Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Best Chrome Extensions to Avoid Distractions and Boost Productivity

A major chunk of the internet is a huge distraction. One moment you are vigorously working on your college assignment, and the next you are binge-watching slime videos. To say nothing of the notifications from social networks, and several other distractions that keep you away from what you really must be doing and consequently it takes a toll on productivity.
Now, to help you fight the battle, there are several extensions available. With the help of these tools, you can stay more focused and less distracted. So without further ado, let’s go through the different Google Chrome extensions to bust distractions and bolster productivity.
  1. OneTab
Instead of getting stuck under the debris of all the open tabs, often in a couple of different windows, just get this extension. Whenever you get overwhelmed with a lot of tabs, just hit the OneTab icon and transform all of them in a list form. If you wish to access the listed tabs, just restore them.
This extension helps you save up to ninety-five percent memory as the number of open tabs will decrease. Avoid the clutter and boost your productivity with OneTab.
  1. StayFocused
StayFocused allows you to set time limits for the websites you spend a lot of time on. This extension is not rigid and provides a little leeway. Rather than merely blocking the websites straight away, it gives users a couple of minutes to wrap up. Users can tweak the settings and remove any website from the blocked list. All-in-all, this extension is pretty handy in keeping you from wasting too much time on your frequently visited sites.
  1. Just Read
Just Read is a chrome extension which can be customized. Just get this extension and tap on its icon located at the upper right-hand side of the tab to eliminate the page’s advertisements, formatting, comments, and other unwanted elements to improve your reading experience. This extension helps you enjoy a distraction-free reading experience by removing the styling, pop-ups, and other stuff. The blog/article will be presented in a custom simplified format.
Moreover, you can select your theme, customize the styling, and tweak so much more settings.
  1. Minimal New Tab Clock
While the new tab page of the Chrome is somewhat minimalistic and very simple, to avoid getting distracted, use Minimal New Tab Clock. If you simply want to see the time when you open a fresh tab, then this extension is made for you. In the as minimalistic as possible tab screen, you will simply see the time, date, and day. The analog clock is displayed in the center, and the default dark background is quite minimalistic and soothing. You can customize the background, change the clock(analog or digital), reset the color, enable dark mode, etc.
  1. Todoist
With Todoist you can be more productive and less stressed about the pending tasks. Over ten million individuals across the globe are using this extension to boost their productivity. It helps you in creating daily to-do lists in a simplistic and minimalistic UI which allows users to insert items and mark them done when completed quickly.
Jack Tucker is a Microsoft Office expert and has been working in the technical industry from last 10 year. As a technical expert, he has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as www.office.com/setup.

7 Secret iPhone Settings You Probably Didn’t Know

Do you make the most out of your iPhone? Most probably, you do not. iPhones are loaded with features and hidden settings that most users are not aware of. With these embedded settings, you can customize your iPhone experience and make your life easier. In this blog, we will discuss the hidden iPhone settings and how to apply them.
  1. Raise to Wake
For those who have an iPhone 6s or later, the Raise to Wake feature is handy. After turning it one, you just have to raise your phone to see the notifications. Even though you will be able to look at the notifications, the screen will stay locked and secure. In order to enable this mode, just go to the Settings app and select Display and Brightness. After that, turn on the Raise to Wake feature.
  1. Prioritize specific downloads
Do you want to save up battery? Well instead of updating all the applications together, you can prioritize app updates. This feature is especially useful while setting up a new iPhone. Just locate the application you wish to prioritize and long-press it. Now, just select Prioritize Download.
  1. Adjust the flashlight brightness
Even though the iPhone’s inbuilt flash is very handy in dark environments, not all situations need an intense flash. Thankfully, the brightness of the flash can be adjusted. In order to increase the flashlight intensity, just launch the Control Center. With your finger, swipe upwards from the lower portion of the display. After that, firmly press and hold the flashlight icon.
  1. Remove unused apps
Is your iPhone clogged up with too many apps? In order to make more storage space, just delete the apps you do not use. As a matter of fact, your phone will do it for you. Go to the Settings and select General. Tap on iPhone Storage and activate the Offload Unused Apps feature. If you wish to get the removed app back, just install it again from the App Store.
  1. Quickly select camera mode
The iPhone’s stock Camera app is amazing, and it comes with several modes. However, sometimes users end up missing a good shot because they were browsing the different modes. Now, whenever you want to take a picture quickly, just firmly press the Camera button. Now, you can select modes such as Selfie or Slow-motion straight from your iPhone’s Home screen.
  1. Turn text into emoji
Rather than sifting through various screens of emojis to locate the most apt one, you can just type and convert it into an emoji. In the Messages app, just input any text, and hit the emoji icon located next to the spacebar. Now, some of the words will get replaced with emojis. In order to change a word to emoji, just press on the orange word and the emoji will replace it. Some words have several emojis, and you can select the one you want.
  1. Find Safari tabs efficiently
Is your Safari browser usually overflowing with tabs? Well, in order to locate tabs easily, just open Safari browser when the iPhone is in landscape mode. After that, press the tabs icon. A Search Tabs option will now be available.
Jack Tucker is a Microsoft Office expert and has been working in the technical industry from last 10 year. As a technical expert, he has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as office.com/setup.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Best Multi-Window Multitasking Hacks for Windows 10

