Techware blog

Kruptos 2 Encryption – file encryption

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 02:43:00 -0700

Kruptos 2 professional is a very useful free tool to encrypt the files in your system. The interface makes it simple and easy to use as well.

Reach Kruptos 2 professional here. Agree the license terms and follow the instructions to install the software. The software comes with a fully functional 30 time trial use.

Launch the software and Kruptos 2 professional window would look like the one shown below. You can drag and drop files into the window that you want to encrypt. The latest version also allows you to drag and drop folders as such.

Right click the files to reach the quick menu for encryption or use the ‘Encrypt’ button at the top to process the files. The file re-encrypts by itself on close without having to re-enter password. You also have an option to disguise the filename while encrypting.

Self Extractor option creates an executable file that lets you extract the files to any specific location. Shredding option deletes the original file.

Uninstalling the software leaves the files encrypted. So it’s better to store the encrypted files in a different location instead of overwriting the original files.

Key file encryption is another feature worth mentioning. Select a Key file and Kruptos 2 will use the content of that file to create a very stong password.

Features:

Fast file encryption
Encryption Algorithm – Blowfish 128 bit
Obfuscate file name
encrypts photos, videos, audios, credit card data, or other private files

The software is definitely a solid tool.

However your password takes the responsibility for all your encrypted files. You can’t decrypt your files without the correct key.

Home Page: Click Here

Works with: Win XP and above

Paid / Free: free 30 trial use

Related Reads:

LastPass Password Manager

Secure Folder: hide, lock & encrypt folders

USB Safeguard: secure files in USB drive

Recovery Toolbox for CD: recover from scratched disc

BullGuard Internet Security Suite

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DupeRazor: Find and remove duplicate files

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 05:37:00 -0700

DupeRazor is a software to select and remove duplicate files from your computer.

Follow the link to download and install DupeRazor. Select your language, accept the license agreement and continue with the installation process. As you proceed, make sure you have checked the box at the bottom if you don’t want to create a start menu folder.

Launch the software once you finish the installation and you will get to see a screen like this.

The interface is simple and intuitive enough for anyone to keep up on task. Initiate a 'New Search' and it offers to scan the entire C: drive or to move down the tree structure to scan and search a single folder for duplicate files.

Go to the 'Settings' to change the general defaults settings or to customize the results view.

Once the search is complete it will show a comprehensive list of all the duplicate files it found. For images, it provides an image preview also.

Click the 'Auto Select' button to change your selection priorities by switching to the Priority Menu.

Features:

finds and removes duplicate files
byte-to-byte file content comparison
interface is self explanatory
image preview option

Caveat:

DupeRazor version 3.3 comes with a 30-day free trial. Though it does a neat job in scanning and removing duplicate files, the search was considerably slow which may make many turn away!

* Always double check before removing files from your computer.

Home Page: Click here

Works with: Windows 2000 and above

Secure Folder: hide, lock & encrypt folders

ExtractNow: Extract multiple archive files

USB Safeguard: secure files in USB drive

Virtual Disk Utility: Virtual drive to manage data securely

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YouTube Downloader - freeware to download videos

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:49:00 -0700

YouTube Downloader is a freeware from BienneSoft that allows downloading videos from a number of popular video sites. It also can convert the video files to a set of different formats such as .mov, .avi, .mp3, .mp4, wmv etc.

Download and install YouTube Downloader by following the link. Select the language and continue with the installation. Also during the installation process, the software by default installs YouTube Downloader Toolbar and a free McAfee Security Scan. So if you don’t want to install those along with this software, make sure that you have unchecked the box before continuing with the installation process.

Once you finish the installation and launch the software, you will get to see a screen as shown below:

When you find a video that you want to download, just open the software and paste its URL. Browse through the location in the disk where you want to save the video file and click the Download button. It will then take you to the Activity tab. Once you have finished downloading, go to the Play tab to watch the video.

