Get Free EAST Tech Eraser 2010 and SpeedUpMyPC 2010

EAST Tech Eraser 2010 and SpeedUpMyPC 2010 have been offered so many times by different magazines and websites that everybody should have atleast 2 copies of each software but I do not have even a single copy. Just Kidding. I am writing because there would be many friends who did not know about these offers.

I will divide this article into two parts respective to software promotion.

EAST Tech Eraser 2010 (May be Six Months)

• Destroy all evidence of your online activities: Clean Web Sites, pictures, movies, video clips, sounds, e-mail messages, chat room conversation history, AutoComplete, etc.
• Destroy sensitive data from your computer: Clean traces of the documents and pictures you've recently accessed, and make sure that the files you are deleting are really gone
• Remove cookies placed on your computer by Web sites. Keep only the cookies you approve
• Supports the most popular Web Browsers: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, America Online, MSN Explorer, Opera, Safari, Netscape Navigator, etc.
• Supports all types of popular programs such as Messenger, Email, News, Player and P2P Programs
• Very secure erasing: meets and exceeds government and industry standards for the permanent erasure of digital information

Open the following web address into your browser and fill a short form and submit it:

http://www.east-tec.com/offers/pcadvisor/2010/eraser/register.htm

Check your e-Mail and confirm the request by clicking on Get Free button in the e-Mail. A new webpage will open with Get Free Key button. Click on it. On the next page, you will see your license and name. Copy and save it to register you program of EAST Tech Eraser 2010.

UniBlue SpeedUpMyPC 2010

The problem:
Is your PC getting slower? With so many different settings, files and processes to monitor, it is hard to identify just what is slowing you down, let alone implement the necessary technical adjustments to recover speed and performance.

The solution:
SpeedUpMyPC scans your computer to identify the processes, files and settings that are slowing you down, before wielding a powerful range of tools to optimize your system for improved performance. With single click simplicity, network settings, RAM and CPU function are all scanned, cleaned and tuned for speed, while junk files are deleted for space. The result is a computer that works faster and better.

Open the following web address into your browser and fill a short form. Check your e-Mail for your licnese. Register UniBlue SpeedUpMyPC 2010 with that license.

http://mag.uniblue.com/pca/sp/

Read more >>

Registry First Aid 7 - For Free

Hi Friends,

This is 3rd article in the series of four shareware promos article but I am publishing it bit late. Just my mistake. You will have chance to Get Free Registry First Aid 7 which is latest release. Previously, we shared Registry First Aid 6 which is still valid but should you get old one if you can have a new one. So, Get Free Registry First Aid 7.

I am fan of CCleaner which is better than any shareware. But we are sharing Registry First Aid 7 promo because some of you may want to use shareware promo instead of freeware.

Tired of Windows® crashing? Sick of having software lock up on you or taking forever to load? The problem could be all of those incorrect registry entries caused by software installations and un-installations that went awry!
Not all software un-installations do a complete job leaving behind numerous nagging file references in the Windows registry pointing to files that no longer exist. In time, you can end up with hundreds of these files that may slow down your computer and cause software to lock up, requiring a hard reboot of your computer.
Also, if you've moved your programs from one drive to another, you can break the file links that a program needs. Registry First Aid will find these files and folders that you've moved on your hard drive and help you correct the registry entries that point to them.
Registry First Aid scans the Windows registry for orphan file/folder references, finds these files or folders on your drives that may have been moved from their initial locations, and then corrects your registry entries to match the located files or folders. In addition, if your registry has links to files of deleted applications, Registry First Aid will find these invalid entries and remove them from your registry. With Registry First Aid, your Windows registry will be always clean and correct, helping your programs load faster and speeding up your computer.

Get Free:

Open the following web address into your browser and fill the form as guided in the snap and submit it.

http://register.avanquest.com/ABSOFT/produits/Promotion/enregistrement_presse/register_cov_gd.cfm?idcgd=486

Check your e-Mail and find e-Mail from Avanquest with subject "Ihre Registry First Aid Seriennummer: E-Mail-Bestätigung". There you will see a confirmation link, click on it. Follow fllowing snap as guide. 

A new browser window will open where you can see your licnese and same license you will also get into your e-Mail. 

Download Registry First Aid 7 from official site, install it and use the license which you received through previous steps. Enjoy it.

http://download.cnet.com/Registry-First-Aid/3000-2094_4-10061591.html

Read more >>

Steganos Privacy Suite™ 10, Magic Video Converter 8.5, ACDSee 8 - All Free

Hi Friends,

I was not so active to write article, recently, but James was not lazy. He was doing his work and that's why you were delivered some good articles. My laziness is still not over but I have something for you from PCWelt.de: Get Free Steganos Privacy Suite™ 10, Magic Video Converter 8.5, ACDSee 8. Let me tell you that I could not have time to find and install the installers of respective software. Now it is your duty to find and install. If you would like, feedback will be highly appreciated.

As there are three promos, I will divide this Get Free into three parts depending on names of software.

Steganos Privacy Suite™ 10

I do not remember, If i have tested any of Steganos software but Steganos VPN service. Well, now we are talking about Steganos Privacy Suite™ 10, what they say about it:

Working on a PC or laptop that's connected to the internet offers lots of advantages. But there are plenty of disadvantages too. Our laptops, USB sticks and CDs help transport documents, photos and movies all over the world. But what happens if a stranger gets a hold of the data on your hardware?

