How to Minimize Skype to the Windows 7 System Tray

Skype has become an invaluable communication tool for me while I’m here at medical school. I use it everyday to talk with my classmates and also with my family and friends back at home. The new beta version of Skype 5.0 for Windows, released yesterday, has some nice features, like importing contacts from Gmail or Facebook and group video chat!

I like to have a clutter free workspace, especially when I am studying. So, when I am not actively using an application but still want it running, I like to have it hidden away from me. That leads me to the main reason of behind this post… I have one major pet peeve with Skype and how it runs in Windows 7, it doesn’t minimize to the system tray by default like it did before in Windows Vista and XP. The icon is always in my taskbar and constantly changes when there is activity with my buddy list.

I looked for a way to fix this, and came across this useful tip from My Digital Life. I’m reposting it here for my own purposes and maybe it’ll help you too.

Hide Skype to the System Tray in Windows 7

1. Open up Skype
2. Goto Tools in the menu and then select Options
3. Click the Advanced tab
4. In the Advanced Settings section, uncheck the box labeled 'Keep Skype in the taskbar while I’m signed in‘
5. Click Save and enjoy!

Now when I close the main Skype window it will minimize to my system tray and not my taskbar… Nice, huh?

How to Start Google Chrome Always In Incognito Mode With Windows 7

I’m a stickler for computer security, I frequently change my passwords, and make sure I always lock my computer when I’m away from it — both physically and with software. My wireless network has the most intense security I can afford and I’ve put up the hardest WPA2 password I can possibly remember.

My computer is always behind a stealth firewall, as well. I know that all these precautions still don’t make me invincible but it is the best I can do. One place where, I’m not too crazy about security is with encrypting my local data, because I’ve noticed it causes a huge performance drop. Oh well, I’m hope that will improve with time.

My attention to security extends out to browser security, which are often expose huge holes in modern day computing. Every few months or so, news comes out that Browser X is more secure than browser Y or that Browser Z has a massive flaw in it, exposing cookies and history to any interested in looking.

I’ve lost track of which browser is more secure than another, but my current browser flame is Google Chrome, as you may already know. I’ve setup Google Chrome to empty my cookies, save passwords, etc. upon exit… I believe I also set it up to erase my browser history too. But it unfortunately, I’ve noticed it doesn’t. Regardless, I always try to browser in Incognito Mode, which is a super secure mode of browsing that sandboxes your information and wipes it out once you close the page even if you didn’t set it up. As I understand it, it is normally meant to be used for isolated scenarios, like when your buddy borrows your laptop and he checks his email or when you are doing some online banking (wink wink).

Almost every modern browser has this privace feature, from Internet Explorer 8, to Firefox and Safari. They almost all brand it differently. Both IE8 and Firefox can be configured, like Chrome to empty out your cookies and history upon exit, as well as surf ‘private mode.’ Unfortunately, I couldn’t figured out a way for any of these modern browsers to always start in this hyper secure private mode… That all changed today, when I came across a post in Lifehacker instructing you just how to start any browser in private mode.

This most certainly sparked my interests, and I wanted to share with you just how to force Google Chrome to start off in Incognito mode every time, if you so wish. I don’t make any promises on this tip giving you total Internet immunity. That is beyond my control.

However, this tip will most likely improve your browsing safety. Furthermore, when you enable this feature, your browser always starts in this mode and Chrome’s extensions will be disabled as a result. So, consider yourself enlightened about that possible side effect!

Editing the Google Chrome shortcut to always start in Incognito Mode

1. If your Google Chrome shortcut is located in your Windows 7 taskbar, right click on the icon
2. Right click again on the ‘Google Chrome‘ item above ‘Unpin this program from the taskbar‘ item in the popup window
3. Click on Properties
4. In the field labeled ‘Target:‘ append the following to the location of your Google Chrome install: --incognito
   • Make sure this goes looks like this: "C:\Users\Kambiz Kamrani\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --incognito
5. Click Apply then OK

If you have another browser of choice, like IE, Opera, Safari, or Firefox, or you would like to see how to do this in other operating systems than Windows 7, like Linux or Mac OS X, make sure you jump to the original link on Download Squad and get your learn on there.

Happy browsing!

Google Chrome Bookmark Sync Error…

Google Chrome is an excellent browser. I love it, it’s light weight and fast, and I appreciate its minimal UI.

I recently installed it on my Windows 7 machine and ran into a frustrating and nondescript error when I was setting up the bookmark sync. The really unfortunate thing is that once it errored out during setup, it always errored out. In other words, it was permanently broken. Chrome offered no way to restart the sync setup.

I searched for a long time to find a fix. Several others,  like I, had also run into this problem and awaited an official solution from Google. I’ve found a solution, but it is by no means official. So, if you can’t wait for Google to get its act together, I am sharing this fix with you. Here’s what you need to do…

1. Close any open Google Chrome windows you have
2. Open up Windows Explorer, you can do this easily by going to your Start Menu and typing ‘Windows Explorer’ in the bottom search bar
3. Navigate to your user folder from the C: drive, in Windows 7, it is normally found in ‘C:\Users\<User Name>‘
4. To that address, append this string: ‘\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default‘ and hit enter
5. Find the folder titled ’SyncData‘ and delete it!
6. Viola! That’s it, you need to restart Google Chrome and goto the Options > Personal Stuff tab and click the Synchronize Bookmarks to set this all back up…

Anyways, I hope this has helped you solve your problem!