One thing would-be users should be aware of: Code Lobster is a nice editor, but last time I installed it, during the installation it grabbed the file associations for every text-based file type under the sun, including .txt files themselves, without giving me a choice or even a warning. I consider this exceedingly poor behavior on the part of any installation. I undid those associations and then wrote the company and told them as much.
Do not know if anything has changed since then -- version 5.5.
I tried this several times but after clicking OK and then Yes to the popup question "Do you want to move all of the files frpm the old location to the new location?" I consistently receive the error "Unexpected Error from PerformRedirection - The filename or extension is too long"
Happy Macrium free user for a long time.
Purchased O&O DiskImage Pro at a great price this week. Installed. Computer freezes after about 3 minutes. Repeated hard reboots and keeps freezing. Had to hurry to uninstall O&O before it froze during uninstall process. Completed uninstall, rebooted, no more freezes. Hours later reinstalled O&O. Repeated freezing after 3 minutes. Uninstalled again, will not reinstall. Computer is working fine again.
Macrium works fine.
FastStone Capture is the best if you want a lightweight, very functional, easy to use screen capture and editor. I don't think a lot of people actually take the time to really test these programs before they review them. Believe me, it's the best because I've tried them all extensively. It's also available in a portable version. It's the only program that works consistently with scrolling windows from every application I've tried. Check out the [edited] in the editor. That is so valuable. Even the [edited] is pretty decent for doing a quick demo. [Commercial reference and features removed as per site rules]
I have been using Panda Free AV on several computers including friends and family PC's I have worked on for a few years now.
Very effective, feature rich and light on resources. I receive NO pop-ups or advertisements to upgrade. You just have to go to settings
and turn off "show Panda news"
Switched from Avast and have never looked back.
I am in no way affiliated with Panda, I just think it is a great alternative to Windows "security"
QuiteRSS:
+Portable.
+Open source.
-No SOCKS proxy support. This kills it for me.
Thunderbird:
+Like the idea of mail+RSS feeds in one place.
-Managing subscriptions is not well thought out. For example: Can't create a new folder in "Managing Subscriptions". There's also some funk stuff it does when moving folders. There's a lot of steps involved to do other tasks.
RSSOwl:
+Subfolders.
+Excellent feed and folder management.
+Discontinued feeds are displayed with an X.
+Fast.
+No problems with Java.
+Open source.
QuiteRSS has SOCKS proxy support in v0.16.2 (18.08.2014)Revision 3378, which is in beta right now.
QuiteRSS is very fast and light weight.
I'm running a portable version.
QuiteRSS has some RSS formatting issues that I'm trying to work out. Right now it strips out the formatting while other RSS readers will show me the RSS feed's posting with full format. There is an option to see the feed post as a complete webpage, but that's the entire full framed webpage. Other readers do a better job. But this may be an option I can't find, a bug, or a future enhancement.
RSSOwl does require the Java runtime. But it does appear RSSOwl runs binaries, hence the .EXE as I see in my folder.
What I meant by "no Java problems" is that I haven't noticed any Java performance issues. I know nothing regarding potential Java security issues.
The advantage is the OS portability. I can run RSSOwl on my Windows machine as well as my Linux machine. There's also OSX, or running with Eclipse. There's also a non-installed/portable version if you want to run without installing.
I critically depend on RSS feed readers, and RSSOwl is my top choice (SOCKS, open source, features). Though QuiteRSS might replace it if it can properly format a feed. I like my RSS feeds with my Thunderbird email, but the RSS management is miserable. Additionally, it might be better to keep the email/rss separate so I can have the freedom to choose which ever application is best at what it does.
I've been using OpenDNS and like its features....EXCEPT:
1) I can't bypass the site by typing a password.
2) When OpenDNS blocks a site, I'm giving the domain, but I'm not given the full URL. This is a problem because when I'm doing a search, I open a bunch of tabs, then I look through the tabs to read. But when OpenDNS blocks a site, it doesn't give me the full URL. So when I do bypass the site, I have go back to my search and fetch the results again. This is the main reason why I'm looking for an alternative.
3) The whitelist has a limit that is too small for me.
However, the anti-leech system concerns me. I'm not sure if qBittorrent offers an intuitive method to inform me that my uploads/seeds are throttling my downloads.
I'm surprised after reading the pros/cons for Comodo that it didn't get more stars. Sure it installs the AV files, but I can live with that if everything else is 5 stars. As for potential uninstall leaving remnants...most software does that anyways.
My main concern is on a Windows machine where other people have sys admin rights to read the user directory, malware, etc. All the tools I've seen have you decrypt the volume, which means the information is now vulnerable. For example, I have my USB drive encrypted, but I decrypt it so I can use my portable email client or RSS reader. But this also makes the entire volume vulnerable since it is decrypted. Ideally I want realtime encryption/decryption where the storage remains encrypted, but opened decyrpted at the time needed, and not decrypted for any other user or unauthroized use. The workaround is multiple encrypted containers: some decrypted full time, other decrypted only when needed. Another workaround I'm looking into is a virtual machine where I have more control.
Yes, you understand correctly. I'm trying to evaluate some folder locking/hiding utilities to see if those kind of apps can keep other people from accessing my data. When I attach my USB drive (using VeraCrypt or similar), I don't want to automatically expose all my data to everyone that has access to the machine. I also don't want search indexing the drive/folder. I want my data to be only my data.
I've done some more product evaluations. Volume/container encryption makes data 100% vulnerable when the volume is mounted. It simply looks like an unencrypted drive when mounted. I'm still trying to find a solution that won't leave my data vulnerable when I'm using my data.
I'm looking for a utility to validate the integrity of my archived photos and detect bit rot. I'd like the program to store the checksum in the file properties, unless that would invalidate the checksum. If it does invalidate the checksum, then simply saving to a new file. The next feature is to run validation tests on a schedule, detecting bit rot and alerting me. The ideal solution will also have parity information so the photo can be recovered.
Photo bit rot of archived photos is a big concern of mine.
"some sites won't show content until some elements are turned off"
I'm giving Adguard a try because the problem mentioned above. Not sure if AdBlocker is working better or solving the problem...but it sounds like it.
"Adguard can handle Anti-AdBlock scripts. You won't have to turn off the AdBlocker anymore to be able to visit the websites that are using such scripts. Just send a complaint to our tech support and we'll handle it."
I read the privacy statement on Google Chrome Store. I've become paranoid of what capabilities extensions are allowed to do. I feel like I'm inviting the trojan horse.
1) Read and change all your data on the websites you visit.
2) Change your privacy-related settings.
I always wonder if or how much better a paid product is by comparison. I wouldn't mind paying a small amount for a much needed feature that doesn't exist in the free/open products. This change is welcomed.
The forum owner isn't very active, and a lot of user posts are ignored.
The browser isn't portable or self contained (typical of Windows apps).
The browser has a lot of potential, but want to see it better supported.
My major concern is privacy. It may not be sending info back to Google, but is it sending info to someone else?
Like there's a portable and contained version.
I've been noticing changes to the toolbar that have included Amazon and Ebay. I didn't add them.
The probability of Slimjet (or anybody) doing something completely for free (zero money involved) is not likely. Slimjet is motivated by something.
I'm leaning towards Opera or Epic for the VPN. But I assume the VPN is tracking me for advertising purposes, but better than my non-anonymous ISP, with my identity, tracking me.
I don't want to create a Bitwarden account, it turns me off.
I don't want anything that can possibly be between me, my data/info, and the site I visit.
