How to clear an unknown BIOS or CMOS password

Note: The steps below are for a desktop computer and do not include steps on how to clear a laptop CMOS password.

Sometimes, users encounter a password prompt at boot or the BIOS or CMOS setup is locked (as can be seen in the image below). If you do not know the BIOS password, you'll need to clear it. The following sections contain instructions on how to do so using multiple methods.

Clear using jumper (recommended)

Caution: When working inside a computer, be sure you're aware of the potential damage that can be caused by ESD.

On the computer motherboard locate the BIOS clear or password jumper or dip switch and change its position. This jumper is often labeled CLEAR, CLEAR CMOS, JCMOS1, CLR, CLRPWD, PASSWD, PASSWORD, PSWD or PWD. To clear, remove the jumper from the two pins currently covers the replace it over the other two. An example of the various jumper positions may be seen in the image to the right. Some computers may also clear the password by keeping the jumper open (one or no pins covered).

What if I can't locate the CMOS password jumper?

The following list details the general locations for the CMOS jumper. It's important to realize that most motherboards have dozens of different jumpers, so you need to make sure you're changing the correct one. If you are unable to find the password jumper, consult your motherboard's documentation by looking in the manual or downloading it from the manufacturer's website.

1. On the edge of the motherboard - Most jumpers are located on the side of the motherboard for easy accessibility; verify by looking at all visible edges of the motherboard.
2. By the CMOS battery - Some manufactures place the jumper to clear the CMOS or BIOS password by the CMOS battery itself.
3. By the processor - Some manufactures place the jumpers by the CPU of the computer.
4. Under the keyboard or bottom of laptop - If you are working on a laptop, the location of the dip switch can be under the keyboard or on the bottom of the laptop. It is usually located in a compartment such as the one that contains memory. (Laptops almost always use dip switches, not jumpers.)

Once the appropriate jumper or dips switch has been located and toggled, the password should be cleared. Turn your machine on to verify that the password has bee reset. Once cleared, turn the computer off and return the jumper or dip switch to its original position.

Use a BIOS password utility

There are utilities designed to help bypass CMOS passwords. An example of a great utility to decrypt or bypass BIOS passwords is the PC BIOS Security and Maintenance toolkit.

Remove CMOS battery

Removing the CMOS battery like the one shown in the picture causes the system to lose all CMOS settings; including the password. To do this, locate and remove theCMOS battery from the motherboard for at least five minutes, then replace the battery and turn the computer back on.

Generic passwords

Try using generic CMOS passwords. It should be noted that many of these default passwords are for older motherboards and no longer work with newer machines.

Jump the CMOS solder beads

Older computers, especially older laptops, don't have jumpers or dip switches. They require the user to jump a pair of solder beads on a circuit board. The identification and location of these solder beads can vary and if not available in computer documentation, is only obtainable through the computer manufacturer.

If you've identified the solder beads, they can be jumped by placing a flat-head screwdriver over the two beads and leaving it on those beads while turning on the computer. Once the computer has booted, turn it off and then remove the screwdriver.

Contact manufacturer

If none of the previous sections resolved your issue, we recommend you contact thecomputer manufacturer or motherboard manufacturer for the steps on clearing the computer password.

Save any web page as an image or PDF

Users may quickly convert any web page to an image file (both JPEG or PNG) or a PDF, the using a site called Convert Webpage. After the file has been generated using this service, you can download the file, share it with others over social networks, or copy the URL of the generated file.

Tip: The Google Chrome browser has a feature that allows you to Save any page as a PDF. If you have Chrome Print the page and Change the printer option to Save as PDF. If you have a different browser you can also use a PDF program to print any page to a PDF.

1. Browse to the web page you would like to convert.
2. Press Ctrl + L to highlight the URL, and thenCtrl + C to copy it to the clipboard.
3. Open http://www.printfriendly.com/ orhttp://web-capture.net/
4. Press Ctrl + V to paste the URL into either of the services to save the file as a picture or a PDF.

Create a unique Facebook profile picture

At the top of your Facebook profile, you'll see the five most recent pictures containing a picture of you. You can use this section of your profile to make a more unique and original profile picture by extending the main profile picture into these recent pictures. As seen in the picture this profile takes a larger image and spreads it from the profile picture into the recent pictures across the top.

These profile pictures can be done using the free Pic Scatteronline tool. With this tool, you can upload any picture and adjust the picture to be shown in the profile section, the top five images, and even the wall.

Notice: When using this technique any time you or a friend tags you in a photo it will be posted in the top section of your profile ruining this effect. To keep this effect, hide any new photo by clicking the x that appears when hovering the mouse in the top right-corner of the picture.

