You dreamed? It’s possible.

A developer had the wonderful idea to bring the weather widget (clock) HTC SenseUI to be compatible with Windows.

I found a wide customization with the ability to resize, set the taskbar to stop or turn animations by changing weather widget space. About 28,692 KB (28.6 MB) of RAM use home so not huge if you have more than 2GB of ram, and then it stuck at 28,692 KB, it is rather good, there are program that continues to increase when they are not reduced.

Following a video presentation.

What you’ll need to run it:

- Windows Vista / 7
- Microsoft. NET Framework 3.5 or higher

Size=2.25Mb

Download= HTC Home 2.0

Originally posted here: Weather Widget HTC Sense For Windows Technize - Be Techdated -

If you are addicted to portable software and use them a lot then you must have observed that there is no update option for the portable versions of the software. Thus one has to update each and every portable software manually. This becomes a headache especially when one has a large collection of portable software.

Portable Software Updater comes to rescue in this situation. Portable Software Updater keeps all the portable software downloaded from portableapps.com up to date. Just place the Portable Software Updater in the folder where you have placed portable apps. It will automatically scan the folder for portable apps and operate automatically.

For each program, the user has four options: Check, Check & Download, Check & Run, Check & Silent Install and Don’t Check.

1. Check will just check online for the program’s version

2. Check & Download will also download the online version (if it’s a newer version than the one you have on your computer) to a folder that you choose (default is the desktop)

3. Check & Run will download the online version (if it’s a newer version than the one you have on your computer) and run it

4. Check & Silent Install will download the online version (if it’s a newer version than the one you have on your computer) and install it in the background without the need of assistance

5. Don’t check will not check the online version.

Originally posted here: Update Portable Softwares Automatically With Portable Software Updater Technize - Be Techdated -

I have been using Snagit for a long time for screenshots and screen capturing. A few days back, Sameshow team contacted me for a review of their software, Wondershare screen recorder Democreator. I decided to give it a try and was amazed by it’s capabilities. It’s far advanced than any other screen recording solution I have used.

It gives me three options for screen recording, one, I can capture the screen actions of one window which is very good for application recording. Two, I can set a custom screen size and record the screen actions of the selected area. Thirdly I can record the whole screen. It also gives me the option to either capture a screenshot based on clicks and typing or full fledge recording without any pausing or I can also use F7 key to take the screenshots I want.

If I want to record the audio narration during recording, I can select it on the next screen. Stopping a video is very easy. Just press F10 and the video will stop recording. Then it will show the post recording options where I can preview, edit and produce the video. Editing a video is really a fun work. I get a Microsoft Office 2007 like interface with the Ribbon toolbar.

The best thing I love about Wondershare DemoCreator is the publishing feature. I can publish my videos in flash format or any other popular format such as AVI, WMV, MOV, MP4 and FLV. I can also publish my video optimized for YouTube or otherwise I can also make a standalone executable which can play my video without any media player.

I would highly recommend this tool to all the professionals who do screen casting and screen recording regularly.

Lastly I would like to announce the giveaway of Wondershare DemoCreator software to 10 lucky users of Technize.com. All the users are welcome to take part in this giveaway contest. All you have to do is comment on this article and give your views about technize.com and Wondershare DemoCreator. The ten best commentors will be selected from the comments. Please note that this is a two step giveaway. In the first step, winners will be chosen from the comments and then announced in another article on 14th september 2010. The winners must comment on the winners page to get their licenses.

To follow and participate in further giveaway contests, you can subscribe to technize.com via email or RSS. To suggest or request a giveaway software, go to our giveaways forum. Also see this post for future giveaways that we have planned.

Originally posted here: Wondershare DemoCreator, Screen Recording Software, Review And Giveaway [10 Licenses] Technize - Be Techdated -

A few days back we had started a giveaway of VPNTraffic which is a VPN service for USA and Japan. I had frozen the giveaway and started working on the winners. The winners have been chosen randomly but the quality of the comment certainly does matter in choosing the winners. So I would advise that everyone taking part in future giveaways should give useful comments. So without further waiting, here’s the list of winners:

1- Vinnie

2- naj690

3- Ghulam Mustafa

4- Betaland

5- Gustavo Leig

6- DJ

7- Gazos

8- macsturm

9- jnhng

10- Supra

11- JasonCook599

12- jerry

13- Thomas

14- walang sangit

15- Charley

16- yamato

17- huiyui

18- pr

19- David

20- NiceTake

All the winners must comment on this post to avoid any wasted accounts. After one week, if the winners don’t comment on this post, their account will be given to the next random person. For all those who have not won this giveaway contest should not dispair. We have two more giveaways coming up in this week and one is in next week. If you want to know the details, you can go to technize giveaway forum.

