How to Speed Up a Mac ?

Macs can perform slowly, too. If your Mac seems to be running slower than it should, the variety of tips here should help you identify and fix the problem. There are many reasons a Mac might be slow.Stay away from programs that promise to “optimize” your Mac and make it run faster. Some “cleaning” programs — like the Mac version of CCleaner — can remove temporary files and free up space, but they won’t make your Mac perform faster.

Manage Your Startup Items

It goes without saying that a clean startup helps speed up a slow Macbook. When your Mac launches faster, it takes less time to do anything. No waiting for Safari, Chrome, or Firefox to load — they open instantly. How do you get such speed? Well, when your Mac boots up, it runs a lot of unnecessary apps. It’s quite easy to take control of it again. Go to your System Preferences > Users & Groups and then click on your username. Now click on “Login Items,” select a program you don’t immediately need when your Mac starts up, and click the “-” button below.

Use Activity Monitor

If you want to see what apps are using up your system, open the Activity Monitor in the Utilitiesfolder.

Activity Monitor shows all the processes on your Mac (some of which you can’t or shouldn’t close) so click on View and Windowed Processes. Now click on the CPU button and the CPU column to list all programs by the amount of CPU they are using.

You can also use this to see what memory, disk and network processes are using up resources. A new feature in Mavericks is Energy that enables you to see which apps and processes are using up the most amount of energy from your battery.

Clean Up Your Hard Drive

If you want the most bang for your buck, cleaning your hard drive is by far the best and easiest way to speed up Macbook or iMac. Go through your hard drive and clean out everything that’s slowing it down. But how to clean up a Mac? What to look for? Caches, logs, apps, widgets, language packs, plugins, hidden trashes, and large files. Good news is, you can clean up Mac manually. But (there’s always a but) finding all of these things and removing them takes time, plus you have to know where to look. So there’s an easy solution to it,CleanMyMac 3 app has everything you need to finish the 3-hour task of hard drive cleanup in under 5 minutes. Even more, it will clean up the junk you didn’t even know about and give your Mac major a speedup.

Update Your Mac (OS and Hardware)

Typically, Macs take care of themselves. The latest software from Apple makes speeding your Mac up simple. Currently, the latest OS X is El Capitan. Compare it to the OS X version on your Mac by clicking on the apple icon in the top left corner of your screen. Then click About This Mac. Make sure you have the latest OS X installed (or the latest you can install, since not all Macs upgrade to El Capitan). As for the hardware upgrade, as you’ve probably guessed, it’s costly. But if your OS is the latest you can install on your Mac and you’ve cleaned up your hard drive, and you still have troubles with speed, this could be your option. Keep in mind that upgrading Mac hardware is not possible on certain Macs.

Must Read:How to Fix Common iPhone 6 Problems 

Manage your startup items

Obviously, a clean startup helps speed up a Macbook that’s running slowly. No wasted time waiting for Chrome, Firefox, or Safari to load. Instant access! Well, when your Mac boots up, it runs a lot of unnecessary apps that slow your Mac down.

Take control of your Mac again! Go to your System Preferences > Users & Groups and then click on your username. Now click on Login Items. Select a program you don’t immediately need when your Mac starts up, and then click the “–” button below.

Taking care of these startup programs is an easy way to help add speed to your Mac.

Turn off visual effects

Most Macs are now capable of running Mac OS X Mavericks without any trouble. But some people prefer to keep the dock static to prevent slowdown. Click System Preferences > Dock and uncheck the following check boxes:

• Magnification
• Animate opening applications
• Automatically hide and show the dock
• Turn off accessibility

Now click on Minimize windows using and change Genie Effect to Scale Effect.

Repair Disk Permissions

This might sound complicated, but it’s actually not that hard. In short, it means checking if your Mac goes to the right places to get info. It’s an alternative to the old “turn it off and on again” method. But it involves using Terminal (if you’re on El Capitan) and if you’re not familiar with it, we recommend simply “downloading CleanMyMac 3”, a Mac maintenance app that has a bunch of optimizing tools, including one-click disk permission repair. If Terminal doesn’t scare you much, you can open it and run commands. To open Terminal, either use Spotlight Search and type it in, or find it in the Apps/Utilities folder. 

