POEA, Work Abroad, Jobs Abroad and Overseas Jobs for Filipinos

For those who are interested and want to try their luck abroad/overseas and seems don't have the luxury of time to apply to every agency here in the Philippines you might find the website http://poea.jobstreet.com.ph/ very helpful to you.

It is more like the jobstreet we know, the only difference is jobs posted in that said site are overseas works. So go and grab that resume and enjoy job hunting at your finger tips.

Firefox 3.5 Tips and Tricks

Get the most out of your firefox by using these shortcut keys.

Zoom In, Zoom Out

Tab Tricks

More Shortcuts

iPhone and iPod Touch Secret: Take Screen Shots

Here is a simple trick that will allow you to take screen shot of you screen in iPod Touch and iPhone.

Press and hold the home key, while doing so press the wake button (your screen will flash, a notification that you have succefully took a screen shot). Screen shot will be automatically saved to your photo album and can be later transfer to your computer.

Thunderbird 3 Tips and Tricks

Here are some useful tips to maximize your ultimate Mozilla Thunderbird 3 experience.


Thunderbird Keyboard Shortcuts
Most common keyboards shortcuts. Thunderbird shortcut.

Thunderbird 3 Official Tips and Tricks
Here are the list of tips and tricks for Thunderbird Ver. 3. Thunderbird Tips.

Install Thinderbird 3 in Ubuntu with One Command
Want to use Thunderbird in an OpenSource OS? Install Thinderbird 3 in Ubuntu with One Command.

Download the latest Mozilla Thunderbird Version here.

How To Reset Or Unfreeze iPod Touch

To reset iPod touch, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time until you see the Apple logo show up on the screen:

Windows 7 God Mode?

Here is a simple Trick for Windows 7 which will unlock Windows 7 hidden "God Mode" Control Panel.
This will provide a single place to access all Windows settings without needing to browse options and folders in the Control Panel.

Step 1. Create a New Folder (In any directory)

Step 2. Rename the folder to GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} Note: you can change the “GodMode” text, but the following period and code number are essential.

Your Folder would look like this. Similar icon to Control Panel — double click it to show the GodMode window 

The window shows 280 plus sections with quick links to configuration options. Strictly speaking, it’s not a God Mode since all the options are available elsewhere. It’s more akin to an “all tasks” list — but you may find it easier than stumbling through Windows numerous screens and panels.

Video Reference

Configure Smartbro on Linux In Your Dell 3G10

Recently Dell released a new netbook that comes with a built-in HSDPA modem which is first in the Philippine market. If you are having problem trying to configure your smartbro on Linux OS, here is a simple step by step guide to help you.

Step 1. Right Click you Network Connection then click Edit Connections

Step 2. Go to Mobile Broadband Tab, highlight Smart then click Edit

Step 3. Remove the Username and Password (leave it blank).

Step 4. Rename the APN from internet to smartbro then click apply.

From there you can now start using your smartbro SIM to browse the Internet to almost anypart of the country.

Change The Size of Virtual Memory (Windows XP)

If you receive warnings that your virtual memory is low, you'll need to increase the minimum size of your paging file. Windows sets the initial minimum size of the paging file equal to the amount of random access memory (RAM) installed on your computer, and the maximum size equal to three times the amount of RAM installed on your computer. If you see warnings at these recommended levels, then increase the minimum and maximum sizes.

Right Click My Computer then properties.

In the left pane, click Advanced system settings. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

On the Advanced tab, under Performance, click Settings.

Click the Advanced tab, and then, under Virtual memory, click Change.

Clear the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives check box.

Under Drive [Volume Label], click the drive that contains the paging file you want to change.

Click Custom size, type a new size in megabytes in the Initial size (MB) or Maximum size (MB) box, click Set, and then click OK.

Note
Increases in size usually don't require a restart for the changes to take effect, but if you decrease the size, you'll need to restart your computer. We recommend that you don't disable or delete the paging file.

Windows 7 Custom Theme

All you Windows 7 users out there here is a simple step on how to customize themes.

You can change individual parts of a theme (the desktop background, window color, sounds, and screen saver), and then save the revised theme for your own use or to share with other people.

