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Introduction | |
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About This Book | |
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Conventions | |
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What Your Don't Have to Read | |
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Foolish Assumptions | |
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Organization | |
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Icons | |
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Where to Go from Here | |
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Cranking Up Windows 7 | |
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Windows 7 4 Noobs | |
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Hardware and Software | |
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Why Do PCs Have to Run Windows? | |
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A Terminology Survival Kit | |
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Buying a Windows 7 Computer | |
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Inside the big box | |
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Screening | |
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Managing disks and drives | |
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Making PC connections | |
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Futzing with video, sound, and multitudinous media | |
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Netbooks | |
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Windows 7 for the Experienced | |
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What's New for Vista Victims | |
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Better performance | |
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Improved interface | |
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Search that (finally!) works | |
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Security improvements | |
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Mo' media and more | |
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What you lose | |
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What's New for the XP Crowd | |
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Looking through the Aero Glass | |
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Checking out improved video effects | |
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Interacting with gadgets | |
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Sizing up other improvements | |
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Do You Need Windows 7? | |
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Which Version? Pick a 7, Any 7 | |
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Pick a 7 - Any 7 | |
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Buying the right version the first time | |
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Narrowing the choices | |
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Choosing 32-Bit versus 64-Bit | |
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Upgrades, Clean Installs, Transfers | |
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Can Your Computer Handle Windows 7? | |
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Upgrading a Vista computer | |
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Upgrading a Windows XP computer | |
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Running the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor | |
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Performing a Clean Install | |
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Using Easy Transfer | |
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Knowing what will transfer | |
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Making the transfer | |
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Activating the Product | |
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How Windows activates | |
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Windows Activation Technologies | |
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What If the Wheels Fall Off? | |
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Getting Essentials: The Rest of Windows 7 | |
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Understanding the Move to Downloadable Programs | |
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Inventorying the Essentials | |
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Distinguishing Essentials from the Other Live Components | |
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Installing Essentially | |
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Windows 7 Boot Camp | |
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Running Windows from Start to Finish | |
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A Few Quick Steps to Make the Desktop Your Own | |
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Changing the background | |
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Getting gadgets | |
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Cleaning up useless icons and programs | |
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Mousing with Your Mouse | |
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What's up, Dock? | |
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Changing the mouse | |
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Starting with the Start Button | |
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Touching on the Taskbar | |
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Working with Files and Folders | |
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Creating files and folders | |
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Modifying files and folders | |
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Bringing back previous versions | |
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Showing filename extensions | |
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Sharing folders | |
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Recycling | |
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Getting Around | |
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Using Windows Explorer | |
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Navigating | |
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Viewing | |
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Arranging Libraries | |
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Creating Shortcuts | |
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Sleep: Perchance to Dream | |
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Controlling Users | |
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Logging On | |
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Choosing Account Types | |
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What's a standard account? | |
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What's an administrator account? | |
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Choosing between standard or administrator accounts | |
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Controlling User Account Control | |
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Adding Users | |
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Enabling the Guest Account | |
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Changing Accounts | |
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Changing other users' settings | |
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Changing your own settings | |
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Creating a password reset disk | |
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Switching Users | |
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Maintaining Your System | |
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Coping with Start-Up Problems | |
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Creating a system repair disc | |
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Using the system repair disc | |
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Working with Backups | |
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Restoring a file with shadow copies (previous versions) | |
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Maintaining previous versions on different drives | |
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Creating data backups | |
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Managing and restoring data backups | |
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Getting back the image backup (don't give up the ghost) | |
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Maintaining Drives | |
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Running an error check | |
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Defragmenting a drive | |
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Using System Restore and Restore Points | |
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Creating a restore point | |
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Rolling back to a restore point | |
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Scheduling the Task Scheduler | |
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Starting with your parameters | |
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Scheduling a task | |
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Zipping and Compressing | |
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Compressing with NTFS | |
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Zipping the easy way with Compressed (zipped) Folders | |
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Using the Windows 7 Resource Monitor and Reliability Monitor | |
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Controlling the Control Panel | |
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Removing and changing programs | |
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Removing Windows patches | |
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Getting the Basic Stuff Done | |
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Burning CDs and DVDs | |