The Convert tab lets you convert the file to a number of file formats

Features:

Download videos from YouTube, Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Vimeo, Zorpia. Find the complete list of supported sites here.
Converts the file for use in Ipod, Iphone, psp, cell phone, windows media, xvid and mp3.
Option to split the video/audio files.
Easy to use interface

The new user interface with the latest version 3.0 of YouTube Downloader is sleek and easy to use.

However, I think we could suggest the team to consider changing the name of the software! The software supports lot many other video sites than just downloading and converting YouTube videos as what its name convey.

Works with: Windows XP/Vista/7

Paid/Free: Free

Home Page: click here

Related Reads:

RealPlayer SP: Video Downloader

YouTube to MP3: Video2MP3 converter

GetGo YouTube Downloader

Tube2Tone: Create ringtones from YouTube videos

Lucidor: ebook reader

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doPDF - free PDF file converter

Wed, 18 May 2011 21:01:00 -0700

doPDF is a free software to convert documents to popular pdf file format. The program installs a virtual printer driver that can help you get a file converted to the required pdf document.

Reach doPDF by following the link. Follow the instructions to install the software. It asks for your permission to change the printer setup in your machine. Accept the license agreements and select a language and you’re all set with the software.

The software installs a virtual printer driver and from out of any printable file you’re using, just select the “print” command and the ‘doPdf’ print option in it helps you to convert the file to pdf format. It acts as a virtual printer and instead of printing the file; the ‘print’ command converts them into a pdf file.

You have the option to save the file in the specific name and location you want.

doPDF acts like any other printer on your system and you can set your printing preference or change the printer properties by accessing the doPDF printer under the Devices and Printers section of your Control Panel. For printer options you may choose any page size you want.

You can also get the pdf file of any web page that you’re at. Simply select the ‘print’ command from your web browser and it creates a pdf file out of it. (I think this may come real handy for printing e-tickets)

Features:

convert to PDF from any printable document (.doc, .xls, .txt, .html, .docx, .xlsx, .ppt etc)
ease of use
supports 32-bit and 64-bit windows machines
multi-language interface

Hassle free installation and good quality result is a plus point of this software that’s worth mentioning. The size of the output file is also appreciable. Though I found some trouble with the alignment of the fonts available in some websites, I may not blame it on the software.

For more complex editing, splitting or merging of pdf files, you may also try a free software PDFill

Works with: Windows

Paid/Free: Free

Home Page: Click here

Related Reads:

PDFill: free PDF editor

CSVed: Free CSV file editor

Secure Browser: virtual version of Firefox

Virtual Disk Utility: Virtual drive to manage data securely

Recovery Toolbox for CD: recover from scratched CD DVD Blu Ray disc

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Chit Chat for Facebook: Chat from your desktop

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:30:00 -0800

Chit Chat for Facebook is a free Facebook IM that enables Facebook chat service from your desktop rather than having to use your web browser.

The IM service allow you to save your chats, enables text formatting, emoticons and a number of other features.

Follow the link to download and install Chit Chat for Facebook. Sign in with your Facebook email and password to start with it.

As you sign up, the app updates your Facebook status saying that you've started using Chit Chat. But you can very well turn this off from the settings if you want.

As you login you should get to find the IM screen as the one shown below

The app allows you to update your status, or write on your friend's wall, or type in a private message to send right from the chat screen without having to open your browser.

Another feature to mention is tabbed chat window option. You can chat with all your friends just from a single chat window.

Go to tools → preferences → shortcuts: You can find a number of shortcuts which tells you more about all the features available with Chit Chat for Facebook

Features:

· lets you update your status, send private messages, post on walls from your desktop

· option to save chats and view chat history

· tabbed chat window

· format IM using bold and underline feature

· set of emoticons are made available

· Notifications of friends online.

· It's free!

Though annoyingly the app makes you sign up for a market research program when you launch it, Chit Chat for Facebook is a notable option if all you're interested in is only Facebook IM.

Also, I feel it would have been a much better experience with the app if only the interface was more polished.

