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I am currently writing at Computelogy.com actively and that's why i sort of abandoned my own tech blog. Since i am too busy to be taking care of both sides, i guess this blog will go into hibernation for a very very long time. Regrettable, but then it's hard to come up with new posts & stuffs.

So once again, i am now writing actively at Computelogy. Feel free to visit there and enjoy our latest articles and posts!

August 31, 2009

Funny Compatibility Issues With LogonStudio Vista On Windows 7


Most of the time, what is working on Windows Vista will definitely be working on Windows 7: or this is what i think of after using Windows 7 for half a year. Of course, there are some programs that either have minor issues when run on Windows 7 or they just will not run at all. Stardock's LogonStudio Vista happens to be one of the programs with minor compatibility issues with Windows 7 - and a very unusual one too.

Some months ago, after i finished installing Windows 7 RC, i tried to install LogonStudio Vista. The installation was successful and the program had no problem in launching. However, when i tried to create a custom Logon Screen, the function does not seemed to work at all.


I then tried to install and run LogonStudio Vista in compatibility mode with Vista SP1. Again, the program installed successfully and launch without any problems. But i tried to create a custom logon screen again and the function still does not work. I tried it a second time by installing it in compatibility mode with Windows XP SP3. Still, the function failed to work.

Frustrated, i choose to install and run LogonStudio Vista one last time in compatibility mode with Windows Server 2003 SP1. I wasn't really giving it much hope already but then it worked like a charm! With LogonStudio Vista running compatibility mode with Windows Server 2003 SP1, i can now create my custom logon screen on Windows 7.


The funny thing about this entire experience is usually if a program has minor compatibility issue, the issue wouldn't be directly related to how the program functions after it is installed. Usually it would be situations like for example, the program will not launch for installations, and users will have to run it in compatibility mode. But for LogonStudio Vista, the minor problem comes after installing and launching the program, where one of the important feature could not function properly.

The other weird thing about this entire experience is that normally when you run a program in compatibility mode, choosing Windows XP or Windows Vista will do. However, the funny thing about LogonStudio Vista is that it actually prefers compatibility mode with Server 2003 rather than those mainstream OS. Honestly, if i hadn't been so patient about it, i would not have realize that LogonStudio Vista can run fully-functioned on Windows 7!

Please do comment on what you think about my experience on this.


Read more >>

August 29, 2009

PhotoScape - A Free High Quality Photo Editing Program

I do not take much interest in photo editing and it may be a reason of not writing many articles about photo editing software. But believe me, if you Google "Free Photo Editing Software", you will get around 23,300,000 results. Not every link leads to separate software site, there can be hundreds of links just for Google's Picasa. If we lessen the number of links, there should be thousands of photo editing software available if not hundreds thousands. The matter is quality effects. PhotoScape is one which has quality, clarity, ability and usability.

PhotoScape is much better than many paid software (I will not write names of such software because paid software are out of scope). It has lots of tools to play with. You can edit a single photo as well as batch editing. You are given over 110 frames to merge different photos with each other. The best thing is it provides you over 150 photo frames which you can use with your photos. It let you resize your picture up to 300% of original size.

  • Viewer: View your folders photos, slideshow
  • Editor: resizing, brightness and color adjustment, white balance, backlight correction, frames, balloons, mosaic mode, adding text, drawing pictures, cropping, filters, red eye removal, blooming
  • Batch editor: Batch editing multiple photos
  • Page: Make one photo by merging multiple photos at the page frame
  • Combine: Make one photo by attaching multiple photos vertically or horizontally
  • Animated GIF: Make one animation photo with multiple photos
  • Print: Print portrait shot, carte de visite, passport photo
  • Splitter: Divide a photo into multiple parts
  • Screen Capture: Capture your screenshot and save it
  • Color Picker: Zoom in screen on images, search and pick the color
  • Rename: Change photo file names in batch mode
  • Raw Converter: Convert RAW to JPG
  • Paper Print: Print lined, graph, music, calendar papers
  • Face Search: Find similar faces on the internet

Copy n paste the following links into browser to follow the desired link.

Home Page: http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php
Download Page: http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/download.php
Help Page: http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/help_editor.php
Read more >>

Optimize your Notebooks' Batteries with BatteryCare

Notebook users are always concern about their notebooks’ lithium ion batteries exploding in front of their faces when they got overheated. That is not the only worry notebook users must face. Another lesser-known notebook battery issue is the problem of wear and tear of a battery.

So what exactly happens when a battery shows wear and tear and is about to expire? Normally, your battery life will become shorter. It will take a longer time to be recharged back to full capacity and apart from that, users can spot nothing else anymore.


BatteryCare Free is a useful utility for notebook users to monitor their battery status, control its usage and power consumption and warn on issues that will shorten their battery’s life span. To explain what it does technically, it monitors the battery's discharge cycles and helps increasing its autonomy and improving its lifetime.

Here are some of the features of BatteryCare:

· Battery's discharge cycles monitoring


The advanced algorithm accurately records when a complete discharge cycle is performed.
When the configured number of discharge cycles is reached, a notification balloon pops up to remind that a full discharge is required.

· Complete battery information


It calculates the statistical remaining time in laptops that don't support the battery time left information and only list the charge percentage.
Shows all the detailed information about the battery, such as wear level, capacities, consumption, manufacturer, etc.

· Notification area information


In battery mode, the notification icon shows the remaining time and percentage of battery

· Automatic power plans switching


Depending on the power source of the computer, BatteryCare can automatically select the power plan you prefer.

· Control over Windows Aero and demanding Services
Automatically disable the graphics accelerated theme in Windows Vista and/or demanding services that degrade battery lifetime.
Once the laptop stops running on batteries, the theme is re-enabled and the stopped services are restored.

· Auto-updates
No need to trouble in downloading new installers, when a new version is available, the program updates itself.