See what an API connected to Facebook sees about you

Facebook allows website developers and application developers access to their Facebook Graph Application Program Interface (API) that enables them to display information about your profile. For example, show your friends who've visited that page, show friends who've liked the page, personally greet you, etc. This does not give that developer access to your personal information, but for some people may be of some concern.

Using the Facebook API Browser you can see what the Facebook API shares from your profile. If you feel that this is too much information you can then adjust your Facebook Privacy settings accordingly.

Once you've visited the above link enter your Facebook alias or ID to view the API settings. If you're not sure what your ID is, you can quickly find out by moving your mouse over your name on your Facebook page. For example, if your name was Joe Smith it's likely your Facebook alias could be joe.smith or if you haven't entered an alias a number such as 149957536227.

Backup Facebook photos, videos, and text

Facebook offers all its users the ability to backup their photos, videos, and text.

1. Click Account and go to Account Settings.
2. Click the Learn more option next to Download Your Information.
3. Click the Download button.
4. You will then be prompted with a message indicating that it takes some time to collect all your information. Once that information is ready for download you'll be sent an e-mail with a link to a compressed .zip file containing all your personal information.

Bonus Tip: You can also setup an IFTTT recipe to automatically backup any photo you've been tagged in on Facebook.

Is Facebook safe?

If you are a user of Facebook or considering using Facebook in the future, account security may be on your mind. With all the reports of companies getting hacked, information being stolen, as well as the whole personal identity theft issue, you may be left wondering whether Facebook is safe to use.

Overall, Facebook as a website is a pretty safe place. There is built-in security that helps to protect you and your information. One primary level of security that Facebook uses is called Secure Socket Layer (SSL). In a nutshell, this type of security encrypts(protects) any data transmitted while using Facebook, from logincredentials to chat conversations.

The Facebook servers, where you data is stored and protected, have their own security built-in as well. There are anti-intrusion systems in place, to help thwart hackers from getting in, or intruding, and stealing your data. They also employ anti-virus & anti-spyware programs to keep their systems clean and free of security threats that can arise from virus & spyware infections. Basically, Facebook works hard to keep your data locked up and safe from others who might attempt to use your information in a threatening or illegal manner.

There are also ways that you can help protect yourself and your data while on Facebook, beyond what Facebook already does to protect you.

When you log in to Facebook, you provide a password. This password is something you have complete control over and can make it difficult for others to gain access to your account. By using combinations of capital letters, lowercase letters, and numbers, you can create a password that would be difficult to figure out. Your goal is to make your password something that only you could figure out.

You also should never give out your password to anyone, not even someone you know. That password is for you and you only. Keep it close and help keep your account safe.

• Information on passwords with good and bad password examples.

Be familiar with phishing techniques. For example, if you receive an email that looks like it is from Facebook, asking for your username, password, or any personal information, delete it immediately. Facebook never asks you for this information. Emails that ask for this kind of information are common ways for other people to gain access to your account.

Another way to help keep your account safe is to make sure that your Internet browser, browser plugins, and operating system are up-to-date. Doing so will ensure that you have the most current security features on your system.

Lastly, it's important that you have an anti-virus and anti-spyware program installed on your computer. Keep this program updated at all times, which helps prevent virus and spyware infections, greatly reducing the chances of your personal information and passwords from being stolen.

Tip: Regardless of Facebook's default level of security, you should be vigilant about protecting your privacy. If you're a Facebook member, make sure to review your account privacy settings and adjust them if necessary. We recommend that your settings allow only your friends (not friends of friends) to view your profile, pictures, and information.

How to automatically repeat YouTube videos

YouTube does not allow you to automatically repeat your favorite YouTube video, but there are plenty of third-party services that allows you to repeat any video. Follow the steps below to repeat any of your favorite YouTube videos.

Browse to your favorite video and edit the URL in the address bar. Below is an example of the video URL we are editing, this URL could be changed to your favorite video or music video.

1. Erase everything in front of youtube, so in our example we are erasing "www."

2. After youtube type repeat to make the above example URL the URL shown below and then press enter.

youtuberepeat.com/watch/?v=dD40VXFkusw

3. After pressing enter, you are forwarded to the link below, which will repeat your video until you close the page. This page also has a repeat counter to let you know how many times the video has been repeated.

http://www.listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=dD40VXFkusw

Top 10 computer mouse tips everyone should know

Most computer users don't take full advantage of the computer Mouse. Below are computer mouse tips and secrets that help you get the full potential of your computer mouse and increase your overall productivity while on the computer.