Windows 10 comes with a number of tools and in-built features that many users may be unaware of. These features can help them become much better and quicker at multitasking. If you frequently use multiple windows and application, then you should learn about the best multi-window multitasking hacks for Windows 10.
  1. Aero Shake for minimizing
The Aero Shake is a nifty little tool that allows the users to take hold of a window by its title bar and shake it for minimizing the rest of the open windows. The desktop may get much cluttered when too many apps are open. With Aero Shake, you can conveniently minimize all the other windows save for the selected one by merely shaking the title bar. To get all the windows back, just repeat the shaking action.
  1. Split Screens
Multi-taskers swear by split screen. You can split the Windows 10 screen into halves or even quarters. In the older Windows versions, users could only snap two windows at a time. However, now the users can snap four windows at a time. Simply drag the window to any one corner of the screen. Now, just keep pushing the window’s edge against the display’s edge. Repeat the action for other windows.  Alternatively, just use the Win + Arrow keys.
  1. Use Multitasking Keyboard Shortcuts
Windows 10 comes with a number of wonderful keyboard shortcuts for easy management and navigation between open screens. To see the thumbnails of all the open windows, just use the Win + Tab keyboard shortcut. You can easily switch between open apps and other screens by just using the Alt + Tab keyboard shortcut. Moreover, you can set custom keyboard shortcuts to launch specific programs.
  1. Mini Player
Do you like watching movies, cat videos, or tutorials while working on your Windows 10 PC? Well, fortunately the Windows 10 Movies & TV application has a feature called Mini View which lets you watch the video a neat mini mode. This mode allows you to see the video in a smaller screen. This video window gets pinned to the top of the rest of the open windows. You can easily play or pause the video, fast forward or rewind it.
Jack Tucker is a security expert and he writes about Cyber security, cryptography, malware, social engineering, internet and is working at norton.com/setup

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

How to Troubleshoot iPhone not Sending or Receiving Messages

While sending a message to a recipient, if you are facing the iMessage is not delivering or receiving issue, then you must have attempted to troubleshoot the problem. Don’t be frustrated if you failed to fix the problem as the approach to fix it might not be correct. Are you still facing the issue? If yes, then follow the methods below and successfully troubleshoot the problem.
Here’s how to troubleshoot iPhone not sending or receiving messages.

Reset iMessage

It is possible that a problem in the messages can occur due to a bug in the settings. Not only this, but the inappropriate settings stored in the device can cause the problem to occur. In that situation, resetting the iMessage will help to resolve the problem of iMessage is not delivered or received.
  1. Open the Settings of your iPhone.
  2. Go to Message and tap to open it.
  3. Tap on Send & Receive section.
  4. Under the “You Can be Reached by iMessage at” section, make sure to uncheck all the email addresses.
  5. Now, go to the Apple ID at the top of the Settings menu.
  6. Tap to Sign Out the ID and move back to Messages.
  7. Now, turn off iMessage service and reboot your device.
  8. Let the phone reboot and wait for 10 minutes.
  9. Now again, turn on iMessage from the Message section in the Settings menu.
  10. Go to the Apple ID and sign in the Apple account in the Send & Receive option.

Reset Network Settings

If the whole network setting is facing the problem, then resetting the network will be helpful to troubleshoot the problem. Let’s see the steps to reset the network settings.
  1. Launch Settings on your iPhone.
  2. Go to General and tap Reset.
  3. Now, select Reset Network Settings.
  4. Enter the passcode if you are prompted to.
  5. Once the network resetting is done, you will need to reset your iPhone hard.
  6. Press the Sleep or power button and home button with it. Now, wait until the screen of the phone goes black, and Apple logo appears.
Have you followed all the methods mentioned above? If yes, and the problem persists, then you should note that there is nothing wrong with your phone. Since the methods are efficient and workable to remove the problem, the recipient’s phone or network is not working properly and facing some issues in sending or receiving the messages.
Jack Tucker is a security expert and he writes about Cyber security, cryptography, malware, social engineering, internet and is working at norton.com/setup

