An MCTS & MCITP Networking Course Uncovered

Because you're doing your research on courses for MCTS & MCITP, the chances are you're in one of two categories: You could be considering a radical change of career to the IT sector, and all evidence points to a great many opportunities for men and women who are commercially qualified. In contrast you're someone with a certain amount of IT knowledge - and you need to formalise your skill-set with a qualification such as MCTS & MCITP.

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As you do your searches, you'll come across training providers that lower their out-goings by failing to provide the latest Microsoft version. Don't use this type of college as you'll have problems in the exam. If you've been taught an old version, it could be impossible to pass. Computer training companies should be completely focused on discovering the ultimate program for aspiring trainees. Directing study is as much about guiding people on establishing where to go, as it is helping to help them get there.

Incorporating exam fees upfront and offering an 'Exam Guarantee' is common for many training course providers. However, let's consider what's really going on:

Everyone knows they're ultimately paying for it - it's quite obvious to see that it's been added into the gross price invoiced by the course provider. It's definitely not free (although some people will believe anything the marketing companies think up these days!) Trainees who go in for their examinations when it's appropriate, funding them one at a time are in a much stronger position to qualify at the first attempt. They are aware of their investment and so are more inclined to be ready for the task.

Don't you think it's more sensible to find the best exam deal or offer at the time, rather than coughing up months or even a year or two in advance to a training college, and to take it closer to home - rather than in some remote centre? Why borrow the money or pay in advance (plus interest of course) on examination fees when you don't need to? Huge profits are made because training colleges are charging all their exam fees up-front - and then cashing in when they're not all taken. Most companies will insist on pre-tests and hold you back from re-takes until you have proved to them you have a good chance of passing - making an 'exam guarantee' just about worthless.

Due to typical VUE and Prometric examinations coming in at around 112 pounds in the UK, by far the best option is to pay for them as you take them. Not to fork out thousands extra in up-front costs. A commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools are actually the key to your success.

Often, individuals don't understand what IT means. It is stimulating, innovative, and means you're a part of the huge progress of technology that will change our world over the next few decades. There are people who believe that the technological revolution we've had over recent years is cooling down. This couldn't be more wrong. There are huge changes to come, and the internet particularly is going to dominate how we conduct our lives.

And keep in mind that the average salary in the IT industry in Great Britain is noticeably greater than in the rest of the economy, so in general you'll more than likely receive much more as a trained IT professional, than you'd get in most other industries. It's no secret that there is a substantial national need for professionally qualified IT workers. In addition, as growth in the industry shows little sign of contracting, it appears there's going to be for a good while yet.

A so-called advisor who doesn't dig around with lots of question - it's likely they're actually nothing more than a salesman. If they wade straight in with a specific product before learning about your history and whether you have any commercial experience, then it's very likely to be the case. Don't forget, if you have some relevant previous certification, then you can sometimes expect to pick-up at a different starting-point to a trainee with no history to speak of. Commencing with a user skills course first is often the best way to get up and running on your computer programme, but really depends on your level of familiarity with computers.

Ensure all your certifications are commercially valid and current - forget programmes which end up with a useless in-house certificate or plaque. If your certification doesn't come from a major player like Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco, then chances are it will be commercially useless - as it'll be an unknown commodity.

From Homeless to Full-Time Job: How Microsoft’s Elevate America Program Is Helping Career Success

Unable to pay her rent after losing her job as an office receptionist in 2007, Los Angeles native Gloria Pulido found herself living somewhere she never could have imagined: her car. Homeless, Gloria and her teenage son searched for community resources to help her get back on her feet, and they found the Microsoft Elevate America state voucher program. Designed to help address one of the worst economic downturns in our nation’s recent history, the program provides unlimited access to Microsoft courses in basic computer skills to help individuals improve their workplace technology skills.

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With unemployment close to 11 percent, California was one of the 32 states that joined the Elevate America program, offering information and communication technology (ICT) training to anyone seeking new or improved workplace skills. Gloria took a course in Microsoft Excel and, on her first try, passed the Microsoft Online Specialist certification exam. Emphasizing the new expertise on her resume, she attained a part-time job as a cashier for Saturday-night bingo games at the Don Bosco Technical Institute. While there, she improved the scheduling and notification tasks associated with parent volunteer efforts, applying the skills she gained from the certification course. Impressed with her initiative and her way around a spreadsheet, the school offered her a full-time position (with benefits) as the parent liaison.

“When I heard about the Microsoft training, it was like a little glimmer of light went off in my head,” reflects Gloria. “I knew if I could get at least one of the certifications, it would show that I knew that [software] program.” Gloria is just one of the 800,000 recipients of no-cost training and certification vouchers that Microsoft has provided in the past two years to help people across the United States get the skills they need to be prepared for 21st century jobs. Not only has the program helped thousands of individuals improve their employability, but it also has raised awareness of the importance of ICT literacy and offered public workforce systems around the country practical experience in delivering these ICT training programs.

If you or someone you know is interested in enhancing current job skills, please visit the Microsoft Elevate America site. There, you’ll find many participating cities and states that can help you on your way to achieving career success. Check out the Microsoft News Center for additional information and updates.

Why Sprint Chose Google Wallet Over Isis

Last November, one phone carrier was missing from the "Big Four" when three of America's biggest carriers aligned to form Isis, a mobile payment platform: Sprint.

Sneaky ol' Sprint. Turns out America's fourth largest carrier was being courted by Google to join a Google-led mobile payments ecosystem, Google Wallet, announced on Thursday. Google, Sprint, and a slew of other financial companies had suddenly formed a formidable competitor to Isis, which was, until then, perceived as America's best chance at making mobile payments widespread.