Shift key and mouse click

Many text editors and programs allow you tohighlight all or portions of text using the Shift keyand the mouse. For example, click at the beginning of the text in the below text box. Hold down the Shift key, scroll to the bottom, and click at the end of the text to highlight all of the text.

Bonus Tip: Holding down the Alt key while dragging and highlighting text in a text editor allows you to selectively highlight text. Highlighting text this way is useful if the paragraph or other text is in a column. Note: This tip does not work in the above box and has to be done in a text editor or word processor.

Take full advantage of the scroll wheel

Today, everyone is familiar with a mouse wheels ability to scroll up and down on a page. However, this wheel can also do so much more, below are just a few examples.

• The mouse wheel is not just a wheel. It can also be used as a button. Pressing down on the wheel will acts like a third mouse button. The wheel button can be used to open a web page in a tab by clicking the wheel on any link and can also be used to close a tab by clicking the wheel on any open tab.
• Zoom in and Out on a web page, word document, excel spreadsheet, etc. by holding down the Ctrl key and scrolling up to zoom in and down to zoom out.
• Hold down the Shift key and scroll down in most Internet browsers to go back to the previous web page.
• Some mouse wheels can be pushed left or right to also move back and forward between web pages.

Select with double and triple click

Any word can be selected by double-clicking the word. If you want to highlight the whole paragraph or sentence, click the mouse button three times on any word. Try it now on this paragraph by clicking three times fast on any word in the paragraph.

Bonus Tip: If you double-click and then drag your mouse, it will highlight one word at a time.

Use the right-click

Take full advantage of the right-click any time you highlight text or want to view the properties of an object. For example, if you highlight a file or text, you can right-click that highlighted item, copy it, and then right-click anywhere else to paste it.

Bonus Tip: If you highlight or select any file or text and then click and drag while holding the right mouse button, when you let go an option to move or copy that file is shown. This saves you the extra step of having to right-click where you want to paste the item.

Bonus Tip: While in a browser, pressing and holding Ctrl while clicking on any link opens a menu with options for that link.

Ctrl key and mouse click or highlight

While holding down the Ctrl key, you can left-click to select multiple objects or highlight multiple sections of text. For example, in the below selection box, if you wanted to highlight more than one of the items listed, you could hold down Ctrl and select each item you want highlighted.

             Mouse             Example             Tips             Tricks             Buttons             Clicking             Wheel             Highlight           

Bonus Tip: Mozilla Firefox users can also hold down the Ctrl key and individually click on each cell in a table they want to copy. They can also hold down the Ctrl key and drag their mouse down a row to select just that row or text without selecting any of the other text in that table.

Use the mouse side buttons

Many new computer mice also have buttons on the side of the mouse. These buttons can be programmed to do anything. However, by default, the left-thumb button can be used to go back on a web page. Using the thumb button makes browsing the Internet more efficient since you do not need to move the mouse cursor to the browser's back arrow button to go back a page.

Use the Windows Snap To feature

Take full advantage of the Windows mouse Snap To feature, which will automatically move your mouse to buttons that appear in a dialog box. For example, if you delete a file or close a window, you may get a prompt asking you if you are sure you want to perform the task. With the Snap To feature enabled, the mouse cursor automatically moves to the Ok button, so all you have to do is click the left mouse button if you agree. This saves you the time of having to move the mouse cursor to the Ok button and then click Ok.

To enable this feature, open the Mouse properties under the Windows Control Panel and check the Snap To check box under the Pointer Options tab.

Bonus Tip: While changing this feature, we also suggest looking at other available options in the Mouse properties. For example, increasing the Motion speed can also help increase your productivity while using the mouse.

Manage the open window with the mouse

Double-click the top title bar of any window to maximize a window or, if it is already maximized, resize it to a smaller window. You can also double-click the icon for the window in the top-left corner of the window to close that window.

Move the mouse with your keyboard

Instead of using the mouse that came with your computer, you can also enable Windows to use the number pad as a mouse.

Customize your mouse

Finally, if you have a mouse with more than two buttons, installing the included mouse software allows you to customize the mouse even more. For example, if you don't use the side buttons to move back and forth in a web page, change it to something you do more often, such as switching between open windows or opening the calculator.

Top 10 unknown Google tricks

Below is a list of our top ten Google tricks many people who use Google don't know.

Find weather and movies

Type "weather" or "movies" followed by a zip code or city and state to display current weather conditions or movie theaters in your area. For example, typing weather 84101gives you the current weather conditions for Salt Lake City, UT. Typing movies 84101gives you a link for show times for movies in that area.

Definitions

Pull up the definition of the word by typing define followed by the word you want to define. For example, typing: define bravura would display the definition of that word.

