Knowledge is Free

The Cleaner 5.2.0.1100 Free Edition

2008-09-25T02:54:00.001-07:00

The Cleaner is a system of programs designed to keep your computer and data safe from Trojans / Worms / Keyloggers / Spyware and all manner of malware. By actively monitoring files and processes on your computer it can detect a virus in action and catch it before it has a chance to do any damage to your valuable data.
If you cruise the internet or send and receive e-mail, you can't afford to be without The Cleaner! Never again worry about e-mails you open, or programs you run - The Cleaner detection system will take care of business so you don't have to!

How The Cleaner Protects Your System ... The Cleaner searches your hard drive and cleans it of all known Trojans. Using a unique patent-pending technology, The Cleaner compares each file against a list of all known Trojans. You can scan your entire system or just one file. The program also allows you to periodically update your Trojan database file to keep it current with the latest research. If you're going to expose your system to the dangers of the internet, keep it clean with The Cleaner!

The Cleaner Pro includes background scanning of all activity in memory; a faster, redesigned scan engine (about 100 files per second); a newer, tougher, Trojan fingerprinting process; scanning inside compressed archives; and a completely redesigned Interface (GUI). Objective tests have shown that The Cleaner blows the competition away, both in speed of scans and in number of Trojans found.

Download : The Cleaner 5.2.0.1100 Free Edition

SpyBot - Search & Destroy 1.6.0.31 Final Update

2008-09-25T02:49:00.002-07:00

Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove a multitude of adware files and modules from your computer. Spybot also can clean program and Web-usage tracks from your system, which is especially useful if you share your computer. Modules chosen for removal can be sent directly to the included file shredder, ensuring complete elimination from your system. For advanced users, it allows you to fix Registry inconsistencies related to adware and to malicious program installations. The handy online-update feature ensures that Spybot always has the most current and complete listings of adware, dialers, and other uninvited system residents.

Download : SpyBot - Search & Destroy 1.6.0.31 Final Update

Yahoo! Messenger v9.0.0.1912 Final

2008-09-25T02:49:00.001-07:00

Yahoo! Messenger is a popular advertisement-supported instant messaging client and associated protocol provided by Yahoo!, that allows you to see when friends come online and to send them instant messages. It also can alert you to new e-mail in your Yahoo Mail or Yahoo Personals accounts, or when you have upcoming events recorded in your Yahoo Calendar. Yahoo Messenger offers firewall support, a standby mode that minimizes the program until an Internet connection is made, the ability to save and print your conversations, and a tabbed interface that provides quick access to your favorite stocks, news, and sports scores. Yahoo! also offers PC-PC, PC-Phone and Phone-to-PC service, file transfers, webcam hosting, text messaging service, and chat rooms in various categories.
Yahoo! Messenger is provided free of charge and can be downloaded and used with a generic "Yahoo! ID" which also allows access to other Yahoo! services, such as Yahoo! Mail, where users can be automatically notified when they receive new email.

Other features include the ability to create a chat room automatically, stock price alerts, the ability to send messages to friends (even if they're not online when you are), a Quick Compact mode that hides the Messenger tools to maximize your viewing area, Messenger Themes, and voice chat, which allows you to talk for free to anybody else on the Internet. It also includes Launchcast Radio, Yahoo Games, and Yahoo Audibles. Using a Webcam, you can see who you're chatting with or view the Webcam of any Yahoo member who has granted you access.

Download : Yahoo! Messenger v9.0.0.1912 Final

Which Programs Should I Run To Scan A Computer For Malicious Software?

2008-09-19T02:55:00.001-07:00

The amount of security applications for the end user has reached a point where the choice is adding to the insecurity and confusion of the user. So called experts all have their set of tools that they recommend for certain situations but it can happen that you get a set of totally different applications for the same task when asking two advanced users.

To give an example. Should a user run Ad-Aware, Spybot Search And Destroy, Spyware Terminator or one of the other dozen or so anti-spyware applications that can be used freely for personal non-commercial use.

To much choice can be confusing and this article tries to narrow down the list to security applications that are recommended most of the time. Some users will disagree with the choices and they have every right to do so. You can rest assured on the other hand that the selection of tools should be sufficient to scan a computer system thoroughly

Anti-Spyware:

Spyware usually refers to malicious software that tries to spy on the user or serve advertisement to him. This can be done with tracking cookies, changing the user's homepage or showing popups from time to time.

Spybot Search And Destroy - Spybot Search and Destroy is updated regularly and does not confuse the user with different versions like Ad-Aware does with Ad-Aware Free, Plus and Pro.
Spyware Terminator - A tool that has been downloaded more than 17 million times should do a good job. Spyware Terminator is fast and efficient.

Anti-Virus:

Anti-virus applications create probably the most controversy. There is so much choice of free and commercial applications that makes it nearly impossible to make a decision. The applications protect the computer in realtime and can scan the computer thoroughly.

AVG Anti-Virus - A classic anti-virus software that provides protection against viruses, rootkits and spyware.
Free AV - Antivir protects the computer against viruses, rootkits, dialers and phising.

Rootkits:

Rootkits have been gaining popularity in the last years and one could say that Sony did not have a small part in raising the public's perception of rootkits with their music CDs that contained a rootkit in order to prevent customers from copying the music.

Rootkit Unhooker - a portable rootkit scanner with a size of under 100 Kilobyte.
Gmer - is another tool to scan the computer for rootkits.

Write Protect (Read only) Your USB Drive with USB Write Protector

2008-09-15T03:00:00.001-07:00

There may be cases where we may want to connect our USB flash / pen drive to computers only for reading the data from it. If the host computer in which you plug your USB drive may be infected and may infect your USB flash drive. If the USB drive is only being connected for data reading purposes then it makes sense to make them write protected (read only) so that the Viruses won't be able to infect the drive.

Certain USB flash / pen drives come with write protector switch in them, using which you can write protect the USB flash / pen drive or make them read only drives. If the write protect feature is missing in the USB flash / pen drive then you can use USB Write Protector utility.

USB Write Protector is a free utility that allows you make write protect your USB flash / pen drives. This is a very small utility that you can always carry with you in your portable drive.

Note: This utility does not make your USB drive write protected rather it makes the host computer on which this utility is run unable to write to removable storage media like USB flash drives.

Download USB Write Protector

Google Chrome Now Available

2008-09-03T21:22:00.001-07:00

The new browser by Google called Google Chrome is now available for download in various languages on the Google Chrome website. The installation file has a size of 474 Kilobytes on Windows XP and downloads additional components during installation. The first thing that users will realize after starting Google Chrome is that it will import bookmarks from Firefox and Internet Explorer blazingly fast. It took no longer than a second to import all of my Firefox bookmarks into Google Chrome including the saved passwords, browsing history and search engines.

If you remember the comic that introduced Google Chrome or the article on Ghacks or at other websites you might remember that Google Chrome uses tabs that are independent from each other. If you analyze the computer memory usage of the browser you need to check all instances of chrome.exe that are visible in the Windows Task Manager which is one instance of chrome.exe for the browser itself and another instance for every open tab that displays a website on the Internet. The interesting fact about this method is that the browser will never use more memory than it needs and that the memory will be cleared completely when the user closes a tab. This principle works extremely well during the tests.

Websites are loading faster than in other browsers which can be attributed to the new Javascript rendering engine and the browser engine. Everything about Google Chrome feels faster than in the other browsers.

Speed is one of the major factors of each browser but what about other features and compatibility? Google Chrome is displaying all websites that I tested perfectly fine. I went to flash video game websites, blogs, websites from corporations and some social news websites and everything seemed to display correctly.

The new tab feature which displays the most visited websites plus the last closed websites plus the last websites that have been added to the favorites and a search function works extremely well and is time saving most of the time.

The Google Chrome Task Manager was another feature that sounded pretty exciting. It displays a Task Manager that is displaying the memory usage, cpu and network stats for the browser, all open tabs and plugins. This makes it easy to identify a process that is using lots of memory and end it right away in the interface. It also contains a Stats For Nerds link which opens the about:memory configuration in the browser which displays detailed statistics about the memory usage.

Google Chrome basically uses the same keyboard shortcuts that all browser share. CTRL T opens a new tab, CTRL N a new windows and so on. The Task Manager can be opened with SHIFT Escape. There is a handy shortcut to perform a search on the default search engine. Pressing CTRL E puts a "?" in the address bar and a search will be loaded for the phrase that the user enters afterwards. This is focusing the address bar automatically. CTRL Shift N opens a window in incognito mode, the mode where no data is saved on the computer.

The Google Chrome beta version is impressive. It lacks a few features that are very important to users like an adblocker or the option to disable scripts but it's pretty good for a beta version. The part of the url that starts behind the domain extension is not that readable, some options to change those colors would be welcome.

The browser is showing lots of promise already. It would be nice if Google Chrome would offer more options to customize the interface and settings.

Google Chrome Now Available

JkDefrag 3.36

2008-09-01T21:09:00.001-07:00

Free (released under the GNU General Public License) disk defragment and optimize utility for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista/X64. Completely automatic and very easy to use, fast, low overhead, with two optimization strategies, and can handle floppies and USB disks/sticks. Included are a Windows version, a commandline version (for scheduling by the task scheduler or for use from administrator scripts), a screensaver version, a DLL library (for use from programming languages), and versions for Windows X64.

Download : JkDefrag v3.36 (Freeware)

How to open a word document when you don’t have Microsoft Word installed

2008-08-31T22:20:00.001-07:00

You may think that there is no way out to read a word document with out Microsoft Office Word installed on your machine.

It happens some time when you may land up using a fresh new windows system where Microsoft office is not installed, mostly it could happen when you have just formatted your windows partition and installed a fresh copy of windows on it.

Microsoft itself come up with a solution by releasing free Viewer for Microsoft Word Documents

With the help of Word Viewer you can view, copy and print Microsoft Word Documents, even if you don't have Microsoft Word installed.

Microsoft Word Viewer is a replacement for Microsoft Word 2003 and all previous versions of Microsoft Word.

Download Microsoft Word Viewer

System Administrators need Black Coffee

2008-08-31T20:33:00.001-07:00

Black Coffee is a lightweight tool for system administrators to tweak settings in Windows. It was specifically designed to aid system administrators in modifying user and local administrator windows settings.

The software program can be run by system administrators and users of the system. The users can only look at the settings though but do not have possibilities to change them. The program is divided into the three main categories Computer, Current User and IE.

Most of the program consists of checkboxes that enable or disable certain options. The computer category contains a few interesting options like disabling the ability to shutdown Windows, disabling Windows hotkeys or always install applications with elevated privileges.

The tool for system administrators and advanced users is compatible to all Windows NT operating systems from Windows 2000 to Windows Vista.

Black Coffee certainly offers some nice helpful settings especially if you consider that it currently is offered in versio 0.2 beta. One to look out for.

System Administrators need Black Coffee

Nokia PC Suite 7.0 Release 7 Final

2008-08-11T01:13:00.001-07:00

Nokia PC Suite is a package of Windows-based PC applications developed especially for use with Nokia phones. Depending on your phone model, Nokia PC Suite lets you edit, synchronize and back up many of your phone's files on a compatible PC through a cable or wireless connection.

Key features :
· Automatic, secure data, information, pictures, and music transfer from phone to phone or phone to PC
· Fast, easy connection to the Internet
· Connect wirelessly or via cable
· Connect by using your phone as a modem
· Manage messages, contacts, images, and music
· Synchronize your phone and PC calendars
· Install Java™-based applications in your phone
· Convert ringing tone formats
· Play multimedia messages and videos
· Send text messages from the PC
· Back up and restore phone files

Download : Nokia PC Suite 7.0 Release 7 Final

Free file format conversion tool

2008-08-07T11:31:00.001-07:00

Formats, formats, formats…. We're awash in multimedia content: images, audio, video. Do you have the right tools to deal with all of the different file formats? In other words, if you download "X", can you look at it, listen to it, or play it? How about putting it on your iPod, iPhone, or PSP? Not necessarily—you may need to convert that file to a different format.

Format Factory is a free media converter that can convert just about anything into just about anything else. Along with file conversions, the authors say that you can use this tool to repair broken audio and video files, as well as reducing their sizes. You can also tweak picture files, flipping and rotating images. Ripping DVDs for backup or archival purposes is supported too.

The authors are working to make this tool available to as many folks as possible. It is currently available in over a dozen languages, but if you're fluent in one that they haven't localized for yet, they're eager for you to give them a hand with that as well.

Format Factory is a Windows application.

Download Format Factory

Filter Phishing and Porn Sites and Surf the Web Faster using OpenDNS

2008-08-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

If you are sick of installing third-party software and extensions to block all phishing and porn sites then OpenDNS might be the best solution for you.

OpenDNS is world's largest, free and fastest-growing DNS service provider. Apart from providing custom filters to block phishing and porn sites, it also provides a fast DNS service which makes your Internet connection faster by considerably reducing the latency.

Once OpenDNS is enabled on your network, all requests leading to any porn or phishing site are automatically blocked and instead redirected to an OpenDNS page.

Some of the best features of OpenDNS are parental controls, domain blocking, fast DNS, content filtering and customization.

Using the OpenDNS dashboard, a network administrator can set the filtering level ranging from High to Minimal.

To enable OpenDNS on your PC or network, follow the instructions for your operating system.

More settings and options can be configured by logging in to your OpenDNS dashboard.

Universal Share Downloader is a download manager specifically made for rapidshare and megaupload

2008-08-05T03:15:00.001-07:00

It allows you to download many files in batch sequence without having to go trough the pain of going to the download page of rapidshare and megaupload.