Chit Chat for Facebook : click here

Works with : Windows

Yoono: All in one Social Networking client

Vonage app for Facebook users: make free phone calls

Facebook in Pink theme

Facebook toolbar: Facebook from browser

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Voice Search Chrome extension: Search by speaking

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 02:42:00 -0800

Voice Search is a Google Chrome extension that allows users to enter search queries by speaking.

Follow the link to install Voice Search. As the extension is installed, a microphone icon will be shown next to the URL bar.

When you want to search something, all you have to do is to click the microphone icon and speak your query instead of typing it.

Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, Bing, DuckDuckGo etc come as default services. But you also have the option to add new search engines.

The functionality is also available on any web page search box that uses HTML5.

Voice search worked pretty cool for me in both Windows and Ubuntu. It’s very similar to Android voice search functionality, but the app is still in experimental mode and may give you some very weird results at times. A keyboard shortcut support can be a good enhancement to its usability.

Chrome bird: Twitter extension for Google Chrome

Fav-Icon sized tabs in Firefox: App Tab

Facebook toolbar: Facebook from browser

Twitbin: Twitter from browser

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LastPass Password Manager:

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 19:59:00 -0800

A password manager helps you store and organize your passwords.

LastPass is a free and safe online password manager and form filler extension available for Google’s Chrome browser, Firefox, IE and Safari users.

Install LastPass password manager for Chrome browser by following the link. You will get to see a small icon on top right corner of your browser. Once installed, you will have to create an account with LastPass.

While creating an account, you will be in need to provide a master password. It will walk you through the steps to finish creating an account with LastPass. But this is a one time process. When you install Lastpass on other computers you will not have to go through this process again, you’ll simply be able to sign-in.

General Options:

LastPass encrypts your data locally (and that means your password never leave your machine unencrypted) using 256-bit AES encryption algorithm.

LastPass form filling profile:

LastPass Credit Card filling profile:

LastPass would start managing your passwords details whenever you log into any website. And this will make it easier for you to access any website from the next time. It provides a cross-platform, cross-browser password management option.

The very thought of storing sensitive information online is discomforting! But the tool has been working amazingly well for me all these days though I haven’t gotten up to the point of storing my credit card details online! Feel free to let me know how you find the tool after using it.

Home Page: Click here

LastPass universal installer: Click here

Virtual Disk Utility: Virtual drive to manage data securely

Recovery Toolbox for CD: recover from scratched CD DVD Blu Ray disc

KeePass Password Manager

Digital Defender free Antivirus

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PDFill: free PDF editor

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:48:00 -0800

PDFill is a freeware that allows you to create and edit pdf documents. One can split, merge, crop, reformat and can perform lot many other operations on pdf files with this tool.

Installation:

Follow the link to reach PDFill. It will walk you through the installation steps and the software installs a PDFilleditor, PDFilltoolkit, and a free PDFill writer.

Personally, I found the PDFill toolkit to be the most useful which is free and adds no watermark to the documents.

While splitting document, the software allows you to extract and save each page as a separate pdf file.

Merging of pdf files:

Cropping pdf file:

The PDFill editor can be used to create, fill, delete, and submit pdf form fields. You can insert pictures, comments etc into your document and the file can be saved and password protected. But the PDFfill editor adds a watermark to your document if you use the free version.

You can import/export form data from or to a set of different file types

The PDFill writer creates PDF or Image files from any printable Windows application such as MS word, Powerpoint, Excel etc.

Features:

· Merge pdf files

· Split pdf files

· Insert Header and footer option

· Password protect the pdf files

· Converting postscripts into pdf

Though I have tried many other free pdf editing software, most of those disappointed me and I didn’t find it doing what it claims to do.

But one point to mention is that the installation and uninstallation of PDFill may sometime conflict with other programs that you’ve already installed.

