3-2-10 pcusers meeting

2-2-10 PC User Group Meeting

1-5-10 PC User Group Meeting

12-3-09 PC User Group Meeting

11-3-09 PC User Group Meeting

9-1-09 PC User Group Meeting

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6-29-09 PC User Group Meeting

5-5-09 PC User Group Meeting

• OpenWith.org free programs to open any file extension
• NirSoft Info Viewers - Extract cookies, history data and cache information from firefox, IE, etc.
• Readable App bookmarklet
• Google FX - Firefox add-on
  • Greasemonkey - Firefox add-on
• PrintWhatYouLike is a free online editor that lets you format any web page for printing in seconds!
• Peacekeeper browser benchmark
• BatteryBar
• Space Sniffer: explore a “treemap” representation of your file and folder sizes
• Free Extended Task Manager
• Panda Cloud Antivirus hits Internet for free
  • Panda Cloud Antivirus web site
• How a cybergang operates a network of 1.9 million infected computers
• How-to: Exercises That Protect Against Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Windows Live OneCare safety scanner: Free online tool for PC health and safety
• Cleanmem - Cleans memory from processes, without user input.

4-7-09 PC User Group Meeting

• '60 Minutes': What's next for the Conficker worm?
• Rid your computer of the Conficker virus
• Newfangled rootkits survive hard disk wiping
• Scareware Morphs Into Ransomware
• HDGraph - graphically display the hard disk space usage :
• 7-Zip is a file archiver with a high compression ratio
  • Stupid Geek Tricks: Using 7-Zip as a Blazing Fast File Browser
• Convert PDF Files to Word Documents and Other Formats
• PDFVue brings PDF viewing, editing to the browser
• Foxmarks Bookmark Syncing Available for Internet Explorer, Safari
• 5 Ways To Fix A Stuck Pixel On Your Screen
• FreeCommander is an easy-to-use alternative to the standard windows file manager.
• Important: How To Scan and Remove Malicious Viruses

3-3-09 PC User Group Meeting

• Adobe PDF Guide: How to Do Everything with PDF Files
• Lastpass - A Free Password Manager that's Just as Good as Roboform
• Browse Photosynths from the Obama Inauguration Events
• All Windows 7 Versions--What You Need to Know
• Microsoft stores aim to encourage Windows shopping
• Get a free domain name and hosting from Microsoft
  • Live Office Demo Video
  • Daves Depot
• "toread" is an email-based free bookmark service.
• Office.ManualsOnline.com
• Remap any Unused or Faulty Keyboard Keys with Sharp Keys
• A Computer Repair Utility Kit You Can Run From a Thumb Drive
• Microsoft's Photosynth, the best thing to happen to photography since the digital camera.
• JavaRa - upate and remove old versions of java
• Revo Uninstaller - free  

  Revo Uninstaller helps you to remove any unwanted application installed on your computer.

  With its advanced and fast algorithm, Revo Uninstaller analyzes an application’s data before uninstall and scans after you uninstall an application. After the program’s regular uninstaller runs, you can remove additional unnecessary files, folders and registry keys that are usually left over on your computer. Even if you have a broken installation, Revo Uninstaller scans for an application’s data on your hard disk drives and in the Windows registry and shows all found files, folders and registry items so you can delete them.

  With its unique “Hunter mode”, Revo Uninstaller offers you some simple, easy to use, but effective and powerful approaches to manage (uninstall, stop, delete, disable from auto starting) and to get information about your installed and/or running applications.

• Foxmarks for IE and Safari
  • Synchronizing Your Bookmarks on All Your PCs

2-3-09 PC User Group Meeting

• Rohos Mini Drive - encrypted partition for USB drives  

  Rohos Mini Drive encryption software that allows you to protect your USB stick by using hidden and protected partition

• Windows 7
  • List of Spyware Protection Software Compatible with Windows 7
  • Windows 7 Beta 1: I’m not impressed
  • Windows 7 Problem Steps Recorder
  • MS Win v7 Downoad Site  

    The Microsoft Windows v7 Beta 1 Evaluation site w/ “Official” PC Requirements listed

  • Hate Vista? You May Like Microsoft’s Sequel - NYTimes.com
  • Tim Sneath : The Bumper List of Windows 7 Secrets
  • Secret Items on the Windows 7 Send To Menu
  • windows 7 Known Working Software
  • VISTA, Winv7 Gaget Gallery
  • What You Should Expect from the Windows 7 Beta
  • W7- What does ‘feature complete’ mean?
  • How to Dual Boot Windows 7 with XP or Vista  

    If you’re dying to try out Windows 7 but aren’t ready to give up your installation of XP or Vista, let’s take a look at how to dual boot Windows 7 with XP or Vista.

  • Extend the Windows 7 Trial from 30 to 120 Days
  • PC makers to provide free Vista-to Win-7 upgrades starting July 1
  • Win XP News: In-depth look at Windows 7
    • Skipping Vista: Is Win7 the OS that XP Users Have Been Waiting For?
    • Windows 7 Preview Part 1: Let's Just Pretend Vista Never Happened, Shall We?
  • Test Center benchmarks: Windows 7 unmasked
  • Windows 7 Upgrade Chaos Looms
  • Windows 7 Upgrade May Not Be So Chaotic
• Jack approved version - Acrobat Reader 7.0.9
• Keep the latest worm infestation off your PC
• CDBurnerXP - burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs.  

  CDBurnerXP is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multilanguage interface. Everyone, even companies, can use it for free. It does not include adware or similar malicious components.

• Surveymonkey  

  Using just your web browser, create your survey with our intuitive survey editor. Select from over a dozen types of questions (multiple choice, rating scales, drop-down menus, and more…). Powerful options allow you to require answers to any question, control the flow with custom skip logic, and even randomize answer choices to eliminate bias.

  • Surveymonkey 37211 group survey
• .Xoopit - Gmail attachment organizer  

  Very nice service that searches your gmail account (including archives)for any attachments and it then groups them according to person, date, etc. You can either go online and view them or you can install the Firefox browser add-on to view them from within your gmail account. it took about 24 hours for them to search my account. It will send you an email when it finishes processing the account . it also sends you a weekly e-mail summarizing any attachments for the week. Look at the attachments

• Dll-files.com  

  Welcome to Dll-files.com! Everyone has received a “Couldn’t find **.dll…” pop-up message at some time. Well folks, your problems are over! Here you will find the most common files that may be missing or corrupted on your computer. Feel free to download at no cost!

• Jing - capture screen and video online
• Livedrive unlimited storage
• Microsoft preps to push IE 8; makes blocking tool available

1-6-09 PC User Group Meeting

• .Unmask Parasites  

  Unmask Parasites is a simple online web site security service that helps reveal _hidden_illicit content (parasites) that hackers insert into benign web pages using various security holes.

