Everyday Computer Tips

A few tricks our engineers use every day on Windows, Mac, and the browser.

Windows 10 & 11

Win + L: Lock your workstation instantly before stepping away.
Win + Shift + S: Snip any part of your screen straight to the clipboard.
Win + Tab: Open Task View to see every window and virtual desktop at once.
Win + . (period): Open the emoji and symbol picker in any text field.
Win + V: Open clipboard history and paste something you copied earlier. Enable it first under Settings > System > Clipboard.
Ctrl + Shift + Esc: Jump straight to Task Manager, no right-click needed.
Win + Ctrl + Shift + B: Restart your graphics driver if the display freezes or glitches, without rebooting.

Cmd + Space: Spotlight search: launch an app, do quick math, or find a file.
Cmd + Shift + 4: Screenshot a selected area; add Space after to screenshot just one window.
Cmd + Ctrl + Q: Lock your screen instantly.
Three-finger drag: Enable it under Accessibility > Pointer Control to move windows without holding the trackpad down.
Cmd + Option + Esc: Force-quit a frozen application.

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + T: Reopen the last tab you closed by accident. Repeat to reopen more.
Ctrl/Cmd + L: Jump to the address bar from anywhere on the page.
Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N: Open a private/incognito window.
Middle-click a link: Opens it in a new background tab without leaving your place.

Turn on automatic updates for your operating system and browser. Most real-world attacks exploit patches that were available months earlier.
Use a password manager instead of reusing passwords; a breach on one site shouldn't compromise the rest.
Enable two-factor authentication on email first. It's the account attackers use to reset everything else.
Back up important files to at least two places: one local (external drive) and one offsite (cloud).

Running into something these tips don't cover? Give us a call. That's what we're here for.