Easy Context Menu freeware lets you add Program or Icon to Right Click Menu

The Right-Click Context Menu in Windows, offers useful options. Although, Windows does not let you add or remove anything from context menu via any UI, you can use a third-party software like Easy Context Menu to customize it. We already have freeware like the Right Click Extender or Context Menu Editor, that let you add or remove context menu items. Today let us have a look at this free tool.

Easy Context Menu for Windows

Easy Context Menu (Earlier Bluelife Context Menu) is a context menu editor that helps users to add any installed application to the context menu or any image or icon to the context menu item.

The download package consists of 2 files. If you are using 32-bit Windows, click on EcMenu.exe and if you have 64-bit Windows, click on EcMenu_x64.exe. You don’t have to install it since this is a portable software.

All the preset items that you can add, are categorized in various sections such as Tools, System Tools, Turn Off Options etc. A very useful feature of this tool is that you can add different items to the context menu for different locations. For instance, you can add a set of tools to the desktop context menu and a different set of apps to the This PC context menu. Similarly, you can also add or remove options from the Folder Context Menu, File Context Menu, EXE File Context Menu and so on.

Add preset program, tool and option to Context Menu

To add any preset app, tool or power option to the Context Menu, just make a tick in corresponding box and apply your changes. The very first button with the mouse icon refers to Apply Changes.

Context Menu Cleaner

The fourth button with mouse icon refers to Context Menu Cleaner.

Context Menu Cleaner will let you remove any added program from the right-click menu.

To remove an item, just remove the tick-mark from the corresponding box.

Easy Context Menu List Editor

By default, Easy Context Menu will allow you to add only those programs, tools and options, what are already included in the list. However, you can also add your own favorite program to the context menu, by using the List Editor. You can add image, audio or any other item to the context menu.

To do so, click on List Editor button, which is the third button from the left. Next, click on Add New and selectApplication Files(*.*) from the drop-down menu. Next select the desired program file. It is also possible to rename the file, change its location in context menu, let Windows open the file with administrator privilege and more. One all is done, click on Save Changes. Your item will be added to the context menu.

Delete all programs from Context Menu

Suppose, you do not want to use the selected options in the context menu and wish to delete whatever you have added. At such times, just click on Uninstall All – the second button with the mouse icon.

You can read more about Easy Context Menu and download it from its home page.

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Control Panel will not open in Windows 8 / 7

If your Control Panel will not open in Windows 8, then this post will help you troubleshoot and fix the problem. It is quite possible that your computer may be infected with malware, the .cpl file may have become corrupted or damaged or the .cpl file association may have been broken. Before you commence troubleshooting the issue, remember to create a system restore point first.

Control Panel will not open

1] Run a full-scan with your antivirus software.

2] See if you can open Control Panel in Safe Mode or Clean Boot State. If you can, then some start-up is interfering with its operation. In Clean Boot State you will have to identify the offending program by disabling/enabling each of the start-ups.

3] Open File Explorer, type the following in the address bar and hit Enter to open your Syatem32 folder:

%SystemRoot%\System32

Search for *.cpl in this folder. The results will display all the Control panel applet files.

Click on appwiz.cpl and see if the main Control Panel window opens. If it does not, then from the WinX menu, openRun, type appwiz.cpl and hit Enter. Does the main Control Panel window open? If not, then it is quite possible that some .cpl file may have been damaged or got corrupted.

Click each one and see if the related Control Panel tool opens. If something does not, then it means that, that particular .cpl file has been corrupted or damaged.

Third-party software and hardware manufacturers often add Control Panel icons to provide an interface for setting configuration options for their products. If any of these 3rd-party Control panel icons has become damaged, it is best to delete it. But if it is some system .cpl file, then read on.

4] Run sfc /scannow to start the System File Checker. Restart your computer once the run is completed. This will replace corrupted system files, if any. Now see if you are able to open Control Panel now.

5] Check and set the File Association for Control Panel files and see if it helps. Now I am aware that you are unable to open Control panel, but if via the System32 folder as described above, you are able to click open inetcpl.cpl, then please do so. Then under its Programs tab, click on the Set associations button, under File Associations section to open the following window.