• Microsoft Launches “Vista Answers” Site
• Windows Live Sync vs. Live Mesh vs. SkyDrive: Which is Right for You?
• How to Rebuild your Computer and Reinstall Windows Without Headache
• Screentoaster - Free Online Screen Recorder  

  Free Online Screen Recorder

  • Register & use it anywhere anytime Make screencasts / tutorials / demos / high-scores show-offs…
  • Record your screen in one click No download. Compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux.
  • Share videos on the Internet in Flash Embed them on blogs/webpages or send them by email.
• FBackup 4.0 free backup software
• Computer Crashes Needn't be Fatal - Mozy Backup
• Has Microsoft Made a Mesh of Cloud Computing?
• Report: Comcast usage monitor coming in January
• Reinstall Windows and outfit your system with all freeware programs  

  I recently clean installed Windows XP on my laptop, and this meant that I had to re-install all the essential software that I use. It also presented an opportunity to write a posting about how you can outfit your computer with all the essential (and non-essential) software you need using strictly 100% freeware and/or open source titles.This posting could have been titled any of the following:

  • How to never use a paid program again (aside from Windows).
  • 53 essential freeware programs that can take care of the majority of your computing needs.

  I am writing this from the perspective of myself clean-installing Windows and re-installing all the software I find to be essential afterwards. This post took a long time to write,

• The 46 Free Desktop Software Applications, Webapps, and Projects We're Most Thankful For

12-2-08 PC User Group Meeting

• Dave's Sunset Tree  

  Several people have been asking me where I got the wallpaper on my laptop. This is the link to it. It is my default wallpaper. It is peaceful and wonderfully balanced. It reminds at the end of a hard day to be thankful for the simple things in life that bring me happiness.

• AVG Online Backup  

  AVG Online Backup automatically backs up your irreplaceable files, up to the 2 GB storage limit. At any time, you can add other valuable files such as music, photos and emails to your backup, provided you stay under the 2 GB limi

• Once thought safe, WPA Wi-Fi encryption is cracked
• Joongel - metasearch search engines  

  Joongel is a metasearch engine that compiles a list of the Top 10 most popular websites in different categories and allows you to search within all of those sites. There are 23 categories such as images, music, videos, shopping, social, questions & answers, health, torrents gossip and more. Changing the category is as easy as clicking on the button with desired category.

• Zapr: Share Files Directly From Your Desktop
• Autoruns - Hunt down autostart programs wherever they hide
  • Autoruns Sysinternals site
• Ultimate Windows Tweaker - Tweak UI For Windows Vista
• Screen2exe updated and improved
• Create a Report of Installed Hardware and Software with WinAudit
• Real Alternative 1.90 - Realplayer alternative
• Combine your Firefox bookmarks and IE favorites
  • MyFoxmarks
    • Example of shared folder
    • Example of shared folder RSS feed
• IE 8 Beta
  • Geek Reviews: First Look at Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2  

    It’s been a long time since Microsoft released the first beta of Internet Explorer 8, which left me wondering what they had up their sleeve. After reading that they added a ton of new features in Beta 2 like private browsing, tab grouping and a new smart address bar, I just had to try it out and share with all of our readers.

  • Customize IE8 Beta 2 to fit your needs
• 30 FireFox Add Ons to do just about anything
  • FireShot is a Firefox extension that creates screenshots of web pages
• Brute Force Calculator: See How Strong Your Password Is
• OtherInbox  

  OtherInbox is an email service that wants to give you control over emails that come from services you sign up for and other various accounts you may have online.

  • Otherinbox demo video
• Wirewise.com  

  Bought a new DVD player or a home theater system but have no clue how to set it up? Wondering where those red and yellow cables should go? Enter WireWize – it can give you a step-by-step setup instructions for pretty much any home entertainment electronics out there. F

• Safemanuals.com  

  3,627 brands 883,542 downloadable user’s guides over 457,000 members

  So much time wasted looking all over the place for the instruction manual to tune the tv-set, find the printer cartridge replacement how-to, the meaning of the blinking led on the dashboard. How many user manuals available only on cd-rom, on the internet ?

  On this site you will easily be able to find the required instruction guides and user manuals that you need.

• Transmute - free bookmark conversion utility.
• Kickyoutube - easiest way to download youtube videos
• Picassa 3
  • See what's new in Picasa 3 video
• Microsoft to offer free consumer security suite
• Updates to USB and Flash technology
  • USB 3.0 is ready to go
  • SanDisk Claims Hundredfold Speed Boost for Flash

11-6-08 PC User Group Meeting

• Autoruns - Hunt down autostart programs wherever they hide  

  See what programs are configured to startup automatically when your system boots and you login. Autoruns also shows you the full list of Registry and file locations where applications can configure auto-start settings.

• Windows Vista Tip: Take screenshots with the Snipping Tool
• Free Art Plus Digital Photo Recovery  

  Free Art Plus Digital Photo Recovery tool can help you recover lost images from corrupted or accidentally formatted digital camera memory cards.

  • Works with ALL types of memory cards!
  • It’s able to recover images from formatted cards!
  • Reads corrupted cards (even if they’re not recognized by Windows)!
  • Recovers JPG, TIF and most of RAW files!
• OpenOffice.org 3.0 Features
  • OpenOffice.org 3.0.0 Final download
• DoubleDriver
• The Seven Deadliest Social Networking Hacks
• Remobo: instant VPN, filesharing, and remote desktop control  

  Similar to Hamachi only it has better support, help and it is being continually developed.

• Split your Monitor into Sections with Acer GridVista  

  You can split your monitor into two (half size), three (one half, two quarter) or four (all quarter) sections. You can then “maximise” your windows into any of the sections so that no screen real estate is wasted by simply dragging the window into one of the sectors. Don’t worry, you can still maximise your windows to full screen and you can select which windows should not adhere to the space constraints set by GridVista, which windows should run on top of the others and even the transparency of the windows.

  • Acer GridVista Product page
  • Acer GridVista download
• How to run older applications in Windows Vista
• Free windows File managers
  • ExplorerXP
  • A43
• News update responds to threat of Web worm
• Foxmarks syncs your passwords across PCs
• PrimeProxies: Find Proxies That Actually Work  

  Having a hard time in finding a proxy server that actually works? Try PrimeProxies.com. It is a proxy list that scans web based proxies and tests each one for speed, link encryption and number of ads. It then displays the best ones on the front page, and each displayed proxy scanned at least once every 5 minutes. This means each proxy you try will work first time.

• NomaDesk: Backup and Sync Files Between Computers  

  NomaDesk offers a simple and secure way to backup personal files online, securely share files with colleagues and most importantly syn files and folders between multiple computers. The latter one is in particularly useful letting you automatically sync files between up to 5 computers

  • NomaDesk - Getting started
• Flashload - Download videos directly from the most video sites
• Back up Software
  • EASEUS Disk Copy  

    EASEUS Disk Copy is a potent freeware providing sector-by-sector disk/partition clone regardless of your operating system, file systems and partition scheme

  • FTP backup  

    You can use this program to create dated backups of FTP websites.

    The program allows the downloading of specific directories as well as recursive directory downloads.

    It also supports the exlusion of specified files and directories, and can be used with windows scheduled tasks to perform scheduled FTP backups.

• Backup and Restore Hardware Drivers the Easy Way with Double Driver
• Make the Web Do Your Bidding With Firefox’s New Ubiquity UI  

  Read the article, View the video, Wow!!