I ditched Foxit Reader off all my computers here. Their darn software update shoves their Foxit Cloud service on the computers here. I uninstalled it and it shows up after each update to their PDF reader. There is no way of bypassing the installation of FoxIt Cloud either.
Regarding Wi-Fi Finder. It was developed by a company who changed their name back in June 2014 and is strictly a marketing company. The app has not been updated for almost 2 years. It has some wifi hotspots but is missing several national chains here. Also there are some errors in the current database and no way of correcting the locations of the incorrect HotSpots
"It is definitely opt-out for Google+ accounts." Now I am puzzled. The shared endorsements is only for Google+ accounts is it not? Since the endorsements only result once you +1 something and that can occur only if you have set up Google+ account.
The "shared endorsements" page that is linked above says " If you are not already a Google+ user, you will be asked to upgrade your account." If you click on the link that sends you to https://plus.google.com/settings/endorsements you are asked to upgrade your Google account to a Google+ one. In other words these changes to the ToS apply to people who already have Google+ accounts or those who create Google+ account. No Google+ account then there can not be shared endorsements, at least for now that is.
I had submitted my request to Google 2 weeks ago and was still waiting for my invite when on Nov 5th Google has a 1 hour period during which you could submit a request for Inbox and Google filled all those requests.
I just spent 3.5 hours setting up Inbox by Gmail on the web interface. I do a vast majority of my work in Gmail via my desktop computer. I figured I would give Inbox a try. All the items discussed here are referring to the web version of Inbox by Gmail.
Well the inbox.google.com version has some shortcomings. Some of then may be a result of adapting what primarily is a mobile GUI to the web/desktop version. As soon as I configured my account I noticed one glaring problem.
Inbox decided to categorize emails from several senders as either Updates or Promos. In Gmail these emails were being assigned a label by a filter. Removing an email from a particular sender from a bundle requires you to perform at least 4 different mouse clicks and does initially appear to trickle down to the emails that remain in the bundle. In order to have the change take effect on all the emails in that bundle one has to close and reopen the bundle.
If you are not diligent in performing actions on messages it is easy to not see unread emails especially if these emails are in bundles. That is because bundles are shown in a collapsed state normally and unread emails are shown as having their from address bolded in the bundle's header. There is no unread message count shown in the bundle's header only the total number of messages read and unread in the bundle. If you are not diligent and fall behind performing actions on these emails that count can not be relied on as an indicator that there unread emails.
If you happen to look at an email its unread status (bolded subject) becomes read (unbolded) and there does not appear to be any way of changing the read status back to unread.
There is a fair amount of whitespace main view in inbox.google.com. It is caused in part by the GUI using icons at the left hand side of each message header as well as whitespace between each message header. On my 23" monitor inbox.google.com was able to display 18 email message headers vs the 33 email headers in Gmail's compact view.
I am not a proponent of Inbox 0. I find that its a game that one plays to see if one can rein supreme by clearing out your inbox for a small amount of time. That is a never ending battle that makes one a bit of a slave to your email.
I will be sticking to the normal Gmail interface on the web and the regular Gmail app on iOS and Android.
It also displays all graphics in email messages and there is no option to disable that. By default I have that option disabled in Gmail on desktop since some of the marketing email I get I have have no desire to see graphics. If I do I simply click on the link that the normal Gmail provides. Although Gmail does do good spam filtering some email does get through and spammers can use web bugs to alert them when graphics are loaded from their server.
From the License Code.txt file in the download "Please note the license code should be activated before April.30, 2015. It doesn't support upgrade.". Guess that means the software will also no longer work if you format and reinstall Windows.
It was HTTPS Everywhere plugin in FF that I had to disable Google API in for the page to load properly. This is another good site http://map.ipviking.com/
Before switching back to Firefox I used Chrome Canary bu tound that since it is pre beta it was not worth the hassle dealing with extensions thar did not work properly or website issues. You can have Chrome Canary and the stable release of Chrome installed at the same time. The last time I use Canary there was no way of making it the default browser in Windows7 but there was a script to do so. Unlike Firefox where one can have stable, beta and nightly builds of the browser installed, with Chrome you can only have stable or beta plus Canary installed.
I tried to register the product only to have the website tell me my email address was already in their emal list. Well of course it is I used the same email for other giveaways and freebies. Gave up since deadline is today.
Teamviewer is not made by Logmein company which some people have had bad experience with regarding their antics with Logmein free years ago which was cancelled along with constant price hikes of Logmein paid and poor support.
Teamviwer has a lot of capability and their one time session app does not leave anything installed on the remote computer once the session is over with. Teamviewer allows one to transfer files to or from the remote computer and allows one to see what is being displayed on any of the monitors physcially attached to the remote computer.
Personally I removed Avast free from a friend's machine it was causing issues with their back up software even after adding these to Avast whitelist.
I have also lost count on how many untech end users have been fooled by its constant pop up asking you to buy it. They purchase the software while they could of been served just fine with the free version.
I also dont like the kitchen sink approach that the software has taken into adding tweaking software etc to the app. Stick with being an anti-virus software!
Google Chrome by default will add a website to its "Orher Search Engline" list automatically when you go to a website and use it's Search box to search for anything. For example go to bleepingcomputer.com [a well known computer help website] search for anything using the website search box on their web page. Then look under Chrome's Search Engine page udner "Other Search Engines". You will see a Bleeping Computer" entry in Chrome.
I discovered that Chrome here had over 100 such entries added automatically. Some of these entries even had the search terms that I was looking for on that particular website! People have complained to Chrome Devs that this behaviour is a privacy issue and that there should be a way of disabling this option. There is no way of disabling this behaviour on Chrome
If I seen this type of behaviour on some one's computer I would normally think a malware infection like a browser hijacking. This type of behaviour by Chrome made me go back to using Firefox on all my computers.
Sorry but have to use incognito mode for all sites is not an opt out option. Its a work around. That option hinders my browsing on all websites since Chrome would have to be always using incognito mode. I have got fed up with Google's attitude over the years of either doing it their way or take the high road. I decided the later and ditch Chrome as my browser.
I can search these same websites just fine in Firefox which does not have to save all of this search engines in my browser. I use UBlock Origin on my browsers to block annoying ads as well as malware that in the past have been served up intentionally and unintentionally on websites. I only unblock a select few websites.
Downloaded the portable edition on Windows7 here ran the exe to apparently uncompress the files and then discovered that exe at the root of the directory causes errors and that one should run another EXE file in App/SpyBotAntiBeacon/SDAntiBeacon.exe. Seems that they had let this app lapse development wise and rolled its features over to Spybot app itself and only recently updated it so it ran in Anniversary Update.
Mixed feelings about the app. Would be nice to have a portable app that worked right to begin with. Its not an app that needs to be run frequently so using an installable version shouldn't be necessary.
I tried using this software and it took me a while to figure out how to setup multiple Sync Jobs. You actually have to run your first sync you create to get to the behind the scene interface. Doesn't appear to be a way of having the sync job only on demand rather than real time or scheduled.
If a modified file exists in the left and right hand directories of a 2 way sync, you will wind up with 2 files each with a number appended to the file name.in the left and right hand directories.
I regularly use other Sync tools before to sync files between USB flash drives and computers. There are some utilities that will allow you to set up parameters to deal with conflicts. You can overwrite the older file with the newer file or just pop up a notification bar asking the end user what to do. Most of those syncing is done manually when I want to do it.
This tool is probably good choice for people who want a general set it and forget it sync tool though.
Question is will the installation key still work say you either reinstall Windows or get a new computer and want to transfer your apps over to the new computer?