To change parts of a theme

1.Open Personalization by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type personalization, and then click Personalization.
2.Click the theme that you want to change to apply it to your desktop.
3.Do one or more of the following:
•To change the background, click Desktop Background, select the check box for the image that you want to use, and then click Save changes.
•To change the color of window borders, click Window Color, click the color that you want to use, adjust the intensity, and then click Save changes.
•To change the sounds for the theme, click Sounds, click an item in the Sound Schemes list, and then click OK.
•To add or change a screen saver, click Screen Saver, click an item in the Screen saver list, change any settings that you want to change, and then click OK.
Your revised theme will appear under My Themes as an unsaved theme. If you want to come back to your unsaved theme later, make sure you save it.

To save a revised theme for your use only

To save your revised theme to use on your computer, follow these steps:
1.Open Personalization by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type personalization, and then click Personalization.
2.Click your revised theme to apply it to the desktop.
3.Click Save theme.
4.Type a name for your theme, and then click Save.
The theme will appear under My Themes. Note that themes saved this way can't be shared with other people.

To save a revised theme to share with friends and family

To share a revised theme, follow the steps below. You can share your theme using e‑mail, a network, or an external hard disk.
1.Open Personalization by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type personalization, and then click Personalization.
2.Click your revised theme to apply it to the desktop.
3.Right-click the theme, and then click Save theme for sharing.
4.In the File name box, type a name for your theme, and then click Save.
By default, Windows saves the theme in your My Documents folder.

Auto logon for Windows XP

Would you rather not have to log on after your computer starts? If you’re the only person who uses your computer, you can make life a little easier by skipping the Welcome screen completely and having Microsoft Windows XP take you straight to your desktop.

To automatically log on to Windows XP upon startup

1.Click Start, and then click Run.
Note: Remember your user name at the top of the Start menu, because you’ll need it later.
2.In the Open box, type control userpasswords2 and click OK.

3.Clear the Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer check box. Click OK.

4.Click the User name box, type the user name that was displayed on the Start menu in step 1. If you normally type a password to log on, type your password in both the Password and Confirm Password boxes. Otherwise, leave these boxes blank. Click OK.

What is UAC (User Account Control)

What is UAC?

UAC (User Account Control) is the most visible security feature in Windows Vista. UAC chimes in whenever someone tries to execute a system administrative task and asks for the permission of an administrator. Usually UAC is triggered by installing and uninstalling applications, installing driver devices, changing settings for Windows Defender, configuring Windows Update, etc.

UAC may seem like an annoyance, but UAC is more than a pop-up. When UAC is triggered Vista places the triggering process into a virtual environment. The result is that the process can not do any damage to your computer unless you approve the UAC warning. This prevents your computer from being infected in the background, which was the primary infection method prior to Vista.

How important is UAC?

There is a lot of controversy on how necessary User Account Control is. On one hand UAC gives you a measure of security by not allowing anybody (but the administrator of the computer) to change your computer settings or install programs in the background. On the other hand Microsoft's new security feature may seem intrusive and annoying.

Keep UAC ON or OFF?

If you are the only one that uses the computer, and are an expert, it would be safe to turn UAC Off. For the average user I believe UAC is an important safety net and should be left intact. Keep in mind that UAC prevents malicious applications from silently installing on your computer (remember that I told you UAC is triggered by installing and uninstalling applications). Others will complain about the large number of UAC prompts they receive on their computer. Fortunately the UAC prompts will slow over time. Many report UAC has become helpful in protecting their computer.

How to turn UAC off

If you decide that you don’t want UAC to ask for your approval every time you do something, here’s how to turn it off:

* Click the Start orb and choose Control Panel
* Open User Accounts and Family Safety, click on User Accounts and select Turn Uses Account Control on or off
* Deselect the checkbox besides Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer, click OK and restart your computer.

There is also a program called TweakUAC, a free tool that you can use to quickly turn UAC (User Account Control) on or off, or to make UAC operate in the quiet mode.

Windows 7 Tips and Trick ver 1.1

Get a Power Efficiency Report
Have a laptop and want to get more battery life out of it? Windows 7 includes a hidden built-in tool that will examine your laptop's energy use and make recommendations on how to improve it. To use it:

1. Run a command prompt as an administrator. To do this, type cmd in the search box, and when the cmd icon appears, right-click it and choose "Run as administrator."

2. At the command line, type in the following:

powercfg -energy -output \Folder\Energy_Report.html

where \Folder represents the folder where you want the report to be placed.

3. For about a minute, Windows 7 will examine the behavior of your laptop. It will then analyze it and create a report in HTML format in the folder you specified. Double-click the file, and you'll get a report -- follow its recommendations for ways to improve power performance.