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Understanding -R and -RW | |
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What to burn | |
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Mastered or Live File System? | |
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Burning with windows 7 | |
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Improving Your Experience Index | |
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Interpreting the numbers | |
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Turning the numbers into real improvement | |
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Getting Word Processing-Free | |
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Running Notepad | |
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Writing with WordPad | |
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Taming the Character Map | |
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Calculating-Free | |
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Painting | |
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Sticking Sticky Notes | |
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Using Sneaky Key Commands | |
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Conjuring up the Task Manager | |
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Switching coolly | |
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Troubleshooting and Getting Help | |
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Troubleshooting in the Action Center | |
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Tracking Your System's Stability | |
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Trackling Windows Help and Support | |
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The problem(s) with Windows Help | |
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Using different kinds of help | |
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Staying online | |
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Choosing the index versus search | |
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How to Really Get Help | |
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Snapping and Recording Your Problems | |
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Connecting to Remote Assistance | |
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Understanding the interaction | |
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Making the connection | |
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Limiting an invitation | |
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Troubleshooting Remote Assistance | |
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Getting Help on the Web | |
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Customizing Windows 7 | |
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Personalizing Your Desktop | |
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Recognizing Desktop Levels | |
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Setting Color Schemes in Windows 7 | |
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Picking a Background | |
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Controlling Icons | |
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Changing Mouse Pointers | |
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Selecting Screen Savers | |
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Changing the screen saver | |
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Setting up a Super Boss Key | |
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Using Desktop Themes | |
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Seeing Your Desktop Clearly | |
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Setting the screen resolution | |
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Activating and adjusting Clear Type | |
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Showing larger fonts | |
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Using magnification | |
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Organizing Your Interface | |
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Tricking Out the Taskbar | |
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Anatomy of the taskbar | |
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Jumping | |
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Changing the toolbar | |
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Making your own little toolbars | |
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Working with the taskbar | |
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Controlling the notification area | |
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Customizing the Start Menu | |
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Genesis of the Start menu | |
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Pinning to the Start menu | |
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Reclaiming most recently used programs | |
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Changing the All Programs menu | |
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Making minor tweaks to the Start menu | |
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Searching Your Computer | |
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Searching Basics | |
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Engaging your brain before the search | |
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Stepping through a basic search | |
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What Windows can (and can't) find | |
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Adding Boolean operators to a search | |
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Breaking out the wildcard characters | |
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Searching from the Start menu | |
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Indexing for Fun and Profit | |
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Setting index file type options | |
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Adding locations to the index | |
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Using Advanced Search Setting | |
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Finding Files That Got Lost | |
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First, don't panic | |
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Second, get determined | |
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Beating and Cheating Windows 7 Games | |
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Get Yer Games Goin' | |
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Solitaire | |
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Standard scoring | |
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Vegas scoring | |
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FreeCell | |
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Spider Solitaire | |
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Minesweeper | |
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The Internet Games | |
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The Other Games | |
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Joining the Multimedia Mix | |
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Jammin' with Windows Media Player | |
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What You Need to Know about C.R.A.P | |
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Adjusting WMP Privacy Settings | |
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Setting options when you install WMP | |
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Tweaking options after installation | |
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Playing with Now Playing | |
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Playback buttons | |
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Playing a CD | |
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Buying Music and Videos Online | |
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Copying from a CD (Also Known As Ripping) | |
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Organizing Your Media Library | |
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Leafing through the library | |
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Finding the tracks you want | |
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Rating songs | |
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Sorting songs | |
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Searching | |
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Managing Playlists | |
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Creating a new playlist | |
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Adding a track to a playlist | |
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Renaming and deleting playlists | |
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Managing the contents of playlists | |
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Deleting tracks from the library | |
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Burning CDs and DVDs | |
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Burning and audio CD | |
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Burning data CDs and DVDs with Media Player | |
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Syncing with a Portable Player or Mobile Phone | |
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Moving tracks to the player | |
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Moving tracks from the player to your PC | |
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Deleting tracks from your player | |
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Sharing Your Windows Media Player Media | |
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Customizing WMP | |
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iPod and iTunes in Windows 7 | |
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What You Can't Do | |
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iPod the Apple Way | |
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Installing the iTunes program | |
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Setting up iTunes | |
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Moving music to your iPod | |