Now, in the Terminal window, type in this:
sudo /usr/libexec/repair_packages --verify --standard-pkgs /This will verify permissions. If you see anything (or a lot of things) starting with “Permissions differ”, type in this:

sudo /usr/libexec/repair_packages --repair --standard-pkgs --volume /

Update your software (and set to auto update)

Make sure you perform a software update for Mac OS X and all the apps installed in Mac. Click on the Apple icon in the menu bar and choose Software Update (or open Software Update in the App Store).

If you have apps purchased outside of the App Store, they will need to be updated separately. You’ll usually find Check for Software Update from the program name in the menu bar.

AppFresh is an app that can help keep track of all your software and checks it constantly to see if updates are available. Some apps can also self-update by integrating with AppFresh.

You should also make sure that Mac OS X keeps itself up to date. Click on System Preferences > App Store and ensure that Automatically Check For Updates is ticked. You can also tick Install App Updates, which will automatically ensure that apps are updated.

Clear out your caches

If you regularly use your computer, odds are that it’s building up all sorts of cruft over time. That’s taking up space on your hard drive, and could also be slowing down applications. Web browsers, with their backlog of history and massive caches, are famous for this, which is why it’s a good idea to clear your cache from time to time. But they’re not the only programs that build up caches and other files over time, which is why we recommend you check out CCleaner for Mac.

Uninstall software you don’t use

Freeing up space on your boot drive can increase performance, particularly if your drive is nearly full. An easy way to save a bunch of space is to delete apps you don’t use anymore. So if you’re the kind of person who installs a bunch of apps and then forgets about them, it’s time for a journey. We need to head to your Applications folder and take out the trash. But don’t just drag your applications to the Trash icon -that will leave behind a bunch of stuff you don’t need. Instead, look into the free application AppCleaner.

Find and delete unnecessary files

Apps probably aren’t taking up most of the space on your drive — it’s files. But which ones? The free application Grand Perspective gives you a birds-eye view of your files, with the largest files taking the form of the biggest blocks. Explore this and see if there are any large files you want to delete or move to an external hard drive for long-term storage.

Clean up your desktop

Here’s a quick tip: if your desktop is a cluttered mess of icons, clean it up. Your desktop is a window like any other, so if it’s so overwhelming you can’t find files, it’s also probably slowing down your system. Even putting everything on your desktop into a folder can help, if you’re too overwhelmed to actually sort everything. We get it.

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Best Tech and Computer Magazines

Here is a list of top ten Computer and Technology magazines that will give you great edge on current Trends and happenings around the Tech field.Apart from news these magazines provides Gadget Reviews,How to Tips and solutions to common encountered problem in their Niche.

1. Wired

Most famous Tech Magazine which discuss about the Latest Gadgets and Articles related to Science and technology.The subscription charges are different for USA and other countries.

2. PCWorld

The one and only magazine you need if you are passionate about Gadgets,Every month It presents Gadgets Reviews,Computer How to Tips and Free Applications which comes in a DVD.

3. Linux Journal

The most popular Linux magazine,You can get to know the news around Linux and Opensource software’s.You can read Reviews about latest Opensource Software’s and Linux Distributions.Apart from that they are very popular for their Linux How To Articles.

4. Mac World

If you are a Mac user then you definitely need this magazine,It provides the Review about Latest Apple releases,both Hardware and software.You can also discover latest iPhone and iPad Apps.

5. PC Magazine

Provides Review of Latest Smart Phones,Laptops,Desktops and Digital Cameras.They also provide News,PC tips,Internet Tips and Software Downloads.

6.  .NET Magazine

If you are Web Developer or Software Developer you badly need this excellent Magazine,It provides lot of Tutorials.You can also read latest news in IT field and Interviews by famous Tech personalities.

7. Computer World

This magazine provides latest IT news and Gadget Reviews,Most attractive feature is “It is Free of Cost” yes You can Subscribe this magazine without spending a penny.

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Best Messaging Apps Available for You.