Note: The next giveaway that I’m planning is Wondershare Demo Creator. To discuss about it, suggest or request another giveaway software, go to our giveaways forum. To follow and participate in further giveaway contests, you can subscribe to technize.com via email or RSS.

Originally posted here: VPNTraffic Free VPN Accounts Giveaway Winners Technize - Be Techdated -

Computers are currently so cheap that it’s not uncommon for an average family to have two, three or even four machines in their house. And as the number of household machines grows, so do the challenges associated with protecting them.

If you consider the fact that the average hard drive has roughly a 1 in 10 chance of crashing in any given year… that means your house might have a 30% or higher chance of losing a large amount of important or cherished data.

One of the biggest problems amongst home computer users is that they generally have terrible backup habits. Many home users will back up less than twice a year… and usually only if the computer is starting to act funny.

Another problem is that – with home computing – you are effectively tethered to your machine by your information. If you want to use a different computer, you won’t be able to access your personal files unless you copy them to a USB drive. And then you have to worry about the headache of synchronizing different versions of the same file across different storage devices.

It can all get very confusing. There is, however, a more elegant solution.

By setting up a Network Attached Storage in your home, you can save everyone’s data to a single storage device. This way, everyone in your family can get secure, private access to their files from any computer in the home… or even from remote machines over the Internet.

Another great advantage of having a home NAS is that you can simplify and automate the backup of all your home machines. In fact, if you set up a Linux-based NAS, there are a number of online backup services which can automatically protect this data for you.

Having a home NAS box also offers other interesting benefits for home users such as:

· You can link it up with your gaming consoles

· You can use it as a streaming music server

· You can have it download torrents for you (only legal ones, of course)

· You can use it as a web server

· Etc…

How to set up a Network Attached Storage?

Of course, if you have money to spend, you can go to any computer store and buy a pre-built NAS device. But if you’re short on cash, you can also build your own for free.

Do you have an old computer lying around? Don’t throw it out just yet! FreeNAS is a free, open-source program that can turn any old computer into a NAS device. The program is very light-weight so that it can run on very slow machines without any trouble, and the user-interface is designed to be simple enough for most beginners.

http://freenas.org/

The software comes with a lot of great features already built-in, and it’s supported by a passionate open-source community that is constantly adding new functionality and tools.

Set up a Network Attatched Storage for family today, and take your home networking to the next level.

Guest post by Storagepipe Solutions which provides online backup with support for many different operating systems such as Linux, IBM iSeries, Windows, Mac and more.

Originally posted here: Protecting Your Family’s Data Using Network Attached Storage (NAS) Technize - Be Techdated -

A few days back I had given Safe Returner review and arranged a giveaway contest in which Technize readers who comment on that article would be chosen randomly. The giveaway ended yesterday and today I’m going to announce the winners. So without any further talking, let’s take a look at the winners:

1- malkhaz

2- Fras

3- vhick

4- aungzeya38

5- willieboy

6- ROHIT

7- paf

8- Alvin Bruce

9- ted

10- Tylicia

The winners must comment on this article to get the license of Safe Returner. This step is necessary in order to avoid wasting licenses to wrong email addresses which we have experienced in recent giveaways. The winners who fail to comment within the next one week will void their license and the license will be given to any other user randomly. So, Winners, step in as your licenses are ready to be dispatched to you

Note: The next giveaway that I’m planning is Wondershare Demo Creator. To discuss about it, suggest or request another giveaway software, go to our giveaways forum. To follow and participate in further giveaway contests, you can subscribe to technize.com via email or RSS.

Originally posted here: Safe Returner Free License Winners Announced Technize - Be Techdated -

From the start of the computer, linking back in time to the 1800’s all the way up to its advancement in the 1960’s, the computer has come a long way. This however was nothing compared to the start of the laptop in 1981 which revolutionized the way people thought of computing. Business people, gamers and normal computer users alike were no longer confined to their desks and could move about freely, ok well not entirely free considering the first laptops were huge; but you get the point. Just like advancements were being made then, advancements are being made now in the laptop world and at an even faster rate than ever before.

The year of 2010 has brought about some interesting advances in the field of portable computing with some memorable additions being the iPad as well as advancements in the field of netbooks and laptops with some revolutionary advances in performance enhancing materials being used in the manufacturing of laptops as well as in the development of state of the art hardware. These advances can be summed up in major trends including: the use of higher quality materials in the manufacturing process, the addition of better hard drive and graphic options and the addition of more portable laptop options.

