• Tips

Running a complete system backup occasionally is a great way to protect yourself from a data disaster. Smaller, more focused backups also have their place, though. So it may also be a good idea to preserve your browser settings every day or two, and FavBackup is a very easy way to make this happen.

The simplest way to begin is just to run the program’s Full Backup Wizard. There are no complex settings to consider, no involved options to think about: just choose your preferred browser (there’s support for Firefox, Chrome, IE, Opera, Safari and Flock), specify the backup destination and FavBackup will take care of everything else.

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The desire to customize the appearance and function of Windows does nothing but increase and this accounts for the large number of tweaking and skinning tools that are available for the operating system. Whatever you want to do to the look of your desktop, there is undoubtedly a tool that can be used to achieve what you are looking for, and one of the most powerful and feature packed is Rainmeter which has just been updated to version 2.2.

There are a huge number of skins and widgets available for Rainmeter that can be used to not only completely change the look of your computer, but also provide easy access to tools and utilities that you may need. There is virtually no limit to what can be achieved with the app from adding news feeds and tweeting ability to the desktop, to resource monitoring and media control. All of this is available free of charge in Rainmeter 2.2.

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The latest Windows Search is, in theory, a hugely powerful tool that enables you to construct all kinds of complex and detailed searches. So as well as entering wildcards, you can modify your results by looking for particular file sizes, types, modification dates, content, and even, say, MP3 files tagged with a particular year, or photos taken on a certain date.

In practice, you do have to remember a lengthy list of search filters to make all this work, and even then it won’t always be easy to find the files you need. So if you’re looking for a simpler alternative, which also has plenty of powerful options, then you might want to consider trying NirSoft’s SearchMyFiles.

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Apple’s iTunes application is obviously compulsory if you’re a Mac user, while the Windows version is essential should you want to sync your music collection to an iOS device. But what if you’re an iTunes user who wants to sync with another device  -- a MP3 player, media tablet or, gasp, Android phone?

Obviously Apple being Apple has made no provision for devices other than its own to get quick and convenient syncing capabilities with iTunes, but you don’t have to settle for Apple’s decision thanks to two separate solutions called Notpod and TuneSync.

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EASEUS Software has launched CleanGenius 2.0 Free, a cleaning tool for Mac users. CleanGenius is the new name for MacCleaning, which debuted just over a month ago as EASEUS’s first foray into the Mac market.

Also available with several additional features as a paid-for Pro version, CleanGenius 2.0 adds a new uninstaller component and extends the user’s control over existing cleaning tools, all wrapped up in a redesigned user interface.

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Your computer can reveal a great deal of information about you and if other people have access to your machine, it would be all too easy for this data to fall into the wrong hands. Simply deleting files you no longer need is not enough as there are numerous tools that can be used to restore anything that has been erased -- even from a drive that has been formatted. This is where East-Tec Eraser 2011 can help, making it possible to securely wipe information from your computer so that it cannot be recovered.

The application is broken down into a series of different section, with the main interface making it easy to securely delete any files you no longer need. You can simply drag and drop files onto the program window before choosing how secure the wiping should be -- this ranges from deleting and overwriting with random data to the Gutmann method, which is very slow but renders files completely unrecoverable, even using hardware tools.

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Do you miss the classic Windows XP Start menu? Are you annoyed by changes to Explorer, like the breadcrumb navigation? Or do you feel that the Windows 7 copy dialog is a step backwards, rather than an improvement?

As you probably already know, you’re not alone: plenty of people feel that Microsoft has headed in the wrong direction with Explorer for a few years now. But help is at hand, in the shape of Classic Shell, a suite of tools that can quickly restore many Windows features that you might have thought had gone forever.

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System maintenance and optimization tool IObit Advanced SystemCare has been updated to version 5.1, not only adding new features to the main program, but also bringing IObit Uninstaller 2.1 to the party. You’ll find that there is also improved support for Windows 8, an enhanced registry scanner, extended Privacy Sweep application support and a new Performance Monitor module.

The main bulk of the app is focused on boosting the performance and stability of your system, but there are also utilities that can be used to improve security and protect your privacy. The great thing about the utility is that you are able to get as hands-on as you feel comfortable with. There are a number of automated tools that can be used to keep your system running smoothly, but you’ll find that more impressive results can be achieved by using each one.

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Technitium has released version 6.0 of its MAC Address Changer tool, extending the program’s abilities with many new network options and features.