Text message is quickly becoming passe, particularly in light of the explosion of popular, easy-to-use messaging apps. WhatsApp, Telegram, Send, Line and other apps all offer free text messaging. And that's not even mentioning the options for voice, video and file-sharing to other users. Check out our favorite mobile messaging apps.

• Skype: This is a popular messaging app with quite a reputation. Both individuals and businesses make use of Skype calls and online messenger. Although there is a precedent of conversation leakage by Microsoft, it still remains a reliable and loved app.
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• Viber: Another app with millions of users on a daily basis, Viber has got some security features that cannot be ignored. It used to be basic messaging app, but now it has introduced end-to-end encryption.
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• Wickr Me: With encryption by default, this app is great and allows security enhancement. It is available on Apple Store and Google Play Store, helping out all mobile users to up their scale of communication online.

• WeChat: This is a free app that allows chat and calls. Even though there is no encryption, there is a huge percentage of global share following the app. It also helps you to send money and keep track of celebs, besides messaging features.

iMessage: If you are the proud owner of an iPhone or iPad, you can turn to iMessage for encryption and ease of use in communication. Facetime is a similar app. iMessage is about to launch the same app for Android devices, but it is not yet available.

Signal: It is available for iOS and Android OS. There is encryption with the same details that WhatsApp use. Yet, the software is open source and this is not the same as Signal. If you are not worried about speed, Signal is a great app.

• Line: Free voice calls and free text messages appeal to people, of course. This is why Line has become one of the most popular apps in messaging for the Asian market. Security layering has increased a great deal over the years, which is great.

• Snapchat: Snapchat is pretty cool as an app and it has some really great features. But, there is a drawback that you should be aware of. Messages can be kept forever, which makes privacy concerns quite valid.

• Slack: Without any end-to-end encryption, this is a powerful collaboration tool or in essence a reliable messaging app. It works well with Google Drive, Github and so on, while it is ideal for startups and software developers.

• Take a pick and enjoy chatting, sending and receiving messages! Communication needs to be convenient and practical, running smoothly and without any second guessing – so fire away!

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What are the Reasons for Wi-Fi is slow and how to fix it...

If your WiFi at home is really slow all of a sudden, then there’s a problem somewhere that you can most likely fix yourself. Here’s how to fix slow WiFi.We discussed earlier how you can deal with a slow WiFi connection that you can’t exactly fix, but what if your internet at home is experiencing performance problems? You can usually fix that since you have access to the router.

There are many reasons why your internet connection might be slow. Perhaps another user in the house is streaming Netflix or your router is clogged up a bit and just needs a simple reboot. There’s even the chance that your internet service provider could be experiencing problems of their own, in which case you’re pretty much out of luck. No matter the cause, slow WiFi can be more frustrating than not having WiFi at all.


With slow WiFi, loading websites can take forever, YouTube videos will lag and freeze, and forget about streaming any media. Slow WiFi is something that you never want to come across, especially if you’re working on something important or timely.


1. Internet thieves

One of the best things about Wi-Fi is the easy access it provides to the internet. But, if your network password is too simple, there could be more people tapping into it than you originally bargained for.Obviously, this isn’t something you want. Networks with weak passwords or no passwords can be accessed by almost anyone. Use a free program called Wi-Fi History View to review each device that has connected to your network, and look for IP addresses you don’t recognize.


Prevent this by first changing the password for your router. If you don’t know where to find it, a site called RouterPasswords can help you locate the manufacturer’s default password. From there, create a password that is complex and difficult to guess. Click here to see a simple formula for creating secure passwords you can actually remember.

2. Congestion

This is a problem in crowded neighborhoods or apartments. When too many people try to connect at the same time on the same Wi-Fi channel, connection speed is significantly impacted.
When your connection slows during peak hours, usually in the evening when everyone gets off work or on Sunday night when The Walking Dead is airing, that’s a sure sign of congestion.

Fix this by selecting a different channel for your router. If you have a 2.4 gigahertz frequency router, there are usually 11 channels to choose from. Channels 1, 6 and 11 are recommended but try other channels to find a faster connection. Or buy a new 5 gigahertz router.