High Quality Materials = High Quality Product

For years the use of hard plastics for the construction of the outer shell of laptops has been fine. It is durable enough for protection and is light enough to not be too inconvenient to carry. Recently however, computer manufacturers such as Sony and Asus are turning to new materials and are leading the way in laptop manufacturing. The addition of one specific material is alloying these manufacturers to create a product lighter than any others on the market while still being incredibly strong and durable. The magic ingredient is carbon fiber alloy, giving the computer a great look and feel without sacrificing any of the important features.

The Hard Drive Revolution

The traditional hard drive has been around for a long time and really hasn’t changed all that much, well that is until recently with the addition of the SSD (Sold State Drive) which is giving the traditional hard drive a run for its money. This new hard drive surpasses the capabilities of even a high end traditional hard drive running at 10,000 RPM’s and is smaller and lighter meaning smaller laptops can have the power and speed of one twice its size; a great addition for on the go users who demand performance.

Gaming on a laptop!

Even though gaming on a laptop isn’t as ideal as a high quality gaming desktop, advances are being made to make gaming on the go a more viable and more enjoyable option. Leading the way in this breakthrough are cutting edge video graphics cards which are now being put in laptops and with the addition of the latest in screen technology, including 3D in some models, gaming on the go is growing in popularity.

Portable, functional, stylish, what else is there?

For a long time, (until 2007) on the go users only had a laptop for an on the go option. In 2007 netbooks were released into the world and have only improved since then. From the addition of SSD (as discussed above) these very small compact computers have as much power as a full sized laptop and with a price (in some cases) half the size. This compact computer helped increase laptop sales by 100% from 2007-08 and have only grown in popularity since then. This year however brought the release of something different, an all in one device known as a tablet with the name of the iPad. This device deemed the “everything killer” by some took the computer market by storm and for some, has even replaced regular laptops. Despite this allegation, laptops are here to stay but it has definitely been a great addition to 2010.

Guest article by Michael Blumreich who is a contributor for the aptly named laptop review site, LaptopReviews.com. He’s currently a university student and lover of all things tech.

Originally posted here: Latest Laptop Trends Technize - Be Techdated -

Mobile broadband is a brilliant innovation that has opened the possibility of accessing the internet, no matter where we are. As with any other technology, mobile broadband too is not completely perfect. It has its own circle of issues relating to coverage, speed etc. While some of these cannot be fixed at the users end, many a time, the solution can be simple if we know what and where to look for.

From what I have experienced, tried and tested, here is a compilation of the most common problems related to mobile broadband and dongles, with some simple and useful tips.

Check How Secure Your Connection Is

Security is one of the most important factors that mobile broadband users must be well informed of. Here are some of the essential security tools that I would say, are must-haves.

Anti Spyware – Spywares collect bits of information at a time without the user’s knowledge to monitor activities or may also redirect your browser, both for the purpose of advertising. They are more common than viruses, and anti spyware tools like Super Anti Spyware detect and eradicate these sneaky programs.

Antivirus – Though your PC might come packed with Norton or McAfee, do not miss out on the other better performing applications. Some antivirus tools can slow down your system. Choose one that has good detection rates and at the same time, does not slow down your PC.

Windows Firewall – Firewalls check and filter out network traffic thus preventing viruses and hackers from creeping aboard. Though firewalls are not as important an anti viruses, they do an almost equally competent job. So, always remember to keep the firewall enabled. Windows Vista, XP or Windows 7 operating systems come with a personal firewall as standard.

These suggestions apply to fixed line connections too.

If Your Connection Is Terribly Slow

The speed of your mobile broadband connection is influenced by several factors like the network coverage, volume of network traffic, interference from other equipment, and even the weather conditions. You should also understand that mobile broadband is not as fast as fixed line connections. Most often, the signal strength will be the reason behind slow connections. To get good speeds, it is important that the area you are in, has good 3G broadband coverage. Although the 3G strength is primary, the signal can still be influenced by obstacles like walls, buildings etc. Installing antennas is known to boost the dongle’s reception strength.

Is The Dongle Compatible With Your PC?

Starting from Windows 2000, broadband dongles generally support all versions of windows, and Mac users will require Mac OS X. Dongles need minimal RAM and hard drive space, so there should be no major problems in terms of compatibility, even if you are using an old system.

If Your Dongle Is Not Installing In Your Laptop

Simply remove the dongle and try a different USB port. If the dongle works there, you will know that the problem lies with the port and not the device.

If you have identified that the problem is not with the port, but rather with the mobile broadband dongle, go to “My Computer” and right click on your dongle’s icon. Then click on “Explore” and look for the “Install” option in initialize installation.