· Lightweight in the system
Given the concern about the battery optimization, BatteryCare does not interfere with the system performance. It requires only a mere 0,1% of Processor and Memory resources.

All I can say is thanks (?) to Filipe Lourenço who developed this little useful tool and help us protect our laptop battery!

BatteryCare works with Windows XP, Vista and 7 and requires Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0 & above to run. If your PC suits the requirements, then download BatteryCare Free today and start protecting and optimizing your notebook’s battery!

To download BatteryCare now, click on this download link.

I also provide another download mirror in case the above link doesn't work.

Read more >>

August 28, 2009

Watch and Download Free C++ Video Tutorials


Today's article is totally different from routine work. It is about learning something constructive instead of grabbing a software. There is no need to tell you about C++. There are thousands books, articles, research papers, videos, etc. have been published. It is one of the most famous language which works beyond your imagination.

I will tell you about a web-site and about how you can download video tutorials from that web-site. The name of the site is XoaX.net. This site has really useful video tutorials for beginners as well as for knowledge refreshers.

No doubt, you can search C++ video tutorials on YouTube.com. I am sure, you will find really good tutorials there but the matter is frequency, health, sequence may effect the search of such tutorials on YouTube.com.

XoaX.net has very good tutorials online in a sequence, which you can watch online or you can download. By default, there is no option to download these flash tutorials. There are 40 different lessons to learn C++. You can learn C++ with examples instead of just doing coding. You will also find pictorial illustrations with details of topic below each video. You can also download source code which is explained in the video tutorial. Normally source code link is on the right side of video. You can also use forum to get more help.

Website link: http://xoax.net/
Video Tutorial Index link: http://xoax.net/comp/cpp/console/index.php
C++ Reference: http://xoax.net/comp/cpp/reference/index.php
Forum Link: http://xoax.net/forum/
C++ Computer Terms: http://xoax.net/comp/cpp/reference/terms.php

Download Videos:

By default you do not get any option to download C++ video tutorials from XoaX.net. For this purpose, you have to use firefox add-on DownloadHelper. There are many other add-ons but DownloadHelper is best. You will get download link of DownloadHelper along with complete pictorial tutorial on the following page.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3006

We use five senses to learn: Auditory, Visual, Tactile, Taste and Smell. If one can use all these five senses properly, one is a brilliant learner. Unfortunately, there are just a few who can use all five senses in appropriate way.

There is one other sense which is called Common sense which is not common, normally. Is it not strange? Just kidding.



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MAGMe Allows You To Read Free Magazine Publications Online!

We can do a lot of things online; watching movie, listening to music, polling, chatting...but have you ever considered reading a free magazine online? Certainly, you can find a lot of website that will publish magazines for subscribed readers once every while. However, for most of the time, users must pay a subscription fee in order to read them. How about reading magazine online for free?


MAGMe is a 100% free online service site dedicated to users who want to read various types of magazines online without having to pay anything. Technically speaking, MAGMe displays full scans of popular magazines directly in your browser, covering every possible topic from computers and lifestyles magazines to art, fashion, and photography magazines. MAGMe mainly covers well-known publications of magazines, but it also covers some not-so-popular ones. To be honest, i think that most of the magazines it published are pretty rare in the market.


Most impressively however, online full scan magazines rendered by MAGMe are dynamic, interactive & realistic; it is as though a user is really reading a real-life magazine by flipping across a page or turning over a page partially to preview the next page’s contents. All of this realism is courtesy of MAGMe’s brilliant use of Flash to display real-life magazine-reading scenarios. If you sign up for a free account, you will be given the privilege of higher quality browsing experience. If you prefer to read the magazines as guest reader, you are also given the access, although the experience might not be as good as when you are a registered user.

The only weakness I found with MAGMe so far is its magazine scans' ‘very small font size. As the browsers’ zoom feature does not work with Flash in Magme, I had to utilize the Magnifying utility of Windows 7 to read the words properly.


MAGMe is currently still in beta stage and thus, you can expect minor glitches and bugs here and there. Still, Magme can be considered a nice, free service on which I think is useful if you love reading (wonder how many people enjoy reading, by the way...=)). Of course, if you are using the contents of Magme’s magazines for your report, thesis, projects, assignments etc. and are therefore required to quote them in a reference list, you are also given the ability to copy its link and refer to its page easily!

Visit Magme’s official site here and start reading!
Read more >>

August 26, 2009

Get Genuine License Activation Key of Kaspersky Antivirus 2010 for 6 Months or Longer!

Kaspersky is a good antivirus for daily use. It is effective, with high detection rate and almost no false positives. Most importantly, it does not really get in the way of users; it just stays in the background and monitors your computer silently until it detects a virus or reports on an issue.


Good news for Kaspersky Antivirus users today; I just received words that users of MSN in China can have direct access to one genuine activation license. But actually, if you are a registered MSN user regardless of where you live in, you can have access to the key. Each key works up to six months but that is for one single MSN account. Imagine that you have four MSN accounts: you can get four different activation licenses and use your Kaspersky Antivirus 2010 for a span of two years! Pretty exciting, isn't it?

The trick is to either use a Chinese-provided IP address or a proxy. For example, users in Mainland China and Malaysia can have direct access to the free license because their IP address is provided by China. If you cannot access the page directly, you can use a proxy server or a proxy service to get access to it. If both methods don't work, well...tough luck. You might just ask someone living in an area where they can have access to get the license code for you!


With reference to the above image, now open this site, http://kaba.msn.com.cn and click the big, yellow button shown above to sign in. If you have access, then you should be getting a free 6-months license code immediately. However, this is just part of the trick. If you are thinking of getting another few license codes for yourself, then simply register for more MSN accounts. Register for more MSN accounts by signing up at here, then log in to your new account. After you log into your new account, access the offer page again and you will have another different license code.