I did a extensive scan on a Windows7 computer here yesterday. After running for 10.5 hours and with the progress bar only 1/6 way across the screen I cancelled the scan. This was after it purportedly found 16 infected files. I say purportedly because cancelling it brought up a screen showing it found none of the infections that the utility scans for.
I then did a quick scan and it again found infected files and this time it completed and again showed the same result screen showing 0 infections found.
The page for MFT indicates:
"If malicious software has modified (infected) files on your computer, the tool prompts you to remove the malicious software from those files. If the malicious software modified your browser settings, your homepage may be changed automatically to a page that gives you directions on how to restore these settings."
The app itself also says "the tool will provide you with a report of the malicious that was detected and removed"
"After the tool runs, there are four main results that the removal tool can report to the user:
No infection was found.
At least one infection was found and was removed.
An infection was found but was not removed. This result will be displayed if suspicious files were found on the computer. To help remove these files, you should use an up-to-date antivirus product.
An infection was found and was partially removed. To complete this removal, you should use an up-to-date antivirus product. "
In neither of the scans did I see any sort of report other than it saying 0 infections. I regularly scan this computer with MBAM.
If this application is indeed deleting files without actually telling the enduser what it is deleting it can lead to issues. I regularly use utils from SysInternals and Nirsoft which some scanners flag .
Why is it that the progress bar is totally useless in this app? A progress should indicate how much more is left to do for the process at hand. It should not go all the way over to the right hand side of the bar and start all over again and repeat this animation over and over again!
I found the MRT.LOG file on my Windows 7 box in C:\Windows\debug and lo and behold it shows 0 infections in all of its scans over the last 24 hours a terminated long scan followed by a quick scan even though both of them indicated during the scanning process that there were 16 infected files or so. Today I ran a quick scan and it said 0 infections found.
I used this application a lot but then discovered that it has succumbed to going commercial after 10 devices. Sorry to say but going to look elsewhere for an option or will stick with an older version of the app which does not have this restriction. Just do not update it.
I gave up on using Inoreader on Windows 10 Mobile. Sticking with Feedlab at least that shows the articles that I have already setup under my Google account . Inoreader allowed me to login apparently but it showed not one article from my Google account RRS feeds that Feedlab has no issues with.
Went to this site in Google Chrome and was told to enable Adobe Flash. Chrome by default disables Adobe Flash which means having to go through http://www.online-tech-tips.com/google-softwaretips/enable-flash-chrome-specific-websites/
Update despite according to the documentation Google Chrome will not prompt you to allow you to run Flash on certain sites. I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out what setting was incorrect in Chrome. There was nothing wrong with the settings. It appears that Google has another bug in their code. As mentioned on the linked page:
"The icon will either be a lock icon if the connection is using HTTPS or it’ll be an information icon if the connection is non-secure. When you click on this icon, you’ll see a bunch of settings you can configure for that particular site. Towards the bottom will be Flash. By default, it should be set to Use global default (Ask), which means the browser should ask you if you want to enable Flash for a site that has Flash content.
However, in my experience, the browser never actually asks me to enable Flash content even when there is clearly Flash content on the website. So, I have to basically select the Always allow on this site option in order for Flash to work."
Once I enabled the "Always allow on this site option" the site loaded properly.
Would not work with Firefox 57. I use Dark Theme already on YouTube and as soon as I installed this extension it wanted me to install even more extensions.
I agree. I registered a long time ago and made up stuff for the registration and used an email address I use for sign up offers. I am not nagged to death either and have gotten several useful books all of which are still accessible via their online library.
One bone I have to pick with is particular book is that none of the table of contents entry appear to be linked to the actual page in the book. Means that one has to use the search function in the PDF file to fine the particular page.
Excellent advice and a very welcome heads up! Thankfully I was able to see the folly in pre-athorized, automatic payments long ago and avoid them. But the reminder is much appreciated. Of course, these types of payments can be convenient, but at what cost and who really benefits the most from this convenience! I am quite sure that my paypal account does not include any automatic payments but I'm going to check anyway. Thanks again. Great stuff!
SWIFTHACKGENIUS@gmail.COm and his firm stood beside me 150% and I felt in good hands throughout the whole process. Before consulting with Steve. I chose to call him based on the reviews I read; now I understand why there are nothing but 5-star reviews for his firm and I am glad to be a contributor to that statistic... it is the least I could do for what Chris and his firm did for me. (713) 352 8891, You can contact them and they will assist You. they are such a great team to work with.
I am quite surprised to see no mention of Windows Firewall Notifier (https://wfn.codeplex.com) is present here! I had come back to techsupportalert after a fresh install of Windows just to see if anything had changed since I had last installed a firewall. Nothing had changed unfortunately, so I snooped on MajorGeeks and found Windows Firewall Notifier. This, like TinyWall and Windows 7 Firewall Control, utilitzed the built-in windows firewall, but unlike the others, just seemed to work for me. No issues, no excessive popups, great performance and memory + CPU utilization, and to top it all off it's open source. This really should be the #1 recommendation for a basic firewall IMO. It allows the basic firewall to act as a two-way firewall, which is exactly what I needed. Once installed, it blocks all outbound requests by default and a simple popup is displayed above the system tray allowing you to Allow/Block as expected. I highly recommend giving it a shot.
Also worth a mention is Binisoft's "Windows Firewall Control" (http://www.binisoft.org/wfc.php) (I know, painfully similar to Sphinx Software's Windows 7/8 Firewall Control which IS already mentioned here). It looks like it performs similarly and from the screenshosts seems well-designed. I am just too happy with Windows Firewall Notifier at the moment but if I didn't like it I would definitely give this a shot.
I also want to briefly mention my gripes with TinyWall and Windows 7/8 Firewall Control here just for the record.
TinyWall sounded like the best frickin' idea ever when I read the description here. I loved how light it was, the premise was so promising. However, it continually seemed to deny access for all applications unless I turned it on the mode that allows all traffic. Even configuring specific rules never seemed to alleviate the "no internet access" problem, so eventually, after continually turning off the firewall, I gave up and moved to Windows 7 Firewall Control.
Windows 7 Firewall Control, unlike TinyWall, actually works as expected. It performs amicably, however there is one thing that sucks about it and it really just drove me crazy. Sometimes, for example when viewing flash content on a web page, Windows 7/8 Firewall Control would trigger a pop-up asking to allow/block the "System" app that is flash. This "System" dialog would also pop-up with Windows services intermittently as well. That's all fine and dandy, that's what it's intended to do, right? However, Windows 7/8 Firewall Control will inform you on trying to "Allow" that you need to upgrade to the Premium version to actually allow handling of "System" apps. Seems like an arbitrary destinction to nag you to pay. I get it, the developer made a good program and wants to get paid, but IMO this app didn't perform well enough to justify paying to stop this nagging.
The biggest thing I like about Windows Firewall Notifier is that on top of performing how I want, it's open source. No nagging!
Finally I should mention I tried Private Firewall. It worked decently enough, but was more than I needed (I really wanted just a better way to utilize the Windows Firewall). It didn't seem to hurt performance but I suspected it was a bigger impact than the other programs I mentioned which all utilized the built-in firewall. It also just looks like it was designed in the '80s, heh, and unfortunately that matters to me. More importantly, for my needs, I don't want to have to become familiar with a slew of crazy firewall options that I'll likely never need that might only result in unexpected behavior. The KISS mentality. I'd order the average users' options like this:
1. Windows Firewall Notifier
2. Private Firewall
3. Windows 7/8 Firewall Control
4. Tinywall
It would be nice to download the program...except, after filling in all the required info to get it...and then click "download,"...I get an error asking me for my state. The problem? THERE'S NO BLOCK TO ENTER THAT!