3. Outdated equipment

Wi-Fi routers are not all created equal. “AC” routers are a step up from the older “B” and “G” models and even "N" models. They have more features and offer better performance. If you’re shopping for a new router, that’s what you want to look for.
AC routers have a maximum spectral bandwidth of around 8 x 160MHz, compared to the 4 x 40MHz standard of N routers. In other words, the increased bandwidth allows more data to be transmitted without slowing down.

4. Your router’s security settings

Aside from protecting your network from unauthorized bandwidth usage, which could slow down your network without your knowledge, did you know that the type of wireless security you use could impact your overall speeds too?
If your network is Open (no security) or is using WEP, change the security setting immediately! Obviously, an open network will make it easy for someone to steal your Wi-Fi, and the older WEP security is easily hacked, so avoid it at all costs.

Also See: Steps to Maximize your Wireless Network Security

This leaves you with WPA, WPA2 with TKIP or WPA2 with AES.
WPA and TKIP are what you want to avoid. Not only are these protocols older and insecure, they can actually slow down your network.
The best option is WPA2 with AES. AES is a newer and more secure setting that lets you achieve higher speeds. Click here for additional tweaks you can make to get more out of your router.

5. You’re too far out of range

Sometimes the easiest fixes are right there under our noses. Routers are not designed to transmit signals over long distances, so there may be hot spots and dead zones in your home.
To map out your network, use a tool called HeatMapper. It helps you see where Wi-Fi signals are strongest in your home or office. HeatMapper is a free download for Windows users. NetSpot is a good alternative for Mac users.

Once you’ve identified the problem areas in your home, you have a few options available. One option is to purchase a Wi-Fi extender that can boost the range of your router’s transmission. Wi-Fi extenders range in price from around $20-$120, depending on the features included in the model. However, a mid-range extender should work just fine. Click here for a full breakdown of Wi-Fi extender options.

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Avoiding Identity Theft Online and Being Kept Safe

If you often receive e mails or messages that seem like blackmails and the person who sends them seems to know you really well, do not try to find who he is; you have probably been a victim of identity theftonline. If you search on the web, you will definitely find people who are facing the same problem as yours.

The first time when this phenomenon appeared happened pretty sure when Internet came into our lives. In fact, stealing a person’s identity can also be the case in actual life; however, things in this case can be made right much easier than when online theft occurs.

If you take a moment to think, you will find out that keeping your identity in your pocket or inside a wallet or a handbag is a way for you to protect your personal information. But what happens when your online identity is stolen from a third party and when he performs purchases or he even uses your social media profile? Things can turn really bad when something like that happens, but there are many ways that you can use in order to be fully protected against identity theft online.

What to Do with Untrusted Emails and Attachments

Nowadays, everyone (even a small kid) knows that when an email comes from an untrusted source, it is sure that it must never be opened. In fact, most of the times it automatically goes to the spam files. On the other hand, in case you expect an email from someone that is not part of your contacts but you are not sure about it, there is a tested way that you can use.

Also Read:Secure Your Accounts Against Cybercrime

Do not wonder which this way is, because it is nothing else than scanning before you download. If you do not do so, it is sure that if it contains a virus it is possible to enter your personal information and steal all of your data. Apart from this way, you could also spend some time checking the sender’s address.

Surf the Web with Safety

It is not unnecessary to mention that when you decide to surf the web, you should do it wisely and when someone says wisely, he means that you must not enter any web site that you find, because a virus might be hiding there. When a virus hides you know that the end will be awful. So, every time you want to browse yourself to a web site, it is better to type https before the address that you want to visit.

Forms and Strong Passwords

If it happens to perform a purchase on the web or even if you need to fill a form online, you need to be really careful with it. You need to pay special attention to the date that you write and you need to be extra careful to where you give them to.

Sometimes, it is crucial, in order to become a member of a site or if you want to perform a purchase, to register there. In some cases you may find it really boring to come up with a password, but you need to know that the stronger your password is, the more difficult it is for someone to steal any kind of personal information of yours. So, make an effort to create a password that is strong and that is not possible for someone to guess.