If You Are Unable To Send Text Messages

Many dongles include a software that serves to send and receive text messages from and to the PC. If this service does not work, then the first step would be to check the message centre settings. Similar to that in mobile phones, dongles also have a specific text messaging service centre number. If this number is incorrect or missing, you will not be able to text. However, it is extremely simple to fix this up. You might have to call your provider and just input the numbers they provide, in the software at your end.

If Images In A Page Appear With Poor Quality

When compared to fixed line broadband, some users may witness poorer image qualities in a web page when using mobile broadband to access the internet. This is because of certain compression techniques used by providers. These compression procedures intercepts and then optimizes web requests, resulting in a reduction in size of the request. As a result of this optimization, a web page will load faster and also consume only less bandwidth.

An easy solution to fix this problem is to simply press Shift + F5. This action will cause the browser to send a ‘no cache’ header to the optimizer. The optimizer in turn sends the original decompressed web page to the browser. (This is proven to work well in firefox)

You can also check the optimization settings and browse through your service provider’s website to see if there are any upgrades applicable to your device’s existing software.

If You Have Lost Your Dongle

If you lose your dongle, be sure to act as quick as possible. Because if someone gets hold of the dongle, then it is most probable that they are going to put it to big use and you would end up paying huge bills. Contact you ISP immediately and they might suggest something to block others using the device.

Guest post by Zoe Terzetti who blogs on all things broadband or internet. She is a gadget geek and is presently writing for a Mobile broadband website. Zoe loves experimenting on anything new in the tech world and is a die-hard Apple fan.

Originally posted here: Tips To Troubleshoot Mobile Broadband & Dongles Technize - Be Techdated -

At last the time has come for us to announce the winners of Bullguard Internet Security 9.0 winners. There were a total of 21 comments posted on the Bullguard Internet Security 9.0 giveaway page. There were only 4 licenses that we had to distribute and here are the lucky winners:

TestGOTD75 : Thanks Technize for great giveaway. I am already in search of good Antivirus (preferable Internet Security Suite) for my computer against ever increasing notorious threats. Luckily, I found your website and giveaway. Please count me in. I believe that I will win one license for my computer protection.

bill ehm : I have used the trial and felt secure with it. A full version would be nice to have/win. Count me in.

Rally: Thanks technize, nice giveaways.
I used BullGuard IS before & found good protection. Hopefully can win 1 license to have again the good combinations of Antivirus & Firewall software.

Hofer: Thanks for the giveaways. Please count me in.

Ando: I think that the Bull will protect my PC carefully.

The licenses of Bullguard Internet Security 9.0 will be emailed to the winners shortly. For everyone else, don’t dispair, we have got lots n lots of other softwares coming up for the giveaways. You can see our upcoming giveaways in our Giveaway forums. You can also suggest a giveaway in the forums.

UPDATE: The licenses have been emailed to the winners.

Originally posted here: BullGuard Internet Security 9.0 Lucky Winners Announcement Technize - Be Techdated -

There are so many VPN services that will give a US IP letting us access the internet as if we were sitting in United States. I have also seen many services that give access to European servers but VPNTraffic is has one unique feature that in addition to United States servers, it also offers servers from Japan so that people can use the internet through Japan.

VPNTraffic comes with the standard pricing of $5/month but if anyone purchases the service for 3 months or one year, then a huge discount is given. I have been testing this service for a few days now and am amazed with the speed. I was downloading many files from rapidshare and uploading content via my ftp account and the speed was just bursting, the maximum my internet connection could get. This was with the US servers. I’m still testing the Japan servers.

The best thing about VPNTraffic is that there is no limit to the internet traffic. I think they’re giving 100MBps internet connection to the users of the service. If they maintain a balance between the number of users and the servers, then I think this service will be best for long term usage.

Now coming to the giveaway point, technize.com is giving 20 accounts of VPNTraffic for free to Technize users. To participate in this giveaway contest, you have to leave a comment below. The giveaway will end on 24th of August 2010. So hurry up and give your comments on this giveaway and VPNTraffic service.

To follow and participate in further giveaway contests, you can subscribe to technize.com via email or RSS. To suggest or request a giveaway software, go to our giveaways forum. Also see this post for future giveaways that we have planned.

UPDATE: Giveaway locked. Now we’re working on the winners. The winners will be announced sometime today . Stay tuned.

Originally posted here: Free VPNTraffic, VPN Service For USA And Japan Giveaway(20 Accounts) Technize - Be Techdated -

AnyBizSoft has a whole lot of tools for converting between PDF and other popular formats like Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, HTML and text. AnyBizSoft is giving away free licenses of their PDF to Word Converter for personal use.