If you simply want to find out more about your system, for instance, then launching the program will reveal all its network adapters, along with their speed, MAC address, IP address(es), gateways, DNS servers and even a graph charting adapter traffic.

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We might all be feeling slightly sluggish after overindulging throughout the holidays, but the software release schedule continues apace. Your thoughts may have already turned to Windows 8 and if you’re yet to try out the Developer Preview, PCmover Windows 8 Beta Assistant is here to make things easier for you. If you have been put off by the idea of having to set up a virtual a machine or updating your existing installation because of the prospect of transferring your files and installing all of your favorite software, this handy utility can help to automate the process.

Whether you’re upgrading Windows or not, everyone needs a backup tool, and EASEUS Todo Backup Free 4.0 fits the bill perfectly. You can backup individual files and folders or entire partitions, and you can create incremental backups to save space. If you’re sticking with your current version of Windows for the time being, SharpKeys 3.5 enables you to disable keys on your keyboard that you do not use or find that you press accidentally -- a much easier option that editing the registry. You may well be more interested in customizing the look of your computer rather than customizing the way your hardware works, and this is something that Kuvva 1.1 can help with, making it possible to automatically change your desktop wallpaper on a schedule.

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While the release of a new operating system is generally quite exciting, even computer users who are keen to have the latest and greatest version of Windows installed are filled with a slight sense of dread at the prospect of the installation. While the installation process for Windows 8 is one of the fastest and easiest yet, there is still the problem of having to install the apps you need and transferring all of your files. PCmover Windows 8 Beta Assistant from Laplink helps to ensure that things go as quickly and smoothly as possible by enabling you to more easily migrate your existing files, settings and user profiles.

PCmover has been around in various versions for some time now, but this beta release has been designed specifically with the pre-release versions of Windows 8 in mind. It can currently be used to make the move to the Developer Preview version of Windows 8, but it will also work with the Beta version when that it released in the near future. For reasons best known to Laplink, there is only support for 64-bit versions of Windows, both as source and destination operating system, and it can only be used with Windows 7; there is no support for XP or Vista.

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If you want to download a particular Linux distribution you could go online, run a quick search or two, and you’ll probably turn up the necessary links fairly quickly. But a portable Windows tool called Get Linux aims to offer an even simpler solution.

Launch this small program and you’ll see a list of more than 100 Linux distros. Enter the name you need in the Search box, choose whether you’d like the 32 or 64-bit build, click Download, then just wait while Get Linux grabs the necessary ISO for you.

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Anyone who has worked with a dual monitor setup will be aware of just what a productivity boost the extra screen space can be. The ability to have more than one application visible in full screen mode enables you to view more information at any one time is incredibly useful and it something that everyone should try. But whether you have a couple of monitors sitting on your desk or not, ScreenSlider enables you to gain a little extra space using your Android device.

The app can be used with either tablets or phones, and while both are useful options, tablet owners undoubtedly get a better deal thanks to their larger screens. ScreenSlider simply requires that you install the free app on your Android device as well as the desktop software on your PC and the software will then automatically detect your phone or tablet over your wireless network from your computer. You can drop any program window onto the display and take advantage of it whilst sat at your desk or move further afield --providing you stay within range of your network.

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If you’re working on a PC in a crowded area, and need to move away for a moment, then the system can easily be locked simply by holding down the Windows key and pressing L. You’ll return to the login screen, and only someone who knows your user account password will be able to restore normal operations.

Of course is this is a shared PC then there may be several people who know the password. And Windows account passwords offer only limited security, anyway; there are ways to bypass them. So if you’re concerned about privacy then it may be wise to add another layer of security, courtesy of the free Smart PC Locker Pro.

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Understanding exactly which processes are listening for incoming network connections (and why) is an important part of monitoring your PC’s security. You can uncover this information with Windows alone (just enter netstat -anb at an elevated command window), but if you’d like the data to be displayed in a more intelligible way, and get plenty of assistance to help you figure out exactly what’s going on, then you’ll need something like CloseTheDoor.

At first glance the program looks much like many similar networking tools. So you just launch it to instantly see a table of listening ports, with details like the network interface, port number, protocol (TCP -IPv4 or IPv6 -- or UDP), the responsible process and its process ID, any associated services, and details taken from the process executable file (Company, Product, Description and so on). Which is good -- but that’s just the start of CloseTheDoor’s abilities.

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