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PlainEdit.NET is a free portable Notepad replacement with some interesting and unusual extras.

The core feature set is familiar enough. A tabbed interface allows you to open multiple documents, and there’s support for opening ANSI, UTF-8, Unicode and Unicode big-endian files, with Windows, Mac and Unix line breaks.

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Last week was the much talked about XPocalypse, meaning support came to an official end for XP, despite a large number of users, both home and business, still running the operating system. It seems that this setback isn't doing much to daunt those users, either.

Security firm Avast has released a survey it conducted just before April 8th, and results will be disappointing to Microsoft. Many customers plan to stick it out with the aging platform.

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Google has a lot of mud thrown at it, and while a lot of it slides off, there is a good proportion that sticks. There are a variety of accusations levelled at the search giant -- evil, self-serving, monopolistic, nosey, invasive, overbearing, corporate, et cetera, et cetera -- but could it be that the power the company wields is actually a good thing? Could Google use the sway it holds over website owners to make the web a better place? But before we start praising Google, there's no harm in sticking the boot in first, eh?

For many people, Google is a bully. In the constant search for page views, ranking in Google matters -- it matters a lot. My colleague Joe Wilcox argues that writers should write for themselves and their readers rather than Google -- something I would strongly advocate -- but until this notion gathers momentum, there are still countless bloggers panicking themselves silly about what impact the latest search algorithm changes will have on their position in search results. It can be a constant game of catch-up, requiring endless changes to optimize content for maximum visibility -- all too often at the expense of readability and reader experience.

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After almost a year and a half of waiting, Microsoft has unveiled a new major update for its smartphone operating system. Windows Phone 8.1 is finally here, with myriad new features in tow. Noteworthy additions include support for a wider range of hardware configurations, a much-awaited notifications center, improvements to the browser, calendar, camera and email apps, enterprise-friendly enhancements, and a new personal assistant, to name a few.

And, just like Windows Phone 8 Update 3 which came before it, Windows Phone 8.1 is available through the Preview for Developers program. It was introduced by Microsoft, last year, in order to give developers and early adopters the opportunity to experience the latest iteration of the OS ahead of the public roll-out. Here is how you can leverage it to install Windows Phone 8.1.

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NirSoft’s Nir Sofer has announced the release of InstallerDriversList, the latest addition to his lineup of system information tools.

As you’ll probably guess from its name, the program is a compact portable tool which displays a report on all the device drivers installed on your PC.

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Starting today, Windows Phone 8 users who have enrolled their smartphones in the Preview for Developers program will be able to get their hands on a vendor-untainted Windows Phone 8.1 build. Microsoft's Joe Belfiore revealed its limited availability a week ago, but without providing any precise release date at the time.

As I am writing this article, the process is now well underway on my Nokia Lumia 920 and a Lumia 520, both of which were enrolled in the program last year. It seems to take quite a bit of time, as the operating system is preparing everything for the upgrade to Windows Phone 8.1. Prior to installing the much-awaited build, an update has to applied first.

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At the Build conference earlier this month, Microsoft announced developers will finally be able to release "universal" Windows and Windows Phone apps. Alongside this welcome addition, the software giant also introduced a unified pricing scheme.

It removes any differences in price points between Windows Store and Windows Phone Store apps, the former of which can now cost as little as $0.99 or $1.29. Microsoft says "apps priced in this range represent 55 percent of Windows Phone paid transactions today", so it makes sense to make Windows Store offerings more attractive by lowering the cost barrier. The change went into effect this weekend, and, as the software giant says, "your app prices may have changed as a result".

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Allowing employees to use their own mobile devices for work has led to a number of new challenges, particularly when it comes to keeping devices and data secure.

We talked to PJ Gupta, CEO of mobile security specialist Amtel about the risks BYOD presents to enterprises and what they can do to ensure they remain safe.