  • With 'Ubiquity,' Mozilla chooses functionality over security

10-7-08 PC User Group Meeting

• ShipGooder  

  What is ShipGooder? ShipGooder provides an easy, fast rate engine to get the best shipping rates by comparing local, regional and national courier companies. Since all couriers aren’t competitive in all locations, ShipGooder offers a way to check and compare the best rates. ShipGooder provides instant price comparisons and delivery options from a range of couriers. It’s that simple.

• ShellExView v1.19 - Shell Extensions Manager  

  Shell Extensions are in-process COM objects which extends the abilities of Windows operating system. The ShellExView utility displays the details of shell extensions installed on your computer, and allows you to easily disable and enable each shell extension.

• Portable freeware utility WipeDisk  

  Portable freeware utility WipeDisk securely erases hard disks, USB drives, camera memory cards, and other removable media

• Vetusware.com - abandonware  

  The biggest free abandonware downloads collection in the universe

• Some PDF to Word Converter  

  Some PDF to Word Converter can help you to convert PDF to Word, so you can edit and reuse your PDF content. Using Some PDF to Word Converter you can preserve original layout, text, images, vector drawings of your pdf file.

  Convert your PDF documents to Microsoft Word Documents – make your PDF content editing and reusable with Some PDF to Word Converter!

• : Using Dia As a Free Replacement for Microsoft Visio  

  Dia is capable of creating electronic circuit diagrams, computer network diagrams and even simple business project flowcharts. You can export these diagrams with a number of image formats, or even in a format readable by Visio.

• Debunking Common Windows Performance Tweaking Myths  

  As a tech writer, one of my biggest pet peeves is the plethora of bad advice littered across almost every web site dedicated to system tweaking. Besides the tweaks that simply don’t work, some of them will actually cause your computer to run even slower—or worse. Let’s examine some of the most offensive myths out there regarding PC performance tweaking, and debunk them once and for all.

• Flowgram - online presentation
• Back Up Your Bookmarks Online  

  Contents * 1 Social Bookmarking * 2 Go Old School * 3 Use Foxmarks Firefox Plug-in * 4 Evernote and Box.net * 5 Google browser sync * 6 Conclusion

  • Firefox Environment Backup Extension  

    Latext version allows you to backup your profile to your boxnet account

• Google Chrome Browser
  • Enable Chrome's Best Features in Firefox
  • Google on Google Chrome - comic book
  • Official Google Blog: A fresh take on the browser
• Google powers up users' Gmail security arsenal
• 5 ways to master bookmarks in Firefox
• Making Moz Thunderbird Better
  • Lightning Calendar Add-On
    • How To Turn Mozilla Thunderbird into a PIM & Sync With GCal
  • Stay in Sync with GCal and Thunderbird

9-2-08 PC User Group Meeting

• Microsoft Silverlight  

  Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of Microsoft .NET–based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web.

  • Microsoft Silverlight - Wikipedia  

    Microsoft Silverlight (code-named Windows Presentation Foundation/Everywhere or WPF/E) is a runtime for browser-based Rich Internet Applications, providing a subset of the animation, vector graphics, and video playback capabilities of Windows Presentation Foundation. The runtime is available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, with Linux support under development via the third-party Moonlight runtime.

    Silverlight competes with Adobe Flash and with Sun Microsystems’ JavaFX, launched a few days after Silverlight.1 . It offers an alternative to Ajax programming techniques, which are commonly used to provide an improved user interface.

  • Microsoft Download Center Beta.
• DriverView .  

  DriverView utility displays the list of all device drivers currently loaded on your system. For each driver in the list, additional useful information is displayed: load address of the driver, description, version, product name, company that created the driver, and more.

• Setting up Dual monitors  

  Dual Monitors Category: Hardware

  Did you ever wish you had a REALLY big computer screen? Here’s a tip… use a dual monitor (or multi monitor) setup to extend your desktop across two or more screens. Both Windows and Mac computers have the ability to simulate one BIG screen using a dual or multi monitor configuration. Here’s the scoop on the hardware and software required, and how to setup your dual monitor system.

• Comcast to cap monthly consumer broadband |  

  Starting October 1 customers of Comcast’s residential data services will have an invisible barrier on their monthly data usage. Under the new guidelines of Comcast’s Acceptable Use Policy announced Thursday, that cap will be set at 250 gigabytes per month, per account.

  • Frequently Comcast - Asked Questions about Excessive Use
  • ShaPlus Bandwidth Meter 1.2 (Freeware)  

    ShaPlus Bandwidth Meter remains in tray and displays the approximate bandwidth consumed for the session, day and month. This will be useful for people with limited bandwidth/month.

• Three Good Reasons for Flashing the BIOS  

  Part of a series of articles about the BIOS

  • 10 common mistakes you should avoid when flashing your BIOS  

    The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is critical to the proper operation of your computer. It is the first code that is executed at start-up and defines the way your motherboard will communicate with the system hardware components.

    The decision to flash your BIOS should not be taken lightly. It is essential that you do it mistake free if you still want to be able to use your computer.

    For the purposes of this article I am going to assume that you understand the risks of flashing your BIOS and have a good reason for upgrading your existing BIOS. If are not familiar with the basics of flashing the BIOS or if you are not 100 percent sure that flashing your BIOS is the right thing to do then please read the companion article

• EyeDefender  

  EyeDefender is a freeware rest reminder designed to prevent Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) resulting from working on a computer for hours. CVS symptoms include eyestrain, blurred vision, delayed focusing, headaches, back and neck aches, dry and burning eyes, light sensitivity, distorted color vision, forehead heaviness, and sore eyes.

8-5-08 PC User Group Meeting

• PrevxCSI - Free Malware/Rootkit Scanner  

  Our FREE Prevx CSI scanner allows you to benefit from the knowledge gained from our vast community of users. Prevx CSI scanner is click-and-go, requires no installation or reboot, which means it’s quick and easy to use. Its small size allows you to take it anywhere and use it as many times as you like, and even copy it to your friends.

• USB Disk Ejector.  

  USB Disk Ejector was originally a program that I wrote for my own use and released just to see if anyone found it useful. Apparently people did and it was surprisingly popular.

  In response to user requests I’ve now beefed it up significantly. This new version has been completely re-written and has many new features. It now works on Vista, can run as a command line application and can eject drives from the command line based on drive letter, drive name or partial drive name.

• Google powers up users' Gmail security arsenal  

  Gmail users now have some extra ways to make sure no one can snoop around in their e-mail accounts, a post Monday afternoon on the Official Gmail Blog explained. The Google e-mail service provider is introducing a feature so that members can see where they’re logged in and then opt to log out if they want.

• Five ways to master bookmarks in Firefox 3  

  Besides the face-lift, one of Firefox 3’s less flashy, but incredibly useful features, is the new bookmarking system. Yeah, there are still folders and bookmarklets, but joining the party are useful items like tags, smart backup, and a new way to track which sites you’re actually visiting to help weed out what’s unneeded.

