If, like me, you are looking for more of an instant mailbox, there is a simple way to reduce the polling time of the POP3 Connector. All it requires is a small registry editing and two minutes of your time.

NB – For those unusure of editing their registry, please do not follow this guide without assistance. WillINeedIt cannot be liable for any damage caused.

To open the registry editor, all you need to do is click Start –> Run and then type regedit.

Once this is open:

1. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/SmallBusinessServer/Network/POP3 Connector”.
2. On the “Edit” menu, point to “New”, and then click “DWORD Value”.
3. Type “ScheduleAccelerator” (without the quotation marks) as the entry name, and then press ENTER.
4. On the “Edit” menu, click “Modify”.
5. In the “Value data” box, type the value that you want, and then click “OK”. To determine the polling interval, the value that is configured on the “Scheduling” tab in the GUI is divided by the value that you type for the ScheduleAccelerator entry.For example, if a 15 minute interval is specified in the GUI and you set the value of the ScheduleAccelerator entry to 3, the connector will poll ever five minutes.
6. Quit Registry Editor

Once this is set, you will be able to download emails at a more specific interval.

[Source]

Content Copyright © 2008 - 2009 by WillINeedIt.com. All rights reserved.

How To: Change The Download Frequency Of The POP3 Connector On Microsoft Exchange

When you want to download a TV episode, it’s as easy as visiting your favourite Bittorrent website, performing a search and then clicking download. This brings with it a little sense of repetition and it can be tiresome if you follow quite a few different television series and have to perform numerous searches to download each episode.

One way to automate the download process is to take advantage of RSS, many Bittorrent websites provide RSS feeds to allow syndication of their listings to different Bittorrent applications that support it. This article will show you how to add RSS feeds to uTorrent and configure it to download each television episode as soon as it’s available.

Step One – Find The RSS Feed

There are a few sites that provide reliable TV torrents, the one I use was called TVRSS but has since renamed to ezRSS.

If you click the above link, you will be presented with a search box. Here you need to enter the name of your chosen TV series and click search. For the purposes of this article, we will use True Blood as an example.

Once you have performed the search, you will [hopefully] be presented with a complete listing of all of the episodes and seasons of your chosen search. Below you will find the listings for both seasons of True Blood:

What you need to do here is to click click the link at the top of the table entitled Search-based RSS Feed and then copy the link location:

This is the link you will add to uTorrent. Make sure you paste this somewhere so you don’t lose it.

Step Two – Add The RSS Feed To uTorrent

Adding the RSS feed to uTorrent is really simple and requires you to click the big orange RSS logo on the top toolbar.

Paste your RSS feed into the Feed URL box and then select Custom Alias. Here you can call your feed something that works for you. There is the option to download the items in the feed automatically but this gives you no control over what episodes from what seasons you may want to start from.

You will now have a new feed in the left hand panel, in my case called True Blood:

You can download these episodes individually by double clicking them but of course, you want automatic downloads!

Step Three – Configuring The RSS Downloader

The last part is configuring the RSS Downloader to recognise the episodes you want to download. Here you can specify what season of the series you wish to download and only download the newest files when they are released.

Inside uTorrent, right click the RSS panel and then select RSS Downloader from the resulting menu:

The RSS Downloader will simply ask you to define the criteria of the episodes you wish to download. You will need to add a new filter, renaming it to a name that works for you.

Inside the Filter Settings, the Filter field needs to be the name of the episode listed in the RSS Feed. You then define where you would like the episode to be downloaded to and then under Feed, select the RSS feed you added in Step Two.

The most important part is Episode Number, this is how the downloader will know what episode from what season to download. For example, if I wanted to download the entire second season of True Blood, I would put the following in the box: 2×1-24. This tells the downloader that it’s the second season and will expect there to be 24 episodes. Say you had already download the first five episodes and wanted uTorrent to download the sixth episode onwards, you could use 2×6-24.

Finally, tick the Smart ep. filter check box and you should all be set. To help, the settings I have for True Blood are listed below:

Clicking close will save your settings.

To add more RSS feeds, all you have to do is follow the exact same process as the one listed here. I have around ten shows listed and all download automatically, you just need to make sure uTorrent is running when you computer starts up otherwise they will not download. uTorrent needs to be open for all torrents to process and download.