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Many new smartphone shoppers will compare the HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5, which are about the same size, offer similar high-end features, run Android (with customized user interfaces), and arrived in U.S. retail stores within days of one another. But since I move from iPhone 5s to what henceforth will be referred to as The One, the two devices are uniquely attractive, and both pack bleeding-edge cameras, my comparison is more Apple to oranges. If iPhone 5s is high up your shopping list don't buy without first considering The One. It's my choice, although granted it might not be best for you.

I moved from the original One, the M7, to the 5s a few months ago. You might laugh at the reason. I find that my daughter, who shuns Androids for Apples, is more likely to text message when we both use iPhones. She is away at college. But the 5s, like iPhone 5, immediately disappointed for phone calling. Reception tends to breakup in my neighborhood on both devices, using AT&T or T-Mobile. Calling is superior and adequate on either One, and even better on the Moto X. The One illuminates the Apple's inadequacies, which simply are unacceptable coming from the company that popularized touchscreen smartphones.

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Mister Group's excellent system information tool System Explorer has been updated to version 5.0.

The big addition in this release is support for easy screenshot sharing. If you're looking at some problem or error message, press PrtSc, click Share, and the grab will be uploaded to ScreenCourier.com, leaving you with a link which you can use to share with others.

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Condoleezza Rice is a beautiful, accomplished woman. However, her legacy in the eyes of many, is tainted by her association with the Bush Administration. While that administration was marred with controversial moments, it is debatable if Ms. Rice should be forever linked to it by detractors.

Nevertheless, her appointment to the Dropbox board of directors has sparked an outcry of disappointment from users of the cloud service. Users seem concerned that her government associations will taint the integrity of the company and its stance on security. But is the furor warranted? As stated in a new blog posting, Dropbox does not seem to think so.

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Connect a USB device to your PC and it’ll probably work right away. Even if it needs a driver, Windows may be able to find this on its own: all you'll have to do is click a button or two, and wait.

Life isn't always quite so easy, of course, and occasionally you might find one or more USB devices aren't working as you expect. Device Manager isn't great at diagnosing USB-related problems, but there are free alternatives that can help -- and USB Device Tree Viewer is one of the best.

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Lately, I’ve had a lot of conversations about how threat intelligence can enrich organizations’ incident response processes and how the right intelligence can make them more effective. As a note, I’m a former full time lead incident responder for a massive organization and now a researcher.

I can confidently say that when you’re dealing with literally hundreds of malware incidents per day, the minute differences in identified indicators can all start to blur together. Being able to very quickly and efficiently answer the question of whether or not a particular indicator of compromise has been seen before (and in what context) is crucial. Let’s call this "incident intelligence". Incident responders always need to have a clear picture of what they are dealing with and how it may relate to something already encountered during previous incidents, but unfortunately for most teams, this is easier said than done.

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Microsoft was in the headlines this week not for launching new products but for, finally, bringing an end to support for Windows XP. Yes, the now ancient and decrepit -- although still much loved and used -- operating system is no more. It will be interesting to see how long it manages to survive now it has been officially dropped -- some are suggesting that a move to Linux might be in order, or even a switch to Chromebook. But, of course, it hasn’t all been about XP. After the announcements at Build, Joe Belfiore revealed on Twitter that developers will be able to get their hands on Windows Phone 8.1 in the "first part of April".

There is also renewed interest in Windows 8.1 following the release of Update, and Microsoft published a guide to making the most of the new features and options. Will the operating system be viewed as fondly as XP in years to come? Only time will tell. Working in conjunction with Google, Microsoft also gave a new and improved YouTube experience to Xbox One owners.

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The unveiling of the Heartbleed OpenSSL flaw this week has led to major ripples through the IT industry and the online community.

There has been all kinds of advice on offer about changing passwords -- but only after the site in question has been made safe. To be certain you're doing the right thing you therefore need to either check the site yourself or wait for some official confirmation that it's been patched.

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