• ipaper@scribd.com  

  Email Attachments Made Simple and Safe

  • View email attachments in your browser
  • Ensure that your recipients can easily view your documents
  • No downloading huge files, no additional software, no viruses
  • It’s free and no sign up is required Include ipaper@scribd.com as a CC and we’ll send everyone an iPaper version of the document attachments. It’s safe, easy, and you never have to worry whether your recipients can view the documents
• KeyScrambler Encrypts Browser Keystrokes  

  Windows only: If you’ve got that paranoid feeling that something’s monitoring what you type into your web browser—like a private email or online banking login—protect yourself from keyloggers with free browser plug-in KeyScrambler. Operating as a layer between your keyboard and your web browser, KeyScrambler encrypts your key strokes and decrypts them as they are placed into the browser, so that a keylogger would only intercept the encrypted stream, not the actual text—essentially gibberish instead of your personal information

• Adobe Air - Integrated desktop application  

  Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), codenamed Apollo,[1] is a cross-operating system runtime environment for building rich Internet applications using Adobe Flash, Adobe Flex, HTML, and Ajax, that can be deployed as a desktop application

  • Adobe Media Player - demo  

    The Adobe Media Player is an Adobe Air application that allows you to stream and download video from mainstream and online networks. Some of the videos are available to view offline so you can add them to your favorites and view them any time. You can also subscribe to other video on the web by entering in the feed URL. If you have your own videos you want to watch in the player, you can upload those too. Some of the networks included are CBS, Wired, blip.tv, Food Network, HGTV, PBS, and Adobe TV, to name a few.

  • ReadAir demo  

    ReadAir is an application built on Adobe Air that brings your Google Reader to your desktop.

• Acrobat.com  

  Acrobat.com is a set of online services you can use to create and share documents, communicate in real time, and simplify working with others from anywhere. With Acrobat.com, you can do the following:

  • Store up to 5 gigabytes of files in your online organizer, accessible from anywhere with a web browser.
  • Share large files with others, without sending the files by e-mail. You can limit access to just people you invite, or make your documents accessible to everyone by embedding a link on a web page or blog.
  • Convert 5 documents to PDF.
  • Create documents with Adobe Buzzword, an online word processor
  • Hold web meetings with Adobe ConnectNow web conferencing software
  • What can you do with Acrobat.com?
• IBM Lotus Symphony 1  

  IBM® Lotus® Symphony™ is a richly-featured set of productivity tools that are intuitive and easy to use and provided at no charge. There are three applications that make up Lotus Symphony: Lotus Symphony Documents, Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets, Lotus Symphony Presentations.

  Lotus Symphony puts you in charge – take control over spiraling upgrade costs, ensure access to documents well into the future with new standard file formats (ODF), get more from your current investments with support for Microsoft Windows and Office file types.

  • IBM Lotus Symphony wikipedia article  

    IBM Lotus Symphony is a set of applications comprising of:

    • IBM Lotus Symphony Documents, a word processor
    • IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets, a spreadsheet program
    • IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations, a presentation program

    Symphony supports the OpenDocument format (ODF), as well as Microsoft Office and Lotus SmartSuite formats, but not the Office Open XML format used by Microsoft Office 2007. It can also export Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

• Digital Photgraphy school - Beginners guides  

  A large proportion of the readers of Digital Photography School classify themselves as beginners – so we thought it might be helpful to have a page set up that collates some of our Digital Photography Tips for Beginners.

  • Photography Ebooks
  • The Digital Darkroom  

    The Digital Darkroom: A Complete Guide to Image Processing for Digital Photographers is the definitive guide to digital photography, containing everything you need to know to get started with digital technology, and experimenting with images in Photoshop

    - Offers a comprehensive introduction to the basics of digital photography in an accessible, highly visual, jargon-free way. - Includes inspiring project-based illustrations of innovative practices, and practical workshops to promote greater skill, from basic corrections and enhancements to advanced creative techniques. - Covers all your output needs, including saving images for the Web and email, and how to prepare your images for printing, and the best equipment, paper, and inks for every task. - A user-friendly appendix provides essential keyboard shortcuts and an easy-reference glossary of terms.

  • The Essential Photography Manual  

    This all-inclusive reference guide to photography explains, in an accessible and user-friendly way, photographic equipment and techniques and reveals how to tackle all the major genres of photography. Subjects are further illuminated with practical tips and advice from the professionals. The volume also features full-page photographs for inspiration, accompanied by explanations of how they were taken. There is also a brief history of the medium, explaining the major artistic and technical developments. At the back of the book there is a comprehensive illustrated encyclopedia, featuring diagrams and thumbnail photographs illustrating all the key photographic terms and concepts.

  • Digital Photography Step-by-Step  

    Your search for a straightforward, easy-to-use manual on digital photography is finally over. From a comprehensive introduction to the various features of a digital camera, through to a thorough understanding of the processes involved, Digital Photography Step By Step covers everything you ever wanted to know about the subject. Written simply and effectively without the use of complicated terminology, every page is visually accessible through screen-grabs that illustrate every step of the instructions.

    Topics included are: - Basic and more advanced photographic principles - Downloading images to your computer - The editing process, from calibrating your monitor to manipulating images - Using Photoshop Elements - Printing your images

  • Understanding Layers in Photoshop  

    The Digital Photography School blog has an instructive tutorial on using layers for those just getting their feet wet inside Photoshop, or other high-end image editors like the open-source GIMP. Those jumping in will learn how to make transparent layers, use masked layers to roll back effects, and duplicate layers for sharpening and other effects. Hit the link for a quick schooling, including links to related lessons, or offer up your own tutorials and advice in the comments.

• Tech Support - How To Ask Questions The Smart Way  

  In the world of tech support, the kind of answers you get to your technical questions depends as much on the way you ask the questions as on the difficulty of developing the answer. This guide will teach you how to ask questions in a way more likely to get you a satisfactory answer.

6-2-08 PC User Group Meeting

• Ebooks on ISSUU  

  Some books i have loaded into ISSUU

  • I Have QuickBooks, Now What?: For the Self-Employed  

    “I have QuickBooks, Now What?” is the only book that takes you from point A to point B, translating the language barrier in laymen’s terms for the self employed business owner. Most small business owners focus more on their service or product and don’t know what a debit or credit is, and they don’t know what to enter into QuickBooks to set it up. It answers that exact question,

• Sysinternals utilities  

  The Sysinternals web site was created in 1996 by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell to host their advanced system utilities and technical information. Microsoft acquired Sysinternals in July, 2006. Whether you’re an IT Pro or a developer, you’ll find Sysinternals utilities to help you manage, troubleshoot and diagnose your Windows systems and applications.

  • Sysinternals Live is One-Stop Shop for Launching Must-Have Utilities  

    f you’ve ever done any serious Windows troubleshooting, you’ve no doubt come across a freeware utility or two by Sysinternals—like the excellent, previously mentioned Process Explorer. You may also know that Microsoft eventually bought up every Sysinternals utility and bundled it into a single suite of apps. Now Sysinternals has launched a new way to access their library of must-have utilities quickly and easily from any internet-connected PC.

    • Using Sysinternals live  

      Copy and paste the below commands into Run , Command prompt or file manager window to directly run sysinternals tools

      Zoomit \\live.sysinternals.com\tools\zoomit.exe

      Process Explorer \\live.sysinternals.com\tools\procexp.exe

    • ZoomIt  

      ZoomIt is screen zoom and annotation tool for technical presentations that include application demonstrations. ZoomIt runs unobtrusively in the tray and activates with customizable hotkeys to zoom in on an area of the screen, move around while zoomed, and draw on the zoomed image. I wrote ZoomIt to fit my specific needs and use it in all my presentations.