In short, no matter how many Kaspersky Anti-virus 2010 licenses you want, MSN will give them to you!

Some more license codes as examples:

3RETV-Z4EQZ-9656S-PN36A

SEYRM-GGSFB-MN5NX-A8Z2N

J5EMY-YBDNA-XRU4P-U3PN5

So what are you waiting for? Hurry up and grab your minimum 6-months to unlimited license code of Kaspersky Antivirus 2010!

For those who did not have the installer for Kaspersky Antivirus 2010, you can get it here.



Read more >>

Get Antivirus Protection From the Cloud with Immunet Protect


Nobody can ever claim that they have not been infected by a computer virus. It is estimated that there are more than two million viruses that will be created in 2009; that is about some 5400 virus every 24 hours. Antivirus software is always a necessary tool to have, but even the most popular and most effective antivirus might have a less than 45% percent chance of detecting new threats by using only virus database.

Immunet recently released a new security software known as Immunet Protect. Immunet Protect is a community-driven cloud antivirus providing us with a fast and light virus detection plus linking everyone installing Immunet Protect in a global community where all users can statistically share the same security detection, thereby increasing possibility of better protection from threats.


Here are the key features of Immunet Protect:

· Community based protection (You are not alone – community using Immunet Protect protects you as well)

· Cloud Computing (providing you with real-time protection, scan, removal & updates in the cloud, increasing host computer’s performance)

· Collective Intelligence (combining antiviruse detection judgment with Immunet community’s judgement together into a more complete and reliable protection)

With Immunet Protect running on your computer, every time a user who is part of Immunet Protect’s community encounters a threat, everyone else in the community gains protection from that same threat in real time. Imagine that you detected something as a threat, and in that instant, the other Immunet Protect users will obtain similar protection due to your detection. In short, you no longer have to rely on the isolated security of your current AntiVirus vendor. You are now better protected, as well as protecting your friends, families & peers using Immunet Protect.


With a cloud based security application like Immunet Protect, you are guaranteed speed, safety and effectiveness. When you scan your computer, you are given from the cloud, only the detection signatures you needed. By going online and connected to the Immunet Cloud, you are given real-time protection and non-delay updates from both Immunet and its community!
Immunet Protect works on Windows XP and Vista and is compatible with almost every major antivirus vendors worldwide.

Download Immunet Protect now by clicking on this image below:

Contact

Read more >>

August 25, 2009

Get Free Paragon Drive Backup 9 Professional (Save $40)

Back again! I came back from university some time ago and have not eaten anything, yet. I opened my personal laptop and there was an email to get free Paragon Drive Backup 9 Pro. I am happy. The reason is when I am tired and I receive some good news, I cheer up. Now, I am not feeling tiredness anymore. One other reason of being fresh is in previous few days I have shared many security software along with some other zero-day offers which saved your hard earned money. Now this is the time again to save $40 by getting free Paragon Drive Backup 9 Pro.

It looks like this is the same installer which was given away few days ago on GAOTD. The other reason of being same is the link to get Product Key and Serial number is same. So, if you have missed it at that time, it is better to get it now.

  • Backup and Restore your system without the time consuming process of applications setup and customization in the event of a system crash.
  • Perform system backup without interrupting Windows using one of two Hot Processing technologies including Paragon Hot Backup™ Technology
  • NEW! Paragon File-Level backup™— provides full file-level backup/restore functionality including incremental backups allowing Backing up only the specific files and folders you choose rather than saving an entire drive.
  • NEW! Paragon File-level complement™- powerful convergent technology from Paragon Software that allows you to use advantages of two absolutely different backup types - file-level and sector-level.
  • NEW! Paragon Adaptive Restore™- A powerful and unique technology that allows restoring Windows Vista on completely different type of hardware or even on virtual machine. Supported types of Adaptive restore: physical-to-physical system (P2P), conversion from physical systems to virtual environments (P2V), virtual environments to physical systems (V2P) and virtual environments to virtual environments (V2V).
  • NEW! Dual-boot Backup Capsule- Provides Linux and DOS recovery environments for bootable Backup Capsule. Now it’s possible to choose what recovery environment to boot and provides all benefits of both Linux and DOS (safe mode) environments.
  • Clone your old hard disk to deploy a new one. Eliminates having to re-install operating systems and applications.
  • NEW! Restore your computer with our advanced Recovery CD or from our exclusive Bootable Backup Capsule
  • NEW! Exclude files and folders- Ability to exclude files or folders from a backup image according to pre-defined or defined manually masks. It allows to reduce size of resulting image by excluding unnecessary files such as music, movies, etc.
  • Backup to any media, including USB and Firewire devices, create bootable backup archives on CDs/DVDs and backup to network
  • NEW! Blu-ray disc support- Allow burning backup archives to Blu-ray discs. A single layer disc can store 25 GB, more than five times the capacity of a single layer DVD.
  • Powerful Incremental and differential backup—Backs up only files that have changed
  • Mount backup images to easily browse its contents and copy the required information even with standard Windows tools.
  • Backup and restore dynamic volumes
  • Automate your backup routine using the appropriate features and tools

Grab It:

1: Open the following web address into your browser and click on the big pink button "Download Now". (copy n paste the following link into your browser)

http://www.v3.co.uk/vnunet/downloads/2158058/paragon-drive-backup

2: Save the installer and run it. During installation, when you will reach on snap P1, click on big button "Get Free Serial" and a new web page will open into your default browser.



If does not open any page, below is the address of that web page. Copy and paste into your browser.

http://www.paragon-software.com/registration/db9pro.html

3: Enter your details into this newly opened web page P2. After submitting your info, you will receive your registration info into your supplied email with in matter of seconds. You will get Product Key and Serial Number into your email. Use this Registration info to register your software.


4: Look again P1 to enter your Product Key and Serial Number. Complete your installation.