Newly Released Microsoft Office 2019

It is good news for Windows and Mac users that Microsoft has launched its latest version of Office Suite. Microsoft Office 2019 is finally ready for use with one-time purchase option in both Windows and Mac systems. The company has made changes by adding new and unique features in Office 2019. The Office 365 version is one of the most used versions of Microsoft Office. The subscribers of Cloud-based Office 365 have been using the Office application tools and its updates, and now the Office 2019 offers a one-time purchase option.
This one-time purchase offers the infinite use of Office Suite with access to new features and updates when they are released. According to the company, Office 2019 is essential for the customers to keep the apps on servers. In addition, the company revealed that there would be a subset of features similar to but not part of Office 365. The newly released version of Office 2019 is an on-premise productivity suite.
Download the Office Suite from the Internet on your Mac and Windows systems. Once the installation completes and you have paid for the Office Suite, you will be able to use the Microsoft Office Suite 2019 without any further payments for up gradation. The on-premise Office 2019 offering some unique and additional features like Editor in Word, Designer in PowerPoint, Ideas in Excel, ongoing feature updates, real-time collaboration, sharing, etc.
Office 2019 is not offered directly for the handsets; still, the users can get the separate apps in their handsets to achieve the basic Office experience. Since the company has revealed about the new features, so, let’s see what is new in Office 2019.

Word

The Word application has a Black theme with learning tools with captions and audio description. With improved inking functionality, Word also has a text to speech feature. It can be named as the Speech feature.

OneNote

According to the developer company, OneNote is offering great usability with Windows 10 with features including ink to text, ability to enhance the working experience of the user and improved syncing.

Outlook

Outlook has an updated contact card and introduces focused inbox features. With Office 365 Groups1, Outlook has support @ mentions.

PowerPoint 

The company added the Zoom capabilities and made the users able to manage 3D image within the program.

Excel

The businesspersons can take huge advantage of the new Excel which is coming with Funnel Charts, 2D maps, and timelines. Using the Excel, the user can publish the sheet to Power BI in the 2019 Office Suite.
The new Microsoft Office 2019 is available for commercial volume customers, but it will be available soon as the consumer version. But if you are using the business subscription of Office 365 version, then don’t worry as your apps will update with a new release.
Jack Tucker is a Microsoft Office expert and has been working in the technical industry from last 10 year. As a technical expert, he has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as office.com/setup.

Monday, October 22, 2018

5 ways to fix YouTube slow buffering and loading issues

When we talk about entertainment on the web, most of us tend to take advantage of what YouTube has to offer to its users. YouTube has been the best place to watch videos online, and that’s something nobody can deny. While YouTube is an incredible platform, it often suffers from many problems. There are times when people complain that they are unable to watch their desired videos due to the service slowing down considerably for reasons unidentified or unknown.
Slow loading & buffering issues
These factors generally cause most of the YouTube buffering issues:
  • Internet/router issues
  • Overload server
  • Browser cache
  • IP address range
If your YouTube is running slow, don’t panic. This post will be helpful to you. There are multiple ways to get things under control and back to peak performance. All you need is to follow the solutions as mentioned below simply.
5 ways fix YouTube slow loading & buffering issues
#1 Change the YouTube URL
Changing YouTube URL might seem crazy, but it really works. Many people have rewarded it for being one of the best solutions to fix slow loading issues on YouTube. If the video is stuck on buffering, you need to replace the “www” in the URL to “ca.” Yes, it’s that simple.
#2 Try lowering the quality of the video
There are chances that you’re used to streaming videos in HD, but this time you found the video you’re attempting to watch is buffering. Well, In this case, you should change the quality to 480p or lower.
Note: If you go below 360p, it means the video will become pixilated.
To change or lower the Video quality on YouTube, you need to:
Tap on the gear icon on the video player and go to Quality. From here, you can easily choose the appropriate quality for your video depending on your internet connectivity.
#3 Try clearing your web browser’s cache
There are several numbers of issues that can be fixed by merely clearing your browser’s cache. So you need to remove the cache of the browser you use to fix slow loading issues on YouTube.
#4 Block these IP addresses
In most of the cases, we get the videos on YouTube via Content Delivery Networks which our Internet Service Providers have set up for us; this means, a number of users on the web getting content to watch directly from YouTube. This gives service providers the control to throttle speed for streaming videos. Keeping this in mind, users must consider blocking two IP addresses in order to get this back to normal, and they usually are 173.194.55.0/24 and 206.111.0.0/16.
First of all, you need to open the Command Prompt by tapping on the Cortana button and typing Command Prompt in the search box.
Doing so will show you Command Prompt in the search results; so simply right click on it, and tap Run as administrator.
After that, you just need to copy and paste the following command into the Command Prompt:
  • =block remoteip=173.194.55.0/24,206.111.0.0/16 enable=yes netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name=”YouTubeTweak” dir=in action
And then press Enter, and close the window.
#5 Disable VPN service
If you are using a VPN service, you should try disabling it and then see if that works better for you. If you are not using a VPN, you can use free VPN software for video streaming and then see if that makes a difference.
All the best! We hope that these five above mentioned solutions are going to help you fix the slow loading and buffering issues on YouTube.
Jack Tucker is a Microsoft Office expert and has been working in the technical industry from last 10 year. As a technical expert, he has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as www.office.com/setup.

