March 2015 LCCU Meeting

• We’ll answers members’ questions:– How can you clean and speed up your PC safely, for

free?– What is the difference between Windows 8 Apps and

desktop programs, in Windows 8 and 10?– How can you get your PC to read to you, with

Narrator and more? – What is the planned duration of antivirus support

for Windows XP?

March 2015 LCCU MeetingDuration of Windows XP Antivirus

• Windows XP Antivirus expiration dates: – MS Security Essentials: 7/15/2015; Avast, AVG,

McAfee, Panda – at least 2 years after 4/2014; more at The End Is Nigh for Windows XP: These Anti-Virus Software Products Will Continue to Protect XP after the End of Support from av-test.org.

– Windows XP lives on: Avast survey shows 27 percent of its XP users don't plan to switch and recommends they use the Chrome browser, not Internet Explorer.

– More software suggestions at How to keep your PC secure when Microsoft ends Windows XP support

March 2015 LCCU MeetingClean & Speed Up Your PC

• Clean up your PC:– Uninstall unneeded programs, especially those that

run at startup – click Control Panel, Programs and Features, select the program, click Uninstall.

– Run the Windows Disk Cleaner – click Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup or type “cleanmgr.exe” in search box; or use CCleaner’s Cleaner.

– Run the disk defragmenter if it doesn’t run automatically – Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter (but not for solid state drives).

March 2015 LCCU MeetingClean & Speed Up Your PC

• Speed up your PC:– Remove any malware using

Malwarebytes Antimalware, ADWCleaner, …– Change Power Options to High Performance:

• Control Panel, Power Options, High Performance.

– Use Windows 7 Basic theme, turn off Gadgets.– Restart regularly.– Run fewer programs at a time.– Add memory, SSD or Ready Boost flash drive.

March 2015 LCCU MeetingClean & Speed Up Your PC

• Speed up your PC:– Use Troubleshooter to Check for Performance Issues

• Control Panel, Troubleshooting, System and Security, “Troubleshoot and help prevent system problems”.

• Note: It offered to prevent startup programs from running – Google AutoBackup, DriveSync & Update, MS Office & OneNote, CCleaner and Glary Utilities; but how to reenable?

– Run chkdsk to check for hard drive problems, every 6 months or so - in the search bar, type cmd and in the black box, chkdsk /r

March 2015 LCCU MeetingClean & Speed Up Your PC

• Speed up your PC at startup:– Disable unneeded startup apps using msconfig.exe or

CCleaner or Autoruns. If program re-enables itself, change its settings to prevent it, if possible. It’s safe to disable iTunes, printer & camera utilities.

– Troubleshooter offered to prevent startup programs from running – Google AutoBackup, DriveSync & Update, MS Office & OneNote, CCleaner and Glary Utilities; but disabling instead with CCleaner or msconfig.exe lets you re-enable them.

March 2015 LCCU MeetingClean & Speed Up Your PC

• Speed up your PC when browsing:– Disable or delete unneeded browser add-ons.– Use a simple home page & fast default search engine.– Don’t open a lot of tabs at once.– Upgrade your router if still using IEEE 802.11g.– Use www.speedtest.net to check that you’re getting

your ISP’s advertised speed.– Switch to a faster DNS server, as identified by Google’s

namebench or GRC’s DNS benchmark.

March 2015 LCCU MeetingClean & Speed Up Your PC

• Diagnosing the problem with www.askleo.com:– Why is my machine slowing down?– How do I find out what program is using all my CPU? -

download Process Explorer.– How do I stop this constant disk activity? – download

Process Monitor– How do I monitor network activity on my Windows 7 mac

hine? use Resource Monitor in Performance Mon

– Why is my new computer's internet access slower than that of my old computer?

– .

March 2015 LCCU MeetingClean & Speed Up Your PC

• References:– PC Cleaning Apps are a Scam: Here’s Why (and How t

o Speed Up Your PC) from howtogeek.com

– Putting Registry-/system-cleanup apps to the test from windowssecrets.com.

– How to Disable Startup Programs in Windows– How to Use CCleaner Like a Pro: 9 Tips & Tricks– 12 Tips to Speed Up Windows 7 from PC Mag– The Best Tune-Up Utilities from PC Mag

March 2015 LCCU MeetingClean & Speed Up Your PC

• Videos on www.YouTube.com:

• Making Windows 7 Run Blazingly Fast

• 20 Amazing Windows 7 Performance Boosting Tips - a few are iffy

• How To Speed Up Windows 7

• How to Speed up Windows 7 by 100%

• How To Speed Up Windows 7

• Complete Ultimate In Depth Guide to CCleaner by Britec

March 2015 LCCU MeetingWindows 8 Apps vs. Desktop Apps

• Windows 8 Apps are (from howtogeek.com): – Only available from the Microsoft Store.– Sandboxed – permissions are listed at installation.– Run one at a time, or with Snap, a 2nd can run too.– Always on, in memory, suspended if you switch away.– Run full screen – controls are hidden until needed.– Integrated into the system – settings & controls for

printing & sharing are in the charms bar.– Can be programmed in HTML5 & Javascript.

March 2015 LCCU MeetingWindows 8 Apps vs. Desktop Apps

• Windows 8 Apps in Windows 10: – Are listed on the restored Start Menu with desktop

apps.– Open in desktop windows that can be resized.– Have a Windows App menu bar with options that

were buried in the charms menu in Windows 8.

March 2015 LCCU MeetingMake Your PC read to you

• Microsoft Narrator reads text on the screen – menus, toolbars, etc., and describes some events.

• Microsoft Word reads .doc, .docx, etc. files, but the command must be added to the ribbon.

• Adobe Reader reads .pdf files with View, Read Out Loud.

• For reading websites, Internet Explorer has Translate with Bing, Firefox has FoxVox add-on

March 2015 LCCU MeetingMake Your PC read: the screen

• Narrator:– To turn on: Start menu, Accessories, Ease of Use,

Narrator or Control Panel, Ease of Access Center.– To turn off: Ctrl key or Exit.

• Video showing use:– Using Narrator the basic screen reading tool built

into MS Windows

• Free full screen readers include the open source NVDA NonVisual Desktop Access.

March 2015 LCCU MeetingMake Your PC read: doc files

• Using Word 2010, 2013 or 365:– Add Speak command, under All Commands, to the

Quick Access menu bar or to a group in any tab.– Select text to be read.– Click Speak icon.

• Video showing use:– Word 2010 | Convert Text to Speech

• Note – it’s more complicated with Libre Office.

March 2015 LCCU MeetingMake Your PC read: pdf files

• Using Adobe Reader:– Open a .pdf file.– Click View, Read Out Loud, Activate Read Out

Loud. – To read, click View, Read Out Loud, and either

Read This Page Only or Read to End of Document– To stop reading, click View, Read Out Loud,

Stop/Pause.– Control voice speed under Edit, Preferences,

Reading; changed words per minute to 150, clearer.

March 2015 LCCU MeetingMake Your PC read: websites

• Using Internet Explorer with Bing Translator:– Highlight text to be read and right-click it. Select

“Translate with Bing”. Click speaker icon under text.

• Using Firefox:– Download & install FoxVox add-on.– Highlight text to be read and right-click it. Select

FoxVox, “Speak selected text”.