Enjoy! one more free software.
Read more >>

August 24, 2009

Sharpen and Enlarge Your Pictures Up to 3000% with SmillaEnlarger

SmillaEnlarger is small in size but rich in working, a lite weight, speedy, effective, and efficient tool which can enlarge your pictures up-to 3000% of original size of the picture. This is one of those many small tools which have gotten place into my laptop and now are in permanent use.



The working with this tool is very easy. Every step is clear on screen. You do not need much time to think OH! how I can do this, and, what to do next? Being a Usability and Accessibility adviser, I must say one thing that they have tried to make this tool as simple as possible.
It gives you two main functions; you can simply enlarge and sharpen the whole picture or you can select a part of it and can work on it. It also let you crop a part of your picture. You can do about 22 times cropping into cropping and de-cropping on one picture.

It provides you two ways to do zooming; You can move bar-button from left to right to zoom in upto 3000% or can move to left as minimum as 1%. Or, you can give pixel measurements in width and height. You should know this whatever your pixel measurements, the size of picture can never increase than 3000% of total size.

If you are zooming in to see a particular part of your picture, first you have to select that part through your mouse pointer and then you have some functions to make it sharp and clear. The functions are Sharpness (0-100), PreSharpness (0-100), DeNoise (0-100), Flatness (0-100), Dithering (0-100) and FractNoise (0-100) where 0 is minimum value and 100 is maximum value.

You can save your enlarged picture as well as cropped part of the picture. In help, every function is described clearly. Its help is not a big file, just few hundred words not even thousand. It does not need installation. Simply, download it and run it to use.

Access its download page here.


Read more >>

SecureIT Free Edition 2009

I have always maintain my stance that an antivirus which is free for use does not mean that they are weaker than paid-for antivirus in terms of functionality and protection. Of course, there are the "Three Musketeers of Free Antivirus", Avira, Avast & AVG, but i never believe that the other free antivirus that are lesser-known should be worse than the three i mentioned above.

I recently stumbled across this antivirus, known by the name of SecureIT on download.com. A user had rated this antivirus highly and i was interested to know why, so i dived into the antivirus's official website to learn more. Here are the general information:

1. SecureIT is free for use, scanning & removal, with no limitations whatsover.
2. SecureIT is powered by the award-winning ClamAV antivirus engine which protects users in real-time.
3. A firewall technology is integrated in SecureIT (though one can still doubt its effectiveness)
4. Interface is splitted into the basic & advanced view, designed to suit both novice & advanced users.
5. Protects you online with Online Malware Blocker & Pop-Up blocker
6. Provided automatic Protection updates

First impression of this antivirus seems to tell me that it is pretty well-designed. The interface is clean and interactive, with minimum technical words and more graphical representations. I've tried it out and think that it is worth the download. Users wanting to find a complete security package free of charge can take a look at this freeware security application.

However, the free SecureIT 2009 does not comprise features such as:
  • Parental controls and web content filtering
  • Automatic hard drive maintenance
  • Monthly reporting statistics and customer user portal
  • 24x7 Support from SecureIT technicians
For better comparison, i attach an image file showing the detailed comparison chart below:

Comparison chart for SecureIT security products. Click to view in full size

Here are the system requirements of SecureIT:
  • Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
  • 32 or 64 bit operating system
  • 128MB RAM beyond recommended operating system requirements
  • 100MB available hard drive space
  • High Speed Internet connection
In my opinion, users who thinks that ClamAV is doing a good job can definitely use this as their antivirus if they are looking for extras beside the ClamAV Antivirus scanning engine. Its ease of use, light on CPU & RAM and all-round protection makes it just as nice as Avira, AVG & Avast! as a free antivirus.

To learn more of SecureIT 2009, visit their official website here.

To download SecureIT Free Edition 2009 now, click on this download link.
Read more >>

August 22, 2009

Software Informer: A Powerful, Community-Driven Software Updater


I shared in this blog months ago about a free software called Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI), which gives us free scans and updates on some of our applications & Windows system. While it is a very useful tool, it has its weaknesses, some of which i really dislike. Firstly, Secunia PSI is only meant to be a vulnerability scanner and a security add-on, meaning to say that it only gives users update over software with vulnerabilities and issue links towards security patches in order to secure your PC. Secondly, Secunia PSI is extremely sensitive towards connection strength & firewall settings; if you happened to have a weak connection or a very intrusive firewall installed on your PC, Secunia may not even run at all. Lastly and perhaps most annoyingly, Secunia can easily hang and crash due to it being reliant on internet connections and online software databases.

Due to the above issues with Secunia, i spent weeks trying to find an alternative to it and by chances i stumbled across Software Informer, a little tool provided by Informer Technologies Inc. Software Informer is a small but powerful software updates informer, much more better than Secunia, in fact. It resolves all the issues users will have with Secunia, which are unreliable performances and limited features. It loads and sits quietly in your system tray and shows only a small, semi-transparent update box on the desktop, consuming less RAM and CPU performance compared to Secunia PSI. Not only does it shows updates for vulnerable application software, it also shows other applications which do not have vulnerability issues. It also runs much more smoothly than Secunia PSI, with no crashes, hangs or lagging performances.


Having said that, Software Informer is not just as simple as that. It is actually also a community-driven software updater, where registered users can participate in providing updates on various types of software, updates and security patches. These feedback and recommendations from users apart from the developers' own database update are the key to Software Informer's software database information. Besides, users can also give feedback on a certain software by leaving a comment and using its star-rating system. That way, other users who happened to run the same application on their PC will get some ideas on what other users think about that particular application when they browse throught their list of installed applications with Software Informer.


Another two good things about Software Informer is that it provides very detailed information regarding an application and is very easy to use. It will mention the developers or companies responsible for the software, version numbers, file size and the amounts of users running the same application. It is very easy to use because it provides search option for users to filter down their software list, in case they installed a lot of applications in their PC. Users can also do lots of task with Software Informer, including uninstalling an application, visiting an application's website through direct links and ask a question regarding an application.