This article was apparently written before FamilySearch Family Tree (FamilySearch.org) was opened in 2012.
FamilySearch Family Tree is a unified tree, intended to include everyone in one tree, freely editable and modified by any FamilySearch registered user, like Wikipedia. The goal is to have one profile per ancestral person that represents the best scholarship available.
Pros
- Anyone can edit any record. You can benefit from work done by relatives and other genealogists.
- Automatically searches records when you enter people. Record hints are visible on the Personal Details page, pedigree view, and descendants view.
- New records added every day. FamilySearch has the largest collection of genealogical and historical records in the world.
- Unlimited entry of name, relationships, birth, marriage, death, burial, and other events together with their associated dates, locations, and source citations.
- Relationships are not limited, i.e. multiple spouses (consecutive or polygamous) and parents (adopted, foster, or other possibilities).
- Multimedia attachments. Media can be tagged to show up on multiple individuals.
- Excludes information about living individuals from being publicly available.
- Easy to add people from sources.
- Duplicate finder and merge capability.
- Unlike the free accounts on Ancestry and MyHeritage, it is not feature limited. No nagging to get a paid account, since there are no paid accounts. The only limitation is that some source records are on other websites (like Fold3 or GenealogyBank), and you can't view the image without an account on those websites, or a visit to FamilySearch Family History Center.
- Tablet/phone app available.
- Printable fan charts, pedigree charts, family group sheets.
- Has it's own App Gallery of programs/websites that work with the database, such as chart creation, tree analysis, and interactive maps. Many of them are free.
- Ability to send messages to other users working on the same individuals.
- If you visit a FamilySearch Family History Center, you have free access to records from Ancestry, findmypast, and MyHeritage.
Cons
- Anyone can edit any record. "Your" tree can be messed up by a careless researcher, although changes can generally be undone. Some of the existing records have errors that may be difficult to straighten out.
- No way to share living people. You can enter living people, but no one else can see them.
- May not recognize a duplicate until you add more facts, requiring a merge.
- Cannot directly upload or download a GEDCOM. You have to load the GEDCOM into one of the free programs that syncs with FamilySearch (Ancestral Quest, Legacy Family Tree and RootsMagic), then sync to upload. As you sync, you will be asked to resolve any duplicates. This may take a long time, but it prevents duplicates, and you may find some additional information about your ancestors. The programs have easy procedures for downloading and saving information as a GEDCOM.
- Does not support same sex relationships.
FOR PROTECTION, you may want to add PeerBlock 1.2 (free - lists updated WEEKLY) to your list of security software.
"PeerBlock lets you control who your computer "talks to" on the Internet. By selecting appropriate lists of "known bad" computers, you can block communication with advertising or spyware oriented servers (such as TORRENTS), computers monitoring your p2p activities, computers which have been "hacked", even entire countries! They can´t get in to your computer, and your computer won´t try to send them anything either."
Wow. Great giveaway, BUT, it does add a keylogger and Norton 360 stopped it dead in its tracks. 360 Total Security also stopped it, so I guess this one is a NO GO. I already have CyberLink apps on my W7 PRO quad-core PC, so I know they are good products. But, this one seems to want to do more than I will allow it to do.
The site told me that I was a ROBOT, but I think it is because I am behind a VPN and it sees the DNS of the VPN server. THERE IS NO WAY I WILL GIVE MY REAL IP SO EVERYONE CAN TRACK ME. No thanks. The moment you allow them access to your real IP, you are done for.
does anyone really expect rob to actually try these programs vs just reading the supplied information to keep some from bricking their computer?
surely not.
I ran the CCE smart scan...found 1 threat "Modified Hosts" "repair" "small yellow bar". I clicked to repair. Computer rebooted... and the same thing popped up but instead of a "small yellow bar" it shows "a long bar, yellow to red" ending with the word "failed". What should I do?
Ignore and continue my way towards "kill switch"?
CCE has no way of showing me where the file is located?
Just tried to install IZArc 4.1.7 - it now INSISTS on installing a new search toolbar (Babylon) .. it's not possible to continue without installing it .. even with the /NOCANDY command line option.
The method I employ and recommend to my customers uses keyboard sequences, instead of the typical tired suggestion. By using keys which appear together, you can have ridiculously long passwords that are seemingly random, yet are easy to recall, don't spell or use words and can even be extended to give you ample choices in terms of how long it needs to be, passwords for certain sites do need to be as long or complex as your banking password.
for instance, you could have qweLKJ234 for a social networking site
and qweLKJ234234000 for your banking.
Success in recovery depends on several things; to mention few of them, the most important thing is to react as soon as possible - the chances of recovery are great if software was installed *before* deletion happens.
Restarting computer with option "Delete Pagefile" enabled will almost for sure overwrite "free space" where deleted files still existed before reset. Running programs that produce huge temporary files are next on list of "destroyers". The amount of free space on partition is important too - less free space leads to sooner overwriting of free space.
Safety rule is - have recocery programs installed *now* (or use portable versions from USB) and use it immediatelly.
Just tried installing ImgBurn, used the 'advanced' install option. Had a bunch of really junky-looking crap to uncheck, not liking the looks of all that but continued as I've used this software in the past and it's been very decent. Looks like it highjacked my browser's homepage with a yahoo clone & installed a handful of malware threats inside the OS. Not gonna ever try ImgBurn again!
Glad you mentioned that. This Windows 8 is so alien to me that often I don't see what's right in front of me. Frankly, I can't understand why MS licensed OEM's to preinstall Windows 8 on PC's in the first place, unless it was just for the sake of money.
But I digress. I used to use the free Context Magic because I liked it's simplicity but it doesn't work with Windows 8 or at least it's 64-bit version.:-(
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One thing would-be users should be aware of: Code Lobster is a nice editor, but last time I installed it, during the installation it grabbed the file associations for every text-based file type under the sun, including .txt files themselves, without giving me a choice or even a warning. I consider this exceedingly poor behavior on the part of any installation. I undid those associations and then wrote the company and told them as much.
Do not know if anything has changed since then -- version 5.5.
cool site
So, doesn't Windows Defender update itself with every "Full" scan? And why would you have Defender and NOT schedule a Full scan every night?
I tried this several times but after clicking OK and then Yes to the popup question "Do you want to move all of the files frpm the old location to the new location?" I consistently receive the error "Unexpected Error from PerformRedirection - The filename or extension is too long"
Help and thank you!
Where can I download the 64 bit version?
Happy Macrium free user for a long time.
Purchased O&O DiskImage Pro at a great price this week. Installed. Computer freezes after about 3 minutes. Repeated hard reboots and keeps freezing. Had to hurry to uninstall O&O before it froze during uninstall process. Completed uninstall, rebooted, no more freezes. Hours later reinstalled O&O. Repeated freezing after 3 minutes. Uninstalled again, will not reinstall. Computer is working fine again.
Macrium works fine.
ClassicShell is now installed on my six computers, and I love it. Works fine in Windows 10 and far superior to the Microsoft menu, same for Windows 8.
I just contributed, happy to do so. Gizmo's TechSupportAlert is valuable to me.
FastStone Capture is the best if you want a lightweight, very functional, easy to use screen capture and editor. I don't think a lot of people actually take the time to really test these programs before they review them. Believe me, it's the best because I've tried them all extensively. It's also available in a portable version. It's the only program that works consistently with scrolling windows from every application I've tried. Check out the [edited] in the editor. That is so valuable. Even the [edited] is pretty decent for doing a quick demo. [Commercial reference and features removed as per site rules]
I have been using Panda Free AV on several computers including friends and family PC's I have worked on for a few years now.