Review:

Today i bring something different, universal share downloader is a download manger for the file sharing sites rapidshare and megaupload that annoy you with their download tickets, stupid CAPTCHAs and stuff like that. You can paste several links of files and USD will automatically download them all in sequence without you having to move a finger, handy right? also this program contains useful options like sutting down the PC after all downloads are complete and a scheduler.
By the way after you have downloaded universal share downloader from the link below go to the options screen (F10) and go the update section and click update now, this will update the program itself along with the plugins installed, this is very important since the program only worked right after i did that step.
In conclusion if you want an easier way to download stuff from rapidshare and megaupload use universal share downloader. Available for all versions of Windows.

Get it at

Official webpage (its in russian) http://dimonius.ru/

Debian GNU Linux 4.0 r4

2008-07-28T18:54:00.001-07:00

The Debian Project is an association of individuals who have made common cause to create a free operating system. This operating system is called Debian GNU/Linux, or simply Debian for short. Debian systems currently use the Linux kernel. Linux is a completely free piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. Of course, the thing that people want is application software: programs to help them get what they want to do done, from editing documents to running a business to playing games to writing more software. Debian comes with over 8000 packages (precompiled software that is bundled up in a nice format for easy installation on your machine) - all of it free. It's a bit like a tower. At the base is the kernel. On top of that are all the basic tools. Next is all the software that you run on the computer. At the top of the tower is Debian -- carefully organizing and fitting everything so it all works together.

Download : Debian GNU Linux 4.0 r4

Manage Your iPod Content With Floola

2008-07-28T18:45:00.003-07:00

Floola is a freeware application that lets you efficiently manage your iPod or your Motorola mobile phone (any model supporting iTunes).

It's a standalone application that can be run directly from your iPod and needs no installation under Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.

Floola supports all common iPod features used i.e photos, artwork, podcasts and smart playlists! It automatically converts any incompatible audio or video file so that you can copy almost any file to it. It even allows adding YouTube and MySpace videos with a single click!

Download

Download Floola

Mx One: Free USB Flash Drive Antivirus

2008-07-28T18:45:00.001-07:00

We all know that USB flash or pen drives are one of the most useful portable storage devices, and they help carry data from one place to the other. But since they are attached to different computers, you never know if the other PC is virus-free. These USB drives have become the most common source of how a PC gets infected with virus. To get rid of this, you need a good antivirus for your USB drive that scans every file being transferred to it.

Mx One is one such free antivirus that is designed to protect your storage devices, like USB drives, iPod, SD, microSD etc. You can install it on your PC as well as on your USB drive so that you remain protected when connected to an infected computer. It automatically detects all the storage devices that are connected to the system and neutralize potential security threats.

This antivirus is very simple to use and is compatible with antiviruses like NOD32, Kaspersky, BitDefender, AVG, Norton, Panda etc. It is completely free to use and comes in a very small file size of 1 MB.

Download

Download Mx One Antivirus

Windows Search 4.0

2008-07-23T05:15:00.001-07:00

Microsoft released a new version of Windows Search on Windows Update and made it a recommended update for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and 2008 users. Windows Search 4.0 introduces a wealth of new features and improvements over the previous version including the automatic indexing of shared folders, improvements in indexing online e-mail as well as in the performance and stability of the indexer.

Windows Search is basically a desktop search application much like Google's Desktop Search. It builds an index of the files - and other information like emails - on the system after installation which takes some time depending on the size of the hard disks and the amount of files stored on them. Some users reported indexing times of several hours in previous versions of Windows Search.

It does take this long because Windows Search does not only index file names and attributes but also file contents for selected files including most text formats like Word and HTML documents but also media files like images and video formats.

Free Media Shortcut Tool

2008-07-23T05:07:00.001-07:00

You're a pretty savvy guy (or gal). You've got the latest gizmos, and you're not afraid to use them. You don't carry your laptop with you everywhere you go—you just grab your USB drive and use that to shuttle data from here to there. You're on top of the world.

Until you come back home. Take that thumb drive, plug it into your desktop or laptop system, and then start looking. Where the heck is it? You've got to fire up Windows Explorer and then start hunting for that drive. Not if you use Desk Drive.

Desk Drive is a cool little application that puts an icon on your desktop that automatically points to your portable drive. Plug the drive in, and the icon appears; eject the drive, and the icon goes away. You can also use it with other removable media like CD-ROMs, or even network drives, so you'll always have a clear indication as to which devices are mounted, and you'll be able to get to them pronto, without having to dig through Explorer.

Desk Drive is a free Windows application. It requires WinXP or later, and requires version 2.0 of the .NET Framework.

Download Desk Drive

Choose a new logon screen with Logon Loader

2008-07-23T05:00:00.001-07:00

Are you easily bored? Need some excitement in your life? Today's download may not provide all that, but it is interesting nevertheless.

Logon Loader is a little tool that lets you change your XP login screen. Go ahead and pick a specific screen. Or live dangerously and let Logon Loader choose a random screen for you from among your favorites. Either way, you don't have to look at the same old same old. You can even preview your screens before you use them.

Logon Loader is a Windows application. You need to be running at least Windows XP to use it.

Download Logon Loader

Mozilla Firefox 3.0.1

2008-07-16T21:03:00.001-07:00

Mozilla Firefox - faster, more secure, easier to use and sporting a new look, this latest Firefox release sets a new standard for web browser innovation. Mozilla Firefox project (formerly Firebird, which was formerly Phoenix) is a redesign of Mozilla's browser component, written using the XUL user interface language and designed to be cross-platform. It is small, fast and easy to use, and offers many advantages over other web browsers, such as the tabbed browsing and the ability to block pop-up windows.

Download : Mozilla Firefox 3.0.1

Find stuff in your computer quickly with Copernic Desktop Search

2008-07-15T19:20:00.001-07:00

Overview:

Copernic desktop search is a desktop search utility for Windows.

Features:

Find any file on your computer

* Instantly find Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, HTML, Word Perfect, text, ZIP files.

* Quickly locate emails or attachments from Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora and Mozilla Thunderbird.

* Search for over 150 other types of files like MP3, JPG, WAV, MPEG.

* Power your search with specific refining fields or advanced search operators.

Results and beyond

* Instantly preview filtered matching results.

* Use dynamic word-find buttons to trace keywords in document previews.

* Quickly find search keywords: auto-scroll to first occurrence and highlighted keywords.

* Easily sort and group search results.

* Act on result: open folders or files, open, reply or forward emails, etc.

Copernic's usability expertise

* Search the Web or your computer from the same lightweight, intuitive interface.

* Use convenient toolbars: deskbar and browser toolbar.

* Stay informed with RSS feeds delivered straight to your ticker Internet Explorer browser only.

* Speed up your access to Web and desktop searching with useful keyboard shortcuts.

Take control of your search experience

* Choose file and email folders to index.

* Control your computer resources usage when indexing documents.

* Specify additional file types to index.

* Benefit from automatic, unnoticed real-time indexing of new/updated files and emails.

* Selectively suspend the indexing process when a laptop runs on battery power.

Review:

If you are anything like me you probably keep all your computer files all over the place, this is is bad when you are trying to look for a specific file and can´t find it because you don´t remember where you put it in. now you could spend hours looking for that file or simply use copernic desktop search, this program will scan your hard drives for files and will index them for easy searching. By default copernic desktop search will only index your files when your computer is idle but that is annoying so i suggest you uncheck that option in the preference screen and only leave the "suspend indexing while computer resources are highly used" option, this way the indexing will go much faster like in my case. You can put a highly useful search bar right in the Windows taskbar which can be used for quick searches, also copernic desktop search doesn´t take many resources , in my experience it only used like 6 to 7 MB with the search bar in the taskbar which is great. Finally i would like to say that this program was able to index all of the files in "my documents" folder and desktop well and was able to detect new files quickly which is truly awesome if you ask me.
In conclusion if you want a lightweight, fast and efficient desktop searching tool i suggest you use Copernic Desktop Search. Available for all versions of Windows.

http://download3.copernic.com/copernicdesktopsearch2.exe

View Open TCP/IP Ports & Connections with CurrPorts

2008-07-15T10:11:00.001-07:00

Ever wanted to view list of currently opened TCP/IP and UDP ports on your computer with relative ease? CurrPorts, a small utility reveal all the detailed information regarding currently opened TCP/IP ports.

For each port in the list, information about the process that opened the port is also displayed, including the process name, full path of the process, version information of the process (product name, file description, and so on), the time that the process was created and the user that created it.

It also allows you to close unwanted TCP connections, kill the process that opened the ports, and save the TCP/UDP ports information to HTML file , XML file, or to tab-delimited text file. CurrPorts also automatically mark with pink color suspicious TCP/UDP ports owned by unidentified applications.

Download CurrPorts, a standalone executable utility that does not require any installation process or additional DLLs. It works under Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, And Windows Vista.

Smart Data Recovery Enterprise

2008-07-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

Smart Data Recovery Enterprise is despite the Enterprise part of the name a free

product that can recover data remotely over a network. Enterprise hints at the primary application for the data recovery software although I'm a little bit unsure if large companies would rely on free software to recover sensible data.

The software can scan remote drives for deleted files, preview those deleted files and eventually recover them. There is obviously the need for a direct connection between the client's computer and the admin which is utilized by a TCP/IP network connection. A software is running on the client computer that initiates the connection to the admin computer. That connection can be initiated manually or automatically.

Once the connection is established the administrator can use a graphical user interface to scan the local hard drives. A filter can be configured to find only files that match the pattern.

The remote hard drive is then scanned for deleted files. Everything that gets found will be listed in an Explorer like window. The directory structure is shown in the left pane while the right pane contains the files that have been found.

Information about the files are shown as well, most notable the size of the file and an estimation about the chance of recovering the file. Another handy feature is the Wipe button that seems to remove the deleted files permanently from the hard drive. I was not able to find out which algorithm, if any, is used to do that though.

Smart Data Recovery Enterprise

2008-07-14T16:15:00.001-07:00

Smart Data Recovery Enterprise is despite the Enterprise part of the name a free product that can recover data remotely over a network. Enterprise hints at the primary application for the data recovery software although I'm a little bit unsure if large companies would rely on free software to recover sensible data.

Once the connection is established the administrator can use a graphical user interface to scan the local hard drives. A filter can be configured to find only files that match the pattern.

Password Exporter will export and import all your firefox passwords

2008-07-13T21:22:00.001-07:00

Overview:

This extension allows you to export your saved passwords and disabled login hosts using XML or CSV files that can be imported in another browser or computer.

Review:

Password exporter can save you lots of time when going from computer to computer or when you reinstall firefox since it can export and then import your saved password. I used this extension as a quick and easy way to have my firefox 2 passwords when i made the switch to firefox 3, it was quick and painless tough remember to check the "encrypt username/password" (this is to prevent causal user like your mom to gain access to your info, in no way it will stop very advanced users from getting your passwords) and erase the password file after you have imported your password so that no bad people get a hold of your personal information, they can import that file themselfs you know. Password exporter is a quick and easy way to export and import your password easily but is in no way secure, use extreme caution if you are going to use this extension okay? Available for firefox 2.0 - 3.0*

Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2848

Create hidden, encrypted partition on USB drive

2008-07-13T21:08:00.001-07:00

USB drives are pretty cool. You can take all that data and stick it in your pocket and walk away. That's handy if it's your drive and your data. That's not so handy if it's in somebody else's pocket.

Rohos Mini Drive is a tool that creates a hidden, encrypted partition on your thumb drive. The partition is totally hidden until you enter the correct password. You don't need to be an admin for the machine, you just need to know the password to open, read, and write from this hidden volume. As far as Windows is concerned, it's a real drive, but once you log out, it goes away and doesn't give any indication that there's more data on the drive than meets the eye. Now if the unthinkable happens and somebody walks off with your data—or you just drop it, leave it plugged into the machine, or any of a hundred other nasty scenarios—all is not lost, and you don't have to go join the Foreign Legion.

Rohos Mini Drive is a free Windows application. To use it, you'll (obviously) also need a USB drive.

Download Rohos Mini Drive

Remove Startup Applications Using AutoRuns

2008-07-13T21:06:00.001-07:00

There are many applications which when installed run automatically at the startup and runs in the background even you are not using them. Thus, they use your RAM and slow down your PC.

When you login to your computer, first you have to wait for at least 5 minutes before all startup programs load and you start using your Windows. AutoRuns is such a freeware that has comprehensive knowledge of all the places in Windows where startup programs and processes are stored.

AutoRuns shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Services, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. It also displays a list of Services, Scheduled Tasks, Winsock Providers, Internet Explorer BHOs and more - each of them can also be enabled/disabled.

Download

Download AutoRuns 9.21

Reduce Image Attachment Size with Shrink Pic

2008-07-12T19:52:00.001-07:00

Many time when we want to sent large images as attachments, we first need to reduce the image size using image editor or else upload the image to free hosting sites and then sent the download link. Not anymore, here is a simple freeware, Shrink Pic, which can do the job of resizing images on the fly.

There are 3 levels of compression, High, Medium and low and also custom level compression. Once you install Shrink Pic, it automatically detects when you're sending large photo files and compresses them in the background. It has a taskbar icon which tells you it's waiting for photos to be sent. When it detects that you re sending a large photo, it automatically creates a temporary file and then compresses the copy and sends it instead of the original image. The original image is never altered.

Shrink Pic can be used when emailing images, it automatically detects images from Outlook Express and also with webmail, such as Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo! mail and others.

It can also be used while uploading images to web galleries or blogs and also sending images through Skype and Windows Messenger. You can upload photos using Internet Explorer, Firefox or Opera. Shrink Pic will detect these uploads and automatically shrink and compresses those photos for you. You can check the complete list of supported platforms here.

Download Shrink Pic

Opera 9.51 Build 10081 Final

2008-07-11T20:58:00.001-07:00

The most full-featured Internet power tool on the market, Opera includes pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, integrated searches, and advanced functions like Opera's groundbreaking E-mail program, RSS Newsfeeds and IRC chat. And because we know that our users have different needs, you can customize the look and content of your Opera browser with a few clicks of the mouse.