The Start Menu's search box is a convenient way to search through your PC -- but you can also have it do double-duty and perform Internet searches as well. To enable this feature:

1. In the Start Menu search box, type GPEDIT.MSC and press Enter to run the Group Policy Editor.

2. Go to User Configuration --> Administrative Templates --> Start Menu and Taskbar.

3. Double-click "Add Search Internet link to Start Menu," and from the screen that appears, select Enabled. Then click OK and close the Group Policy Editor.

Search the Internet from the Start Menu

The Start Menu's search box is a convenient way to search through your PC -- but you can also have it do double-duty and perform Internet searches as well. To enable this feature:

1. In the Start Menu search box, type GPEDIT.MSC and press Enter to run the Group Policy Editor.

2. Go to User Configuration --> Administrative Templates --> Start Menu and Taskbar.

3. Double-click "Add Search Internet link to Start Menu," and from the screen that appears, select Enabled. Then click OK and close the Group Policy Editor.

4. From now on, when you type a search term in the Search box on the Start Menu, a "Search the Internet" link will appear. Click the link to launch the search in your default browser with your default search engine.

Use check boxes to select multiple files

In order to select multiple files for an operation such as copying, moving or deleting in Windows Explorer, you generally use the keyboard and the mouse, Ctrl-clicking every file you want to select. But if you're mouse-centric, there's a way to select multiple files in Windows 7 using only your mouse, via check boxes. To do it:

1. In Windows Explorer, click Organize, and then select "Folder and search options."

2. Click the View tab.

3. In Advanced Settings, scroll down and check the box next to "Use check boxes to select items." Click OK.

4. From now on, when you hover your mouse over a file in Windows Explorer, a check box will appear next to it; click it to select the file. Once a file is selected, the checked box remains next to it; if you uncheck it, the box will disappear when you move your mouse away.

Speed Up the Display of Thumbnails on the Taskbar

One of the nicest things about the taskbar is that when you hover your mouse over the icons in it, you can see thumbnail previews of all open windows for each of those applications. When you do so, there is a slight delay before the thumbnail appears. But you can make the thumbnails display more quickly by using a Registry hack.

1. Launch the Registry Editor by typing regedit in the Search box and pressing Enter.

2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse.

3. Double-click MouseHoverTime. The default value you'll see is 400 -- which means 400 milliseconds. Type in a new, smaller value -- 150 is a good bet. Then click OK and exit the Registry Editor. You'll have to log off or restart your computer for the change to take effect.

See Taskbar Thumbnails Without a Mouse

If you're a fan of using the keyboard rather than your mouse whenever possible, you can move your cursor from icon to icon in the taskbar without a mouse -- and still see thumbnail previews. Press Windows key-T, and you'll move the focus to the leftmost icon on the taskbar. Then, while still pressing the Windows key, press T again to change the focus to the next icon to the right. You can keep doing this as long as you like.

Launch Taskbar Apps Without a Mouse

Likewise, you can launch any program on the taskbar without the mouse. Press the Windows key and the number that corresponds to the position of the application on the taskbar -- for example, Windows key-1 to launch the left-most application on the taskbar, Windows key-2 to launch the second left-most application and so on.

Run Multiple Copies of Applications from the Taskbar

The Windows 7 taskbar serves a dual purpose, which can get confusing at times. It's used to launch programs, and also to switch between programs that are running. So you launch a program by clicking its icon, and also switch to that program after it's running by clicking its icon.

But what if you want to launch a second instance of the program? Once the program is running, it seems there's no way to launch a second instance, because when you click its icon, you only switch to the running instance.

There's a simple fix: If a program is already running and you want to launch a second instance from the taskbar, hold down the Shift key and click the icon. A second instance will launch. You can keep launching new instances this way.

How to increase your Laptop Battery's Life?

Dear friends you have read many interesting tips from my site and I think you have gained more knowledge from them. Now I have a more interesting tip to increase your Laptop's battery life. There is no matter, laptop manufactures gives you the guarantee about the battery that how long it works. The battery of laptop always stops working very early at some stage in essential research, just like when you are watching a DVD movie.
Follow the few steps to increase the laptop battery's life:

Lower the backlighting on your screen.
The screen of your Laptop takes up significant amount of power and you do not require its maximum brightness. You should have to check your system and decrease the screen brightness it to a comfortable point.

Stop your wireless signal when you are not using. 
After turning off your Laptop can save max. 20 minutes of your laptop's battery time because WiFi can use a considerable quantity of power. By right clicking you can stop your WiFi signal when you are not using.