Content Copyright © 2008 - 2009 by WillINeedIt.com. All rights reserved.

How To: Download TV Torrents Automatically With uTorrent

Some people buy domains and never have any intention of using them, sitting on the domain hoping that someone would buy it off of them for a much higher price than originally bought for. Others snap up domains that are relevant to their business, nickname or their full name, so that they can ensure other people can’t have their website mistaken for their own. But then again, some just buy domains and completely forget about them, renewing them just in case they decide to use them in the future.

For those people who have bought their domain but have no idea how to use it, we have compiled a list of really cool things you can do with your domain (in some cases needing hosting too) that will enable you to have some fun, become more organised and publicise yourself or your business.

1. Create A Personal/Family Email Address

When you register your domain, you also have the ability to setup email addresses on that domain. Your registrar will give you different options with how to handle email but one very useful tip is to combine your email with calendars, websites and other applications by harnessing the power of a Google Apps account.

What is Google Apps?

A Google Apps account allows you to tie your domain into Google’s suite of tools, accessing them from all over the globe without any software installed. This is especially useful for large families, organisations and business as you are able to use the service to collaborate and plan workloads and events.

Say you register matt@mydomainname.com, you will be able to add the rest of your family to the apps account, keeping all of your emails and data secure, even removing people when they don’t need it anymore.

All that is needed to set an account up is to fill in a few forms and make a few changes with your registrar as to where your email will be handed. Google Apps is free for personal and small business use and is a great way to get into handling your own email, calendar and documents remotely.

2. Use Your Domain As A URL Shortener

If you use Twitter or any other social networking site, you maybe familiar with URL shorteners. These tools exist to help people post long web addresses when character limits are in force. There are a huge number of third party URL shorteners on the web but many people are now waking up to the idea that they can be in complete control of their own URL shorteners, maintaining their own data and giving them the opportunity to share their website content on Twitter or Facebook.

There are quite a few services that allow you to use your own domain to shorten URL’s and some do require your own web host to be able to successfully set them up:

• awe.sm – is a hosted URL shortening service that creates tiny links for easier sharing on Twitter, in emails or via Instant Messenger. It provides detailed statistics for your shared links, integrates with Google Analytics and allows multiple users. The service also offers an API to integrate with other applications.
• Yourls – this PHP script allows you to run your own URL shortener, a la TinyURL. You can make it private or public, and a WordPress plugin makes integration with your WordPress blog (and Twitter) a snap.
• Shorty – Shorty is a simple tool for creating shorter, human- readable links from long URLs. You install Shorty on your server, so the links you create with it never go away. You can also manage your links and see how often people click on them.

For more URL shortening services, check the links here and here.

3. Create Your Own Website or Blog

As the internet has grown, it has become easier and easier to setup your own website or blog with numerous services allowing you to register with them in a number of seconds. Here, people are able to write about what is passionate to them, show off their photos and portfolios.

Setting up a website is easy, there are quite a few free services available that will allow you to register your website and then point your domain name to. Some of these include:

• Blogger – A blog service provided by Google. The service is ranked number seven of all websites on the internet.
• Wordpress – This blogging service is available as a pre-hosted or user hosted service. Users can download Wordpress files and install them on their own server with their domain name or have Wordpress host the service and then tie in their domain name.
• LiveJournal – Livejournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. Widely thought to be the first proper blogging service.
• Posterous – This service is aiming to revolutionise blogging by changing how users publish their content. Users can simply email text, photos, videos and music to their blog and Posterous takes car of the rest.

All of these services allow you to get up and running with a website very quickly. They all allow you to use your domain name with their services, giving that added sense of personality.

4. Run Adverts On Your Domain And Make Money

Did you know you could make money just by running Google adverts on your spare domain? Well, you can and setting it up is really quite easy, all courtesy of Google Adsense For Domains.

Lets see what Google say about it all:

AdSense for domains allows publishers with undeveloped domains to help users by providing relevant information including ads, links and search results.

With AdSense for domains, users can find relevant information rather than see empty pages or "page not found" errors. To ensure positive user experience and the quality of our network, these sites are monitored for policy compliance and prohibited from using text and images designed to confuse users.

AdSense for domains provides advertisers with additional opportunities to find their customers, and ads on these pages convert well. In addition, we regularly receive requests from advertisers who have found domains to be an effective way to reach their users.

