It seems everywhere I look nowadays; there is a QR code. You can create a QR code for all sorts of things from websites, events, and contact information. So here is how to create your own QR code.

I first wrote about QR (Quick Response) codes over ten years ago, back when they were just starting to become popular. But with the pandemic, QR codes became an easy way to share information. And you can customize them quite a bit more than a decade ago.

Of course, a decade ago, smartphones were not that smart. In fact, you had to have a special app to read QR codes. Nowadays, both iOS and Android devices have the ability to read QR codes built-in. Just open your camera app and scan away.

Time for a bit of QR code history. QR codes were invented in the '90s for tracking components in vehicle manufacturing and have always been black squares in a square grid on a white background. They can now be customized with different colors, patterns, and logos.

To create a QR code, you must know what information you want your code to display. There are several types of data you can generate a QR code for, and here are some of the more common types of information used in QR codes.

• Event
• Contact information
• Email address
• Geographic location
• Phone number
• SMS
• Text
• URL
• WiFi network

Next, you will want to decide if you want to be able to track the people that scan your QR code. If you wish to track your code, you will need to use a paid service. Several of the QR code generators do provide this service. But if you want to create just a QR code, there are plenty of free QR code generators, and I have included a link to a few at the bottom of this article.

Everything else is entirely up to you. The QR code size, color(s), shapes of the body, eye frame, and eye ball can be customized and you can even add an image too. Here is how I created a QR code for Geeks in Phoenix.

I decided that I wanted a QR code that displays GIP's NAPW (Name, Address, Phone, Website) and include an image. I tried creating codes using vCard and MeCard formats but did not like how the data was displayed.

I then used the text format and got some pretty good results. The text format does have a 300 alpha-numeric character limit but does allow for line breaks. I used a plain old text editor like Notepad to create the text and then just copied and pasted it into the QR code generator.

I then created a horizontal image for the QR code and quickly found out that an image with a transparent background kind of gets lost in the QR code. I then made one with a white background; as you can see below, it worked out quite well.

To include an image, most QR code generator sites require you have an account, except for QR Code Monkey. So I generated a few test QR codes and finally got a code that does look good, and the results it displays are pretty cool.

I started with this text.

Geeks in Phoenix
4722 East Monte Vista Road
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(602) 795-1111
https://www.geeksinphoenix.com

I then generated this QR code.

And when I scanned it with my smartphone, here is what the results looked like.

As you can see, the business name and address appear as text, the phone number turned into a telephone link and the website address turned into a hyperlink with the website title, description and favicon included. Now that is really cool. Here are a few free QR code generators for you to check out.

QR Code Monkey

QR Code Generator

QR Code Generator by bitly

Sources:

Wikipedia "QR Code" August 10th, 2022
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code

Are you having problems with a username and password not working in your favorite browser? Or maybe the credentials for a network resource. Here is how to edit or remove autofill passwords in Windows and your favorite browser.

Nothing is more frustrating than having your browser or Windows autofill a form with the wrong password. And since passwords are hidden, you are lucky if there is a preview button to check it before trying to use it. And if it is a password used by Windows, you may not even get prompted for a password.

And you know what is worst? A company website that uses multiple servers, and each has credentials that are saved. For example, say GIP runs a bank and we have five (5) servers that handle the website traffic.

Now the servers are networked, so when a user goes to the website, the server they get to is entirely random. One day it might be server1, the next day, server5. But the credentials (username/password) are the same for all servers since they are networked.

But your browser and Windows see things differently. They know each server as a separate website and will save usernames and passwords for each server. So as you check the autofill passwords, you may find multiple servers for a domain (server1.example.com, server2.example.com, etc.).

So in this article, I will show you how to edit or remove saved autofill passwords in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Windows. Each browser and Windows saves different types of information with their autofill functions.

Note: Edit autofill properties at your own risk. Remember that once any autofill data has been changed, there is no way of getting it back.

Before proceeding, you may need two (2) pieces of information, your current username and password / PIN, for logging on to your computer. Some browsers will require you to input your computer credentials before allowing you to edit the autofill passwords. Let's start with the browsers.

