ZoneAlarm Extreme Security

ZoneAlarm Extreme Security, a new all-in-one premium software suite that combines core technologies with comprehensive browser security to give consumers unrivaled protection against sophisticated computer and Web attacks. ZoneAlarm Extreme Security also includes secure online backup and system maintenance tools, providing online consumers with the ultimate protection for their home computers.

The multiple security layers included in the new ZoneAlarm Extreme Security suite provide critical protection against computer and Web-based attacks that by-pass traditional security suites. First introduced with ZoneAlarm ForceField™, the virtualized browser technology offers consumers unparalleled protection against new and constantly evolving online threats. The Internet Explorer 7 browser flaw, for example, enabled hackers to infect existing Web sites or set-up rogue ones, which then exposed users to identity-stealing malware. Similarly, the Waledac botnet recently ran a targeted "campaign" around Valentine's Day, soliciting people with phony holiday themed emails and greeting cards. When users clicked through to a Web site to receive their message, malicious software was silently and automatically downloaded to their computer enabling hackers to steal credit card numbers or online passwords. In both of these examples and many others, only Check Point's ZoneAlarm security product line successfully defended these attacks the first moment they occurred.

Built on the award-winning technologies found in ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite and ZoneAlarm ForceField, ZoneAlarm Extreme Security includes:

• The most advanced firewall along with antivirus, anti-spam, anti-spyware and a comprehensive set of additional top-rated PC defenses
• ZoneAlarm ForceField, the state-of-the-art virtualized browser security solution, enabling users to bank, shop and surf safely online
• Online backup tools provide data security by safeguarding the files and data consumers care about most, protecting them from loss, theft, accidental deletion or disk failure
• Optional private-key encryption further strengthens data security by protecting important documents should the storage server ever be compromised
• PC tune-up and system maintenance tools that automatically clean, organize and streamline the system
  Support for Windows XP and Windows Vista 64-bit and 32-bit platforms

ProWorkflow Easy Project Management Professional

ProWorkflow is a fast, easy to use project management, workflow and time tracking solution for small to medium businesses. The application has been designed from the ground up with your most important asset in mind: Your staff! ProWorkflow enables you to keep accurate time-keeping records, organize, plan, and delegate jobs and tasks whilst using the timeline to have an overview of company activity. The information ProWorkflow collects allows you to measure and analyze your company performance so that you can streamline to improve profit margins.

The Professional release is the fully featured version of ProWorkflow designed for busy professionals, teams or companies. Ideal for 1-50 users sized companies.

ProWorkflow's reporting section gives you the freedom to produce reports on a particular project, client history, current work in progress, or staff performance. These reports also include invoice ready information for projects.

If you're a small company without an accounting package, ProWorkflow is a great tool to use as you grow. Whether you are large or small, ProWorkflow's reporting allows you to measure and analyze key areas within your company, empowering your move to improve productivity and profits.

KEY FEATURES:

• Web-Based Technology allows you to manage your company remotely
• Get organized with the Project Manager, & assign tasks to employees
• Use the Dependant Tasks to keep your workflow in order
• Upload files to projects with the Resources Manager
• The Task Manager allows you to create task lists for each employee, and see activity in real-time
• Use the Calendar to keep track of upcoming dates & deadlines
• Track time simply and efficiently with the Stopwatch Time Tracker
• View resource allocation and deadlines with the Timeline View
• Use the Contact Manager to access contact information remotely
• Goodbye to post-it notes! Notes Manager stores vital company info
• Gain knowledge on company performance using the Reports Manager
• Brand it as your own using the Administration Settings
• Never lose info with the Project, Task & Notes Search Tool
• Be prepared! ProWorkflow even remembers clients' Drink Preferences

ProWorkflow is a stable web-based Cold Fusion application with an MS SQL database. The subscription accounts are held on high spec dedicated servers at FastServers.Net in the USA. All backups and server maintenance is handled by ProActive.

ProWorkflow is a powerful and proven solution, with potential to substantially increase your productivity, equalling to better quality, and faster delivery of your projects. The 'off-the-shelf' solution has been designed for small to medium companies. It is however, a solid platform to integrate into larger firms. For less than a thousand dollars, you can have a tool that will save you tens of thousands.

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balesio FILEminimizer Office 5

FILEminimizer Office reduces the size of PowerPoint, Word and Excel files by up to 98% using an intelligent compression technique which compresses pictures and embedded objects while still preserving the original file format and quality. The optimized files are then much smaller, safer and ideal for sharing and sending via email. Recipients don't need the software to edit or view the optimized files. Mailboxes, servers and networks are relieved and loading time is accelerated.

balesio introduces with FILEminimizer Office the successor of the popular PPTminimizer: The software now compresses Excel files and all new Office 2007 formats in addition to PowerPoint and Word files. The innovative optimization routine is able to reduce all Office files to a minimum of their original size, without changing the file format or altering the quality.

FILEminimizer Office optimizes all files in one of the following formats: .PPT, .PPS, .PPTX, .PPSX, .DOC, .DOT, .DOCX, .DOTX, .XLS or .XLSX. The program has 1-click optimization plug-ins for Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Windows Explorer and is multilingual (English, French, German, Italian and Spanish).

All FILEminimizer Office Features:

• Compresses all new Office 2007 formats (PowerPoint 2007, Word 2007, Excel 2007)
• Compresses all Office formats (PowerPoint 97 to 2003, Word 97 to 2003, Excel 97 to 2003)
• Compresses pictures and embedded objects and shrinks the size of Office files
• Keeps the original file format - simply edit, view and change it without the need to unzip
• Compresses StarOffice and OpenOffice files provided they are saved in a Microsoft format
• Compact edition runs directly from CD or USB flash drive - no installation required
• Integrated search function finds all optimizable files on the PC
• "Drag & Drop" files directly into FILEminimizer to optimize several files at once (batch processing)
• Add-ins for Microsoft Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Windows Explorer
• Fully compatible with Windows Vista

AzSQL SQL Decryptor 4

AzSQL Decryptor 4 is a powerful SQL object decryptor. It allows you unravel a single encrypted sql object or an entire database full of stored procedures, triggers, views and user defined functions with simplicity and blinding speed. Its user-friendly interface allows for easy viewing of encrypted code of any size and complete SQL Script quickly and exactly. This decryptor is very suitable for Database Programmer & DBA.

Key Features

• Work with Microsoft SQL Server 2000, 2005, 2008 and Microsoft Database Engine (MSDE).
• Decrypts SQL objects of any size.
• Use Unicode technology during the decryption process which allows for International use.
• Simple point-and-click decryption. Does not require any T-SQL scripting knowledge.
• Reduce time and money spent restoring lost source code to encrypted SQL objects.
  Never pay another developer to recreate and debug all of your lost SQL source code.
• Full T-SQL syntax highlighting for faster, easier reading.
• Fully integrated WYSIWYG printing capabilities with T-SQL syntax highlighting.
• Intelligent interface displays only encrypted objects with less time spent searching for objects.
• Support Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista.

Microsoft Expression Web 3.0 Full Version

Expression Web 3 gives you everything you need to create and maintain exceptional standards-based Web sites, whether you work with PHP, HTML/XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, ASP.NET, or ASP.NET AJAX. It provides built-in support for today's Web standards, sophisticated CSS design capabilities, and impressive visual diagnostic tools.

Advanced visual diagnostics: Debug Web pages with Snapshot Preview, which shows rendered page changes while you code, and SuperPreview, which displays your page on multiple browsers on your development machine

Publishing flexibility: Choose the FTP method for publishing your site, whether FTP, SFTP, or FTPS, depending on what your Web server requires. Also do "live" on-server edits via FTP.

Precise control: Generate elegant, modern CSS layouts with a state-of-the-art design surface and the ability to directly manipulate positioning, sizing, margins and padding.