To setup Google Adsense for domains, simply click here.

Conclusion

There are numerous different things you can do with your own domain, we have chosen to highlight just four. These suggestions will allow you to make money, organise your home and work life and promote yourself on the web.

Do you have any other suggestions that you think might make this list? Why not add them in the comments?

Content Copyright © 2008 - 2009 by WillINeedIt.com. All rights reserved.

4 Cool Things You Can Do With Your Domain

If you are one of those people (like me) who are in need of a very reputable and ultimately reliable backup solution then we have something right up your street!

What’s This All About Then?!

WillINeedIt.com is pleased to announce an awesome giveaway courtesy of the guys at Mozy, a free years subscription to MozyHome Online Backup which has no limits on what you can backup! This means that all of your treasured data and media can be automatically synced via your internet connection to a super-secure off-site backup, that will simply stay there until you need it!

Mozy believe:

• You shouldn’t have to think about backup.
  Backup should be set up once, and then work automatically.
• Your files should be encrypted.
  Your backup files should be encrypted and stored in a secure, remote location that’s only accessible to you — from anywhere.
• Your backups should be smart.
  Your backup system should be smart enough to only back up data that’s not already been backed up, only back up parts of a file that have changed, and be able to back up open and locked files.

All that’s required to use Mozy is for you to register an account and download their special software that will allow you to choose what you wish to backup. The files you choose are encrypted so no third party can intercept them and they will also be updated incrementally so you aren’t having to re-upload the same files again and again, just the one’s that have either be added, edited or removed.

It’s a simple, effective service that’s so reliable, we wanted you to be able to find out just how reliable it is. We are going to give away three subscriptions to Mozy Home Unlimited, enabling you to be able to forget about losing all your data should the worst happen.

How Do I Win?

Entering this giveaway is very easy, all you need to do is the following:

• Subscribe to WillINeedIt, either by RSS, Email, Twitter, Facebook (or even all four!)
• Retweet @willineedit on Twitter, letting your friends and followers know about this awesome giveaway.
  
• Comment below saying you have subscribed and tell us what what is the most important thing of your computer that you would back up.

And that’s it!

Each entry will be assigned a number with the three winners being chosen using a random number generator. Make sure that you use a valid email address or social profile when you comment so we can forward your details to Mozy should you win!

The contest is running from this very moment (10:00am, October 27) through 11:59pm on November 5 (UK Time), winners will be contacted November 6th.

The very best of luck to all!

Content Copyright © 2008 - 2009 by WillINeedIt.com. All rights reserved.

WillINeedIt Giveaway – Win A Mozy Home Unlimited Subscription!

This update meant that a lot of jailbroken iPhone users lost their carrier unlocks and their jailbroken firmware, resulting in them losing the ability to run custom apps and much more. Until last week, there wasn’t an easy way to get these customisations back but after a very timely release from the GeoHot team, it is now possible to jailbreak your Apple device and very quickly too.

The following article explains how to unlock your iPod 3G/3GS and iPod Touch on a Windows machine. This will not unlock your iPhone to work on other mobile carriers and it is advised to wait until the PwnageTool is released by the iPhone Dev Team before upgrading your iPhone from 3.0 or 3.1.

Please Note: This tutorial is for informative purposes only and will void your warranty. We cannot be held accountable for any damage caused to your device.

1. Download Blackra1n

The first part is simple, navigate your favourite browser to blackra1n.com and click the little Windows icon at the bottom (to reiterate, this is for Windows machines only).

Save this file to your Desktop or the root drive of your computer (normally your C:\ drive).

2. Running Blackra1n

Once saved, you will need to run the application. Before doing so make sure that your device is plugged into the machine you are using and that it is switched on.

Some users have remarked that having some of the iTunes processes running on their machine stopped the jailbreaking process from completing. To stop this happening, users have suggested killing the following processes from the Task Manager before running the Blackra1n application:

• iTunesHelper
• iPodService
• mDNRSResponder

Some users have also killed the AppleMobileDevice and some haven’t. If you experience errors, try with and without this process running.

Double click the Blackra1n application and then click “make it ra1n”.