In short, Software Informer is a must-have for users who like to keep their software up-to-date. While it doesn't emphasize on security as much as Secunia had been, it is overall, a much more better choice than Secunia because it touches on every aspects on software-updating issues. I strongly recommend users to install this freeware, as it definitely makes software management a much easier task!

Software Informer works with Windows 200o and above, including Windows Server & Windows 7.

Visit Software Informer's Official Site by clicking on this link

To download Software Informer now, click this download link

(Note: users who have IObit's Advanced SystemCare v3 installed on their PC can download the software directly in its program. Simply launch the program and click on the 'Utilities' button and you can see Software Informer's download link under the Tuneup tab)
Read more >>

August 21, 2009

Get Free CyberLink PowerDirector 7 Ultra (Save $60)

CyberLink PowerDirector 7 is not the latest release. The latest release is 8. But there should be no problem with this release 7 because it is free saving your money. There was another time limited promotional offer but that would not last for 10 hours. I wrote an article for that offer but at the last moment when I was going to publish, a message of end of free licenses appeared on the site. This is another promotional offer with new Promo-Code at another website. So, I have to write again the whole article specially the procedure of registration and license acquisition.

Not wasting your time, I will take you to the registration steps which are bit difficult. If you follow instructions and snaps, you can easily get it. (If you see page like snap XX at any step, skip the page. Instructions on snap XX at the end of article.)

1: Go to https://download.softwareload.de/register and register your account by pressing big blue button "Neu Registrieren". A new page [P1] will open. See P1 for detail to register. After filling the form, press button at the bottom named "Registrieren". (Check your email for confirmation). Remember! password should be consists of letters and numbers. (if you already have account on Softwareload, skip this step and directly login your account).



2: After registration, go to http://download.softwareload.de/CyberLink-PowerDirector-7-Ultra-Aktion/60528&uid=394042&affmt=2&affmn=24 and press big orange button "Vollversion Kaufen" and you will reach a page P2. Select 2nd option "T-Pay" and insert the code PCWPowerDirector in the text box at the end of all options. Now press "OK". You will directed to next page.

3: At this page [P3], you will see that the price is lessened to 0.00. Press button "Weiter" and a new page will open.

4: At this page [P4], you will see your license code and download link. Copy the license code at safe place and download CyberLink PowerDirector 7.
Enjoy you free license of CyberLink PowerDirector 7 Ultra.

Note: During registration steps, if you reach the following snap XX, you can skip it. In fact here you will be told that you are getting some gift if you fill it. You can fill it if you want. I would not.
Snap XX



Read more >>

August 20, 2009

Do Not Underestimate Internet Explorer...?

Some days ago, there have been many reports on famous tech sites that an anti-phishing test had been conducted by NSS Labs on the famous browsers, and Internet Explorer tied with Firefox as the 'surprise' winner, with Apple Safari performing the worst.

Here is the report as detailed by Anthony Barboza of Neowin:
===================================================================

NSS Labs, an independent security research group, found that Internet Explorer 8 was the best browser tested at thwarting phishing attempts. Firefox was statistically tied with IE for first with Opera and Chrome bringing up the rear. Safari was the real loser of the group with only 2% of phishing attempts blocked and there was no difference between the Mac or Windows client.

Phishing is a way in which a hacker lures an unsuspecting person into giving away their credentials or personal information by using a website that appears to be legitimate. This fraud has been growing over the past several years and novices are at risk more now than ever. The interesting statistic from the tests is that phishing sites have an average life of only 52 hours, making it extremely difficult to block or stop these sites.

The study used several thousands of malicious pages over the course of July and also timed how long it took for each browser to add the page to a black list. Internet Explorer took an average of just under five hours, with Firefox not far behind. Again Safari lagged behind taking over 54 hours to block a hazardous site.

NSS Labs has a full PDF file detailing the entire testing process and their results.

Thanks to The Patri0t for the tip!

====================================================================

Internet Explorer & Firefox: The Best Antiphishing Browsers based on NSS Labs's test

I was honestly surprised by the results, as lots of computer geeks including me were spreading the knowledge to everyone else on how Mozilla Firefox is the safest browser yet, and Internet Explorer is just a slower, buggier browser with more security flaws. Maybe one can question the methodology that NSS Labs used on evaluating the anti-phishing capability of browsers, but then again it seemed obvious that we are so ignorant that we must have underestimated Internet Explorer a bit too much all these times...

Internet Explorer might be a poorly-performing browser back then during the IE5-IE6 era (i do not know exactly how for certain, as my real computer-geeking career had not yet started during those times), but i do have some positive regards for IE8, which in my opinion, has handed out lots of control over to the users and is pretty faster than its older version, IE7. In terms of safety, i believe we must have forgotten the fact that IE is a browser that is constantly under exploit. When Microsoft has a browser that is constantly under security threats by outsiders, surely they would have try at least something to make their browser more and more secure. Which is the most logical explanation why they can come out on top in the anti-phishing test. Microsoft issued patches after patches on their browsers and even knew of many of its security holes' existence prior to them being exploited. That actually explained how much Microsoft researched on security issues with their browsers and its no more a surprise that they could have performed well on that particular anti-phishing test.

Market Share of August on the current Browser War

Meanwhile, it is also interesting to note that Internet Explorer currently still holds the largest market share of web browsers worldwide, despite losing market share steadily over the past months to Firefox, Safari & Chrome. Naturally, any security problem from Microsoft would be put under massive spotlight, as it had the most users out there. I still remember the day when Firefox is the new kid on the block, when people are praising it for its security & very little news report about security issues had ever surfaced regarding Firefox. Times have changed; as Firefox closed upon the 25% browser market share mark, more and more of their security exploits news are being reported over tech sites, which does not generate any positive publicity in that case. Firefox may be quicker than Microsoft to react towards fixing their security holes, but based on the gradually increasing reports, isn't Firefox now starting to fall under the same pressure as Internet Explorer had always been?


