It's been over a week since the Windows 7 Beta was released to the public. You've read our initial impressions and even followed our guide to installing the OS using a USB key. So what now? Microsoft's post-Vista Windows experience is more than the obvious Taskbar and user interface updates; there are plenty of hidden features and shortcuts that haven't been advertised. But fear not: we've compiled a list of every known Windows 7 tweak and secret. Follow these 20 tricks to make the most out of this beta and become a Windows 7 power user.

 
Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts
Let's kick off with keyboard shortcuts – the first thing every power user must memorize with working with a new operating system. In Windows 7, we’ve uncovered several new sets of essential time-saving shortcuts that will make your mouse jealous with neglect.

When a user deletes data from computer media, although it is no longer visible to the user, it is not necessarily removed from the computer. Computer forensics is the science of retrieving and chronicling evidence located on a computer's hard drives and other sources of Electronically Stored Information such as floppies, CDs and DVDs, external drives, thumb drives and voice mail servers, so that it can be presented as evidence in a court of law.

The practice of computer forensics includes the use of formal, accepted techniques for collecting, analyzing, and presenting suspect data in court, concentrating on rules of evidence, the legal processes, the integrity and perpetuity of evidence, reporting of facts, and the preparation and presentation of expert testimony.  

The applications of computer forensics require specialized training and techniques and state of the art forensics tools and software to evaluate the potential usefulness of computer data, to retrieve and interpret "hidden" data from computer media, and to provide chain of custody and data accuracy with court-accepted techniques. 

   
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies have used computer forensics experts to investigate crimes such as fraud, murder, terrorism, and child pornography cases for many years. But the advent of PCs (personal computers) used by businesses and individuals in recent years has dramatically increased the volume of criminal acts committed with the use of computers.   
 
In response, the use of computer forensics has expanded to meet the challenges of the private and public sectors, including, but not limited to, cases involving the following criminal acts:  

All over the news, everyone is talking about computer security. With heightened computer hardware and software security on everyone's mind, many people might overlook the problems a simple Word document could cause.

Word "macro" viruses have made the news in recent years, but many people don't realize that attaching a standard virus-free Word document contains more information about its author and the document's history than most people realize -- or are comfortable with.

Take any Word document you've been working on for some time. Click File-->Properties. Click on the various tabs, and you'll notice the kind of information that's available. For instance, you'll see when the document was first created, last modified, and most recently accessed; how often it's been revised and who last edited it.