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On the fringe of yesterday's event, Fared Adib, Sprint's Vice President of Product Development (right), explained why Sprint shunned Isis for Google Wallet.

Sprint VP Fared Adib "The reason why we joined this group of companies was really its open philosophy, the ability to bring together multiple different players," said Adib. "Google had the credit card networks, the processors, merchants, everyone already signed up."

To clarify, it had one member from each of these industries signed up: Citi, MasterCard, Sprint, and First Data, to be precise. However Google stressed its desire to work with more companies. At the event yesterday, Stephanie Tilenius, Google's VP of Commerce, expressed interest in partnering with "iPhone, RIM, and Microsoft."

Adib said he was also excited by the immediacy of Google's plan.

"This is not just something we're testing two years from now in one city," he said, snubbing Isis' recent announcement about launching in Salt Lake City in 2012. "We're trialing it today and deploying it in the market very soon."

On the outset, partnering with Google puts Sprint in an excellent position, seeing that it carries the only phone that will be able to use the Google Wallet app when it launches this summer: the Nexus S 4G ($199 with contract, 3 stars).

Not even the original, NFC-equipped Google Nexus S phone on T-Mobile ($199 with contract, 3 stars), will be able to use it.

"Technically [T-Mobile's Nexus S] could be because it has the NFC chip, but T-mobile is part of Isis, so if they wanted to be part Google Wallet they would have to talk to Google too," said Adib.

Which highlights the limitations of Google Wallet: unless other companies agree to Google's terms of use, very few people will actually be able to use Google Wallet—and only if they buy that particular Sprint phone. Sprint hasn't released sales figures of the Nexus S 4G (and Adib would only say that it's been one of Sprint's top-selling products to date) but presumably it's sold far less in its first three weeks than, say, the three million iPhone 4 units AT&T sold in the same amount of time last year.

And of those Nexus S 4G owners, what percentage also use a Citi MasterCard credit card and shop at American Eagle Outfitters?

Until more carriers, phones, banks, and merchants join Google's ecosystem, there may yet be plenty of catch-up time for Isis, which declined to comment for this story. "When we launch next year consumers will be able to choose from multiple NFC handsets, from multiple operating systems, and from multiple manufacturers," Jaymee Johnson, Isis spokesman, said to PCMag recently.

Since November Isis has revamped its purpose of creating an independent mobile payments processor to becoming a mobile payments "manager" that works with any bank, carrier or phone manufacturer—which is exactly how Google describes Google Wallet.

For more, see our hands-on with Google Wallet. Also be sure to read "Is Google Wallet What Mobile Payments Need to Succeed?"

5 questions to ask before buying Microsoft licenses

"Microsoft has structured the SA program to help you deploy and use its software more effectively," Forrester writes. "For example, it includes packaged services, such as SharePoint deployment planning, that reduce later problems and support incidents."

During negotiations, customers can make trades -- for example, getting extra hours of support and training in exchange for dropping other benefits.

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It's important to be skeptical of salespeople's far-fetched claims about the value of each benefit, but Forrester predicts that upcoming changes to Software Assurance will make it harder for customers to turn Software Assurance down.

Possible changes include adding more products and services to Software Assurance, and upgrading products more frequently. Recent changes to Microsoft's licensing scheme have made it easier to deploy software in cloud-based services, but Microsoft doesn't give the same rights to customers in less expensive licensing programs.

"Organizations that adopt mobility and cloud rapidly will find it harder and harder to stay out of the SA program," Forrester concludes.

Microsoft closing in on Baidu Bing collaboration

Microsoft is on the verge of signing a deal with Chinese search giant Baidu – which could give the US software giant's Bing brand a major push in global search.

Baidu is the dominant search engine in China, well ahead of Microsoft's rival Google, and the US giant is keen to forge key links in one of the key growth regions in the world.

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The terms of any deal remain under wraps, but the suggestion is that Baidu will take over the paid advertising on Ning's Chinese site, while Bing results will be used for Baidu's English language site.

Past agreement

It is not the first time these two companies have teamed up, with a strategic agreement in the past over paid search listings.

Google's dominance of search has been a thorn in Microsoft's side for a long time, and the huge investment in Bing has shown that the Redmond-based giant is prepared to splash the cash in order to compete.

In the US, Bing has had an impact on Google's market, although that success story has not been replicated on a global scale.

The Chinese market makes a lot of sense for Microsoft, where Google's relationship has been soured by its near-withdrawal over an attack on Gmail that left the search giant openly critical of the Chinese authorities.

Through that entire sequence of events Microsoft refused to get involved, maintaining a good relationship with the country.

There remains a good deal of controversy over the way in which the government in China expects search results to conform to its policies on restricting certain information.

How are y’all?

Yes it has been few very interestingly busy weeks. Unusual for amount of travel I have been doing. Being dedicated PFE, I am not required to travel this much. But since it’s all for a good cause, I can’t complain.

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It was an interesting trip because besides my customer, I went to train my fellow PFEs for a week. Delivering world class training, making them Rockstars in Exchange 2010. Now as you can imagine, every PFE hired is already well versed in Exchange 2010 and you may be wondering, what is this training going to do for them. Glad you asked. Think of this internal PFE only training as mini MCM. The training is supposed to be intense, deep and demanding. No spoon feeding, no step by step instructions. Training it is even more demanding because you need to know your stuff AND be able to put it in a consumable form so students understand the content.

After that week, I went to Tech-Ed 2011. I had pleasure representing MCM group. It was fun talking to a lot of attendees about MCM, what the certification and program is all about, why it is different from MCITP certification and what value it brings. I also talked about new changes recently announced with regards to Exchange 2010 MCM program. If you haven’t had a chance to look at it, go ahead and read the details as well as FAQ section. It is fairly detailed.