Manage the correct power scheme in XP
Windows XP contain a number of predetermined power plans, which control settings like how rapidly your laptop turns off and when your screen saver boots in. You can change your laptop power scheme by choosing Control Panel > Power Options. For max. Battery life from the "Power scheme" chooses the option "Max. Battery" and decline the list. There are good choices for you just like "Low Power Mode" and Portable /Laptop. They don't conserve as much power as Max Battery. After selecting a power scheme you click Ok button to finish the process.

Secure Your Password From Hackers Attacks

There are some hacker’s breaks into your computer without using any impressive programming skills but trying to find words to guess as your password. Normally people use their name, house number, mobile number and word “password” as a password. If you have very simple password then a hacker can hack your computer very easily. To safe your computer from hackers there is a best way to create a tricky password. Here I will tell you some different type of tricks to make your password that can’t guess easily by any body.

Use the maximum characters in your password

Always set the password using maximum characters length, because it is simple method, if your password is longer then it is very difficult to guess.

Use the combination of lower-case and upper case letters in your password

Normally computer users use the lower case in password selection but it is best practice to use the combination of both (lower-case and upper case). So using different cases in your password makes it much more difficult to crack.

Use the combination of letters and numbers in your password

When you mix both letters and numbers just like one letter and one number then your password is more incomprehensible.

Avoid using the name of your family members as password

Always try to avoid the name of your child, spouse, city and country name as password, because if any body knows about your personal life’s details then they try to use these detail to guess your password.

Use any tools to create random password

There are many third party tools are available to create the random password. You can create passwords containing a very difficult –to-guess collection of random characters with these tools.

Windows XP Hidden Applications

To run any of these apps go to Start > Run and type the executable name, for example: charmap

1. Character Map = charmap.exe (very useful for finding unusual characters)

2. Disk Cleanup = cleanmgr.exe

3. Clipboard Viewer = clipbrd.exe (views contents of Windows clipboard)

4. Dr Watson = drwtsn32.exe (Troubleshooting tool)

5. DirectX diagnosis = dxdiag.exe (Diagnose & test DirectX, video & sound cards)

6. Private character editor = eudcedit.exe (allows creation or modification of characters)

7. IExpress Wizard = iexpress.exe (Create self-extracting / self-installing package)

8. Mcft Synchronization Manager = mobsync.exe (appears to allow synchronization of files on the network for when working offline. Apparently undocumented).

9. Windows Media Player 5.1 = mplay32.exe (Retro version of Media Player, very basic).

10. ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32.exe (something to do with databases)

11. Object Packager = packager.exe (to do with packaging objects for insertion in files, appears to have comprehensive help files).

12. System Monitor = perfmon.exe (very useful, highly configurable tool, tells you everything you ever wanted to know about any aspect of PC performance, for uber-geeks only )

13. Program Manager = progman.exe (Legacy Windows 3.x desktop shell).

14. Remote Access phone book = rasphone.exe (documentation is virtually non-existant).

15. Registry Editor = regedt32.exe [also regedit.exe] (for hacking the Windows Registry).

16. Network shared folder wizard = shrpubw.exe (creates shared folders on network).

17. File siganture verification tool = sigverif.exe

18. Volume Contro = sndvol32.exe (I've included this for those people that lose it from the System Notification area).

19. System Configuration Editor = sysedit.exe (modify System.ini & Win.ini just like in Win98! ).

20. Syskey = syskey.exe (Secures XP Account database - use with care, it's virtually undocumented but it appears to encrypt all passwords, I'm not sure of the full implications).

21. Mcft Telnet Client = telnet.exe

22. Driver Verifier Manager = verifier.exe (seems to be a utility for monitoring the actions of drivers, might be useful for people having driver problems. Undocumented).

23. Windows for Workgroups Chat = winchat.exe (appears to be an old NT utility to allow chat sessions over a LAN, help files available).

24. System configuration = msconfig.exe (can use to control starup programs)

25. gpedit.msc used to manage group policies, and permissions

Transfer Songs from iPod to Computer without iTunes

To protect the copyrights of the songs, musics and videos stored on iPod and reduce piracy, Apple has make it difficult to copy or transfer the songs, musics, audio, videos and files that stored on iPod to personal computer (PC) or laptop notebook computer, by scrambling the file names of the songs on the iPod and telling the operating system that the files should be invisible to normal users, without any encryption involved in this iPod anti-copying mechanism.

iTunes allows only one-way synchronization of musics from computer to iPod, so if for whatever reasons such as need to reload your library on local hard disk due to desktop hard disk failure or buying new computer, you can easily copy back the video, music and song library from iPod on a Windows PC by following steps:


1. Insert your iPod to a Windows PC USB or FireWire port. (PC should runs Windows XP or other Windows operating system).

2. If your Windows PC still doesn’t have iTunes installed, skip this step. If iTunes is already installed and prompt a message on whether if you’d like to associate this iPod with this computer and deleting its content, click No. Or else you will lose your only copy of library on iTunes. Beside, ensure that ‘Enable Disk Use’ is selected.