The risks:

• USB sticks with irreplaceable vacation photos can fall out of pockets. DVDs that contain personal financial information get lost all the time. Laptops with e-mails, contact info and calendars can be accidentally left behind in taxis.
• All your passwords are neatly stored on an Excel sheet. But unprotected documents leave you vulnerable to data thieves.
• You've deleted all the data on a PC you plan to sell. But did you know that someone could easily reconstruct the data you thought was gone forever?

The solution is Steganos Privacy Suite™ 10.

• Safes: Locks and encrypts documents, photos and your e-mail post office in a virtual data safe. Secures USB sticks, CDs and DVDs when on the go.
• Password Manager: Organizes and manages all of your passwords and access information. All securely encrypted, of course. Supports Drag and Drop, or fills out website forms automatically.
• Shredder: Shreds unwanted data permanently—cannot be reconstructed by data recovery applications.
• Plus: E-mail and web favorites encryption functions, trace destructor, Steganography and optional Steganos AntiTheft.

Click on the following web address or copy n paste it into your web browser to open the web page. Fill a simple short form and submit it as guided into the following snap. Check your e-Mail. You will find your licnese in the e-mail which you will receive from Stegano GmbH. Please find installer to use it. As I have explained, I could not have time to find installer.

http://www.steganos.com/magazine/pcwelt/sss10

Magic Video Converter 8.5

It is strange that now a days there are many share ware promos related to video editing software on Internet. It looks like every comapny wanna giveaway there Video editing software. Well, Magic Video Converter 8.5 is also available as giveaway.

What's new in Magic Video Converter updated version:

• Add the function of composite video and audio file.
• Add the function of video crop and pad.
• Support more output formats: flv, gif, dv, ts, mkv, ogg, m4a, mmf, aiff, au and flac.

With Magic Video Converter you can:

• Convert AVI, MPEG, MPEG 1, MPEG 2, MPEG 4, VCD, DVD, SVCD, RMVB, RM, WMV, MOV, DIVX and other video formats.
• Converted files can be played on your iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, Google Android, Mobile MP4, PS3, PSP and Sony WalkMan.
• Convert your movies in batch mode.
• Preview videos directly in interface
• Split AVI, VCD, DVD or other videos into several ones.
• Split and play videos at the same time.
• Burn DVD and create menu.
• Customize video screen size, audio/video bit rate, frame rate and aspect

Click on the following web address or copy n paste it into your browser to open it. Filla very short form as directed in the followin snap. You will receive an e-Mail from Pro.de containing confirmation link. Click on link and you will be told that your license will be dispatched shortly. It may take upto 30 minutes to receive your license.

http://pro.de/aktion/pcwelt/magic-video-converter

Download from

http://www.magic-video-software.com/magic_video_converter/download.html

 ACDSee 8

This is a very old version and in my view is totally useless to use on advance computers when you have some great freeware like Picasa. It may be usefull for those who are still using Windows 98. LOL. Click on the following web address or copy n paste it into your browser to open the form. Fill it as directed and submit it. Soon, you will get an e-Mail from autoreply@acdsee.com containing your license. Find appropriate installer to use it.

http://de.acdsee.com/covermount/idg/46578

It took me 3 days to write this small article. The reason was I did not have time. I hope you will enjoy this article though I do not think, so.

Read more >>

Nero BurnLite 10 Free

Nero Lts. has release a free Nero BurnLite 10 which is successor of 9. I am not very much impressed. It looks like they just wanna show that they are too generous to offer their product. It felt like written ICE CREAM on a paper.

I have few issues with it. Let me tell you what I feel:

Huge Installation Package: The installation package is 31.2MB huge. Why so big installation package? Is it only to have a pretty interface? My view is the interface  is not pretty or attractive or following any Usability and Accessiblity guidelines.

Forcefully Ask Toolbar Installation: It forcefully installed Ask Toolbar. Even you do not want to install the toolbar but it will be installed. You can uninstall Ask Toolbar later on. But why we are forced to install it. Is Nero going to be bank-crrupt that they need Ask Toolbar Search Click money badly?

Misleading Interface: First when you see interface, you think: O lots of functions. But all these are fake. Eacy and every function, which you will see, will lead you to upgrade. You will get just two functions: Burn Data and Copy Disk. Why the hell we should use Nero BurnLite 10 if many freeware are better than it. For example, CDBurnerXP, the best freeware out there on Internet to replace any shareware. One more shame for a big company.

Faulty Burning Function: I tried to burn 300MB of data at low speed. After burning 70%, it stopped telling me that disk is unaccessable. CDBurnerXP burnt the whole data and there was no error.

Very Limited Functions: As I have already told you that you would get just two functions: Burn Data and Copy Disk.

No Help File Available: I wanted to read help file but there is no help file, which could tell about its functions, installed. There is one Help folder in installation directory but it has no sensible relation with Nero BurnLite 10. A link from software took me to main page but not to any online help file.

Huge Free Space Consumer: It took 69MB on full installation. Considering the functions available, what Nero BurnLite 10 will do with 69MB of diskspace.

Burden On Computer Resources: During burning 300MB of data, my computer was crawling like snail. I was almost unable to open Firefox. It took more than 7 seconds to load Firefox and it opened just in 4 seconds when CDBurnerXP was doing its burning function.

No Disk Image Support: There is no disk image burning support. This means you can not burn any type of disk image not even most famous and standard ISO Disk Image. 

There is a better freeware CDBurnerXP. You can download  Nero BurnLite 10 Free from here:

http://www.nero.com/eng/downloads-nbl-free.php

CDBurnerXP can be downloaded free of cost.

