Usage of this program is simple. Download (1.3Mb) and install the program. Run it and select an application that you are currently running (for example My Computer) from the program’s window. Adjust the desired transparency level from 0 to 90%.

Remember to refresh the application list when you running another program.

Similarly, you can also set the taskbar transparency level from 0 to 90% by clicking on taskbar icon from the program

7TP (Seven transformation pack) will transform your entire user interface, including a 7-themed Boot Screen, Welcome Screen, and Visual Style, as well as new icons, wallpapers, and more. You can download 7TP (20Mb)and view screen shots from here or here.

As it is based on internet platform, Cloud Antivirus does not need a system updates like a traditional antivirus. Collective Intelligence servers contain and maintain up-to-date all information needed to detect and neutralize all threats. That means your computer must be connected to the Internet during the scans.

Cloud Antivirus is the lightest and fastest antivirus service. Scanning speed is also remarkable. According to Panda Security, because of the cloud-scanning from PandaLabs’ servers, the detection rate is also very high.

Cloud Antivirus currently in its beta stage and is available for free download. It supports Windows XP and Vista (32bit) operating systems. Remember to uninstall your old antivirus programs from your PC before installing Panda Cloud Antivirus.

You might remember my previous post about how to identify legitimate email messages using Trendmicro’s browser plug-in, here is a similar program Truemark from Iconix. This is also a plug-in for Firefox and Internet explorer browser (and also for desktop mail client like Outlook 2003) and is able to identify more than 1500 different company legitimate email addresses.

Iconix eMail ID uses industry standard technologies like Domain Keys and Sender ID to verify the authenticity of the message. The email sender is checked against a list of registered senders and once an email is verified, a Truemark icon is displayed in your inbox. This helps you avoid opening and acting on phishing messages attempting to spoof real companies.

Truemark is compatible with Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL Webmail, Outlook 2003 and 2007 and Outlook Express and compatible with Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

McAfee designed this online help center intending to assist victims of computer crime and provide information on how to avoid becoming a victim. The service gives you advice and technical assistance on identity theft, online family safety, safeguarding your computer, protecting online business, etc.

If you feel you have been a victim of cyber crime, just visit McAfee Cybercrime Response Unit and complete their risk assessment form and submit for a quick response.

Updating any antivirus program with latest virus definitions are must for continued protection. However, if you don’t have an internet connection and want to manually update AVG Free Antivirus offline with the latest virus definitions, here is how. And also, even if you have internet connection, updating the free AVG has given lower priority; than the commercial user.

Procedure for manually updating free AVG:
Download latest virus definition updates (example: u7iav2083yh) from here using another computer with internet connection. Create a directory called ‘avgupdate’ on your USB drive, CD or your PC and copy and paste this file into it.

Now open your AVG User Interface. In the menu bar, choose Tools > Update from directory to update AVG antivirus offline (see image)

A new window pops up (see image).

Choose the folder (avgupdate) where the virus definitions are copied. Click OK.

A new window pops up (see image). Click on 'Update'

AVG will update its virus database offline using this file.(see image)

iRotate is a very small (125Kb) freeware (non commercial) program that supports most of the display drivers such as ATI, nVidia, Intel, Matrox, S3, XGI and others. The program offers exceptional speed and efficiency, with minimal impact on system resources and supports multi-monitor enabled operating system from Windows 98 to Vista.

The following hotkeys are enabled by default: Ctrl+Alt+Up - rotate 0 degrees, Ctrl+Alt+Left - rotate 90 degrees, Ctrl+Alt+Down - rotate 180 degrees, and Ctrl+Alt+Right- rotate 270 degrees.The program can be downloaded from here

The RootAlyzer is a freeware tool that can detects various hiding methods usually used by rootkits. It goes through the file system, the registry and process related lists. When you start RootAlyzer, it performs a very quick scan of a few important places, taking about a second on modern machines. To check the full system, you have the possibility of choosing a Deep Scan.

