Holli's IT Blog for Non- IT People

Computer Tips and Tricks Everyone Can Use

Written by Holli Houseworth Langford | Apr 6, 2023 6:15:51 PM

Working in the IT space but being non-technical has had it's challenges over the years. But I have learned a lot about IT and some pretty useful tips. Here are a couple of my favorites:

If you're like me, you always have too many tabs open. Did you know that you can easily pull up previews of all of the tabs you have open on every screen you're using? Just click on the windows key and the tab key at the same time. You'll immediately see all of your tabs open on each screen.

Speaking on tabs, How many times have you accidentally closed out the wrong tab? Did you know you can re-open it easily and get back to what you were doing? Simply pull up a new tab click on ctrl, shift and T at the same time. Your last browsing window will re-open.

Ever walk away from your computer and forget to lock it? Not only is this dangerous at work because anyone can access your machine while you're away, you also leave yourself vulnerable to giving your kids access to your social media accounts. I know this from an actual occurrence in my life. My 12 year old son got the biggest kick out of getting on to my Facebook page and posting a very immature (but admittingly hilarious statement on my behalf.) That was harmless yet slightly embarrassing but still better then giving someone access to my work emails and files. Here is an easy tip to avoid this. Anytime you are leaving your computer alone, click on the Windows key and the L key to lock your system down immediately. 

Hopefully by now you have heard that storing passwords in Chrome is very dangerous. If someone gains access to your machine or hacks your account, they have everyone of your passwords saved and ready to access. Instead, you should have a password manager. And then you need to clear your saved passwords from the Chrome extension. The easiest way to do this is to mass delete all of your passwords at once. To do this, in Chrome, select Settings> Privacy and Security> Select Clear Browsing Data. Under Time Range, select All Time> Check the box next to Passwords and Other Sign In Data> Click Clear Data. You have successfully cleared all of your saved passwords from Chrome. 

For more helpful tips and tricks to make IT work better for you, check out my frequently asked IT questions page and subscribe to my newsletter. Every month you'll get IT news, tips, ideas and more that can help you in your personal life and at work.