• Freecorder 3.0 audio recorder  

  Freecorder 3.0 is an easy-to-use audio recorder for your Windows based PC. Why is it special?

  • Records what you hear from your PC speakers.
  • Records from the microphone or line-in inputs on your PC.
  • Unique Sound Separation Technology eliminates background noises.
  • Easy-to-use Record, Stop and Pause functions.
  • See recordings happening with the cool Visualizer.
  • Saves recordings as MP3 or WAV files.
  • Supports all Windows versions, including Windows Vista.
  • Works with any sound card, even those that don’t support recording.
  • No spyware, adware or viruses.
  • Easy to uninstall.
  • Includes a powerful Google-based search, radio player, and optional browser gadgets like weather, pop-up blocker, highlighter and more.
  • 100% FREE!
• An Upstart Challenges the Big Web Browsers  

  The browser, that porthole onto the broad horizon of the Web, is about to get some fancy new window dressing. Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image Illustration by James C. Best Jr./The New York Times

  Browser developer Mozilla plans to release Firefox 3.0 in June. Multimedia Making InroadsGraphic Making Inroads Related Times Topics: Mozilla Foundation Enlarge This Image Jim Wilson/The New York Times

  John Lilly, Mozilla’s chief, left; Mike Schroepfer, vice president for engineering; and Vlad Vukicevic, principal engineer.

  Next month, after three years of development and six months of public testing, Mozilla, the insurgent browser developer that rose from the ashes of Netscape, will release Firefox 3.0. It will feature a few tricks that could change the way people organize and find the sites they visit most frequently.

  • Top 10 Firefox 3 Features  

    The newest version of our favorite open source web browser, Mozilla Firefox 3, offers dozens of new features and fixes, but only a handful will make the most dramatic difference in your everyday browsing. After 17 months of alphas and betas, Mozilla’s finally made a feature-complete release candidate available, so it’s time to spotlight the biggest improvements that will make “Gran Paradiso” the browser to beat.

  • Mozilla Firefox®, Portable Edition  

    Mozilla Firefox®, Portable Edition is available packaged with Mozilla Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1, allowing you to test all the latest features in the upcoming version without disrupting your current Firefox installation.

• HP Smart Web Printing  

  HP Smart Web Printing lets you select, store and organize text and graphics from multiple web pages and then edit and print exactly what you see onscreen. It gives you the control you need to print meaningful information while minimizing waste.

• RUBotted - Bot detction software  

  RUBotted monitors your computer for suspicious activities and regularly checks with an online service to identify behavior associated with Bots. Upon discovering a potential infection, RUBotted prompts you to scan and clean your computer.

5-6-08 PC User Group Meeting

• doPDF - free PDF converter  

  doPDF is a free PDF converter for both personal and commercial use. Using doPDF you can create PDF files by selecting the “Print” command from virtually any application. With one click you can convert your Microsoft Excel, Word or PowerPoint documents or your emails and favorite web sites to PDF files.

• Amic Email Backup  

  Amic Email Backup is a handy software tool for Microsoft Windows based PCs designed to create backup copy of your email database. Amic Email Backup can save emails, address book, settings, mail and news accounts, message rules, blocked senders lists and signatures to a single, compact, compressed backup file that can be easily restored when necessary.

• How to links - Dual Monitors
  • Guide to Dual Monitors
  • How to install dual monitors  

    A youtube video running about 3 minutes

  • Make the Most of Your Dual Monitors  

    Now that you’ve added another monitor to your computer setup, you’ve got double the screen real estate to get things done—but are you putting all that space to good use? Whether you want to stretch your desktop wallpaper or taskbar across two monitors or perfectly snap all your windows into place every time, there are a few utilities that can help you make the most of every last pixel of your dual monitors. Let’s take a look.

  • How to Setup Your Computer with Dual Monitors
  • The Large Display Paradox  

    Users of 30-inch monitors face the terrible, terrible problem of how to effectively use all of that space. You don’t often want to maximise a folder or document window on a screen this big; either you’ll end up with a lot of white space and important program buttons separated by a vast expanse of nothing, or you’ll get lines of text 300 or more characters long, which are difficult to read.

• PrintablePaper  

  PrintablePaper provides you with hundreds of free paper templates that can be downloaded and printed for free. Templates include: graph paper, lined paper, financial paper, music paper, dot paper, etc. There are 10 paper types with each type available in several formats. All templates are available in PDF format and can be previewed onlin

• Diagram Designer  

  Diagram Designer is a simple free vector graphics editor for creating flowchart and diagrams

• MailStore  

  MailStore keeps all your e-mail in one permanent and safe place. Lightning-fast search, one-click Backup, powerful export – Never lose important e-mail again!

• PDF Hammer  

  PDF Hammer is a website that allows you to edit your PDF files online for free. You don’t need to install any additional software, you can edit PDF documents right now inside your browser. Once you start, you will be able to upload one or more PDF files into your project, arrange the pages in any order you wish, and delete any pages you don’t want.

  For example, you can create a PDF document that has the cover page of one PDF file, followed by all of the pages of another PDF file, and finally followed by the back-cover page of the first file.

  PDF Hammer is in beta and currently has the following features:

  • Reorder pages
  • Delete pages
  • Append PDF to another PDF
• Dave's Favorite Firefox and Thunderbird Add-ons

4-1-08 PC User Group Meeting

• Want Vista SP1? Here’s what to expect  

  When Microsoft released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 to manufacturing on February 4, they promised to make it available for the general public in mid-March. Today they delivered on that promise, making SP1 available to Windows Vista users through Windows Update and as a standalone installer package from the Microsoft Download Center.

  • Upgrading to Vista SP1 on Intel Chips? Proceed with Caution
  • Daves Vista SP1install experience  

    Installation notes

    • MS Vista SP1 Error report page
    • Free MS support for SP1  

      Unlimited installation and compatibility support is available at no charge until March 18, 2009.

  • Finished Installing Windows Vista SP1 ? Now Remove All The Junk Files  

    If you upgraded to Vista Service Pack 1 when it went live earlier this week, Windows left behind several files system files from your pre-SP1 install that aren’t being used any longer. The files are left taking up space on your drive so that you can roll back SP1 if you wanted to, but since you’re unlikely to grow sick of all those improvements, weblog Digital Inspiration details how to remove the unneeded junk files and free up space on your hard drive.

• What about Xp?
  • Possible life extension for XP ?
  • XP SP3 remains viable and still in final testing
• ITsVISTA - The Ultimate Windows Vista Resource  

  Information that makes life easier when it comes to installing, managing, and using Windows Vista.

  • The ULTIMATE Windows Vista Reference  

    Here’s the ultimate list of Windows Vista guides from MAXIMUMpcguides.com!

• Windows Super Site  

  Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite for Windows is dedicated to providing all of the information Windows users need to evaluate important upcoming technologies, including Microsoft Windows, Windows Server, Office, and Xbox 360, plus related digital media, Internet and home networking, and more, from Microsoft and its competitors.