Like that wasn’t enough fun, I also presented a best practices drive-thru session on Exchange 2010 Autodiscover. It was well received. I’m not saying that, the surveys are. I got 99% responses 8 or 9 out of 9 point scale. Now that’s something to be very happy about. If you are interested, since it wasn’t recorded, I am planning to create a recorded version of it sans the interactive fun and giveaways in coming days. I will publish it here so you can enjoy some autodiscover goodness and hopefully benefit from it. Stay tuned.

And to top off my trip, I finished my 70-665 exam satisfying the requirement for MCITP: Lync Server Administrator for Lync 2010. I am now one of those few who are part of elite charter club! If you don’t know what a Charter Member is, read more here: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/cert-program-membership.aspx

Oh and this one thing I can’t forget… I learned the difference between “Y’all” and “All A’all”. If you don’t know the difference either, read this wiki article.

Were you looking for some technical stuff on my blog? Now you have a reason to look forward to tomorrow’s post. I have it published already somewhere else but if you haven’t caught up on it, you can read it here tomorrow. hope to see you soon.

Windows debugging made easy

When it comes to debugging hard-to-diagnose software and operating-system problems, there is no set recipe. Rather debugging is all about "having the right tools and knowing how to use them," advised Microsoft technical fellow Mark Russinovich at the close of the Microsoft TechEd conference, held this week in Atlanta.

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Among the highlights of each year's TechEd conference are the technology demonstrations. Smart Microsoft and partner engineers walk attendees through how to use some new technology in a step-by-step process, making it seem easy -- or even fun -- to deploy.

And one of the most popular demonstrations over the past few years has been Russinovich's "Cases of the Unexplained," in which he shows how he and others tracked down hard-to-pinpoint errors in Windows deployments.

This year, of course, was no exception. Before a packed auditorium, Russinovich debugged a number of tricky problems using only a handful of free tools, many created by Russinovich himself, including Process Explorer and Process Monitor. He borrowed many examples in his presentation from his blog, where he collects user stories of tough problems.

In the cases Russinovich demonstrated, the root causes of the misbehaving systems were not readily obvious. This was especially true of software that, he noted, when it crashes, offers little instruction about its downfall. "Programs do a bad job of telling what went wrong," he said. Yet he showed that it is possible to carefully track the symptom of the problem back to the cause.

One example Russinovich dubbed "the case of the slow website." This example was submitted to Russinovich by a system administrator from an unnamed company. The organization's users were complaining of slow performance of some internal Web pages. The admin tracked all the Web pages to a single server, then ran Process Explorer, which shows all the processes on a server, and how much memory and CPU resources each thread of a process is consuming.

The admin identified one thread that was hogging more than a quarter of the server's resources. Doing a Web search, he found that the related process belonged to a Windows management driver that, in turn, communicated with the server chassis' management controller provided by the server manufacturer. The two components were having difficulty in communicating, so the communication between them spiked.

The difficulty turned out to be that the blade server was not slotted into the rack appropriately. The user reseated the server chassis and the server quickly returned to delivering its Web pages speedily.

Another problem came not from misbehaving equipment or software, but rather from user behavior. "This case came into the Microsoft Exchange support team," Russinovich said.

Users complained that Microsoft Exchange would periodically delay responding for up to 30 seconds. Microsoft requested the customer to log the server performance using Performance Monitor, which showed periodic spikes in CPU utilization. Using ProcDump, a Microsoft engineer created a script that would capture all the process information whenever processor usage went above a certain threshold.

Microsoft: Windows 7 + Family Guy = Whoops

Remember Microsoft’s plan to band together with Family Guy for a Windows 7 promotion? Well, apparently 7 greasy slabs of Whopper and totally awkward launch parties are a go, but Family Guy’s extra special sense of humor ultimately proved too much for Microsoft.

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According to Variety, they’ve pulled their sponsorship from the Fox show after executives watched the taping of it on October 16th. The episode was apparently the typical Family Guy fare, but Microsoft felt that the “riffs on deaf people, the Holocasut, feminine hygiene and incest” were “not a fit with the Windows brand.”

Alright, fair enough — and better to have realized it before the episode actually aired, of course. But on the other hand, had anyone bothered to watch the show before inking the ad deal?

Apparently Fox still plans to air the episode with another to-be-named sponsor. We’ll be very curious to see who that mysterious sponsor is, and how much Windows 7-related content will remain in the episode regardless. Who do you think should leap in and capitalize on the easy PR boost?

VMware Acquisition Boosts Shavlik Channel, Market Reach

While VMware's vision for Shavlik Technologies' product line is still unclear, its acquisition of the patch and IT management vendor could give Shavik's channel expanded reach into new markets and the opportunity to "ramp up" on virtualization offerings.

The New Brighton, Minn.-based Shavlik Technologies entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by virtualization giant VMware Monday, in a deal that's expected to be completed later this quarter.

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VMware's acquisition of Shavlik , announced Monday, seemed to be a good fit, executives say.

"It is an exciting time for us to be joining VMware as it builds on our expertise in delivering IT solutions to SMBs, an area we have been dedicated to for many years," said Shavlik CEO Mark Shavlik, in a statement.

For VMware, Shavlik will provide access to a plethora of cloud-based SMB patch and IT management tools, and allow it to push virtualization down market.

For Shavlik, executives say that the acquisition will greatly expand the company's global market presence, and ultimately its product portfolio, as well as give it access to VMware's 30,000 channel partners and spate of robust programs.

"For our channel enablement, it's fantastic. All of a sudden we've got a global reach, and we can take advantage and engage its 30,000 plus channel partners and leverage their channel enablement richness," said Jason Tober, Shavlik vice president of sales and business development. "For us, it’s a broader set of tools, its broader reach."

