Archive for the ‘General Tips n Info’ Category

I understand how sometimes money is tight and you don’t have the extra cash to spend on nonessential things. Things like protection for your computer don’t really make the top of the list, but it is still very important. The Internet is full of brilliant ideas, research material, news, incredible software, and about everything you could imagine, but there is also a huge amount of content that can be incredibly harmful for your computer. It is absolutely 100% necessary to use antivirus and antispyware protection if your computer is connected to the internet. Even if you have your computer locked in a WiFi-proof Faraday cage with no connection to the outside world, you still run the risk of being intruded by threats like the Conficker worm that can slip onto your computer via a removable drive. You simply must have security software on your computer. So you say that you don’t have the cash to put out for virus protection? No problem! You can get reasonably good protection for your computer without paying a cent.

If you do decide to put out some money towards virus protection software, Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2010 and Prevx 3.0 are both great option. If you’re okay with putting out a little more money to purchase a full suite, you will get even better protection. Norton Internet Security 2010 is considered the best by many reviewers. BitDefender Internet Security 2010 and ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2010 are both also considered great options. If you really can’t afford to put out some cash for computer security software though, there are still plenty of options out there for you.

Most of the good, free products out there offer a full range of protection from malware (this includes virus, spyware, rootkits, etc). These programs will remove any malware that is already present on your computer and will prevent any new malware from installing itself on your computer. A program called HouseCall 7.1 takes a very different approach. HouseCall 7.1 will only scan your computer. It offers no real-time protection. The free edition of Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware 1.36 is also a scan-only program. You have to pay if you want real-time protection. The way that programs such as these can be used is as a second opinion. It can help identify anything that your protection program might overlook.

IObit Security 360, AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 9.0, and avast! Free Antivirus 5.0 beta all offer free editions of their programs. AVG’s paid edition offers a more comprehensive type of protection, but the other two program’s free editions are fully functional.

The nice thing about using free protection services is that you can keep trying different ones until you find one that you really like. You can even install a combination of programs that will cover real-time protection and “second opinion” scanning. The only thing that I can say is don’t leave your computer unprotected. Even if you don’t have the funds to purchase a program, there is plenty of free protection out there that can keep your computer clean. Check out some of these programs below and find out which one works best for you.

avast! Free Antivirus 5.0 beta
avast! offers a very good protection program. It specializes in malware removal and rootkit removal tests. It has easy to use control settings and detailed reporting.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 9.0
AVG honestly believes that everyone should have a free basic protection against the threats of the Internet. The company therefore offers a great free protection program that is much better than Microsoft’s free program.

Trend Micro HouseCall 7.1
This program utilizes a cloud-based malware database to quickly detect viruses and threats. It serves as a second opinion program that should be used in addition to a real-time protection program. It should not be your only anti-malware solution.

IObit Security 360
This program is easy to install and quickly scans and identifies problems, but the issue is that Iobit doesn’t remove or prevent any malware installation.

Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware 1.36
With this protection program, it does a very good job of cleaning up any malware, especially those terribly annoying rogue security programs, but it is not effective against commercial keyloggers or rootkits.

Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0
With Microsoft Security, you will receive some protection from malware, but honestly a lot of the other protection programs will satisfy your computer’s need much more efficiently.

According to a new study by Squaretrade, about one third (31%) of all laptops will fail within three years of being purchased. This includes both malfunctions and accidents, but malfunctions alone make up 20% of laptop failures. While the survey should be taken with a grain of salt – Squaretrade sells extended warranties – according to PC World, their last annual survey returned similar results. In addition to the number of unreliable laptops, Squaretrade also found that Asus, Toshiba, and Sony laptops were more reliable brands than MacBooks.

The study had many other findings that related to laptop durability. For example, the amount of time you spend on your laptop correlates to how likely it is to have problems, with Netbooks giving people the most trouble. The Netbook finding was surprising, considering the computers really just have one good year’s worth of data to rely on, but Netbook users experienced 20% more malfunctions than those with more expensive laptops. According to Squartrade, Netbook malfunctions are likely to hit 25% in the next three years, compared to 21% for entry-level laptops, and 18% for more expensive notebooks.

When the study was broken down by brand, Asus had the best malfunction rate at 15.6% with Hewlett Packard the worst with a 25.6% malfunction rate within three years. Toshiba came in second, followed by Sony, and Apple. According to Squaretrade, failure rates are so high because of the sophisticated and delicate parts that make up a laptop, as well the amount of abuse portable computers receive. With numbers like this, it’s no wonder more and more people are relying on inexpensive Laptop Rentals for their computer needs.