This will attempt to put your phone into recovery mode:

Once it has done this, it should then change the screen of your phone. Instead of seeing the Apple logo, you should see the following image on your device:

This will change the Blackra1n status to the following:

Before waiting for a complete reboot:

Once this has all finished, you will be presented with the following screen:

And you are all done! Once your device restarts, there will be a new app on your iPhone called “Blackra1n”. Run this and select that you want to install Cydia. This is the app of choice to download jailbroken apps and personalise your iPhone.

Cydia will then reside on your iPhone once more, ready for you to completely kit out your device.

Conclusion

This is a relatively pain free and easy way to jailbreak your iPhone.

If you complete the following steps and are presented with a graphic depicting a USB Cable and an iTunes logo, do not panic, simply hard reboot (hold the power and home buttons for about 8 seconds) and restart the device.

It took a few attempts to complete these steps so do not dismay. You may need to temporarily disable your antivirus and firewall applications should you still have problems.

Content Copyright © 2008 - 2009 by WillINeedIt.com. All rights reserved.

Jailbreak Your iPhone 3G and 3GS On 3.1.2 Firmware With Blackra1n

I make a point of sourcing and employing freeware applications on my computer, taking time to test them against their paid-for counterparts to see if they will enable me to the job I am after. This can be a lengthy process but it is all the more worthwhile when you can recommend these tools to friends and family, saving them time and money when outfitting their computers with the software they need.

I would like to share with you 10 really useful and free applications that I would be lost without on my Windows machine. I will try to include all relevant information, links and screenshots so that you can make an informed decision before you decide to download an use them.

1. Dropbox

Dropbox, put simply, is the internet equivalent of your USB key or hard drive. When installed, the application will create a folder on your computer that will be your “Drop Box”, a folder that you drop files into and then be synced with your online storage and any other computer (Mac, Windows, Linux) that you decide to install the Dropbox client on.

File changes are tracked by the software and there is the option to “undelete” files that you may have mistakenly deleted or moved previously. Dropbox offer 2 Gigabytes of storage free to all users but also allow additional chunks of storage to be purchased should you use up your allotted quota.

The screenshot above shows my Dropbox storage. You can create as many different folders as you wish and fill them with any type of file. The small green icons on the folders and files indicate these files have been synced.

Perhaps the most useful part of my Dropbox account is the ability to share files with my friends and family. Each Dropbox account comes with a “Public” folder where you can drop files, photos and music, right click on the file and then select “Copy Public Link”. Sharing this URL will then allow anybody to download that file.

All in all, Dropbox is a great way to make sure your important files are synced from your work, home, laptop and desktop without having to carry around any piece of hardware.

Disclosure: If you sign up to the service using the link below, both you and I will receive an extra 250MB of storage, on top of the default 2GB. Neither myself or WillINeedIt will receive any referral fee whatsoever.

Link: www.get-dropbox.com

2. Crossloop

Crossloop is a really useful tool that enables you to remotely administer both yours and other peoples computers. Crossloop employs the popular screen sharing software VNC but makes it a lot easier for the two parties to connect.

The software allows two parties to connect by using a randomly generated access codes, the connector asking for the connectee’s details and then entering the exact code into their Crossloop panel.

Once both sides have approved the connection, the person accessing the connectee’s computer will have full control of that persons computer via a VNC connection screen. They are then free to help identify or eliminate any problems, install problematic programs or generally perform any tasks wished for by the person in distress.

Crossloop do offer a service for IT Professionals, allowing them to advertise their services and create an online IT assistance practice, but for most people it’s a very quick and easy way to help another computer user in distress.

Link: Crossloop

3. Paint.NET

Paint.NET is a free image and graphic editor that was originally started as a senior college design project, mentored by Microsoft and grew to be a software released to replace the original Microsoft Paint program bundled with copies of Windows.

Paint.NET incorporates features that would typically be found in higher end, paid-for, software releases like Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro. The software, in it’s current release, supports; layers, special effects, unlimited undo, plugins and external tools.

This program has become my editor of choice, it’s features are clever and intuitive and the program runs quickly and efficiently. It’s a great substitute for people who need an editor that doesn’t cost the earth to purchase.

Link: Paint.net

4. VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is the self titled “Swiss Army Knife” of video players. For years I used to struggle with the sheer amount of codecs and files needed to play a simple video file. VLC takes away the need for that, it literally plays anything you can throw at it.

