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What Is svchost.exe, and Should You Stop the Process?

If you use a Windows-based system, you may have opened your task manager to see a swarm of processes called “svchost” taking up a lot of room. It can be worrying to see so many copies of this process working away silently as you use your computer. What is this odd process, and should you try to prune them down to size yourself? The short answer to this is a definite, strong “no!” Do not force any svchost process to stop! They’re very vital for Windows to do its job properly. In order to understand why they’re so important, however, we need to break down… Read more

How to Run Automatic Commands at Command Prompt/Powershell Start

If you work with a computer long enough, you’ll end up developing a few workflows. These can be simple or complex, but it’s likely you’ll end up with a few that are unique to you. The more you do with your computer, the more likely you’ll end up using the Command Prompt or the more powerful PowerShell. Sometimes you might find yourself running the same few commands every time you launch PowerShell or the command prompt. Instead, why not save some time and run them automatically on launch? What Can You Do with Automatic Commands? You may have a workflow that sees you creating a… Read more

How to Use the Optical (S/PDIF) Port on Windows 10

The optical out port on the PC is a bit of a mystery to a lot of people. It sits in the back of your PC, emitting a permanent red laser glow whether or not something is plugged into it. It almost looks like you’re meant to plug something into it, but what? The answer is, logically, an optical audio cable, and here we’ll show you how to get it working, with the caveat that it’s become rather clunky to properly utilize on Windows 10 in recent years. Related: Audio Wars: Digital (S/PDIF) vs. HDMI vs. Analog How to Enable Optical (S/PDIF) Audio on PC… Read more

How to Stop Background Apps from Running in Windows 10

There are various reasons why your computer is running on the slow slide. One of those reasons is all the background apps that are affecting your computer’s performance. You can improve things by disabling those background apps from running and finally get some speed back. There are a few methods you can try that will keep those background apps under control. One requires that you make some adjustments in the Registry Editor, so you’ll need to be more careful than usual so that no accidental mistakes are made. Things to Keep in Mind Before Disabling the Apps Before you go on a spree disabling all… Read more

5 of the Best Screen-Sharing Apps for Windows

If you are having trouble with your computer or want to access files on it when you are not physically present, using screen sharing and remote-access software can be a real time saver. Screen sharing and remote-access software allow one computer to access another and control the mouse and keyboard inputs while connected through an Internet or network connection. This may conjure up images of malicious users having easy access to your device. However, screen sharing and remote-access programs use a high level of security so that only the people who are authorized have access. Some of the security features are password protection, encrypted data… Read more