Edit or remove autofill passwords in Google Chrome

1. Open Google Chrome and left-click on the three (3) vertical dots in the upper right-hand corner.
   
2. From the menu that appears, left-click on Settings.
   
3. On the Settings page, left-click on the Autofill category in the left-hand column.

The Autofill page is divided into Passwords, Payment methods, and Addresses. You can add, edit or remove any or all autofill data stored inside Chrome. If you left-click on Passwords, you will find all of the autofill passwords that have been saved.

It is here that you can configure Chrome to offer to save passwords and automatically sign in to a website or app. If autofill has saved any passwords, they will be listed below, and left-clicking on the Show password button (which looks like an eye) will reveal that password. Depending on your computer's security, you may be prompted for your username and password/PIN.

You will find the More actions button to the right of the Show password button (three vertical dots). If you left-click on it, a context menu appears with the following options; Copy password, Edit password, and Remove.

Edit or remove autofill passwords in Microsoft Edge

1. Open Microsoft Edge and left-click on the three (3) horizontal dots in the upper right-hand corner.
   
2. From the menu that appears, left-click on Settings.
   
3. On the Settings page, left-click on the Profiles category in the left-hand column.

In the right-hand column, there are several sections, but the only ones that contain autofill data are Personal info (name, address, custom fields, etc.), Passwords, and Payment info. Left-click on the Passwords section, and you will find all autofill passwords that have been saved.

It is here that you can configure Edge to offer to save passwords and automatically sign in to a website or app. If autofill has saved any passwords, they will be listed below, and left-clicking on the Show password button (which looks like an eye) will reveal that password. Depending on your computer's security, you may be prompted for your username and password/PIN.

You will find the More actions button to the right of the Show password button (three horizontal dots). If you left-click on it, a context menu appears with the following options; Change, Copy password, Edit, Delete and Ignore health.

Edit or remove autofill passwords in Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Firefox and left-click on the three horizontal bars in the upper-right hand corner.
   
2. From the menu that appears, left-click on Settings.
   
3. From the Settings page, left-click on the Privacy & Security category.

Scroll down the right-hand column, and you will find two (2) sections; Logins and Passwords and Forms and Autofill. Logins and Passwords contain, you guessed it, user credentials. And Forms and Autofill include addresses and credit cards.

Under Logins and Passwords, you will find a button labeled Saved Logins. Left-click on it, and you will find a list in the left-hand column of all the autofill logins that Firefox has saved. Highlight a login in the left-hand column, and the details appear in the right-hand column.

Along the top of the login details are two (2) options; Edit and Remove. Below you will find the username and password. To the right of the password is a view button (which looks like an eye).

Edit or remove autofill passwords in Windows 10 or Windows 11

To edit saved autofill credentials in Windows 10 or Windows 11, you will need to use Credential Manager. It is pretty well hidden, and that is for a reason, as it contains all of your Windows and web credentials. So what are your Windows credentials? Let me explain.

Let's say you have two (2) computers on the same network and set up shared folders. When you set up the network share, Windows prompts you for the username and password for a user of that computer.

If you choose to have Windows save the network credentials, guess where it will get stored, the Credential Manager. This is also where login credentials are stored for accessing FTP sites with File Explorer.

Credential Manager is located in the Control Panel under User Accounts but can be quickly accessed by performing a search.

1. Left-click on the magnifying glass to the right of the Start button to bring up the Search dialog box.
2. In the Search dialog box, type Credential Manager.
3. Left-click on Credential Manager (Control Panel) in the search results.

Or you can access Credential Manager from the Control Panel.

How to get to the Control Panel in Windows 10

How to get to the Control Panel in Windows 11

Once the Credential Manager is open, you will find two (2) types of data that are stored: Web Credentials and Windows Credentials. Before proceeding, it is recommended that you create a backup of your Windows credentials using the Back up Credentials link on that page. Remember that there will be some entries you do not recognize, so only edit credentials you are having problems with.