3. Open My Computer or Windows Explorer, the iPod should be automatically detected as a portable hard drive.

4. Click on the iPod icon or the iPod portable hard drive letter to open the contents of the drive.

5. If you don’t see a folder called “iPod Control”, it’s hidden and invisible. To unhidden it so that it’s visible, go to Tools -> Folder Options -> View, and then check (enable) the option “Show hidden files and folders.”

6. Open the “iPod Control” folder, and then the Music folder.

7. The Music folder contains the iPod’s music and videos, divided into folders. Copy the library to local computer hard drive’s My Music folder.

8. The files copied have unintelligible four-letter file names. To reveal the names of the songs and other data tags, add the files to the Windows Media Player or iTunes libraries or switch to “Tiles” view in Windows Explorer.

9. Rename the file if necessary.

Beside above manual ways to copy and transfer song library from iPod to computer, or import into iTunes, there are several third party program or more commonly called iPod Manager that has the iPod copying function such as SharePod (freeware) or PodPlus (shareware).

Similarly, in Macintosh running MacOS X or MacOS 9, it’s harder to show hidden files and folders. So these third party utilities with iPod copying will be useful to transfer files and music from iPod to PC’s hard disk and iTunes library.

For MacOS X, try Broken Helix and Rob’s iPod Exporter. For MacOS 9, try escapePod and iProber. Other iPod Manager or iPod song transfer utility for Mac include Senuti, iPodRid, iPod.iTunes and PodWorks. For Linux, try GUIPod. PodUtil will be able to works on both Windows and Mac platform.

The transferred music will be playable without any restrictions if the songs are ripped from CDs. If the songs or videos are bought from the iTunes music store, they will play in iTunes after you have “authorize” the computer. To authorize, try playing a purchased file. It will prompt you for your iTunes username and password. Up to five computers can be authorized at any one time.

Office 2007 Compatibility Issues to Earlier Versions

By default all Microsoft Office 2007 applications use the different files extensions than the earlier versions. All earlier Office applications used the file extensions as .doc, .xls and .ppt for Word, Excel and PowerPoint respectively, but now Office 2007 applications uses the .docx, xlsx and .pptx file extensions for Word, Excel and PowerPoint respectively. These all new file extensions are not compatible with all previous versions of Office applications, that is why Office 2002 and Office 2003 applications cannot open and read the .docx, xlsx and .pptx file extensions.

However, you have an option in Office 2007 to save the files with in older files extensions, But if you are frequently using the older versions of the file and also if the files created by you are to be shared on other computers which have earlier versions of Office, you may want to save all your new documents in the older format, but that would create duplicate files. There is better option in Office 2007 applications to change the default saving file format to the older format and then the new file format in Office 2007 will be changed to .doc, .xls and .ppt for Word, Excel and PowerPoint respectively.

Follow the given steps to set the default older file format for Word 2007:

1) First click on Start button, go to Program then click on Microsoft Word 2007 to run the word application.

2) Now click on File menu in the top left corner then click on Word Options button to change the default word options.

3) In the left side panel, click on Save option, and now "Customized how documents are saved" option will appear in right side panel.

4) Here find the "Save File in this format" option and click on drop down box to select the different format. Now you will find many options here, select the Word 97-2003 Document (*doc) option.

5) Now click on Ok button to save the settings and all new Word files will be created in the format you set as default.

Insert Your Signature Electronically in Word Documents

1) First of all scan your signature page and then save image using (.GIF or .JPEG) extension. Now you have scanned image of you signature, save the image on your computer and note that file name where you save it.

2) Click on Start button, go to Program then click on Microsoft Word to run the word page.

3) Now go to Insert menu, click on Picture> From File then browses your scanned signature file and click Insert button to add this file in word.

4) If your signature is not looking so good and its size is wrong then you should rescan your signature then repeat all the steps to insert it again.

5) To save your signature for reuse in future documents, highlight the signature graphic, and then choose insert AutoText-New. Here a new Create Auto Text dialog box will appear. Name your signature and click ok.