Here are some of the features of PDF to Word converter:

• It works as a standalone utility and doesn’t require Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat Reader to be installed
• It also supports encrypted PDF files
• It preserves the structure of the document including the text, images, tables and hyperlinks in and editable Microsoft Word document
• It supports conversion of multiple PDF files to Microsoft Word documents
• It has several conversion modes including batch conversion, partial and right click conversion modes

Here’s the comparison of PDF to Word converter with other converters out there:

AnyBizSoft PDF to Word converter normally costs $29.95 but you can get it for free by visiting this promotion page. Just fill in your first and last name and your email address and click on download. You’ll get an email with the license key while you download AnyBizSoft PDF to Word Converter.

Originally posted here: Download Free AnyBizSoft PDF to Word Converter 3.0 With Free License Key Technize - Be Techdated -

Netbooks are quickly becoming one of the most popular portable computers on the market. Some people may be wondering why this is, given that netbooks have less fancy specifications than most other types of portable computers. Although many netbooks have small hard drives, their ready Internet access (some even have access to 3G networks) makes them ideal for managing online file storage.
Netbooks either focus more on hard drive storage or online storage. If you plan on using the netbook in areas where Internet access is plentiful, then netbooks specializing in online storage might be more up your alley.

Like other types of computers, some netbooks are great and others can be quite crappy. There are a few key criteria used to evaluate netbook computers. How much memory can you get for a low cost? Even if you are running low intensity applications, memory is still a concern. You don’t want to risk a computer crash from the memory routinely being gobbled up by even small applications.
Although it is still difficult to ascertain a rigid order within the top 10, almost all computer review websites have come to some kind of consensus on which netbooks can really be called the top 10 netbook computers. Here’s a list.

Asus Eee

The various models of the Asus Eee netbook are praised for their sleek design and their attention to image and video rendering. This is a good netbook for multimedia content.

Asus N10Jc

This netbook is a beast in many performance tests. However, it sports a beastly size, and is so large that some computer reviewers don’t even consider it a netbook.

Samsung NP

Models in Samsung’s NP netbook line are usually above average in all criteria. If you are looking for a good general purpose netbook, a Samsung NP model will most likely not disappoint.

Lenovo Thinkpad

The Lenovo Thinkpad has excellent performance, and can easily handle more memory intensive applications than other netbooks. However, due to its short battery life, the Lenovo Thinkpad is more of a sprinter than a marathon runner.

Lenovo Ideapad

The Lenovo Ideapad has a massive hard drive for a netbook. It may sport an average processor speed and amount of memory, its virtual memory capabilities are notable.

Acer Aspire One

Acer’s Aspire One line is usually pretty average when it comes to specifications. The design isn’t spectacular. However, Acer Aspire One netbooks are incredibly cheap compared to other netbooks with its specifications.

Toshiba Mini NB

Netbooks in the Toshiba Mini NB line are noteworthy for their physical usability, with large keys and a pretty decent mouse pad. However, it might be a bit too bulky for some.

Gateway LT

Gateway’s LT netbooks probably have the most resilient batteries of those on this list. The bundled software package might be a burden to people looking for a bare bones netbook.

Dell Latitude

The Dell Latitude is one of the most rugged netbooks on the market. Its design is utilitarian, but it does better with wear and tear than many of its competitors.

Dell Inspiron Mini

Another hardy netbook from Dell. It has pretty decent specifics, but suffers from a high weight, and a poor display.

Guest post by Steve Dowell who is a computer geek with several years of experience writing for online publications such as eHow, DemandStudios, Answerbag and more. Feel free to check out his new blog Online Storage.org.

Originally posted here: Top 10 Netbook Computers Technize - Be Techdated -

Is your computer as fast as it was when you purchased it? Are you noticing that the smallest things take time to load on the internet? Take a look at what your computer is doing. Here are some little things that you can do to make your internet faster.

1. Use a third party DNS server

Choosing a third party DNS server like OpenDNS is an option which will make your internet service run faster. It will bring your computer closer to the information that you are seeking.

2. Update your browser

If you are using Internet Explorer, there are updates issued all the time. These updates are intended to close holes in security as well as optimize your system. Take advantage of the updates that are announced in the lower right hand corner of your screen.

3. Use placeholders for pictures

When you want to read the text and ignore the pictures, you can go to the ‘Internet Options’ option under ‘Tools’ in Internet Explorer. From there, go to ‘Advanced,’ and select the option of using placeholders for pictures. This will tell your browser that you don’t wish to see images.