Changes in Opera 9.51 Build 10081:
* Fixed proper clearing of textarea when no-cache is set.
* Fixed a crash on print preview.
* Saving of images is not recorded in transfers anymore.
* Fixed window.close() not functioning after invoking context menu… (this also fixes closing Dragonfly…)

Download : Opera 9.51 Build 10081 Final

Passpack - Secure online password manager

2008-07-11T18:58:00.001-07:00

PassPack is a free online privacy and password manager. Think of it as a password manager, automatic login, personal vault, and peace of mind. With PassPack you can quickly login to Web sites, as well as organize and store logins, and private notes. Passpack Desktop offers 24/7 access - online, offline or even synchronized with Passpack.com accounts. Passpack Desktop will enable you to keep your personal passwords protected from prying eyes.

Features:

· Anti-Phishing Welcome Message
· 1 Click Auto-login
· Rapid Sign In with "remember me"
· Import, Export, Backup and Restore
· Save up to 100 Entries
· Pack, Lock and Auto-save When Inactive
· Tags, Search and Alphabetical Order Paging
· Favorites
· Undo
· Easy Entry Window
· Password Generator
· Hidden Password Field
· Password Quality Tester
· US Gov't Approved, AES-256 encryption
· Host-Proof Hosting over HTTPS
· Two step login
· Non-Permanent Account Info
· Strong Pass-phrases
· Disposable Logins.

Online Virus Scanners

2008-07-11T10:25:00.001-07:00

Scanning the computer from an online location provides several advantages over the classic local scan. The most prominent one is that the risk of a virus infection of the virus scanner is not present and that the engine used by the scanner is usually up to date. A local virus scanner needs to be updated regularly to stay effective.

An Internet connection is needed on the other hand to perform the scan which sometimes can be a problem if the system is not booting into the operating system. A Live CD could help but many Online Virus Scanners demand the Internet Explorer which is obviously unavailable on Linux systems.

Online Virus Scanners can be used to get a "second opinion" without having to install another anti-virus software on the computer. It is probably a good idea to use as many of the virus scanners as possible if it is suspected that the system was infected by a virus. Below is a list of services that provide access to online virus scanners.

Bitdefender Online Scanner - requires Internet Explorer 4+

Eset Online Scanner - requires Internet Explorer

F-Secure Online Scanner - works only with Internet Explorer 6+

Kaspersky Free Virus Scan - browser independent, downloads roughly 25 Megabytes of files prior to scanning. User can select locations to scan. The scanner does not remove infected files.

McAfee FreeScan - requires Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5+

Microsoft OneCare Live - requires Internet Explorer.

Panda ActiveScan - requires Internet Explorer or Firefox, does not run in Opera.

Shields Up! - browser independent but very slow and unresponsive currently.

Symantec Security Check - down or gone.

Trendsecure HouseCall - Java based scanner, works with Java compatible browsers.

Windows Security - Trojan scan that requires Internet Explorer 5+

File Scanners:

Avast Online Scanner - file size limit of 512 Kilobyte

Virus Scan - file size limit of 10 Megabyte.

Virus Total - email upload option, 10 Megabyte file size limit.

Hotspot Shield 1.05

2008-07-11T10:23:00.001-07:00

Reliable Wi-Fi Security, 100% Security Through a VPN
Sure, public Wi-Fi hotspots are great. After all, what would life be without checking your email each morning at your favorite café?
But while you're enjoying your latte and a bagel, some hacker might be accessing your passwords, credit card numbers, sensitive company data and much more. And standard antivirus software won't protect you. That's why AnchorFree is pleased to offer Hotspot Shield. This free security software keeps your Internet connection secure at public hotspots, home or work.

Hotspot Shield creates a virtual private network (VPN) between your laptop and the wireless router. This impenetrable tunnel prevents snoopers and hackers from viewing your email, instant messages, credit card information or anything else you send over a wireless network. Which means you remain anonymous and protect your privacy. Hotspot Shield security software is free to download, employs the latest VPN technology, and is easy to install and use.

Download : Hotspot Shield 1.05

Network Administration

2008-07-11T10:20:00.001-07:00

IT System Inventory and Monitoring
Spiceworks 3.0 - Windows based. Smooth graphics, easy to use, great support.
Open-Audit - Windows or Linux based. Great because you can easily customize it, and it can do some things Spiceworks cannot...namely adding custom software entries based upon your own criteria.

Remote Desktop/Control
Royal TS - Support for RDP only, but is VERY fast and easy to use. This is very well put together.
Terminals - Features support for RDP, VNC, ICA, Telnet, SSH, VMRC and RAS! This one is gaining favor with me :)
Logmein - Remote control any PC over the Internet without remote prompting
Crossloop - Easily remote control a non-technical user's computer by installing a single app and having them share their remote access code.

TCP/IP Tools
SoftPerfect Network Scanner - Scan a subnet, IP range, or a single IP for details about ping stats, open shares, printers, open ports, SNMP info, etc. Also features an easy right-click ability to connect to the PC via HTTP, telnet or Windows Explorer.
WireShark - Packet sniffer/monitor/network protocol analyzer
Putty - secure telnet to your network devices. Customizable and small.
IReasoning MIB Browser - Use this to browse the various SNMP properties of your network devices. Great if you are trying to figure out that OID for monitoring purposes.

Random network tools
Net Tools - a HUGE collection of a variety of network tools...whois, finger, encrypt files, password generator...the list goes on, and on, and on... :)

Productivity
Synergy - Seamlessly work on two computers at once with one keyboard and mouse.

File transfer/FTP
Filezilla - Constantly improved FTP program, easy to use, more features than some paid programs. Features a server program as well.
WinSCP - Also easy to use, WinSCP features a couple additional secure-transfer options that FileZilla does not.

Active Directory/Windows Networking
AD Explorer - Quickly browse and view or edit your AD LDAP structure.
ADRestore - Undelete tombstoned AD objects.
ShareEnum - Quickly export file/folder permissions with little work on your part.
SpecOps GPUpdate - A plugin to your ADUC, you can right-click a single or set of multiple computers to restart, logoff, shutdown, or force the computer to re-pull applicaple group policies.
Netwrix Inactive Users Tracker - List users that haven't logged on for x days, email a report.

Text editor
PSPad - Syntax highlighting, endless features, HTML cleanup and much more.

Other tools
Microsoft Scriptomatic 2.0 - Get WMI information from remote or local computers...a must have if you write VBScript, JScript, or Perl based system administration scripts.
Universal Extractor - Extract contents from just about any kind of file, setup executables, Zip/Rar (and others)...very handy!
AutoIT - VERY quickly and easily write automation scripts, small programs and routines. Lots of built-in macros.
Spotlight on Windows - View a dashboard of system-specific info, complete with red/yellow/green highlights to help you drill down to problem areas quickly.

Apple iTunes 7.7.0

2008-07-10T06:51:00.001-07:00

iTunes lets you create your own personal digital music library, allowing you to manage and play your music collection with drag-and-drop simplicity. iTunes, the software part of the equation that lets you pack 7,500 songs in your pocket, automatically synchronizes with the sensational new iPod at high speeds over FireWire. iTunes gives you the ability to generate dynamic Smart Playlists that reflect your preferences and listening habits. With iTunes itвЂ™s easy to create CDs that play back on in your car, your home stereo, Macs and on Windows-based PCs. iTunes 4 adds the ability to share music among your Macs, play and encode AAC files, and view album art.

Download : iTunes 7.7.0

Move Windows XP Hard Drive or Change Motherboard Without Getting Blue Screen of Death

2008-07-09T20:02:00.001-07:00

One feature that I like in Windows 98 is I can simply take out a hard drive that has Windows 98 installed and connect it to another computer. When I boot it up, it'll start to detect and install all device drivers again. Unlike Windows XP, when you change the motherboard or move your hard drive that has Windows XP installed to another computer, be prepared to get endless looping reboots or the famous blue screen of death (BSOD).

After nearly 7 years since the release of Windows XP, today only I learn how to move a Windows XP hard drive to another computer without getting blue screen. I found a solution on how to do this few months ago but I've never tried it. Yesterday night I had a little time so I decided to test on it and it works! It's never too late to learn…

What I did was I made a full backup of my laptop's hard drive using Macrium Reflect and then I restored it to my desktop. Since both my laptop and desktop hardware is totally different, I know for sure that my desktop will not be able to boot up properly. True enough, my desktop was not able to boot in to Windows and all I got was a endless restart. I can't even boot in to Safe Mode.

There are two ways to do it.

a) Before moving the hard drive
1. Go to Control Panel and open System
2. Click Hardware tab and click Device Manager button.
3. Expand IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers by clicking the + sign.
4. Right click on the FIRST controller on the list and select Update Driver.

5. Select No, not this time when asked "Can Windows connect to Windows Update to search for software?" and click Next.
6. Select Install from a list or specific location (Advanced) and click Next.
7. Select Don't search. I will choose the driver to install and click Next.
8. Select Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller and click Next.

9. Click No when ask to restart. Now shutdown the computer, remove the hard drive and install it on another computer.

b) After moving the hard drive
1. Download latest UBCD4Win and install.
2. Launch UBCD4Win from Desktop or Start Menu.
3. Insert original Windows XP CD to CD/DVD ROM and select the source. To confirm that the source is correct, click on Source from the menu bar and select Check.
4. If your computer can burn CDs, select Burn to CD/DVD and click Build button. If can't, select Create ISO image and once it has complete creating the ISO image, copy it to a computer that can burn CDs and burn it.
5. Boot up the computer with UBCD4Win. You need to go BIOS to change the boot sequence if your computer can't boot up the computer with CD.
6. Select Launch "The Ultimate Boot CD for Windows" from the UBCD4Win menu and wait for it to load. You can select No when asked to start network support.
7. Click Start > Programs > Registry Tools > Fix_hdc > Fix hard disk controller

8. Hit the M key on your keyboard to select Update MassStorage drivers.

9. When it's finished, press any key to continue and restart the computer.

Good luck and hope that you are able to move Windows XP hard drive to another computer with either of the methods above.

FruitfulTime TaskManager 2.

2008-07-08T19:11:00.001-07:00

Remembering tasks is a pretty hard job and we might end up forgetting some important things and the consequences could be drastic. The best way to remember and manage tasks is to have a to-do list. FruitfulTime TaskManager is a feature rich to-do list software. FruitfulTime TaskManager will help you to manage your tasks and to do list efficiently and effectively.

Features of FruitfulTime Task Manager;

Manage your to do list easily and quickly.
Create / edit / delete tasks.
Tasks can be split into smaller manageable subtasks like paying telephone bill can be split to paying landline bill and paying mobile phone bill.
Monitor the progress on each task / subtask.
Assigning tasks to different contacts.
Set the priority for each task.
Set up reminders for tasks
Assign tags to tasks
Password protect your tasks such that only you will be able to edit and view it.
Carry your task list with you anywhere if you install FruitfulTime TaskManager on a USB pen drive.

The priorities can be set for each task as High, Medium and low. High Priority tasks are marked as Red.

When you add a task, you can set reminders for the task, so that you get notification when the task needs to be executed. Reminders can be set upto one month in advance.

FruitfulTime Task Manager is a good solution to manage your tasks, organise your life and increase productivity. FruitfulTime Task Manager is currently available for Windows 2000, XP and Vista and require Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0.

There are 2 versions of FruitfulTime Task Manager available,

Version 1.0- Free for Home and Non-Commercial Use- Download Free Version

Version 2.0- Improved features than 1.0 , Price $29.99- Download Trial Version

Outpost Firewall Pro & Security Suite Pro 2009

2008-07-08T19:06:00.001-07:00

Agnitum Outpost is the first personal firewall developed with Open Architecture. It is also the first personal firewall that supports plug-ins. Sample plug-ins are included to show how this revolutionary technology can easily be employed for such tasks as Intrusion Detection, Advertisement Blocking, Content Filtering, E-mail Guard, and Privacy Control. It is equipped with every feature a personal firewall should have. It is the most functional firewall in the world. It supports all the latest security techniques and features such as: Full Stealth Mode, Anti-Leak, and MD5 Authentication.

Download : Outpost Firewall Pro 2009 6.5.2356.316.0602
Download : Outpost Security Suite Pro 2009 6.5.2356.316.0602

SpyBot - Search & Destroy 1.6.0.30 Final

2008-07-08T19:05:00.001-07:00

Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not yet cover. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes, or if you browser start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies.

Spybot-S&D can also clean usage tracks, an interesting function if you share your computer with other users and don't want them to see what you worked on. And for professional users, it allows to fix some registry inconsistencies and extended reports.
Spybot-S&D can start in two modes: Easy mode for new users who want just the basic features, and Advanced mode for professional users and those who want more control. Both modes are available in the free version.

Download : SpyBot - Search & Destroy 1.6.0.30 Final

Microsoft USB Flash Drive Manager

2008-07-08T18:42:00.001-07:00

Microsoft USB Flash Drive Manager is basically a software to manage different images for USB devices. It provides options to backup the files of an USB device that is connected to the computer and to restore an image to the USB drive again. This is useful if you operate with an USB device that has a limited amount of free space and that you use for different purposes, for example for work and private documents.

Individual files can be copied to a device as well but it does not seem possible to copy single files from an USB device. The flash drive can be cleared before restoring files on it but it is not necessary.

The utility provides access to change the properties of the connected USB devices such as the volume label which can be connected to the USB image that has been restored on the USB device.

The software is compatible to Windows XP and requires the Microsoft .net Framework 1.1. Once installed runtime components can be included to provide autorun functionality.