Very effective, feature rich and light on resources. I receive NO pop-ups or advertisements to upgrade. You just have to go to settings
and turn off "show Panda news"
Switched from Avast and have never looked back.
I am in no way affiliated with Panda, I just think it is a great alternative to Windows "security"
141 quadrillion nonagintillion years or with one more charachter ... Infinty! I win...
this editor looks terrific. is there anything like it for my email account?
Good read, only issue is the title. "Windows File Name Restrictions – Why a File Name Can be too Long" - the title should read "can't".
A feature that I require are nested folders. Most of the readers I've tried only allow one folder.
RSSOwl allows for nested subfolders.
I'll try some others...
QuiteRSS:
+Portable.
+Open source.
-No SOCKS proxy support. This kills it for me.
Thunderbird:
+Like the idea of mail+RSS feeds in one place.
-Managing subscriptions is not well thought out. For example: Can't create a new folder in "Managing Subscriptions". There's also some funk stuff it does when moving folders. There's a lot of steps involved to do other tasks.
RSSOwl:
+Subfolders.
+Excellent feed and folder management.
+Discontinued feeds are displayed with an X.
+Fast.
+No problems with Java.
+Open source.
QuiteRSS has SOCKS proxy support in v0.16.2 (18.08.2014)Revision 3378, which is in beta right now.
QuiteRSS is very fast and light weight.
I'm running a portable version.
QuiteRSS has some RSS formatting issues that I'm trying to work out. Right now it strips out the formatting while other RSS readers will show me the RSS feed's posting with full format. There is an option to see the feed post as a complete webpage, but that's the entire full framed webpage. Other readers do a better job. But this may be an option I can't find, a bug, or a future enhancement.
RSSOwl does require the Java runtime. But it does appear RSSOwl runs binaries, hence the .EXE as I see in my folder.
What I meant by "no Java problems" is that I haven't noticed any Java performance issues. I know nothing regarding potential Java security issues.
The advantage is the OS portability. I can run RSSOwl on my Windows machine as well as my Linux machine. There's also OSX, or running with Eclipse. There's also a non-installed/portable version if you want to run without installing.
I critically depend on RSS feed readers, and RSSOwl is my top choice (SOCKS, open source, features). Though QuiteRSS might replace it if it can properly format a feed. I like my RSS feeds with my Thunderbird email, but the RSS management is miserable. Additionally, it might be better to keep the email/rss separate so I can have the freedom to choose which ever application is best at what it does.
What privacy concerns might there be with free antivirus software? What are these companies getting from me by offering their "free" services?
I like Cobian. Very simply backup. Easy to restore a file too. Sometimes I just want to restore a version of file, not an entire backup set.
http://www.cobiansoft.com/cobianbackup.htm
I've been using OpenDNS and like its features....EXCEPT:
1) I can't bypass the site by typing a password.
2) When OpenDNS blocks a site, I'm giving the domain, but I'm not given the full URL. This is a problem because when I'm doing a search, I open a bunch of tabs, then I look through the tabs to read. But when OpenDNS blocks a site, it doesn't give me the full URL. So when I do bypass the site, I have go back to my search and fetch the results again. This is the main reason why I'm looking for an alternative.
3) The whitelist has a limit that is too small for me.
This feature of qBittorrent interest me: "Tracker Exchange"
http://www.bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0028.html
However, the anti-leech system concerns me. I'm not sure if qBittorrent offers an intuitive method to inform me that my uploads/seeds are throttling my downloads.
I'd report the issue to the qBittorrent forum. There might be something with queuing or it might be something how libtorrent works.
Is there a simple program that uses just the Recycle Bin's context menu?
I'm surprised after reading the pros/cons for Comodo that it didn't get more stars. Sure it installs the AV files, but I can live with that if everything else is 5 stars. As for potential uninstall leaving remnants...most software does that anyways.
Here's my top choices:
1) Reg (By David K. Gasaway)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/reg
+ Goto Path
+ Search
+ Open Source
- There isn't a portable version, but it will still run.
2) O&O RegEditor
http://www.oo-software.com/en/products/ooregeditor
+ Goto Path
+ Search
+ Portable
- Didn't like the Search function as much as Reg.
3) Regscanner
www.nirsoft.net/utils/regscanner.html
+ Search
+ Portable
- Goto Path
What makes Mediacoder bettern than Freemake?
My main concern is on a Windows machine where other people have sys admin rights to read the user directory, malware, etc. All the tools I've seen have you decrypt the volume, which means the information is now vulnerable. For example, I have my USB drive encrypted, but I decrypt it so I can use my portable email client or RSS reader. But this also makes the entire volume vulnerable since it is decrypted. Ideally I want realtime encryption/decryption where the storage remains encrypted, but opened decyrpted at the time needed, and not decrypted for any other user or unauthroized use. The workaround is multiple encrypted containers: some decrypted full time, other decrypted only when needed. Another workaround I'm looking into is a virtual machine where I have more control.
Yes, you understand correctly. I'm trying to evaluate some folder locking/hiding utilities to see if those kind of apps can keep other people from accessing my data. When I attach my USB drive (using VeraCrypt or similar), I don't want to automatically expose all my data to everyone that has access to the machine. I also don't want search indexing the drive/folder. I want my data to be only my data.
I've done some more product evaluations. Volume/container encryption makes data 100% vulnerable when the volume is mounted. It simply looks like an unencrypted drive when mounted. I'm still trying to find a solution that won't leave my data vulnerable when I'm using my data.
I'm looking for a utility to validate the integrity of my archived photos and detect bit rot. I'd like the program to store the checksum in the file properties, unless that would invalidate the checksum. If it does invalidate the checksum, then simply saving to a new file. The next feature is to run validation tests on a schedule, detecting bit rot and alerting me. The ideal solution will also have parity information so the photo can be recovered.
Photo bit rot of archived photos is a big concern of mine.
Thanks. Jake.
Alternatives:
FileVerifier++
wxChecksums
I'm looking for something that uses better algorithms; MD5 is real slow.
Most of the suggestions require some sort of dependency on someone else. I prefer CryptSync to avoid dependencies.
"some sites won't show content until some elements are turned off"
I'm giving Adguard a try because the problem mentioned above. Not sure if AdBlocker is working better or solving the problem...but it sounds like it.
"Adguard can handle Anti-AdBlock scripts. You won't have to turn off the AdBlocker anymore to be able to visit the websites that are using such scripts. Just send a complaint to our tech support and we'll handle it."
I read the privacy statement on Google Chrome Store. I've become paranoid of what capabilities extensions are allowed to do. I feel like I'm inviting the trojan horse.
1) Read and change all your data on the websites you visit.
2) Change your privacy-related settings.
I always wonder if or how much better a paid product is by comparison. I wouldn't mind paying a small amount for a much needed feature that doesn't exist in the free/open products. This change is welcomed.
The forum owner isn't very active, and a lot of user posts are ignored.
The browser isn't portable or self contained (typical of Windows apps).
The browser has a lot of potential, but want to see it better supported.
My major concern is privacy. It may not be sending info back to Google, but is it sending info to someone else?
Like there's a portable and contained version.
I've been noticing changes to the toolbar that have included Amazon and Ebay. I didn't add them.
The probability of Slimjet (or anybody) doing something completely for free (zero money involved) is not likely. Slimjet is motivated by something.
I can't seem to not get a fingerprint.