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

How to Install and Play Roblox in Different Devices

Roblox is a popular, trending, and global gaming platform. For this reason, even though some people might consider it to be a single game, it is, in reality, a complete platform. This means that people who use Roblox make their own games that can be played by others.


Roblox might be considered a game, but not in the traditional sense. This video game platform supports multi-user games created by users. It is Facebook for gamers. Gamers can play games and see other people gaming. They can also converse and interact with other players using the chat option.




Roblox is available on an array of major operating systems such as Windows, iOS, Android, and Mac. If you want to play Roblox on your device, then here’s how you can install it:

Windows

  1. Launch any web browser on your Windows PC.
  2. After that, download Roblox from the web.
  3. When the file gets downloaded, double-click on it to fire up the installation process.
  4. Follow the prompts given on the screen.
  5. The operating system will get detected, and the installation process might take a while.
  6. This process includes installation of the Roblox browser plug-in. This plug-in enables users to play Roblox games.
  7. Now, simply navigate to the Roblox gaming website.
  8. Select the game you want to play.
  9. Hit the Play button, and you will be directed to the game.

Mac OS X

  1. Open the web browser on your Mac.
  2. After that, search for Roblox download.
  3. Hit the green Download Now button.
  4. The installation file will start to download.
  5. Roblox will automatically detect the OS and send the right version as per the OS.
  6. Navigate to the Downloads folder. Click twice on the Roblox installer file to open it.
  7. Now just press and drag the downloaded file to the Applications folder. To get this file, just go to the RobloxPlayer screen.
  8. After that, you need to launch the Roblox application. Go to Applications and double-click on Roblox studio.
  9. Now, the installation process may take some time.
  10. This process includes installation of the Roblox browser plugin. This plugin enables users to play Roblox games.
  11. Now all you have to do is open the Roblox website and start gaming. Just select any game you want to play and hit the Play button. The game will launch in a separate window.

iOS

  1. Unlock your iPad or iPhone.
  2. Tap on the App Store application to launch it.
  3. Now, tap on the Search bar.
  4. Enter Roblox in the search bar.
  5. Locate Roblox Mobile and tap on the Get button.
  6. Now, tap the Install button.
  7. In the Sign In to iTunes Store pop-up box, enter the password that is required.
  8. Tap on the OK button.
  9. Now, launch the Roblox Mobile application and select the Play Now option.

Android

  1. Unlock the Android device.
  2. Tap on the Play Store app.
  3. Now, enter Roblox in the search bar.
  4. Select Roblox from the search results.
  5. Tap on the green Install button.
  6. When the app gets installed, go to the main screen.
  7. Tap on the Roblox application.
  8. Select the Games options and start playing games.


Jack Tucker is a Microsoft Office expert and has been working in the technical industry from last 10 year. As a technical expert, he has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as office.com/setup.

How to Uninstall and Remove Deep Freeze

Deep Freeze is an application that keeps the computer clean and secure. However, if you do not wish to use it and want to remove it from your computer, then here is how you can uninstall it.

From Windows

  1. Locate the Deep Freeze program. Its icon is grey and green with a polar bear in a circle. It is typically located in the bottom right-hand portion of the screen.
  2. After that, you need to launch Deep Freeze. Just press the Shift key, and click twice on the Deep Freeze option. Now, wait for the login screen to appear.
  3. Now, you will be prompted to enter the password for Deep Freeze. Hit the Login button. If you cannot remember the password, then you need to back up all the device data, erase the hard disk, and install the OS again.
  4. Navigate to the top left-hand corner of the screen and hit the Boot Control tab.
  5. Now, go to the Boot Thawed segment. It will be located at the center of the screen. Tick the square next to it. Now, when you reboot the system, Deep Freeze will get disabled.
  6. Just hit the Apply and Reboot button located at the lower right-hand edge of the Deep Freeze window. The system will start to reboot.
  7. Hit on the OK button and then click on Yes when the prompt appears.
  8. Be patient because this process might take a while.
  9. When the system reboots, it will work sluggishly for a while. Leave the system for an hour so that everything gets loaded.
  10. Now, simply locate the Deep Freeze installation file.
  11. Click twice on the file and select the Uninstall option. Follow the guidelines on the screen.