4. Install an ad blocker

There are some sites which have constantly refreshing advertisements. The advertisements will be downloaded each time into your browser. Go to CNet and look for a blocker which will block the pop up ads from your system.

5. Install antivirus software

Antivirus software is absolutely essential on any computer. There are viruses on the web which can be downloaded through seemingly benign web sites, slowing or crashing your system. Make sure that you are virus free by installing an anti viral program like Malwarebytes Anti Malware onto your system.

6. Defrag your hard drive

Many people overlook defragmentation as being the cause of slow speeds. Your computer will write a hard drive’s data to wherever it chooses. Information is more easily found when your drive is defragmented.

7. Turn off unessential programs

Look at the icons near the clock in the lower right hand corner of your screen. Are there any programs which are running in the background which can be turned off? There may be applications that have been set to auto-update. This software can just as easily update when you are not surfing.

8. Keep your programs up to date

There are other programs which assist your browser in bringing you the best internet experience. Applications like Flash and Java need to be kept up to date just like your browser and operating system. Older software tends to make a machine operate less efficiently.

9. Clean your computer

Are there games that you haven’t played in months which are still taking up space? Your computer needs a certain amount of physical hard drive space to run its processes. If it does not have this space, your internet will slow down. Take the time to remove unused software from your machine.

10. Install more RAM

The newer operating systems need at least 1GB of RAM to properly function. If the RAM isn’t there, your computer will be sluggish. Get yourself a couple sticks of RAM and watch your machine speed up.

11. Change your internet settings

When the cache gets full, your net connections will slow down. You can give yourself more cache space by changing the settings in the Tools menu of Internet Explorer. Install your software one piece at a time to make sure that it has the intended effect. Each of the installations and tweaks that you do will add a little bit of speed to your internet browsing. Your computer will soon be zooming to its capacity.

James Adams writes for a leading ink supplies store based in England where he covers new developments in tech, reviews products like the T0715 and contributes posts to their design blog. For more of his writings on Technize, go to James Adams page.

Originally posted here: 11 Tips to Make Browsing the Internet Faster Technize - Be Techdated -

A user asked me about a problem he was having about his computer clock. His computer clock was not showing correct time after the PC was restarted no matter how many times the clock is adjusted but the same situation occurs every time the system is restarted.

I investigated the issue and here’s the solution that we got.

The first solution that I have got from my experience was to replace the system BIOS battery. If the battery becomes low, then the computer clock will keep on resetting every time the computer is restarted. But that was not the case this time.

It was the the wrong Windows time zone that was creating the problem. The user had set the correct time zone but with DST but Day Light Savings were not being implemented in his country. So selecting the correct time zone and disabling DST solved his issue.

Originally posted here: Computer Clock Does Not Show Correct Time After Restart Technize - Be Techdated -

Using social applications puts user privacy at risk. Privacy is of major concern to internet users because of the ubiquitous hacker stories and information that people have, unbeknownst to them, given to companies for marketing use. Recently, sites like Facebook and Twitter have taken privacy into account when developing and adding new applications or programs to their websites. It would appear to some users, however, that these social websites have no concern for the privacy of their users and are leaving privacy issues up to their users to define and identify.

Social websites say that what they consider private may not be to their users and think users can handle the issue on their own. What you put on the internet can be accessed. The first rule of thumb to protect your privacy is to not put anything on the internet that you wouldn’t want published in the newspaper. If you don’t want someone to know your bank account numbers, phone number, home address or social security number; don’t ever enter these items onto or into a social internet website. Some social websites require information upon set up but this doesn’t mean you need to be 100% honest about your personal details or release any sensitive information.

Put your social network page on lock down. Many social networking websites have an options or settings page where you are able to block your personal information to a ‘non-friend’ or other common user or passerby. Religiously conduct lockdowns on your pages to protect your privacy on a monthly basis. In some instances, you are able to block specific information to specific users. Many articles exist online about how to lockdown your social network pages in order to prevent hackers from accessing your personal information. It’s your privacy, you need to protect it.

Guest post by James Mowery who is a computer geek and writes about technology and related topics. To read more blog posts by him, go to monitors.

Originally posted here: Use Facebook, Twitter Without Compromising Your Privacy Technize - Be Techdated -

Modern malware and viruses tend to change the system settings in order to restrict the user from reverting the settings that those malware and viruses have changed. For example, hiding the folder options so that the user may not be able to see the hidden files easily or disabling the registry editor and the task manager. This is done by almost all the malwares out there today.