Meanwhile, Shavlik channel partners are generally optimistic about the possible opportunities and expanded reach created by the acquisition.

Will Gray, sales manager at U.K.-based security and compliance VAR Satisnet , said that one of the biggest benefits will be to have the backing of VMware's strong brand and marketing capabilities behind Shavlik's patch management products, especially as more and more customers --existing and new -- request cloud-based solutions. Gray added that he anticipates that the majority of his customers would likely adopt cloud solutions in the next two to three years.

"We see the biggest advantage is just to increase the penetration even further," Gray said. "When we look at the customers that we have locally, there's a massive adoption of the cloud, and significant adoption of virtual platforms."

Meanwhile, Shavlik still has a wide range of on-premise patch and IT management solutions in its portfolio. While Gray said that communication was strong from both VMware and Shavlik regarding the initial news of the acquisition, the transition was cause for "a little bit of nervousness" about the long-term implications of the acquisition on Shavlik's existing product line.

"I'm interested to hear more about that, what the actual plans of VMware are for the business," Gray said. "I would guess that's an additional benefit for VMware, it acquired a company that has a mix of cloud and on-premise technology. At least I certainly hope so. "

For the time being, it's "business as usual," Tober said, adding that Shavlik had "no plans to phase out products" and will continue to offer both its cloud and on-premise solutions.

Microsoft, Juniper urged to patch dangerous IPv6 DoS hole

Security experts are urging Microsoft and Juniper to patch a year-old IPv6 vulnerability so dangerous it can freeze any Windows machine on a LAN in a matter of minutes.

Microsoft has downplayed the risk because the hole requires a physical connection to the wired LAN. Juniper says it has delayed a patch because the hole only affects a small number of its products and it wants the IETF to fix the protocol instead.

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SEE IT YOURSELF: How to use a known IPv6 hole to fast-freeze a Windows network

The vulnerability was initially discovered in July 2010 by Marc Heuse, an IT security consultant in Berlin. He found that products from several vendors were vulnerable, including all recent versions of Windows, Cisco routers, Linux and Juniper’s Netscreen. Cisco issued a patch in October 2010, and the Linux kernel has since been fixed as well. Microsoft and Juniper have acknowledged the vulnerability, but neither have committed to patches.

The hole is in a technology known as router advertisements, where routers broadcast their IPv6 addresses to help clients find and connect to an IPv6 subnet. The DoS attack involves flooding the network segment with random RAs, which eats up CPU resources in Windows until the CPU is overloaded and a hard reboot is required. “For Windows, a personal firewall or similar security product does not protect against this attack, as the default filter rules allow these packets through,” explains Heuse.

Heuse became so frustrated with Microsoft’s refusal to fix the hole that he published his findings to the Full Disclosure mailing list on April 15. He notes that Microsoft has not even issued a security advisory warning users of the problem. Other Windows networking and security experts have also urged Microsoft to fix the problem, and sources have said that there are even employees inside Microsoft who have been trying to nudge the company to action.

Microsoft has little to say on the subject. “Microsoft is aware of discussions in the security community concerning a technique by which a Windows server or workstation on a target network may experience unprompted high resource utilization caused by an attacker broadcasting malicious IPv6 router advertisements. The attack method described would require that a would-be attacker have link-local access to the targeted network -- a situation that does not provide a security boundary,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Network World.

However, experts aren’t buying it. The hole is “very easy to fix,” Heuse says, and Microsoft has a long history of addressing DoS holes on the local LAN that have far less of an impact. He points to Microsoft fixing a similar issue in 2008 of its implementation of IPv4. Meanwhile, Microsoft has also committed to fixing another issue he recently reported to the company which he describes as “a very minor vulnerability of detecting if a host is sniffing. It, too, is only possible on the local LAN.” His conclusion is that there is a political issue inside Microsoft where the “responsible team does not want to fix these kinds of issues anymore.”

Beginner's guide to Windows 7

We all use Windows, but some of us just scratch the surface of what the operating system can do, by only using our computers to send and receive the odd email and surf the internet. In fact, there are so many great things that Windows 7 can do to make your life easier that it can all seem quite overwhelming at first.

There's now a tool for almost anything in Windows, and just knowing exactly where they are and how to use them can revolutionise your experience with your computer. There's no need to feel intimidated by the wealth of options that Windows 7 provides, because over the next few pages, we've got a crash course that teaches you all you need to get the most out of Windows and your PC.

Everything you need to know is explored and explained to you, and by the end you'll be amazed at what you can achieve with Windows 7. By taking this crash course, you'll open up whole new areas of Windows 7 to explore confidently - and it'll prove to be the beginning of you realising your PC's full potential.

Get started

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Using Windows is easy - here's how to find where everything is

Although there are lots of tools in Windows, you can simplify things by thinking of your computer as being made up of three large areas: your files and folders, your programs, and system tools.

The first area - your files and folders - covers all the personal files that you create. Including photos, Office Word documents and your MP3 collection, these files are unique to you, and when you add or create them, they are saved in folders and are collected by Windows 7 in Libraries. These make it incredibly easy for you to find your files.

There are four Libraries, and each is pretty self-explanatory: Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos. Any documents that you create in programs such as Office should be saved in the Documents Library to keep your computer organised.

In Windows XP, the locations have the same names, but with 'My' in front of them - for example, My Music. Keeping your files organised means that you spend a lot less time searching for them because you know exactly where they are kept.

The second area - your programs - covers all the software installed on your PC. While this can be installed in different locations, it can all be accessed quickly and easily through the Start menu. Click Start ➜ All Programs to see your programs and launch them.