I wonder how much those extensions/addons are tracking us.
Is there a reason why EFF's own Privacy Badger fails to protect me from their own test site? Doesn't give me much confidence in Privacy Badger.
I'm leaning towards Opera or Epic for the VPN. But I assume the VPN is tracking me for advertising purposes, but better than my non-anonymous ISP, with my identity, tracking me.
I don't want to create a Bitwarden account, it turns me off.
I don't want anything that can possibly be between me, my data/info, and the site I visit.
Is it better to have Malwarebytes collect my browsing habits, or these sites with unwanted content?
I don't like this idea from Malwarebytes:
"Communicate with cooperating websites".
What about Yubikey?
What about key files?
What about USB keys formatted to be some sort of hardware key?
Thanks Rob! I'm gonna play with this and see if it's as interesting as it sounds. I think I'll start with 'alternate guitar tunings'.
WOW! That was fantastic!!! More info than I expected.
Who among you knows where the word "Grok" came from?
eikelein, wow, indeed, I'll be 61 next month. I read Stranger In A Strange Land way back when I was in college on G.I. benefits.
I echo the request for a section on arts and crafts.
USBs are not dead but great tools to have at hand. Glad to see an article that refutes that!
. Ever since Mozilla decided not to support the forks, I've been using Pale Moon and Waterfox.
I ditched Foxit Reader off all my computers here. Their darn software update shoves their Foxit Cloud service on the computers here. I uninstalled it and it shows up after each update to their PDF reader. There is no way of bypassing the installation of FoxIt Cloud either.
Regarding Wi-Fi Finder. It was developed by a company who changed their name back in June 2014 and is strictly a marketing company. The app has not been updated for almost 2 years. It has some wifi hotspots but is missing several national chains here. Also there are some errors in the current database and no way of correcting the locations of the incorrect HotSpots
"It is definitely opt-out for Google+ accounts." Now I am puzzled. The shared endorsements is only for Google+ accounts is it not? Since the endorsements only result once you +1 something and that can occur only if you have set up Google+ account.
The "shared endorsements" page that is linked above says " If you are not already a Google+ user, you will be asked to upgrade your account." If you click on the link that sends you to https://plus.google.com/settings/endorsements you are asked to upgrade your Google account to a Google+ one. In other words these changes to the ToS apply to people who already have Google+ accounts or those who create Google+ account. No Google+ account then there can not be shared endorsements, at least for now that is.
Yes I agree go back and check on or after Nov 11th just to make sure that this setting has not mysteriously changed its state.
This software UTM was formally known as Astaro Gateway before Sophos bought Astaro several years ago.
I had submitted my request to Google 2 weeks ago and was still waiting for my invite when on Nov 5th Google has a 1 hour period during which you could submit a request for Inbox and Google filled all those requests.
I just spent 3.5 hours setting up Inbox by Gmail on the web interface. I do a vast majority of my work in Gmail via my desktop computer. I figured I would give Inbox a try. All the items discussed here are referring to the web version of Inbox by Gmail.
Well the inbox.google.com version has some shortcomings. Some of then may be a result of adapting what primarily is a mobile GUI to the web/desktop version. As soon as I configured my account I noticed one glaring problem.
Inbox decided to categorize emails from several senders as either Updates or Promos. In Gmail these emails were being assigned a label by a filter. Removing an email from a particular sender from a bundle requires you to perform at least 4 different mouse clicks and does initially appear to trickle down to the emails that remain in the bundle. In order to have the change take effect on all the emails in that bundle one has to close and reopen the bundle.
If you are not diligent in performing actions on messages it is easy to not see unread emails especially if these emails are in bundles. That is because bundles are shown in a collapsed state normally and unread emails are shown as having their from address bolded in the bundle's header. There is no unread message count shown in the bundle's header only the total number of messages read and unread in the bundle. If you are not diligent and fall behind performing actions on these emails that count can not be relied on as an indicator that there unread emails.
If you happen to look at an email its unread status (bolded subject) becomes read (unbolded) and there does not appear to be any way of changing the read status back to unread.
There is a fair amount of whitespace main view in inbox.google.com. It is caused in part by the GUI using icons at the left hand side of each message header as well as whitespace between each message header. On my 23" monitor inbox.google.com was able to display 18 email message headers vs the 33 email headers in Gmail's compact view.
I am not a proponent of Inbox 0. I find that its a game that one plays to see if one can rein supreme by clearing out your inbox for a small amount of time. That is a never ending battle that makes one a bit of a slave to your email.
I will be sticking to the normal Gmail interface on the web and the regular Gmail app on iOS and Android.
It also displays all graphics in email messages and there is no option to disable that. By default I have that option disabled in Gmail on desktop since some of the marketing email I get I have have no desire to see graphics. If I do I simply click on the link that the normal Gmail provides. Although Gmail does do good spam filtering some email does get through and spammers can use web bugs to alert them when graphics are loaded from their server.
From the License Code.txt file in the download "Please note the license code should be activated before April.30, 2015. It doesn't support upgrade.". Guess that means the software will also no longer work if you format and reinstall Windows.
Can not use that website in FF 38.0.5 on Windows7 here. I get the folowing error:
Unfortunately, an error occurred while loading geographic data. You might need to upgrade your browser.
It was HTTPS Everywhere plugin in FF that I had to disable Google API in for the page to load properly. This is another good site http://map.ipviking.com/
Before switching back to Firefox I used Chrome Canary bu tound that since it is pre beta it was not worth the hassle dealing with extensions thar did not work properly or website issues. You can have Chrome Canary and the stable release of Chrome installed at the same time. The last time I use Canary there was no way of making it the default browser in Windows7 but there was a script to do so. Unlike Firefox where one can have stable, beta and nightly builds of the browser installed, with Chrome you can only have stable or beta plus Canary installed.
I tried to register the product only to have the website tell me my email address was already in their emal list. Well of course it is I used the same email for other giveaways and freebies. Gave up since deadline is today.
I just use the built in screen capture of the Diigo extension, my online bookmarking app, to do the same thing.
I usually use Fastcopy which you can download from MajorGeeks http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/fastcopy.html
Teamviewer is not made by Logmein company which some people have had bad experience with regarding their antics with Logmein free years ago which was cancelled along with constant price hikes of Logmein paid and poor support.
Teamviwer has a lot of capability and their one time session app does not leave anything installed on the remote computer once the session is over with. Teamviewer allows one to transfer files to or from the remote computer and allows one to see what is being displayed on any of the monitors physcially attached to the remote computer.
Personally I removed Avast free from a friend's machine it was causing issues with their back up software even after adding these to Avast whitelist.
I have also lost count on how many untech end users have been fooled by its constant pop up asking you to buy it. They purchase the software while they could of been served just fine with the free version.
I also dont like the kitchen sink approach that the software has taken into adding tweaking software etc to the app. Stick with being an anti-virus software!
So you have disabled Chrome's built in Flash applet and this app still works?
Google Chrome by default will add a website to its "Orher Search Engline" list automatically when you go to a website and use it's Search box to search for anything. For example go to bleepingcomputer.com [a well known computer help website] search for anything using the website search box on their web page. Then look under Chrome's Search Engine page udner "Other Search Engines". You will see a Bleeping Computer" entry in Chrome.
I discovered that Chrome here had over 100 such entries added automatically. Some of these entries even had the search terms that I was looking for on that particular website! People have complained to Chrome Devs that this behaviour is a privacy issue and that there should be a way of disabling this option. There is no way of disabling this behaviour on Chrome
If I seen this type of behaviour on some one's computer I would normally think a malware infection like a browser hijacking. This type of behaviour by Chrome made me go back to using Firefox on all my computers.