Besides playing videos, did you know it can also:

• Rip DVD’s
• Record Videos
• Play Files Within A RAR File
• Play Hundreds Of Radio Stations (via Shoutcast)
• Converts Audio and Video To Different Formats

VLC Media Player isn’t just for Windows but is supported on Mac as well as Linux. Replace Windows Media Player with VLC, you won’t regret it.

Link: Videolan.org

5. Rocketdock

I don’t know about you but I hate clutter. I like my computer desktop to be clear albeit for a few icons. One of the applications that helps me do this is Rocketdock, a system tool that mimics the OS X dock, allowing you to launch and minimise programs to and from it.

One of the good things about Rocketdock is the sheer amount of customization you can apply to the dock itself. The dock comes with over twenty inbuilt styles, some matching the styling of Vista, Mac, Ubuntu, with some more generic styles also.

You can choose whether running applications minimise to the dock (although this increases memory usage), specify the fonts used, the location and also the applications you wish to have present on the dock (probably the most important part).

To furnish your dock, all you need to do is to drag a programs shortcut to the application and it will sit on the dock where you specify. To delete, drag the icon off of the dock, it’s that easy.

Link: Rocketdock

6. Microsoft Security Essentials

This is a very new addition to my list but I think it deserves it all the same. We recently reviewed the new release antivirus, spyware and malware scanner from Microsoft and were very impressed with it’s simplicity and scanning results. Many “Top X Freeware” lists include the obligatory nod to AVG Free but I have found it to be a resource hog and actually cause more problems that it solves. AVG must have been listening because they have recently announced a new version of their software that aims to reduce the very problems mentioned above.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a free download but requires you to have a valid copy of Windows. With new releases planned very soon, we will hopefully see more and more customizable features from the already very useful software.

Link: Microsoft

7. IZArc

Another Windows utility that we have mentioned before, IZArc is a compression tool that is every bit as good as it’s well known competitor; WinRAR.

IZArc supports a huge number of different file formats: 7-ZIP, A, ACE, ARC, ARJ, B64, BH, BIN, BZ2, BZA, C2D, CAB, CDI, CPIO, DEB, ENC, GCA, GZ, GZA, HA, IMG, ISO, JAR, LHA, LIB, LZH, MDF, MBF, MIM, NRG, PAK, PDI, PK3, RAR, RPM, TAR, TAZ, TBZ, TGZ, TZ, UUE, WAR, XXE, YZ1, Z, ZIP, ZOO.

If you are sent or send a lot of compressed archives, IZArc is a very functional piece of software that reduces the need to install separate tools for the same job.

Link: IZArc

8. Pidgin / Digsby

I include two suggestions here, mainly because of how Digsby stand with their software agreements.

Pidgin is a freeware, multi-protocol chat client. It connects to MSN, AIM, IRC, Yahoo, gTalk, Facebook Chat and many more services. It has the ability to be themed, extended with plugins and generally does everything you need within a chat application.

Digsby is very similar to Pidgin in how it works, it supports a large number of chat networks but it also allows you to bring in your social profiles like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Linkedin aswell as handling email accounts. The only thing that may stop people from using Digsby is the fact it has an agreement in place that bundles a piece of software on to your computer that, with your permission, will use your computers idle processing time to crunch data. Until recently this wasn’t disclosed and users couldn’t opt out but since a public uproar they have changed their terms and allowed people to choose whether this feature is enabled or not.

Links: Pidgin / Digsby

9. Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox brought change to the internet browser market. Being completely open-source, customizable, extensible, standards compliant and best of all, free, it revolutionised how people could browse the internet.

Firefox allows it’s users to create custom extensions for the browser, enhancing the already powerful built in features and sometimes removing annoyances such as website advertising and popups.

New features are being rolled out for this browser all the time and as developers keep creating fantastic extensions, it’s uses will know no bounds.

Link: Mozilla Firefox

10. OpenOffice

The final addition to this list is probably one of the most important, mainly because it takes on the might of Microsoft at full force and has triumphed. OpenOffice is basically an open-source, free alternative to the very popular Microsoft Office. It caters for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and more, supporting it’s own open standards aswell as opening any Office created files.