If you have a program you use regularly, you can access it even faster by creating a desktop shortcut (right-click on the program's icon and select Send to ➜ Desktop (create shortcut)) or by pinning it to the taskbar (right-click on the icon and select Pin to Taskbar), which enables you to load the program instantly.

If you have a lot of programs installed, the Start menu can get cluttered. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, you can quickly find what you're looking for by typing the program's name into the Start search box.

Search windows

The final area - system tools - covers all the tools and programs that you can use to tweak and improve Windows. Some of these are quite complicated, and best left to those who are more confident, but through the years Microsoft has worked hard to make these powerful tools more user friendly.

The vast majority of these tools are kept in the Control Panel. To access this, just click Start ➜ Control Panel. What was once a bewildering array of icons has been cleaned up and carefully arranged in Windows 7.

Every tool has been placed in a category for easy reference. Looking for a tool to help set up your home network? Look under Network and Internet. Want to set up parental controls? Head to User Accounts and Family Safety. Programs and tools that help you tweak and troubleshoot your computer can also be found under Start ➜ Computer and Start ➜ All Programs ➜ Accessories.

Dividing up where Windows keeps everything into three sections in your mind can help you memorise where everything goes, so it is easier to locate in the future.

Managing your Windows

When using programs, they are displayed in boxes known as windows - which give the Windows operating system its name. The more programs you have open at one time, the more windows appear on your screen.

Having too many windows open at once can get confusing, but Windows 7 enables you to organise your desktop so you can find the right window in a flash. Clicking the top of a window and dragging it to the left or right side of your screen instantly resizes the window to take up half of the screen.

Windows drag

If you want to minimise all the windows except one, click the top of the window you want to keep on your desktop and shake it quickly from side to side. All the windows behind your selected window then minimise. Shake the window again to bring the others back.

Another quick way to organise your windows while they are open is to right-click the taskbar and select Show windows stacked, to display each window horizontally across your screen. Right-click the taskbar and select Show windows side by side to display them vertically. If you want to scroll through your open windows to find the one you want, hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and press the Tab key until you find the right one.

Searching Windows 7

Using Windows 7 to search for files and folders can save you a huge amount of time. The way Windows searches your PC to find what you want was completely overhauled with Windows Vista - and it has been refined in Windows 7. All you need to do is click the Start button and type the name of the file or folder you are searching for into the Start Search box.

Add to library

Even as you begin typing, Windows 7 starts returning results. The more you type, the more accurate results you get. To make it even easier, your search results are divided into categories - Programs, Folders and Files. If you can see what you're searching for, just click on it.

If you want to narrow down your search, click See more results. Your results are then listed in the Search Results window, with the phrase you searched for highlighted in yellow to help you quickly figure out how relevant the result is.

Windows 7 not only searches file names for your match, but also searches inside files. So if you can't remember the name of a document, but you can remember a sentence or phrase that was written inside it, you can search for that.

If you get too many results, you can filter them. For example, if you are searching for an email, you can prevent Windows 7 from returning documents and programs with similar names by clicking the search box in the top right of the Search Results window. Under Add a search filter select Email - or the type of document you are searching for - and only matches of that type are returned. You can further narrow your results by adding file type, file size and the date the file was last edited.

Set up your browser

Your internet browser is your gateway to the most important technological invention in recent history: the internet. Setting up your internet browser can help you navigate the vast amounts of information available online, so you can find what you are looking for in an instant.

Internet Explorer is the most popular browser in the world, which means that almost all websites are compatible with it. Because it is created by Microsoft, it is integrated seamlessly into Windows 7 - and the new Internet Explorer 9 brings even more integration, with jump lists and taskbar pinning of individual websites.

Bookmarking

If Internet Explorer isn't to your liking, there are a number of great alternatives, such as Firefox and Google Chrome.

The first website you are presented with when you open your web browser is known as the home page. You can set your home page to be any website on the internet, so it's a great idea to set it to your favourite site.

If you have an internet email account, you could set your home page to be your inbox so that you get your emails straight away, or maybe your favourite news site to get the latest headlines.

To set a website as your home page, just go to the site in question then click the Settings icon in the top right-hand corner of Internet Explorer and select Internet options. Under Home page click Use current.

If there are other websites that you regularly visit, adding them to your Favorites (also known as bookmarking) can save you loads of time. Instead of typing in the address every time, by adding the website to your Favorites (when on the webpage click the Favorites star icon ➜ Add to favorites…) all you need to do in the future is open the Favorites list by clicking the Favorites star icon and clicking the name of the website.

You can speed things up even more by adding your favourite websites to Internet Explorer's Favorites Bar. Click the Star icon with the green arrow on the left-hand side of the screen and the site appears at the top of the window, enabling you to instantly navigate to your chosen website.

You can make Windows even better by tailoring it to your tastes

The best thing about all versions of Windows - and especially Windows 7 - is how customisable it is. You don't have to change your habits to suit Windows 7 - you can change Windows 7 to suit you.

Straight out of the box Windows 7 is incredibly user-friendly, but if you take the time to tweak and customise Windows to suit your needs and tastes, you'll find that using your computer is faster and easier than ever before.

One of the first things you can do to help feel at home when using Windows 7 is to personalise the look and feel of the system. Right-click anywhere on the desktop and select Personalize. You can choose from a number of different themes that come with Windows 7 or click Get more themes online.

own photo

This takes you to a website where you can view even more fantastic themes to decorate your computer with.

Get some gadgets

Desktop gadgets were introduced in Windows Vista to add a whole new dimension of functionality to the Windows desktop. Gadgets are small programs that sit on your desktop and give you instant access to tools and information from your computer and the internet.