Automatically Create / Remove shortcuts of Removable Media [ Windows Only ]

2008-07-07T09:47:00.001-07:00

What if you get a program which automatically creates a shortcut when you insert cd /dvd in your cd / dvd drive or may be when you plug in your USB drive. And lets get ahead how about a shortcut gets created on your desktop when your map a network drive.

Desk Drive is a nifty software which sits on system tray and keep watching on all the above things which I just mentioned. It not only creates the shortcut for the plug and play medias but removes them when they are removed. This certainly solves the problem of you going to explorer and then opening the plugged drives. Just hit the the show desktop icon or WIN + D and access it.

However it does not work with all the plug and play things. Like it never worked when I attached my camera . Possibly it has to detect it as USB or memory device . Even though its worth a try. Its free and small in size and no memory hogs. Works on Windows all versions Xp, Vista and needs do net framework. Check Desk Drive now

Replace Microsoft Notepad with Notepad++ V5.0 in Windows

2008-07-07T09:44:00.001-07:00

Microsoft Notepad that is available in Windows is a tool that I frequently use to take short notes. Notepad is a common text-only (also referred to as plain text) editor. The resulting files are typically saved with the .txt extension with no format tags or styles, making the program suitable for editing system files that are to be used in a DOS environment.

Notepad can edit files of almost any format. However, it does not treat Unix- or Mac-style text files correctly with missing line breaks. Another feature which I think notepad should have is tabs. If I need to edit 5 text files, I'll need to open 5 notepads and that messes up my taskbar. There are many free text editors, easily more than 20 of them but one of my favorite is Notepad++.

Notepad++ is a free source code editor and Notepad replacement, which supports several programming languages, running under the MS Windows environment. This project, based on the Scintilla edit component (a very powerful editor component), written in C++ with pure win32 api and STL (that ensures the higher execution speed and smaller size of the program), is under the GPL Licence

Notepad++ Features:

Syntax Highlighting and Syntax Folding

WYSIWYG

User Defined Syntax Highlighting

Auto-completion

Multi-Document

Multi-View

Regular Expression Search/Replace supported

Full Drag 'N' Drop supported

Dynamic position of Views

File Status Auto-detection

Zoom in and zoom out

Multi-Language environment supported

Bookmark

Brace and Indent guideline Highlighting

Macro recording and playback

The latest version of Notepad++ v5.0 has an improvement in startup and exit performance. If you're used to using the Windows default Notepad, you will notice that Notepad++ is slightly slower. Other features that are added in Notepad++: Calltip capacity, HTML/XML tag match highlighting, menu commands can be added in context menu, rename and delete current document features, tooltips in document tab to display the full file name path and many more!

Installing Notepad++ doesn't replace the original Windows Microsoft Notepad. It only gives you an extra text editor which you can run from Start Menu or Desktop shortcut icon. To replace the original Windows Microsoft Notepad with Notepad++, just follow the few simple steps below.
1. Go to C:\Windows and backup notepad.exe. Just copy it to another location.
2. Download Notepad++ v5.0 setup and install.
3. Download Notepad++ launcher and extract.
4. Copy notepad.exe which comes with this package into 4 directories (in given order) :
a. c:\windows\servicepackfiles\i386
b. c:\windows\system32\dllcache
c. c:\windows\system32
d. c:\windows
When you replace notepad.exe in c:\windows\system32 and c:\windows, a "Windows File Protection" message box appears, click Cancel. Then another message box appears, click OK.

Notepad++ v5.0 is now your default notepad. I suggest that you try out Notepad++ first, get used to it and then only decide whether to replace your Windows Notepad with Notepad++ or not. If you don't want to replace the default Windows Notepad with Notepad++ but would like to open any text file with it, you can set the file association at Settings > Preferences > File Association.

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 Build 8.0.6001.17184

2008-07-06T09:31:00.001-07:00

Internet Explorer 8 takes the Web experience beyond the page and introduces a new way to seamlessly experience the power of the Web whether you are a Web developer writing to standards, or an end user discovering a new online service. This beta release is available to everyone, but is primarily for Web developers and designers to test the new tools, layout engine, and programming enhancements.

Download : Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 Build 8.0.6001.17184

Scan your Hard Disk for Read Errors

2008-07-05T20:03:00.001-07:00

If you are looking for a software that checks hard disks for read errors and provides a visual representation of the process you might want to take a look at Ariolic Disk Scanner. The scanner performs a read only operation on the selected hard disk and checks it for read errors in the process. Every cluster of the hard disk is represented by a square in the program's interface.

Green squares indicate no errors while red squares point to read errors in that sector. Pretty much every drive can be scanned including hard disks, floppy disks, CD or DVDs and flash drives.

Ariolic Disk Scanner is a portable application that can be run from any location without installation. The main differences to Windows Scan Disk are the visual representation of the results, the portability of the application and no error correction.

Scan Disk tries to correct errors that it discovered while the Disk Scanner is only showing them but not doing anything about them.

Format Factory

2008-07-05T20:00:00.001-07:00

Format Factory is a software that can convert most media file types into different file types. It supports converting between various image, audio and video formats as well as converting to mobile formats and DVD / CD conversions. This broad functionality might make it interesting to some users.

The application was designed with ease of use in mind, especially the conversions can be handled without knowing anything about bitrates, formats and frames. If a user wants to convert videos into mp4 format he simply selects a desired quality and size or picks a device like the PSP or iPod that he wants to view the video on. Experienced users can select the custom settings which give access to all video parameters of the target video.

Format Factory supports batch conversions and multiple files and even folders can be picked at once to be added to the processing queue. It is even possible to mix file formats in the queue, everything is handled quite well by the software.

If you play around with Format Factory for a while you notice several "nice to have" features that have been added. Tag lines can be added to images that are converted for instance and it's up to the user to pick a font, size, color and text of the tag line.

Gernova Keylock

2008-07-05T19:55:00.001-07:00

Gernova Keylock is a specialized software to detect keyloggers on a system. Keyloggers are used to log user input which includes urls that the user enters as well as usernames, passwords and even information like credit card data or account numbers. The application is portable and can be run from any location.

It's unfortunately only available in German but since it does not require lots of user input it can be valuable for non-German speakers as well. The only required input is a click on the button "Suchlauf Starten" to start the scan of the system. A check of the box below that button will perform a long scan of the system that requires a reboot.

Once started the application moves the mouse around and tests several behaviors. After a while it asks the user to input text. This happens three times to see if any of the running processes are reacting on the data input.

In the end all potentially dangerous applications are listed. The software seems to have troubles with Mozilla software because it did list several Firefox and Thunderbird files as potentially dangerous. The most dangerous files are listed at the top with their system path.

Backup your Ipod, USB Flash Drive N MP3 Players

2008-07-05T19:48:00.001-07:00

Creating full Windows backup by imaging using Norton Ghost, Acronis TrueImage, Macrium Reflect etc is pretty common for advance computer users. When your system is corrupted and unable to boot, all you need to do is just boot up the computer with the imaging software, locate the image and it will automatically restore your system back to the time when you created the image.

Usually imaging is created for the whole hard drive or partition but not a few files or folders. Problem with some imaging software such as Macrium Reflect is it doesn't allow creating images for USB flash drive or MP3 players. Although the space in USB Flash drives and MP3 players is not as big as computer hard drives, it'd still be nice to create a full backup of it and then saving it as single image file.

Here is a free tool which you can use to create images of USB memory sticks and MP3 players.

USB Image Tool can create images of USB memory sticks and MP3 players, that are mounted as USB drives. It allows you switch between images with different music styles on your MP3 Player or to make an exact backup image of your USB Stick.

USB Image Tool Features:

create image files of USB drives

restore images of USB drives

compressed image file format

show USB device information

manage favorite USB images

I've tried creating a full image backup on my 2GB Kingston DataTraveler USB flash drive using USB Image Tool. It took about 3 minutes to create a non-compressed full backup .img file. As for a compressed image file, it took longer because of the time taken to compress the .img file to .imz. USB Image Tool uses XZip 1.3 compression routines based on Info-ZIP. XZip 1.3 by Lucian Wischik, Hans Dietrich. If you have a 2GB USB flash drive and you've only used up to 900MB of the space, the uncompressed backup image file size will still be around nearly 2GB. Reason is it copies everything on your USB flash drive including the empty space.

USB Image Tool requires the .NET Framework 2.0 and runs on Windows XP/Vista. Please take note that Windows 2000 is not supported. The usbit32.dll included in the archive must be in the same directory as the EXE file.

[ Download USB Image Tool ]

Backup N Restore USB Images

2008-07-04T20:46:00.001-07:00

USB Image Tool is a lightweight portable software that can create backups of USB devices. It detects pretty much every USB device that I'm connecting to an USB port including my Apple iPod Nano. It did however not detect my mobile phone that I connected to the computer as a test.

The main interface consists of three buttons for the restore, backup and rescan functions. The rescan button is helpful if an USB device is not automatically recognized by the application which is the case when a card is changed in a card reader.

The data of the USB device is stored in a compressed format on the hard disk of the computer from where it can be burned to disk for safekeeping. The software does not only come with an option to backup USB devices to create USB images but also to restore them. It would be possible to backup the data of your iPod and later restore that image again. I'm not sure but it could work to replicate the data on another device of the same kind.

The USB Image Tool requires the Microsoft .net framework 2.0 and a computer running Windows XP or Windows Vista. It ships with a dll called usbit32.dll that has to be in the same folder as the application, which it is by default.

Ubuntu 8.04.1

2008-07-04T03:34:00.001-07:00

Ubuntu is a free, open source operating system that starts with the breadth of Debian and adds regular releases (every six months), a clear focus on the user and usability (it should "Just Work", TM) and a commitment to security updates with 18 months of support for every release. Ubuntu ships with the latest Gnome release as well as a selection of server and desktop software that makes for a comfortable desktop experience off a single installation CD.

Download : Ubuntu 8.04.1

Find your running train status [ India Only ]

2008-07-04T03:15:00.001-07:00

Finding current status of train in India is little problematic due to over traffic most of the time and in case you just cant wait for it CRIS of India has one right online service for you up and running. All you need is to just give your train name and number and get the current status of the train any time and in between any station.

Move on to Train Running Information and fill in your train details to see it.

This would be the best way to find the current status of your train if you are always connected to internet. So stop dialing and start spotting it online.

Performance and Reliability Update for Vista SP1

2008-07-03T01:22:00.001-07:00

A reliability and performance update is available for download for Windows Vista Service Pack 1. This specific release targets all Windows Vista editions, provided that they have the first service pack integrated. The update comes with the promise of improving the performance and reliability of the gold version of Vista SP1, and is not addressed at the RTM SKUs of the latest Windows client. Two updates are up for grabs for both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista SP1. "This update resolves issues that may affect some Windows Vista SP1-based computers. These issues have been reported by customers who use the Error Reporting service or Microsoft Customer Support Services," Microsoft informed.

The Redmond company softened all the rough corners of the RTM build of Vista, including
problems related to stability and speed. However, while some issues survived, others were introduced specifically by SP1. The current update is designed to tackle performance, responsiveness, and reliability issues affecting Vista SP1 in a variety of scenarios. At the bottom of this article, you will find the complete list of improvements that the update will deliver to Windows Vista.

The Vista SP1 reliability and performance update signals that a practice started with Vista RTM is turning into a tradition for Microsoft. When SP1 was in the early stages of development, the Redmond giant started serving bits and pieces of the service pack for Vista RTM as performance, reliability, and compatibility releases through Windows Update and the Download Center. The end purpose is, of course, to decrease the level of reliance on service packs, and put the Windows Update infrastructure into the limelight.

The advantage of WU over service pack releases is that end users get much more rapidly resolves and enhancements for their operating system. As far as Microsoft is concerned, the evolution of Windows platforms in sips rather than in big gulps is preferred due to the flexibility it introduces, along with the obvious benefits for users. Still, the dependency on service packs in corporate environments is a factor which will continue to force Microsoft to focus on service pack releases, even though the company is slowly moving Windows Update to the centerstage.

According to Microsoft, "this update includes the following improvements on a Windows Vista SP1-based computer:

• This update improves the stability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by addressing some crashes that may occur when you try to check e-mail by using a POP3 e-mail client such as Windows Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird. The crashes may occur on a Windows Vista SP1-based computer in the following scenario incoming POP3 and outgoing SMTP traffic monitoring is enabled.

• Both a third-party antivirus application and an antispyware application are installed, such as the following applications: ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite by Check Point Software Technologies and SpySweeper by Webroot Software.

• This update improves the reliability of the Windows Vista SP1 based-computers by addressing some problems that occur when you delete user accounts by using the User Accounts item in Control Panel. When this problem occurs, the system may stop responding (hang).

• This update improves the reliability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers that experience issues in which large applications cannot run after the computer is turned on for extended periods of time. For example, when you try to start Excel 2007 after the computer is turned on for extended periods of time, a user may receive an error message that resembles the following:
EXCEL.EXE is not a valid Win32 application

• This update improves the reliability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by reducing the number of crashes that may be caused by the Apple QuickTime thumbnail preview in Windows Live Photo Gallery.

• This update improves the performance of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by reducing audio and video (AV) stuttering. Such AV stuttering may occur when the audio or video component is streaming high definition content from a Windows Vista SP1-based computer that has a NVIDIA network adapter nForce driver version 67.5.4.0 that is installed to a Windows Media Center Extender device."

Download : Performance and Reliability Update for Vista SP1 (32)
Download : Performance and Reliability Update for Vista SP1 (64)

Everest Ultimate Edition v4.50

2008-07-03T01:18:00.001-07:00

EVEREST Ultimate Edition is an industry leading system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for enthusiasts PC users, based on the award-winning EVEREST Technology. During system optimizations and tweaking it provides essential system and overclock information, advanced hardware monitoring and diagnostics capabilities to check the effects of the applied settings. CPU, FPU and memory benchmarks are available to measure the actual system performance and compare it to previous states or other systems. Furthermore, complete software, operating system and security information makes EVEREST Ultimate Edition a comprehensive system diagnostics tool that offers a total of 100 pages of information about your PC.