Would it be nice if you knew when the drive in your computer was starting to fail? That way, you would have time to back it up and replace it. Well, there is, and here is how to check the health of your Windows-based computer drive.

Did you know that there is a system inside every computer drive that monitors health and performance? Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) is a monitoring system built into Hard Disk Drives (HDD) and Solid State Drives (SSD) to detect and report the health of a drive. SMART uses various indicators to determine the reliability of a drive.

When the SMART system anticipates imminent hardware failure, it will alert the operating system. But you can monitor the SMART attributes to determine the health status of a drive. That way, you can take the appropriate actions when you start to see signs of a predictable failure.

Note: As I was writing this article, I checked all the shop workstations and found a drive on one system with a couple of critical SMART attributes to be concerned over. I cloned the failing drive to a new one, and the workstation runs as if nothing happened.

Almost every drive manufacturer makes software for drive performance and health monitoring, and I have included links to several of the more popular vendors at the bottom of this article. Keep in mind that if you have two (2) more drives from different manufacturers, the software used for one brand may not recognize a different brand of drive.

Also, the programs from the drive manufacturers usually lack any detail; it is either healthily or failing. And each manufacturer has different standards to measure drive health and performance. The accurate way to measure drive health is to monitor the separate SMART attributes.

There is a program that does this and will work with SATA, PCIe, NVMe, and USB drives, regardless of the manufacturer. It is called CrystalDiskInfo, and it is free to download, and it can be downloaded as a ZIP file or with an installer.

CrystalDiskInfo is simple to use; just download and install. When you start CrystalDiskInfo, it will display health status, drive specifications, and various SMART attributes from the drive selected. Remember the attributes displayed are specific to the manufacturer and the type of drive (HDD or SSD).

Using CrystalDiskInfo, you can monitor the SMART attributes to determine the status of the health of a drive. That way, you can take the appropriate actions when you start to see signs of a predictable failure.

The properties of a healthy drive inside of CrystalDiskInfo

The properties of a failing drive inside of CrystalDiskInfo

The following is a list of general SMART attributes considered critical and can be used to predict imminent drive failure. Remember that SMART attributes are defined by the manufacturer and can vary from drive to drive.

• Reallocated Sectors Count: The number of bad sectors that have been found and remapped
• Spin Retry Count: The number of spin start attempts to reach full operation. (HDD only)
• End-to-End error / IOEDC: The number of parity errors via the drive cache.
• Reported Uncorrectable Errors: The number of errors that could not be recovered using hardware correction.
• Command Timeout: The number of operations aborted due to timing out. (HDD only)
• Reallocation Event Count: The number of remapping operations.
• Current Pending Sector Count: The number of sectors waiting to be remapped.
• Uncorrectable Sector Count: The number of uncorrectable sector errors.
• Soft Read Error Rate: The amount of uncorrectable software read errors.

The following is a list of software from some of the more prominent manufacturers. Remember that if you have multiple drives from different manufacturers, you may need to download and install the software from each manufacturer.

• Western Digital Dashboard - WD & Sandisk drives
• Seagate Seatools
• Samsung Magician
• ADATA SSD ToolBox

Sources:

Wikipedia "S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology)" July 8th, 2022
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.

We all want to keep our computers running smoothly, but to do that, we need to perform maintenance periodically. So here are five (5) things you can do to keep your Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer running smoothly.

If you are anything like me, you expect your computer always to be running at 100%, ready to work at a moment's notice. And it is possible to get that level of performance, but it does require regular maintenance.

I use all of the procedures outlined in this article on average of once a month, and I will usually perform these tasks at the end of the workday or on the weekend. That way, I minimize the loss of production time.

Check for corrupt system files

This is the first thing I do when I notice a system not running normally. If fact, this is one of the first things we do when a Windows-based computer comes into the shop. With the number of system files Windows uses, file corruption is quite common.

Check Windows 10 system files with System File Checker

How to check and repair system files in Windows 11

Check for drive errors

The next thing I do is check for errors in the file system. Just like scanning for corrupt system files, checking the rest of the files and folders on the drive is essential. A quick check every month is excellent preventative maintenance.