Local search

Visit Google Local enter the area you want to search and the keyword of the place you want to find. For example, typing: restaurant at the above link would display local restaurants.

Phone number lookup

Enter a full phone number with area code to display the name and address associated with that phone number.

Track airline flight and packages

Enter the airline and flight number to display the status of an airline flight and it's arrival time. For example, type: delta 123 to display this flight information if available.

Google can also give a direct link to package tracking information if you enter a UPS, FedEx or USPS tracking number.

Translate

Translate text, a full web page, or search by using the Google Language Tools.

Pages linked to you

See what other web pages are linking to your website or blog by typing link: followed by your URL. For example, typing link:http://www.computerhope.com displays all pages linking to Computer Hope.

Find PDF results only

Add fileType: to your search to display results that only match a certain file type. For example, if you wanted to display PDF results only type: "dell xps" fileType:pdf -- this is a great way to find online manuals.

Calculator

Use the Google Search engine as a calculator by typing a math problem in the search. For example, typing: 100 + 200 would display results as 300.

Stocks

Quickly get to a stock quote price, chart, and related links by typing the stock symbol in Google. For example, typing: msft displays the stock information for Microsoft.

Top 10 Google Chrome tips

Know your keyboard shortcuts

Like any good browser, Google Chrome has several dozen different keyboard shortcuts that can help improve your productivity. Below is just a few of our top favorites.

Ctrl + 1-8 = Pressing Ctrl and any number 1 through 8 will move to the corresponding tab in your tab bar.
Ctrl + 9 = Switch to the last tab.
Ctrl + H = Show history
Ctrl + J = Open Downloads window
Ctrl + K = Move the cursor to the Omnibox (address bar)
Ctrl + T = Open a new tab

• Full listing of Google Chrome shortcut keys

Use the Omnibox to do more than just search

The Google Omnibox does more than displaying the URL and allowing you to search. It is also capable of performing mathematical calculations (as shown in the picture) and even answer questions such as "how many cups are in 2 liters?" Try adding any math calculation now in the Omnibox without pressing enter to have the results shown.

Sync Chrome with your Google account

Chrome allows you to sync your settings, passwords, and bookmarks to your Google account. This is a great feature for anyone who switches computers (e.g. work computer and home computer) and needs access to all their bookmarks and account settings. You can log into your Google Account and adjust your sync settings by going into Settingsunder the "wrench"   or "Menu"  icon.

Pin your frequently used tabs

Pin your favorite tabs to save space on your tab bar without losing quick access to your favorite pages. In the above picture, you can see we have eight pinned tabs, which would have normally consumed our tab bar.

To Pin a tab right-click on any open tab and click Pin Tab.

Bonus tip: You can also click-and-drag a pinned tab to the position of your choice.

Use the Autofill feature

Use the Chrome Autofill feature for automatically filling out any online form with common fields such as your name, e-mail, address, etc. To enter the Autofill values follow the steps below.

1. Click on the "wrench"   or "Menu"  icon in the top right corner.
2. Click Settings
3. At the bottom of Settings, click Show advanced settings...
4. Click Manage Autofill settings under Passwords and forms.
5. In the Autofill settings window, click the Add new street address button.
6. Fill out all address settings you want to be saved and click ok.
7. Once complete try out your Autofill using the below form. To enter the values click on any of the below fields and select the name of your Autofill.

First name:  Last name: 
Address: 
City:  State:  Zip: 
Phone number:  E-mail: 

Resize text boxes

Chrome gives you the ability to resize any text field, which is useful for when you're filling out a form that doesn't seem big enough for all the information you're entering. To resize the text field click-and-drag the bottom right corner of the box. Below is a text field that can be used as an example.

Use the Chrome Task Manager

Since each open tab runs it its own sandbox to help with browser stability, it can be difficult to see the overall system resources being used. For example, in the Windows Task Manager you will see multiple instances of Google Chrome running for each open tab.

Use the Chrome Task Manager to show you how much memory and CPU resources each open tab and extension you have installed is using. To open the Task Manager pressShift + Esc or Click on the "wrench"   or "Menu"  icon in the top right corner, clickTools, and then Task Manager. If you want to get real geeky click the stats for nerdsclick at the bottom of the Task Manager.

Quickly close a tab

Any tab can be closed by clicking on the x on the tab. However, there are much quicker ways to close a tab. For example, if you have a mouse with a wheel pushing in on the wheel anywhere on the tab closes the tab. The shortcut keys Ctrl + W or Ctrl + F4 also close the current open tab.

Bonus tip: Middle-clicking on any link also opens that link in a new tab.