OpenOffice currently supports over 80 languages and is available on nearly every operating system in existence. If you don’t want to spend lots of money just to open Microsoft Office documents, this is your knight in shining armor.

Link: OpenOffice

Conclusion

It was a difficult decision to list just ten applications that should be installed on a Windows PC. I had intended to name more but because the functionality of some of the programs that run on Windows XP has now been implemented into Windows 7, it didn’t make sense to include them.

There are, however, some honourable mentions:

• Filezilla – A very useful FTP client.
• Audacity – A great sound editing program.
• Notepad++ – My text editor of choice, supports all well known programming language.
• Taskbar Shuffle – Allows you to drag and drop your open programs on your Windows XP taskbar.
• uTorrent – A lightweight but massively powerful Bittorrent client.
• CDBurner XP Pro – Probably the best free Windows CD burning software.
• CCleaner – a system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool.

Again, all of these tools are free and are easily available to download from the links provided. If you think we omitted something glaringly obvious or have suggested something that you feel has a better alternative, let us know in the comments.

Content Copyright © 2008 - 2009 by WillINeedIt.com. All rights reserved.

10 Freeware Applications You Should Install On Your Windows PC

The new HTML 5 is a vast improvement over HTML 4. For example, instead of having to install a separate program to run flash (Adobe Flash plug-in, which is sadly not compatible with Safari Mobile), HTML 5 would be able to run video and sound files without the need for additional plug-ins. Some other new functions include 2-D drawing inside the HTML code, timed media playback (playing a file, say fifteen seconds after you load the website), offline storage (similar to cookies, but more advanced), document editing (Google Docs or Office Live), drag-and-drop (good for file hosting where you have to specify the path of the file), and much more. You may wonder how much of this may affect an average user, but these changes are quite significant. Flash files are larger than most components in a website. These files create beautiful special effects, but they may take some time to load on old, or slow computers. The new HTML 5 will integrate that into itself, so that it can play videos and sounds without having to load much extras. Document editing is currently restricted to its respective online service, like Office Live or Google Docs. These both require you to import files in order to edit and distribute, but the improvements in the HTML 5 allow it to be edited locally and saved locally, without having to upload and download the file.

All this may sound very nice, but as stated above, Internet Explorer does not support the HTML 5, whereas Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari all support it. With the release of Google’s new Google Wave service, they also release a new method of allowing Internet Explorer work with HTML 5 with a plug-in. Their Google Chrome Frame is something you just install into your computer, and whenever there is a website with a certain metadata embedded into the HTML, it will automatically change Internet Explorer to run on the Google Chrome rendering engine, rather than the Internet Explorer’s default one. This new introduction of the frame makes it easier for web programmers, since they can make Internet Explorer render the exact same page as Google Chrome, which eliminates a few shortcomings when it comes to the way Internet Explorer renders pages (such as mis-aligned boxes, uncentered objects, etc.). The main reason why Google released this wasn’t to kick Microsoft in the back, but rather to allow everyone to be able to use their Wave service in the future. Internet Explorer makes up a very large group of browsers used (even though it is arguably the worst), so developers cannot afford to just forget about Internet Explorer.

Chrome, within IE8, there is no decernable difference.

I tried using it for a while, and I certainly noticed it is faster in rendering webpages than the original Internet Explorer 8. I generally use Google Chrome because of its clean interface and fast response, this plug-in really makes Internet Explorer a joy to use (even though there is still the issue with slow opening and memory usage). I’m running a 64-bit computer, so I can’t be sure whether or not it would work on the 64-bit edition of it or not. I’ll update it this post when I create a simple HTML document to simulate it.

While I expect that Google’s intentions are good, it is rather audacious for them to do something like this. I think that this will make it much better for users, even though the large portion of the users using Internet Explorer wouldn’t know how to install the Google Chrome Frame. Hopefully the next Internet Explorer will be able to support HTML 5 in the next version, but until then, we’ll just have to live with this and hope Microsoft doesn’t release a security patch “addressing 3rd party plug-ins affecting the core functionality of the browser”.

Content Copyright © 2008 - 2009 by WillINeedIt.com. All rights reserved.

Google Releases Plugin To Run Google Chrome Within Internet Explorer

Not only will you be able to chat with friends on a multitude of different networks, you will be able to share images, videos and the pages themselves on Facebook, Twitter and Email as you browse the website using the impressive “Drag To Share” function. To take advantage of this, simply hover over the content you wish to share and you will be asked to drag the snippet to the location of your choice (shown in the screenshot below).