Professional graphics: Integrate vector artwork and bitmap images in the same document to create hybrid compositions that you can import in part or in whole into Expression Web.

Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) properties palette: Quickly see all of the styles, style properties and values, and order of precedence of styles used in the current selection in your Web page.

Professional code editor: Make your editing and debugging more productive with Intellisense and color-coding for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. Real-time standards validation provides instant feedback.

Dynamic interactive sites: Easily add Silverlight, Flash, or Windows Media files with drag-and-drop controls. Quickly encode and insert high-quality WMV, VC-1 and H.264 Silverlight video into your Web site.

Rich standards-based Web design: Work with nearly all essential technologies, such as PHP, CSS, HTML/XHTML, XML, XSLT, JavaScript, ASP.NET, ASP.NET AJAX, Silverlight, Windows Media, Adobe Flash and Photoshop files.

Network Magic Pro 5.5

With Network Magic Pro 5.5, you can skip the tech support phone calls, online forums and expensive on-site consultants. Network Magic Pro provides do-it-yourself tools to help you set up, manage and secure your network like an IT professional.

Network Magic is the award-winning software that makes home and small office networking easy. While the benefits of networking are great, it can be very frustrating and time consuming for the average computer user. Making several PCs, routers, printers and devices such as digital cameras and gaming systems all talk to each other and work smoothly using only Microsoft Windows XP or Vista can take hours of configuration (and reconfiguration). Network Magic eliminates common frustrations and saves time by simplifying and automating set up, management, and repair of home and small office networks, and makes printer and file sharing effortless.

With point-and-click ease, you can:

• Connect your devices together in minutes
• Share Internet connections, printers and files
• Protect your network with enhanced WPA security capabilities and status alerts
• Repair your network and Internet connections to stay online and productive
• Control access to the Internet and track online activity with remote desktop

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Serif PagePlus X4 Publisher Professional

PagePlus X4 offers the perfect blend of powerful creative design, professional results and affordability, making high end desktop publishing capabilities more attainable for small businesses, professionals and home users than ever before. PagePlus X4 offers even more graphics power, greater compatibility, smarter DTP layout features, and enhanced productivity. It's never been easier to achieve the highest quality printed and electronic publications, using a design package that is more rounded than ever.

PagePlus X4 continues to offer its hallmark feature-set including thousands of professional templates and the specialised Cutout and Logo studios, which make professional-quality results quick and easy. Advanced features such as the new learning zone, integrated photo editing capabilities, new sophisticated graphics tools, industry standard file compatibility and added easy-to-use tools to enhance productivity; extend PagePlus' lead over similarly priced rivals.

Additional productivity enhancements include improvements to PDF import enabling even more advanced PDF editing, an enhanced resource manager which makes it easier than ever to stay in control of long documents, dynamic guides for quick-snap alignment of objects on a page, tabbed workspace for quickly switching between publications and a redesigned Startup Wizard which makes viewing templates and selecting design themes simple.

Key new features and benefits include:

• Innovative Learning Zone - Quick and easy access to printable or video tutorials, Serif support and the vibrant user community
• Integrated Photo Editing - PhotoLab puts over 70 professional photo adjustments and artistic effects at the user's fingertips, along with quick fix options like one-touch red-eye removal, blemish removal or masking capabilities
• Additional Industry-standard File Compatibility - Import MS Word documents and OpenOffice.org ODF files. Import text and pictures from Microsoft Word 2007 documents
• Anchored Objects - Maintain a picture or drawing's position relative to specific text, a column, frame, margin or page whilst remaining fully editable
• High Impact Graphics Tools - Joining and cutting shapes to create eye catching illustrations such as logos can now be achieved directly within PagePlus
• Photo-quality Frames and Borders - Drag 'n' drop photo realistic frames and borders into documents and resize without losing quality

While you have total freedom to move any elements anywhere on your pages, you'll often want headlines, frame text, pictures, flashes, tables, or callouts to be neatly aligned. This is easier than ever with PagePlus X4's dynamic magnetic snapping - objects can automatically align with each others' centres or edges as you move them around. And there's an expanded set of snapping options with a new adjustment for snapping sensitivity, so you can choose just how helpful PagePlus X4 is with your layouts.

Produce photos at their best, in high quality, with the all new PhotoLab. Offering over 70 adjustments, corrections, filters, and effects, your photos can be picture-perfect every time. Plus with some incredible instant artistic styles, your images can really stand out from the page. And you'll save time and effort by not having to fire up a dedicated photo editor for every fix.

PagePlus X4 is easy enough to use that you can start creating fantastic results straight away, and yet the deeper you dig into PagePlus's rich feature set, the more publishing power you'll find. When you need to know how to put that power to good use, or achieve a publishing task new to you, you'll really appreciate the new Learning Zone, accessible from the redesigned Startup Wizard.

Acoustica Mixcraft 4

Mixcraft 4 allows you to record and mix like the best producers and DJs at just a fraction of the price. Remix songs, record your band, create MIDI compositions or make your own backing tracks or songs with our built in sound library and virtual instruments. Focus on your creativity and not on technical details! Cut, paste, edit and shape your sounds the way you want! Use built in effects like reverb, flanger or EQ or install a variety of DirectX or VST effects to add tremelo, distortion, chorus or even remove the vocals from a song! This flexible software can be used in many ways, from recording your first solo album, remixing a song mash-up, pod-casting, editing commercials or even making a production for your daughter's dance or gymnastic recital! You can even export your mix to MP3, WMA, OGG or WAV, or simply burn it on a CD!

Features include:

• Clear, colorful, and intelligently designed interface to streamline your work.
• Custom loop library includes hundreds of royalty-free sounds in dozens of musical styles. (Works with Acid(tm) and Apple Garage Band(tm) loops.)
• Record multiple MIDI and audio tracks simultaneously.
• Piano roll to view and edit MIDI.
• Includes a General MIDI library, sampled grand pianos, Hammond B-3(tm) emulator, MiniMoog(tm) emulator and a polyphonic synthesizer.
• Create mega presets that layer and split multiple virtual synthesizers and effects.
• Add unlimited VST(tm) and DirectX(tm) effects. (Includes 18 high quality effects.)
• Mix down to MP3, WAV and other audio file types.
• Burn CDs of your mix with just one click.

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Star Trek: The Original Series Vista Desktop Theme

Now every fan of STAR TREK can own the official STAR TREK Windows Vista desktop theme designed by The Skins Factory's Hyperdesk division. Completely transform Windows Vista with 3 STAR TREK desktop themes that change your desktop into 1 of 3 Starfleet divisions - Command, Engineering or Sciences. Featuring a STAR TREK widget audio remote for iTunes/Windows Media Player 11 that includes transporter animations & original series sound FX. Includes: Over 30 custom designed STAR TREK desktop icons that stay true to STAR TREK canon & newly rendered shots of the Enterprise (based on the official models & textures provided by CBS Studios) on 3 different custom STAR TREK wallpapers (plus 3 variant editions).

You will need to download the free application, Yahoo! Widgets to use the Starfleet audio remote. You may install this purchased theme on as many personally owned Windows Vista machines that you own, but you may not distribute it. No license key required.

Check .NET Compact Framework Version Installed on Windows Mobile

Every Windows Vista and the upcoming Windows 7 comes with .NET Framework preinstalled. I just got to know that even Windows Mobile has its own version of .NET called .NET Compact Framework which is designed to run on Windows CE based mobile such as PDA. It uses some of the same class libraries as the full .NET Framework and also a few libraries designed specifically for mobile devices. However, the libraries are not exact copies of the .NET Framework. The ones in the .NET Compact Framework are scaled down to take up less space. Whether to have .NET Compact Framework or later versions installed on your Windows Mobile very much depends on whether you have run any third party software that requires it. I have a Garmin Nuvi GPS that can help me to locate places when I will be in Europe next month but one thing I don’t like about Garmin Nuvi is I had to type the exact spelling to search for the place. Unlike Google Maps, there are suggestions if I spelled it wrongly. There is an official Google Maps software for mobile but it requires GPRS to download the maps real time and it cannot work with wi-fi. After searching, I found a software called Google Navigator which can download street data and use it offline.
There are a few packages to download and it says “if your device is Windows Mobile 5.0, you need .NET CF 2.0 installed on your device”. My PDA is running Windows Mobile 6.1 and I had no idea if it had any .NET Compact Framework installed. I didn’t want to simply install anything and do the trial and error method. My PDA is slow enough and installing more junks is probably going to cause it to hang everyday.