Most people want to get the most from their laptops, but many do not know how. More importantly, most people don’t know how to do it for free! Yes, there are free downloads out there that can help you with everything from battery life to Wi-Fi. They’ll definitely make your life a lot easier! Let’s take a look a some of them:

Battery Managers – It seems as though every laptop owner has a gripe about their battery, whether you don’t think your battery has enough power or you lose power too quickly, the following downloads will help you keep track of battery life and maybe even get more power out of your charge.

• BattCursor – This program shows your remaining battery life on your mouse cursor so you don’t have to to continued checking how much is left, over and over again. You have your cursor’s color and transparency change based on the power level. It also offers lots of little extras including tips on how to improve battery life.
• BatteryBar – If you don’t like the idea of your cursor or pointer displaying battery info, this alternative hows up on your taskbar. It shows exactly how much power you’ve already used and how much you have left. You can decide if you want it to show your battery life in percentage or minutes and when you hover the mouse over the bar, it’ll show you even more info, including capacity, discharge rate, battery wear, and how much total capacity your battery has per charge.

Wirless-Networking Utilities – Most laptop users connect wirelessly. Here are a couple of downloads that can help you find a wireless connection and keep you safe when connected.

• Hotspot Shield - Anytime you connect to a public Wi-Fi hotspot, whether you’re in a restaurant or an airport, you put yourself at risk for hackers. Criminals can find your data packets, invade your computer, and steal your log in information for a number of websites. This programs keeps you safe by encrypting your connection so no one else can read your information. It’s easy to install but it will change your homepage and add toolbars to your computer if you’re not careful.
• WeFi - This program not only helps you find Wi-Fi hotspots to connect to, it also helps you find people to connect to, as well. Upon installation, the program lists nearby hotspots along with their information (signal strength, encryption info, etc.). To connect, all you have to do is click it. It also allows you to connect to people who are connected to the hotspots near you and get in touch with them via the program. It can also help aid in secure browsing.

USB Flash Drives – You may rely on USB flash drives to make your information portable but do you ever worry that your files aren’t compromised or lost if your computer goes nuts? These programs can do just that…and then some.

• PortableApps – If your software leaves you with very little hard-disks space, this program will provide you with smaller alternatives. It comes with antivirus utility, a small version of Firefox, OpenOffice (an alternative to Microsoft Office), and other programs that can clear up some of your space. It takes 150 MB once it’s installed (or you can opt for the 355 MB full-featured version) and it can be installed on any laptop or netbook, not matter how much space you have available.
• TrueCrypt – USB drives are great for traveling but what happens if you lose them? All of your sensitive personal files could end up in the wrong hands. This program keeps your files safe from prying eyes by allowing you to encrypt the files and folders and hide them so no one but you knows that they’re there.
• USBDriveFresher – With each use, your USB drive becomes more and more cluttered and even when you delete certain files, you can end up with leftovers you don’t need. This program is simple but it cleans the mess for you and sweets up unnecessary files that are plaguing your computer.

Synchronization – If you’re constantly interchanging files between your desktop and laptop, it’s easy to make mistakes. Pulling up old versions or overwriting new ones can be a problem. These programs help you avoid those mistakes.

• SugarSync Free – This program not only synchronizes but also serves as a backup program. It’s easy to use and offers 2GB of free backup space. It uses very little RAM and a few system resources and can work with your PC or your Mac. Install the software, indicate what folders you’d like to synchronize and it works in the background, backing up your files at the same time. It offers lots of other options such as sharing files and folders with other people and also keeps older files online in case you need them. It only works with two computers, though you can pay a fee to have it work with more.
• Windows Live Sync – If you don’t want to pay the fee to synchronize more than two computers, this program is for you. Sync folders on as many computers as you like, but this one doesn’t inlude the free backup. It’s easy and straightforward, and you can manage it all from a website. It also works with Macs and PCs.
• Xmarks – This program synchronizes your favorites and bookmarked sites between your desktop and laptop and on multiple PCs. It even works between browsers and multiple operating systems.

When Microsoft released Windows 7, one of their big selling points was the extra battery life it provided over Vista. The guys at LaptopMag.com found that it was indeed true, but only on full-sized notebooks. When it came to netbooks, it was a completely different story. The batteries of the netbooks actually drained faster than with XP.

They tested three netbooks, Toshiba mini NB205, ASUS Eee PC 1008HA, and the HP Mini 311, all with Windows 7 OS. They tested them with the “laptop battery test”, continuous web surfing over wi-fi, and found that each of them got a lot less battery time.

The results:

Win XP Battery Life             Win 7 Battery Life

Toshiba mini NB205               9:24                             8:51
ASUS Eee PC 1008HA            5:40                             4:43
HP Mini 311                         5:43                              4:52

According to the tests, the netbooks average about 40 minutes less battery time with Windows 7, which is a big chunk of time. If you’re looking for the longest possible battery time on your netbook, it may not be wise to upgrade your XP system just yet.