Home Page: Click here

Works with: Windows

USB Safeguard: secure files in USB drive

Secure Folder: hide, lock & encrypt folders

CSVed: Free CSV file editor

PrintWhatYouLike: remove ads from web pages

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ExtractNow: Extract multiple archive files

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:20:00 -0700

ExtractNow is a free software to unzip multiple archive files at once. If you have multiple archive files to extract, then all you have to do is to drag and drop all those files into the ExtractNow window and press ‘Extract’ button.

Installation & Set up:

Reach ExtractNow by following the link here. It’s dead simple to install the software. But keep an eye while installing as it would recommend you to install kikin add-on for Internet Explorer. Uncheck it if you don’t want it to be installed and continue with the installation process.

Interface:

I must mention about the minimalist interface that this software has to offer. It’s so simple and easy to use.

Though the main interface is very minimal, there are lot many things that you can do to customize the application with the ‘Settings’ option.

ExtractNow can work with .zip, .rar files and also with some other formats such as .z, .taz, .jar etc

Features:

Easy to use
Drag and drop multiple files to extract
Supports all major archive formats
Available list of post extraction operations

There are more than thirty setting options to customize - options such as setting default location for extracted files, deleting the archive after extraction, monitoring certain directories for archives etc are worth mentioning. The various post extraction options available with this tool is worth exploring.

If you deal with compressed files very often, then this tool is a good choice for you.

Home Page: Click here

Works with: Windows

Paid/Free: Free

Related Reads:

CSVed: Free CSV file editor

Folderico: Customize folder icon appearance

Recovery Toolbox for CD: recover from scratched CD DVD BluRay disc

Add tweets to all web pages

KeyPass Password Manager

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Secure Folder: hide, lock & encrypt folders

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 10:52:00 -0700

Secure Folder is a tiny piece of software for Windows users that can help you secure your folders easily. This free software can hide, lock and encrypt your folders.

Reach Secure Folder by following the link. Installing the software is a breeze. It will walk you through the installation steps.

Launch the software once you finish the installation process. You will get to see a window as shown below:

Here you will be providing a password which you will have to remember to access your folder back. It will ask you the credentials every time you access Secure Folder.

Interface:

The interface is quite simple and intuitive. There are three modes of folder protection – lock, hide and encrypt.

Click the ‘add’ button to add the files that you need to protect and select the appropriate mode of folder protection.

‘Lock’ – As the name says, it just locks the file and will not allow anyone else to open it.

‘Hide’ – This mode actually hides the folder from anyone else who is using the machine

‘encrypt’ – Secure Folder uses AES encryption algorithm to protect your folder.

One can use any one or all the three of these options.

Features:

Easy to use interface
Uses AES encryption
Protection modes – lock, hide and encrypt.

Secure Folder does a neat job in what it claims to be. The software won’t even allow a secured folder to be moved or copied or deleted. And I expected it to keep me off from renaming the secured folder too. But actually it did allow me to rename it, but that cost me my folder. I couldn’t recover it back. The best recommendation would be to go with 7 mode protection (select all ‘lock’, ‘hide’ and ‘encrypt’) so that no one other than you can even view the folder.

Also make sure that you are not even accidentally uninstalling the software when you still have any secured folders in your machine.

The software requires .NET framework 2.0 or better to work.

Home Page: click here

Works with: Windows (32 & 64 bit editions)

Paid/Free: Free

Related Reads:

Duplicate Cleaner – remove duplicate files

USB Safeguard: secure files in USB drive

Recovery Toolbox for CD: recover from scratched CD DVD Blu Ray disc

KeePass Password Manager

Comodo Secure Email Encryption

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The Newspaper Clipping Generator: create 'fake' newspaper clippings

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 07:23:00 -0700

The Newspaper Clipping Generator is an online app that creates free ‘fake’ newspaper clippings for you.

Reach The Newspaper Clipping Generator here and fill in the details. Give a name to your newspaper, enter a story and click the ‘Generate’ button. It will generate a newspaper clipping with the details that you gave.

You can then download or share the newspaper clipping with anyone. But you can’t provide a direct linking to the clippings as the server deletes the images after a short span of time.

Check out The Newspaper Clipping Generator. It's meant for fun!

