Patch My PC Free: Easy updates for handful of apps
It's no secret that keeping your Windows PC up-to-date is essential, for security reasons alone. Actually achieving this, though, takes considerable time and effort, which is probably why there are so many Windows tools around promising that they can help -- and Patch My PC Free is one of the latest.
Launch the program and it'll immediately highlight any updates required by some key applications and tools: Firefox, Java, Adobe Reader/ Flash/ AIR, QuickTime and so on.
Take control of batch files with WinAPIExec
If you're always struggling to make scripts and batch files do what you need, then you could try extending Windows' own capabilities with a few command line tools. There are plenty of freebies around to help you manipulate processes, work with application windows, and generally automate just about any Windows task.
You'll have to find them first, of course. And it may require a sizeable library of tools before your batch files are able to do everything you'd like. So if you'd prefer your system to stay uncluttered then it may be easier simply to download WinAPIExec, a tiny program (3.5KB) that allows you to call any Windows API function from the command line.
ActiveImage Protector 3.0 Personal Edition: Free backup without nag screens
When you're next looking for a backup program then you could try to save money by opting for the free version of a commercial tool, but that's often a mistake. Many have key functions stripped out, and annoying nag screens added in an effort to persuade you to upgrade.
Fortunately there are a few exceptions, though, and ActiveImage Protector's free Personal Edition is one of the best. It's strictly for home users only, but if that's not a problem then you'll find it packed with useful functions and features.
You can remove TDL4/ Popureb malware from Windows PCs
"Indestructible" rootkits, "fatal" trojans, "hellish" viruses -- malware has always been a great topic for generating scary headlines. There's generally no need to worry, though. Almost whatever the threat, if you can just wait for a while then a free (and often simpler) solution will turn up.
The latest variant of the Popureb Trojan, for instance, hides itself away in your Master Boot Record, and hooks a hard drive port driver in an attempt to protect itself from being overwritten. It's so deeply buried that Microsoft initially recommended reinstalling Windows if you were infected, but a few days later they changed its advice to point out that a little work with the Recovery console could get your PC back to normal. Or alternatively, a free Webroot tool can detect and remove the threat for you in just a couple of clicks.
Is CyberLink PhotoDirector 2011 a worthy Lightroom competitor?
CyberLink has many years experience with video, but none at all with photo editing, and so you might have expected the company's first digital imaging product to be a little on the basic side.
But you'd be wrong. PhotoDirector 2011 isn't another standard editor. Rather, it's a high-end photo management and workflow app that bears a strong resemblance to Adobe's Photoshop Lightroom 3.x, and is similarly packed with professional features.
Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview 2 is to die for
Internet Explorer has never been renowned for its standards support, and with good reason -- the browser has always trailed far behind the competition. Today's release of IE10 Platform Preview 2, though, showed that maybe, just maybe, things are beginning to change.
Major additions include support for web workers, an interesting technology that allows web applications to run complex JavaScripts in the background. And so lengthy tasks won't have to leave you hanging any more: the application's interface should still be able to respond to your clicks.
Pale Moon 5 outshines sibling Firefox 5
Firefox 5 may be short on visible new features, but look under the hood and you'll find plenty of useful tweaks that both cut resource use and improve performance. If you like the browser but would prefer even more speed, though, there is an alternative in Pale Moon 5, which was released today.
The program looks more or less exactly like Firefox 5, which is no great surprise as it's based on the same source code. So there's no learning curve, everything works more or less as it always did, except Pale Moon has been carefully optimized to improve its speed and efficiency.
Tip: Optimize your Internet connection, for free
The web is packed with tools which claim they're the best choice to accelerate your Internet connection. Most of them promise too much and deliver nothing at all, though, so installing another probably isn't high on your list of priorities.
But wait. Auslogics Internet Optimizer, a free version of a module in the company's BoostSpeed 5 suite, is different -- and it could be worth a closer look.