Fortunately it’s easy to check what version of .NET Compact Framework on my mobile. I go to Start > Programs > File Explorer. Navigate to the Windows folder and run cgcautil.exe. I now see a popup with the .NET CF version info.

That’s not the end yet because even though it shows version 2 which is probably .NET Compact Framework version 2, but I don’t know if it is RTM, SP1 or SP2 versions. Below is a list version numbers that correspond with the version name.

1.0 RTM = 1.0.2268.0

1.0 SP1 = 1.0.3111.0

1.0 SP2 = 1.0.3316.0

1.0 SP3 = 1.0.4292.0

2.0 RTM = 2.0.5238.0

2.0 SP1 = 2.0.6129.0

2.0 SP2 = 2.0.7045.0

3.5 Beta 1 = 3.5.7066.0

3.5 Beta 2 = 3.5.7121.0

3.5 RTM = 3.5.7283.0

3.5 = 3.5.7283.0

3.7 = 3.7.8345.0

So I have 2.0.7045.0 which is actually the latest version of .NET CF 2. I installed Google Navigator and it runs fine.

Test and Detect Fake or Counterfeit USB Flash Drives Bought from eBay with H2testw

eBay has lots of cheap stuff that you can buy. The price are normally lower than the retail suggested price to attract buyers but beware! Not all cheap stuff are good and some of them can be counterfeit. I know that almost anything can be copied because when I walk along the night market (pasar malam), I can see fake branded bags such as LV, Gucci, Prada and etc, perfumes, software, games, music CDs, DVD movies and many more being sold there. You name it, they got it.
Anyway, if you’ve ever purchased a second hand USB flash drive from a friend or even a new one from eBay, you should have it checked if it is a fake. Even though Windows might seem to be reporting the correct capacity of the drive, that information might not be sufficiently enough to prove that it is truly a 64GB flash drive. Here is a standard tool called H2testw that a lot of eBayers use to PROVE they have received a fake from a seller. It is extremely easy to use and proves detailed information. Created by Harald Bögeholz, the default language of the interface is in German but can be changed to English.
H2testw was developed to test USB sticks for various kinds of errors. It can also be used for any other storage media like memory cards, internal and external hard drives and even network volumes. To run the test for your drive, just plug in the drive, format it in Windows, run H2testw, select the target, and click Write + Verify button. H2testw writes files of up to 1GB to the chosen destination and names them 1.h2w, 2.h2w, 3.h2w and so on. If the target directory already contains such a set of files H2testw will offer to verify them. After it is done the software leaves its test files on the medium. You can erase them if you like or verify them again.
If the drive that you tested passes the test of H2testw without errors, then the advertised capacity is correct (minus a small overhead for operating system file formatting). However, if you are seeing a sample output like below, then it is a counterfeit. This is 4GB USB flash drive not a 64GB USB flash drive. As 4GB drive it should be about 3.9 GB not 3.8 GB formatted. This indicates in low level formatting a lot of bad sectors had to be locked out. Usually flash chips like these are rejected for major brands but somehow is being resold and reprogrammed.
The media is likely to be defective.
3.8 GByte OK (8084847 sectors)
58.6 GByte DATA LOST (122921617 sectors)
Details:710.5 KByte overwritten (1421 sectors)
7.6 MByte slightly changed (<>Don’t panic if H2testw detects an error on your USB flash drive. It could be other factors, so here’s what you need to do. Don’t use USB extension cords, make sure you insert it directly to the USB port on your computer. Try using a different USB/Firewire port especially the ones at the back of the case. Try a different cable if you are testing external hard drives. If you still get errors after following the guidelines above, then it’s surely something wrong with the drive.

The executable file H2testw.exe needs no installation and can be directly run. It was developed for Windows XP and Vista but I’ve tested it on Windows 7 32-bit which worked without problems.

[ Download H2testw ]

PC Tools Spyware Doctor 6.0

Spyware Doctor 6.0 provides 3-way spyware protection through real-time threat blocking, scanning and immunization, anything less is like putting locks on the front door of your house but letting intruders in through the side or back door. This is one of the many reasons why the award-winning Spyware Doctor has been chosen by millions of users to protect their PCs against spyware, adware, trojans, keyloggers, spybots and tracking threats.

Did you know that when a PC is infected with spyware that every keystroke, every website and every conversation could be recorded or monitored by the people or companies that may have secretly installed software on your PC. The consequences of spyware and adware infections can include banking and identity theft, unusual computer problems, slow Internet access, changed browser homepage, search pages or favorites, and excessive numbers of adware generated adverts.

Anti-virus software and firewalls do not fully protect your system against the majority of spyware and privacy threats. Because spyware is commonly bundled with software downloads, attached to e-mails, or transmitted through networks it can appear to be legitimate software, but once installed it can be nearly impossible to detect and remove without the help of a dedicated spyware removal tool like Spyware Doctor.

When you consider the amount of valuable and confidential personal information stored on your PC, including credit card and banking details, private e-mails and documents, shopping and browsing habits, the risks of having software intruders snooping on your computer activity are obvious. Spyware protection should be an essential part of your protection to defend your privacy and computing habits from prying eyes and virtual trespassers, download Spyware Doctor and check your PC now.

We know you don't care what a rootkit or a keylogger is and even though PC Tools is considered the best in the industry at detecting and removing them, we know that all you care about is being protected against cybercriminals attempting to steal your personal information and money. Do you or your family use the internet for any of the following?

• Banking, shopping or investing online
• Surfing the internet, playing games and watching videos
• Instant messaging with MSN, AOL, Yahoo
• Using VOIP programs like Skype
• Downloading anything online, including music, software and pictures
• Using MySpace, Facebook or other social networking and dating websites
• Emailing friends and family
• Connect using wireless (WiFi) internet

Spyware Doctor protects you under all these circumstances.

Product Website

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SignMyImage Protects Your Image with Invisible Signature

You might have noticed that there were a few times the images that I attached to this blog’s article has a watermark. By default the images has no protection at all and anyone can use it and claim that it was taken by them. So a lot of people resort to visible watermarking, a method of embedding information into an image that can clearly shows who is the owner of the image. Depending on the complexity of the image, sometimes it is nearly impossible to remove the watermark from the picture. Where you place the watermark is also important. If you put a small logo watermark at the corner, it can be easily removed by cropping off that part. Best is to put a watermark diagonally across the image BUT professional photographers hated that because it covers up the area which they are trying to focus.
Another method of protecting your image is to use invisible watermarking. It is the same as above by embedding an information to the image except that it cannot be seen. One software that can do this is SignMyImage. SignMyImage allows you to insert your sign to the image and allows you to check if any image is signed or not. The sign can consists of letters, capitals, numbers, dashes and can be up to 10 characters long
SignMyImage adds your sign directly to the image data. It modifies picture intensity at few places slightly. The modification is so gentle that it is invisible for a human eye. SignMyImage doesn’t use EXIF(or other tags) or stream properties of image files to sign the image. SignMyImage doesn’t allow to sign already signed images and the best part is the signature stays detectable after jpeg compression, scaling and cropping or for example PrintScreen&Paste. Try comparing the 2 images below and see if you can spot any difference. The left one is original image and the right one is the signed image. I bet you can’t find any difference at all or notice any invisible watermarking.
Embedding an invisible signature using SignMyImage is very easy. All you need to do is load an image to the program, click Sign at the menu bar and select Sign Image. You get to enter your sign which must be less than 10 characters. When the signing has completed, just save the image to a new filename or you can replace the existing one.
The only drawback for SignMyImage is its shareware that cost 14,99 Euros. You can use it for free to watermark images with invisible signature but you cannot use the batch processing feature and every watermarked image will be signed by a visible stamp to right-bottom corner. An idea to overcome the stamp is to maybe add a few pixels of empty space at the bottom so that the program stamps it at an empty area which can be cropped. Paid user also gets to access the Image Spider. Image Spider is a web crawler, that searches through whole internet for signed images. If it finds a signed image, the owner of the image will be noticed.
[ Visit SignMyImage Website ]

pdfFactory Pro 3

Create PDF or print to paper: Only pdfFactory allows printing to paper or PDF without printing twice. Acrobat is not needed for printing.