Safe Returner is a great anti-malware tool which not only removes the malware but also their after effects so that the user does not have to do all the hard work manually. According to the author’s site, Safe Returner is a smart version of Microsoft Sysinternals which shows all the items which load at boot time. Safe Returner goes one step further and scans for malware among those items and removes any detected infections.

Safe Returner is a very light weight programs and doesn’t take a lot of resources. Some of the features of Safe Returner include Heuristic malware detection engine, removal autorun.inf, regular database updates and ignore list. Safe Returner works with all the antiviruses.

Safe Returner is not a freeware and costs about $29.95. For those who want to test Safe Returner can download a 30 day trial from here. And if anyone want to get Safe Returner for free, then here’s the deal from technize.com

Technize is giving 10 licenses of Safe Returner as a giveaway for free. So what you have to do to win a license? Comment on this article and give your views about Safe Returner and that is all what you have to do to enter in the giveaway contest. The contest will end on 24th of August 2010.

UPDATE: Giveaway locked. Now we’re working on the winners. The winners will be announced sometime today . Stay tuned.

Originally posted here: Safe Returner Review And Free Giveaway (10 Licenses) Technize - Be Techdated -

Zeus Trojan has been around for a few years now. It is one of the most active trojans which is in constant state of further development. The last varient of Zeus (ZBot) was found a few months back which was named version 2. Zeus Trojan steals personal information from the infected PC/system. But now a new version of Zeus trojan (Version 3) has just been found which is inflicting major damage in the United Kingdom (UK). While the previous versions of Zeus Trojan were caught by most of the antivirus companies but this new version is very hard to get caught.

Zeus Trojan uses an exploit toolkit named Eleonore exploit toolkit. An exploit toolkit can be used to serve multiple exploits through a web browser. The exploit toolkit makes use of vulnerabilities in web applications to get its work done. Eleonore exploit toolkit uses the following exploits:

• IE MDAC Vulnerability
• Adobe Reader Collab GetIcon Vulnerability
• Adobe Reader CollectEmailInfo Vulnerability
• Adobe Reader newPlayer Vulnerability
• Java Development Kit Vulnerability
• Java Web Start Vulnerability
• Social Engineering Attack – Requires the user to download and execute the payload

CNET reports that about $1 million have been stolen from the United Kingdom bank accounts by using the Zeus Trojan. Interesting thing is that most of the antiviruses have not been able to detect the Zeus trojan. Here’s a report from VirusTotal which shows the detections from known antiviruses:

The picture shows that only 4 antiviruses were able to detect the Zeus trojan version 3. Let’s take a look at how this trojan works. The picture below shows the whole process of Zeus trojan working.

For those who want to go through this process deeply, here’s the pdf file that will help explain the whole process of this trojan.  Till now there is no fix for this trojan (Atleast I have not been able to find one). Most of the antivirus companies are also not able to detect this trojan. So what can we do to minimize the damage done by this trojan?

If you’re in UK, you should take special measures to avoid this trojan. First of all, make sure that you have up to date software in your computer with the latest security updates installed. Especially the following software must be updated:

• Internet Explorer
• Adobe Reader
• Java Development Kit including Java web start

Also make sure that you don’t download anything from unknown websites.

One technique used by Zeus trojan is getting the infected file downloaded through advertisements. Make sure that you don’t click on advertisements until you’re sure that the advertisements are legitimate. I have already written about how to block advertisements in Internet Explorer. If you’re using Firefox, you can use Adblock Plus extension. I will post about a permanent fix of this trojan as soon as I get one. If anyone has a fix or some advice for the infected users, kindly share through comments below.

Originally posted here: Zeus Trojan And Password Stealer Detection And Removal Technize - Be Techdated -

A smart phone can be used by anyone who needs a phone but what is a tablet for? Is it a phone or is it a computer? no .. OMG yes? I don’t really understand the difference. I have never been comfortable with the idea of a tablet as it only fits a specific category of people, never recommended for everyone. But the truth today is that the Tablet war has been started by the release of Apple iPad which received enormous appreciation by its users. But now other competitors have hurried into the market. Let me point out the ones that I have seen.

The first one is Samsung Galaxy. Samsung Galaxy tablet is yet to be launched and is said to compete very well with the Apple iPad. Galaxy will run Android which is a Google Operating System for smart phones and measures around 7 inches. Even the name, Galaxy Tablet, isn’t confirmed yet.  It may be named as Galaxy tab or Galaxy tape. he device as stated above might run on Android 2.2 with a 1.2 GHz A8 processor. It should have a Super AMOLED screen and enough memory capacity consisting of 16 GB of internal storage and 32 GB MicroSD expansion. (Source)

The second one is Asus ee-Pad. The name sounds like iPad. Asus has two versions of their ee-Pad (not sure whether both of them have been released or not). One of the versions will run Windows 7 while the other one will be running Android. I would prefer Android as it’s faster and light weight as compared to Windows 7.

