Laptops are not meant to be "perpetually on"

Laptops are not meant to be "perpetually on" because doing so can lead to physical damage from overheating, battery degradation over time, and software performance issues like slowdowns and glitches. Shutting down or properly sleeping your laptop does not allow for essential system updates, clearing temporary files, and restoring system stability, ultimately extending its overall lifespan. A restart performs a full system refresh, closing all apps, clearing memory and reloading the operating system but a shutdown, often on modern "Fast Startup" saves core system files, only turns off power and does not do any reset of the system.

Risks of Leaving a Laptop Always On

Overheating and Component Damage:

Prolonged use generates heat, which can damage critical components like the power supply and graphics card, potentially leading to failure. 

Battery Degradation:

Keeping a laptop plugged in continuously can shorten its battery life. While modern batteries have protection, avoiding constant 100% charge helps maintain battery health. 

Software and Performance Issues:

Continuous operation can lead to an accumulation of temporary files, unfinished software updates, and running background processes that can cause system slowdowns and glitches. 

Why a Restart is Beneficial

System Updates and Restarts:

Restarting allows the operating system to perform necessary updates and restart background processes, which can improve overall system stability and performance. 

Clears Temporary Files:

A restart provides a fresh start by clearing out temporary cache files that can build up and slow down the system. 

Reduces Wear on Components:

Turning off the laptop gives its internal components, especially the fan, a break from continuous operation, helping to prevent premature wear. 

Best Practices for Laptop Use

Shut Down Daily or Use Sleep Mode:

For most users, it is a good practice to shut down the laptop completely or put it to sleep each day to allow for system maintenance and to reduce heat exposure. But do make sure to do a restart at least once a week so that the system files gets to refresh.

Ensure Proper Ventilation:

Always place your laptop on a hard, flat surface to ensure proper airflow and prevent heat buildup. 

Manage Battery Health:

When possible, try to avoid leaving the laptop plugged in constantly. Cycling the battery between 30% and 70% charge can be beneficial for its longevity. 

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:

Your computer settings may differ when on power and when on battery. To preserve battery life, your screen may be turned off after certain time of inactivity and sleep when longer time of inactivity. And when on power, it may run in optimum performance. 

Initiating a shutdown and immediately closing the lid is a common workflow, but it can cause unexpected reboots or incomplete shutdowns due to hardware sleep sensors or fast-startup overrides.

Initiating shutdown of your laptop and immediately closing the lid (while in the process of shutdown as the lid is immediately close) initiates sleep mode. Keeping your laptop in the bag is usually the main reason why your machine breaks down often. It keeps running while in your bag generating heat and damaging the lifespan of hardware in the process. 

Be patient by allowing your machine to fully shutdown before closing the lid and then putting it into your bag. However, if you plan to put your laptop in sleep mode, unplug external power first. This is so that your OS learns that battery mode takes over and when on battery, closing the lid will put machine to sleep mode.

References: 

https://nerdsonsite.com/blog/is-it-ok-to-leave-your-computer-on-24-7-heres-the-truth/

https://www.asurion.com/connect/tech-tips/how-to-make-laptop-battery-last-longer/

https://www.asus.com/in/content/dos-and-donts-while-charging-your-laptop/

https://www.asurion.com/connect/tech-tips/is-it-ok-to-leave-your-computer-on/

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1361004/shut-down-or-sleep

Sharing Documents Securely

People often share documents on file sharing service companies like Microsoft Onedrive, Dropbox, WeTransfer and so on typically if these files are rather too large to be attached to an email.

Hence, here are some things to take note when sharing files:

BEFORE SHARING:

Confirm Recipient Details:

Double-check email address to ensure documents reach the correct person and avoid security risks.

Define Purpose & Permissions:

Clearly define why you are sharing and grant only the minimum necessary access - view-only is safer than editing.

Use Secure Platforms:

Cloud-based file-sharing services offer built-in features for secure external sharing, like password protection and expiration dates.

DURING SHARING:

Set Expiration Dates:

For "anyone: links, set an expiration date to limit the time sensitive information is exposed.

Use "Specific People" Links:

Sharing with "Specific People" requires them to authenticate with their email, making it more secure than "Anyone" links.

