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Want to keep up-to-date with the latest developments in computer security? The free magazine from Kaspersky lab might be the right choice. SECUREVIEW, the electronic magazine dedicated to all aspects of the IT security industry (via – techtrickz ) brings you all the latest trends and exciting discoveries in the field of IT security. SECUREVIEW is very informative and very useful for all including experts concerned with the IT security industry, people who make decisions on the integration and procurement of computer security, etc. The first issue of SECUREVIEW will provide revealing insights into: Current keylogging techniques Recent Internet fraud phenomena Vulnerabilities in Adobe software The banking Trojan scene ..and much more besides! Publication frequency of SECUREVIEW is quarterly. You can download the first issue of SECUREVIEW at here . [Via – Techtrickz ]

CTRL+ALT+DEL is one of the most popular shortcut key combinations for Windows. Most people use this key combination to reboot or open task manager to kill a process when their PC hangs. In Windows 7 this key combination brings up Windows Security which gives access to options like task manager, lock computer, switch user, change password and log off. But most people do not use many of these features; they mainly use this option to bring up task manger.Now you can enable or disable these unwanted option using Tweak CTRL+ALT+DEL Option Tool. CTRL+ALT+DEL Option Tool is a portable freeware application. Just run it and choose the appropriate options that will appear in the CTRL+ALT+DEL menu screen. If you want to change the options you can do it any time just by altering the changes made. Download CTRL+ALT+DEL Option Tool [ home page ]

One of the distinguishing features of Google Chrome over other browsers is that, in private browsing mode (Incognito mode) no extensions will work or run. This default setting will certainly ensure your privacy yet again in private browsing mode. However, sometimes you may want some extensions to work in incognito mode also. Here is how to run extensions in Google Chrome in Incognito mode (via – trouble fixers ) or private browsing mode. This is very simple. 1.Just run the Google Chrome in normal mode and navigate to Google chrome extensions page ( click Tool icon and select Extensions) 2. On the extensions page, select extensions that you would like to run in private browsing mode and check the option ‘ Allow this extension to run in incognito ’ (see screenshots below). Then confirm the settings. Next time you run Google chrome in private browsing mode you will see the running extension as shown in the image below. Hope this brief tutorial will be useful.

While most of us swear by the free version of AVG antivirus, the paid version offers greater protection as well as support. Here is an opportunity to grab a one year license to AVG Antivirus 9.0. As a promotion, V3.Co.UK software store giving away one year license to AVG Antivirus 9.0 (worth $34.99) for free to all on Aug 31, 2010 (one day event). As browsing the internet without the right security software installed is a high risk, this is great chance to get good security software for free to your PC. The promotion will be live between midday CET (central European time) Tuesday 31st of August and midday CET 1st of September 2010. Just visit at V3.Co.UK software store on 31 Aug 2010.

One of the coolest features of Microsoft Office 2010 is ‘Save as PDF’ option that allows a user to save office documents as PDF file instantly. In previous versions of Office there is no such option. If you’re using Office 2007, there is a small plug-in from Microsoft called SaveAsPDFandXPS, which enables you to have Save as PDF file option in Office 2007. To add this plug-in, download (930Kb) it from Microsoft and install it. It will add a new item (PDF or XPS) to the Save As option. Download SaveAsPDFandXPS

The Norton Bootable Recovery Tool lets you create a rescue bootable disc for your PC, which can be used to bring back your computer to its normal state when it so infected that won't work properly or even boot up. It is quite useful if you are unable to remove threats using the regular antivirus scanner or worst case scenario, when your system will not boot altogether. In order to use the Norton Bootable Recovery Tool, You will need the beta key that is e-mailed to you when you register for the NAV/NIS 2011 beta . Requirements: Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or 3, Vista, orWindows 7 and your computer must support USB booting for the Norton Bootable Recovery Tool to run on a USB device. Download Norton Bootable Recovery Tool (160Mb)

There are plenty of programs available for permanently deleting files and directories from a computer, but to wipe out the whole hard disk contents you need a special tool like DBAN. Darik's Boot and Nuke (in short DBAN) is a self-contained bootable disk that automatically and completely deletes contents from a hard disk. It’s most suitable for preventing identity theft. You can use DBAN when you want to sell your old computer or want a fresh installation of OS after a serious virus or spyware attack. With DBAN, either you’re able to wipe out the whole hard disk contents or can select specific hard drives or partitions for deleting (shredding). To wipe out the whole data type “autonuke” When it loads, or hit Enter key at startup to get option for deleting specific hard drives or partitions. DBAN might be an appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction. It prevents or thoroughly hinders all known techniques of hard disk forensic analysis. You can download Darik's...