Read more >>

FastStone Capture 5.3 is Free for Home Use

Every now and then Internet surfers need to capture their computer screen . They also need to edit such captured snaps. We use PrtSc key to capture computer screen but using MS Paint as editor is not a wise step. Because MS Paint can not handle scrolling windows. It also needs some more steps to get cropped image, etc. You need some specialized tool to handle such jobs.

There are many screen capturing tools available free of cost on Internet and you will not find much difference between quality of those tools but somehow differ in functionality. FastStone Soft. was also used to give FastStone Capture free for home use but not anymore.

Luckily there are ways you can get bit old but still good FastStone Capture 5.3 free. This is two and half year old version. The biggest difference between v5.3 and 6.6 is screen recoding function means 5.3 does not has screen recording function.

I did not find any compatibility issue on Windows 7 Ultimate x86. I don't know about x64 compatibility.

FastStone Capture is a powerful, lightweight, yet full-featured screen capture tool that allows you to easily capture and annotate anything on the screen including windows, objects, menus, full screen, rectangular/freehand regions and even scrolling windows/web pages. Editing tools include annotating (texts, arrowed lines, highlights), resizing, cropping, sharpening, watermarking, applying edge effects and many more. FastStone Capture saves files in BMP, GIF, JPEG, PCX, PNG, TGA, TIFF and PDF formats.

• A small handy Capture Panel that provides quick access to its capture tools and output options
• Global hotkeys to activate screen capturing instantly
• Capture windows, objects, menus, full screen, rectangular/freehand regions and scrolling windows/web pages
• Capture multiple windows and objects including multi-level menus
• Options to specify output destination (internal editor, clipboard, file, printer ...)
• Draw annotation objects such as texts, arrowed lines, highlights, watermarks, rectangles and circles
• Apply effects such as drop-shadow, frame, torn-edge and fade-edge 
• Add image caption
• Resize, crop, rotate, sharpen, brighten, adjust colors ...
• Undo/Redo
• Support external editors
• Save in BMP, GIF, JPEG, PCX, PNG, TGA, TIFF and PDF formats 
• And many more ...

Get FastStone Capture 5.3:

To get your free copy of FastStone Capture 5.3, open the following web address into your browser and follow the directions. Click on big blue button Download.

http://www.computerbild.de/download/FastStone-Capture-Free-1651452.html

You will be direct to download page and your download should start in 5 seconds after moving to new web page. The web address of this page is:

http://www.computerbild.de/download/FastStone-Capture-Free-1651452.html?dl=1

Enjoy it.

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Diagnose and Solve PC Problems Anywhere, Anytime with Iobit Toolbox

I have a collection of utility software which I store in my USB drive and when someone’s PC needs it, I will install and run them for diagnostic purposes. I have no problems whatsoever with taking time to install software, but I think that a better solution would be to have a set of portable tools in one single utility software which would do the job without requiring an install or leaving traces behind a user’s PC.

Here’s Iobit Toolbox: one of the recommended solution for PC technicians and geeks out there. At approximately 15MB in size, it houses over 20 dedicated tools that help technicians and geeks with common diagnostics such as system maintenance, obtain system information, optimize PC performance and repair PC problems. It is free, and it is portable! Although it features lots of settings that can be done with the built-in Control Panel, it is nevertheless, a working piece of portable utility bundle.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this software is that it allows user to customize its logo and title. Iobit has included with the software, a tutorial teaching users how to change the toolbox’s title and logos to suit the user. Also, it allows user to run tools independently, meaning to say that you don’t have to access the main GUI to run each different tools you wanted, which is very convenient.

Iobit Toolbox runs on Windows XP, Vista and 7. It runs on 32-bit PCs, but I’m not sure if it runs on 64-bit. If someone tested this tool on a 64-bit computer and it is working, do make a comment for others to refer to.

Download Iobit Toolbox v1 HERE

 

Read more >>

Paragon Net Burner v2

Hi Friends,

About thirteen hours ago, Peter informed me about Paragon Net Burner. I did not know it before and it was really strange that I missed a software from Paragon because Paragon is a big name among software vendors and surprisingly I did not notice Paragon Net Burner. Well thank you Peter.

Paragon Net Burner let you share your CD/DVD/BD ROM on a network. This means a system with less resources like no such ROM can have access to it on other computer. This is helpful in office because not every computer has burning ROM. What Paragon says:

"Paragon Net Burner is a unique utility to “share” a CD/DVD/BD burner over the network and remotely make a CD/DVD/BD recordable device available for use by other networked computers. It gives users the ability to record CDs/DVDs/BDs without having a local burner device".

I am just thinking that we can share our drives on a network by simply entering the properties and creating rule to share. Why did they created this software? Can it help us to overcome network problems which may prevent access to drives being shared on network? I have not tested it because I could not have time. So, I do not know it all characteristics and functions. There should be something important behind the creation of Paragon Net Burner and I do not know. They fact is they didn't mention it on their website. Features are:

Easy-to-use even for inexperienced users	User-friendly wizards will help you to mount (or remove) a remote optical drive in only a few clicks. Access the mounted drives no differently than your local devices.
Extremely useful for notebooks without optical drive	Paragon Net Burner is a great solution for notebook users who have no optical drive onboard (subnotebooks, netbooks, ultraportable laptops). Mount a CD/DVD/BD drive located on another machine in your local network and grab, record or master CDs/DVDs/BDs without having these devices locally. Net Burner is must-have for home users who have both subnotebook(s) and PCs – now you can forget about tiresome transferring of files from one PC to another just so you can burn them. With Net Burner, if you take your subnotebook on a business trip, you can burn CD/DVD/BD discs using another PC.
Cost-effective for office network, internet-café etc.	With Paragon Net Burner there is no need to have an expensive HD-DVD/BD drive on every machine in the office, internet-café or any other network. It is enough to have only one device of this type, and share it all over the network.
Ideal for backing up data to a remote CD/DVD/BD	Paragon Net Burner is an excellent addition to the Paragon’s products (such as Hard Disk Manager, Drive Backup etc.) that lets you back up data from your PCs, workstations or servers to a remote CD/DVD/BD.
Compatible with the most of burning software and hardware	Paragon Net Burner supports a wide variety of burning software and hardware. It is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/2003/2008/Vista, so you can use Windows' built-in burning software. To get maximum burning features, see our latest burning solution, Paragon Easy CD/DVD Recorder 9.0. If you already use third-party software and are satisfied with it, you can continue using it together with Net Burner.
Great performance in all operations	Net Burner consists of two components: the Server (a full-featured software-only iSCSI Target) and the Client (an iSCSI and ATA-over-Ethernet initiator). Paragon Net Burner Server has a matching "domestic" iSCSI Initiator called Paragon Net Burner Client. This combination provides unbeatable performance compared to the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator and third-party iSCSI targets.

Registration is free and you can access registration form here:

http://www.paragon-software.com/business/net-burner/download.html

More info here:

http://www.paragon-software.com/business/net-burner/index.html

It does not support Windows 7.

Read more >>

Riding The New Immunet Protect: Is It A Worthy Security Program?

You have probably heard of Immunet for the first time during last year. I last covered that Immunet Protect is a workable and innovative security software that uses cloud community protection, but it is not enough to make a majority of people stick to it, particularly as it has its own buggy problem, limited functionality and questionable effectiveness as all new programs faced.


Immunet recently arrived at its v2 release, where developers gave the security software a major overhaul in every area possible. It is still a freeware, but now there is a Plus version available for those who want Immunet's own in-house traditional antivirus engine. Which is good in a sense that users equipped with the Plus version are protected by Immunet when they are offline. For free users, they will enjoy the cloud community & heuristic-based engine, but no antivirus engine. Immunet is also capable of running alongside any antivirus program even with their own antivirus engine onboard.


I download & tested Immunet Protect to see if it is worth the use. Here are some of the goods about the software:


1. The New GUI Interface

For v2, Immunet uses a more user friendly interface, particularly the main GUI & the '?' description pop-ups. I love Immunet's effort of trying to educate the user on what particular function of the software does, as well as their effort of making navigation easier for users as they add more features to the product. It is also quite attractive in terms of GUI background and color blendings.


2. Enhanced Protection Features for free


The cloud community scanning feature (codename SPERO) is one of Immunet's core features and for v2, they enhanced its functionality. Although users will require to log in (or create an Immunet account if they log in for the first time) to use the feature, the benefits are rewarding. Users can now invite friends to join their cloud network as well as being provided with a visual map as to who is protecting the users through cloud community detection. Community stats are also updated in real-time more frequently than before. 

To compliment SPERO, Immunet formally introduces another scan engine codename ETHOS, a heuristic-based engine. Unlike SPERO, ETHOS runs regardless of whether the user is connected to a network or not. Of course, it works at best with network connection on, but now, users can rest assure that Immunet is protecting them to a certain degree when they are offline.


3. 24/7 Tech Support


Immunet Protect is being given so much tech support attention for a freeware; both free & Pro version users can enjoy full-time support service when they ran into a problem. Although i have no idea whether it works as advertised, it is definitely one good incentive to use the software.


There is also some area about the software that needs improvement:


1. Buggy GUI


Although i praise the beautiful & easy to navigate GUI previously, there's no deny that it is slightly buggy. Running the main GUI will result in a delay and a momentary white patch before the GUI loads completely. Similarly, other sub-GUI also has the same bug.


2. The Adware-like upgrade prompt 

Sometimes, when running the main GUI, you will notice an upgrade prompt popping out from the right side of the GUI. Although i am not objecting Immunet trying to get users to upgrade to the Plus version, i think there should be other better ways to do that; it makes me feel as though i'm using a security software that came bundled with malware or spyware or similar. It is also notoriously difficult to close the prompt, as the close button does not always show on the prompt.


3. Ask.com toolbar is bundled with the installation package

While this is not necessarily a bad thing, the problem comes with the user. Some users will get turn off by the Ask.com toolbar (considered an adware by some) that is installed. While there is an option for users to not install it during setup, how many amateur and novice users will take notice of that? As far as i'm concerned, the ask.com thingy has led to some negative PR on sites like download.com. I also had no idea why would Immunet affiliate themselves with something like that...




Immunet is up on my PC for nearly 4 days already and as far as i know, it is a pretty decent security software, having use minimal PC resources and even beating the likes of Panda Cloud Antivirus in terms of pure startup speed. With further bug fix and improvement, Immunet Protect rocks as a freeware security tool. Despite that, it will take Immunet a long time to build up a densely populated cloud community, which seriously degrades its effectiveness and for this reason, I don't think it is the right moment to recommend it to friends and families yet.


Download Immunet Protect HERE.


Visit the Official Website to learn more.

Read more >>

Understanding PC: Will Increasing PC Speed By Increasing FileSystem Cache Pay Off?

I recently helped a friend clear up his PC problem when he reported lags and glitchy performance with his Windows XP. A brief questioning of the situation revealed that he had done a filesystem cache tweak which leads to his PC performance degrading.