Sarcastically for Apple, Safari is performing very badly in the test, and to me it's no wonder why. Compared to Microsoft, Apple has had less exploit attempts due to its smaller user base, which does not make them a more profitable target for phishing attacks. Apple users are always claiming about how safe their Safari Browser was and it's true to some sense (nobody even tried their best to exploit the browser!). From a technical point of view though, the meager 2% detection rate for the anti-phishing test is a clear picture of how Apple had never even attempted a serious job of securing their browser. That, in my opinion, is just pure ignorance and rightly deserve the bottom spot. Apple can call their browser's 'security' superior than IE whenever they like, but then this light-hearted behavior would never earn them more market share because once they close in at the level Firefox and IE currently is, Apple will definitely be forced to look into their browser's security!

Moral of the story: We should not underestimate Internet Explorer, or any other of the browsers currently in the battle for market shares. Internet Explorer may be that slower than other existing browsers; it may be that less secure than others due to more exploit attempts, but then they are battle-hardened with all these challenges and will definitely fight back at any time!
Read more >>

August 19, 2009

Get Free BitDefender Total Security 2010 for Six Months (Probably One Year)

If you happen to be a BitDefender fan then you got some good news. Just two days ago BitDefender team released their 2010 security products line with lots of improvements in performance and features along with support to Windows 7. The overall layout of their 2010 products is somehow similar with only a small change in contents and a totally face-lifted color scheme compared with the 2009 products.

The most comprehensive and feature-rich product from BitDefender team is Total Security 2010. It has lots of system maintenance features which are just saving our few extra bucks which we may spend on buying software for similar purposes. When there is a question of protection, BitDefender and Kaspersky stands side by side. Let's have a look at its features before the trick of getting Six Months license:
Malware Protection
* Protects against viruses and other malware using industry-leading technology (NEW)
* Scans all Web, e-mail and instant messaging traffic in real-time
* Provides an unmatched detection rate of new threats based on two different proactive technologies
* Blocks spyware programs that track your online activities
Protect your identity: shop, bank, listen and watch, privately and securely
* Blocks web pages that attempt to steal your credit card data
* Prevents personal information from leaking via e-mail, Web or instant messaging (NEW)
* File Shredder permanently erases sensitive files and traces of files
Guard your files and conversations with top-of-the line encryption
* Instant Messaging Encryption keeps your conversations private on Yahoo! and MSN Messenger
* File Vault securely stores personal information or sensitive files
* Automatically backs up files and folders
Connect securely to any network at home, at the office, or away
* The two-way firewall automatically secures your Internet connection wherever you are
* Wi-Fi monitor helps prevent unauthorized access to your Wi-Fi network
Protect your family and their computers
* Parental Control blocks access to inappropriate websites and e-mail
* Limits kids’ access the Internet, games, etc. to specific times
* Makes it easy for you to manage the security of your network from a single location
Play safely, play seamlessly
* Reduces the system load and avoids requesting user interaction during game play
Get fine-tuned performance from your computer!
* Removes unnecessary files & registry entries, for improved performance
* Optimized scanning technology skips safe files for better scan speed and lower system load
* Antispam stops unwanted e-mail from reaching your Inbox
* Laptop Mode prolongs battery life
Let professionals solve any security issues
* Assistance with common issues built directly into the product

Grab Six Months License:

If you guys remember, in one of my article regarding BitDefender Total Security 2009, I shared info to get 6 months license. That license is still valid. That was an OEM license. If you got license at that time, you should not worry but if you could not get, do not worry because the license is already published in that article. The same license can be used to register BitDefender Total Security 2010. The license is:

BB7798E9A1E6E5B1E044


Download BDTS2010 and install it. When you are asked to register, use the license along with email which is not registered before. After registration do not forget to check your email because BitDefender will send you a registration confirmation email. You should confirm your registration. Enjoy another six months protection.

...Probably One Year Protection:


When your trial will end, use BitDefender's own uninstaller to uninstall BitDefender Total Security 2010 and reinstall it with the same license. Most probably, it will work again. Hope you will enjoy full one year protection.
Read more >>

Join the Trend Micro Security v2 Beta Program!


Fans of Trend Micro Security Solutions might be interested at this:

Trend Micro's Beta Portal recently issued a new beta program known as the Trend Micro Security Beta Test. Trend Micro Security is essentially Trend Micro's answer to cloud security, just as Panda Security is with their Panda Cloud Security. More importantly, it is designed to give users effective protection using minimal system resources.

Here are some of the features described by Trend Micro:
  • Web-Threat Protection
  • File Reputation Checking
    • Anti-Virus
    • Anti-Spyware
  • File Cleaning
  • Protection Reporting
  • Minimal Memory and Storage Requirements
  • Maximum Performance
Trend Micro Security Beta works with 32-bit of Windows XP & both the 32-bit & 64-bit of Windows Vista & Windows 7. The Windows Starter version of Vista is not supported, though. In addition to that, Trend Micro urges users who are still running Internet Explorer 6 to upgrade to at least Internet Explorer 7 & above in order to beta-test the security software.

As a surprise, Trend Micro will also be dishing out some rewards for testers who participate in the beta program. The first 300 testers to register for testing and finish the online test scripts will receive a FREE 1-Year Trend Micro Security license key at the end of the beta test. If you're not amongst the first 300 testers to finish the test scripts, you are still lucky enough to be in drawing competition for some other magnificent prizes which includes:

1. An Apple iPod Shuffle
2. A USB Hard Drive
3. Other Special Prizes

Another interesting reward is that the users who submitted the most critical bug to Trend Micro will receive an 8GB Apple iPod Nano. Also, the testers with the most number of referrals will similarly win a special prize.

