By admin on Feb 17, 2011 | In Viruses and Spyware | No Comments »
More than 100 new viruses are released and spread via the Internet every single day, making your antivirus software the most important program you have installed on your computer. Life in the antivirus software world is a constant game of ‘catching up’ because so many new viruses are released. For best protection, it is absolutely crucial that you update your software as often as possible.
Before we get into the best antivirus software downloads, let’s take a minute to talk about how antivirus software works. Most people don’t really understand how the software works, leaving them more vulnerable to catching a virus.
Real Time Antivirus Protection:
Most software uses what’s called ‘signature scanning’ to detect viruses or malware on your computer. Antivirus software has a database of known viruses, so every time you open or access a file, the software will scan the database. The best antivirus software has anywhere from 20,000 to 60,000 known viruses stored in their database, which is why your computer sometimes runs a little slower after you install the software.
On Demand Antivirus Protection:
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By admin on Feb 13, 2011 | In Software | No Comments »
One of my earliest posts back in 2009 was about the Pando software, which makes it possible to send big files to someone through email. Pando was limited to sending files up to 1GB only, but it was still a handy tool to have. Now, almost 2 years later, we are using and sharing much bigger files, and we may wish to send a file like that to a friend on the other side of the world – quickly.
With a helpful tip from a colleague at work, I just discovered a new service that can help. It is called WeTransfer, and it lets you send files up to 2GB, for FREE! The whole transfer procedure is so quick and easy: there’s no need to install any software and you can send a file with just a few mouse clicks. Also a plus: you don’t need to disclose many details. You only have to enter the destination email address and your own, and attach the file. You can add an optional message if you wish.
No registration is necessary and the files stay on the WeTransfer server for two weeks, so the recipient has enough time to download the file at a convenient time.
For more information or to test the FREE service, please visit the WeTransfer Website.
By admin on Feb 2, 2011 | In Security | No Comments »
Microsoft has issued a new security alert that affects all users of the popular Internet Explorer browser! There seems to be a serious security flaw in the Windows system that could be exploited by hackers to access your PC and steal private information. There have been no reports of successful intrusions yet, but Microsoft urges all users to install a security patch (download here) to prevent any attacks. There is currently no Windows update for this bug, but Microsoft is working on a permanent solution.
I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear this news, considering Internet Explorer had so many problems (and critics) in the past. However, it’s still one of the most popular browsers and I’m sure it won’t go away any time soon. In fact, it’s still my favorite browser.
Other browsers, such as Safari, Firefox and Chrome are not affected by this flaw, because, unlike Internet Explorer, they don’t support MTHML files. This seems to be the reason for the security glitch, because it allows attackers to inject harmful scripts into your PC (read more on this here).
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By admin on Jan 28, 2011 | In Windows 7 | No Comments »
This Guest Post is contributed by Tibor Schiemann, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, TuneUp blog.
Part of Windows 7, Windows XP Mode (also known as “Virtual Windows”) is designed to make the transition from Windows XP as smooth as possible. It runs a full copy of the former Microsoft operating system in the background, so that Windows 7 users can install and run applications that are not compatible with Microsoft’s latest operating system. However, there are some performance issues users can run into when using Windows XP Mode.
Prepping for Virtual Windows on Your PC
To run older applications under Windows XP Mode, you’ll first need Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate; it doesn’t matter if it’s the 32-bit or 64-bit architecture.
Then, in terms of hardware, I recommend using at least a Core 2 Duo 2 GHz processor and having 2 GB (or more) of main memory and 20 GB of free hard disk space for Windows XP Mode. Simulating Windows XP takes up a lot of resources because you are basically running two operating systems at the same time—your Windows 7 and the virtualized XP.
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By admin on Jan 12, 2011 | In Fun with your PC | 1 Comment »
I haven’t published new articles under the Fun with your PC category for a while, so it’s time to revisit the fun side of PCs (not counting gaming of course).
Here is a new prank that you can play on your friends, family or even enemies, provided you can access their PC. It involves installing a screen saver that simulates the Blue Screen of Death. This small file is actually offered by Microsoft, and you can download it here.
You just have to access your victims’ computers and install a small 700kb file and activate it (extract the file from the zip folder to the Windows directory. Then go to Display Properties and select SysInternalsBluescreen from the list of screen savers). The screen will appear when the user least expects it (you will set the timer) and they will think the PC crashed. Perhaps they’ll even be forced to restart the PC. However, they’ll be very surprised when the same message appears again the next time the screen saver is activated. It will take them a few times to ‘get’ what’s happening.
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