Combines multiple documents into a single PDF: Increases the convenience of document delivery by having a single PDF that contains material from different sources. Just keep printing documents to pdfFactory and they will automatically be combined.

Preview: Allows quick, accurate previewing of the PDF, including up to 400% zoom, without saving the file first and without opening Acrobat.

Security: Encrypt and control access to PDF files as follows:

• Prevent printing PDFs
• Prevent copying text and graphics
• Prevent opening without a password
• Prevent editing (yes, PDFs can be edited)

Font embedding: Ensures that the original fonts used in a document are displayed even if the reader of the PDF does not have the fonts installed on his or her computer.

Page insertion and deletion: Allows unwanted material to be deleted before the PDF is created. This is especially useful when creating PDFs from long reports, email and web pages.

Send via email: One mouse click sends PDFs through your default email program. Also copies PDF to clipboard for pasting into existing email.

AutoSave: Saves entire contents of pdfFactory sessions automatically so you can retrieve previously compiled PDFs.

Live URL Links: Customize links by line type, thickness and color to open Web pages and email addresses with a click of your mouse.

pdfFactory Pro includes all of the features in the standard version plus:

• Create PDFs on letterhead
• Add page numbering, headers, footers, watermarks
• Bookmarks and Table of Contents: Automatically or manually create bookmarks to organize and easily navigate complex documents.
• Convert to grayscale
• Integrated Jobs Tab: Shows all jobs and allows you to rearrange them.
• Custom Drivers: Save your settings to multiple print drivers so you can quickly select them for specific tasks.
• Set Initial Acrobat Display Properties: Such as zoom factor, layout and tab configuration.

Should You Be Looking For A Hard Drive Upgrade?

Most desktop PCs bought or built in the past five years are probably using hard drives in the capacity range of 80 GB to 250 GB. Recent price drops in the hard drive market mean that most current drive generation is more attractive than ever before. You can get 1 TB hard drives for less than $100 now.

Knowing that capacity may not be the only impetus for upgrading your hard drive, we "recreated" a three-year old system with a 200 GB hard drive and looked at what would happen if we replaced the drive with a modern terabyte model.

Capacity Quadrupled, Performance Doubled

It is safe to say that each and every hard drive selling today is far superior to older-generation drives, as improving recording technologies keep pushing forward capacities and performance. Other modifications, such as the interface transition from parallel ATA to Serial ATA 150 (and then 300 MB/s), also make a difference. But no individual feature—even Native Command Queuing or a larger cache—can make as much of a difference as simply stepping up from one drive generation to the next. In fact, the only reason why new hard drives aren’t getting faster to an even greater degree is an increased emphasis on power consumption and drive efficiency.

The bottom line is a simple recommendation that is almost always valid: when it comes time to buy a new hard drive, make sure the one you pick is a latest-generation model.

Capacity Upgrade: Check

The number one reason to purchase a new hard drive for an existing system, undoubtedly, is capacity, since a three-year old 200 GB hard drive fills up fast. In a year, most people typically add at least a few gigabytes of digital pictures, or even more data if video is stored on the drive. Add to that music, new applications, and so on. Unless you don’t touch digital media at all, you might need an additional 50-100 GB capacity per year, and enthusiasts and professionals may easily require far more. Hence, a hard drive replacement or upgrade every few years is absolutely warranted.

Performance Upgrade: Sure?

The next reason for replacing a hard drive would be performance. To illustrate this, we recreated a typical PC system using a Pentium 4 660 processor and a 915G-based motherboard from Asus with 1 GB of RAM; this represents an upper-mainstream system from the 2005-era. We selected a 200 GB Samsung Spinpoint P120 series SATA hard drive and ran several performance and power consumption benchmarks. Then we replayed the benchmark suite using a brand new 1 TB Samsung Spinpoint F2 EcoGreen to measure the difference.

Southbridge Battle: 780a, ICH10 and SB750, Compared

All chipsets today offer integrated Serial ATA (SATA) support, since all mainstream hard drives now utilize the fast serial interface. Even entry-level chipsets tend to support the creation of striped sets (RAID 0) or mirrors (RAID 1) to accelerate storage performance or improve data protection.

Upper-mainstream and high-end products not only offer more SATA ports but also added software-based functionality, such as RAID 5. Although few users actually use RAID 5 on desktop PCs (given a three-drive minimum), this mode requires processing horsepower to calculate parity, which is required to rebuild stored data should one hard drive break. The CPU supplies the horsepower, but the southbridge acts as the controller for the RAID operations, and we found significant differences between RAID 5-enabled desktop chipsets for these tasks.

Under Core i7's Hood: Comparing The C0 And D0 Steppings

Whether you're looking at the IT hardware business or automobile industry, products often receive bug fixes, improvements, or upgrades during their active life cycle. Cars get face-lifted once they’ve been on the market for a while, usually at that halfway point between launch and the introduction of a successor.

In terms of silicon devices, we’re talking about steppings, which often incorporate a number of different improvements. When Intel introduced its Core i7-975 Extreme, it started to replace the 965 Extreme's C0 stepping with the more advanced D0 silicon. We found some significant differences between the two.

New Steppings Don’t Mean More Performance

First of all, we’d like to make clear that modified processor steppings eliminate known bugs, while also improving the production process. Typically, this includes optimization on a transistor level, which may result in extended clock speed margins, lower voltage requirements for standard operation, or even the addition of features.

As a result, the latest processors normally show better energy efficiency, as they may require slightly less power than previous steppings to deliver the same performance results. However, stepping updates usually do not introduce any performance increase, as the processor vendor would rather have you pay for that.

New Stepping Mean More Possibilities

Other publications, such as AnandTech (Core i7-920 D0 Preview) and X-bit labs (D0 Processor Stepping in Action), already reported impressive results with D0 parts over the previous, first-generation Core i7 C0 stepping. Anand looked at a model 920 while X-bit labs tested a 965-Extreme.

We decided to do an apples-to-apples comparison with both Core i7 Extreme editions: the 3.2 GHz 965 and the 3.33 GHz 975. We set both to run at 3.33 GHz in order to compare performance and, surprisingly, we did find differences. Then we tried to overclock as far as possible on air cooling using a Zalman CPNS 10X cooler. Finally, we performed power comparison measurements at the highest clock speed, which both the C0-based 965 and the D0-based 975 processor would support reliably.

JDownloader 0.7 Released With Faster GUI and FlashGot Integration

JDownloader is an open source, platform independent and written completely in Java free tool that automates downloading from one click file hosters such as Rapidshare, Megaupload and etc. If you have premium accounts, you can configure JDownloader to use it. If not, JDownloader can also help you to download multiple rapidshare files automatically by reconnecting your Internet connection to change your IP address. Well this only works if you get dynamic IP address and not static ones. There are a lot more such as CAPTCHA recognition, auto extract or join files when it has finished downloading all parts, RAR password brute-force via dictionary list and etc, auto shutdown when finished downloading and etc…

Today I launched JDownloader and I got a notice that there is a major update. I updated it and noticed that the whole program’s GUI has changed to a much faster, nicer and easier to use interface.
I have to admit that the old interface is a little confusing and not so user friendly. The new layout tab helps a lot in making this program looks more tidy.