Due to restrictive issues in the EULA, i am legally prohibited from posting download links here and sharing my beta-testing experiences & information, but then there seemed to be no mentioning of restriction on screenshot, so here's your first look at Trend Micro Security Beta:



If you're attracted towards the software or the prizes or whatever, hurry up and sign up for the Trend Micro Beta Portal & start contributing to the next generation of Trend Micro Security Solution as an official Beta tester! Participation for the beta program only last from 13th August 2009 - 9th September, 2009, so make sure that you register as soon as possible!

To sign up as a beta-tester now & receive full access to Trend Micro Security's resources, follow this link to Trend Micro Beta Portal.
Read more >>

Get Free USB Safely Remove v.4.1 (Aug 19th-25th)

Computer devices used via USB ports are very common now a days. Many people think just data storage devices can be used through USB port but it is not the reality. There are many other devices can be used via USB like web-cam, joystick, even your keyboard, etc.

When you connect a device through USB to your computer, Windows always has to recognize it and also has to install and run the driver for that device to made it work properly. If Windows does not recognize, it asks you to install the driver for it. Now a days almost every computer device is Plug-n-Play. So, Windows just recognize it when you connect it to your computer.

But what, when you have to remove it? You can not simply de-attach the device. Sudden de-attaching can harm your device and also can harm computer from working properly. It can crashed your Windows and force you to reinstall Windows, some part of your computer can be malfunctioned, the driver for that device may be corrupted and will not work next time, etc. Windows has a safely remove program to remove USB device.

USB Safely Remove has few advantages over Windows own safely remove program. It identifies all USB connected devices by name, Windows does not recognize by name. USB Safely Remove also shows hidden USB devices which is difficult through Windows Safely Remove. Some time, Windows Safely Remove does not let you stop device from working and you may not be able to remove it but USBSR stops any such running device and shows you which function or file stopping USB device from stopping. It let you easily remove the device without any damange.

¤ It saves time...
Displaying what prevent a device from being stopped
Safe removal via hotkeys
¤ Lets you recognize a device in a snap..
The handy menu with device icons
Real device names and ability to rename them
Feature to hide unnecessary to stop devices
¤ Extends your hot-plug opportunities...
Program autorun on device connection\disconnection
Command line for safe removal
¤ Does unique things!
Hiding of "empty" card reader drives
Card reader memory cards ejection one-by-one
Returning just stopped device back!

How to Grab:


Open the following link and enter your full name and email (copy n paste).
http://safelyremove.com/giveawayweeka9.htm
Uncheck the box of Newsletter subscription if you do not want newsletter. After sending your info, you will receive your own license within few seconds.

You can access the original page at Gizmo here:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/usb-safely-remove-v41-free-valid-aug-19th-25th.htm
Read more >>

August 18, 2009

Get Free One Year Protection of Panda Internet Security 2010

Few days ago, a three months trial period of Panda Internet Security 2010 (PIS 2010) was released for WOT users. But, anybody can use it; there are no restrictions. There is no difference between WOT release and the release which you can get through Panda's own site.

Panda Internet Security is a reliable security solution for your computer. I have used it for some time in past but it could not stay permanent in my computer. The reason is I use BitDefender and Kaspersky on regular basis. At the moment, I will prefer Panda Internet Security 2010 over Kaspersky Internet Security 9 and AVG Internet Security 8.5 because of its strong firewall. During a firewall test in my computer, both KIS 9 and AVGIS 8.5 could not hide my few ports on Internet but PIS 2010 hide my all ports. This is the only reason I can prefer PIS 2010. PIS 2010 takes about 250MB disk space after installation which is just 200MB less than F-Secure Internet Security 2010.

Other than a strong firewall, what Panda Internet Security 2010 can do for you:

* Protects you against Virus, Spyware, Trojan, Rootkits, Bots and other types of Malwares
* Most effective and strong Advanced Proactive Protection
* Strong Personal Firewall to protect you against Hackers, Datatheft, Malicious inbound and outbound activities, etc.
* Anti-Phishing Filter
* Anti-Banking Trojan Engine
* Web Filter
* Personal Info Filter
* Parental Control
* Backup & Restore

Trick: Get One Year of Panda Internet Security 2010:

Simply, download Panda Internet Security 2010 installer from the following link (copy n paste):
http://www.mywot.com/en/panda/internetsecurity
After download, first save it at some safe place where you can access it later. Install the Panda Internet Security 2010 and register it. After registration, you will see a three months working period of PIS 2010. You should also activate your product for assistance. Activation can be done through "Main-Window/Services/Activate the product".

To use for whole year, you simply have to uninstall it before the trial ends. Restart your computer and install it again. You must use a new email on each new registration. You need 4 times installation in whole year. So, there are just two tiny headaches: 1: creating new email (will take maximum 2 minutes on yahoo) 2: Reinstalling Panda Internet Security 2010 (will take maximum 10 minutes). Less than 1 hour work will give you a full one year protection. Enjoy a full year protection of Panda Internet Security with this old trick.
Read more >>

August 17, 2009

Free 1-Year Commercial License Key of EMSISoft Mamutu Malware Blocker

Majority of security software needs to be updated on regular basis to to protect systems but Mamutu can protect you in both cases, updated or not. That is because Mamutu's way of protection is behavior-based unlike your average security software. Simply put, it examines the behavior of software. Behavioral detections help Mamutu to recognize any suspected behavior patterns on which users can take action on. So do not be surprise if you realize that Mamutu can take action on an unidentified malware long before a malware signature is even released.