CV’s

If you are unemployed and/or you are looking for a job online, you must not give or publish your CV anywhere without giving it the appropriate thought. Before you publish your CV somewhere, be sure that you have read the terms, the conditions and the privacy policies and if they seem trustworthy put your CV there.

About Anti-Virus

Last but not least, it is really crucial for you to use anti-virus for your computer. Download an anti-virus that is trusted or buy one, but be sure that you are going to update it often. It is certainly the safest way to be protected from viruses and of course to protect your personal data, photos, videos or files from anyone who ca

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How To Protect Your Smart TV From Hackers: Here Are Some Tips?

Hackers usually target smartphones and computers, and manufacturers have been vigilant in releasing security patches to prevent unsolicited breaches.

With the advent of the Internet of Things and Smart Home technology however, more and more entry points are opening up to malicious invaders on the Web. One of these is the Smart TV.

According to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), about 46 percent of U.S. households are using Smart TV sets, and that figure is expected to increase beyond 50 percent by the end of the year. The CTA predicts that about 70 percent of TVs sold this year will have internet connectivity.

Also Read: Steps to Maximize your Wireless Network Security

Attacks are made possible through the device’s ability to run source codes for applications and its unsecured connection to the internet. Moreover, since most attacks have been concentrated around smartphones and computers, most security options are limited to these, leaving other internet-capable devices – like Smart TVs – neglected. This is a welcome invitation that hackers will definitely take advantage of.

Personal information like passwords and credit card information can then be easily stolen, and viewing habits taken advantage of. Apparently, not all hackers have the same malicious intent – some of these can be the companies you’re buying products from who use your personal information for advertising purposes.

In most cases, these data-mining techniques are hidden from the user and are reportedly secluded under the guise of the product’s features. Some examples are Vizio’s Smart Interactivity, LG’s Smart Ad and Samsung’s voice recognition software.

Fortunately, there are preventive measures users can implement to stay on top of their personal security. Here are some of them:

• Keep your device’s firmware updated and install the latest patches from developers as soon as these become available.

• Always check the manual, features and settings for any option that may be another term for data-mining.

• Do not perform bank-related activities on your Smart TV. Use a secure smartphone or computer instead.

• Download Android security apps on your Android-based TV because these can be run by the smart appliance.

• Perform malware scans on a regular basis to keep off harmful threats.

• Set up separate networks for your Smart TV and personal gadgets to keep intruders from easily accessing your devices.

• Cover the camera when not in use to avoid any unwelcome viewing from third parties.

• Do not hastily click on messages that display on screen unless these are from a reliable and trusted source. Better yet, avoid accepting any at all.

• Be as cautious as you would be on a personal computer when visiting sites on the Smart TV.

• Only stick to personal viewing entertainment on the TV while keeping other activities, like social media browsing, on secured gadgets.

• Disconnect from the internet when the Smart TV is not in use.

• When in doubt, ask the manufacturer for clarifications and even helpful ways that can prevent security breaches through the Smart TV.

The steps listed here do not guarantee a full protection 24/7 but should at least be effective in keeping attackers at bay. As always, staying vigilant and on top of your security protocols is the best way to avoid any vulnerabilities. 

Even better, sticking to a traditional offline TV would be safer until companies up their game in terms of providing security support for Smart TVs.

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Gmail Shortcuts To Save Work Time.

Gmail has become the most popular email service provider. It provides 15 GB of storage, controls less spam (having spam filtering capabilities), and is available on the mobile device. Gmail makes working with e-mails an effortless and pleasant experience.

There are many Gmail shortcuts which most of us hardly use, but if we use them, it can make the Google Mail experience better. Here are the ones I find really effective.

1. Keyboard shortcuts

These work on the fundamental rule – “working with the keyboard is always faster than working with mouse”.

For using these shortcuts one has to turn the Keyboard Shortcuts Option ON, available in Gmail settings.