PrintWhatYouLike: remove ads from web pages

PageZipper: no ‘next page’ button

MakeMyChoice

Brizzly: Twitter and Facebook client

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CSVed: Free CSV file editor

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 11:29:00 -0700

CSV (Comma Separated Values) is a common file representation to store data. CSV representation makes the data human readable and it’s commonly stored in a txt document, which can be later opened as a spreadsheet to manipulate the data.

However simple the CSV file representation be, it can be a hard task to edit and use the data when the file size is too big for MS Excel to work with.

CSVed is a free CSV editor to edit and manipulate CSV files. Follow the link to reach CSVed. Download the software. (I recommend the option of going without installer). Unzip and execute the file. You will get to see a window as shown below.

The editor can manipulate the data with any separator. It can add or delete columns/records, join or split columns, search, sort, append and many other cool features.

CSVed can handle big files in a very fast manner as the data is loaded only on demand.

The interface looks kind of cluttered but it’s not that difficult to work with. You can also choose from a list of skin options if you find the default skin option a little too much.

Features:

Edit/add/insert/delete items easily
Change separator in CSV file
Add prefix and suffix to values in the file
Merge multiple CSV files
Export file as HTML, XML, Excel or many other formats.

CSVed is an excellent piece of software to work with CSV files.

Home Page: Click here

Works with: Windows

Paid/Free: Free

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Duplicate Cleaner – remove duplicate files

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 06:35:00 -0700

A friend recently asked me to suggest a free & safe duplicate file remover software and here I review Duplicate Cleaner that locates and removes duplicate files from your machine.

Duplicate Cleaner is a helpful handy piece of software which mainly cleans up your PC by identifying and deleting duplicate files. Once the files are identified, it gives you an option to select the files that you want to delete inorder to free up your memory thereby increasing the overall system performance.

Installation & Setup:

Follow the link to reach Duplicate Cleaner. Download the exe file and execute it. Follow the steps to finish the installation process. Have a desktop icon created or pin it to your start menu whichever option suits you.

After installing launch the application. In the Search Criteria tab, you can select the path where you would like to do your search.

You have the option to do a ‘File Search’ or ‘Audio Search’. If performing a ‘File Search’ you may be needed to specify the file type.

One of the best features of Duplicate Cleaner is that you can search for duplicate files based on its contents. Search is also possible on filename, size or date. If performing an ‘Audio Search’ you may search for same artist, title or album or all the three.

Once you select the location and type of search, hit the ‘Go’ button at the bottom pane and the program will search for duplicate files based on the criteria. It may take some time to finish the searching process.

At the end of the search, it will provide you with the list of duplicate files it found.

Just select the files that you would like to work with and you can delete, move or hardlink these files.

Features:

· Searches for duplicate files in the specified location

· Multi language support

· Export/import the result in csv format

· Advanced options are available to search for files

Duplicate Cleaner is an excellent option to remove duplicate files from your system. However always be careful before you delete/remove any file from your machine.

Home Page: Click here

Works with: Win 2000, Win Xp, Win Vista, Win 7

Paid/Free: Free

Quick Restore Maker: Creating restore point

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Virtual Disk Utility: Virtual drive to manage data securely

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:39:00 -0700

Virtual Disk Utility is a free software to create a virtual drive to securely manage your data. The software emulates a physical drive and you can encrypt & password protect it to store the data securely.

Installation:

Find Virtual Disk Utility by following the link. You will have to be registered with Dell Kace team. Download and install the software and you will find the screen as shown below when you finish the installation.

Use the options to create, mount and disconnect a virtual disk.

Using Virtual Disk Utility:

While you create the virtual disk, you can select to encrypt your drive and provide a passphrase which you need to remember to retrieve your data later.

Pick a drive letter to mount your virtual drive.

For simplicity, you can right click the virtual drive to unmount it. The drive can expand and shrink depending upon the storage space.

Disconnect your drive when you are finished working with your virtual drive.