I was also very excited to learn that the new FlashGot now supports JDownloader! I have FlashGot installed on my Firefox browser and every time when I wanted to download files from RapidShare, I had to manually run JDownloader and let the clipboard monitor catch the links. But with FlashGot integration, I can just right click on the link and select “FlashGot Link” or “FlashGot Selection” if it is a text.

I wasn’t able to get FlashGot working with JDownloader at first. No matter what I did, JDownloader is always grayed out from the list of supported download managers. Then I downloaded the full version from JDownloader’s website, extract and ran it, this time I get a confirmation window asking me to install Firefox integration. I am very sure that didn’t come out when I upgraded from 0.6 to 0.7. After clicking OK, you can now select JDownloader from the Download Manager list.

I noticed that JDownloader is being developed very actively if compared to other downloaders such as CryptLoad. They’ve been talking about their version 2.0 for a long time but still nothing after so many months. JDownloader is FREE and it requires Java Runtime Environment to run. Supports Windows, Linux and Mac. Try it, I am sure you’ll love it.

[ Download JDownloader ]

LockHunter is UNLOCKER Alternative that Works on Windows x64

Without a doubt that The Unlocker is the best and its one of my must-install software after I’ve finished installing Windows. If you don’t know what is Unlocker for, it is a utility used to determine what file a process is using if a user tried to delete it, and displays a list of processes as well as choices on what to do with the process (kill task, unlock, etc.) along with a list of file function options (delete, rename, move). Even when I cannot eject USB flash drive from Windows, I can use Unlocker to find out which process is invisible in use that is causing the problem and unlock it.
The latest version of Unlocker is 1.8.7 released on 01 May 2008. It is updated to fix some bugs and also to support Vista. However, until today there’s no update to support 64 bit of Windows XP/Vista/7. If you’ve been searching high and low for an alternative, look no further because LockHunter does the same thing as Unlocker and it supports both 32 and 64 bit of Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista and 7. Most importantly it is free and very light in system resource usage.
LockHunter is a free foolproof file unlocker to delete files blocked by something you do not know. LockHunter is useful for fighting against malware, and other programs that are blocking files without a reason. Unlike other similar tools it deletes files into the recycle bin so you may restore them if deleted by mistake.

Key Features of LockHunter

Shows processes locking a file or folder

Allows to unlock, delete, copy or rename a locked file

Allows to kill locking process

Allows to remove locking processes from hard drive

Integrates in to Explorer menu

It deletes files into the recycle bin, so you may restore them if deleted by mistake

Supports both 32 and 64bit Windows

There are a lot of other unlocker software listed in the official Unlocker’s website and most if not all of them can only unlock files and folders but not the whole drive letter. To me, very frequently I get errors like “This device currently in use. Close any programs or windows that might be using the device, and then try again” when I try to eject a drive from USB. If the unlocker software cannot support this feature, then it’s pretty useless to me. Thankfully LockHunter supports this.

If you didn’t know, LockHunter is developed by Crystal Rich, the same company that develops the award winning USB Safely Remove software. LockHunter is still in BETA which means it might have some bugs. If you encounter any, you can make a report using the form at this page.

[ Download LockHunter ]

DDR3 On A Budget: Six 6 GB Memory Kits

Have DDR3 prices finally hit rock bottom? DDR3-1600 reached $30 per 2 GB module several weeks ago, making it completely competitive in price-per-performance with DDR2. Available in both dual-channel and triple-channel kits for $60 and $90, these aren't last year’s high-voltage parts, but instead completely modern 1.50-1.65 V modules, fully compatible with Core i7, Phenom II socket AM3, and future Core i5 platforms.

But those were June's prices, and several of the modules that qualified for our “sub-$100 triple-channel roundup” have since gone up to as much as $130. Meanwhile, prices for the DDR2 that still competes for attention in AM2+ and LGA 775 platforms have remained relatively flat. A few of today’s contenders haven’t yet been hit by the higher cost bug, but we see it as only a matter of time before the cheapest models get more expensive or the more expensive models get cheaper. Either move will result in all six sets once again settling into the same price class.

Today’s comparison is about value, so the products lagging behind the upward pricing trend have a distinct advantage no matter how long it lasts. With daily updates logistically difficult, tomorrow’s readers should instead find our test data far more useful than any value conclusions when using future prices.

Value for us is defined by how much performance we can extract from a part, rather than how much it’s specified to provide. Overclocking and under-latency test results are thus more significant to us than rated settings, yet some people refuse to overclock by a greater amount than specified by the module manufacturer. Here’s a short list of how today’s samples are marketed.

The only company to rate its part at standard voltage, Crucial’s higher-latency DDR3 can be viewed as the only parts in today’s lineup that don’t require overclocking techniques to reach rated speed and timings. Our overclocking tests will be the equalizer, since we apply the same voltage limit to every set.

Before we move on to overclock testing and value assessment, let’s take a closer look at each product in today’s comparison.

Asus P7P55 WS Supercomputer P55 Motherboard Preview

Meet Asus' P7P55 WS Supercomputer, little brother to the P6T7 WS Supercomputer based on Intel's X58 chipset. Of course, the P7P55 WS centers on P55, Intel's upcoming platform controller hub, complementing LGA 1156 Core i5 and Core i7 processors.

From over top, everything about the P7P55 WS looks fairly standard, but there's actually quite a bit going on with this platform when you zoom in and start flying by its various onboard components. For instance, notice the five PCI Express x16 slots. So what, right? The P6T6 WS Revolution sports six PCI Express x16 slots, after all.

Ah, but the rabbit hole goes deeper. Remember, there's a world of difference between the X58 and P55 chipsets...

In case you've missed any of our other P55 motherboard previews, we covered Gigabyte's microATX P55M-UD4 and Asus' P7P55D Deluxe in the same picture story. We introduced Gigabyte's P55-UD4P and P55-UD6 in another piece. Before that, Asus' P7P55D Evo stood on its own. Don't worry, we're looking to share the love. Solutions from MSI and ASRock are up on the block next.

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Review

There is nothing wrong with an incremental update—especially an update that adds performance without affecting pricing. Such is the case with AMD’s new Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, which arrived at our performance lab running at 3.4 GHz—200 MHz faster than its predecessor, the Phenom II X4 955 BE. Everything else is exactly the same as the Phenom II X4 955, reviewed back in April 2009.

So, if the latest Phenom II is predictably faster than AMD’s former flagship, why is today’s launch so significant? In short, it comes just a few weeks ahead of Intel’s upcoming LGA 1156-based P55 platform debut—an event that’ll almost certainly play a bigger role in the adoption of Nehalem-based machines than either the LGA 1366 Core i7 or Xeon 5500-series CPUs have thus far. After all, LGA 1156 is going to be the interface that purportedly makes Intel’s latest architecture accessible to the mainstream, supplanting the Core 2 family at a number of affordable price points.

No doubt, those new Core i5/i7 CPUs will be faster than the Core 2 Quads they replace, and at competitive prices. Just when AMD looked like it had achieved performance parity with the top end of Intel’s Core micro-architecture, LGA 1156-based platforms seem almost certain to set the bar higher.

Thus, today’s Phenom II X4 965 BE introduction is actually a fairly important one for AMD. On one hand, it could earn the company its mainstream performance crown—at least for a few weeks. On the other, it could be the last time Phenom II looks as competitive as it does now. Of course, that’s going to depend mightily on how the upcoming Intel chips perform.

Up Against Core i5

Of course, we’re not able to publish performance numbers with the pre-production Core i5 processors currently running in the lab, so it’s hard to officially quantify how Phenom II will size up. But we can make best guesses using today’s Core i7s as rough test subjects.