The program doesn’t required an installation, just run the RootAlyzer exe file and it supports Windows 2000, XP and Vista. More information and download is available from forums.spybot.info

Using UnlockMe is very simple. Just install it; it will integrate into the Windows right-click menu which unlocks the file or folder with one click. Simply right click the folder or file and select Unlockme, the folder or file will be unlocked. You can also unlock files or folders by selecting them from the programs GUI.

UnlockMe is tiny (225Kb) and is compatible with Windows XP and Vista. No further requirement is needed. The software is tested with Virus total and found to be clean. Download it here.

UNetbootin lets you to make bootable Live USB drives for a variety of Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, openSUSE, etc from Windows or Linux operating system. You can use either downloaded Linux ISO file (CD image) or can be directly download a Linux operating system (if you have a broadband internet connection) from the app itself.

Download (3.9Mb) and run UNetbootin (no installation needed), then select a Linux ISO (CD image) file, floppy/hard disk image, or kernel and initrd files. If in doubt use the ISO file. If you're using an ISO file, that is all you required, just press "OK" to start installing. More information and download is available from ‘unetbootin.sourceforge.net’

Privacy Guardian from PC Tools is an easy-to-use and very reliable privacy protection software, which securely remove all activities mentioned above, and also is capable of permanently deleting files (file shredding) that you don’t need anymore. Moreover it also restores valuable hard drive space and speeds up your system performance.

The catching feature of Privacy Guardian is its easiness to use. Any one can use it without any problems. No complicated settings or anything is required. Just install it, click on ‘Clean now’ button to remove all unnecessary data securely from your computer.

If you like this software, you can grab a free license key now to activate it into full version. Just enter this Privacy guardian offer page and register your name. You will get a license key on your mail immediately. Download the program (Version 2009) from here and install it. Activate the product after installing it.

Just check this www.raincitystory.com/flash/screenclean.swf link whenever you want to clean your computer monitor. The application probably works with all versions of Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems? Serious reader? please sorry me[Via]

This is an unofficial build of Firefox browser (the official build of Mozilla Firefox modified and bundles with a PortableApps launcher, you can take your bookmarks, extensions and saved passwords with you) that is designed to run from removable devices such as USB sticks, CDRW, MP3 players, etc.

To install Firefox Portable, just download the portable package from Portable app.com, and then double-click it. Select the location (USB device) you wish to install to and click OK. It will create a Firefox Portable directory on your drive and all the necessary files. Click on the Firefox Portable.exe file from this directory to run the program. Make sure to close locally installed Firefox browser before running the portable Firefox.

The Sunbelt Conficker/Downadup Removal Tool (SSClean) can be used to detect and clean the majority of Conficker/Downadup variants from infected client PCs. It can be run as a standalone removal tool for removing the nasty worm.

To do its job, this removal tool must be installed and run on the actual PC that is infected; it cannot clean the worm remotely across a network. To use the removal tool (SSClean.exe) on an infected PC, do the following:

1. Unzip the file SSClean.exe from Conficker_SSClean.zip into a familiar folder (e.g. My Documents) on an infected PC.
2. Disconnect the infected PC from the network.
3. Run SSClean.exe and click "OK" to begin scanning the system.
4. Reboot the PC when prompted by SSClean.
5. After rebooting run SSClean.exe for a second time.
6. Reboot the PC again as prompted by SSClean.
You can download Sunbelt SSClean from here.

The application is very easy to use. After installation, run the program; click on ‘File filter’ option for filtering files ( doc, mp3, wma, etc) that you want to or do not want to find and check and also minimum and maximum file size, if you want.

There are different comparisons methods select, such as by name, file extension, by identical file sizes, etc, choose appropriate one for you and click ‘ Search for similar…’ to find duplicates.

Anti-Twin is clean and can be downloaded from here (file size:720Kb)

So, real-time monitoring and protection against online threats have topmost importance. Otherwise, it ends up losing your money, your identity and your most precious digital memories. AVG LinkScanner (For Internet Explorer and Firefox) is a free program that checks each web page in real-time before it opens on your PC. If it sees trouble ahead, it stops you. It’s quick and easy to install, runs smoothly alongside other major brands of security software.