Features:

· Secure data with a virtual drive

· Encrypt data files

· Cross platform solution – can be used on both Mac and PC

Virtual Disk Utility comes from the makers of Secure Browser to sandbox Firefox.

Download Virtual Disk Utility: Click here

Works on: Win 7, Vista, XP, Mac OS X

Free/Paid: Free

USB Safeguard: secure files in USB drive

Recovery Toolbox for CD: recover from scratched CD DVD Blu Ray disc

BullGuard Internet Security Suite

Parental Control Software

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Secure Browser: virtual version of Firefox

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 07:58:00 -0700

Secure Browser is a virtual version of firefox created by Dell Kace group that presents a safest web browsing experience for firefox users.

Installation:

Reach Dell Kace Secure Browser (firefox) by following the link. You will have to register with them inorder to download and install the browser.

The browser runs on its own virtual space and doing the purpose of what a virtual machine does. In otherwords, anything that you download from internet will be contained in the virtual space of the browser and won’t be affecting your machine.

The benefit of such a system is that no malicious downloads can have real access to your machine as its kept in a virtual space and you machine will remain safe.

Features:

· Provides a virtualized firefox v3.6 browser

· Able to specify “white” and “black” lists for further safety

· Easily “undo” changes for quick recovery

· Win 32 bit machine only

When I tried this sandbox system, it actually didn’t allow most of my firefox add-ons to work. However surfing through virtualization is always a better security option.

Chrome users will not have to worry about a sandbox. And Dell Kace Secure Browser (firefox) simply extends the sandboxing into your firefox too.

Related Reads:

Fav-Icon sized tabs in Firefox: App Tab

Browser View Plus: Open firefox links in multiple browsers

Rootkit Remover Software

Digital Defender: Lightweight Free Antivirus software

Free firewall software

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USB Safeguard: secure files in USB drive

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:37:00 -0700

USB Safeguard is a free software to secure the files stored in your USB device. The software uses AES encryption algorithm and protects the data in the flash drive.

One main advantage of the software is that it’s portable. There is nothing to install and you can even carry the .exe file in your USB device. You will have to set a password to start working with USB Safeguard.

Reach USB Safeguard by following the link.

To encrypt or decrypt the file, just drag and drop the files into the tool window. If encrypting a small dsk file will be created in your USB which cannot be accessed unless you decrypt it.

Once you encrypt the files, you also have the option to remove those original files if you need.

Features:

· Portable

· Uses AES encryption algorithm

· 'Safe internet browsing' feature to have safe internet surfing

· Drag and drop files to encrypt or decrypt

The tool is simple and easy to use and is a good option for a portable USB data encryption.

Home Page: Click Here

Works With: Win XP, Win Vista, Win 7

Paid/Free : Free

Related Reads:

Comodo Secure Email Encryption

Software to encrypt data on USB drive

KeePass password manager

Recovery Toolbox for CD: recover from scratched CD DVD Blu Ray disc

GPG4Win Email Encryption

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Recovery Toolbox for CD: recover from scratched CD DVD Blu Ray disc

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:23:00 -0700

Recovery Toolbox for CD is a free CD DVD Blu Ray disc recovery software. It runs on all Windows platforms. The software will provide you with all the files that can be recovered from corrupted discs and you can recover those files.

Installation and Recovery:

Install Recovery Toolbox for CD Free here. You can pin the executable file in your desktop or quick launch tab. Insert the disc you like to recover and execute the software. You can select the drive you want to select files from.

The software will scan through the disc and will provide you with the list of files that can be recovered.

By default the files will be stored in 'C:\_CDRestored' location.

You can select individual files that you would like to recover or select all to recover the whole disc. It can recover files larger than 4GB.

Features:

· Recovers files from CD DVD Blu-Ray etc

· Provides you with a list of files that can be recovered

· Recovers files larger than 4GB

· Easy to use

The software may not be able to recover everything from a very badly corrupted disc. But it did help me recover some image files from my disc that Windows couldn’t recognize.

