Is your default printer changing randomly in Windows 10? Here's how to fix it...

Windows 10, by and large, has been a decent addition to the Microsoft OS family.
Apart from isolated glitches and snags which I have encountered, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy the experience, and it makes things a lot easier when Microsoft release patches and updates that actually fix bugs (Apple could learn a lot here...).

Recently though, Microsoft released an update which has likely caused a bit of confusion.
In cases where a machine has multiple printers installed, Windows now changes default printers whenever it feels the need, or so it seems anyway...

In truth, Windows isn't playing silly buggers with you, but is in fact just sending print jobs to the last used printer, as opposed to the "default" printer.
While this may make sense in some scenarios, there is thankfully a setting to manage this:

Click on the Start Menu (bottom left of the screen), then click on Settings:

On the next screen, click on Devices:

Now scroll down through the printer settings, and find "Let Windows manage my default printer".

Switch this off:

Lastly, double check your printers in the Control Panel, to ensure that the correct default printer is now selected, and you should be good to go.

Happy printing!

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Avast for Business goes free...

Following on from my previous post about Cryptowall, Avast recently launched a free business version of their proven antivirus software.

Avast! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While the personal version of Avast Antivirus has always been free, the huge difference here is twofold:

• The free business version runs on PC desktop and server platforms (Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, SBS, Server), as well as Apple Macs (that old saying "Macs don't get viruses" no longer applies, folks);
  
  
• The solution is cloud-based.
  This is a big plus, since it can then be managed, monitored and administered from virtually anywhere.
  

Traditional business antivirus solutions, which are designed to protect servers as well as workstations, can set you back a fair deal.

Startups and smaller businesses however, may not have the capital to put down on commercial antivirus solutions, and this is where Avast comes in.

I am currently testing the free business solution to get a feel for it, and interestingly, there are no limitations in terms of installs or licences, so you can install it on as many devices as you need to:

The cloud-based control panel is also well laid out, and provides a tidy overview of your protected devices, as well as a real-time threat status.

I have to say that it all looks rather appealing, especially since it costs the same as a breath of fresh air...

The only real "gotcha" is that you can upgrade to a premium paid version.

This obviously offers a more formidable arsenal of antivirus wizardry, however I expect that most users will find the free version more than adequate.

I recommend that you sign up now and get it while it's free!

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Get your 50GB of FREE cloud storage...

There are dozens of cloud storage providers out there today who all provide free and paid storage options to new customers.
Putting a copy of your data on the cloud is a great way to guard against potential device failure or loss, however the amount of data that we generate nowadays is rather a lot...

The traditional 2GB free data offering from Dropbox just doesn't cut it anymore - Microsoft moved the goalposts somewhat with their 15GB free offering, but even that will still be used up pretty quickly once you start syncing photos, videos and music to the service.

Enter Mega - launched in 2013, it was founded by the same chap (Kim Dotcom) who founded the now defunct Megaupload in 2005.

Mega essentially operates in the same way as Dropbox - you install a sync client on your PC, and this keeps a dedicated folder on your PC in sync with the Mega servers, to the tune of 50GB of free data.
Now 50GB is a lot of data in an any language, and it pretty much beats any other free offering out there.
I have been trying out the Mega service myself, and it has been fairly painless so far, with a nice web interface to boot.

Give it a shot if you need free cloud storage (and who doesn't?):

https://mega.co.nz/

Comments welcome - free services like this will hopefully keep the big guys competitive and on their toes, provided that they keep their systems more secure than Apple, that is... ;)
Oh and one last bit of advice - keep your most personal intimate pics off the Cloud, lest they should fall into the wrong hands!

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Today's Bing photo kinda bent my mind a bit...

Bing usually put up an awesome photo on their search page each day.
Generally one can expect to see amazing natural sites, beautiful places, weird and wonderful creatures and other such things.

Today's photo however, is truly something to behold.
I give you, the world's largest cave - Hang Son Doong, in Vietnam:

Just try get your head around these dimensions - the biggest chamber of the cave is 200m high, 150 wide, and more than 5km long!

For more facts, photos, and info about this incredible natural wonder, click here.

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How CTRL-ALT-DEL came to be... with a little (unintentional?) jab at Bill Gates ;)

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OMG THE OLYMPIC TORCH VIRUS... is a frikkin hoax. So please stop sending it to EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!

If I receive one more email warning me about the so-called "Olympic Torch" virus, or the "Black in the White House" virus, which miraculously "burns" your whole hard drive, and "destroys zero sector, where vital information is kept", I will personally track down the sender of the email and make them eat their computer.

How many times must this ridiculous hoax circulate and waste our time and bandwidth?
I suppose Joe Public is just being cautious, but I get tired of informing Joe Public that this threat is actually very much non-existent.

As a guideline, if you receive an email which warns of some impending Armageddon Virus which will erase your children, it will most likely try to use some big computer / company names (eg. Microsoft, Mcafee, Symantec, CNN etc.) to back up the outrageous claims that it is making...

Still don't believe me? Snopes it here:

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/invitation.asp

If you are still not sure, please comment on this post and I will check it out for you.

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