Windows 8: Taking Ownership of a Folder

When a user creates a file or folder in Windows, they automatically become the owner of that resource. As the owner, they are able to set and change security permissions to the object.

If you want to change the permissions on a resource that you do not own, you must be assigned the Full Control permission. If you don't have the Full Control permission, you must first take ownership of the resource and then you can proceed with assigning yourself the correct permissions.

You can take ownership of a folder in Windows using the steps that are listed below.

• Log on to the computer with an account that has administrator permissions, and open the File Explorer.
• Right-click the file or folder that you want to change ownership permissions on then select Properties, and then click on the Security tab.
• Press the Advanced button.
• Click the Owner link towards the top left of the dialog.
• The current owner of the resource will be listed.
• In the select user or group dialog select the user that needs ownership assigned to them.
• Press the OK button twice.

Now that the new user has ownership of the object they must be assigned the Full Control permission to change the security permissions on the file or folder. 

Windows 8: Sticky Notes and Keyboard Shortcuts

In Windows 7 a new feature was added called Sticky Notes that for allows the creation of little virtual notes on the monitor. To activate this feature, open the Start screen, and type: Sticky Notes then click on the icon to activate it.

You can move the Sticky Notes around by moving them with their title bar at the top of each note.  You can delete them by pressing the "X" button, or create a new note by pressing the "+" button in the title bar.

One cool feature of the Sticky Notes is the rich text formatting shortcuts that are available. All you have to do is select the text, and use the keyboard shortcuts below:

• Ctrl + L: Left aligns the text
• Ctrl + E: Center aligns the text
• Ctrl + R: Right aligns the text
• Ctrl + B: Bold the text
• Ctrl + I: Italicizes the text
• Ctrl + U: Underlines the text
• Ctrl + T: Strike Through the text
• Ctrl + Shift + A: Capitalizes all characters
• Ctrl + Shift + L: Turns text into list (press multiple times to change the bullet style)
• Ctrl + Shift + < (less then sign): Decreases the font size
• Ctrl + Shift + > (greater then sign): Increases the font size
• Ctrl + = (equal sign): Subscripts the text
• Ctrl + Shift + = (equal sign): Superscript the text
• Ctrl + 1: Sets single line spacing
• Ctrl + 2: Sets double line spacing
• Ctrl + 5: Sets line spacing to 1.5
• Ctrl + N: Creates a new sticky note
• Ctrl + D: Deletes a sticky note

Additional Tips/Notes:  

• To change the color of the Sticky Note, right-click the note and select a new color from the pop-up menu.
• All Sticky Note are able to re-sized to be smaller or larger.
• All Sticky Notes are stored in a file called %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Sticky Notes\StickyNotes.snt. 

Video: How to Buy High Speed RAM

This video has some great advice on how to buy RAM.  It gets a little technical, but I think its also very understandable.

Video Description: "High speed memory has been a staple for enthusiasts who want to get the most out of their systems for YEARS, but in this investigation we take a look at how much of a difference it actually makes to performance."

Windows 8: Using and Creating Desktop Toolbars

Windows 8 desktop mode still provides Toolbar support in the Taskbar. This feature allows adding additional functionality to the taskbar by adding any of the four built-in toolbars or allowing for the creation of a custom one.

To enable or disable the toolbar functionality, use the context menu in the taskbar.

• Right-click the taskbar, and select Toolbars in the pop-up menu.  From here you can select one of the built-in toolbars, or create a custom one based on links in a folder.
• Below is a list of the built-in toolbars: 
• Address: Use this toolbar to open up URLs, or run commands (such as CMD.EXE) from the taskbar.  Works similar to the Run... command (WinKey + R).
• Links: Provides quick access to the Internet Explorer Favorites (e.g. bookmarks).
• Touch keyboard: Provides access to the Windows on-screen keyboard.
• Desktop: Provides quick access to shortcuts, folders and files on the desktop.

To create a custom toolbar:

• Right-click the taskbar, and select Toolbars > New toolbar... in the pop-up menu.  
• When the file dialog appears, select a folder that contains shortcuts, documents, applications, or even other folders that you want to access via this feature.
• Press the Select Folder button.

The new toolbar will be available in the right-hand part of the taskbar.  To disable a built-in toolbar, or to delete a custom one, all you have to do is uncheck it in the Toolbars pop-up menu.

Video: Digital Security Life Hacks

Video Description: "Have you ever had an account compromised or your information stolen? It's National Cyber Security Awareness Month and as a public service to you, here are some tips to help protect yourself online and offline. "

Software:7-Zip (Archive/Compression Utility)

7-Zip is a free open source file archive and compression utility for the Windows. It can be operated from the command line program or via its graphical user interface.

Below is a brief list of some of its features:

• Supported formats: Packing / unpacking: 7z, XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP and WIM.Unpacking only: ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, CramFS, DEB, DMG, FAT, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, RAR, RPM, SquashFS, UDF, VHD, WIM, XAR and Z.
• Supports AES-256 encryption in the 7z and ZIP formats.
• The 7z format supports a self-extracting capability.
• and more

To download the program or get more information, visit the 7-Zip web site.

Game: Party like 1995 with the Browser Version of Hover...

Microsoft has released a browser version of a 1995 game it created called Hover.  Its not GTA, but it will remind you of driving a bumper car through a maze trying to collect flags before your opponent.  The real purpose of this game is to showcase the power of Internet Explorer 11 (it also runs in other browsers).

To play the game, go to: http://hover.ie/.