6) Now just type the name the file of your signature and press Enter to insert your signature in the future or choose insert AutoText-Normal then click on signature name. There is no need of ink, Word jump down in your digital signature.

Taking Care of Your Mobile Phone

Have an expensive cellphone and want to prolong its life? This tips might help.

1. Charge your cellphone only when it indicates low battery - this will help to prolong the battery life, battery has a life cycle, the more you charge the faster it will reach its destination ^_^

2. Don't try to text while it is raining and don't have an umbrella - very simple.

3. In case your mobile phone got wet, do not turn it on - this might cause some short circuit that might kill your phones main board.

4. Whenever you encounter weird problems on your phone do not try to experiment - bring it to the nearest service centers within your area.

5. When you and your partner argue do not throw you phone! It is expensive!

Optimize Your Windows 7

Pushing Your Performance

To create a faster Windows 7 experience, start by modifying the amount of time that mouse-over boxes and clicked menus take to appear. Click on the Windows Start button and type regedit into the 'Search programs and files' box. Welcome to the Windows 7 Registry. Don't touch or modify anything without good reason. Left click on the expandable arrow next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Expand the Control Panel folder, and then click directly on Desktop in the hierarchy. In the right pane, look for and double click MenuShowDelay. Change the value from 400 to any lesser number that's 1 or greater. This figure represents the milliseconds of delay between your click and a menu's display. Restart the computer to apply the changes immediately, or continue to the next tweak.

See the folder labeled Mouse (below Desktop)? Click that, and then search for and select the MouseHoverTime Registry key. Just as before, change this value to any lesser number that's 1 or greater. Close the Registry Editor, restart the computer, and you'll have faster mouseovers.

If you're willing to sacrifice looks for speed, you can modify the visual settings of the Windows 7 interface to emphasise performance over presentation. Go back to the System section of Control Panel and click on Advanced System Settings again. On the System Properties window that appears, choose the Advanced tab and then click on the Settings box underneath the Performance category. The Performance Options window will pop up. There, you'll see a list of checked boxes that correspond to all of the window dressing in the operating system.

If you don't mind transforming your OS into a clone of Windows 2000, click the button that tells Windows to adjust its visual settings for best performance. It's a harsh step to take, though. If you'd prefer a piecemeal approach, uncheck only the boxes that relate to Windows Aero (such as Aero peek and transparent glass). You'll retain a semblance of a pretty desktop while still improving performance a teeny bit.

Conserve Resources

Once you've installed a fair amount of programs on your PC, your "core base" of apps as it were, you'll want to check that your system doesn't have any unwanted applications running in the background that could otherwise impede the machine's general performance. These programs launch themselves during the operating system's startup process, and are often designed to help you load their corresponding applications faster. The problem is that they run every time, regardless of whether you intend to use the application during a given session.

Click Start and type msconfig into the 'Search programs and files' field. Press Enter. In the System Configuration window that appears, select the Startup tab. Move your mouse between the headers of the Manufacturer and Command columns, and shrink the Manufacturer column down. The Command column is the one you care about.

A number of the startup applications that launch on your machine sit in the background, consuming resources. For example, take iTunes: If you've installed this application, you'll find iTunes and QuickTime listings in the Startup tab. Both iTunesHelper.exe and QTTask.exe are unnecessary additions to your system, the former launches when you start iTunes anyway, and the latter places a QuickTime icon in the corner of your system for easy program launching. Uncheck them both.

As for the other programs on your list, try running a quick web search of each application's executable file name to find out if the program is worth keeping or removing. Once you've checked the programs you want to launch at startup and unchecked the programs you don't, click OK.

In addition to startup programs, you'll find services on your PC. Microsoft recommends trimming both to squeeze the most performance out of your system. For the services, click Start, type services.msc into the search field, and press Enter. Up pops the Services window, a list of options and executables that's even more confusing than the startup window.

You can't identify which services to turn off (and which to leave on) without taking a close look at how each one affects your system's overall performance. Thankfully, someone has been doing that exact task since Windows XP: Charles Sparks, under the alias Black Viper, has listed every single permutation of Windows 7's services across all of its versions, along with a "safe" and "tweaked" list of which services you should modify and how you should set their parameters.

To follow his advice, just double click on any listed service. You need concern yourself only with the 'Startup type' listing in the screen that appears next. By switching among the Automatic, Manual, and Disabled modes, depending on his recommendations, you'll be able to control exactly how services launch, if at all, during the Windows startup process and during your general use of the operating system. Every little bit helps.