Gadgets

From the local weather to headlines from your favourite sites, there are gadgets for everything. To see what's on offer, right-click the desktop and select Gadgets. Click the gadget you want on your desktop and drag it to where you want it displayed.

If you can't find a gadget that suits your needs click Get more gadgets online to take your pick from thousands of available desktop gadgets.

Set up user accounts

If you share your computer with other people, you can set up user accounts for each person. Setting up user accounts for each member of your family enables everyone to personalise Windows in a way that suits them. Having a user account for each person also means that their favourites, internet home page, browsing history and personal files are all saved and only accessible to them.

User accounts

To create user accounts, go to Start ➜ Control Panel and then under User Accounts and Family Safety, select Add or remove user accounts. Click on Create a new account, then enter the name of the person you are creating the user account for, make sure it is set to 'Standard user' so they can't change any important settings, and click Create Account.

Once you have set up the account, you can click on it to edit the name, create a password or change the picture that represents the account.

Keep your family safe

Another great reason to create user accounts for members of your family is that you can add parental controls to your children's accounts to ensure that they are kept safe. You can limit what programs each person has access to and if you are worried about the children using the computer for long periods of times, you can limit when and for how long they can use the PC.

Go to Start ➜ Control Panel and under User Accounts and Family Safety, click Set up parental controls for any user. Click the user account you want to add parental controls to and select On, enforce current settings. You can then set time limits for how long that family member can use the computer for, what age rating of games they can play and what applications they can use.

If you want to add further parental controls to the user account - such as website filtering - install Windows Live Family Safety 2011.

Security solutions

Making sure your computer is secure when you are on the internet is one of the most important things you can do. There are so many threats on the internet that can infect your computer and put your personal files and information at risk, that installing antivirus and anti-malware should be one of your top priorities.

Windows 7 itself does not come with antivirus protection, so you need to install your own copy of your chosen antivirus software. There are two types of antivirus software: paid-for and free.

With antivirus software that you pay for, you get a copy that will receive updates for a year. After that year has ended, you need to buy a subscription for a further 12 months to continue to keep the software updated. This is essential because thousands of new viruses are released on the internet every day, and the updates make sure that the antivirus software can detect and protect you from the latest threats.

Free antivirus software offers basic protection without you needing to pay for a yearly subscription. Free antivirus software protects your computer from being infected, but it doesn't feature some of the more advanced features and technology that paid-for versions do, such as email scanning and website blocking.

If you know what you are doing and are careful on the internet, free antivirus software such as Microsoft Security Essentials or AVG Free should be adequate.

If you are not that confident on the internet, have a habit of opening attachments and clicking links in emails, download a lot of things or just want the best protection there is, consider paid-for antivirus. Trusted brands such as Norton and McAfee offer superb security.

Windows Update

Windows 7 isn't completely defenceless on its own against malicious threats from the internet, however. Microsoft continually updates the operating system through the Windows Update service. These updates include critical protection against the latest threats and most of the time they are downloaded in the background without you needing to do anything.

Updates

Occasionally there is a non-essential update released that can improve your computer's performance. Non-essential updates are not downloaded automatically, so it is worth checking Windows Update once a month.

Click the Start button and type update into the Search box. Click Windows Update and you're presented with a window telling you how many important and optional updates are available. Click on Optional updates are available to view the list. Select the optional updates you want to install, then click OK ➜ Install updates.

Any important updates that you have yet to download and install are automatically selected and installed as well.

Create a network

Setting up or joining your home network has never been easier thanks to Windows 7. Simply plug your computer into your network router via Ethernet cable and follow our guide below to get your home network up and running.

If you have any problems, head over to the Network and Sharing Center by clicking Start and typing Network and Sharing Center. You'll find all the tools and help you need to get your internet and network fixed right here.

1. Search for networks

Wi-Fi 1

All modern laptops and netbooks have wireless network receivers built in. If you have a desktop PC, you may need to buy a USB wireless receiver. If your computer can detect wireless networks, and there is one nearby, the 'Wireless connections are available' icon appears in your taskbar.

2. Find your wireless

Wi-Fi 2

Click on the icon and all the wireless networks your computer can find are displayed. Click the name of your wireless network - if you haven't named it yourself, it will be named after the brand of your wireless router (Netgear, for example) or your ISP.

3. Enter your password and connect

Wi-Fi 3

Click on your network and put a tick next to Connect automatically. This means Windows 7 connects to your chosen network straight away when you turn on your PC in the future. Click Connect and enter the network password. Wireless networks should always have a password to prevent strangers accessing them.

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Keep your PC clean

All versions of Windows work best when they have just been freshly installed. Over time, they slow down as programs are installed and uninstalled. To keep Windows 7 running as though it's brand new, regular cleaning of the hard drive is essential. It doesn't take long and the results are well worth it.

To keep your hard drive neat and tidy, go to Start ➜ All Programs ➜ Accessories ➜ System Tools ➜ Disk Cleanup. Select the drive and click OK. Windows scans your hard drive for unnecessary files that take up precious disk space but can be safely removed.

Cleanup

Temporary internet files, partially deleted files in the recycle bin and other temporary files can all add up and slow down your PC. Select the files you want to delete and then click OK ➜ Delete files.

Uninstall all your unwanted programs

If you have programs installed on your computer that you no longer use, it's a good idea to uninstall them to keep your hard drive clean and Windows 7 running smoothly.

To uninstall unneeded programs, go to Start ➜ Control Panel ➜ Uninstall a program. Select the program you no longer use and click Uninstall.

Installing and uninstalling programs can leave your hard drive in a bit of a state over time. Fragments of files can be left in various places on the disk, making it difficult for your computer to find the information it is looking for. The longer it takes for your computer to search the hard drive, the slower Windows 7 performs.

