Windows Tips Features

How To: Hack Windows XP into Giving You 5 More Years of Free Support

Windows XP will always have a special place in my heart—it's the operating system I grew up on. It guided me through the glory days of AIM, Napster, and MySpace, but now it's dead. The OS that had been supported by Microsoft for twelve years officially lost its support on April 8th, 2014. Just like that, Microsoft has killed the beast, but for those of you who stubbornly refuse to cooperate, you can resurrect the dead. If you have Windows XP, this little known hack will get you further suppor...

How To: Bored with Your Surface Pro? BlueStacks Lets You Run Any Android App on Windows 8

Now that the Surface Pro is out, you can game your heart out and get down with some serious Minecrafting. You're not just limited to downloading apps in the Windows Store anymore, like with the Surface RT. You can install a lot of Windows-compatible programs on the Surface Pro, but still, with this being a mobile device, it'd be nice to have some more mobile-feeling apps. And thanks to BlueStacks, you can. BlueStacks has helped people without Androids and iPhones get popular apps on their dev...

How To: Remove Facebook Ads from Internet Explorer 10 on Your Microsoft Surface

I think most people can agree that advertisements are just annoying. There is only one day out of the entire year when commercials and advertisements are actually welcomed, and that's the Super Bowl. But, since it can't be the Super Bowl every day (if only), those ads that float around on your Microsoft Surface's screen are just obnoxious. Luckily, there is a way to get rid of them, on Facebook at least. Facebook is one of the most visited sites in the world, so having the ability to hide ads...

How To: Block Ads in Microsoft Edge

Although they're often times the primary source of income for websites, on-site advertisements can annoy even the most tolerable reader. That's why ad blockers have been some of the most popular downloads on Firefox and Chrome for some time now, demonstrating that when it comes down to it, most people just want nothing to do with ads shoved in their face.

How To: Run Windows 8's Desktop and Metro Views Simultaneously Using a Second Monitor

The new Windows 8 operating system pushes the Metro interface hard, but not all of your apps will play nicely in Metro, which means you'll need to resort to the traditional desktop environment for some of your favorite programs. As a result, it has left many users picking between the two—Metro or traditional? Fortunately, there's a way to run them both simultaneously with the use of second monitor. In the video below, Donald Bell of CNET explains how you can run both interfaces simultaneously...

How To: "Should I Remove It?" Helps You Rid Your Windows PC of Bloatware and Unwanted Programs

A lot of computers come with a ton of pre-installed software from the manufacturer, some of which you need and some of which you could most certainly live without. And over time, you may have downloaded and installed a bunch of programs and apps that you probably can't even remember. Now, you could go ahead and uninstall everything that you don't think you need, but then you run the risk of removing something that could really mess up the system. When I open up my Programs folder, I feel like...

How To: Get Your Free 90-Day Trial of Windows 8 Enterprise Edition Today

Yesterday, Microsoft announced that Windows 8 RTM is available to its MSDN subscribers and TechNet Professionals. But they've also included a free 90-day trial for developers that anyone can download, no subscription needed. The download is actually for the Enterprise version, so after the 90 days are over you won't be able to upgrade, you'll have to do it from your original operating system when the non-Enterprise version is released in October.

How To: Add or Prevent Programs from Starting Automatically When Booting Windows 8

Programs that run automatically every time you start your computer can slow down your boot time—or just be plain annoying. Many of these programs are rarely used and don't even need to be running for your computer to function properly. So, if you want to disable these auto-run programs and increase your computer's startup speed, here are a few ways you can do it in the new Windows 8.

News: How to Hail a Ride in Uber's Official Windows 10 App

Windows 10 universal apps are actually pretty awesome—regardless of if you're using a desktop, laptop, tablet, or convertible, the same app automatically scales up or down to suit your device. Definitely cool, but the Windows Store is pretty bare-bones as it stands, so the downside is that you can't always find a good universal app for every purpose.

Next Page