AVG LinkScanner has a two-fold approach to your safety online: Search-Shield scans search results and places a safety rating next to each link, so you know where it’s safe to click.

Active Surf-Shield scans the page behind any link you click on or any web address you type into your browser. If the page is poisoned, it stops you from opening it. (This happens so quickly that you shouldn’t even notice it.)

The fact is that AVG LinkScanner works in real-time makes it unique. The software doesn’t rely on "blacklists" of sites that have previously been poisoned, but instead checks for active threats right before you arrive at a page.

There are several similar services, but AVG LinkScanner found to quite reliable and efficient in detecting malicious sites. More information and free download is available here.

Using this tool is quite simple, download and install it. Run the program and click on ‘Switch to Gaming Mode’, it will present you a list of running programs that may not necessary for your games such as antivirus programs etc. You can either select any one from the list or all. Disabling antivirus program is not recommended, if you are not familiar with the game.

After the game finishes, run GameBooster application from the tray and click “Back to Normal Mode” to restart all closed applications. The program (beta) is designed for Windows Vista, XP and Windows 7.

While testing this with the game ‘Microsoft Flight Simulator’ on a dual core pc with 1GB ram; it gives an average result. You can download it from IObit [via]

Comodo Backup delivers all the functionality you expect. Apart from scheduled backups and archiving backups to .ZIP files, it can also backup to other resources on a network, backup to virtually all types of removable devices, and run incremental backups (suitable for large data) and full back ups (suitable for small files).

Comodo Backup can be set to automatically back up a set of files at system startup, system shutdown or to back up a set of files at a certain time of day and particular day or days of the week. A log file is kept that records all of Comodo Backup's actions as a further safeguard against losing your essential data files.

With Comodo BackUp, you can:
1. Backup to a local or network drive;
2. Backup to FTP-server;
3. Backup to CD-RW/DVD-RW drives
4. Save Disk Space by compressing your backups to ZIP files;
5. Send E-mail reports to team members about the status of a backup job;
6. Schedule backups to fit your timetable;
7. Configure in minutes with the intuitive interface.

More information and free download from Comodo

AppRemover is helpful in the following situations: when the built-in uninstall process of security program’s fails, when you have forgotten the application password for uninstalling (Norton, Rising, etc) and when you replacing one security program with another.

Even though some of the security companies has also releases special uninstaller for their product, this tool has its own advantages. It is very simple to use, no installation required and is able to remove almost all security programs thoroughly from your computer.

Following are some of the security programs that ApRemover can uninstall: Panda, Avira, AVG, Karspersky, McAfee, Norman, Norton, Spyware Doctor, etc. AppRemover is compatible with Windows 2000, 2003, XP (32 / 64 bit), Vista (32 / 64 bit) and Windows 2008 and beta 7. You can download the latest version from here.

FixTool is a misleading application revealed by Symantec that give exaggerated reports of errors like every rogue programs on user’s computer and compelled the users to buy a license key in order to remove the problems. This PC optimization programs affects all Windows versions-Windows Vista, XP, 2003, 2000 amd Windows 98 and the risk impact is said to be medium.

If you have ever downloaded and installed this product on your PC, please visit this Symantec link for more technical details and removing method.

An interesting feature of AlPass is its supports for multiple accounts; it can be used by more than one user. Of course, each account has its own master password to login. You can automatically login (you can enable or disable auto login from preference menu) into any site with a single click.

ALPass is free, and can be carried on a USB stick or other storage medium. ALPass is completely free (but, commercialware) and works on Windows Vista, XP and 2000. The main disadvantage of AlPass is that, the program only supports Internet Explorer; there is no provision for other browsers in this version.

Below is a sample image from the pack

The new version of SpywareBlaster (4.2) features improved Windows 7 support, faster updating, protection for the Internet Explorer 8, Firefox and other browsers. Moreover it provides unique utilities like the exclusive "System Snapshot" and various other useful tools.

System Snapshot creates an image of various settings on your computer in order to restore it to its previous state if anything went wrong. SpywareBlaster provides additional functionality in its "Tools" section such as Browser Pages, Hosts Safe, Internet Explorer Settings, Flash Killer and Custom Blocking.