There is a common belief that by increasing the FileSystem Cache of Windows, users can experience a boost in PC performance, since Windows will tend to use the maximum available RAM to power applications, resulting in more responsive scenarios. In fact, I am going to show you how to do it here:

1. Click Start, type in “cmd” and you will see the command prompt icon.
2. Right Click the cmd icon and choose “Run as Administrator“
3. Now in the command prompt windows type in the following command.

fsutil behavior set memoryusage 2

4. Now restart windows 7.

If you want to review your actions, using the following query in cmd will show you the value.

fsutil behavior query memoryusage

There are many websites that claim that any users can perform this command to increase PC performance. Do not believe this, for some of them did not properly explain the logic behind FileSystem Cache or conduct a benchmarking...which is misleading, i must say. If unsuspecting users do this on a PC without the proper requirements, it will not have any effects and if worse, will result in an even worse performance than before!

By nature, increasing FileSystem Cache size means that your PC will attempt to maximize RAM usage, usually with a benchmark for example, it will prevent RAM usage from falling below single digit level and make applications run at the maximum possible performance. Your PC can also handle more concurrent operations, since the page pool limits are being raised. This tweak is popular with servers, since they are the ones that have to handle multiple file operations.

With the logic above in mind, we can conclude that:

1. Increasing FileSystem Cache size is best performed on a PC with large amount of RAM onboard, with a mimimum of 2GB on Windows XP & Windows 7 and an additional 0.5 GB on Windows Vista. Most importantly, a majority of these RAM must be free from application use, otherwise applying the tweak will result in negative effect.

2. The success of FileSystem Cache tweak is heavily influenced by memory amount, therefore 64-bit OS can take advantage of this tweak rather than 32-bit OS. The reason is that the maximum RAM that can be used by 32-bit OS is 3.5 GB, while 64-bit OS can use 4GB-8GB and beyond.

3. Since this tweak is originally for servers that operates at something like 8GB & beyond, i highly doubt that a normal PC system below 8GB RAM could actually see a difference by applying the tweak.


I know i will need someone's in-depth research and benchmark to support my conclusions, so i dig around and found this excellent analysis by Eric aka TweakHound.

In his research, you will notice that the conclusions i've made regarding the FileSystem Cache tweaks are proven. With benchmarking, research & consultation from expert, Eric concluded at the end of the test, that on normal PC, the tweak is USELESS.

My final advice to majority of users out there is, don't waste your time applying this tweak. As I stated before, this tweak works best with 64-bit OS that runs on high amounts of RAM and also the hardware befitting those of server computers, but trust me, even if your computer fit these requirements, the performance improvement is not enough to produce a positive impact.

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Smarter Startup Management With Soluto

You probably has heard of many ways of managing Windows startup items, from the built-in msconfig command to third party startup managing applications. I've seen quite a lot of software like these, but unfortunately, none of them are quite as informative, interactive and innovative as Soluto, a startup management software which bills itself as an 'anti-frustration' software.

As we all know, a computer that is slow during startup causes lots of frustration. Soluto aims to solve that problem but they took a pretty innovative route to addressing such problem. They uses their own technology, such as their patent-pending low level driver technology that scans a PC for application that is slowing down computer, as well as PC Genome, a technology that leverages the new cloud computing technique, whereby they have a knowledgebase located in the cloud that gathers data and generates statistics from users using Soluto, so that other users can edit share their information regarding applications that startup during boot and what they do to it.

Which is pretty cool, isn't it? Imagine people sharing their ideas around regarding startup items! There's even a video on their official website that demo on what Soluto can do! You can watch the video on Vimeo.

What i really like about this software is also its modern, interactive GUI that takes into account, the users who are novice to computer knowledge. There are many interactive tools and prompts that guides user on understanding and how to best use Soluto to their advantages. We need more of these forms of utilities nowadays, instead of the geeky, complicating GUI that only advanced users care about learning!

Boot Performance Information that shows up everytime after your desktop finished booting into operational mode (It can be toggled off).

The Soluto History Page, where you can view your computer's startup performances

The Application Editing Page, where you edit and submit application information and boot advice to PC Genome for community's references.

I had Soluto running on my PC now, and it does its job well without slowing down my PC (although it may suck bits of your RAM off at times). It is only in beta stage, but quite stable to use and i'll recommend it around wherever there's people who need it.

Visit Soluto Official Website here.

Download Soluto HERE.

Read more >>

X-Setup Pro 9.2.100 For Free

X-Setup Pro 9.2.100 should be considered as final release. It will not work on Windows 7 but will work on  Win9x/NT/200x/XP/Vista. The support for obsolete OSs is pretty good but I do not think if somebody is still using  any of Win9x/NT/200x. It is available as installer and portable versions (USB n U3).

Well, Major Geek said:

X-Setup Pro is the ultimate in system configuration or tweaking as some people would say. It covers all types of options and has many useful features - for more information please read the rest of this section or browse to http://www.x-setup.net/

X-Setup Pro is not yet another Windows Hacker; it is the ultimate tool for black belt system tuning and tweaking, running on Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0, 2000, ME, XP and 2003 Server.

From simple boot options up to server settings and hardware settings, internet settings or Office options, X-Setup Pro allows you to change nearly 1800 (!!) settings with some simple button clicks. This makes X-Setup Pro the most complete hacker/tweaking utility ever available!