Download : Everest Ultimate Edition v4.50.1422 Beta

Nokia PC Suite 7.0 Release 6 Final

2008-07-03T01:11:00.001-07:00

Nokia PC Suite is a package of Windows-based PC applications developed especially for use with Nokia phones. Depending on your phone model, it lets you synchronize, edit, and back up many of your phone's files on a compatible PC through a wireless or cable connection.

Download : Nokia PC Suite 7.0 Release 6 Final

Change Your Connection Settings with Net Profiles

2008-07-02T19:33:00.001-07:00

If you are a laptop user like me, who needs to configure network settings every now and then to connect to your internet at your home place and at your office, you will definitely love this application called net profiles

Net Profiles is a freeware which help you configure the internet connection with a single mouse click, it allows you to switch in between the various network profiles you create through the application.

Net Profiles saves your network settings as profiles,you can easily activate different profiles to change the network connection settings.

As shown in the image above you can create a network profile, after selecting your network card you need to specify IP Settings and click Save button.

Automatically change your profile via program shortcuts,

Some other features includes:

specify mapped drive which you can connect on a particular profile,
change your default printer
change the default homepage for internet explorer, Firefox, Opera etc
Proxy settings for Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera.
Run a user-defined list of programs when a profile is activated.
Maintain separate desktop wallpaper for each profile.
Change screen resolutions and color quality when profiles are activated.
Can be easily translated into other languages using the enclosed XML language file.

You can also place the shortcuts for different profiles you have created on your desktop with which you can directly activate the network profile by clicking the shortcuts.

[ Download Net Profiles | Application HomePage ]

Temporary Data Cleaner Programs

2008-07-02T19:31:00.001-07:00

There are several utilities available today for cleaning junk files from windows, these small nifty programs removes temporary unused files which degrades your computer performance over time.

CCleaner has been our favorite for a long time to remove system junk data and make it faster.

One of the most popular and our favorite utility for temporary data clean is CCleaner, it is a great utility which removes the following junk files.

Temporary Internet Files
Cookies
Windows History
Recently Typed URL
Run History etc.

CCleaner is one of the best program to remove the temporary junk data from a windows based computer.

But recently, a new utility has been released which is also freeware called iSysCleaner Pro

The main difference in between CCleaner and iSysCleaner Pro is that iSysCleaner Pro is cleans installation files while CCleaner does not

iSysCleaner Pro removes all unused files from your system with few clicks and faster - free up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet History and Cookies etc.

It also clean up your computer with all the files which CCleaner removes and also deletes the following files.

Windows and Office recent files
Windows Updates uninstallation files
Windows Error Reporting files (only for Windows Vista)
Third party applications junk files
Flock Browser cache and cookies

Note: It also lets you define your own search script

[ Download CCleaner | Download iSysCleaner Pro ]

Change your network connection settings with a shortcut on your desktop

2008-07-01T21:10:00.001-07:00

If you are a laptop user like me, who needs to configure network
settings every now and then to connect to your internet at your home
place and at your office, you will definitely love this application
called net profiles

Net Profiles is a freeware which help you configure the internet
connection with a single mouse click, it allows you to switch in
between the various network profiles you create through the
application.

Net Profiles saves your network settings as profiles,you can easily
activate different profiles to change the network connection settings.

As shown in the image above you can create a network profile, after
selecting your network card you need to specify IP Settings and click
Save button.

Automatically change your profile via program shortcuts,

Some other features includes:

specify mapped drive which you can connect on a particular profile,
change your default printer
change the default homepage for internet explorer, Firefox, Opera etc
Proxy settings for Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera.
Run a user-defined list of programs when a profile is activated.
Maintain separate desktop wallpaper for each profile.
Change screen resolutions and color quality when profiles are activated.
Can be easily translated into other languages using the enclosed XML
language file.

You can also place the shortcuts for different profiles you have
created on your desktop with which you can directly activate the
network profile by clicking the shortcuts.

[ Download Net Profiles | Application HomePage ]

Make your pen drive bootable with MakeBootable

2008-07-01T21:06:00.001-07:00

Many times, when you are facing a critical windows problem and you need the bootable cd urgently to repair your windows but some how you don't get it.

MakeBootable is a free software which lets you convert your pen drive into a bootable media, After making your pen drive bootable with makebootable you can use your pen drive like a windows xp bootable cd.

Makebootable is so easy to use, as it make your normal USB pen drive a bootable media in one click.

But there is a limitation, you will need to format your pen drive with fat file system in order to make your device bootable.

Convert to FAT and use MakeBootable

1. Backup the existing files on the drive.

2. Perform a FAT format

3. Now Run Makebootable.exe to make your USB portable device bootable.

After making your pen drive bootable, go to your BIOS and select USB Device as First Boot device in the boot device priority

We hope you like this small trick, Let us know your idea trough comments.

[ Download MakeBootable | Application HomePage ]

RapidShare Cats CAPTCHA Hacked and Auto Recognized by CryptLoad

2008-06-28T19:03:00.001-07:00

Nearly 2 months ago RapidShare implemented a new and difficult to beat CAPTCHA system. The CAPTCHAs are displayed as up to 8 warped alphanumeric characters, each with a dog or a cat printed over them. The user then is instructed to type in the 4 letters (although technically some "letters" are actually numbers) with the cat on them.

As you can see that it is tough to us humans for recognize which characters has cats at the sample RapidShare CAPTCHA image above! This new update has gone a little too far just because they want to break CryptLoad, USDownloader, (E)lephant and RSD auto CAPTCHA decryption. All those tools were unable to auto recognized RapidShare CAPTCHA codes for more than a month but now CryptLoad has managed to find a way to decode and auto recognize RapidShare CAPTCHA with cats! Unlimited RapidShare downloading is AGAIN possible with CryptLoad.

When I got to know that latest CryptLoad is able to auto recognized RapidShare CAPTCHA, I was very excited to test it but wasn't able to because RapidShare happy hours were still active. I had wait until at night when the happy hours are deactivated. I ran CryptLoad, added a rapidshare link, and the 4 letters containing cats were instantly and automatically entered without feeling that it had to go through some kind of OCR program.

CryptLoad has improved a lot since the last time I've written about it. One of the biggest update is the online CryptLoad CLR-Creator. Previously if we want CryptLoad to support our router for reconnect, we'll have to contact one of the creator of Cryptload to help us create the CLR file. But now, we can do it ourselves. Just install Live HTTP Headers plugin for Firefox and capture the text data when you manually reconnect the Internet from your router. Paste the text data into the online Cryptload CLR-Creator and it will create a CLR file that supports your router. You can refer to CryptLoad WIKI on how to do that.

Other than that, everything else is pretty much the same. Their next major update CryptLoad version 2 will be much lighter and support Mac OS, Linux and possibly PS3! Keep up the good work Apokalyser, Borka and Shira! Although some people say that other tools are better, I personally felt that CryptLoad is the best!

I just want to clarify that CryptLoad is a download manager for file hosting websites that supports a lot of powerful features and it is NOT a hacking tool.

[ Download CryptLoad 1.1.0 ]

Microsoft Offers Free Hard Drive Virtualization for Windows

2008-06-28T19:01:00.001-07:00

Hard drive virtualization is very important when you're managing hundreds of computers at a library, cybercafe or a school institute. One of the place where I am working at has more than 500 workstations and is used by students. Even though the students are on restricted limited account, some smart virus still manage to infect the whole computer. I've spent countless of hours just by scanning and removing virus. Some virus even made it impossible to clean that I had to reinstall the whole system.

Antivirus don't really help much because new undetected virus can still infect the computer. So the best is to use a virtualization software. Previously I've mentioned about Returnil Virtual System which is able to restore everything to its original state by a reboot. They have a free version but it is only for personal use, not commercial use. The finance people checked the price and told me that they couldn't afford it. So I had to use another solution…

Windows SteadyState is a tool developed by Microsoft that gives administrators enhanced options for configuring shared computers, such as hard drive protection and advanced user management. It is primarily designed for use on computers shared by multiple people, such as internet cafes, schools, libraries etc. SteadyState is the successor to the Shared Computer Toolkit. SteadyState is available free of charge from Microsoft for computers running genuine copies of Windows XP and Vista.

There are Global Computer Settings and User Settings. For global computer settings, you can set computer restrictions, schedule software updates and protect the hard disk using Windows Disk Protection. When Windows Disk Protection is turned on, it has the ability to revert a computer to a previously stored state every time it reboots, or when an administrator sets it to. The good thing about it is the user's My Document would not be affected by the virtualization, which allows the user to save their work there.

As for User Settings, you can find 4 tabs which is General, Windows Restrictions, Feature Restrictions and Block Programs. In General, you're able to configure session timers to define the duration of a logon session or of the idle time before a session terminates. On the Windows Restrictions tab, you can set restriction levels that define the content of menus and the Windows XP or Windows Vista tools and features that a user has access to. As for the Feature Restriction tab, you can select restrictions that will prevent users from accessing a program attributes that could damage or clutter the computer. Finally on the Block Programs tab, you can select the software you want to prevent the user from accessing.

Actually I got to know about Windows SteadyState early this year. Tried it and it made my computer really slow. Other than that, my computer takes more time to boot in Windows. Well, I was using Windows SteadyState 2.5 Beta back then which is unstable. Few days ago Microsoft released stable final version of Windows SteadyState 2.5, which adds support for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3. I believe they've fixed the "hang" problem as well.

I've tested the latest SteadyState 2.5, it is much better than the BETA version and I noticed it increased my computer's boot up time by a few seconds. I am willing to give up the few seconds rather than spending hours in scanning and cleaning up virus. Here's how a high restrictions limited account desktop looks like.

One important note, any administrator is able to run Windows SteadyState because it doesn't have the ability to password protect itself. So make sure you create a limited user account and let them log in as limited user, not administrator.

[ Download Windows SteadyState 2.5 ]

How To Create Full Windows Backup by Imaging Without Using Norton Ghost

2008-06-28T18:59:00.001-07:00

I have desktop system that is only used for testing purposes. I install and test lots of software, play around with Windows configuration and system files, infect my test system with trojans to test the efficiency of an antivirus software, and many more! Because I mess around with my test system so much, I had to restore Windows at least once a week, or sometimes even up to a few times!

Reinstalling Windows is a time consuming task and I never like doing that. Fortunately I've known about Norton Ghost many years ago and I've been using it to create an image of my hard drive, so I can easily restore everything back to the original clean state within minutes. However, Norton Ghost is not free. There are other freeware that is able to create disk image but I am never satisfied with it, so I am stuck with Norton Ghost for nearly 10 years…

I think I am going to make a change starting from today because I discovered a very powerful disk imaging software which is FREE!

Macrium Reflect is a backup and disk imaging software program for Microsoft Windows developed by Paramount Software UK Ltd in 2006. It creates disk images and file backup archives using Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service to ensure 'point in time' data accuracy. This means that you can create a full backup of your hard drive through imaging even when you're logged on in Windows.

There are 2 versions of Macrium Reflect. The free and full version. The free version can only be used on Windows XP and Vista. You're able to create disk or partition images and access them from Windows Explorer. It has a scheduler where you can create backup from the defined time. Finally it can also create Linux Rescue CD or BartPE Rescue CD, which has network support so you can save the created image to another computer. You can directly burn the Live CD from the software.

As for the full version, it has all the features in free version plus the following: Windows Server 2003 compatibility, File and Folder backup and restore, Differential disk images and backups, Incremental disk images and backups, VBScript Generator, Email notifications, Run programs before or after backup, Shut down PC after backup, Windows system event log support, Windows PE 2.0 Rescue CD with RAID support, Windows boot menu, Technical support by email and forum access.

Although it'd be nice to have all the features in the full version, the free version is good enough to help me easily restore Windows within minutes.

Let me take you through a simple step-by-step disk imaging with Macrium Reflect FREE Edition. Let's say Windows is installed at C: drive and D: would be your CD/DVD drive. I'd advice you to create another partition (E: drive) to save the backup image.

1. Run Macrium Reflect
2. Click Backup from the menu bar and select Create Image.

3. Create Backup Wizard will appear. Click Next, and select the partition that you want to backup. Select C: drive and click Next.

4. Now select Local Hard Disk and browse to E: drive. Click Next
5. Click Finish to begin imaging.
When the imaging completes, you should have a file with random letters and numbers with the extension .mrimg at your E: drive. That's the image of your C: drive.

Next, you'll have to create a Rescue CD.
1. Run Macrium Reflect
2. Click Other Tasks from menu bar and select Create Rescue CD.
I'd prefer to use Linux, so select Linux and click Next.

3. Put in a blank CDR disc into your CD/DVD drive and click Finish.

When your Windows system goes haywire or refuse to boot up, then you will have to start your PC using a rescue CD. Just boot up your computer with the Linux Rescue CD that you just created. Follow the on-screen instructions from Restore Wizard to recover partitions from your saved image file.

When your computer has a system or software that is hard to configure and get it right, it'd be best to create an image of your partition as a precaution. Whenever the system or software doesn't work and you can't get people to help you to fix it, the easiest way to fix it yourself is by restoring from the image that you created while it is still working. There you go, no need to use Norton Ghost because Macrium Reflect can do the job.

[ Download Macrium Reflect FREE EDition ]

Free Avira AntiVir Rescue System CD to Clean Unremovable Virus

2008-06-28T18:52:00.001-07:00

The Avira AntiVir Rescue System is a linux-based application that allows accessing computers that cannot be booted anymore. Thus it is possible to repair a damaged system, to rescue data or to scan the system for virus infections. Just double-click on the rescue system package to burn it to a CD/DVD. You can then use this CD/DVD to boot your computer. The Avira AntiVir Rescue System is updated several times a day (contains the current virus definitions VDF) so that the most recent security updates are always available.