• BlackViper.com  

  Windows Service Configurations for Visata and XP

  Includes explanations of each service and advice on which services you can safely disable!

• Create and view a computer maintence calendar
  • Create Distraction-Free, Customized Webapps with Prism
  • Dave's Computer maintenance calendar
  • Use Mozilla Prism to display calendar  

    Prism displays individual web pages without loading a full blown browser application

  • Use Google to create a calendar
• Upload and view your PDF manuals online with Issuu  

  Put all your hardware or Software PDF manuals on line. View them online or send a link to a colleague.

  • Opus 8 manual example  

    This is a manual I uploaded.

3-4-08 PC User Group Meeting

• Backup Mindmap
  • SolidCopy  

    SolidCopy is an industrial-grade FileCopy utility with safe result previewing, extensive logging and fail-over retry mode for unstable media or network conditions. Jobs/scripts may be defined and automated.

    Extra cleanup options allow for removing named or partially named files, removing files by filespec, removing files that exist in the target folder but not the source, and removing files after a successful copy (move operation).

    Safety features include a preview window prior to batched overwrites, complete atomic logging details (with stats and ComputerName of executing machine), and a NoCopy mode where a job can be tested without actually copying, or if only delete operations are wanted.

    SolidCopy is lightweight. It comprises about 1mb in a stand-alone executable, perfect for keychain drives.

  • ShadowExplorer  

    ShadowExplorer allows you to browse the shadow copies created by the Windows® VistaTM Volume Shadow Copy Service. It’s especially thought for users of the home editions, who don’t have access to the shadow copies by default, but it’s also useful for users of the other editions. Shadow Copy

    From time to time, Windows® VistaTM creates point-in-time copies of your files. This allows you to retrieve older versions from files you accidentally deleted or altered. This service is turned on by default on all versions of Windows® VistaTM, but Microsoft grants access to these copies only in Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise editions. This is where ShadowExplorer comes into play. For more information on Shadow Copy, visit Microsofts website.

    • Shadow Copy - Vista feature  

      Have you ever accidentally saved over a file you were working on? Accidental file deletion or modification is a common cause of data loss. Windows Vista includes a useful innovation to help you protect your data: Shadow Copy. Available in the Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise editions of Windows Vista, this feature automatically creates point-in-time copies of files as you work, so you can quickly and easily retrieve versions of a document you may have accidentally deleted. Shadow copy is automatically turned on in Windows Vista and creates copies on a scheduled basis of files that have changed. Since only incremental changes are saved, minimal disk space is used for shadow copies.

  • DocSyncer.com  

    Are you a Google Docs user? If yes, then make sure to give DocSyncer a try. This newly launched application allows you to automatically synchronize all of your local office files with your Google Docs account.

  • BackRex Internet Explorer Backup  

    Internet Explorer Backup

    BackRex Internet Explorer Backup is a backup and restore tool for Internet Explorer. It allows you to backup favorites, history, proxy settings, fonts, dialup accounts, autocomplete passwords and cookies.

  • Automatically back up your hard drive  

    Don’t expect yourself to remember to back up your data, or stack your closet full of burned CD’s or DVD’s. Today we’re going to set up automated nightly, weekly, monthly local and off-site backups for your PC using free software. Once you get this up and running, you’ll never have to worry about losing data again.

    • JkDefrag v3.31  

      JkDefrag is a disk defragmenter and optimizer for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista/X64. Completely automatic and very easy to use, fast, low overhead, with several optimization strategies, and can handle floppies, USB disks, memory sticks, and anything else that looks like a disk to Windows. 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), versions for Windows X64, and the complete sources.

    • SteekR online storage and backup.  

      SteekR is a light desktop client that allows you to securely backup, store, view, and share your files online. It combines both file sharing and online backup solutions in one service. Also supports file collaboration and remote streaming of stored media files. Available both for Mac and Windows PCs.

      steekR Features

      • Securely upload and store your music, photos, videos and other files online.
      • Stream your video and audio from anywhere.
      • Share individual files or complete folders with friends.
      • Option to allow your friends / colleagues to upload files to designated folder. Especially convenient when collaborating on files with others.
      • Free accounts are limited to 1GB of storage space. No restrictions on the bandwidth usage.
      • Coming soon: option to view and edit office document directly from the browser.
      • Free Desktop client (Mac, Windows): setup scheduled online backup, upload / download files, drag’n drop files to Steekr account, and more (see chart below).
      • Over 1 million of registered users.
    • NetDrive - Map FTP folders as drives  

      NetDrive allows you to map a drive on a Windows, Novell, or Linux server via FTP, SFTP, WebDAV or iFolder so that it shows up as a regular drive in explorer and behaves very much as a local drive would in the Windows file system.

    • Top 10 Free Windows File Wranglers  

      You spend a whole lot of time each day moving, copying, trashing, browsing, and otherwise fiddling with all the files stored on your PC, and you should have the most efficient power tools to get those jobs done. Windows Explorer and its weak army of file manipulation functions just doesn’t cut the mustard for people with lots of data and only a little time, but several free utilities can help out. So today we present our top 10 free Windows file manipulation utilities for managing your important data.

    • DriveImage XML  

      DriveImage XML is an easy to use and reliable program for imaging and backing up partitions and logical drives.

      The program allows you to:

      1. Backup logical drives and partitions to image files
      2. Browse these images, view and extract files
      3. Restore these images to the same or a different drive
      4. Copy directly from drive to drive
      5. Schedule automatic backups with your Task Scheduler

      Image creation uses Microsoft’s Volume Shadow Services (VSS), allowing you to create safe “hot images” even from drives currently in use.

      Images are stored in XML files, allowing you to process them with 3rd party tools. Never again be stuck with a useless backup!

      Restore images to drives without having to reboot.

      DriveImage XML runs under Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista only. The program will backup, image and restore drives formatted with FAT 12, 16, 32 and NTFS.

    • Cobian Backup  

      Cobian Backup is a multi-threaded program that can be used to schedule and backup your files and directories from their original location to other directories/drives in the same computer or other computer in your network. FTP backup is also supported in both directions (download and upload).

    • SyncBack Freeware V3.2.14  

      SyncBackSE, your file backup & synchronization solution Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced user, at home or work, SyncBackSE ensures your most valuable asset, data, remains protected. Discover why SyncBackSE has become the favoured backup and synchronization solution of individuals, businesses, and non-profits, the world over.

  • Zoogmo- free remote backup  

    How does Zoogmo work? Zoogmo is secure and easy to use. It operates by backing up your data over the internet or within a LAN to your own computers or the computers of your trusted friends, family and colleagues.

    Why should I use Zoogmo? Zoogmo gives you free, unlimited offsite backup. No monthly fees to use some company’s bandwidth and servers since we efficiently use disc space you have and bandwidth you are already paying for. Where else can you get so much goodness for free?

2-7-08 PC User Group Meeting

• ShowMyPC - remote acess client  

  ShowMyPC combines VNC remote access technology with an SSH forwarding client to provide you with the option to allow other users to view and control your desktop. The remote user needs to have the same ShowMyPC software and can access your computer with just a password (no IP address needed). The temporary session password is automatically generated when you start the viewing session and must be provided to the remote user by email, phone or other means. If you have access to your own SSH server, you can use it instead of the one provided.