This is why defragmenting your hard drive is an essential part of Windows maintenance. The defragmentation process rearranges the data into a more logical and easier-to-read order, while combining the free space on your disk. After defragmenting your hard drive, you'll find you have a faster computer and more disk space.

Go to Start, type defrag and click Disk Defragmenter. Select your hard drive and click Analyze disk to see if the disk need defragmenting. If it does, click Defragment disk.

Windows 7 programs you should download

Windows 7 comes with a lot of great tools, but there are some other essential programs that you should install to make the most out of your computer. The following programs contain all the features you need to get the most out of Windows 7 and your computer.

Windows Live Essentials

Microsoft has gathered together some of the best programs for Windows in the Windows Live Essentials suite. Once installed, you'll find that there's a reason Microsoft has given these programs the name 'Essential'.

Messenger

Windows Live Messenger enables you to keep in contact with friends and family over the internet. You can share photos and videos while you chat, and if you have a webcam, you can have video chats as well - all for free. The latest version even integrates with the Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn social networks.

If you keep lots of digital photos on your computer, installing Windows Live Photo Gallery is a must. It features tools for organising, editing and sharing your photos. Instantly adjust the colour of photographs, remove red eye or create stunning panoramas with your snaps.

Live movie

If you've shot some home videos, you can import them to Windows Live Movie Maker and add special effects, transitions and sound effects to create and share amazing movies.

Windows Live Mail is a fantastic email program that enables you to add multiple email accounts and calendars as well as send and receive emails straight from your desktop. And if you have a blog, Windows Live Writer is a great tool - instantly upload text, photos, videos, maps and a lot more to share them with the world.

Finally, Windows Live Family Safety contains additional parental controls to help you keep your children protected while they use the internet. An essential tool for peace of mind.

Ad-Aware

If you want extra protection against spyware, you should install Ad-Aware. Spyware is software that is installed on your PC without your consent, which sends information about you and your computer across the internet. Sometimes this is sent to advertisers, other times to malicious users who want to steal your identity, but it is always annoying. Ad-Aware protects you against this.

Microsoft Security Essentials

If you want a free antivirus software solution, Microsoft Security Essentials is the tool you need. It is easy to use and is always kept up to date to protect your computer against viruses and other malicious software. There's no complicated jargon involved - you simply install it and it monitors your computer for you.

Foxit Reader

Foxit

PDF files are becoming increasingly common. Most user manuals are now saved on an installation disc, rather than printed out on paper. You're usually told to install Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PDF files, but Foxit Reader is a faster alternative that has all the features and doesn't take up as much disk space.

7-Zip

Adding files to a compressed .zip file is a great way to send and receive files over the internet. While Windows 7 can open and create .zip files straight away, 7-Zip adds even more functionality and the ability to open and create the popular .rar compressed file type, too.

Revo Uninstaller

Revo

Revo Uninstaller is another example of a tool that expands on some of the functionality within Windows 7. While you can uninstall programs with Windows 7, the process is not perfect. Some files and folders can refuse to be removed, leaving your hard drive cluttered with the remnants of unwanted programs. Revo Uninstaller helps keep your computer completely clean.

VLC Media Player

Have you ever tried to play a movie file that Windows Media Player cannot read? Installing VLC Media Player means you never have to worry about that again. Its creators boldly claim that "it plays everything", and they are right - from DVDs to streaming media and any video file (even if it is damaged), VLC Media Player can handle them all.

As Sony struggles to get PSN back up, new details emerge

With the PlayStation Network expected to be back up within a matter of days, Sony's statements to a US House subcommittee seem to point the finger on responsibility back at hacktivist group Anonymous, which initially denied involvement.

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PlayStation chief Kazuo Hirai told Congress in a letter that the company was a victim of a sophisticated attack. As part of the hack, a file was planted on the company's servers named "Anonymous" with the words "We Are Legion." He said the company understood the full scope of the attack by April 25, but could not rule out the compromising of credit card data.

The statement seems somewhat at odds with the company's public statements, which up until at least April 29 seemed to suggest that credit card data had not been touched. Regardless of that fact, Hirai said that Sony had not received any reports of fraud that was believed to be connected to the PSN hack.

Sony's hack is one of several being investigated by the feds, US Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed to Reuters Wednesday.

"I am of course aware of the criticism Sony has received for the time taken to disclose information to our customers," Hirai wrote. "I hope you can appreciate the extraordinary nature of the events the company was facing -- brought on by a criminal hacker whose activity was neither immediately nor easily ascertainable."

Related: AVG Technologies' Tony Anscombe explains how PSN subscribers can protect their identities

Sony apparently feared releasing incomplete information on the attack, so it waited until April 26 -- a week after the actual hack -- to admit a data breach. If it would have been released earlier, it may have led to "confusion and [cause consumers] to take unnecessary actions," it argued.

The identity of those responsible is apparently now known to Sony, and the company told Congress that it was working with law enforcement and the FBI.

Either way, frustrated gamers should not have much longer to wait for PSN to come back up. In a blog post Wednesday, Senior director of coporate communications Patrick Seybold wrote that the company was working "around the clock," and would share details soon on how service would return.

"We will continue to keep you posted as we work to restore our network and provide you with both the entertainment and the security you deserve," he wrote.

Dirty IT jobs: Partners in slime

Dirty job No. 3: The human server rack
The panicked call at 3 a.m. is a sad fact of life for many system administrators. But not as many admins are woken in the dead of night and asked to part the floodwaters, perform acts of impromptu structural engineering, or serve as a piece of inanimate equipment.