You’ll find all of our usual benchmarks on the pages that follow. First, however, we wanted to set up Phenom II X4 965 BE against a hypothetical Core i5-750—a processor expected to cost less than $200 when it launches. We simulated the 2.66 GHz offering with a Core i7-920, which runs at the same clock rate. Of course, we had to pull out a single channel of memory (yielding two channels of DDR3-1333) and disable Hyper-Threading, since Core i5 won’t have that feature. The one variable we couldn’t reproduce was Core i5’s enhanced Turbo Boost, which is expected to accelerate clocks to 3.2 GHz when a single core is active. Core i7-920 only benefits from a single bin of Turbo Boost, yielding 2.8 GHz instead.

The only other platform capability setting LGA 1156 apart from LGA 1366 is the use of on-die PCI Express 2.0, which we’ve tested extensively and can say that, in single-card configurations, has almost zero impact on performance versus the X58’s chipset-based connectivity.

Gigabyte's Radeon HD 4650: Are AGP Graphics Still Good Enough?

Ah, the Accelerated Graphics Port. I remember when AGP first arrived, touted as the PC gamer’s savior.

Prior to 1997, a PC’s graphics card was limited to a measly 133 MB/s of bandwidth. Then came the AGP slot with 266 MB/s, followed by AGP 2x with 533 MB/s, AGP 4x with 1,066 MB/s, and finally AGP 8x with 2,133 MB/s of potential bandwidth. That kind of throughput is respectable, even by today's standards.

Right out of the gate, a first-gen PCI Express (PCIe) x16 slot, with its 4,000 MB/s of bandwidth, didn’t show any appreciable gains over AGP 8x because even the fastest graphics cards didn't saturate the AGP bus. Regardless, AGP was inevitably dropped in favor of the more scalable point-to-point PCIe standard. PCIe not only offered increased throughput, but it also brought with it the ability to transfer more power to ever-hungrier graphics cards.

By PC technology standards, all of this is ancient history. So why bring it up? Ask Gigabyte, one of the few manufacturers that sought to grace the aging AGP bus with a modern graphics processor, designed to save nostalgic gamers from buying a new CPU, motherboard, and graphics subsystem in making the jump to PCIe-based platforms. Its technical designation is the Gigabyte GV-R465D2-1GI, but you’ll probably know it better by its street name, ATI's Radeon HD 4650.

This is an interesting move on Gigabyte's part, as the Radeon HD 4650 isn’t really any faster than the previous king-of-AGP, the Radeon HD 3850. In fact, the older Radeon HD 3850 is probably faster, since it sports a wide 256-bit memory bus (compared to the 4650’s 128-bit bus) and fast DDR3 memory (compared to the 4650’s DDR2 memory). Still, the Radeon HD 4650 does have a few things going for it compared to the Radeon HD 3850, such as more conservative power requirements and two times the texture units.

Who Buys This Stuff?

Sounds great, but who's interested in upgrading ancient tech? Well, 57% of the participants in Valve's Steam Hardware Survey game with dual-core CPUs, while 26% use single-core machines. The most common memory capacity is 2 GB, and the majority of users with processors from AMD game on machines that have clock speeds between 2 and 2.29 GHz. Now, we don't have any specific information about the CPU models folks use, but it's a safe bet that there are a lot of people out there running older rigs.

And who wouldn't want to get more longevity out of an old box? Whether it's your primary gaming machine or just an old PC you keep in the basement, it'd sure be nice to play the newest titles on aged equipment. In fact, I can personally vouch that it's useful to have a spare PC around so a visitor can join in a rousing game of Left 4 Dead. So let's find out if this new Gigabyte GV-R465D2-1GI can breathe some life into one of the great gaming CPUs of antiquity, the Athlon 64 X2 3800+.

Panda Antivirus 2010

The new Panda Antivirus Pro 2010 is the easiest-to-use and most intuitive protection for your computer. Just install it and forget about viruses, spyware, rootkits, hackers, online fraud and identity theft. Chat, share photos and videos, bank and buy online, read your favorite blogs or simply surf the Web, with complete peace of mind. And thanks to the new Collective Intelligence technology, the solution is now much faster than previous versions.

Anti-Malware Engine - Automatically detects and eliminates viruses, spyware, Trojans, rootkits, bots and other malware before they infect your computer.

• Panda USB Vaccine protects your USB drives from infection.
• Scans files in real-time and on-demand.
• Scans emails before they reach your inbox, regardless of your email program.
• Scans Internet traffic regardless of your browser type.
• Scans Instant Messaging traffic in MSN Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and AOL.
• Removes all traces of clutter left by spyware on your PC.
• 80% reduced memory consumption.

Advanced Proactive Protection - Technologies from Panda Security are widely recognized as the most effective against new and unknown malware.

• Genetic Heuristic Engine combines advanced algorithms to detect new variants of the most dangerous malware families.
• TruPrevent Technologies 2.0 silently analyze the behavior of programs, blocking those that try to damage your PC. This last line of defence blocks zero-day targeted attacks and terminates any malicious activity that has evaded traditional protection systems.

Personal Firewall

• Protects you against Internet-borne worms and hacker attacks.
• Smart auto-configuration allows good programs to run while blocking malicious ones.
• Shields your PC from hackers on the Web.
• Wireless Monitor protects your wireless network from intruders.
• Intrusion prevention blocks known and unknown hacker attacks and vulnerability exploits.

Identity Theft Protection

Anti-Phishing Filter
Recognizes fraudulent email and protects you from scams while you shop, bank or pay bills online.

Anti-Banking Trojan Engine
Detects the most dangerous identity theft malware used by cyber-criminals to steal banking credentials. Specialized heuristics and generic detection techniques ensure maximum protection for online transactions. NEW!

Anti-Rootkit Technology
Detects and removes silently-installed rootkits used by malware or hackers to evade traditional antivirus products. The free Panda Anti-Rootkit, used by millions of people around the world, recently won the Editor's Choice award from PC Magazine.

Panda Security's Collective Intelligence works as an online, real-time database that stores the majority of signature files, keeping them at a minimum on the endpoint. Every Panda user is a sensor for new malware, sending statistical data about malware prevalence back to the cloud. This new approach reduces bandwidth consumption on customers' PCs and provides faster and more comprehensive up-to-date protection.

Panda Security is the first and only security vendor that has the technology, the infrastructure, the knowledge and the experience to apply the Collective Intelligence approach to its commercially available products. The new Panda 2010 Consumer products are based on Collective Intelligence; the benefits of this new product line can be summarized as follows: Maximum protection with minimum impact on your PC.

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BitDefender Antivirus 2010

BitDefender Antivirus 2010 provides advanced proactive protection against viruses, spyware, phishing attacks and identity theft, without slowing down your PC. With BitDefender Antivirus 2010 your computer gets proactive protection from viruses, spyware, phishing attacks, rootkits, and more. BitDefender Antivirus 2010 provides advanced proactive protection against viruses, spyware, phishing attacks and identity theft, with minimal impact on system performance. It's jam-packed with features including: IM Encryption, for confidential chatting; Gamer Mode, for secure gaming at top speed; Laptop Mode, to prolong battery life; automatic hourly updates; FREE 24/7 support; and more!