Here are the different types of behavior on which Mamutu can identify:

* Backdoor related behavior
* Spyware related behavior
* HiJacker related behavior
* Worm related behavior
* Dialer related behavior
* Keylogger related behavior
* Trojan Downloader related behavior
* Injection of code into other programs
* Manipulation of programs (patching)
* Invisible installations of software
* Invisible Rootkit processes
* Installation of services and drivers
* Creation of Autostart entries
* Manipulation of the Hosts file
* Changes of the browser settings
* Installation of debuggers on the system
* Simulated mouse and keyboard activity
* Direct disk sector access on harddisk [NEW!]


Get it this way:


Gizmo team has managed to offer us free one year commercial license of Mamutu. You cannot use this promo code through your EMSISoft account because it is not accepted there. Instead, you need to follow the steps as described below:
====================================================================

1: Go to the following page (copy n paste):
https://emsisoft.cleverbridge.com/34/?scope=checkout&id=7VD4Kg8jFk

2: On the page, click the check box on the left side of this text "Check to enter coupon code". A text box will be visible.

3: Enter the promotion code "GIZMOSFREEWARE" (remove quote marks) and press big button "Apply" and soon after you will see that total amount is $0.00.

4: Enter you details.

5: In payment detail, use Cash if you do not want to continue your subscription in coming years. Press Next.

6: On this page, check your details and confirm it. After confirmation, on next page, check the digital signed PDF file (it will open in new browser) for your details. The same details will be posted you in your email. You can check it there, too.

7: Download Mamutu from the following address (copy n paste):
http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/mamutu/


Use your details which you received in your email to install and register Mamutu Malware Blocker.

The original post can be found here:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/get-world-class-mamutu-malware-blocker-free.htm

====================================================================

This is a time-limited promotion which will expire on 11.59 PM USA PST, Monday August 24, 2009. So if you are interested in Mamutu, hurry up and
grab your own key before it expires!
Read more >>

IESnapshot: The Right Tool for Web Page Capturing


I was lucky as to be approached by TechGeek, the author & administrator of Computelogy who suggested three software tools on which I could write for his & my blog. I remember taking fair interest in the first two software links he sent me but was immediately attracted by the link to the third tool, IESnapshot which is developed by Accalio s.r.o., a company based near Vienna, Austria. I accepted his offer without a second thought and dived straight into learning IESnapshot.

IESnapshot is in a simple explanation,
a webpage-capturing tool capable of grabbing an entire chunk of image-based detail from a webpage and transform it into a PDF or graphical image file. It can be described as a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) tool, meaning to say that it can actually duplicate what is exactly the same thing it captured, providing realism to the users. Therefore, it is not to be confused with screen-capturing tools such as TechSmith’s SnagIT or the built-in ‘Print Screen’ function of Windows, which only captures a portion of the screen & not the web page in its entirety.

Although not stated in the company's website,
IESnapshot runs fine on my 32-bit Windows 7 & on the latest Internet Explorer 8. The company also cited some of the unique features of IESnapshot which are the ability to store all background images, even images inside the style sheets or dynamic content such as Flash and Java.

Other main IESnapshot features include:
  • Save almost any webpage - for archiving or multimedia presentations
  • Create multiple page PDF or singlepage GIF, JPG or BMP files
  • Unique file naming ability - automatic or manual
  • Compression ratio settings (quality vs. size)
  • Capture any portion of the viewed webpage - automatic or manual
  • Captures full pages, capture longer pages than screen resolution (whole page / scrolling) in to one picture or PDF page.
  • Ability to capture the web page at specific moments - capturing pictures from live action animations
  • Capture pages from URL lists
  • Application is fully compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer(r)

On first impression, IESnapshot works like a simple web browser, with the back and forward button plus the home page and refresh button. However, the additional switch and sidebar-like, scrollable preview screen makes it a powerful 'browser'. Users can grab an entire webpage during any phase of its loading and save it as a PDF file by default. IESnapshot also provided a column beneath the window for IT professionals to debug a faulty script in a web page before they capture it in its entirety. If users does not want to save a web page as a PDF file, they can save it in other graphical image format such as a JPG format. They are also given the power of choosing the default file saving location, selecting the quality of the snapshot and adding custom headers with customizable font size, types and colors.


There are also some notable weaknesses. IESnapshot will not debug nor skip a faulty script automatically. It will be up to those skilled in debugging web pages to debug the web page so as to allow IESnapshot to load the page completely. Besides, IESnapshot also inherited the weakness of IE-based browsers in terms of memory consumption, which can impact performances of computers with low amount of RAM onboard.

A script error dialog box by IESnapshot whenever it comes across a web page with script errors

Obviously there are some issues with the script of my background image,because it seems to take forever for IESnapshot to load the background image...

Regardless, IESnapshot at its minimum function level is going to be extremely useful for people who does not have enough online time but wanted to read a lot of stuffs on different web pages. They can simply download the snapshots & read the contents offline without having to browse the web. Incidentally, this software is also going to prove useful as a training ground for IT professionals in debugging a web page!

To learn more about IESnapshot, visit their official website here.

To download IESnapshot now, click on this download link.
Read more >>

Review Digital Plexus

I do not know how well this blog is doing unless there are feedbacks. Please do leave a review or two with us on how you think about Digital Plexus, its authors or the qualities of the posts. Good and bad comments are all welcomed, but please avoid posting rude/obscene comments that are not helpful to any of us working on this blog:

Disclaimer:

This blog is dedicated for the benefits of those who seeks experiences, knowledge or information in the computer, IT news, technology and software & hardware area. Digital Plexus cannot control how readers use the information, including any fraudulent conducts, illegal activities or deeds as regard by the law. Therefore, Digital Plexus & its authors shall not be liable to any damages caused by readers who misuse the information provided.

Digital Plexus utilizes information from many sources, including personal experiences of authors. Digital Plexus will never claim credits or ownership rights regarding the information it used in the blog, except for the raw articles posted on the blog - those are original materials written by the authors of Digital Plexus itself after the compilation of various information and/or experiences.

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