Ensuring the safety of your passwords is the key to ensure your online privacy and safety. There are two golden rules to ensure your password safety.

1. Use long passwords.
2. Do not repeat your passwords on different websites.

However, It has been seen that most people do not follow these two simple rules just because it is lot of hassle to remember many passwords, which are difficult also. There are password managers to solve this problem, where you can store all your passwords in an encrypted form and lock them with a single password.

There are two types of password managers, both having their own merits and demerits. Online password managers offer you ease of operation and transportability to other computers. But at the same time some people do not feel comfortable enough to share their passwords with a third party.

The other type of tools used doe password safety are Offline password managers, which are to be downloaded and installed on your machine. You have to create a database of your usernames and passwords, which can all be accessed with a single master password.

LoginCode – The Quick, Easy Offline Password Manager

LoginCode is one such simple and user-friendly offline password manager. It is a freeware application and can be downloaded from the link provided at the end of this post.

The installation of LoginCode is super easy. During the installation process, you are asked to provide the master password and then it guides you through a Wizard, where the password database if created. In this database, you have to provide the website address, the username and the password. This database is stored in highly secure 256 AES format, which ensures you complete safety of the database.

Once the database is ready, you can double click on any of the entry to launch the website. The username and password will automatically be written on the webpage and you can straightway enter the website without requiring the type the username and passwords yourself.

Yet another big feature of LoginCode is that it can fetch the stored username and passwords from the popular web browsers like Internet Explorer and Firefox. These details are fetched and entered into its database during the installation process of this software.

Truly a useful application.

[Download LoginCode]

The volume of the sound coming from the speaker of your computer can sometimes surprise you and others, specially at odd times. For instance, may be that you are working late night with your wife asleep aside and the volume of you computer is at the top level. Suddenly Windows Messenger beeps alerting you, which may be irritating to you.

To deal with such situations, you may want your PC to adjust the speaker sound volume automatically based upon the time. You may want that after 11 PM, the speaker volume get adjusted to its minimum, even if you forget to do so manually.

Volume Concierge – Automatically Adjust Speaker Volume

Volume Concierge is a freeware tool, which can do the job for you. The program uses so called volume rules that the user can define. Each rule consists of a day (or all days or weekends), a starting time and a volume level. On closing the window, it will be minimized to system tray, from where you can open the configuration console, disable auto-run and quit the application.

Yet another possible use of Volume Concierge is to set it as a reminder. For instance, if you are a late night addict for computer games, you can set it to disable the sounds after say 1 AM, and you will automatically get a reminder that now it is time to quit and go to bed.

The big downside I find that it requires you to give them your email address. Don’t know if they really want to spam your email address with this simple tool. Yet another problem is that once started, it will reside in your system tray, which may already be cramped with other tools and software icons.

[Download Volume Concierge]

Mac machines are considered to be safe and secure from online threats and malware. Many of the Mac OS-X users even believe they virus, trojan and malware are something meant only for the Windows machines and they are insulated from these threats.

But it is not so. We have always been saying that Mac machines are safe just because of the fact that they are still not the MOST popular computer platforms. Despite the recent surge in the popularity of Mac Mchines, the fact still remains that Windows is still the most used computing platform. Besides this, it is also a hard fact that most of the beginners and novices start their computing journey with Windows Machines. This ensures that the malware developers find the biggest ROI of their time and efforts, only if they target the Windows Machines. For the least efforts they can expect to create maximum impact, if they target their malware towards the Windows Machines.

But, with the increasing popularity of Apple MAC OS-X machines, time is not far when malware developers will find this market also attractive and lucrative and then all presumptions of Mac machines being insulated from online malware threats will be gone.

And the beginning seems to have been made with the recently discovered Flashback Trojan Malware.

Flashback Trojan Malware

Russian antivirus vendor Doctor Web has recently reported the discovery of the deadly trojan, nicknamed as Flashback, which is targeted towards Apple Mac machines. It uses javascript exploits to sneak into the victim’s machine. It is estimated that more than 60,000 Apple Mac machines have already been infected and Apple has already released the second java patch to counter this trojan malware attack.

The flashback Trojan botnet is spreading very quickly and security vendor Doctor Web has recommended to block Flashback trojan malware by updating of the MAC machines with the latest java updates released by Apple. Looking at the deadliness of Flashback Trojan, some other security vendors have even recommended disabling the java on the mac machines.

The first version of Flashback was designed to look like an update to Adobe Flash—giving the Trojan its name. However, the subsequent variants hit Mac users who had visited Websites that were harboring the malware.

It is high time that Mac users start seriously considering installation of a good quality Mac Antivirus on their machines. A list of some of the free Mac Antivirus has already appeared on this blog. Check that out.

What is Windows Risk Minimizer

Windows Risk Minimizer is the latest entry in the realm of Rogue Security software. It is a scareware, which gains entry to your system by exploiting some vulnerability in your system and then takes control of your system.