Google has developed a virtual keyboard for their browser Google Chrome intending to assist internet users to input text in many non-Latin script-based languages. But one advantage I found with this extension is that, it can be used to prevent keyloggers from stealing our banking and other sensitive accounts details. Virtual keyboard enables users to enter logins and passwords safely, which is especially useful for people who use public Computers. It can reduce the risk of exposing login credentials to hackers in some extend. If you enter sensitive information directly through your keyboard, programs like keyloggers can log your key presses and transmit this to hackers. After installing the extension, a virtual Keyboard pops up on every page with input text boxes and text areas. To enable or disable keyboard on all tabs, either click on the page action icon in the Omnibox or press Ctrl+Space. It Supports 80+ different keyboard layouts and you can configure multiple layouts through op...

Google Chrome is definitely a fast browser but it also rather communicative. Google records search queries, URLs and DNS requests in its browser. However, you can decide which of these functions you actually want to activate in Google Chrome, therefore you can prevent Google from creating your exact user profile. To do so, run Google Chrome and click the tool icon (see screenshot below). Then choose ‘ Option ’ and select ‘ Under the Hood ’ tab from the new opened window [ more details here ] The first option ‘Show suggestions navigation errors’ shows similar websites for instance if the desired site can’t be accessible. The next option ‘use a suggestion service to help complete searches and URL typed in address bar’ related to the suggestion service of Google on entering the web address and search terms. If you use the ‘DNS prefetch for the page loading performance’ the browser all the link on one website to a DNS server to began with So that the process of calling links in the future...

As you all know add-ons give additional features and functionalities to a browser. For add-ons, I should say Firefox is the king. you have over thousands of extensions to choose from. But the question is how to build an extension for Firefox . Yes, it is simple if you have a creative mind and have little knowledge of JavaScript and XML you can easily build a Firefox extension. But now it is even simple with Mozilla’s Add-on Builder . Add-ons Builder lets you quickly and easily develops an extension for Firefox using common web technologies. It is an online coding tool that you can do with the help of a few extra ready-made elements. And if you don’t want to start from scratch, you can use a variety of APIs in the core library to add functionality to Firefox, including widget and context-menu. Check out other add-ons for inspiration. And take advantage of third-party libraries with additional APIs. There is also a short tutorial to help you build an extension or add-on. More information...

WinScan2PDF is a tiny (below 40Kb) and portable application for Windows that helps you quickly make PDF document from your scanned document. Generally, when you scan a document with your scanner you will be prompted to save file in JPG or PNG format. But with WinScan2PDF you can save your documents into PDF file, you no longer required complicated software for converting those image file to PDF file. This program is Ideal for those who occasionally need to send signed document to someone by e-mail. Simply save the scanned documents into PDF and save them to a file on your computer. Download WinScan2PDF ( Home Page )

Create A Shortcut is a small utility for Windows that allow to create shortcut for any file, programs or folder to anywhere on a user’s computer. User can choose Create A Shortcut option provided in the right click menu (context menu) for creating a shortcut. The main advantage of this program is that user can create shortcut to a file anywhere in Computer. At the same time Windows Send to Desktop (create shortcut) option allows creating shortcut only on the desktop. After installing the program, just right click on any file and click “Create A Shortcut “ and select the location. You can download Create A Shortcut at source.

Sometimes you may need to reset BIOS settings of your PC to default. For example, if you forgot your BIOS password to change the boot preferences of your PC. Though it is possible to reset the BIOS settings by clearing the CMOS memory manually, here is a simple, tiny application called CMOS De-Animator to help you do the things quickly. This utility allows you to invalidate the checksum of your system's CMOS memory, resetting all settings to default and clearing any stored BIOS passwords (if any) upon re-boot. The main advantage of my utility is that it can work under every Windows operating system, and no administrator privileges are required The utility has no GUI - only a confirmation message to begin or exit, error handling messages and a success dialog box upon successful operation. The utility is very portable, no installation required. Interested readers can download CMOS De-Animator for Windows 7/Vista/XP(32bit/64bit) at here

Se7en Copy Delete Animation Modder is a simple to use, portable Windows customizing application that lets you add custom colors to the copy delete animation in Windows 7. The copy/delete/move animations in Windows 7 can be customized by choosing any three colors for the background gradient and an additional color for the font. You can preview your settings before applying it. Moreover, if you want to restore it to the default one, you can do it just hitting the Restore button. Interested users can download S e7en Copy Delete Animation Modder free at source.

If you’re a Windows Vista user, you might have come across a weird situation when you accidentally click on the CD/DVD drive icon. If there is no CD in the drive the tray will be ejected automatically. If you find it annoying, here is a simple application called Disable Auto Eject that lets you disable Vista’s auto eject feature. Remember, you really only need this fix in vista, because XP or Windows 7 don't do the auto CD tray eject thing. To disable "auto ejecting", you need to turn off the build-in CD/DVD burning feature in vista (you can still burn CD/DVDs with other applications). This app will do just that. You can download it free at Codeplex

Mastering Microsoft Windows 7 Administration is very useful eBook that covers how to install, configure, and troubleshoot Windows 7 and also explores advanced networking, security and more. This eBook is mainly intended for administrators of big networks that use Windows 7, but can be beneficial for all Windows users who want to learn the real ins and outs of the Windows 7. Worth $ 50, this eBook covers installing Windows 7, automating the installation, configuring disk, managing desktop and interface, using remote assistance and remote desktop, managing security, configuring network security, etc You can download this eBook free at Dell . (thanks PR for the info)