Because these settings change often and fast, X-Setup Pro uses XML-based plugins - they are very small (3-6 kB) so updating them is easy too. X-Setup Pro can download updated or new plug-ins directly from the X-Setup Pro web site. Best of all, you can always view the source for any plug-in! And with the also available information on our website you can even create your own plugins or wizards and use them in X-Setup Pro.

With this release, you'll also get the new X-Setup Pro Restore Log. No matter how many changes you have made (either by using a plugin or a wizard) the Restore Log can all restore them to their original values with two simple mouse clicks. This feature works completely independently from the "Windows XP Restore Points" and can therefore be used on any Windows system X-Setup Pro supports (from Windows 95 up to Windows Server 2003). No other tweaking software offers you this!

In case you wish to lockdown a different user on the same computer, Registry Loading will be your best friend. Simply select “Load user registry” from within X-Setup Pro and you can apply all tweaks and settings X-Setup Pro supports to a different user without fearing to lock you out yourself. Securing or locking-down your computer for colleagues or your kids has never been easier!

With the BartPE Enabler Tool, you can use X-Setup Pro on a bootable CD-ROM created by the freely available BartPE system. This means, you can put X-Setup Pro on a CD, boot this CD on any computer and tweak the settings without even installing X-Setup Pro. This can also be a huge help for repairing a misbehaving system.

Network administrator will love X-Setup Pro Recording. Simply turn recording on, change the settings you want and it generates a *.REG file on the fly that can be deployed to thousands of computers without installing X-Setup Pro.

Although it offers lots of features, X-Setup Pro is extremely easy to use. It has an Explorer-like look and the famous back and next buttons you already know from your Internet browser. Plus, X-Setup Pro offers wizards that assist you when changing the configuration - there has never been an easier way to hack your Windows!

Get Free:

The license is shown publically on X-Setup Pro website. This means it is open invitation for all to get it legally. The license is XSA092-11TA9R-8K12YT. You can get some more info at http://www.x-setup.net/.

Download all three version from the following web addresses. Use the license mentioned above to register the X-Setup Pro 9.2.100.

Regular Installer 

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4083.html

Portable for USB
http://majorgeeks.com/X-Setup_Pro_Portable_for_USB_d5565.html

X-Setup Pro Portable for U3 9.2.100
http://majorgeeks.com/X-Setup_Pro_Portable_for_U3_d5564.html

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New AV Comparatives Results Out: My Take On The Antivirus Vendors

I am still busy with academic stuffs when i thought i should de-stress myself with a blog post. AV Comparatives has just released their Retrospective/Proactive Test for May 2010 and i thought I would share it around. 

The test result gave me a surprise: Of all the antivirus vendors, Trustport Antivirus 2010 is actually the overall winner, dethroning the usual past winners Avira & G DATA from the top spot. Panda Antivirus did well too (Panda Cloud Antivirus also uses the same engine, albeit in the cloud), but unfortunately it has too much false positive. Bitdefender & the other antivirus using the Bitdefender engine ( G DATA, F-Secure) also did well, too; previously the Bitdefender engine failed to impress on AV Comparatives.


Amongst the freeware, Microsoft Security Essential did the best, with Avira a close second. However, the real disappointment lays with Avast! v5; I thought that Avast! is a pretty solid freeware antivirus but this time, even the weaker AVG outperforms it in proactive detection.


All in all, this result has its own weakness and is thus, suitable only for general reference as to how an antivirus may perform in real-life. For example, i was let down by AV Comparatives' decision to use NOD32 Antivirus v4 when the 4.2 version has already been long released. If you read through the report, you will also realized that some of the antivirus (example, F-Secure) are not tested with its maximum detection potential, meaning to say that their final result are not as accurate as it might be. AV Comparatives' tests are also not as large-scale as the VB100 tests as you can see, some similarly popular antivirus vendors are not even been tested (like Sunbelt Vipre, Rising Antivirus, Agnitum Outpost & Sophos).
 
If you are interested in comparing the current proactive test results with past tests, you can visit AV Comparatives' test reports archive. 

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jv16 PowerTools 2009 v1.9.1.606 (x86-x64)

Do be surprised if I post twice a day. It is because of WeekEnd :-).

Well, Have you ever used jv16 PowerTools? I never used it before but I have heard and read a lot of good comments and reviews on it. I will not use it because I do not need it. I am using CCleaner and very satisfied.

Let's see what they say:

• Automatically clean your Windows registry from obsolete and unneeded data
• Automatically fix many kinds of registry errors, such as broken file references
• Easily uninstall leftover traces of software you have thought you have already uninstalled ages ago
• Detect and remove unneeded history data and MRU (most recently used) lists that can contain sensitive information about you
• Locate and delete unneeded files, including temp files and duplicate files
• And over 27 tools more!

Get Free:

1: Open the following web address into your browser and click on any of two big blue button Zum Download. Follow snap 1.

http://www.chip.de/downloads/Vollversion-jv16-PowerTools-2009_42960945.html

2: You will redirected to a new web-page. Again click as shown in snap 2. (the link will be http://www.chip.de/downloads/c1_downloads_auswahl_42960947.html?t=1274563808&v=3600&s=4d189dc956847ad5b83bb9c7e3eed549)

3: Again you will move forward to another webpage. Here your download should start automatically. If not, click on big blue button Zum Download and your download will start in 5 seconds. (the link might be http://www.chip.de/downloads/c1_downloads_hs_getfile_v1_42960948.html?t=1274564617&v=3600&s=80e90f1131b7b9b6fde6a4f7d5a9a4b2)

4: It is a .zip file named powertolls.zip. Extract its contents and you will see one installer and one license file named license.xbin. Download original installer from http://www.macecraft.com and install jv16 PowerTools 2009.