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Brian Saunier got such a call six years ago when he was a sys admin for a small Internet service provider in Georgia. An unusually large summer storm had clogged the drain outside the ISP's building, causing a foot of rainwater to flood the first floor, where the server closet was housed.

Fortunately, the servers were protected by an airtight glass door, says Saunier, who's now a network administrator for Cobb Energy Management. Unfortunately, the storm also knocked out the power, causing the cooling system to shut down and putting the servers in danger of overheating.

The door had to be opened. To complicate matters, the machine containing the ISP's customer database was sitting on the floor of the server room, directly in the flood path.

First, Saunier and two fellow sys admins constructed a dam out of cardboard, towels, and anything else they could get their hands on to keep the water out. Then Saunier was elected to run in and grab the server before the waters reached it.

"Our plan was to open the door and run in and pick up the server, which I managed to do without incident," he recalls. "But on the way in my foot clipped the dam and the water started pouring in. I was standing in a flooded server room in two feet of water holding a powered-on server and power cords. That was disconcerting."

After about 10 minutes, Saunier's colleagues located a table that fit inside the closet, so he could put the machine down and commence with mop-up operations, which lasted well into the following evening.

As with all storms, there was a silver lining. Saunier submitted his story via Facebook to Ipswitch Network Management Division, which named him a "SysAdmin All-Star" for going above and beyond the call of duty. His prize: an Apple iPad, which should prove easy to hold no matter how much water is swirling around his knees.

"It was actually an entertaining experience and a great story for getting a laugh now," he says. "Besides, there's really no way to avoid things like this, unless you want to be in the unemployment line."

Dirty jobs survival tip: Always pack hip waders. And make sure your server room has a raised floor -- before the floodwaters start to rise.

Chart: Apple's amazing year of iOS

Mobile devices running iOS generated $43.79 billion for Apple during calendar 2010, or about 57 percent of revenues. But it is the rise in overall revenue and net profit that is most significant, as seen from the chart above. Perhaps more surprising, Apple's calendar first quarter 2011 net profit was just slightly less than that of the holiday quarter, when iOS device sales were even stronger.

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The revenue curve from Q1 to Q4 2010 is simply stunning. Apple revenue nearly doubled, as did its net profit -- from $13.5 billion to $26.7 billion and $3.1 billion to $6 billion, respectively. In April 2010, Apple launched iPad, which generated about $10 billion in revenue during 2010. Without iPad, Apple would have generated only $66.28 billion last year -- still impressive.

By my reckoning, Apple sold about 81 million iOS devices during 2010 -- or about half the number Apple says had shipped by the end of first calendar quarter 2011.

While the gains across the metrics are absolutely impressive for calendar 2010, first quarter 2011 stands out by a different measure. Not surprisingly, Apple revenue fell by about $2 billion going from the holiday quarter, which is to be expected. What's startling: Net profit dipped slightly, $5.99 billion from $6 billion, during sequential quarters.

The revenue surge is over, and the chart for 2011 will likely be different. Apple is forecasting $23 billion revenue for second calendar quarter. Throughout 2010, Apple exceeded forecasts by at least $1 billion a quarter -- $2.67 billion for calendar Q1 2011. So calendar Q2 could still grow sequentially. Wall Street analysts are projecting $24.45 billion for the quarter, but their estimates have been running low, too.

Microsoft announces Windows Embedded Device Manager 2011

At the Microsoft Management Summit on Thursday, Microsoft announced the release of Windows Embedded Device Manager 2011, an extension for System Center Configuration Manager 2007 that allows IT to manage Windows Embedded Standard and POSReady devices such as thin clients, digital signage, and, of course point of sale terminals.

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Microsoft is accelerating the evolution of enterprise embedded devices, and today's announcement of Windows Embedded Device Manager 2011 follows the release of Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1 earlier this month.

"With the addition of Windows Embedded Device Manager to Microsoft's extensive management portfolio, we're in a unique position to make the lives of IT managers a lot easier across PCs, servers and embedded devices," Kevin Dallas, general manager for Windows Embedded at Microsoft said today. "Previously, enterprises were forced to implement several management solutions to meet their needs, at a significant time and financial cost. We've made it simple for IT professionals to make simultaneous system updates across the enterprise with the familiarity of System Center Configuration Manager."

The solution's main benefit, therefore, is the ability to manage PCs, servers, and embedded enterprise devices from within a single application, tightening an IT department's device management and imaging capabilities.

Windows XP Gets Security Certification

Touting the success of it's new Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) process, Microsoft late Wednesday said Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP SP2 Professional and Embedded have secured the highest Common Criteria security certification from the United States government's National Information Assurance Partnership.

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Four versions of Windows Server 2003 were certified, including Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Datacenter Edition and Windows Server 2003 Certificate Server. Both Windows 2000 Professional and Server editions previously achieved the same security rating, dubbed Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) 4.

To obtain the certification, which is handled by Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), the six operating systems were put through 20 real-world scenarios, or "workloads." The Common Criteria testing was ratified as an international standard in 1999.

"CC certification of these Windows platform products, which includes evaluation of the broadest set of real-world scenarios of any operating system platform today, underscores our deep and ongoing commitment to the Common Criteria process," said Steve Lipner, senior director of security engineering strategy at Microsoft.

Lipner said SDL played a critical role in helping to achieve the certification. SDL is Microsoft's new approach to software development, in which it carefully reviews all code for security risks and takes into account the best practices it learned after undertaking an extensive security review in 2002.

Microsoft says its newly released development products, Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005, have undergone the SDL process from beginning to end. In the process, the company also developed two security debugging tools known as PREfast and FxCop.

"This milestone complements our ongoing advances in software quality through the Security Development Lifecycle process, ultimately benefiting any IT organization that is serious about security," Lipner added.