Once you've booted up your computer with Avira Rescue System, you get a boot option to either boot from hard drive or AntiVir Rescue System. Press the number 2 on your keyboard to boot into AntiVir Rescue System. It will start loading linux and you get to select either deutsch or english. Next, drivers will be loaded, and when it completes, the Rescue System main menu will show.

To scan a computer, select the second option "Scan" and hit enter. You get to select whether to scan all files, only program files or only boot sectors. You can then select either to log scanning events or try to repair infected files. If Rescue System is unable to repair infected files, you have the option to rename the files. Finally, you can select additional file types to scan such as dialers, jokes, games, and security privacy risk software. The whole process simplifies the command-line arguments so you don't need to manually type the commands.

The open command at the main menu will launch Linux console, not DOS command prompt. Unless you're familiar with Linux commands, I wouldn't recommend you selecting that option. If you've accidentally got into the linux console, press CTRL+F1 simultaneously to go back to Rescue System Main Menu.

According to the latest report rom AV-Comparatives, Avira AntiVir scored the highest points for Retrospective / ProActive test on May 2008. It has the least false positives and fast on demand scanning speed.

[ Download Avira AntiVir Rescue System ]

File Recovery with Undelete My Files

2008-06-28T18:44:00.001-07:00

File Recovery tools are flooding the software market these days and it takes more than to provide a way to recover files to stick out of the masses. Undelete My Files offers several features that make it at least an interesting application to try. The file recovery is obviously the dominating component of the software. Hard Disks can be scanned which usually does not take longer than a few seconds - depending on the size of the hard drive - and the results are displayed afterward. One interesting aspect of this procedure is that multiple hard disks can be selected at once. Most other tools scan hard disks on a per disk basis only.

Another interesting aspect of that scan for deleted files is the option to preview items before they are recovered. Every file can be marked and a click on the preview button opens the file in the default viewer. It becomes pretty obvious if a file can be recovered, chances are slim if the default viewer cannot open it. If the file displays fine on the other hand chances are good that it can be recovered without difficulties.

Undelete My Files provides access to two specialized recovery operations: Media and Mail Recovery. Both target specific files and try to recover them. The advantage of using Media Recovery is that it specifically targets multimedia files offering a preview pane for quick file previews.

Mail Rescue tries to recover Microsoft Outlook Express, MS Outlook, Eudora and Netscape mails. The software automatically tries to locate the installation folders and proposes a system scan if none can be found.

Another function provided by Undelete My Files is the Advanced File Search. That's a nice function if you know what you are looking for. You can pinpoint the tool to search specific folders, look for certain names and file types, sizes and attributes. Pretty convenient if you want to recover specific files.

The last two functions are not related to file recovery. The first is a disk wiper that deleted existing files on the disk securely so that they cannot be recovered by normal means. The other the creation of a Emergency Disk Image which creates a snapshot of a disk to work with later on. That's actually a great idea to prevent that deleted files are overwritten by new files and the same way professionals are handling this issue.

Email Large Documents with Docstoc OneClick

2008-06-28T18:36:00.001-07:00

Docstoc OneClick is an easy way to email large documents without attaching the files. Instead of sending the files, you can send the link to the document, where it can be viewed or downloaded. OneClick is an application by which you can instantly send files to any email, without having the pain of uploading the document.

How to send large documents

1. Download Docstoc OneClick and create a profile on Docstoc.
2. Now select the documents you want to send as email. You can select document with formats like .doc, .pdf, .xls etc. The size of the attactment can be a maximum of 50MB.
3. Right click on the selected files and select "Email as Private" or "Email as Public" option. The difference between these two option is that Email as Private will not show your uploaded documents in Docstoc to public.

4. An email is generated with the links to download the files. The default email client is used to generate the email.
5. The documents will be uploaded automatically by the application in the background.

You can access all your uploaded documents in "My Documents" section in Docstoc.

Docstoc OneClick

Edit PDF Documents Online

2008-06-28T18:28:00.001-07:00

If you are looking for an online solution to edit PDFs, then PDF Hammer is a great website to Edit, rearrange and merge PDF files and all these services FREE of cost. With PDF Hammer you can quickly and easily edit PDF files online, without the need to install anything. Upload your PDF files to PDF Hammer from your Web browser, perform your edits, and then download back to your computer.

Features of PDF Hammer;

Merge/combine PDF files together.
Rearrange, reorder and delete pages.
Lock your PDF files with password-based security.
Add and edit document information (metadata) fields, including author, title, subject
and keywords.

First you need to upload the PDF file from your computer. Once uploaded all the pages in the PDF are shown and you can start re-arranging the pages, delete or merge with other PDF documents.

Once you finish editing, you can change the Title, Author, Subject and Keywords of the document. You can also enable password protection for the PDF file.

Once you are done with editing, you can download it back to your desktop as PDF file with Export PDF option.

PDF Hammer is simple and free solution to edit documents online without having to install any softwares on your computer.

PDF Hammer

Startup Manager

2008-06-27T22:06:00.001-07:00

When a computer starts up and boots into Windows, there are a bundle of other programs that load up with it. Some of them are needed, but others are unnecessary and do little more than slow down a computer.

When I am told that a computer is running slow, the first thing I do is look in the locations that call these programs to load, and I cull the programs that are not necessary. There are numerous locations (registry, startup folders and win.ini) where these programs are called from, so the process can take quite a while.

Startup Manager is a free utility that shows you each of these locations in a single, easy to use interface. Just check out the screenshot of it. This is certainly a no nonsense program.

Startup Manager shows you what is going to be loaded at startup. All you need to do is untick the items that you no longer want to be part of your daily life.

The startup programs should probably be checked every 6 or so months to keep your computer running lean. The list can expand very quickly, often without the users knowledge. Using this utility can save a lot of time. It is one of those useful programs to keep on a USB disk, so that you can load it up quickly in the case a friend is in need.

Get your copy of Startup Manager for free from StartupManager.org.

PC Login Now 2.0

2008-06-27T22:05:00.001-07:00

Ever been unable to log into Windows due to a lost password? This used to require a reinstall of the operating system to regain access. This often meant some data would be lost, as it could no longer be accessed.

Because of this common need to recover passwords, a few tools have been created to get past this problem. I once heard of a program called Ophcrack, but it looked a bit tricky to use.

A tool called PC Login Now was recently made available as freeware, so I tried it out. The download is an iso file that needs to be burnt to a CD, using just about any CD burning software. The result is a Linux Live CD. Restart your computer and ensure that the computer will boot from your CD drive first (most will by default). Watch the Linux Live CD boot to life.

PC Login Now will work with any Windows install, and it can even handle dual boot machines. The opening screen shows you the operating systems available on the computer. Select the operating system you want to tinker with and press next. You should now be able to see all of the user accounts for that system.

You can then reset the password of any account, as well as enable or disable accounts. You can pretty much perform any of the basic user account options available in Windows. This program does not show you the old password as some tools do, but resetting the password is just as useful in most circumstances.

Once your computer reboots, a disk check will be run. When prompted, try to login leaving the password blank. You should be able to get into the system. PC Login Now claims a 100% success rate, and so far I have had no failures on the 3 machines I have tested. It couldn't be quicker or easier to use.

This will not work for computers which login to a domain, but there is normally a local user account on these computers, which you can use to gain access.

Take some caution using this in the workplace as many companies don't like these tools.

PC Login Now 2.0 is available for free from pcloginnow.com.

Recover Deleted Files with Freeware Recuva

2008-06-11T10:21:00.001-07:00

Recuva is a freeware for recovering deleted files from you hard disk or USB drive. Recuva is a Windows utility to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer. This includes files emptied from the Recycle bin as well as images and other files that have been deleted by user error from digital camera memory cards or MP3 players. It will even bring back files that have been deleted by bugs, crashes and viruses.

Using the application is pretty simple, you need to select the drive and click on the Scan button.

Once you get the list of files, you can select on files which need to be recovered and then specify the target folder.

The application also allows secure delete files.

Download Recuva

Backup Files When Computer is Idle with IdleBackup

2008-06-11T10:13:00.001-07:00

Many time we forget to back up files because we may not like to run another program in the background for backing up data as this could reduce the speed of your computer. IdleBackup is a free Windows application which can back up your personal files and folders when the computer is idle. The best feature of this software is that it checks if the computer is idle for more than 1 min before starting the back up process.

You can select the files and folders which needs to be backed up and also the back up path. The location can be on the same hard drive, an external drive (memory card, USB drive), or another computer on the network.

Next you need to select the automatic backup option on the top right hand corner. Here set the countdown time for back up to start after the computer has been in idle state. The minimum time that can be set is 60 sec. You can also tell the software to check for any CPU activity before ensuring that the computer is idle.

IdleBackup is a simple to use and totally free software for backing up data.

Download IdleBackup

How to Write Protect your USB Drive

2008-06-09T22:00:00.001-07:00

The spread of viruses is mainly due to the incorrect use of internet and the misuse of external media like the USB or Pen Drives. Windows has an auto-run function enabled by default so whenever a USB drive is plugged in, Windows automatically recognizes it and performs a default action like opening the contents of the drive.

Viruses and malware use this method to propagate. When an infected USB drive is plugged into the system, the malware automatically starts up using the auto-run of the drive. This way the malware spreads very quickly.

Today I found out a neat utility which can write protect your USB drive. This comes in handy when you have a virus in your system and you have some fixing tools in your USB drive. You just write protect the USB drive, plug it in and then use the tools on it. In this way, your USB drive will not be affected by any kind of additional viruses which are on the infected system where you plugged in the USB drive.

The name of the utility is Thumbscrew. It sits in system try from where you can enable or disable the write protect function of the USB drive.

USB Write Enabled

USB Write Disabled

Download Thumbscrew (233 KB)

Ace Backup: Versatile Backup Software

2008-05-29T20:15:00.001-07:00

Backups are important. I'm not only saying this because of the three dedicated servers that I'm running on the Internet that host my websites which earn the money I'm living from. No, it's also important at home. The importance depends mainly on how the computer is used. If you just play some games and surf the web you probably do not need to fear data loss. If you are writing a book for the last year you should make sure you create regular backups to avoid loosing all of your work of the last twelve months.

Ace Backup is a versatile backup software that was commercial and is now freely available. The basic features are to create backups of data on local drives, ftp servers or CD and DVD. It supports encryption offering five different encryption algorithms, versioning of files, compression, file filters, logs, multiple backup locations and scheduled backups.

One interesting aspect of Ace Backup is the opportunity to launch applications before and after a backup job. This would make it possible to run a disk cleaner after backup for instance or an application to shutdown the computer.

Multiple backup locations can be managed independently from each other or synchronized. Lastly the Explorer integration makes it relatively easy to add new files and folders to a project.

Network Settings Manager

2008-05-24T03:37:00.001-07:00

If you have to access different networks with your notebook, say at home, work and at a friends house, you might have cursed the fact that Windows cannot save different network profiles. A location change would always mean a change of the network settings to be able to access the network without difficulties.

NetSetMan, short for Network Settings Manager, is a software for Windows XP, 2000, 2003 and Vista that provides up to six network profiles that can be activated with two mouse clicks. The settings are divided into three sections: IP, DNS Server and Additional.

The IP section defines if the IP address is obtained automatically in that profile or if a predefined IP, Subnet Mask and Gateway should be used. The DNS server can also be obtained automatically or added in the preferred and alternate slots in that section.

The Additional setting finally contains several important configurations such as the default printer, network drives, PC Name, Workgroup and DNS Domain as well as links scripts - bat, vbs, js - that can be executed.

The settings are saved separately which makes it easy to transfer them to another notebook or computer. The Professional version of the Network Settings Manager comes with a few extras like unlimited profiles, network-domain and proxy settings. NetSetMan is a great application for users who have to switch network settings regularly.

Windows Software: Comodo Firewall 3.0

2008-05-15T21:56:00.001-07:00

Firewalls are used to keep computer nasties such as malware, spyware and trojans from invading our computers. Comodo Firewall is a free firewall solution that will allows you to control what data can be transferred to and from your computer.

If a program is trying to download information you have not "allowed", Comodo Firewall will alert you, and let you decide if you want the transfer to continue.

Comodo Firewall not only presents well, but it is also quite easy to use. Using this firewall gives you complete control over what data is allowed to be transferred over your network. It also shows you in depth information about which programs are accessing the network, and how much data is being transferred through these programs.

From all the reviews I have read on it, Comodo Firewall is a solid competitor to many commercial products. My own experience has found the same results. Comodo is one very powerful and effective firewall.

You probably already have Windows Firewall running on your computer, but from what I have seen of it, Windows Firewall is a tiny program with an on/off switch, and not much else. The only thing it sometimes does well, is complicate networking. It's better than nothing, but you can have so much more control and security with Comodo Firewall

Download your copy for free from comodo.com.

Sync Your Files with Windows Live FolderShare

2008-05-14T11:28:00.001-07:00

Windows Live FolderShare is a great, easy way to keep your files synced between multiple devices. With FolderShare, you create a private peer-to-peer network that syncs your files and lets you share them with colleges and friends. You no longer need to worry whether your files, photos, or videos are on your home PC, your laptop, or your work computer. FolderShare keeps them all in sync, letting you access them from any computer set up with FolderShare or any web browser - even the browser on your mobile device! Files can be up to 2 GB in size, there are no limits on the quantity or size of files transferred, and all file formats are supported.

The software's sharing feature is an easy way to send others large files - no more trying to zip files to get them through email, burning to CD/DVD, or uploading to a website. To use FolderShare, you must download and install the FolderShare Satellite - the software that is installed on the device(s) you want to sync or share files with. This software runs in the background and automatically updates your files on the other connected devices. The software, part of Windows Live Services, works on Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or OSX and it's completely free! FolderShare can be downloaded here.

Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders Backup

2008-05-12T11:48:00.001-07:00

Backing up your email accounts regularly is a pretty important task and a safety measure in case something goes wrong and you cannot access the account anymore. Most users collect emails over the years and keep them just like they would keep letters that have been send to them by friends and relatives. Loosing those emails, apart from business correspondences, account information and recipes, would be an irreparable loss without a backup on another drive or media.

Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders Backup is a backup application designed by Microsoft to backup Personal Folders Files, also called .pst files. It is compatible to Outlook 2002, 2003 and 2007 and every operating system these have been designed for.

The Outlook backup can be started by clicking in File > Backup in Outlook. A click on Options presents a list of all available .pst files of which all or some can be checked for backup. Afterwards a location for the backup has to be selected. I would suggest to burn the backup to CD or DVD to have it in case the hard drive has a defect.

A reminder can be set as well which reminds the user every xx days that a new backup is due. The backup can then be created, or saved as it is called in the application which writes it to the location specified in the options. The same menu provides the option to load a backup into Outlook.

ZoneAlarm ForceField

2008-05-12T00:54:00.001-07:00

Virtualized surfing – Creates a "bubble of security" around your browsing session that works two ways: it protects your PC from Web site threats such as drive-by downloads; and protects your browsing session from threats on your PC Seamless use – surf as you always do without any special knowledge required and no interruptions Keylogger jamming – protects your browsing, banking and shopping by disabling keyloggers/screengrabbers that may reside on your PC Anti-spyware scanning during your browsing session to protect you as you bank and shop Phishing and fraudulent Web site warning and protection Dangerous download scanning and protection Private browsing to completely erase your surfing tracks from your PC (not yet in the beta)
Svelte proportions – ForceField can be deployed to any PC within about 30 seconds in its Instant ForceField™ form (not available in current beta), making it convenient for on-the-go use on shared public computers.

Download : ZoneAlarm ForceField v1.0.331.0 Beta

Advanced Run

2008-05-08T10:09:00.001-07:00

It is sometimes required to run a command or software as another user in Windows. Say you followed the advice that is posted on many sites to work with a regular user account and not as an administrator in Windows then you will sooner or later find out that you sometimes need administrator privileges to run certain commands or applications.

Windows itself provides this feature with the Run As command in the right-click context menu for instance. But what about the command line, run dialog or task manager ? That's where Advanced Run comes into play. It replaces the windows run as dialog and adds itself to the File > New Task menu in Taskmanager and Windows R shortcut.

The advanced run box provides several advanced features that make it a good addition to your operating system. It does have a history function which means that you can quickly issue a command that you have given in the past without having to type it in manually or finding the executable in Windows Explorer.

The user can be easily switched with the arrow keys provided, every user account known to the system can be selected this way. Advanced Run is compatible with Windows XP and Windows Vista. A system restart after installation is required before the application can be fully used.

Startup Faster with Startup Delayer

2008-04-29T21:18:00.001-07:00

By now, most of you have heard about editing your startup options via msconfig, but that process involves checking or unchecking programs from running at startup altogether.

However, you might have quite a few programs that you do need to run, like your online backup or your anti-virus auto-updating program. Unfortunately, some of these programs can take a lot of time to start up when you first turn on your computer. This is where Startup Delayer can help.

Startup Delayer takes a different approach than msconfig. Like msconfig, you can use the program to enable and disable programs from running, but you can also use it to have programs run after startup at a designated time, by customizing the intervals at which they begin to run.

To do so, you just go into Startup Delayer's options and specify how many seconds after Windows has started up before running each program.

Startup Delayer is free and can be downloaded from here.

AVG 8.0 Free Version, includes Anti-Spyware

2008-04-29T21:06:00.001-07:00

Back in February, Grisoft released AVG 8.0 Professional which included anti-rookit and anti-spyware along with virus protection. I was a little disappointed because AVG 8.0 wasn't available in free edition, and I was curiously waiting my favorite anti-virus to get a facelift. Yesterday, Grisoft released the free edition of AVG 8.0, which offers basic anti-virus protection for Windows XP and Vista.

Along with the new improved interface, AVG 8.0 Free can also bash spywares/adwares and includes basic LinkScanner for Safe Search.

I've been using AVG for over year now, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for free anti-virus protection. It's one of the best rated anti-virus suites available for Windows.

Download AVG 8.0 Free

Windows XP Service Pack 3 Build 5512 Final Official

2008-04-28T03:57:00.001-07:00

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers' experience with the operating system.

Download : Windows XP Service Pack 3 Build 5512 Final (316.4 MB)

USB Firewall

2008-04-24T15:36:00.001-07:00

Net Studio USB FireWall is a very smart application which protects you from all malicious programs which try to launch itself using autorun.inf through opening the drive from Windows Explorer. It will inform and warn you when such program exist in your USB storage.

When you get a warning after inserting a USB flash drive, you can click the SHOW AUTORUN.INF button to view what are the instructions in the autorun.inf file. If you don't remember putting an autorun.inf file in the USB flash drive or don't know how it got there, simply click the DELETE button from USB FireWall and it will clean it for you. The good thing about USB FireWall is that it doesn't need any virus definition update because it is designed to detect autorun.inf file from USB storage drives.

This tool only monitors the USB device and ignores CD or DVD drives. This can pose a problem because the hacker can still use a hacked U3 smart drive which has the capability of emulating a CD drive to infect the computer with virus or steal sensitive data. USB FireWall is not THE perfect tool to protect your computer from USB autorun threats, but it does provide some level of protection, while still allowing autorun.inf file to be processed. Using USB FireWall has an advantage over the registry hack and that is to alert me when my USB contains autorun.inf so I don't accidentally use my USB flash drive to infect other people's computer with virus.

If you ask me which method I'd prefer to use to protect myself from autorun.inf threats, I'd go with the registry hack. It's simple and don't require any third party tools. What about you?

[ Download USB FireWall ]

Make Adobe Reader Faster with Adobe Reader SpeedUp

2008-04-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

Adobe reader is the most popular freeware to open .PDF files. The problem with Adobe Reader is it takes up lot of memory and slow to open. Adobe Reader SpeedUp is a free Windows utility that disables various features of Adobe PDF Reader to improve performance and decrease memory usage. This plugin can be freely enabled and disabled, if required.

Adobe Reader Speed-Up has been created as an effort to automate the process of speeding up Adobe Reader's launch time by disabling the majority of plugins that are completely useless for most users.

To remove Adobe Reader Speed-Up from your system, simply quit the application and delete its directory.

Requirements: VB Runtime

Download Adobe Reader Speedup

How to Import and Export Firefox Passwords

2008-04-17T18:01:00.001-07:00

Its definitely hard to remember the usernames and passwords for all the websites that we visit daily. The benefit of using a smart browser like Firefox is that it saves the login credentials within the Firefox password manager and retrieves them automatically when you visit a particular website thus allowing you to access it.

But what if you want to print out that login credentials list for future reference or want to save it as a document list somewhere within your operating system. Password Export, a Firefox addon, is there to help you in this regard.

This Firefox addon will let you export a CSV/XML formatted list of all the login credentials stored within the Firefox password manager. This list will have the usernames, passwords, emails and URLs of all the sites that you have ever logged into through Firefox.

Not only can you export the list but you can also import it on another PC or operating system (e.g. Ubuntu) so that you don't have to enter your login credentials again and again when you visit known websites daily.

Password Exporter can be installed from the link below:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2848

Supercopier

2008-04-17T17:55:00.001-07:00

The default Windows Explorer file copy function does not have features like resuming copy, controlling speed etc. SuperCopier is a replacement for Windows Explorer's copy functionality. SuperCopier replaces Windows Explorer file copy and adds many features. These include transfer resuming, copy speed computation and control, improved copy progress display, copy list editable while copying, copy list saving/loading, and an error log.

The feature I liked most is the transfer resume functionality which is much needed in Windows Explorer.

SuperCopier is still in beta and a freeware, but not supported by Vista.

Download SuperCopier

Spyware Doctor 5.5 for Free

2008-04-10T21:14:00.001-07:00

Spyware Doctor is one of the best security products of PC Tools that has been striving hard to keep the PCs of users safe from Spyware and Adware. Spyware Doctor also received the PC World's Best Buy award in October 2007 and several Editors' Choice awards from PC Magazine.

Spyware Doctor has the most advanced update feature that continually improves its Spyware fighting capabilities on daily basis. As Spyware gets more complex to avoid detection by AntiSpyware programs Spyware Doctor responds with new technology to stay one step ahead.

Apart from all the great features that Spyware Doctor provides, it also has a real-time Computer Immunization technology and OnGuard protection that makes sure that Sptware is immunized as soon as it is discovered.

Spyware Doctor 5.5 with Antivirus Starter Edition (Download)
Spyware Doctor 5.5 Starter Edition (Download)

Google Email Uploader

2008-04-09T21:42:00.001-07:00

The Google Email Uploader is a desktop utility for Microsoft Windows that uploads email and contacts from other desktop email programs (like Microsoft Outlook) into your Google Apps mailbox. The Email Uploader preserves information such as sent dates and sender/recipient data, as well as the folder structure used by the other email program. The Google Email Uploader requires a Google Apps account.
The Email Uploader is Apache 2.0 licensed open source software, and is governed by the terms of the included license file. This means you may modify the tool to better suit your needs

Recover Files v2.1

2008-04-09T21:39:00.001-07:00

Recover Files is a professional file recovery software that allows it's user to recover accidentally deleted files. Even files removed from the Recycle Bin, network drive, compact flash card, portable devices, in a DOS window, or from Windows Explorer with the SHIFT key held down. Recover Files is a small, fast, useful, practical and powerful. It has a clean, simple interface.

It can be used to recover deleted files from all NTFS and FAT partitions. The program supports all Windows file systems for hard and floppy drives including FAT12/16/32, NTFS/NTFS5 and image recovery from CompactFlash, SmartMedia, MultiMedia and Secure Digital cards. Recover Files quickly and effectively restore all those files that you may have deleted by mistake.

System Req:Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

RecoverFiles

Amic Email Backup

2008-04-08T22:02:00.001-07:00

Emails normally contain a wealth of information that are valuable to most users. They can contain account details, important conversations or files and it would be a catastrophe - at least for me - if I would not be able to recover my emails in case of a computer crash. The natural consequence for me is that I create regular backups of my email accounts which are stored on an external hard drive and backup DVD.

I do use MozBackup to backup the data in Thunderbird regularly but what if you use another client ? Amic Email Backup can create backups of the data of nine popular email clients including Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft outlook Express, Opera Mail, Pegasus Mail and The Bat. The user can choose the identities, some would call it profiles, and the data that should be backed up from those profiles. By default everything is selected which means backups are created of account settings, mail folders, message rules, signatures, address books and stationery.

Backups can be password protected for increased security and scheduled so that they are created on a regular basis. It is also possible to define the amount of backups that you want to keep which would mean that older backups will be deleted eventually. Backups that are to large can be split so that they fit on a floppy disk, zip drive or CD.

The restore function can be used to restore the email account on another computer as well which is great if you have purchased a new computer or want to migrate your emails to another one. I'm not sure if the backups are compressed at all because I lack a mail program that is supported by Amic Email Backup

How-to: Schedule your backup or sync programs to run when Vista is idle

2008-04-07T21:00:00.001-07:00

Backing up your computer is important, but it can be a hassle. If we have to do it manually, chances are that we will forget one time or another. On the other hand, if we set it up to run automatically to a schedule, we may find it interferes with our normal computer usage.

Vista task scheduler is a very powerful tool. We can set it up to run programs only if the computer is idle. This serves two purposes. The backups will be made automatically and the backups will not interfere with your normal usage.

A huge added bonus is that we can use any backup program we like. We are not limited to backup programs that have scheduling built in. All we need is a backup program that can start backing up as soon as it is launched, which just about all of them can do.

This article is specifically for Windows Vista. XP's scheduled tasks does not have the idle features built in, though it may be able to be achieved with a third party program.

Setup your backup/sync program:

The first step is to set up your backup program so that it can be launched from a shortcut or the command line. Launching it should launch the sync or backup.

You will need to look up these instructions for your individual program to figure out how to make this happen. The information should be readily available for any backup utility that is well known. What good is a sync or backup program that is too complicated to use?

Setting up Task Scheduler:

Open "Task Scheduler" (inside accessories of the start menu)
Click "Create New Task" (not basic)
Give it a name "Backup or Sync"
Go to the "Triggers" tab
Click "New" (defaults to schedule)
Enter the frequency and time you want your backup/sync to occur(I recommend to do it hourly as it will not run if you are by your computer)
Click "OK"
Go to the "Actions" tab
Click "New" (defaults to run program)
Browse for your program and put in the necessary arguments; E.g. -run
Click "OK"
Go to the "Conditions" tab
Here, define how long you want the computer to be idle before activating the backup/sync.
Click "OK"

You have now configured all the basics. There are many other options you can change to suit your needs, but they go beyond what is required to sync or backup.

Conclusion:

As you can see, this is very easy to setup. Gone are the days of manually starting your backups or syncing. When your hard drive crashes, you can be calm, knowing that your important information is tucked away somewhere safe.

I hope you have enjoyed this article and found it useful. For more effort saving types check out some other articles at Inspect My Gadget.

Increase Your Hard Drive Performance

2008-04-03T22:00:00.001-07:00

Windows Vista certainly takes a lot of system resources and we need to squeeze out all the performance we can! Here is a quick tip on how to increase the performance of any hard drive internal or external.

Double click My Computer and right click on the drive you want to perform better and select Properties.

The Disk Properties box will open. Click on the Hardware tab and then the Properties button.