Here check if .cpl files are set to open with the default Windows Control Panel. If not set it so.

If you cannot do this, then simply download and apply this registry fix for .cpl files from DougKnox. The fix is for Windows XP, but should work for later versions too. Extract its contents and click on it to add it to your Windows Registry. If you don’t like the results, you can go back to the created system restore point.

6] If nothing helps, you may have to consider a System Restore operation or use the Refresh PC or Reset PC feature.

Let us know if anything worked for you.

See this post if Change PC Settings does not open in Windows 8.1 and this one if Control Panel window is blank.

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What is BIOS in computers and how does it work

BIOS is short for Basic Input Output System. It is much more than the name suggests. One might think that BIOS controls input and output system. But the BIOS does much more and it is not possible for any operating system to continue without a proper BIOS in place. Today, we will see what is BIOS in computers.

BIOS has been there in our computers since the days of DOS – Disk Operating System… even prior to the structured DOS created by Microsoft. It is one of the most important components of the computer though it does not take the credit by appearing on your screen regularly. This post also looks at the most basic component of computers and explains why is it required in computers for computers to work.

What is BIOS

BIOS is a firmware, in short. It is stored on a chip on a part of the computer motherboard and is basically, a set of instructions that run to help load the operating system. You OS would fail to load, if not for the BIOS!

When you turn on the computer, BIOS instructions are initiated. These instructions make it check the RAM and the Processor (for faults) on your computer.

1. It enumerates the RAM by checking each compartment to see if all of them are working.
2. After checking out RAM and Processor, it checks for other devices attached to the computer
3. It detects all the peripherals, including the keyboard and mouse and then checks for the boot options
4. Boot options are checked in the sequence configured on your BIOS: Boot from CD-ROM, Boot From Hard Drive, Boot from LAN etc.
5. It checks for bootstraps on the devices in the order you or the machine vendor configured the BIOS.
6. It passes reigns of the computer to operating system by loading the essential parts of the OS into the random access memory (RAM) reserved for the OS, after bootstrap is located.

This is not a comprehensive list of functions of the BIOS. It also checks up CMOS, and other chips to set up the date and time on the computer, and to load the device drivers into the memory. It checks and uploads input and output interrupts (signals) to the RAM so that the operating system knows what is happening. For example, if a user presses a key, an interrupt request is created and passed on to the BIOS which sends it to the operating system. The operating system then decides what action to take, according to the way it is programmed.

The reason why operating system cannot work without BIOS is because the former resides on hard disk or a removable disk. It is the BIOS that loads the drivers of the hard disks and removable disk drives, so that they are functional. It then loads the primary portions of the operating system such as the MBR, GPT, FAT, etc, into memory, so that the operating system can continue loading itself.

Making Changes to BIOS

It is easy to make changes to BIOS when required. The most common changes people make in BIOS is to change the BOOT ORDER. While the computer is booting, press DEL key on your keyboard to enter BIOS. From there, you can see different options grouped under different headers. Use tab and arrow keys to navigate. Sometimes Page Up and Page Down keys are required to change values of essential items. When you are done, press F10 to save changes and exit. The options are displayed on right or bottom on the screen so that you know what keys to press for saving or discarding changes. The options also specify what keys to use for changing values.

How to Update BIOS

As the computing scenario changes, new devices etc are introduced. To make a computer work with these devices, the BIOS has to be upgraded. If your operating system fails to detect a new peripheral, it is possible because BIOS doesn’t know how to handle it. If you face any such issues, it might be a good idea to check if any BIOS updates are available.

You have to check the BIOS version first. This can be done by entering BIOS at the time of booting, by pressing DEL. Once you have the version of your computer BIOS, you visit the website of your computer manufacturer to see if there is any updated version of BIOS is available. If there is, download it and run it. The process is generally wiping off all the previous information on the BIOS chip and rewriting it with the new information.

Make sure you have power backup while upgrading the BIOS. Because if the computer turns off during the process, the BIOS may be corrupted and you will need a technician to fix it. Your boot CD/DVD may or may not help depending upon how the BIOS stands after a powercut or a sudden system turn off while rewriting the BIOS.

