Some tips on making Windows 8.1 less of a pain in the a.... Tip 1:

1. Escape Key

Over the last two years, the Start Screen of Windows 8 has received a ton of negative press. So much so that Microsoft was finally forced to provide boot to desktop option to Windows 8 users. Still yet, the Start Screen remains an indispensable asset of Windows 8.1, and if you need to quickly move back to the Desktop from Start Screen, you can simply make use of the Escape key. You can press the Escape key to return to the Desktop but oddly hitting it again doesn’t take you back the Start Screen.

Hide your bookmarks with Hush (Chrome Only)

Hush is a secret stash for your bookmarks; to be exact it’s an extension made for bookmarks you want to save in Incognito mode because it lets you password protect the links you save. The saved links are not saved to the default bookmarks manager. The extension has a very neat and clean interface for viewing and editing bookmarks that you’ve saved and it lets you import or export them, securely. The extension works only in Incognito mode and that’s actually the downside of the extension because it’s something a user might want to use instead of the default bookmarks manager.

When you first install Hush, you will have to visit the extension’s page and allow the extension to work in Incognito mode. Next, open an Incognito window and you will see a padlock icon in the URL bar. Click it and set a password. There doesn’t seem to be any way to change it later so make sure you set a strong one that is easy for you to remember.

To save a link, click the padlock icon in the URL bar, enter the password, and then click Bookmark. To view all bookmarks, follow suit but click View All in the end. From the bookmarks manager, you can save a link by clicking the Add Bookmark button, you can rearrange the bookmarks you’ve already saved, delete a bookmark, or edit it.

To import or export bookmarks, hover the mouse cursor over the cog wheel next to the password field and select either the Import or Export option. The extension exports secured data and you must know the password you set in Hush to be able to view it. Likewise, only secure data can be imported to Hush.

To edit a bookmark, click the edit button next to it and you can edit the link as well as the name it’s been saved by.

Password protection and the clean bookmarks manager are what make the extension great. The lack of a way to change the password and the extension not working in normal browsing mode are what take away from its value but even so, it’s quite good.  Since you need to enter the password even to save a link, no one other than yourself will be able to save a bookmark to it. The bookmarks can’t be accessed in any way from the extension manager either so if someone who you share a computer with decides to take offence to your secret bookmarks stash, the worst they can do is delete the extension. Your secrets remain safe no matter what.

Install Hush from the Chrome Web Store

Do Not Call your ISP for technical support

This happens so often that I felt a need to speak on the subject.  For various reasons your Internet is not working.  Typically it is malware or some other problem not related to your actual Internet connection to your house.   I recently had a customer who called their ISP (starts with a X and used to start with Com...).  They told her that her Operating system needed to be updated.  So she calls Dell who promptly sells her a copy of Windows 8.1 at a price that is higher than retail.  She finally calls me after all this as she does not know what to do with the DVD and her previous files, etc.   I get the computer (thinking she had Windows XP, thus the recommendation to upgrade).  Take it to the lab turn on and to my surprise, no serious issue other than garden variety malware.  She is running Windows Vista, thus no dire need to update the operating system.

Lesson to be learned:  When you call your ISP, they are only concerned with verifying that the Internet connection from there to your home is properly working.  Once that is established to be working (within a minute usually), any problem that they attempt to figure out beyond that is pure speculation from the customer service rep on the phone.   Additionally, they have no obligation or responsibility to troubleshoot or fix any other problem(s), that you may have.  They typically have no insight as to what may be the issue or how to fix it.    Too many people get malware and mistakenly think it is their internet connection and call the ISP.  You get bad advice because the person giving it is not qualified to help you.

The worst service call is one over the phone.  You can't fix it if you cannot see it.  Just some advice for those who like to call their ISP when they have any problem. 

DIY Maintenance Tip #3 : Scheduling Disk Cleanup to wipe temporary files

Disk Cleanup is a Windows utility that can delete many types of temporary files to help free up disk space on the hard drive. You might schedule Disk Cleanup to run automatically every week or month.