5: Install it and use the license.xbin to register your copy of jv16 PowerTools 2009 v1.9.1.606. The installer will automatically detect your windows platform.

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WinX DVD to iPad Ripper - Free From May 17,2010 to June 1st, 2010 (Save $29.95)

Personally, I am not a fan of Apple products but there is no doubt that iPad is a hit. They have sold over one million iPads with in limited time. There are may companies who have launched or planning to launch something like iPad but iPad is iPad. I may buy it but not now.

You own iPad or planning to buy it, you must get WinX DVD to iPad Ripper now. The main reason is, at the moment, it is available free of cost and I do not think there should be any hesitation to grab it free.

As I do not own iPad and I do not know any virtual machine based on iPad for Windows system, I could not test it. So, I will copy what they say:

Rip and Convert DVD to iPad

WinX DVD to iPad Ripper is specially designed to rip any DVDs to all iPad video formats, say, iPad MPEG4, iPad H.264 etc. The output video and audio formats are also compatible with iPhone, iPod, Apple TV and iTune video formats.

Edit the Output Video and Image

Users can fully control audio and video parameters to optimize the video with this DVD to iPad ripper. Furthermore, users can also extract music and images from videos to save as MP3 and JPG, BMP respectively.

Batch Conversion with Fast Speed

Users can rip and convert two or more DVDs at the same time. You can enjoy a super fast conversion speed in that it supports multi-core CPU and Hyper Threading technology inside.

Customize File Setting to Facilitate User to Define Converted Videos

Users can name the display name and artist name in the file setting area for output videos before converting DVD to iPad format. It is convenient for users to get the impeccable information of converted videos.

Automatically Connect with Input and Output Devices

Designed with simple interfaces, users can easily operate this DVD to iPad Ripper. This program could automatically detect and connect with input and output devices.

Edit the Output Video

WinX DVD to iPad allows you to optimize the output video by adjusting video frame rate, video resolution, video file size and trimming video segment to get customized videos effect.

You can read more about WinX DVD to iPad Ripper here:

http://winxdvd.com/giveaway/winx-dvd-to-ipad-ripper.htm

I could give a direct download link but it is unethical. Enjoy WinX DVD to iPad Ripper.

The registration license is WINXD2-IPAD-64280-15975

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ALZip 8.x Free License Will be Delivered to Who Requests Now...!

Hi Friends,

Well, a tiny article after many days. Nevermind. I have not tested ALZip. If you do, you can share if you want.

Almost one hour ago, Dan Teo announced this promo on Facebook.

They say:

- Supports Unicode and a new file compression format EGG

- Open 40 ZIP, archive and compression file formats

- Open CD image files (ISO, BIN)

- Open virtual CD files (LCD)

- Create 8 ZIP, archive and compression file formats

- Create SFX (exe) files for free

- Split large files for easy transfers

- Recover lost passwords from ZIP files

- Integrate anti-virus software

- Automate repetitive tasks with ALZip command line functions

- User-friendly software

- Pause/Resume Zipping

- Background/Foreground Zipping

- Windows Vista style icons cuter than ever

Open the following webpage into your browser and simply fill what is asked. It is in English.

http://www.altools.com/ALTools/ALZip/free-alzip-license.aspx

They say:

To celebrate the release of ALZip 8.0 beta1, we are holding a small event. Insert your Email address under then click the 'Enter' button. After ALZip 8.0 official version is released, we will send you an ALZip 8.x license!

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(UPDATED) Batch Offer: Get Ashampoo Burning Studio, Photo Commander and Magical Snap For Free!

UPDATE: Corrections made to the version of Ashampoo Burning Studio. Instead of typing v2010 i typed v10. What a blunder...

Here's a batch offer that will get you off your feet: Ashampoo is giving away their Ashampoo Burning Studio v2010, Ashampoo Photo Commander v6.6 and Ashampoo Magical Snap v2.5 for free. They are actually paid-for software but for now you can get it free - and hurry, for i have no idea how long will these offers remain available.

Ashampoo Burning Studio v2010 is the latest version of Ashampoo's image and disc burning utility; a really good paid-for replacement for those who didn't like Nero. I am previously using v9 and it has served me incredibly well.


Ashampoo Photo Commander v6.6 is an image management and information tool. It has photo and image management capabilities like ACDSee and FastStone but it provides additional abilities such as batch file rename and convert tools.


Ashampoo Magical Snap v2.5 is a screen capturing utility; a powerful replacement to the Print Screen function of a user's keyboard. Like Techsmith Snagit, Magical Snap gives user the ability to capture only what matters in a screen and not the entire screenshot, while preserving capture quality in the process. There's a built-in editing tool where you can edit your snapshot immediately after capture.


Here's how to get these Ashampoo offers above for FREE:


1. Ashampoo Burning Studio v2010
Download this free version of Ashampoo Burning Studio v10 installer and install it. Leave the "Get full version key" box checked during installation to start the process of receiving your free registration key.

2. Ashampoo Photo Commander v6.6
Download this free version of Ashampoo Photo Commander v6.6 installer and install it. Leave the "Get full version key" box checked during installation to start the process of receiving your free registration key.

3. Ashampoo Magical Snap v2.5
Download and install this free version of Ashampoo Magical Snap v2.5. Immediately after installation, you will be prompt to get your free license key but if it does not appear automatically, manually visit this website and get your free license key.

Enjoy!

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Complete System TuneUp is A Free Utility That Beats The Hell Out Of Paid-For Utility Software!