Sorry but have to use incognito mode for all sites is not an opt out option. Its a work around. That option hinders my browsing on all websites since Chrome would have to be always using incognito mode. I have got fed up with Google's attitude over the years of either doing it their way or take the high road. I decided the later and ditch Chrome as my browser.
I can search these same websites just fine in Firefox which does not have to save all of this search engines in my browser. I use UBlock Origin on my browsers to block annoying ads as well as malware that in the past have been served up intentionally and unintentionally on websites. I only unblock a select few websites.
Downloaded the portable edition on Windows7 here ran the exe to apparently uncompress the files and then discovered that exe at the root of the directory causes errors and that one should run another EXE file in App/SpyBotAntiBeacon/SDAntiBeacon.exe. Seems that they had let this app lapse development wise and rolled its features over to Spybot app itself and only recently updated it so it ran in Anniversary Update.
Mixed feelings about the app. Would be nice to have a portable app that worked right to begin with. Its not an app that needs to be run frequently so using an installable version shouldn't be necessary.
One give away per Paragon account.
I tried using this software and it took me a while to figure out how to setup multiple Sync Jobs. You actually have to run your first sync you create to get to the behind the scene interface. Doesn't appear to be a way of having the sync job only on demand rather than real time or scheduled.
If a modified file exists in the left and right hand directories of a 2 way sync, you will wind up with 2 files each with a number appended to the file name.in the left and right hand directories.
I regularly use other Sync tools before to sync files between USB flash drives and computers. There are some utilities that will allow you to set up parameters to deal with conflicts. You can overwrite the older file with the newer file or just pop up a notification bar asking the end user what to do. Most of those syncing is done manually when I want to do it.
This tool is probably good choice for people who want a general set it and forget it sync tool though.
Question is will the installation key still work say you either reinstall Windows or get a new computer and want to transfer your apps over to the new computer?
I did a extensive scan on a Windows7 computer here yesterday. After running for 10.5 hours and with the progress bar only 1/6 way across the screen I cancelled the scan. This was after it purportedly found 16 infected files. I say purportedly because cancelling it brought up a screen showing it found none of the infections that the utility scans for.
I then did a quick scan and it again found infected files and this time it completed and again showed the same result screen showing 0 infections found.
The page for MFT indicates:
"If malicious software has modified (infected) files on your computer, the tool prompts you to remove the malicious software from those files. If the malicious software modified your browser settings, your homepage may be changed automatically to a page that gives you directions on how to restore these settings."
The app itself also says "the tool will provide you with a report of the malicious that was detected and removed"
"After the tool runs, there are four main results that the removal tool can report to the user:
No infection was found.
At least one infection was found and was removed.
An infection was found but was not removed. This result will be displayed if suspicious files were found on the computer. To help remove these files, you should use an up-to-date antivirus product.
An infection was found and was partially removed. To complete this removal, you should use an up-to-date antivirus product. "
In neither of the scans did I see any sort of report other than it saying 0 infections. I regularly scan this computer with MBAM.
If this application is indeed deleting files without actually telling the enduser what it is deleting it can lead to issues. I regularly use utils from SysInternals and Nirsoft which some scanners flag .
Why is it that the progress bar is totally useless in this app? A progress should indicate how much more is left to do for the process at hand. It should not go all the way over to the right hand side of the bar and start all over again and repeat this animation over and over again!
I found the MRT.LOG file on my Windows 7 box in C:\Windows\debug and lo and behold it shows 0 infections in all of its scans over the last 24 hours a terminated long scan followed by a quick scan even though both of them indicated during the scanning process that there were 16 infected files or so. Today I ran a quick scan and it said 0 infections found.
I used this application a lot but then discovered that it has succumbed to going commercial after 10 devices. Sorry to say but going to look elsewhere for an option or will stick with an older version of the app which does not have this restriction. Just do not update it.
I gave up on using Inoreader on Windows 10 Mobile. Sticking with Feedlab at least that shows the articles that I have already setup under my Google account . Inoreader allowed me to login apparently but it showed not one article from my Google account RRS feeds that Feedlab has no issues with.
Went to this site in Google Chrome and was told to enable Adobe Flash. Chrome by default disables Adobe Flash which means having to go through http://www.online-tech-tips.com/google-softwaretips/enable-flash-chrome-specific-websites/
Update despite according to the documentation Google Chrome will not prompt you to allow you to run Flash on certain sites. I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out what setting was incorrect in Chrome. There was nothing wrong with the settings. It appears that Google has another bug in their code. As mentioned on the linked page:
"The icon will either be a lock icon if the connection is using HTTPS or it’ll be an information icon if the connection is non-secure. When you click on this icon, you’ll see a bunch of settings you can configure for that particular site. Towards the bottom will be Flash. By default, it should be set to Use global default (Ask), which means the browser should ask you if you want to enable Flash for a site that has Flash content.
However, in my experience, the browser never actually asks me to enable Flash content even when there is clearly Flash content on the website. So, I have to basically select the Always allow on this site option in order for Flash to work."
Once I enabled the "Always allow on this site option" the site loaded properly.
Would not work with Firefox 57. I use Dark Theme already on YouTube and as soon as I installed this extension it wanted me to install even more extensions.
What makes this editor better than say Notepad+++ and regularly updated as well and free too?
I agree. I registered a long time ago and made up stuff for the registration and used an email address I use for sign up offers. I am not nagged to death either and have gotten several useful books all of which are still accessible via their online library.
One bone I have to pick with is particular book is that none of the table of contents entry appear to be linked to the actual page in the book. Means that one has to use the search function in the PDF file to fine the particular page.
Excellent advice and a very welcome heads up! Thankfully I was able to see the folly in pre-athorized, automatic payments long ago and avoid them. But the reminder is much appreciated. Of course, these types of payments can be convenient, but at what cost and who really benefits the most from this convenience! I am quite sure that my paypal account does not include any automatic payments but I'm going to check anyway. Thanks again. Great stuff!
SWIFTHACKGENIUS@gmail.COm and his firm stood beside me 150% and I felt in good hands throughout the whole process. Before consulting with Steve. I chose to call him based on the reviews I read; now I understand why there are nothing but 5-star reviews for his firm and I am glad to be a contributor to that statistic... it is the least I could do for what Chris and his firm did for me. (713) 352 8891, You can contact them and they will assist You. they are such a great team to work with.
I am quite surprised to see no mention of Windows Firewall Notifier (https://wfn.codeplex.com) is present here! I had come back to techsupportalert after a fresh install of Windows just to see if anything had changed since I had last installed a firewall. Nothing had changed unfortunately, so I snooped on MajorGeeks and found Windows Firewall Notifier. This, like TinyWall and Windows 7 Firewall Control, utilitzed the built-in windows firewall, but unlike the others, just seemed to work for me. No issues, no excessive popups, great performance and memory + CPU utilization, and to top it all off it's open source. This really should be the #1 recommendation for a basic firewall IMO. It allows the basic firewall to act as a two-way firewall, which is exactly what I needed. Once installed, it blocks all outbound requests by default and a simple popup is displayed above the system tray allowing you to Allow/Block as expected. I highly recommend giving it a shot.
Also worth a mention is Binisoft's "Windows Firewall Control" (http://www.binisoft.org/wfc.php) (I know, painfully similar to Sphinx Software's Windows 7/8 Firewall Control which IS already mentioned here). It looks like it performs similarly and from the screenshosts seems well-designed. I am just too happy with Windows Firewall Notifier at the moment but if I didn't like it I would definitely give this a shot.