IMPORTANT: If your computer is working properly, you do not need to update or flash your BIOS. In any case, should you wish to, we recommend that you do not try to update your BIOS yourself, but instead take it to a computer technician who may be better equipped to do it.

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How To Fix “VLC does not support the audio or video format “hevc””

VLC media player is a free and open source media player, encoder, and streamer made the volunteers of VideoLAN community.

No suitable decoder module

VLC does not support the audio or video format “hevc.

Unfortunately there is no way for you to fix this.

The above error message is a result of trying to play a video file in VLC. The error message doesn’t give a clue either. To fix this we need to install libde265, which is an open source implementation of the h.265 video codec.

We will install libde265 via PPA. To install open Terminal and run the commands below:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:strukturag/libde265 
sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get install vlc-plugin-libde265

VLC should now play these media files after installation has been completed successfully.

Enjoy!

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Safety Tips for Using a Public Computer

Public computers like in the libraries, airports, internet cafes and other locally accessible systems are used by every other person in the time of need. Such systems are easy targets for accessing valuable data of an individual who has previously used that computer. Therefore, public computers are regarded risky to check emails, bank account details etc. But this can be avoided by keeping certain tips in mind while entering data at public computers. Brooke Chloe, an young tech expert and writer provides some safety tips while using a public computer.

Safety Tips While You Using a Public Computer

★ Logout from all accounts: First of all, always logout of your accounts from the websites. Websites that require passwords and keys have ‘kept me logged in’ option. This option sometimes gets unnoticed by the user and thus causes the account logged on even after closing the website. This is the easiest way to get into someone’s account and mostly, public computers have this option checked. Therefore, to avoid such a mess, always uncheck this option and then enter your login information. Un-checking this option helps you to quit your account even without logging out.


Next, whenever you’re accessing some website having your private data on screen, never leave it unattended. People sometimes obtain data even in a fraction of a second when the user leaves unattended. If you’ve to leave the screen for a few minutes, log out all of your accounts to keep your privacy and information intact. Thus, you can prevent over-sharing and protect your online identity. 

★ Use incognito or private mode while browsing: If you want to keep no tracks of your browsing, you’ve to use incognito or private mode of browsing. Most of the internet browsers, like Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox etc. have the option of private browsing available which keeps no tracks of your browsing. Incognito feature helps in more private searching and has no tracks in browser history but private browsing is not as private as you think that you are browsing safe.


★ Use Internet Explorer: Internet explorer even saves passwords and keys even if you have disabled ‘remember your password’ option and you’ve logged out of your account. This is potential source for hackers to obtain personal information of user even after he has taken all possible measures to avoid it. To avoid this, uncheck all the options in the browser’s settings which make your keys and passwords saved in the browser’s content.

Internet Explorer has this feature available in the tool’s section of its settings. Moreover, passwords and keys can also be retrieved if you’ve downloaded some file or document. Hackers get back on the track to find potential source of the file downloaded. Therefore, after obtaining the file from a public computer, delete it from the system and even from the recycle bin after you’ve saved a copy with yourself.

★ Be aware of your surroundings: At public systems available at coffee shops, internet cafes etc. possible hackers have this trick of befriending the user by having a little conversation and then on looking at the computer screens. Such people get on to the passwords in their split eye movement and thus get hands on your password even after you’ve removed and avoided all the other sources of obtaining it. Therefore, look out for such people and don’t enter such information when you’ve someone standing by your side even if they’re being courteous or waiting for their turn. So, you've to be very conscious about your sourroundings while you using an public WIFI network or a public computer. 


★ Avoid entering personal or professional info: But the easiest way to avoid all this is to not enter any kind of personal information while using a locally available system. Because even if you have done all the above mentioned measures, hackers have installed softwares which store passwords and data even if you’ve disabled password storage information, removed browser history or are browsing incognito. 

By using such softwares, there’s no need to take measures to avoid hacking because they store the information even if you have removed tracks. It could be harmful for you at such level that hacker can pressurize you by different kind of demands. Therefore it’s better not to enter confidential data while using public computers.

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