Toshiba SmartPad is expected to be released in October 2010. Toshiba SmartPad will support USB and HDMI connectivity formats. The Operating System of SmartPad is still to be decided but it will be one of the two, Windows 7 or Android.

The last one is K-Mart Augen. I never knew about this brand until I read its review (here). The Augen is a 7-inch tablet that works on Android 2.1. It comes ready with WiFi and has 2GB of storage. It also has 256MB of RAM. It is a nice and simple tablet with a reasonable price tag i.e, $150.

I’m never interested in tablets but the war that has started among the giants attract me towards following more about this topic. Anyone knowing about more tablets and their features please let me know through comments.

Originally posted here: The Computing Tablets War – Apple iPad Alternatives Technize - Be Techdated -

BullGuard Internet Security 9.0 is a security suite provided by BullGuard. It includes almost all the tools and features of a standard security suite. Before going to the technical details, let me tell you my experience about downloading and installing BullGuard Internet Security 9.0. I went to the Bullguard site for downloading the suite and the 60 day trial was easily available on the front page. To my surprise, the download size was only 98 KB but when I double clicked the downloaded file, it started downloading the actual BullGuard Internet Security suite from the internet. It was about 109MB.

Installing BullGuard Internet Security was seamless but it hung while installing the firewall component. I had to restart my PC in order to get rid of the installation process because there was no cancel button in order to cancel the installation in the middle. Second time the installation was smooth and took about 10 minutes to install.

BullGuard Internet Security suite contains almost all the tools that are needed in an internet security suite like anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, firewall etc. The anti-spam tool supports a large number of email clients including Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, Microsoft Mail etc. One thing lacking in BullGuard Internet Security is the parental controls. Parental controls are a great help if one PC is shared with more than one people.

The best thing that attracted me in this security suite is the ability to remotely backup your data online on BullGuard servers. BullGuard gives a modest 5 GB online space for backing up your important files. 24/7 online live support is available and email response time is about one hour which makes the support process extremely good. I was unable to find any phone support which is a negative point for the people residing in the US.

System Resource usage of BullGuard Internet Security was a little higher than normal taking more memory while scanning the system. It took about one hour for scanning my 350GB hard drive. Although the memory usage during the scanning process was quite high, I didn’t feel any system performance degradation during the scan process.

For those who want to test BullGuard Internet Security should download a 60 day trial from here.

For others who want to use BullGuard Internet Security for free should read about the giveaway below

Technize.com is giving away 4 licenses of BullGuard Internet Security 9.0 for free. To participate in the giveaway contest you have to do the following:

1) Comment on this article and give your thoughts about BullGuard.

2) Give a list of 5 best articles on Technize.com in your opinion.

3) Suggest a software for further giveaways

I hope this is easy and everyone coming to Technize.com can take part in this contest. We’ll announce the winners on 17th of August 2010. Stay tuned!

Note: Giveaway locked — Winners will be announced shortly.

UPDATE: The winners of this giveaway have been announced on Bullguard Internet Security 9.0 winners page.

Originally posted here: BullGuard Internet Security 9.0 Review and Giveaway (4 Licenses) Technize - Be Techdated -

First of all I’m really sorry for the delay as I was too much busy with my life and was not able to get online. But now I’m back with the winners of All My Books giveaway contest. For those who have not been able to participate in the contest, let me tell briefly what All My Books is all about.
All My Books is a great software for books cataloging and collection organization. For more details you can see my previous article about All My Books review. Back to the point, here are the lucky winners which were calculated from random.org through comments.

Diane
pa
Bernex

Congratulations to all the winners. I am mailing the winners licenses of All My Books software.
I have not considered the people who didn’t post any links to twitter because this was a requirement in the giveaway. So next time everyone participating should take care that you should give at least one link from any social network to be considered for the giveaway contest.

For the winners, here is how you can register your All My Books software.
If you haven’t downloaded it yet, you can download it from here.

To  apply  your  registration, start All My Books and select menu item

Note  1: Do not share your activation key with anyone! If your key is
shared it will be blacklisted and your license terminated.

Note  2: Do  not  use  default  database  sample.amb as your own book
database  because  it will be rewritten each time you reinstall All My
Books and your newly added books will be lost.

Originally posted here: All My Books Giveaway Winners Technize - Be Techdated -