Robert Kingsley

Robert Kingsley is a full time freelance tech writer with a degree in Computer Networking Systems. His experience as an IT Support Engineer gives him a strong background in the use, support and administration of all varieties of Windows operating systems.

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Editor's Recent Articles

The Complete Guide to the Weather App in Windows 8 & 8.1

Knowing the weather is essential to planning anything from an upcoming weekend away to which route to drive to work. While many users watch the news for their weather information and others might check the Internet, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 provide a great alternative with their bundled Weather app. Once configured, this app provides extended forecasts, hourly forecasts, weather maps and even historical data. This is a very useful app whether you want to know if your company picnic will be canceled for rain or even what sort of coat to put on in the morning.

How to Use Windows Defender in Windows 8 & Windows 8.1

Guess what Windows 8 & Windows 8.1 users: when you're using Microsoft's newest operating system you don't need to install virus protection... Oh god, we sound like those Mac elitists, don't we? Well, we aren't saying this due to an over-confidence in virus coders lack of interest in a comparatively small market share. We're saying this because Windows 8 & Windows 8.1 have a baked in antivirus that is sufficient to protect it against most malware threats. The Windows Defender you see in Windows 8 & Windows 8.1 isn't the basic malware scanner you saw in Windows 7.

Introducing Windows 8 & 8.1: How to Switch Between Sign-In Options

Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 are optimized for use on a wide range of devices. Whether you're using a desktop computer, a tablet or even a hybrid device, Windows 8 and 8.1 have you covered. While many features will be accessible across all platforms, some tasks may be easier done on one form of device or another. This can be seen with a task as simple as signing in. On a standard PC, you'll select your account and type in a password. Using a full-sized keyboard this is the fastest and easiest way to do the job. But what happens when you're on a tablet or touch screen?

How to Remove Network Locations Mapped as Drives in Windows 8

The process called mapping, assigns a drive letter on your computer to a location on a remote system allowing you to access and save files over the network easily. We have shown how to make these links permanent by reconnecting them every time you log on, which assures they'll never disappear on you. However, it also means you'll get annoying messages from your tray if the network drive doesn't exist anymore. If your connected drives change or go away - or you just don't want them connected anymore - you'll have to go ahead and unmap or delete the connected locations.

10 Features that Make Windows 8 the Most Secure Windows Yet

It will be quite obvious to any first-time user that Windows 8 is very different from previous versions. While the obvious interface changes will be the most talked about, the addition of a number of great security features is really worth getting excited over. Combine new features like early launch anti-malware with oldies like the Windows Firewall and you have an operating system that you can feel secure using.

How to Restore Windows 8 to Its Initial Clean State Using Reset

In previous versions of Windows, the only tools available for restoring Windows to a previous state were System Restore and Windows Backup. Even though they are useful tools, you cannot use them to restore Windows to its initial, clean state. You have to perform a manual reinstallation of the operating system. And that is a bit of a pain. Windows 8 introduces a great new feature named Restore. With the Restore wizard, you can easily restore Windows 8 to its default clean state, as if you were performing a clean reinstallation of the operating system.

Windows Defender in Windows 8 and Windows 7 - What's New & Different?

Windows Defender is an antimalware scanner that's been baked into Windows since the days of Windows Vista. Users may know it and dismiss it as a lightweight spyware scanner that is helpful, but by no means comprehensive. That was true of the old Windows Defender; it could never be used as a sole means of protection from malware, but that is not true of the version included in Windows 8.

How to Schedule a Virus Scan with Windows 8's Built-In Antivirus

If you've spent any time looking at Windows 8's Defender interface, you've likely noticed that it doesn't include any options for scheduling a scan. While Windows Defender provides most of it's protection in real-time, if you're like us, you'll want a back-up scan occurring regularly. Though the user interface does in fact omit a simple way to schedule a scan, this option exists within the Windows 8 Task Scheduler. Read on and we'll show you how to get the job done.

Introducing Windows 8: The Complete Guide to the Messaging App

Chatting has become a very large part daily computer usage for many people. Whether messaging on Facebook or with a chat client, you've likely spent a significant amount of time messaging with friends back and forth. Using separate clients to chat with contacts can get annoying, so Windows 8 has taken a step to try and make it easier. The Messaging app allows you to aggregate your contacts from both Windows Live Messenger and Facebook into a single utility. It provides a simple that works especially well with touch. Let's see how it works.

Introducing Windows 8: How to Manage Your Mail App's Inbox & Messages

While we've already covered the basics of configuring and using the Windows 8 Mail app in quite a few guides, there's more to it. Once you've got your accounts set up and you're receiving emails you may want to dig into the intricacies of this useful app. At first glance you may think there isn't much more to the Mail app than folders and inboxes. This is a simple mistake to make as the features we'll be covering here are hidden in menus that can only be accessed by right-clicking or swiping up from the bottom of a touchscreen device.

Popular Reviews

If you are following us closely, you have already heard about the new premium processors built by AMD: the Ryzen 9 3900X with its 12 cores, and the octa-core Ryzen 7 3700X. Sure, they're great marvels of processor engineering, but they cost quite a lot. The good news is that AMD also launched a few more affordable computer processors.

ASUS ROG Thor 850W Platinum is a power supply unit (PSU) that is not just powerful and well built, but also quiet and beautiful. You have to see it to believe it, but this power supply unit has RGB LEDs and an OLED screen that displays your computer's power consumption in real time. To find out more about the ASUS ROG Thor 850W Platinum power supply unit, read this review and see why this power supply unit is different from others:

ASUS ROG Thor 850W Platinum PSU: Who is it good for?

The ASUS ROG Thor 850W Platinum PSU is an excellent choice for people who:

Gaming chairs are all the rage when it comes to furniture for tech enthusiasts, but gaming desks are not that commonplace. In this review, we evaluate the first gaming desk that we ever used: Trust GXT 711 Dominus. This desk combines simple design with useful accessories, at a price point that is lower than that of other gaming desks. If you want to know what the Trust GXT 711 Dominus gaming desk has to offer, read this review:

Trust GXT 711 Dominus gaming desk: Who is it good for?

The Trust GXT 711 Dominus gaming desk is the right choice for:

Robert Kingsley

Contact Options

The Complete Guide to the Weather App in Windows 8 & 8.1

How to Use Windows Defender in Windows 8 & Windows 8.1

Introducing Windows 8 & 8.1: How to Switch Between Sign-In Options

How to Remove Network Locations Mapped as Drives in Windows 8

10 Features that Make Windows 8 the Most Secure Windows Yet

How to Restore Windows 8 to Its Initial Clean State Using Reset

Windows Defender in Windows 8 and Windows 7 - What's New & Different?

How to Schedule a Virus Scan with Windows 8's Built-In Antivirus

Introducing Windows 8: The Complete Guide to the Messaging App

Introducing Windows 8: How to Manage Your Mail App's Inbox & Messages

Performance comparison: Using AMD Ryzen 5 3600X on X570 vs. X470 motherboards

3 ways to view your shared folders in Windows (all versions)

How to change default sound devices in Windows 10 (playback and recording)

AMD Ryzen 5 3600X processor review: 2019's best mid-range choice!

Review ASUS ROG Thor 850W Platinum: See your power consumption in real-time!

Reviewing the Trust GXT 711 Dominus gaming desk