From Mac

  1. Launch Deep Freeze by clicking twice on its icon.
  2. Now, click on the Login option.
  3. Key in the password for the Deep Freeze account. Hit the Return key.
  4. Navigate to the Boot Control tab located in the top left edge of the screen.
  5. Now, place a checkmark in the square next to Boot Thawed.
  6. Hit the Apply button located at the lower right corner of the screen.
  7. Open the Apple menu and click on the Restart tab. Select Restart now when the prompt comes.
  8. After an hour, launch Deep Freeze and sign in by entering the password.
  9. Now, go to the Uninstall tab located in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
  10. Click on the uninstall button.
  11. Follow the instructions on the screen.
Jack Tucker is a security expert and he writes about Cyber security, cryptography, malware, social engineering, internet and is working at norton.com/setup

Thursday, October 11, 2018

How to Solve Ethernet Doesn’t Have Valid IP Configuration

Facing the Ethernet doesn’t have a valid IP configuration error standard? There is nothing new about it. The reason for the error is malfunctioning in Network Interface Card resulting in the prevention of the users to connect with the internet. Since the IP address is a significant body, it contains the local area of the user and where the internet was accessed.
But if the IP address is not generated, then the internet will not connect with the computer. In that situation how would you, as a user, surf the web? Undeniably a hard task for you to access the internet, but you don’t have to fret anymore. All you need to do is, follow the guide and solve the Ethernet doesn’t have valid IP configuration error.

Here’s how to Solve Ethernet Doesn’t have a Valid IP Configuration

Update Ethernet Cable

If any updates are missing and software is outdated, then the programs relating to the software are likely to disturb the experience while they are running. To prevent the software to show problems and issues, keep updating the software time to time.
  1. Open Control Panel and go to Device Manager.
  2. Click to expand the Network adapters.
  3. Now, the list of installed drivers in your system will display.
  4. Now right click on the Ethernet cable driver and select Update
  5. Click Search automatically for updated driver software.
  6. Your system will automatically search the updates and download it.

Disable the Network Adapter and use Command Prompt

  1. Open Control Panel.
  2. Now, go to Network and sharing
  3. Now click Change adapter settings from the left pane of the window.
  4. Right click on the connected network.
  5. Now, click Disable from the drop-down list.
  6. Press Windows key + S key combination and open Windows Search.
  7. Type cmd in the search and press Enter.
  8. Open Command Prompt and type the following commands
  • IPconfig /release
  • IPconfig /flushdns
  • IPconfig /renew
  1. Restart your computer and check if the command has solved the problem.

Try Enabling DHCP

DHCP is a component which assigns the IP address to a computer. Hence the problem of Ethernet doesn’t have a valid IP configuration can be occurring due to deactivated DHCP. To resolve the issue try enabling the DHCP.
  1. Go to the network icon at the bottom right corner.
  2. Right click on it and select Troubleshoot
  3. Now a troubleshoot window will open.
  4. Select the network troubleshooter and click Run the troubleshooter.
  5. Now Follow the instructions.
  6. Check if the problem persists.

Try Retorting DHCP service

  1. Press Windows + R and type msc.
  2. Hit the Enter button from your keyboard.
  3. Now Services window will open.
  4. Navigate to DHCP Client and double click on it.
  5. In its Startup Value, select Automatic.
  6. Save the settings by clicking Apply and Ok.
  7. Now right click on DHCP Client and select Restart from the drop-down menu.
  8. Now, click Yes to confirm.

Try Changing Network Adapter Settings

  1. Press Windows key + R and type cpl in the run program.
  2. Now, right click on the connected network.
  3. Select the Properties from the drop-down menu.
  4. Check Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.
  5. Click to Obtain an IP address automatically.
  6. Now click Obtain DNS server address automatically.
  7. Click Ok and restart or reconnect your router or cable.
Ethernet doesn’t have a valid IP configuration error will keep obstructing you from accessing the internet. But the methods are sufficient to eliminate the problem while trying to access the internet service.
Jack Tucker is a security expert and he writes about Cyber security, cryptography, malware, social engineering, internet and is working at norton.com/setup
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