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Controlling syncing with playlists | |
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Copying Songs to Your PC | |
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Taking a Look at the iPod Ecosystem | |
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Discovering Digital Cameras and Recorders | |
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Buying a Camera or Camcorder: The Bottom Line | |
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Moving Images to Your Computer | |
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Sharing Your Pictures on the Web | |
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Managing Pics with Windows Live Photo Gallery | |
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Getting the Gallery Going | |
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Leafing through the Gallery | |
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Adding Photos to the Photo Gallery | |
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Importing photos | |
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Copying photos to the Pictures folder | |
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Adding photos from a different folder | |
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Scanning photos | |
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Tagging Pictures | |
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Skipping through tags | |
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Tagging a picture | |
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Tagging en masse | |
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Rearranging the tag list | |
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Finding a tagged picture | |
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Touching Up Pictures | |
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Stitching a Panoramic Photo | |
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Getting Your Photos into Flicker | |
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| |
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Lights! Action! Windows Live Movie Maker | |
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Installing Windows Live Movie Maker | |
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Meet Your Maker | |
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Gathering Clips | |
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Assembling a Movie | |
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Creating a project | |
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Playing a clip or a movie | |
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Making transitions and adding effects | |
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Trimming a clip | |
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Typing titles | |
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Mixing in the sound | |
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Publishing a Movie | |
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Finding the right publication method | |
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Publishing directly to the Web | |
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Using Windows DVD Maker | |
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Making a DVD | |
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Ripping, burning, and converting movies | |
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Setting Up Media Center | |
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Determining Whether You Need Media Center | |
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Organizing the Normandy Invasion | |
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Gathering the tools for an easier setup | |
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Getting Windows in gear | |
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Gathering folders for libraries | |
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Setting Up Media Center | |
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Beyond the Basics | |
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Playing recorded TV shows | |
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Burning DVDs | |
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Windows 7 and the Internet | |
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Getting the Most from the Internet | |
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What is the Internet? | |
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Getting Inside the Internet | |
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What is the World Wide Web? | |
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Who Pays for All This Stuff? | |
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Connecting with Broadband | |
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The last mile | |
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Uses and excuses for broadband | |
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Setting Up an Internet Connection | |
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Finding Internet Reference Tools | |
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Speakeasy speed test | |
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DNSStuff | |
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3d Traceroute | |
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Down for everyone or just me? | |
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The Wayback Machine | |
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Finding Your Way Around Browsers | |
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Exploring Internet Explorer Alternatives: Firefox and Chrome | |
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Ready, Set, Browse! | |
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Configuring your browser | |
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Taking a walk around the Internet Explorer window | |
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Pick a tab, any tab | |
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Kicking your browsing up a notch | |
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InPrivate Browsing: Porn mode | |
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Thwarting Phishers | |
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Saving and Printing Web Pages | |
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Saving Web pages | |
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Printing Web pages | |
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Playing Favorites | |
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Adding Favorites or Bookmarks of your own | |
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Organizing your Favorites or Bookmarks | |
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Making Internet Explorer Your Own | |
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Getting the Most from Internet Explorer | |
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Making Internet Explorer Run Faster | |
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Turning off graphics | |
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Turning off animations and sounds | |
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Increasing your storage space | |
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Putting the Pedal to the Metal: Working with Accelerators | |
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Hardening Internet Explorer 8 | |
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Dealing with Cookies | |
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Deleting cookies | |
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InPrivate Filtering | |
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Working with RSS Feeds | |
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Using Firefox: The Advanced Course | |
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Installing Firefox | |
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Recapping Firefox Tips | |
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Speeding Up Firelox | |
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Bookmarking with the Fox | |
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Creating Smart Folders | |
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Working with RSS Feeds-the Real Way | |
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Adding Firefox's Best Add-Ons | |
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Using Smart Keywords in Firefox | |
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Searching on the Internet | |
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Understanding What a Search Engine Can Do for You | |
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Searching for text | |
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Searching for images | |
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Searching for everything else: Blogs, news, and more | |
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Finding What You're Looking For | |
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Using the other Google engines | |
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Searching wisely | |
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Using Advanced Search | |
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Pulling out Google parlor tricks | |
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| |
Posting on Newsgroups | |
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| |
| |
Sending Windows Mail Live | |
| |
| |
Counting the Microsoft E-Mail Programs | |
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Outlook | |
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Hotmail | |
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| |
Windows Live Mail | |
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Chooisng an E-Mail Program | |
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Getting Started with Windows Live Mail | |
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Conversing with E-Mail | |
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Setting up mail accounts | |