Windows Risk Minimizer is also being promoted heavily through spam email campaigns, which is slightly unusual. As soon as you go their site by clicking on the link, you greeted with a JavaScript alert message, whereby the fake antivirus (referred to here as “Windows Secure Kit 2012″) claims that your machine is infected.

As soon as you acknowledge the window, a fake scan is carried out of your system and in no time, Windows Risk Minimizer will intimate you that your system in infected with lots of virus and malware infections. This scan is nothing but an animated image, which pretends as if it is scanning your system.

Windows Risk Minimizer then offers you do download a software to clean you system. This software, if downloaded, will take control of your system and make changes to your important system files. It will prompt you regularly to buy the licensed version of the software to clean your system. The constant pop-ups are so irritating that you will not be able to do any meaningful task on your system and ultimately fall in its trap to make the payment.

Beware, please do not fall in its trap. If you notice any such thing on your computer, then the best bet is to clean your system with the help of some trusted security software and remove Windows Risk Minimizer completely.

BSNL Broadband Speed Test

Bharata Sanchar Nigam Limited, BSNL is the most popular Broadband Internet Service Provider in India. They are the largest wireline telephony service provider and command a market share of more than 75% in the wireline telephony service in India. Taking advantage of their vast wireline network, they provide a robust broadband service for accessing internet.

In case, you are a BSNL broadband service subscriber, you might have felt the need to check BSNL Broadband Speed. Although there are some universal broadband speed testers available online (like speedtest.net), but you cannot be sure about the results they give, because there are lots of factors affecting the data speed you get. Apart from the speed offered by the broadband service, the speed reported by the speedtest.net might also depend upon the interface of BSNL gateway and the speedtest.net servers.

The best way is to check the speed through the servers located within the BSNL broadband network itself. Check out the test given at the link given at the end of this post.

If you take the test given on that page, data is downloaded from a BSNL Karnataka server to your computer and vice versa. The BSNL Broadband speed test is done by monitoring the time taken in this data transfer. This might give a fair assessment of the actual speed you are getting with BSNL as the broadband service provider to you.

[BSNL Broadband Speed Test Page]

Airtel Data Usage Check

Airtel is one of the popular Internet Service providers in India. They provide Internet access through difference technologies including GPRS and 3G for mobile subscribers and Airtel broadband for basic subscribers.

If you are a customer of Airtel broadband, you might be knowing about their fair usage policy, which restricts your Internet speed after you exhaust your monthly data transfer limits. This happens in case you are using their unlimited data transfer plans. In case you are using their limited data plan, then you are charged extra after you exhaust your monthly free data transfer limits.

In either case, you might be interested to check Airtel Data Usage after a certain period every month. But do you know how to monitor your Airtel broadband usage.

Here is a simple way. No need to download and install any third party software. Just go to the link given below.

http://www.airtel.in/smartbyte-s/page.html

And the page you open in your browser will let you know about your Airtel data usage for that month. You can then decide about how to go about in the rest on the month.

Software Serial Keys are often misplaced once you have installed the software application on your machine. Most people tend to forget about them when they start using the software. But it is important to keep the backup of software serial keys, because you may require to re-install your software anytime. You never know, when your system or har disk crashes and you have start the things from the the beginning.

Searching for software serial keys in the computer for the installed applications is a pain in the ass and you can never be sure that you will be able to search for all of them. However, there are few freeware software applications, which make this task extremely easy and simple.

Related: Download software to recover more than 3000 Software Product Keys

Product Key Reader – Freeware Tool to Backup Software Serial Keys

Product Key Reader is one such application, which you can download absolutely free from the link given at the end of this post. You just have to download and installed the application on your machine. It will scan for all the installed software on your computer and make a list of the product serial keys. You can take a print out of this list or save all software keys in an EXCEL file. It is strongly suggested to take backup of this list on some online storage site for easy access when you need them.

The software Product Key Reader scans your computer for product keys of installed software and creates a list of it. You can save the list as backup. Like that you’ll have always a backup of your serial numbers and you’ll never lose one again.

To lose a serial key can be expensive. Mostly it is necessary to buy the software again, which can cost easily hundreds of Dollar. To make a backup with Product Key Reader takes a few seconds and is done with one click. Don’t wait until it is too late. Product Key Reader is 100% for free. No cost at all. Just download the setup file, install it and run the program

The list of the software, whose software serial keys can be scanned by this freeware tool is given on this webpage.

[Download Product Key Reader]

Gone are the days when Mac OS-X machines were considered to be protected against any sort of malware and virus threat. With the rapid increase in the popularity of Mac computers and devices, more and more malware developers are getting attracted towards this platform and new threats are surfacing at a faster pace than ever before.

It is high time that Mac users give it a serious thought and immediately install a decent antivirus on their Mac machines. In this series of posts, we are reviewing some of the best free antivirus applications for Mac OS-X users. Please click on the links given at the end of this post for the reviews.

Sophos Mac Antivirus for OS-X

Sophos is the trusted name for years when it comes to the security software world. Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition offers business-grade protection free for home use. And the protection literally is business-grade – the free version is based on the same Mac virus scanner Sophos uses in their Endpoint Security line.

Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition runs in the background and scans files for threats whenever your Mac opens them. It comes with an uninstaller (Applications/Remove Sophos) in case you want to remove it after trying it on your system.

The best part is that it is lightweight and update on its own without requiring any manual intervention.

Here is a video introduction of Sophos Mac Antivirus Home Edition.

Here is yet another Youtube video, which shows how you can install the Sophos Mac Antivirus on your machine.

One important feature, which distinguishes Sophos Mac Antivirus from others is that it is able to protect your machines from both Windows specific as well as Mac specific malware threats. And this feature alone may put it ahead of many of its competitors.

[Download Sophos Mac Antivirus Home Edition]

Mac OS-X – The Need of Free Antivirus for Mac

There used to be a time when Mac computers were considered almost ‘virus-proof’. It was thought that Windows machines are the only one susceptible to the virus and malware.

This notion was true to some extent also. Mac users are considered, in general, to be more tech-savvy as compared to their Windows users counterparts. They supposedly use sophisticated applications, many of which are the paid ones. On the other hand, Windows is a platform, which is extensively used by people on the lower pedestal of tech-savviness. Some of the Windows users rely of cheap or pirated versions of the applications, which make them vulnerable to the malware threats.

But, situation is changing. With the growth and popularity of Mac machines and devices, malware developers are getting attracted to this lot as well. More and more malware are surfacing, which are targeting the unsuspecting Mac OS-X operating system exclusively. Last year the Mac Defender rogue, which was targeted exclusively at Mac OS-X has created lot of damage to the reputation of the Mac machines and since then, many security vendors have developed and released free antivirus for Mac OS-X.

Here is a Youtube live video, which shows just an example of an malware, which is trying to infect your Mac machine. The video is courtesy of Sophos Labs, a pioneer in the security applications both for Mac as well as Windows machines.

Top 3 Best Free Antivirus for Mac OS-X

In this series of posts, we are reviewing some of the best free antivirus for Mac OS-x. Please click on the links to go the review page of the Mac Antivirus.

1. iAntivirus from PC Tools: PC Tools iAntivirus features realtime protection, scheduled quick scans, and scheduled updates. Monitoring mode keeps iAntivirus working truly in the background.
2. Comodo Antivirus for Mac: Comodo Antivirus for Mac is relatively new offering and is completely free for personal use with no strings attached. The vendor is reliable and has been providing the security software and firewalls for a long time. The user interface of Comodo Antivirus for Mac is a decent and elaborate one, which allows you to tinker the settings as per your needs and requirements.
3. Sophos Mac Antivirus Home Edition: Sophos is the trusted name for years when it comes to the security software world. Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition offers business-grade protection free for home use. And the protection literally is business-grade – the free version is based on the same Mac virus scanner Sophos uses in their Endpoint Security line.

The Growing Need of Mac Antivirus

There used to be a time when Mac computers were considered almost ‘virus-proof’. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. The quantity of Mac viruses is growing at an alarming rate and solid protection against these threats is essential if you wish to prevent identity theft, file corruption or interception of your credit card details.

In this series of posts, we are reviewing some of the best free antivirus for Mac OS-x. For link to the other posts in this series, please go to the end of this post.

PC Tools iAntivirus for Mac

PC Tools iAntivirus features realtime protection, scheduled quick scans, and scheduled updates. Monitoring mode keeps iAntivirus working truly in the background. It is to be noted that iAntivirus works only against Mac specific malware threats. This features allows it to be effective and fast against the MAc specific threat, but some users may find it difficult to digest because it lets you remained exposed to the Windows specific threats.

There is an option which allows you to disable the dock icon, in case you want simplicity in life. But some people may find it useful, because it allows you to simple drag and drop files to quickly scan them for any malware infection.

PC Tools iAntivirus is supports Intel-based Mac OS X v10.5 and higher, and is free for home (and home office) use. Corporate users can purchase a license for approximately $30 which includes free 24/7 tech support.

Features of iAntivirus – Antivirus for Mac from PC Tools

• A variety of scan options: You may perform a variety of scan types using iAntiVirus™.
• Real-time protection: IntelliGuard protects your Mac against infections in real time. Whenever an infection is detected and blocked, an alert is displayed below the system menu bar. Some people, however, may find this feature annoying.
• Quarantine: iAntiVirus™ quarantines all detected infections, allowing you to easily view and restore items in the case of a false positive. Just like any other Antivirus – nothing special about it.
• Automatic Smart Updates: Frequent updates to detect and guard computers against new threats and viruses as well as provide enhancements to iAntiVirus™ are automatically installed and downloaded through the Smart Update function.
• Low resource usage: When in monitoring mode iAntiVirus™ has been designed to work silently in the background, threats are blocked and removed without any system impact.

Video Review of iAntivirus for Mac

Here is a video review of iAntivirus for Mac

[Download  iAntivirus for Mac]