I also want to briefly mention my gripes with TinyWall and Windows 7/8 Firewall Control here just for the record.
TinyWall sounded like the best frickin' idea ever when I read the description here. I loved how light it was, the premise was so promising. However, it continually seemed to deny access for all applications unless I turned it on the mode that allows all traffic. Even configuring specific rules never seemed to alleviate the "no internet access" problem, so eventually, after continually turning off the firewall, I gave up and moved to Windows 7 Firewall Control.
Windows 7 Firewall Control, unlike TinyWall, actually works as expected. It performs amicably, however there is one thing that sucks about it and it really just drove me crazy. Sometimes, for example when viewing flash content on a web page, Windows 7/8 Firewall Control would trigger a pop-up asking to allow/block the "System" app that is flash. This "System" dialog would also pop-up with Windows services intermittently as well. That's all fine and dandy, that's what it's intended to do, right? However, Windows 7/8 Firewall Control will inform you on trying to "Allow" that you need to upgrade to the Premium version to actually allow handling of "System" apps. Seems like an arbitrary destinction to nag you to pay. I get it, the developer made a good program and wants to get paid, but IMO this app didn't perform well enough to justify paying to stop this nagging.
The biggest thing I like about Windows Firewall Notifier is that on top of performing how I want, it's open source. No nagging!
Good luck in your searches all.
Finally I should mention I tried Private Firewall. It worked decently enough, but was more than I needed (I really wanted just a better way to utilize the Windows Firewall). It didn't seem to hurt performance but I suspected it was a bigger impact than the other programs I mentioned which all utilized the built-in firewall. It also just looks like it was designed in the '80s, heh, and unfortunately that matters to me. More importantly, for my needs, I don't want to have to become familiar with a slew of crazy firewall options that I'll likely never need that might only result in unexpected behavior. The KISS mentality. I'd order the average users' options like this:
1. Windows Firewall Notifier
2. Private Firewall
3. Windows 7/8 Firewall Control
4. Tinywall
It would be nice to download the program...except, after filling in all the required info to get it...and then click "download,"...I get an error asking me for my state. The problem? THERE'S NO BLOCK TO ENTER THAT!
This article was apparently written before FamilySearch Family Tree (FamilySearch.org) was opened in 2012.
FamilySearch Family Tree is a unified tree, intended to include everyone in one tree, freely editable and modified by any FamilySearch registered user, like Wikipedia. The goal is to have one profile per ancestral person that represents the best scholarship available.
Pros
- Anyone can edit any record. You can benefit from work done by relatives and other genealogists.
- Automatically searches records when you enter people. Record hints are visible on the Personal Details page, pedigree view, and descendants view.
- New records added every day. FamilySearch has the largest collection of genealogical and historical records in the world.
- Unlimited entry of name, relationships, birth, marriage, death, burial, and other events together with their associated dates, locations, and source citations.
- Relationships are not limited, i.e. multiple spouses (consecutive or polygamous) and parents (adopted, foster, or other possibilities).
- Multimedia attachments. Media can be tagged to show up on multiple individuals.
- Excludes information about living individuals from being publicly available.
- Easy to add people from sources.
- Duplicate finder and merge capability.
- Unlike the free accounts on Ancestry and MyHeritage, it is not feature limited. No nagging to get a paid account, since there are no paid accounts. The only limitation is that some source records are on other websites (like Fold3 or GenealogyBank), and you can't view the image without an account on those websites, or a visit to FamilySearch Family History Center.
- Tablet/phone app available.
- Printable fan charts, pedigree charts, family group sheets.
- Has it's own App Gallery of programs/websites that work with the database, such as chart creation, tree analysis, and interactive maps. Many of them are free.
- Ability to send messages to other users working on the same individuals.
- If you visit a FamilySearch Family History Center, you have free access to records from Ancestry, findmypast, and MyHeritage.
Cons
- Anyone can edit any record. "Your" tree can be messed up by a careless researcher, although changes can generally be undone. Some of the existing records have errors that may be difficult to straighten out.
- No way to share living people. You can enter living people, but no one else can see them.
- May not recognize a duplicate until you add more facts, requiring a merge.
- Cannot directly upload or download a GEDCOM. You have to load the GEDCOM into one of the free programs that syncs with FamilySearch (Ancestral Quest, Legacy Family Tree and RootsMagic), then sync to upload. As you sync, you will be asked to resolve any duplicates. This may take a long time, but it prevents duplicates, and you may find some additional information about your ancestors. The programs have easy procedures for downloading and saving information as a GEDCOM.
- Does not support same sex relationships.
FOR PROTECTION, you may want to add PeerBlock 1.2 (free - lists updated WEEKLY) to your list of security software.
"PeerBlock lets you control who your computer "talks to" on the Internet. By selecting appropriate lists of "known bad" computers, you can block communication with advertising or spyware oriented servers (such as TORRENTS), computers monitoring your p2p activities, computers which have been "hacked", even entire countries! They can´t get in to your computer, and your computer won´t try to send them anything either."
http://www.peerblock.com/
Wow. Great giveaway, BUT, it does add a keylogger and Norton 360 stopped it dead in its tracks. 360 Total Security also stopped it, so I guess this one is a NO GO. I already have CyberLink apps on my W7 PRO quad-core PC, so I know they are good products. But, this one seems to want to do more than I will allow it to do.
Sorry.
The site told me that I was a ROBOT, but I think it is because I am behind a VPN and it sees the DNS of the VPN server. THERE IS NO WAY I WILL GIVE MY REAL IP SO EVERYONE CAN TRACK ME. No thanks. The moment you allow them access to your real IP, you are done for.
does anyone really expect rob to actually try these programs vs just reading the supplied information to keep some from bricking their computer?
surely not.
I ran the CCE smart scan...found 1 threat "Modified Hosts" "repair" "small yellow bar". I clicked to repair. Computer rebooted... and the same thing popped up but instead of a "small yellow bar" it shows "a long bar, yellow to red" ending with the word "failed". What should I do?
Ignore and continue my way towards "kill switch"?
CCE has no way of showing me where the file is located?
Just tried to install IZArc 4.1.7 - it now INSISTS on installing a new search toolbar (Babylon) .. it's not possible to continue without installing it .. even with the /NOCANDY command line option.
The method I employ and recommend to my customers uses keyboard sequences, instead of the typical tired suggestion. By using keys which appear together, you can have ridiculously long passwords that are seemingly random, yet are easy to recall, don't spell or use words and can even be extended to give you ample choices in terms of how long it needs to be, passwords for certain sites do need to be as long or complex as your banking password.
for instance, you could have qweLKJ234 for a social networking site
and qweLKJ234234000 for your banking.
and easy to remember!
Good Luck!
Just tried installing ImgBurn, used the 'advanced' install option. Had a bunch of really junky-looking crap to uncheck, not liking the looks of all that but continued as I've used this software in the past and it's been very decent. Looks like it highjacked my browser's homepage with a yahoo clone & installed a handful of malware threats inside the OS. Not gonna ever try ImgBurn again!
Anyone know how to add this "Start Page" link to the context menu in FF to replace the regular Google link?
Glad you mentioned that. This Windows 8 is so alien to me that often I don't see what's right in front of me. Frankly, I can't understand why MS licensed OEM's to preinstall Windows 8 on PC's in the first place, unless it was just for the sake of money.
But I digress. I used to use the free Context Magic because I liked it's simplicity but it doesn't work with Windows 8 or at least it's 64-bit version.:-(
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