Features and Benefits
Confidently download, share and open files from friends, family, co-workers - and even total strangers

Protects against viruses and other malware using industry-leading technology

• Scans all Web, e-mail and instant messaging traffic in real-time
• Provides an unmatched detection rate of new threats based on two different proactive technologies
• Blocks spyware programs that track your online activities

Protect your identity: shop, bank, listen and watch, privately and securely

• Blocks web pages that attempt to steal your credit card data
• Prevents personal information from leaking via e-mail, Web or instant messaging

Guard your conversations with top-of-the line encryption

• Instant Messaging Encryption keeps your conversations private on Yahoo! and MSN Messenger

Play safely, play seamlessly

• Reduces the system load and avoids requesting user interaction during game play

Get fine-tuned performance from your computer

• Optimized scanning technology skips safe files for better scan speed and lower system load
• Laptop Mode prolongs battery life

Let professionals solve any security issues

• Assistance with common issues built directly into the product
• Free technical support for the entire duration of the product license

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Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 protects your computer against known and unknown threats, and against unwanted data. Each type of threat is processed by a separate application component. This makes setup flexible, with easy configuration options for all components, which can be tailored to the needs of a specific user or of the business as a whole. This is protection for 1 PC for 1 year.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 - the backbone of your PC's security system - offers protection from a range of IT threats and provides the basic tools needed to protect your PC. To be fully protected, you should use Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 together with a firewall of your choice.

Award-winning technologies in Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 protect you from a wide range of IT threats:

• Viruses, Trojans, worms and other malware, spyware and adware
• Rootkits, bootkits and other complex threats
• Identity theft by key loggers and screen capture malware
• Botnets and various illegal methods of taking control of your PC
• Zero-day attacks and unknown threats
• Drive-by download infections

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 - the backbone of your PC's security system, offering real-time automated protection from a range of IT threats:

• Real-time scanning of files, web pages and e-messages
• Basic identity theft protection
• Color-coding of links to unsafe websites
• Disabling of links to malicious websites
• Blocking of suspicious programs based on their behavior
• Protection from hijacking of your PC
• Self-protection from malware
• Regular and emergency updates for always-on protection

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 offers a number of new and improved features together with unique protection technologies to address the latest online threats, keeping your PC running smoothly and customize protection according to your activities:

• Kaspersky Toolbar for Internet browsers to warn you about infected or unsafe websites
• Basic identity theft protection, including improved secure Virtual Keyboard
• Urgent Detection System to stop fast emerging threats
• Next generation proactive protection from zero-day attacks and unknown threats
• Special Game Mode to suspend alerts, updates and scans while you play

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 has a range of unique tools which heighten security and keep your computer running smoothly:

• Enter logins and passwords using secure Virtual Keyboard
• Turn on Game Mode to suspend alerts, updates and scans
• Scan system and installed applications for vulnerabilities
• Tune up your OS and Internet browser settings for better security
• Restore correct system settings after malware removal
• Burn a Rescue CD to restore your system in case of infection
• Remove activity traces in your Internet browser (history, cookies, etc.)

IMPORTANT!
Make sure that you remove any existing anti-virus program completely before installing Kaspersky on your PC.

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Best USB Device Manager Safely Remove Hardware v4.1 Free License Code for EVERYONE

This week is indeed a software giveaway week. Started with Online Armor, then Mamutu and now USB Safely Remove. So far I’ve never seen a USB device managing software that is so advanced like USB Safely Remove. It is a neat and reliable replacement for the standard ‘Safely Remove Hardware’ tool with unique feature “Return Device Back!” and an ability to know what prevent a device from being stopped. The program saves time and extends abilities of active users of hot-plug devices (USB, SATA, FireWire, PCMCIA).

This program has tons of features such as a handy menu to stop devices, keyboard shortcuts to safe removal, autorun program on device connection or disconnection, ejecting memory cards rather than the card reader, hiding drives of empty card reader slots, command line to safe removal, Stopping via “disabling”, and the latest one that’s being added is Return Device Back!. From August 19th – 25th, 2009, everyone can get a free license for version 4.1 of the award-winning program USB Safely Remove. You still have around 5 m
To get your free USB Safely Remove v4.1 genuine registration code, just go to their promo page at http://safelyremove.com/giveawayweeka9.htm. Make sure you enter your full name (nicknames or just names or other alphabets are not accepted), a working email address and click the “I want the license” button. You should then see a message saying that you will get your license within 24 hours or earlier. For my case, I got it immediately in my Gmail. Finally, download the latest version of USB Safely Remove v4.1.5.806 setup file usbsafelyremovesetup_4-1-5.exe and install. Enter the registration name and registration code to license the program.

If you have an antivirus software that cannot auto scan the USB flash drive after plugging in to the computer, you can set a rule on Safely Remove Hardware to call up your AV to scan once it is plugged in. This can be found in Global Autorun. I also like the Stop Menu Hotkey Win+S. By pressing a hotkey I can safely remove the device.

My favorite feature for USB Safely Remove v4.1 is the Return Device Back! Normally after we’ve stopped the device but still did not unplug it, we’ll need to unplug and reinsert it back for Windows to mount the USB flash drive. With this new feature, we can easily get it back with a click of a button without trying to re-insert the USB device back to the USB port which is at the back of the computer case. So far I couldn’t find any other software that can do this. It’d be nice to have a hotkey to enable this feature.

It seemed like Crystal Rich, the company that develops USB Safely Remove will give out free licenses for USB Safely Remove every 9 months. First time was on February 2008 for v3.3, followed v4.0 on November 2008 and now on August 2009 for v4.1. The free USB Safely Remove registration code can only be used on the particular version and cannot be used on newer or even older versions of the program. So if you want to have the flexibility of upgrading or downgrading, then you’ll need to purchase a lifetime license that cost $20.

USB Safely Remove works on Windows 2000\XP\2003\Vista. It even works on my Windows 7

Make Windows 7 and Vista 32-bit (x86) Support More Than 4GB Memory

If you didn’t know, there are 2 editions of Windows starting from XP which is the 32-bit and 64-bit. Sometimes a Windows 32-bit is referred as x86 and 64-bit as x64. I won’t go into details on what are the differences between x86 and x64 but one of the major differences is a 64-bit Windows can support more 4GB of ram. If your computer has 4GB of ram and you’re using a 32-bit of Windows, you’ll notice that only about 3.5GB is being recognized and the remaining 500MB of memory is gone. Weirdly Windows 2003 and 2008 can already address more than 4 GB of memory so why can’t we do that with Vista? The answer is: Microsoft doesn’t want that and it is all just a licensing matter.

We can of course go for 64-bit of Windows but honestly, there are still quite a lot of software which cannot run on x64, such as the recent Mamutu and Online Armor. Free licenses are given out to EVERYONE but unfortunately you can’t even get to try it because of your Windows 64-bit. Not only that, Windows 64-bit doesn’t accept unsigned drivers unless you disable driver signature enforcement manually every time you boot. How frustrating… Well here is a good news for Windows 7 and Vista users because I found patches to make your 32-bit Windows support more than 4GB of memory.
Before you download the memory limit patchers, please be informed that some antivirus detects it as a hacktool or backdoor. I’ve analyzed the files using ThreatExpert and they are absolutely safe.

Thanks to Remko, he has provided us with a dUP2 file for the patch according to Geoff Chappell’s article about Vista’s Memory Limit. You’ll need to compile the dUP2 file with diablo2oo2’s Universal Patcher to get the executable file. If you don’t know how to do it, I’ve compiled the dUP2 file provided by Remko and you can download from this link. Remko confirms that the patch works on both Windows Vista x86 Service Pack 1 and Service Pack 2. You can either drop this file in Windows\System32\ folder and run it to patch the ntoskrnl.exe file or run it from anywhere and browse for the file.

As for Windows 7, you will need a different patcher and this time it’s from a Russian group called Staforce. Their group also came up with crack/activator for Windows 7. This patch works on Windows 7 (x86) Build 7600 RTM. The official link to download the 4GB memory limit patch is at this link but you’ll need to register for an account to see the download link. If you don’t want to register, I’ve uploaded the patcher here for your convenience. Other than patching Windows 7’s kernel to support more than 4GB memory, the installer also comes with a watermark remover. You can press the N key from your keyboard to disable the watermark remover.

To be honest, I did not get to test either of the patch above because both my desktop and laptop has only 2GB of memory. As for Windows XP to support more than 4GB of ram, I wasn’t able to find any patch for it. If you know any please leave a comment.