How to check your drive for errors in Windows 10

How to check your drive for errors in Windows 11

Clean up unnecessary Windows folders and files

Now that we have checked for system/file errors on the drive, let's start cleaning up the unnecessary files that accumulate. A couple of different programs built into Windows can do a great job of cleaning up Windows 10 or Windows 11.

Clean up Windows 10 with Disk Cleanup

Clean up your Windows 10 computer using the Storage feature

Clean up Windows 11 with Storage Sense and Disk Cleanup

Clear out your browser cache

Once we clean up all of the miscellaneous Windows files, we need to clean up our browser(s). Internet browsers, like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, use a cache of websites they have visited to speed up browsing.

But the problem is the browsers do not empty the cache automatically, so left unattended, a browser cache can become extremely large. Periodic clearing of your browser cache is highly recommended.

There is a benefit to cleaning out your browser cache; you will be removing any old website data. This can help if you have difficulty logging into a website, as any saved website data will be purged.

How to clean up and reset Google Chrome

How to clean up and reset Mozilla Firefox

How to clean up and reset Microsoft Edge

Defragment and optimize your drive

And finally, after checking for errors and cleaning up files, we need to ensure that the files and folders are in their correct location. If you use the advanced way of running Defrag, you can optimize the boot performance.

How to defragment and optimize your drive in Windows 10

How to defragment and optimize your drive in Windows 11

Have you ever needed to boot Windows 11 into Safe Mode? Or maybe restore Windows 11 using a Restore Point? You can do all these and more with the Advanced Boot Options inside Windows 11.

Many people have never heard of the Advanced Boot Options in Windows 11. The Advanced Boot Options have been inside of Windows for several versions now. In Windows 7 and earlier versions, you could press the F7 key at boot to get to the Advanced Boot Options.

But starting with Windows 8, Microsoft changed how you get to the Advanced Boot Options. You can either get to the Advanced Boot Options inside of Windows 11 or when you log in to Windows 11.

So why would you want or need to get to the Advanced Boot Options? Some features can only be accessed through the Advanced Boot Options, like Safe Mode and UEFI / BIOS Settings.

Note: Accessing some of the features in the Advanced Boot Options may require a username, password, and a BitLocker decryption key. The BitLocker key is saved to your Microsoft account, so you may want to get the key before you attempt to access the Advanced Boot Options.

How to get to the Advanced Boot Options when logged in to Windows 11

1. Left-click on the Start button to bring up the Start menu.
2. In the upper right-hand corner of the Start menu, left-click on All apps.
3. Scroll down the list of programs and left-click on Settings.
4. Left-click on the System category in the left-hand column.
5. Scroll down the right-hand column and left-click on Recovery.
6. Under Advanced startup, left-click on Restart now.

How to get to the Advanced Boot Options when logged out of Windows 11

1. At the login screen, left-click on the Power icon in the lower right-hand corner. This will bring up the power options.
2. Hold down the shift key while you left-click on Restart.

The following is a list of features you can access from the Advanced Boot Options.

• Continue - Exit and continue to Windows 11.
• Use a device - Use a USB drive, network connections, or a Windows recovery disk.
  
• Troubleshoot - Reset your PC or see advanced options.
• Reset this PC - Lets you choose to keep or remove your personal files and then reinstalls Windows.
• Advanced options
  
• Startup Repair - Fix problems that keep Windows from loading.
• Startup Settings - Change Windows startup behavior.
• Command Prompt - Use the Command Prompt to perform advanced troubleshooting.
• Uninstall Updates - Remove recently installed feature or quality updates from your computer.
• UEFI Firmware Settings - Change settings in your computer's BIOS (Basic Input/Output System).
• System Restore - Use a restore point on your computer to restore Windows.
• System Image Recovery - Recover Windows using a system image file.
• Turn off your PC - Turns your computer off.

For more on the Windows 11 Advanced Boot Options, check out our video on YouTube.