 Computers are a handful when it comes to maintenance: there's just so much that needs to be aware of; cleaning junk files, delete useless registry keys, check for Windows updates, defragmenting...and it's only going to get worse if you are only the avarage kind of users (To Hell with PC maintenance!). There are software available that tunes up a system, including TuneUp Utilities and Advanced SystemCare: Problem is, very few of them is free and even if they are, they might be huge in size and massive in installation. Not to mention some of them might did more damages to your PC even better than malwares did (with this comment, iolo System Mechanic immediately come to mind...terrible experience i once had...)!

So what's a free, all-in-one tuneup software that is completely free and light to install and use? For now, Complete System TuneUp is the best answer.

Complete System TuneUp is a free tuneup utility designed with the average users in mind. It is safe and easy to use, provides all-round tools and best of all, it is available for Windows XP, Vista and 7 free of charge! While major software companies offer similar tuneup features with charges applied, Complete System TuneUp is all for free! 

The one advantage of using this free software is obvious from its GUI: users can access any Windows settings that can provide some tuneup jobs, so it is pretty handy to advanced users as well.

Performance-wise, it is pretty stable and does not require much space for installation. The installer size itself does not even exceed 1MB. Remind me if i'm wrong, but even CCleaner, which installer is always pretty lightweight, has already gone over the 1MB marker and yet offers limited tuneup options!


So what are you waiting for? Grab Complete System TuneUp from its Official Website now and start using it! No more bloated paid-for tuneup utilities that eats up precious disk space or cost you lots while offering poor tuneup features!

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A Review of TheWorld Browser v3.1

TechGeek is as kind as to send me a link to TheWorld browser, a relatively unknown browser if compared to the other leading browsers like IE, Firefox, Chrome and Safari. I heard of this browser before, but never did really test it, nor did I realize that it has released their latest 3rd version to public (the previous version I know is v2). So here am I, writing a review on it.

Is it another Internet Explorer?



The simple answer is no.

There are detailed narration of TheWorld Browser on their official website so I’m not going to list down everything here, but do take some of these important notes about TheWorld Browser v3. It is essentially a browser utilizing the same browsing engine as Internet Explorer, which we called it Trident. In contrast with IE however, it is designed to be lightweight, full-featured and highly customizable with add-ons and plugins. So in other words, it may use the same web rendering engine and some popular features, but you can expect it to be BETTER than IE.

How is its features compared to IE, then?

Installation is fast and simple. When the browser is launched, it brings us to the homepage. Although the GUI layout does not have frames, it is simple and easily navigational and the color is pleasing to the eye. I immediately notice some interesting difference. Firstly the browser’s toolbar is located on the right side of the minimize/maximize button, with an additional button where users can retract the toolbar menu. Pretty cool, actually.

Another extra feature TheWorld Browser had on the table is a tiny yet useful scrolling tool, located just at the right of the tab area. For people who open multiple tabbed windows for browsing, this can come in handy.

Unlike IE, TheWorld Browser can be customized much easier. Like Firefox and most recently Chrome, the browser has its own dedicated plugin and addon website where users can easily browse and install the plugins they want. Its library is much lesser than those of Firefox but still, it’s pretty impressive considering that IE didn’t even have such a library.

TheWorld Browser also has its own download manager, which is also configurable.  In fact, I can see that some of the options are not available on other browsers, which makes it really unique.

If the above features are what TheWorld Browser has and IE doesn’t have, then take a look at some of the features that TheWorld browser already shared with IE. Both have InPrivate browsing (heck, even the name’s the same!), both has jumplist for Windows Superbar and both share the same Internet Settings Options. Whatever IE’s got, TheWorld browser got too!

I wonder if anyone would immediately dump IE after this feature review…

Is it fast and performs well?

To judge its overall experience together with resources usage, I pulled out the old faithful: Windows Task Manager and do a little homework. Here’s TheWorld Browser’s performance in idle mode (when browser is minimized/in the background):

It runs in two separate processes, just as what you would’ve expect IE to, but in comparison to IE, its resources usage during idle is more lighter.

How about when it is active and running in foreground? Here’s its resources usage when I started browsing:

Still a pretty normal performance. There’s almost no impact at all.

Then how about when it is loading pages? Here’s its resources usage when I started loading a page: 

It is pretty harsh on CPU; CPU usage spiked up to 50 cycles which turns me off slightly; memory also spiked up to 40000K on one of the processes, which I believe is GUI or network-related process.

Although TheWorld browser can be quite CPU-hungry, I still think this performance is worthy of praise; well, I’m a Firefox fan and I’ve seen Firefox performing a lot worse than that, particularly the memory leak issue. IE performed even worse than that! I would say TheWorld browser is still slightly slower than Firefox in terms of browsing speed, but it is a way ahead of IE (even with the same rendering engine). 

Is it stable?

I did not encounter any unusual issue when using TheWorld, but it doesn’t mean that it is hang-proof. I spammed the toolbar-minimizer button while a page was loading and guess what, it actually hangs on me!

Although it recovered to normal after waiting a while, I would say TheWord browser may still need to get some bugs and performance issue sorted out…

Conclusion:

There are many alternative, less-popular browsers I would recommend to people, notably the latest Maxthon v3 Beta and Flock, but TheWorld browser is yet another good alternative I would suggest, especially those wanting to replace IE in particular. TheWorld browser runs on Windows 2000 onwards, making it a pretty compatible browser. If there is a five-star rating on this browser, I’d probably give it a four.

Visit TheWorld Browser v3 Official Site. 

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