September 2014 - Page 2 of 2

How to Remove Toolbars

Internet, Security, SoftwareAvoid, Remove, security, ToolbarOphtek, LLC

Sep 2014

Browser toolbars entice you with safety and promised convenience. In reality, they should be avoided as much as possible. Here’s how to remove toolbars.

Hopefully, your web browser doesn’t look like the one above. If so, something drastic is in order to restore an smooth web browsing experience.

Though initially designed to enhance a user’s web browsing experience, the reality is toolbars are piggy- backed by malware, data mining or browser hijacking to steal the user’s information. In addition, they burden your processor and memory with an extra, unnecessary application.

Here are three ways to remove toolbars.

1.) Uninstall them as applications from the Control Panel

After selecting Control Panel from the Start menu, choose either Programs and Features or Uninstall a Program, depending on the menu you are presented with.

From the list of programs that appear, find the one that looks like the toolbar. Sometimes it can be tricky, as the name can be different.

Click Uninstall from the top menu. If you are presented with a User Account Control warning, click OK or Yes to allow Windows to uninstall.

2.) Toolbars in browsers can be disabled

In Internet Explorer, click either the gear icon or Tools and select Manage add- ons.

In the Add-on Types menu on the left, choose Toolbars and Extensions.

Select each toolbar and click Disable in the bottom right corner.

In Google Chrome, select Settings or Tools then Extensions.

Select the extensions that are the toolbars and click Remove.

For some Chrome browsers, there will be a trashcan icon insread of the Remove prompt.

In Firefox, select Add- ons then Extensions.

You navigate there by typing about:addons in the address bar. Click the toolbar you wish to remove and click Remove.

3.) Browsers can be restored to their factory default states

You are best advised to backup your bookmarks or any other setting you wish to retain from the browser.

In Internet Explorer, select Internet Options and the Advanced tab.

Click Reset and click to confirm.

In Google Chrome, click Settings and show advanced settings.

Click Reset browser settings.

In Firefox, select Help denoted by the ? icon.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

Click Reset Firefox.

For more information about toolbars or other issues affecting your PC, consult your local IT professional.

Downtown Streets Team Gets a New Computer Lab

hardware, Linux, Office IT, Office Networkcomputer lab, donation, edubuntu, linuxOphtek, LLC

Sep 2014

Downtown Streets Team is the first non-profit organization to receive a free donated computer lab from the Onsite PC Solution Computers for Classrooms program.

Downtown Streets Team strives to end homelessness by restoring the dignity and rebuilding the lives of unhoused men and women. This new computer lab will help team members build up and print resumes, learn computer skills, apply for jobs and help them re-integrate into the work force.

The computer lab was built from donations from the community, local businesses as well as a generous donation of monitors and networking equipment from Weird Stuff Warehouse of San Jose and Avant Optometry of Menlo Park.

The computers run an open source free software based on Ubuntu Linux with a vast array of uses.

If you have LCD monitors or computers you’d like to donate to the Computers for Classrooms program, fill out this form and we will be in touch shortly.

How to Check for High Memory Usage

hardware, SoftwareCheck, Memory, ram, slow computer, Use, WindowsOphtek, LLC

Sep 2014

Is your computer hanging or freezing while working? If disk space and infections aren’t the issue you may be low on memory. Here are several ways to check.

High memory usage can indicate a number of problems with the computer. The system could be low on physical memory. A program could be malfunctioning causing it to abuse the available memory. High memory usage could also indicate a virus or malware infection.

1.) Open the Task Manager by holding down the Ctrl and Shift keys and pressing Esc.

Under the Performance tab, below the CPU Usage graphic there is one for Memory. This gives you a pictorial representation of the amount of memory used. The Physical Memory in megabytes is the amount of Total RAM installed on the computer or Available RAM for handling processes. The amount of physical memory used to map open files is denoted by the Cached entry. Available memory includes Free memory, which is memory currently used for absolutely nothing.

Kernel Memory is used for the operating system and device drivers. Paged memory can be copied to a paging file, freeing more physical memory for use by the operating system. Nonpaged continues to occupy physical memory.

Under System, Commit is the amount of virtual memory that could be backed by physical memory or paging files. The Commit entry depicts a ratio of memory that could be allocated to data to the total virtual memory on the computer.

At the bottom right of the window is the percentage of Physical Memory currently in use.

2.) By clicking the Resource Monitor within the Task Manager, you can view detailed information for memory in use and memory allocated for each process.

User Account Control will bother you for authorization, which you must give to launch the monitor. The Memory tab provides extensive descriptions of the headings of each column if you hover your mouse over each heading.

The advantage of the Resource Monitor is that it breaks down memory use on a process by process basis, allowing you to ferret out the resource hogs among your programs.

If you do find unnecessary programs that are taking up an unusual amount of memory, you can uninstall them using the Control Panel or remove them as startup programs. For more on how to remove unnecessary startup programs, please consult the following IT article. And for more on how to uninstall programs and other ways to improve Windows performance, please consult the following IT article.

3.) The Performance Monitor is extremely customizable, giving you exactly the performance stats you wish to view.

You can launch it by clicking the Start menu and by typing perfmon.

When it opens, it gives you the basics on how to use it and the memory in use.

By clicking Performance Monitor on the top left, you get a graph of processor usage that you can complement with memory usage stats by first clicking the + icon to add data to the graph.

Within the Memory heading, you can view the memory of various subheadings that you can add to the graph.

Most end users might be overwhelmed by the number of viewable options available in the Performance Monitor. To get a reasonable assessment of the memory in use, the Task Manager and Resource Monitor generally suffice. The Performance Monitor is recommended for Windows experts who are familiar with the ins and outs of memory usage.

For more about memory and other issues affecting your office systems, consult your local IT professionals.

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Monthly Archives: September 2014

1.) Uninstall them as applications from the Control Panel

2.) Toolbars in browsers can be disabled

3.) Browsers can be restored to their factory default states

1.) Open the Task Manager by holding down the Ctrl and Shift keys and pressing Esc.

2.) By clicking the Resource Monitor within the Task Manager, you can view detailed information for memory in use and memory allocated for each process.

3.) The Performance Monitor is extremely customizable, giving you exactly the performance stats you wish to view.