Finally, mark Optimize for performance and place a check next to Enable advanced performance. Click OK and close out of the rest of the windows.

How to transfer files and settings with Windows Easy Transfer

2008-04-02T20:37:00.001-07:00

There is no need for you to reinstall every single program when you purchase a new computer or when you format your hard disk. Windows Vista provides us with Easy Transfer, a utility that can easily transfer and restore your old settings.

What can you transfer

Easy Transfer will transfer files and settings for the following: e-mail, music, pictures and videos, user accounts, internet and favorites, programs, contacts and messages. Easy Transfer will not transfer your program files, instead it will restore the applicationâ€™s settings.

Note: in order to transfer files and settings from or to an Windows XP computer, you need to install Easy Transfer (Windows Easy Transfer is already installed on Windows Vista). In order to do this, insert your Windwos Vista DVD into your Windows XP computer, select the Transfer files and settings from another computer option and follow the instructions on the screen

Step 1: export your old file and settings

To start Windows Easy Transfer, click the Start button and then choose All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and finally Windows Easy Transfer.
Note: you should be working on the computer you want to export your settings from.
If you have any opened applications, the wizard will ask you to close them; click Close all
Select Start a new transfer
Select My Old Computer
Now you need to figure out which transfer method to use. The following are available:

Network You can create a local area connection between the two computers and transfer settings from one pc to another.
CDs or DVDs â€" store your files and settings on a CD/DVD.
Easy Transfer Cable â€" This is a special cable which allows you to directly connect the two computers. Remember that this is not a standard USB cable and you have to buy it separately.
Removable media â€" USB flash drives have always been helpful. Just plug in a USB stick and use it to transfer settings.

Note: In this tutorial we will export our files and settings to a DVD. You can also use this tutorial if you select any of the methods mentioned above â€" the steps are similar.

Select Use a CD, DVD, or other removable media
Choose CD or DVD
Select your DVD drive and click Next (note that you can also use a password so that you are the only one that can import the files and settings)

Clicking on Advanced Options will allow you to customize your transfer: Add Files from a specific location without transferring other files from that folder; Add Folders from a specific location along with the files in that folder; Select Drives to add a whole drive with its content; Exclude Folders that you do not wish to transfer.

Step 2: Import files and settings

After you have completed these steps, it is time to restore your old files and settings.

Note: you should be working on the computer you want to import the files and settings in.

Start Windows Easy Transfer: click the Start button and then choose All Programs, Accessories, System Tools and Windows Easy Transfer.
If you have any opened applications, the wizard will ask you to close them; select Close all
Select Continue a transfer in progress
Choose No, I hâve copied files and settings to a CD/DVD or other removable media
Select on a CD or DVD
Select your DVD drive (make sure the DVD you created in the previous steps is in the DVD drive)
Select or create a new user name
Click on Transfer

All your old files and settings are now transferred to your new computer.

Mount an ISO image in Windows Vista

2008-04-01T10:18:00.001-07:00

The freeware utility from Microsoft to mount ISO Images doesn't work in Windows Vista. Thankfully there's another utility that does.

The utility that we will use is called Virtual Clone Drive. This utility will let you mount .ISO, .CCD, .DVD, .IMG, .UDF and .BIN files. Download the utility and start the setup process.

Select Yes or OK at the hardware prompt and continue. You might have to restart your computer. Now you should be able to mount any ISO image by just double-clicking on the file. Note: If you are going to reinstall this utility, make sure you uninstall it first, or you'll BSOD yourself repeatedly.

This utility does not work on Windows Vista 64 bit edition.

Google Docs in Offline mode

2008-03-31T21:43:00.001-07:00

The feature we have all been waiting for is finally here. Google Docs is now available in a special Offline mode with the aid of Google Gears which will allow users to edit their Google Docs documents on their computer even if they are not connected to the Internet.

Google Reader was the first contender in the Google family of products and services to use Google Gears technology for offline reading and since then everyone has been in high hopes for Google Gears to integrate into Google Docs.

Google Gears is basically a browser plugin which saves a local copy of data while in offline mode (when not connected to the Internet) and then syncs it online as soon as the computer is connected to the Internet. This will now enable users to use Google Docs for most of their work without requiring an Internet connection.

This feature is slowly being rolled out to all Google Docs accounts so if you want to know if you are ready to try it, just look on the top right menu for a link called "Offline" and make sure your browser has Google Gears installed.

I discovered Google Docs long ago but started making actual use of it recently when I constantly wanted to read, write and edit documents from my home, university or any other place. Google Docs may still not be the best alternative to Microsoft Office as it lacks a lot of advanced features but is still useful if you need a good, light and portable document processor.

How to quickly view the size of a folder in Windows Explorer

2008-03-30T21:44:00.001-07:00

is tutorial will show you how to view the size of a folder, and all of its contents, in Windows Explorer.

Start by downloading FolderSize, which is not only free, but open source - and available in 32 and 64bit versions (if you're not sure which version you want, you probably want the 32bit one). To install, you'll click next a few times, OK once or twice, and then it's done. Now open an instance of Windows Explorer and select View -> Details.

Right-click one of the column titles (Size, Type, Date Modified - it doesn't matter) and select Folder Size.

Now you'll have a column that displays the size of the contents of each folder.

You may want to remove the Size column, as it's now made a bit redundant. To do so, just right-click one of the column titles, and remove the check from the Size entry.

Drag the Folder Size column to wherever you want it to appear in Windows Explorer (the order it appears vs. your other columns).

Folder Size even includes a set of preferences you can set from the Control Panel.

For example - you can switch to Compact which makes calculating the size of a folder even easier (particularly a large folder).

The Service tab of the Folder Size lets you start and stop Folder Size - you can even pause it if you're doing hard disk intensive operations and don't want Folder Size to slow things down.

How to open Office 2007 documents using Office 2000, 2003, or Office XP

2008-03-30T09:05:00.001-07:00

Having problems opening Office 2007 documents because you still have an older version of Office? By installing the Compatibility Pack from Microsoft in addition to Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able open, edit, and save files using the file formats new to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007. The Compatibility Pack can also be used in conjunction with the Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003, Excel Viewer 2003, and PowerPoint Viewer 2003 to view files saved in these new formats. For more information about the Compatibility Pack, see Knowledge Base article 924074.

The MS compatibility pack can be downloaded here.

Adobe Photoshop Express- Free Web Based Photoshop

2008-03-27T20:29:00.001-07:00

Adobe has launched an online version of its popular software Photoshop. The online version is named Photoshop Express and is a free service. Photoshop Express allows users to store up to 2GB of images, make edits to their photos, and share them, all online. This tool may not have all the features of Photoshop, but it has basic features needed to edit photos.

Another good feature of this tool is that you can reverse the changes made to the photos just like Photoshop. You can use any of the 17 editing tools to modify your images.

Photoshop Express also includes features that let you choose how to view and share photos. You can group your photos into albums or slideshows and a gallery feature lets you gather together your Web-based albums and slideshows. You can also change layouts, add captions, and email images or albums to family or friends.

Users will also be able to integrate with social networking sites like Facebook. Photoshop Express works with all major browsers, including Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari, Adobe said. It requires an Internet connection and Flash Player 9 to work. There is also a test drive in case you want to try it before joining.

The limitation of this service is that only Jpeg files can be edited at present and also only 2GB limit for photo storing.

Photoshop Express Home Page | Test Drive

Windows Mobile Call Firewall

2008-03-26T18:44:00.001-07:00

We are often slaves to our mobile phones, jumping to attention whenever a call comes in. Wouldn't it be a nice change to have some peace and quiet every now and again?

Call Firewall may help you control who you speak to. It uses caller ID to detect if a caller is someone you want to talk to, at that time.

Call Firewall is extremely easy to operate. There are numerous modes that you can predefine.

Accept all calls
Accept calls from My Contacts only
Reject all calls
White List – Accepts calls from contacts in White list
Black List – Accepts all calls apart from blacklisted contacts

You are even able to respond to rejected callers with a predefined SMS. It sits in the background doing its job, allowing you to get on with whatever you were doing before you were interrupted.

Call Firewall runs on Windows Mobile devices and is available for free from Logic Unlimited.

SlideRocket: Design Quality Presentations Online

2008-03-24T20:36:00.001-07:00

A lot of us use presentations made from either PowerPoint, Google Docs, or other applications. Most of these apps work fine but I think you'll be interested in this next one.

SlideRocket is a web application that lets you design and manage your presentations, as well as allowing you to share libraries of slides and assets.

Let's take a closer look at SlideRocket.

The interface has that "web app" look but that's a good thing. The layout is well-organized with the various tools easily accessible.

The integrated library provides access to all your presentations, slides, assets, including shared objects from people in your group or company. There's also a community resource available for those looking for more materials.

You can import your own images, flash movies, and even your own videos. You can also search through the community's clipart or import images and videos from Flickr and YouTube.

You have access to a number of effects and transitions including drop shadows, glow, reflection, 3D rotation, etc. Animations include motion blur fly-in, decoder, sparkle, flash, materialize, cube rotate, reflection, swap, and flip.

Need to add some tables and charts? No problem. SlideRocket comes with shapes and drawing tools for annotations and diagrams, as well as customizable tables and charts.

If you need to share your presentation, you can send a URL or embed it in your site. If your presentation is confidential, you can send invitations to specific people. SlideRocket has an integrated remote meeting function that lets you invite a number of people to view your presentation while you control it.

Stats junkies will be happy to know that they can view statistics about their shared presentations like how long people spent on different slides, and who viewed it.

SlideRocket is still in beta but you can head over to the site right now and sign up for the beta.

Get a list of all recently accessed files with RecentFilesView

2008-03-23T23:19:00.001-07:00

RecentFilesView is a small, no install freeware program that can retrieve and save the list of the most recently accessed files.

If you've ever needed a list of the last opened files on your machine, RecentFilesView is for you. It provides a much more comprehensive list than the one in the "Recent Documents" folder. Here are some scenarios I could think of where you wil find this program very useful:

If you are working on a project and for whatever reason need to create a list of all the relevant files for that project. With RecentFilesView you can export a comprehensive or partial list to a text or CSV files and edit that as needed.
If you are uncertain as to which files or file versions you were using when you were working on a project 5 days ago. With RecentFilesView you should be able to survey that history in a snap.
Please post other uses you might think of in the comments.

Here are more notes on this app:

Sorting: you can sort by created time, modified time, executed time, and filename.
Which files will be listed?: those files that were either opened from the desktop or from an application. It will list folders that were opened as well.. It will display your file activity, not files that were created or accessed by programs, such as temp files or cached files saved by your browser. Files that are deleted will also be listed, although it will indicate in the list that the file is no longer available.

Where does it get the list from?: from recent folders and the registry. More info on this on the program page.
How far back will it go?: I've been using this program for about three days, and the list of files, which goes back 10 days, is at 158 and keeps growing whenever I access a new file. I do not believe that the program is saving this list but is rather retrieving it every time.
Exporting: save your list as a text, CSV, XML, or HTML file. You can select a sub-set of file using CTRL or Shift selecting and export only the entries you are interested in.
No install program: just unzip and use.
Command-line use: if you need to, you can use RecentFilesView from the command line.

The verdict: a very nice, simple program that does what it does very well. I imagine that for those who need a program like this RecentFilesView will be a very welcome addition to their set of tools.

Version Tested: 1.05

Recent Files View

Remove Excel Passwords with Excel Password Remover 2008

2008-03-23T09:31:00.001-07:00

Excel password remover 2008 is a FREE Excel add-in that removes/cracks sheet and workbook password protection in Excel. This add-in works fine in Excel 5.0 and above (including Excel 2000, XP and 2003). This program will remove passwords of any length, also passwords containing special characters.

How to unprotect Excel sheets?

1. Run the add-in and it gives you two extra menu-items on the "Tools"-menu.
2. These are; Unprotect workbook and Unprotect sheet.

NB: This program can't remove file protection, i.e. if you are unable to open the file, this program won't help you.

Download Excel Password Remover

Force Windows to Boot Into Safe Mode Without Using the F8 Key

2008-03-22T00:59:00.001-07:00

So you are reading instructions on some article that tells you to reboot into Safe mode. You ask how you do that, and are told to use the F8 key when the computer boots up. But you just can't seem to get the F8 key to work… so how do you boot into Safe mode?

There's an option in the well-known System Configuration utility that will let you force Windows to always boot into Safe mode… until you turn the option off.

Note: While this method is nothing new, I have to give credit to reader Larry for mentioning it in a comment and prompting this article. Thanks, Larry!

Force Windows to Boot into Safe Mode

Open up the start menu search or run box, and type in msconfig and hit the enter key.

Select the Boot tab, and then check the box for "Safe boot" and make sure the radio button below is set to "Minimal".

Once you hit the OK button you'll be asked if you want to Restart now or wait until later. Either way, the next boot will take you into safe mode.

Once you restart, you'll realize that you are in Safe Mode because it not only places that text in the four corners of the screen, but it even opens up the safe mode page from the help file in Vista.

Now you can work on getting rid of that spyware…

Turn Safe Mode Back Off

Once you are done fixing whatever you were working on, you'll probably want to turn safe mode off and go back to normal mode. Just open up msconfig the same way as above, and then on the Boot tab you'll uncheck the "Safe boot" checkbox.

This method especially helps if you need to repeatedly boot into Safe mode.

System Protect

2008-03-20T10:53:00.001-07:00

System Protect is free, easy-to-use software that helps keep your operating system stable and protect important programs, documents and files from deletion caused by viruses, other users on your computer such as your kids, or even by your own mistake.

Features:

Files & Folders Protection
Protection of Selected Files
Stable Operating System
Protection for All Users
Multilanguage Support
Automatic Updates
Easy to Use, Easy to Setup
Free Support

Publisher : Visit Website

DOWNLOAD NOW (4.80 MB)