Users can also share content with their friends as they chat, again by dragging the specified image or video into the dialog box of the person you are chatting with.

On the far left of the toolbar is the option to share the website instead of particular parts of it. To take advantage of this, click the “Share Page” button (shown below).

We hope that you enjoy being able to read and share our content whilst chatting with friends, if you have any comments or suggestions, drop us a line in the comments section.

Content Copyright © 2008 - 2009 by WillINeedIt.com. All rights reserved.

The Meebo Bar Comes To WillINeedIt, Chat To Your Friends And Share Content As You Browse

Users of Windows XP who held back from upgrading their systems to Vista will have a little bit of a shock when they come to upgrade their systems to Windows 7, mostly because there isn’t a natural upgrade process between the two systems. Coupled with numerous cosmetic changes and a complete graphic overhaul, many people will be swimming in a Windows sea without any sight of land.

That’s where we come in! Today we will list 14 simple tips and tricks you can use on your Windows 7 installation, stopping you from sinking under the torrent of all the new features that comes with it.

1. Natively Burn Disc Images

If you have an ISO disc image that you wish to burn, simply double-click the file, choose the disk drive that you will be burning it from and the inbuilt Windows 7 tools will take care of the rest.

2. Adjust Your Screen Calibration To View Text And Images Clearer

Windows 7 comes with a really neat built in calibration tool for your monitor allowing you to choose how text and images are rendered by your system. To take advantage of this, simply hold the Windows Key and type “DCCW”.

3. Lock Your Screen With A Single Click

Locking the screen on a Windows installation is as easy as holding the Windows Key + L. There is an easy way to lock the screen with a single click, using a custom shortcut and a line of text. To set this up, right click on your desktop, select New –> Shortcut. Here you need to enter following text in the “Type The Location Of The Item”:

rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation

Give the shortcut a name and click Finish. Drag the newly created shortcut to the taskbar and “Pin” the item, giving it a custom icon should you wish.

4. Open Another Instance Of The First Program Running In Your Taskbar

If you are a website coder or someone who needs to open multiple instances of the same program you can achieve this by making sure you have the program you wish to open again as your first taskbar item and then pressing the Windows Key + 1.

5. Create A System Repair Disc

One of the main problems with my Windows XP discs were that they were never bootable. This meant you had to find alternative ways to access the repair mode using the XP disc. Windows 7 allows you to create a system repair disc to allow you to boot when all other options don’t work.

To use this, click Start –> Maintenance –> Create A System Repair Disc.

6. Install Fonts By Double Clicking Them

No more copy and pasting or dragging fonts into your system folders.

7. Switch Windows Between Monitors Using Your Keyboard

If you have more than one monitor connected to your computer, Windows 7 allows you to shift windows from one monitor to the other using Windows Key + SHIFT + Left Or Right Arrow Key.

8. Minimise An Active Window Using Windows Key + Down Arrow

9. Set Your Systems Time Zone From The Command Line

With Windows 7 comes the ability to use the inbuilt time TzUtil utility that allows you to set a systems time zone using different scripted commands.

To set the time zone to GMT use: tzutil /s “gmt standard time”

To list the possible time zones use: tzutil /l

To view the current time zone: tzutil /g

10. Combine Taskbar Icons

If you run Windows 7 on a netbook and screen real-estate is a precious commodity, you can combine icons on your taskbar by right-clicking the taskbar, selecting Properties and then Taskbar, ticking the Combine When Taskbar Is Full option.

11. Minimize Everything Except The Current Window

This is as simple as holding the Windows Key + Home.

12. Find Out Why You Can’t Delete Or Edit A File

More of a feature than a tip, Windows 7 will tell you exactly why you can’t delete or move a file whilst it’s in use.

13. Shutdown The Computer Using The Keyboard

The Windows 7 changed this shortcut for Vista and Windows 7 users as it used to HIbernate the computer when doing this inside XP. To shutdown hold Windows Key + Right + Enter.

14. Auto Arrange Desktop Icons Without Right Clicking The Desktop

If you had a messy desktop and you wanted to auto arrange the icons using Windows XP or Vista, you would right click the desktop and select Auto Arrange. Windows 7 allows you to hold F5 for a limited amount of time before doing this for you.