Use Chrome commands

Use the chrome:// commands to access many hidden features of Chrome. There is a few dozen of these commands available that allows you to do everything from viewing DNSinformation, GPU information, look for conflicts, setting flags, and much more. A listing of these commands can be accessed by typing chrome://chrome-urls in the Omnibox.

Install Extensions

No Internet browser has every feature you want, therefore we suggest visiting theGoogle Chrome Webstore to install free extensions for your browser. Today, there are thousands of available extensions, games, and other add-ons that can be installed into your browser.

Top 10 free PC programs everyone should have

There are millions of free and open source projects available, many of them better than any commercially available product. Below is a short listing of what we think is the best out there, broken down into ten categories.

Antivirus and malware protection

Most PC users realize that they need protection on their computer or may have an installed antivirus program from their computer manufacturer. What most don't realize is that there are free programs that are just as good and in some cases better than the commercial products. Below are our recommendations.

Antivirus program: Avast! or AVG

Malware and Spyware protection: Malwarebytes

Backup solutions

There are dozens of free and commercially available backup programs for computers. Unfortunately, many of those backups are stored locally, meaning if your house were to catch fire, get robbed, or if you lost your backup discs all your data would be lost. This is why when dealing with important data we suggest users use online backup services.

Online backup solution: Mozy or Dropbox

Browsers

Although Microsoft Internet Explorer comes pre-installed on Windows computers. There are several excellent free alternatives that everyone should try. These free alternatives can often be faster, have more options, and in many cases be more secure than Internet Explorer.

Internet Browser: Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome

Compression utility

When downloading files on the Internet you'll eventually encounter a .zip, .rar, or other compressed file. Dealing with these files can be easy with our below free file compression utility.

File compression utility: 7-Zip

Disc ripper and creation utility

Creating an audio or data CD/DVD, ripping the data from an audio CD, or creating a CD from a .ISO file can also be done freely using our below free recommendation.

CD burner utility: CDBurnerXP

E-mail

E-mail is yet another service that can be done freely. Most users today use online e-mail solutions like the one listed below. However, for those still using an e-mail client such as Microsoft Outlook we strongly suggest one or both of the below suggestions.

E-mail client: Mozilla Thunderbird

Online e-mail: Gmail

FTP, SFTP, and SSH Utility

Users who maintain their own web page or need to upload or download files to or from a server have to use an FTP utility or an SSH client. There are many commercial programs capable of doing this but our below free recommendations beats them all.

FTP client: Filezilla

SSH client: MobaXterm and Putty

Image editor, paint program, and picture organizer

There are many great free solutions for editing, creating, and organizing your images on your computer. Many of the programs capable of doing these tasks can be several hundred dollars, but all of the below programs are completely free.

Image editor: GIMP

Paint program: Paint.net

Picture organizer: Google Picasa

Multimedia

There are dozens of different multimedia programs with different capabilities and limitations. Below are our top free multimedia programs for watching video files and recording audio.

Audio editing and creating tool: Audacity

Video and DVD Player: VLC and MPC-HC

Office Suite

An Office suite such as Microsoft Office is often one of the most expensive programs that a user can install on their computer. Why install these expensive programs when there are free solutions that are just as good.

Office suite: OpenOffice

Notepad and Source code editor: Notepad++

Top 10 Firefox shortcut keys everyone should know

Below is a listing of our top 10 favorite Firefox keyboard shortcuts. Learning these shortcuts will greatly improve your productivity and overall experience with Mozilla Firefox.

Ctrl + T and middle-click

Pressing Ctrl + T opens a blank new tab or if you want to open any link in a new tab press your middle mouse button (often the scroll wheel) to open that link in a new tab.

Ctrl + Shift + T

Oops, close a tab you didn't want closed, press Ctrl + Shift + T to undo any tab close. Pressing this multiple times will undo multiple closes.

F6

Quickly get to the URL address bar by pressing this function key.

Ctrl + F or /

Pressing Ctrl + F opens the find feature. Using this you can quickly find text within the same page. If you want to do a quick find and have Firefox scroll to the text location as you type press forward slash (/) instead while in the browser.

Ctrl + W

Close the current.

Ctrl + Tab or Ctrl + Shift + Tab

Move between open tabs.

Ctrl + D

Open bookmark window for page currently viewing.

Ctrl + <plus>, Ctrl + <minus>, and Ctrl + 0

Pressing Ctrl + <plus symbol> will increase the font size, pressing Ctrl + <minus symbol> will decrease the font size, and if you want to reset the font size back to the default press Ctrl + 0.

F11

Make the screen full screen, removing all toolbars and status bars.

Ctrl + J

Open the Download Manager window.