• Darik's Boot and Nuke  

  Darik’s Boot and Nuke (“DBAN”) is a self-contained boot floppy that securely wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it can detect, which makes it an appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction.

  DBAN is a means of ensuring due diligence in computer recycling, a way of preventing identity theft if you want to sell a computer, and a good way to totally clean a Microsoft Windows installation of viruses and spyware. DBAN prevents or thoroughly hinders all known techniques of hard disk forensic analysis.

• Last Freeware Version web site  

  When that favorite freeware app goes commercial then you might need to go to this site to get the last version

  • FastStone Capture  

    FastStone Capture 5.3 (last freeware version) OS: Win98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista FastStone Capture is a powerful, flexible and intuitive screen-capture utility. It allows you to capture anything on the screen including windows, objects, full screen, rectangle regions, freehand-selected regions and scrolling windows/web pages. It has innovative features such as a floating Capture Panel, hotkeys, resizing, cropping, text annotation, printing, e-mailing and many more.

• DNS poisoning used to redirect unwitting surfers  

  In the never-ending war between security researchers and malware authors, each side continually attempts to outmaneuver or out-engineer the other. The latest security threat to hit the white hat radar involves a new form of system-level DNS hijacking. DNS hijacking, in and of itself, is nothing new, but it’s now apparently possible to reliably initiate such attacks using web-based malware, rather than relying on an end-user to download or activate a suspicious attachment.

• LogMeIn Hamachi  

  Your network just became mobile.

  LogMeIn Hamachi is a VPN service that easily sets up in 10 minutes, and enables secure remote access to your business network, anywhere there’s an Internet connection.

  It works with your existing firewall, and requires no additional configuration. Hamachi is the first networking application to deliver an unprecedented level of direct peer-to-peer connectivity. It is simple, secure, and cost-effective.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamachi http://guillaume.filion.org/blog/archives/2005/12/software_review.php

  • Geek to Live: Secure VNC with Hamachi  

    Need to look up a phone number on your home computer from the office? Or control the headless media server you set up at your buddy’s place across town? Or help Mom figure out how to use Flickr? You already know that Virtual Network Computing (VNC) remote controls computers over the internet. But VNC is not a secure protocol – and it won’t work if the remote machine is behind a firewall you don’t control.

    However, pairing up VNC with Hamachi, a Virtual Private Network application, you can remote control any computer securely over your private network across any combination of operating systems. Today we’ll cover how to drive a computer over the internet with the free, secure and cross-platform VNC and Hamachi, the chocolate and peanut butter of remote computing.

  • Hamachi Rocks! GRC review  

    This week Leo and I discuss and describe the brand new, ready to emerge from its long development beta phase, ultra-secure, lightweight, high-performance, highly polished, multi-platform, peer-to-peer and FREE! personal virtual private networking system known as “Hamachi.” After two solid weeks of testing and intense dialog with Hamachi’s lead developer and designer, I have fully vetted the system’s security architecture and have it running on many of my systems. While I am traveling to Toronto this week, Hamachi is keeping my roaming laptop securely and directly connected to all of my machines back home. Don’t miss this one!

• Compact Calendar  

  About the Compact Calendar

  I find myself doing more project planning these days, so I dusted off my old compact calendar from several years ago. It’s just a simple printable calendar, packaged like a candy bar o’ time, but the design justification runs more deeply than you might think.

• Why do you need Windows?  

  Microsoft is asking itself the same question and the answer may be Windows 7 or MinWin.

12-4-07 PC User Group Meeting

• Homepage Startup  

  What is Homepage Startup?

  If you’re after quick access to your favourite websites, then Homepage Startup is the ideal homepage you want to set your browser to.

• Plan an Ergonomic Workstation  

  What does your optimum ergonomic workstation look like? Ergonomic product company Ergotron offers an installation tool to figure out just that. Just click your height and various values are displayed; sitting eye height, standing elbow height, seat height, etc.

• ADrive 50 Gig online storage  

  ADrive LLC (ADrive.com) leads the free online data storage community, offering the largest amount of free storage on the Internet. We provide our users with secure solutions for storing, backing up, and accessing files from virtually anywhere, at any time. ADrive serves as an online, centralized vault for all file types including: music, videos, photos, documents, and more.

• PhotoOnWeb  

  PhotoOnWeb is a software to create your online photo albums. Easy for sharing your pictures on internet with your friends and familly.

  • Screenshots album at Photoonweb site
  • Wedding album on PCusers.org
• Jottit (Create a Website)  

  Jottit makes getting a website as easy as filling out a textbox.

  • Jottit screencast tour  

    For a quick look at what Jottit can do, check out this great screencast tour of Jottit by Demo Girl.

  • JustCallJack  

    JustCallJack web site created using JotIt

11-6-07 PC User Group Meeting

• FileZilla - Powerful and free FTP Client  

  FileZilla Client is a fast and reliable cross-platform FTP, FTPS and SFTP client with lots of useful features and an intuitive interface.

• Inside Windows Vista Service Pack 1  

  After several months of silence, Microsoft last month finally revealed some concrete information about Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)

• New Features Discovered in Windows XP SP3: Is It Better Than Vista?  

  The principal reason given for the tremendous under-the-hood changes to Windows unveiled early this year in Vista was the need to overhaul the security model. Indeed, Vista has proven to be a generally more secure operating system, though some vulnerabilities that apply to ordinary software impact Vista users just as much as any other.

  But now, software analysts testing the latest build 3205 of the beta for Windows XP Service Pack 3 are discovering a wealth of genuinely new features – not just patches and security updates (although there are literally over a thousand of those), but services that could substantially improve system security without overhauling the kernel like in Vista.

• Rollyo Custom Search Engines  

  Rollyo is the fast, easy way to create personal search engines using only the sources you trust.

  Are you tired of wading though thousands of irrelevant search results to get to the information you want? Ever wish you could narrow your search to sites you already know and trust? With Rollyo, you can easily create your own custom search engines – we call them Searchrolls – and explore, save, and personalize those created by others.

• Mind42 collaborative mind map  

  Collaborative mind mapping in your browser Isn’t 42 the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything? Well, in this case it means FOR TWO and indicates the collaborative character of mind42. Manage all your ideas, whether alone, twosome or working together with the whole world – collaborative, browser-based and for free.

• Mindjet mind manager
• Freemind - free mind mapping software
• MojoPac Freedom– a free version  

  We are thrilled to announce the release of MojoPac Freedom – a free version of our award-winning mobility software. Like all MojoPac products, MojoPac Freedom gives you the ability to carry personal applications (such as Outlook, games and IMs), files and desktop settings on a portable USB device or iPod. AND IT IS FREE! If you tried MojoPac and enjoyed the ability to carry your entire desktop in your pocket without lugging a laptop, now is your chance to get MojoPac for free.

• Faster USB 3.0 Is Coming  

  Intel and other companies have formed a group to promote the USB 3.0, which should deliver more than ten times the speed of the existing USB 2.0 standard.