Leverage Encryption:

Use platforms that offer end-to-end encryption to add an extra layer of security, ensuring only authorized users can access the file.

Consider Password Protection:

Add a password to the shared link, especially for sensitive documents, to restrict access to those with the password.

AFTER SHARING:

Manage Permissions:

Periodically review who has access to shared files and revoke permissions when they are no longer needed.

Block Download (if applicable):

For documents that only need to be viewer, use features that allow view-only access and block downloads.

Add Copyright/Sensitive Labels:

For business documents, add sensitive labels to clarify usage and protect intellectual property.

The Deceit of Making Fast Money

Today, it is very easy to open a bank account online.

Thus, many are scammed into opening one for some illicit business with the promise of "making fast money".

However, the bank identifies the person opening the bank even though they may not be the scammer.

Banks usually call the police when they identify any illicit activities in an account and the police will investigate the matter further. The first suspect the police will question will be the person the account is named under. Not knowing what transactional activity happens within the account will make the person suspicious. Due to this irresponsibility, you may be charge as an accessory to a crime.

So do stay vigilant when someone you know (or don't) comes to you with the promise of "fast cash"!

Microsoft Edge as default PDF Reader

 

If you follow the news, you'll know that Windows 10 and 11 has defaulted Edge as its default PDF reader. And they took another step again later by making it difficult to set any other as default (by resetting it back to Edge after a restart).

Luckily for those who loves using legacy products, we can now make a script to run on startup to change this to your flavour of PDF Reader.

1. Download a tool here: https://kolbi.cz/SetUserFTA.zip

2. Create a Temp folder on C: Drive

3. Extract zip content into the newly created folder.

4. Create a batch file with the following entries:

cd\Temp\SetUserFTA

REM Next line is for making Acrobat 9 Pro as default

setuserfta .pdf AcroExch.Document

REM Next line is for making Acrobat X as default

REM setuserfta .pdf AcroExch.pdfxml

REM Next line is for making Acrobat 15 as default 

REM setuserfta .pdf Acrobat.Document.2015

REM Remove the remarks accordingly

5. Save the batch file under C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Restart your computer to test.

Installing Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC) on Windows 10 64bit

1. Install .NET 3.5

    - Go to Control Panel => Programs and Features => Turn Windows features on or off

    - Check the .NET Framework 3.5 box and click OK 

2. Download "WMDC-Pack" at https://downloads.blastiq.com/installers/WMDC/WMDC-Pack.zip

3. Unzip contents.

4. Install the "Pre-Installer (wmdc-drivers-x64.msi)" Double-click on "wmdc-drivers-x64.msi" downloaded at step 2.

5. Run the Windows Mobile Device Installer by double-clicking on "drvupdate-amd64.exe" downloaded at step 2.

    - Wait at least 3 minutes as there is no window or any visible activity

    - Open Task Manager and wait until CU utilization is close to 0% or that there is no process (as above) running

6. Run as administrator for the file "WMDC-Helper.exe"

7. Restart your computer.

8. Open WMDC.

9. Connect your device to the computer and see whether there is a prompt to install driver. If its already installed WMDC should show it as connected.

Lightshot app for screen capture and annotations

https://app.prntscr.com/en/index.html

Using DNS for Filtering Contents

 While there are people who uses the VPN in order to access some sites which one normally cannot access, there are also many who wants or needs to limit or filter contents especially unwanted ones like advertising or pornography. Most solutions delivery are based  on client, server, appliance or managed-service based one.

The most common method of content filtering is by use of the Domain Name Service (DNS). 

Each device on computer network has a unique IP address, a subnet mask, a gateway and at least one DNS. And in a nutshell, the DNS converts a website to its ip address equivalent. In the internet world, almost all popular sites have their ip address of its hosted content mapped, as an example www.google.com is converted to its ip address and then the DNS server maps out a path from your machine to the website you want to go. Hence, DNS is a serviced-repository of sorts which allow your device to navigate the web. Thus, many use DNS as their firstline of ‘firewall’ to filter contents.

You may google for free dns servers out there by its type of filtering service for you purpose and the dns server’s ip as your DNS on your device, like your home router, so that your home network devices are filtered according to your desired service.

https://www.lifewire.com/free-and-public-dns-servers-2626062#best-free--public-dns-servers-valid-august-2021