First, you’ll want to specify which items you want Disk Cleanup to delete each time it runs. The best way to do this is to run the utility via the Command Prompt. To open the Command Prompt in Windows 7, click the Start button, type cmd and hit Enter. In Windows 8 and later, open the Start screen, type cmd and open "Command Prompt" from the search results.

In the Command Prompt, type or paste the following command: cleanmgr.exe /sageset:1

You can click each item on the Disk Cleanup Settings for a description of what would be deleted.

You should see the Disk Cleanup Settings dialog box where you can choose the items you want the utility to clean up automatically. You’ll notice even more options than what you typically see in the menu. (Thanks, Command Prompt!) Once you hit OK the configuration will be saved.

Now you can create a Scheduled Task so the Disk Cleanup utility will run automatically using your saved configuration. In Windows 7 and prior, click the Start button, type task scheduler, and click on "Task Scheduler." In Windows 8 and later, open the Start screen, type task schedule and open "Schedule Tasks" from the search results.

On the Task Scheduler's Action toolbar menu, select Create Basic Task, and follow the wizard to set it up. When it asks for the task to perform select Start a Program. When it asks for the Program/script enter cleanmgr.exe, and then in the "Add arguments" field enter /sagerun:1

That's it!

Creating a Scheduled Task to run Disk Cleanup with your preferences.

Many PC geeks turn to the legendary CCleaner software to perform similar tasks, such as blowing away temporary files, cleaning the Windows Registry, erasing browser histories, and so on. You'll still need to use the Windows Task Scheduler to automate CCleaner, however.

DIY Maintenance Tip #2: Defrag your Hard Drive....occassionally

Back in the days of FAT16 and FAT32, defragmenting files made a noticeable difference in hard drive and system performance. But with the advent of NTFS, faster CPUs, and more memory, defragging your hard drive is rarely necessary, and the difference may not be noticeable.

That said, an occasional defrag isn't going hurt—once every six months should do it. Windows 8.1 elects to automatically "optimize" (defrag and rearrange files) your hard drives on a weekly basis. I'd argue for my semi-annual schedule, but as long as it's not happening while you're trying to work, it's no big deal. All this is done via the Optimize Drives dialog in Windows 8.1. Older versions of Windows require right-clicking on a drive icon, selecting Properties, then Tools, then Defragment Now.

The Windows 8.1 Optimize function keeps hard drives defragged and also forces SSDs to perform deferred housekeeping.

The Windows defragger is more than adequate, but there are numerous third-party replacements such as Auslogic's Disk Defrag, IObit's Smart Defrag 3, and Piroform's Defraggler. They purportedly work better by offering more control over where files are placed. I've used or tested them all, and all work well. Is there a discernible difference in the results versus the Windows defragger? Maybe on an old, slow system, but I sure can't tell the difference on mine.

Note: Never defrag an SSD. SSDs don't store files contiguously, so defragging not only doesn't work, any attempt wastes precious write cycles. Instead...

DIY Maintenance Tip #1: Disable Applications from starting up with Windows

The only software that needs to start with Windows is your antivirus.  So many other crappy software programs try to start with Windows.  Even useful software will install and run stuff you don't really need. For instance, Java and Adobe install updaters that continually suck CPU cycles and slow your boot times. If your Java is out of date, your browser or Java apps will let you know. 
Adobe, Apple, Intel, and others love to install background applications that help their software load faster or assist in some other way. If it's for a piece of software you use regularly, it may be worth it. If not, you might want to disable it.

To disable a background app, run msconfig.exe in Windows XP or 7 or the task manager in Windows 8, and select the Startup tab. Once again, searching online for information may be required to find out what's useful and what's not. Some programs still use the Startup folder on the Start Menu, so you can remove items from there as well. There's no undo as with the Startup tab, so while you're only removing a shortcut, it pays to be a bit more careful with the Start Menu.

Note: Adobe Flash is an oddball: You must log on to the company's website to stop it from automatically updating itself.