Creepy can reveal your location to anyone, anywhere, at anytime
From Twitter to tablets, cameras to mobile phones, geolocation services are everywhere. And if you just want to record exactly where you took a set of holiday photos, then that's fine. But, of course, there are privacy implications. A new program called Creepy shows just how serious they can be, by attempting to locate anyone through their tweets or web images.
Give the tool a Twitter or Flickr user name and it'll go to work, using Twitter's own tweet location information, geolocation data from image hosting services, the EXIF data in any photos it finds, and more. And if it finds any locations then they can be displayed on Google Earth, Virtual Earth or OpenStreetMap, or exported as a KML or CSV file.
Is your website safe from hackers? Websecurify can tell you
Protecting a website from hackers is no easy task, as even big names like Sony and Sega will confirm. But making use of a vulnerability scanner like Websecurify may be able to help.
The idea is a simple one. Just point the program at your website, it'll scan it and then report on any security holes, so hopefully you can fix them before they're noticed by someone else.
Firefox 5 arrives early -- get it now!
It's not officially released until tomorrow, but if you'd like to have an early look at Firefox 5 then the final build is actually available now, and while the "new features" list is a little on the short side, the browser includes some interesting tweaks which are well worth having. Mozilla posted the release candidate just three days ago.
You won't find these by examining the interface, though. The only notable visual change is that the Do Not Track privacy feature introduced in Firefox 4, which has been relocated so it's easier to spot (top of the Tools > Options > Privacy dialog, where it really should have been in the first place), otherwise you might just as think you're using Firefox 4.
Chrome 13 beta supports print preview, PDF output
It's taken a long time. A very, very long time. But, at last, the latest Chrome 13 beta sees the browser finally gain a Print Preview function. And this isn't just some half-finished beta version, either -- it's really quite impressive.
To see it this action, just click Print and the preview will appear in a new tab (which seems more natural than the "special" window used in some other browsers). You're able to choose your destination printer from a list, which includes Chrome's own Print to PDF option. You can select your preferred page layout (portrait or landscape), or choose colour or black and white output and the preview window updates immediately. Of course you also get all the usual settings, like the pages to print and the number of copies, and when you're happy then clicking Print will deliver the finished results.
LameXP: A great audio encoder by any other name
At first glance an audio encoder called LameXP doesn't look like it'll be the most appealing of products. You might easily assume that it's just going to be an outdated front end for the LAME MP3 library -- too basic to be really useful. But don't be misled. LameXP is far more interesting than its name suggests.
This open-source program doesn't just run on Windows XP, for instance, it acts as a front end for several encoders. So it's able to import AC3, MP4/ AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DTS, FLAC, ADPCM, APE, MP1/ MP2/ MP3, Musepack, Shorten, Speex, Au, TTA, WAV/RIFF, WavPack and WMA files, and can convert these to AAC, MP3, Ogg, AC3, FLAC or WAV/RIFF.
SlimCleaner: Crowd-sourced PC maintenance
The Windows world is packed with PC cleanup tools, most of which look exactly the same. They might try to clean your Registry, list your startup programs, maybe delete the contents of your temporary folders, but this rarely makes much difference to your PC's performance.
There are a few products that take a different approach, though, and the free SlimCleaner is one of the most interesting.
Do your friends call you when the PC is blooey? WebTools can help
As a knowledgeable PC user, experienced in the ways of Windows, you're probably used to helping out your friends with their various computer issues. You can't rely on them having the security or diagnostics programs you'll need to solve their problems, of course -- so when you're next off on a computer support mission then it could make sense to bring along a portable troubleshooting toolkit of your own. And WebPost Tools is a good place to start.
If you suspect malware infection, for instance, then the program allows you to download avast! Free Antivirus, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, SUPERAntiSpyware or Spybot-Search&Destroy at a click. Or, if they're installed already, then a series of buttons give you easy access to the program you need.
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