Conclusion

These are just 14 tips that I have accumulated since using Windows 7, I learnt most of the from the following websites:

• Petri
• Techradar
• Tim Sneath
• gNoted

It’s a good idea to read the above websites and get to learn about all Windows 7 has to offer.

Content Copyright © 2008 - 2009 by WillINeedIt.com. All rights reserved.

14 Quick And Simple Windows 7 Tips and Tricks

There are a number of free antivirus solutions for Windows, some of the most popular distributions including; AVG, Avast, ClamWin, Avira Antivir. One company you might have expected to write their own antivirus software for Windows would be the creators of the operating system the viruses were designed to exploit; Microsoft. Sadly that was not the case…until now!

Today I am pleased to introduce and review Microsoft Security Essentials, a free real-time protection software designed to keep your system free from Viruses, Trojans, Spyware and Malware. We will take a look and see just how well it fares against other, more well-known virus scanners.

Installation

Obtaining your copy of Microsoft Security Essentials is very straightforward, providing you own a valid copy of Microsoft Windows. The Essentials team have catered for most Windows installations, up to and including Windows 7, the latter being due for release in the coming month.

To download the software, simply navigate to the Microsoft Security Essentials website located here. The download button is patently obvious, staring at you from the middle of the page so give that a click, selecting your country and your operating system version in the resulting pop-up box:

You should now have downloaded the application to your hard drive and begun the installation process. The first couple of steps will determine whether your copy of Windows is genuine before letting you install the suite onto your system.

Using Microsoft Security Essentials

When the software is first launched, it will attempt to connect to the update server and make sure your antivirus and program definitions are up-to date. It will also ask you to specify whether it should perform an initial “Quick Scan” of your system before letting you play with the program.

The design of Microsoft Security Essentials is very minimal, making it easy for people who are new to antivirus software to find their way around the different options and tabs.

The “Home” screen alerts the user as to the status of the scanner itself, by default the “Real Time Protection” should be set to “On”, giving you piece of mind that the software is sitting in the background, quietly processing and checking files as you work. Here you are also able to perform a scan of your computer, choosing from the options “Quick”, “Full” or “Custom”.

A “Quick” scan will perform a virus scan on the most commonly used destinations used to harbour infected files, both on your hard drive and registry. A Full scan will thoroughly scan your ENTIRE computer and will most likely take a good few hours but it is probably the best way to make sure you don’t have an infected file doing some damage somewhere in the corners of a random folder somewhere in your files.

A “Custom” scan is, you guessed it, a scan you can specify what folders are scanned. This is for the more advanced users who have multiple hard drives and complex systems.

Scanning Results

My computer runs pretty well and I employ general good computer practices when downloading files I don’t know so I was expecting my scan results to come back clean. I had previously scanned my computer with AVG Free and other than a few mentions of Tracking Cookie’s, it came back clean. To Microsoft’s credit my scan was clean except two possible exceptions, stemming from an installation of UltraVNC. Here I guessed the scanner identified these files could be used to create a backdoor in a Windows system but I use UltraVNC to administrate my home PC remotely so I added them to the sale list for future scans.

As you can see Microsoft Security Essentials has alerted me to possible threats but I have chosen to allow them on my computer. It’s also nice to be able to see why it was flagged and an explanation of where the file was found.

Conclusion

From what I have seen of Microsoft Security Essentials, the software is genuinely a very good piece of kit. The download file is small, the options and settings are easy to understand and even though I don’t have a particularly vulnerable system, the threats it did detect were valid.

The scanner seems to be less resource hungry than it’s more established counterparts, especially considering AVG Free weighs in at least 60MB. One downside I did notice was that it doesn’t support scanning of email and also instant messaging file transfers but these features will probably come in future updates.

I can see no reason why you wouldn’t be able to switch your antivirus over to Microsoft, they do have a pretty clear idea of what weaknesses are on their systems after all. Download the tool, give it a try and let us know what you think, from what we can see it’s pretty darn good.

Content Copyright © 2008 - 2009 by WillINeedIt.com. All rights reserved.

A Look At Microsoft Security Essentials, A Free Antivirus, Spyware And Malware Scanner