Numerous shortcuts are available. Let’s have a look at a few:

Shortcuts	Execution
c	Composing a new mail
e	Archiving mails
r	Replying
f	Forwarding
shift + u	Marking emails as unread
shift + i	Marking all the selected mails as read
*n	Deselecting all emails
j/k	Moving to new or older emails
l	Labelling
g a	Go to all mail
g d	Go to drafts
g i	Go to inbox
[enter]	Go into the thread pointed to by the cursor
x	Select/deselect the current thread pointed to by the cursor

2. Search operation shortcuts for easy and faster searching

Gmail supports refined searches making search process fast and precise. A few tricks can help you search for almost anything (mails, attachments, drafts etc.)

from : [e-mail of the sender] – will get you a list of all emails from that particular sender.

filename : pdf – it helps to find emails with pdf attachments

has : [attachment] – it gets you an email with a particular attachment

is : unread – it gets a list of all the emails marked as unread

larger : [size of email] – it finds all the emails that are larger than the size stated

“[text]” – it finds the emails with text that match exactly the stated text

after : [date] – it finds the emails sent or received after the particular date.

The above stated search operators, when combined together, works wonderfully to make your search more specific, for instance,

from : [e-mail of the sender] larger : [size of email] – finds all the emails from that particular sender with a size larger than specified.

“[text]” after : [date] – it finds the emails with text that match exactly the stated text sent / received after the particular date.

3. Adding signatures

Gmail provides with the option of adding a signature automatically to all the outgoing mails. It thus helps saving time consumed in adding a signature to each mail individually.

One can add a signature by going to Settings > General and scroll down the Signature section. A formatting window will appear with tools for formatting signature. Signature can be created with images, links, bullets, etc.

Tip – Though HTML codes cannot be used as signature, but one can copy- paste HTML content directly in the Gmail Signature area provided and it will be automatically appended at the end of all the outgoing messages.

4. Right-click menu box

When one right-clicks on a message in the inbox, a drop down menu appears. One can archive, delete, or mark a message as read/unread.

5. Canned responses option

The “canned responses” feature available on Gmail gives the option of saving e-mail templates, thus saving our time of composing the same message again.

One has to go to Settings > Labs and enable “Canned Responses” and the messages can be saved as a template. Gmail provides the option of overwriting these saved templates. The saved template can be inserted into a new compose email window with one-click.

6. Preview Pane option

This feature of Gmail allows you to read all your messages in a new preview pane. One does not have to open message to read its content which helps in saving a lot of time. This feature is extremely useful for the users working on large screen. With small screen available reading space becomes small making it a little difficult to read the text.

One has to go to Settings > Labs and enable “Preview Pane” and a new button will appear to change the layout of the inbox, allowing to split the inbox horizontally / vertically.

7. Quick links

As the name suggests, it helps to get to links in just a few clicks. Quick links add a new widget in the inbox providing one-click access to any Gmail URL.

One has to go to Settings > Labs and enable “Quick links”. A new box will get added to the left sidebar and you can add any Gmail URL (specific message, advanced search result, label, etc.) as quick links.

8. Setting default reply to all

If one has to send a reply to all the e-mail address available, he / she should immediately change setting to “Reply to all”. It prevents you from selecting each recipient manually, one by one. And you do not miss any of them.

One has to go to Settings > General and scroll down to “Default reply behavior” section to enable “Reply all”. Gmail will make it a point that “Reply to all” option is automatically selected when one tries to reply message to multiple recipients.

9. Selecting all email in a label/page

One can select all the emails under a label/page with one click (you do not have to select them one by one manually). Selecting the checkbox at the top will help you select all the emails on that page.

10. Switching multiple Gmail accounts

Often working and switching to multiple accounts is time taking. One has to log out from one account and login to the other. Gmail provides a shortcut to this.

If one has multiple Gmail accounts, switching to another account can be done directly, without logging out of the current account. One has to click profile picture at the top right corner and click “Add Account” button to login to another Gmail account.

The Gmail inbox URLs for your accounts will look like as below:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/#inbox

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/2/#inbox

11. Undo a sent email

It does happen that after clicking the send option, you realize that you need to make some changes in the email / the mail was not to be sent. Gmail provides you with the option of “undo” the mail sent.

One has to go to Settings > General and enable “Undo Send”. An option is available providing the option of up to 30 seconds to undo the last sent mail. One can also adjust the cancellation period from Settings > General.

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