Software to recover deleted files

Disk Defragmentation

Software to Encrypt Email Messages

KeePass Password Manager

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Brizzly: Twitter and Facebook client

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 10:11:00 -0700

Brizzly is a social web client to integrate Twitter and Facebook. The beta version started off as a Twitter client and they have eventually integrated Facebook to it.

Brizzly is a web app and there is nothing to download or install. Just follow the link to find Brizzly and create an account with them. You will have to provide your email id and an activation link will be send to it. Activate your account and integrate Twitter and Facebook to it.

The best part of the tool is that there is a ‘mute’ feature and as the name says it allows you to ‘mute’ anyone in your follower list for any required period of time. i.e if you find a person’s tweets too much for your interests at a particular time, you can just ‘mute’ that person without actually un-following him and he won’t 'talk' till the time you ‘unmute’ him!

Brizzly automatically shortens and resolves shortened URLs. However I think resolving the shortened URL is somewhat inconsistent. So don’t expect it to resolve the URL everytime.

Whenever there is any update in your ‘@ mention’ or home feed, a blue dot will be prompted next to the menu.

There is also an option to draft your tweets for a later period of time. Just like PowerTwitter, Brizzly displays pictures and videos in the tweet/fb update itself.

Features:

· Integrates Twitter & Facebook

· Mute followers without unfollowing them

· Notifications on any update

· Trending topics in Twitter

· Possible to comment and like facebook updates

· Automatically shortens and resolves URL

· Pictures and videos displayed in the update itself

At first when I had a chance to try Brizzly, I couldn’t find enough good features to write a review about it. But the team has implemented a lot more additions to it now and I felt it certainly has shaped up to a nice social experience.

For Twitter users, from a surface level, Brizzly is not any different from many other Twitter clients. Infact I felt that they have just taken the Twitter home page and added some nice features to it and given a different name! But certainly some of its features do make it stand out.

Facebook in Pink theme

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Vonage app for Facebook users: make free phone calls

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Boss Button: hide your browser windows

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:01:00 -0700

Boss Button is an interesting extension for Google’s Chrome users. The idea is to keep your browser windows hidden and running behind the screen in a stealth mode just with a single mouse click.

Install Boss Button extension here. The best part is that even the tool remains invisible in your browser window regardless of the browser’s background theme. So no one can really know that you have even installed an app like this in your browser!

As you hover your mouse over the tool, an empty box will appear. Just click that and all your opened tabs will be hidden behind. Instead an innocent looking Google page would be opened!

Just click the tool again and your tabs will be back.

If you’re tired of someone watching over your shoulder, then Boss Button can be a nice option!

WebPage ScreenShot: Google Chrome extension

Facebook in Pink theme

Chrome bird: Twitter extension for Google Chrome

You may also like:

Browser View Plus: Open firefox links in multiple browsers

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Lesser known browsers

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John’s Background Switcher: Desktop background changer

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:49:00 -0700

John’s Background Switcher is a free software that can switch your desktop background periodically. You can specify the picture folder and time period and the software takes it from there.

John’s Background Switch (JBS) runs happily on all 32 and 64 bit versions of Windows. It needs .NET framework 2.0 or better.

When the software has been installed, you can find the JBS icon in your system tray and it silently runs in the background.

The best part with the software is that you can select your pictures from a number of different sources. It allows you to select pictures from flickr, facebook, picasa, phanfar, SmugMug and even you can add pictures from Google image search, bing, yahoo etc.

Reach the software from the system tray itself.

For the pictures stored online, the software should be allowed to save those to your machine and they will be deleted after the time interval that you specify.

Features:

· Background can be switched periodically

· Integrated with facebook, picasa and many other sources

· control it from your system tray

Desktop background slideshow is a key feature with Windows 7 that automatically cycles through a selected list of pictures thereby changing your desktop background periodically. JBS helps you to avail the same feature in your machine even if you’re not a Win7 user.

But be aware that the software can also hog your memory and can slow down your machine atleast during the time when it changes the background.

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