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Retrieving messages and attachments | |
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Creating a message | |
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Adding a signature | |
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Attaching files | |
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Sending a message | |
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| |
Making Windows Live Mail wait to send and receive | |
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| |
| |
Chatting with Windows Live Messenger | |
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| |
Exploring the Alternatives | |
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Making Windows Live Messenger Work | |
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| |
Choosing one or more Windows Live IDs | |
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| |
Signing up for an ID - or two | |
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| |
Installing Windows Live Messenger | |
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Starting Windows Live Messenger the first time | |
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Working with Contacts | |
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Adding contacts | |
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Making contacts | |
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| |
Tweaking Settings in windows Live Messenger | |
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| |
Revealing your Webcam | |
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| |
Making Messenger forget your password | |
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| |
Stopping Windows Live Messenger from starting automatically | |
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| |
Using the fancier features | |
| |
| |
| |
Securing Windows 7 | |
| |
| |
| |
Lock Down: Spies, Spams, Scams, and Slams | |
| |
| |
Understanding the Hazards-and the Hoaxes | |
| |
| |
Zombies and botnets | |
| |
| |
Phishing | |
| |
| |
0day exploits | |
| |
| |
Staying Informed | |
| |
| |
Relying on reliable sources | |
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| |
Ditching the hoaxes | |
| |
| |
Am I Infected? | |
| |
| |
Evaluating telltale signs | |
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| |
What to do next | |
| |
| |
Shunning scareware | |
| |
| |
Getting Protected | |
| |
| |
Protecting against malware | |
| |
| |
Using your credit card safely online | |
| |
| |
Defending your privacy | |
| |
| |
Keeping cookies at bay | |
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| |
Reducing spam | |
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| |
| |
Action Center Overview | |
| |
| |
Entering the Action Center | |
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| |
Working with the Action Center | |
| |
| |
Watching Security Settings | |
| |
| |
Checking Maintenance Settings | |
| |
| |
Rooting out Rootkits | |
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| |
| |
Windows Firewall | |
| |
| |
Comparing Firewalls | |
| |
| |
Understanding Windows 7 Firewall's Basic Features | |
| |
| |
Speaking Your Firewall's Lingo | |
| |
| |
Peeking into Your Firewall | |
| |
| |
Using Public and Private Networks | |
| |
| |
Making Inbound Exceptions | |
| |
| |
Allowing designated programs to bypass the firewall | |
| |
| |
Opening specific ports | |
| |
| |
Coping with the Windows 7 Outbound Firewall | |
| |
| |
| |
Patching and Plugging | |
| |
| |
Patching Woes | |
| |
| |
Choosing an Update Level | |
| |
| |
Selectively Patching: A Penacea for Those Woes | |
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| |
Getting What You Need from a Security Bulletin | |
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| |
Decoding a security bulletin | |
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| |
Getting patches through a security bulletin | |
| |
| |
Checking and Uninstalling Updates | |
| |
| |
| |
Fighting Viruses and Other Scum | |
| |
| |
Making Sense of Malware | |
| |
| |
Understanding Antivirus Software | |
| |
| |
Identifying the challenges for antivirus software | |
| |
| |
Understanding false positives | |
| |
| |
Caring for your antivirus software | |
| |
| |
Downloading and Installing AVG Free | |
| |
| |
Dealing with Spyware | |
| |
| |
Where's Defender? | |
| |
| |
Blocking spies with Spybot-S&D | |
| |
| |
Blocking Bad Autostarting Programs | |
| |
| |
| |
Networking with Windows 7 | |
| |
| |
| |
Attaching to a Network | |
| |
| |
Choosing Between Home, Work, and Public | |
| |
| |
Understanding HomeGroups | |
| |
| |
Hooking Up to a Wireless Network | |
| |
| |
Hooking Up to a Wired Network | |
| |
| |
Caring for Your HomeGroup | |
| |
| |
Changing your network type | |
| |
| |
Changing the HomeGroup password | |
| |
| |
Adding or blocking folders in the HomeGroup | |
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Setting Up Your Own Network | |
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Understanding Networks | |
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What a networks can do for you | |
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How a network networks | |
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Organizing Networks | |
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Understanding servers and serfs | |
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Introducing client/server networks | |
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Introducing peer-to-peer networks | |
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Comparing the p-pros and c-cons | |
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Cutting through the Terminology | |
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Making Computers Talk | |
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Understanding Ethernet | |
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Adding wireless | |
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Building Your Network | |
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Planning Your Network | |
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Using a wired network | |
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Blocking out the major parts | |
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Using Internet Connection Sharing | |
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Installing (or Reinstalling) Your Network | |
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More Troubleshooting | |
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Networking on the road | |
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Getting your computer to see another computer | |
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Putting the Why in Wi-Fi | |
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Choosing a Protocol | |
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Installing a Wireless System | |
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Wireless adapters and access points | |
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Location, location, location | |
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Setting Up a Secure Wireless Network | |
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Connecting to a WPA2 Protected Network | |
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Calming Two Fighting Mother Hens | |
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Using Other Hardware | |
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Finding and Installing the Hardware You Need | |
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Knowing What Windows 7 Wants | |
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Upgrading the Basic Stuff | |
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Choosing a new monitor | |
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Changing resolutions and multiple monitors | |
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Picking a video adapter | |
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Upgrading keyboards | |
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Choosing a mouse - or alternatives | |
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Getting more out of USB | |
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Understanding flash memory and USB key drives | |
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Installing New Hardware | |
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Having the store do it | |
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Doing it Yourself | |
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Checking a driver's version | |
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Knowing what to do if anything goes wrong | |
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Restarting with the last known good configuration | |
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Installing USB hardware | |
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Using Device Stage | |
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Getting a Grip on Device Stage | |
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Taking Device Stage for a Spin | |
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Establishing a Bluetooth Connection | |
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Printing (Almost) Effortlessly | |
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Installing a Printer | |
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Attaching a local printer | |
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Connecting a network printer | |
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Using the Print Queue | |
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Displaying a print queue | |
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Pausing and resuming a print queue | |
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Pausing, restarting, and resuming a document | |
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Canceling a document | |
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Troubleshooting Printing | |
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Catching a Runaway Printer | |
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Index | |