  The third-generation Universal Serial Bus interconnect will transfer data at speeds up to 4.8Gbit/s, ten times faster than USB 2.0’s 480MBit/s. It will be backwards-compatible with USB 2.0, which is backwards-compatible with the first USB 1.1 definition.

• Firefox master password  

  This is an excerpt from Security Now about setting the Firefox master password and hacking the IE password table.

  • IE PassView  

    IE PassView is a small utility that reveals the passwords stored by Internet Explorer browser. It supports the new Internet Explorer 7.0, as well as older versions of Internet explorer, v4.0 – v6.0

• Keylogging article and software  

  Keystroke logging (often called keylogging) is a diagnostic tool used in software development that captures the user’s keystrokes. It can be useful to determine sources of error in computer systems and is sometimes used to measure employee productivity on certain clerical tasks. Such systems are also highly useful for law enforcement and espionage—for instance, providing a means to obtain passwords or encryption keys and thus bypassing other security measures. However, keyloggers are widely available on the Internet and can be used by private parties to spy on the computer usage of others.

  • KeePass Password Safe  

    KeePass is a free/open-source password manager or safe which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key-disk. So you only have to remember one single master password or insert the key-disk to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms currently known (AES and Twofish).

  • Denied Surveilance - Keylogging Whitepaper
  • Anti-Keylogger Tester  

    What is Anti-Keylogger Tester ?

    Some trojans includes keylogging functionalities, which can steal confidential information you are typing. To fight this threat, many HIPS software, and also dedicated anti-keyloggers software, now provides anti-keylogger features. However, there is many ways to monitor the keyboard, and not all HIPS cover all ways to do keylogging.

    AKLT is a tool using 3 different methods to monitor your keyboard, and enables you to check your defences. AKLT does not try to monitor your keyboard by using a global hook, nor any DLL/code injection, as these methods are widely known and covered by all security softwares I have tested.

    Additionaly, AKLT provides two ways of taking screenshots, as a keylogger or a trojan could do. I am not aware of any HIPS providing screenshot protection, but in case one of your security software is claiming to provide such feature, you will be able to test it thanks to AKLT.

  • Keylogger Hunter 2.2  

    Universal anti-keylogger.

    Neutralizes up to 90% of keyloggers, depriving them of information about the pressed keys.

  • Mouse Only Keyboard  

    Mouse Only Keyboard v1.4 (MOK)

    MyPlanetSoft.com Freeware Download

    An ideal utility to be used to enter sensitive passwords. To avoid key loggers you can enter the password using only the mouse. This method protects you even against hardware keyloggers, or other keyloggers not supported by MyPlanetSoft Anti Keylogger. When the program is started, it deactivates all system-wide clipboard viewers, so you can safely copy passwords around different applications. Fully customizable keyboard. No installation required. Only ~70KB. For Microsoft Windows.

  • KeyScrambler  

    KeyScrambler defeats keyloggers by encrypting your keystrokes at the keyboard driver level, deep within the operating system. When the encrypted keystrokes reach your browser, KeyScrambler then decrypts them so you see exactly the keys you’ve typed. Keyloggers can only record the encrypted keys, which are completely indecipherable

10-2-07 PC User Group Meeting

• Products for the Paranoid  

  Fingerprint scanners, security keys, encryption software: Which tools should you use to keep sensitive data from prying eyes?

• Security hardware - Fingerprint scanners, USB keys
• Microsoft Buckles, Gives Windows XP A Life Extension
• GRC Passwords  

  Generating long, high-quality random passwords is not simple. So here is some totally random raw material, generated just for YOU, to start with.

• ThreatFire  

  How can ThreatFire protect me when traditional antivirus can’t?

  ThreatFire continually protects your PC against attacks by detecting malicious behavior, such as capturing your keystrokes or stealing your data, instead of only looking for known threats like normal antivirus software. By implementing sophisticated real-time behavioral analysis ThreatFire is able to stop never- before-seen “zero-day” threats solely by detecting their malicious activity. Zero-day threats are usually designed to take advantage of new vulnerabilities or exploits that are currently unprotected by traditional security products. They are usually distributed in huge quantities very quickly by mass email (SPAM), website hijacks, instant messaging or over peer-to-peer networks. Because they are undetectable they are able to wreak havoc and compromise your PC even when you have up-to-date antivirus software installed.

  ThreatFire’s patent-pending ActiveDefense technology offers protection against all types of internet threats – both known and unknown — spyware, adware, keyloggers, viruses, worms, Trojans, rootkits, buffer overflows, and other malware. ThreatFire uses its unparalleled protection to hunt down and paralyze those threats that are either too new or too clever to be recognized by traditional “signature-based” antivirus software.

• Roboform  

  Roboform is the top-rated Password Manager and Web Form Filler that completely automates password entering and form filling. RoboForm was named PC Magazine Editor’s Choice, and CNET Download.com’s Software of the Year. RoboForm:

• Stealth Windows update prevents XP repair  

  A silent update that Microsoft deployed widely in July and August is preventing the “repair” feature of Windows XP from completing successfully.

  Ever since the Redmond company’s recent download of new support files for Windows Update, users of XP’s repair function have been unable to install the latest 80 patches from Microsoft.

• Verisign Myopenid website  

  Get your own OpenID and start using the last username and password you’ll ever need. Signing up with MyOpenID gets you:

  • Secure control of your digital identity
  • Ease-of-sign-in on enabled sites
  • Account activity reports
  • Ability to manage multiple personas for different sites and a whole lot more!
  • Verisign OpenID review  

    VeriSign’s new Personal Identity Provider (PIP) attempts to capitalize on the growing support for OpenID by hosting a server of their own,

  • One OpenID to Rule Them All...or Not?  

    Decentralized online identification system OpenID can log you into thousands of social networking sites (and counting) using a single username and password. OpenID asserts who you are by proving you own a URL—not an email address, not a password, not your mother’s maiden name, just a URL that must be confirmed by both the accepting site and OpenID host.

• Sandboxie  

  Sandboxie allows you to run your browser, or any other program, so that all changes that result from the usage are kept in a sandbox environment, which can then be deleted later. This allows you to remove traces of your internet or PC activities, as well as reverse any changes to your Favorites, home page, registry and more. Even files that were downloaded during a sandbox session will be wiped after the sandbox is cleared. The program runs in the system tray and if you want to start a sandboxed session, simply launch your browser, or any other program via the tray icon, rather than the regular way.

• Drop My Rights - How to use  

  If you are running Windows XP, you should install the free DropMyRights program. Hopefully this posting will convince you of this.

  DropMyRights is a free program that greatly increases the security of Windows XP and has not gotten the attention that I think it deserves. Everyone running Windows XP should use it. Yes, everyone.

• CrossLoop – Simple Secure Screen Sharing  

  CrossLoop is a FREE secure screen sharing utility designed for people of all technical skill levels. CrossLoop extends the boundaries of VNC’s traditional screen sharing by enabling non-technical users to get connected from anywhere on the Internet in seconds without changing any firewall or router settings. It only takes a few minutes to setup and no signup is required.

• Treedolist  

  This is a hierarchical organiser for tasks, notes, lists, weblinks and RSS feeds. You can categorise items, drag and drop stuff, share branches of your tree and more.