Easily Install All Versions of .NET Framework plus Hotfixes with AIO Runtimes

I don’t really like re-installing Windows because it’s boring and takes a long time to get everything back to normal. Installing Windows takes about 30 minutes, then looking for correct drivers takes another 30 minutes, downloading and installing latest third party software should take an hour and finally restoring emails and settings takes another 30 minutes. This is if everything goes smoothly without problems. There were a few times I ended up discovering even more problems during Windows reinstallation and had to get them fixed too.

Last weekend I went to a friend’s house to fix his HP desktop computer and needed to reinstall Windows because it was badly corrupted. Fortunately branded computers such as HP has recovery disc where I can just pop in the disc and the installation is all automated. I don’t even need to worry about looking for the correct drivers because the recovery disc has all that.

When the whole Windows restoration process has completed, there’s something else that we should install before the third party software and that is .NET Framework, Java, DirectX, Flash player, Silverlight, Shockwave player, and Visual C++ Runtimes.
These addons are important so that the user can able to run .NET Framework application, run Java applets, view websites with flash or shockwave and also better gaming performance with the latest DirectX. However, downloading and installing every version of .NET Framework, hotfixes and all the addons above would take you a lot of time.

Here’s an all in one package called All in One Runtimes which contains all versions of .NET Framework with their hotfixes, latest DirectX 9.0c, Adobe Flash Player 10, Microsoft Silverlight 3.0, Shockwave Player 11.5.0.596, Java Runtime Environment 6 and Visual C++ Runtimes. The good thing about this AiO pack is it can automate the process of installing all the addons without you doing anything.

There are 2 versions of All in One Runtimes. The first one is for 32-bit Windows which can be installed on Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003. As for the 64-bit version, the pack can be installed on Windows Vista and 7. With this All in One Runtimes pack, I no longer need to waste my time on downloading and installing runtimes. Of course this pack is not always useful since we can use nlite/vlite to integrate them into the Windows installers but it would definitely save us a lot of time and trouble when we’re faced with a computer with a recovery disc.

[ Download All in One Runtimes for 32-bit | 64-bit ]

FREE Mamutu v2 (ThreatFire Alternative) Genuine License

Heard of Mamutu? It’s another security software by a-squared that doesn’t rely on signature to detect a malware. Mamutu monitors all active programs in real time for dangerous behavior (Behavior Blocking) and can detect new unknown Trojans, Worms, Viruses and other damaging programs (Zero-Day dangers) without daily updates. Mamutu is small but very powerful. It saves resources and does not slow the PC down. Mamutu is actually a part of a-squared Anti-Malware, but it exist as a separate product so that you can use it simultaneously with other antivirus of your choice such as NOD32, Kaspersky, Avira and etc.

You can say that Mamutu is an alternative to ThreatFire except that it cost money ($27 per year). Thanks to GIZMO again, they’ve managed to seal a deal with a-squared to provide their readers a free 12 month license for their “Mamutu” behavior blocker. This exclusive offer expires on 11.59 PM USA PST, Monday August 24, 2009, so go grab it while you can.
1. Go to this page https://emsisoft.cleverbridge.com/34/?scope=checkout&product=21522

2. Check the checkbox where it says “Check to enter coupon code”, enter the code as GIZMOSFREEWARE and click the Apply button. You should now see that the total price has become $0.00

3. Fill up the form by entering your first name, last name, address, zipcode, city, country, and a working email address. For the payment option, just select “Cash”. Click Next.

4. Check the confirm subscription checkbox and click the Complete purchase button.

5. Go to this page http://www.mamutu.com/en/support/codelost/Default.aspx

6. Key in your email address that you entered in step 3 and click the Send Code button.

7. Check your email and you should receive an email from Emsi Software with the subject Emsi Software User Account Password. Note down your username and password.

8. Download the latest Mamutu version 2 and install.

9. After finished installing Mamutu, run it and you’ll be asked to login from the program itself. Enter the username and password. At the next screen you’ll see that you have 1 number of full version license valid for a year.

Sorry 64-bit Windows users, Mamutu runs only on 32-bit of Windows XP, 2003/2008 Server and Vista. There are 2 processes for Mamutu which is a2service.exe taking up 9.692MB and mamutu.exe taking up 20.688MB. This is the first time I got to test Mamutu and honestly I was a little disappointed with the results.

Mamutu claims to detect injection of code into other programs, invisible installations of software and creation of Autostart entries BUT it didn’t warn me when I tried infecting my test computer with a trojan. The trojan that I used for testing has all 3 behaviors above but no idea why it did not block or warn me about it. I’ve also tried running a very destructive virus called Almanahe/JambanMu, it managed to detect “Invisible installations of software” and pops up the same warning over and over again for a few times even though I select “Block behavior”. When the warning popups has stopped, I was shocked to find that the computer has been successfully infected by the virus because task manager, regedit, cmd has been disabled and the computer was running very slowly. As for Brontok virus, it managed to block all suspicious behavior. In my opinion, I personally think that ThreatFire works better than Mamutu.

QuickBooks Accounting Pro 2009

QuickBooks Accounting Pro 2009 makes accounting easy with tools to organize finances all in one place. Users can complete tasks like paying employees, invoicing, bill tracking and check-writing, allowing them to stay on top of their business by seeing who owes them money and which bills are due. This special offer is for customers in the USA only. Look in the QuickBooks showcase below for QuickBooks Pro 2009 downloads available outside the USA. Products for UK data available for download and physical delivery in parts of EU and Asia
Save Time and Boost Productivity - Online Banking.
QuickBooks users can save time on data entry and increase the accuracy of their financial records by downloading transactions from their financial institution directly into QuickBooks2. With the improved QuickBooks Online Banking, small business owners can gain control of their cash flow by seeing which checks have cleared their accounts and which QuickBooks transactions are still pending, and get up-to-date account balances, all in one place.
Multi-User Features.
Employees no longer have to wait for others to finish in QuickBooks before they can start their own work. New enhancements enable QuickBooks users to run reports while others work simultaneously in the company file and locally backup data3 while in multi-user mode. QuickBooks users can also now instantly communicate with co-workers with the new QuickBooks Messenger4, and remotely log others out of the QuickBooks file as needed.

Accountant Tools.
QuickBooks 2009 makes it easier than ever for small businesses to work with their accountant. It includes new accountant-specific features such as Client Data Review, a collection of clean-up and review tools that can help save hours of finding and correcting client errors, and enhanced Accountant's Copy, with improved client data importing and added account mapping capabilities.

Gain Insights and Get Information
Company Snapshot.
No need to shuffle through endless reports to find out where your company stands. With the Company Snapshot QuickBooks users can view a real-time snapshot of their business in one easily accessible location, so they know which customers still owe them money, what bills they need to pay, and what they need to do by the end of the day. It's the fastest and easiest way to keep a pulse on what lies ahead.

Live Community.
QuickBooks users can now connect with the Intuit Small Business Community to get their questions answered by accountants and experts, as well as other small businesses like themselves, all from within QuickBooks5. With the new Live Community, users can get information about QuickBooks or general business advice, allowing them to make smarter business decisions.

Get Customers and Do Business in a Global Economy
Free Website.
QuickBooks 2009 helps small businesses get online and reach new customers by enabling them to create a professional-looking and customized website for free6. A simple drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create and update web pages. The package includes a three-page website and 12 months of free hosting. QuickBooks Premier users get access to over 2,000 web page templates and sample sites for 100 industries.

Multi-Currency.
Small businesses can now seamlessly manage their finances, customers, and vendors at home and abroad with support for multiple currencies. QuickBooks 2009 handles all international currency accounting automatically. Users can now download exchange rates right into QuickBooks7 and process wire transfers and drafts easily online for more than 100 foreign currencies, powered by Intuit Payment Services.