More information and download the free program from www.javacoolsoftware.com

7zipSilencer is a free program that can convert a 7Zip archive file into a SFX file. So anyone can run the program without the need of 7ZIP.

To create a 7ZIP SFX file, do as following:
1. Compress your files with 7-Zip to 7z format. "Maximum" or "Ultra" compressing level is recommended for smaller file size.
2. Open 7zipSilencer.
3. Select your 7-Zip archive from "Select 7z file" section.
4. Select icon from "Select SFX file" section.
5. Enter executable's name(exact name) to be launched in 7z archive
6. Select output file (executable's name) and folder from below.
7. Click "Start" button
8. A messagebox will be shown after process is completed.

The program is clean (check here) and works on Windows XP and Vista. However, in my opinion, the importance of SEX file is very rare. Many archives programs like 7ZIP are freely available on the net. Anyone can download and use it for free. Moreover, as it is a self executable archive, virus can easily get into your system, anyone can hide malicious code into it

While checking it here, the program shows a better result, it is quite fast and recovered many of my deleted files very effectively. The program supports following file systems: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS4, and NTFS5 and can be installing on Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Avira Unerase is completely clean; no bloatware or upgrade trap is there. Remember that, in order to prevent sectors being overwritten, you should save the recovered files on a different drive to the one from which they were initially deleted.

These problems happens because when you install Windows XP Service Pack 3 or Windows Vista SP 1, a tool that is called Fixccs.exe adds numerous registry keys in many locations (some of them within the Symantec registry keys) but is unable to remove them.

If you experience any such problems after upgrading your Windows operating system download and run the Symantec Registry Repair tool. No installation is required. It will automatically remove any such entries. (more info)

Smart Surfing is powered by the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network using advanced “in the cloud” Web Reputation technology to protect you from Web pages with malicious intent. If you attempt to access a bad or malicious URL, Smart Surfing is designed to block access to the URL and a notification will appear in the browser.

Features of Smart Surfing includes: Secured by the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network, Blocks access to Web pages with malicious content, Helps protect against phishing and pharming attacks, Provides color-coded search results to easily identify harmful Web pages, Easy-to-modify protection strength level and notifications and Supports browsing multiple Web pages at the same time

When you use Trend Smart Surfing to browse the Internet, before the URL is accessed it is quickly and invisibly checked in the background and if the url is known to be a phishing site or contains malicious content such as spyware, malware or other potentially harmful content the Web page is blocked with a notification

The program lets you view currently installed fonts on your system, lets you install new fonts by searching on the system, uninstall fonts that you don’t want (important to speed up your OS) or you can repair some common problems that can happen to the font registry key.

Cfont Pro works with Windows XP and Vista and supports most of the font types such as TrueType, Open Type, Bitmap, and Postscript Type. You can download the program from here.

Just install the add-on from here, after restarting Firefox, you can find the new "close" button in the toolbar customization panel and drop it in your preferred place (View – Toolbar – Customize and drag the close button).

Optionally, you can add an entry in the contextual menu of each page from the option window (Tools –Add-on-Close’n Forger – Option). Install Close’n forget from Mozilla add-on site. More details available from here [via].

The problem with task manager mainly happens because of spywrae or Trojans activities. You can fix this problem by editing some registry settings. But editing the registry is not easy and a bit risky for a normal user. Task Manager Fix is a handy windows system recovery tool to remove task manager restrictions and effective solution to the problem ‘Task Manager not working’.

Task Manager Fix is extremely simple to use, just run click on ‘Fix task manager’ button to fix the problem The freeware tool is clean and weigh 76 Kb in size.

Kaspersky’s malware scanning engine is known for its powerful detection rates and scanning speed and this Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool implies an effective algorithms of detection used by Kaspersky Anti-Virus and AVZ Antiviral Toolkit.

Program highlights includes: Easy interface, can be installed to an infected machine (Safe Mode supported), integral search and removal of malicious software (heuristic and signature based), System Analysis and interactive scripting language and freeware.

You can download the program from here. More information and technical details here.