent this from happening again, use ToggleKeys!

This is a feature that will sound a tone when you press (turn on) Caps Lock, Num Lock or Scroll Lock, and a different tone when you turn them off. In Windows XP, click Start, Control Panel, Accessibility Options. Check the box under ToggleKeys and click Apply, OK.

Second, have you (or your kids) ever spilled something sticky and gooey on the keyboard? You cleaned it up at once, but you probably had problems such as sticky keys. Do this: Put the keyboard in the dishwasher, top rack, face down with no soap. Go through the wash cycle and remove; do not leave it in the dishwasher for the dry cycle. Allow it to air dry for a few days, then try it.

Now here are a few other handy tricks your keyboard will do. If you have several windows open and need to see your Desktop, just press and hold down the Windows Logo key (to the left and right of the Space Bar) and press D. Do the same again to get your windows back.

Press the Logo key alone, and your Start menu pops up. Press and hold the Logo key and press Pause Break on the upper right of your keyboard. The System Properties box pops up, giving you all sorts of info about your computer. Poke around and familiarize yourself with the options and data to be found there.

Your first language may be English, but you may sometimes need to write a document in a language such as French or Spanish, that requires accents and other marks. You can easily change your keyboard language by clicking Start, Control Panel, Regional and Language Options, Regional Options tab. Select your language. Click the Languages tab, and click Details. Under Default input language, select the language the keyboard will use.

Here is an important keyboard trick you should know about if you use public computers. It will help you avoid keyloggers. Click here to read all about it:
http://mypcsecurityblog.com/security/on-a-public-computer-outsmart-keyloggers

Now here are three more keyboard settings you can play with. Click Start, Control Panel, Keyboard, Speed tab. The Character repeat section controls the time delay before a character repeats itself when you hold down the key. The Repeat rate determines how fast a character repeats itself, when pressed.

Finally, the cursor blink rate sets how fast the cursor blinks. Or you can even set it to not blink at all. Adjust these settings to your taste, and click Apply, OK. Your pounding away on that keyboard will now be just a bit more fun!

Syd Tash is a longtime computer security consultant and author, and founder of
The SaferSurfing Project. Keep yourself safe online. Become a SaferSurfer now, and do your part for a better, more secure Internet. Find out how you do it right here:
=> http://SaferSurfingProject.com

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