Some websites and blogs insert some restrictions like disable right-click, text selection, drag & drop etc on their page to make their contents secure. But, sometimes it can be annoying, for instance, when you want to open a link in a new tab or want to quote text from a web page, etc. If you are a Firefox user, here is an add-on called RightToClick that enables right-click, text selection, context-menu, drag & drop and much more where it is disabled by Javascript. RightToClick protects from annoying alert popups, can remove many timer actions and is able to suppress unusual click behavior. This addon adds an icon (see screenshot above) to your navigation-bar which restores javascript-disabled features if clicked - or it does other actions according to your configuration. Interested Firefox users can install RightToClick from Mozilla add-on site.

Free Windows Cleanup Tool is a lightweight utility that lets you optimize your PC's performance by cleaning unnecessary items from the system. The application is similar to Ccleaner, but offers few more options like registry defrag, backup option, Boss key support for browsers, etc. Its interface and functions are very similar to Ccleaner and it will help you speed-up your PC by removing junk files, invalid registry entries, internet usage history, cache, cookies, etc. Free Windows Cleanup Tool works with Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 and can be downloaded free at source .

ProfileCleaner is an add-on for Firefox that lets you solve start-up problem of Firefox browser that might take place due to some issues in Firefox user profiles. What this add-on doing is that, it will delete some problematic files from Firefox user profile when you close the browser. So it will prevent any errors when it starts again. If you are facing issues with Firefox start up try this extension, but don't use this extension if you don't have issues with Firefox startup. Interested Firefox users can download ProfileCleaner from Firefox add-on site ( via )

Before entering into an unfamiliar website, you may want to get more information about it- its country location, WOT safety rating, McAfee Site Advisor ratings, Alexa rank, Google page rank, etc. If you are Google Chrome user the Ultimate Chrome Flag extension gives you such information instantly. After installing this extension, you’ll see a new icon at the end of the address bar displaying a country flag and WOT rating and the following information will be shown in the popup. Country or region name Domain name and IP address Geo information Google PageRank Alexa Rank WOT (Web of Trust) information Copy domain name and IP address to clipboard It also offers some configuration option, which allows you to change the information displayed and the icon displayed. The Ultimate Chrome Flag extension can be downloaded from Chrome extension gallery. And if you are a Firefox user there is a similar add-on called Fagfox , which can be downloaded from Firefox add-on gallery [via]

Choosing a strong and complex password is still a problem for many users. A complex and highly secure password has greater importance to keep our online account safe and secure from hackers. If you find difficult to make a strong password, here is tool called Password tools bundle that not only generates strong password but it also analyze its strength. The Password tools bundle is a three-in-one application – It is a password analyzer (shows the "strength" of your password) It is a complex Password Generator (generates "strong" passwords) And it is also a Password Manager (stores passwords securely using Rijndael). You can generate any type of passwords and store it for your account. It works on Windows 7, Vista and XP and can be downloaded free at Sourceforge .

Few days back we have published an article about checking files for viruses without uploading the file to VirusTotal online virus scanner. Here is another method to check any files without uploading them to VirusTotal by using their new feature Hash Search . Only need to copy and paste file’s hash (md5, sha1 or sha256) into Hash Search. In a simple word, Hash is mainly used for checking the honesty of files. A file’s honesty can be altered due to variety of reasons like malware infection, data loss, etc. Ok, now how to locate a file’s hash? It is simple. There are several applications like Hash Tab to find that (Hash Tab is a Windows shell extension which adds a tab called "File Hashes" to the Windows Explorer file properties.). Just install the application, then right click on any file and select Properties, then click File Hashes from the tool menu. It will display MD5, SHA-1 hashes, copy one of them and paste into VirusTotal’s Hash Search . It will check the MD5 /SHA1ch...

Security Analyzer is a simple and portable application for Windows 7 that analyzes your computer’s security and lets you know the overall security level of your system. It checks installed application like Antivirus program, Windows own components like Firewall, Windows update, etc and offers option to improve the security level. The application has very simple interface and easy to use. Just run it (no installation required, but administrative privileges required), it will list all security related items along with their status. You can solve the issue by clicking the corresponding button. You can download Security Analyzer (1.0 Beta) at source.

Microsoft Outlook has a built-in system to block unsafe attachments to protect users from viruses and other dangerous codes. Generally it blocks files that have an extension like EXE, COM, BAT, REG, VB Script, etc. But, in certain situations you may need to download such files. For example, if one of your friends has sent such a file that both of you’re working on, how you can download it. Few months back I have posted an article about Outlook attachment enabler , here is a utility called Outlook Security Configurator that lets you setting up how Microsoft Outlook block (or not) e-mail attachments. The application is quite simple to use. Just run Outlook Security Configurator , then choose a file extension you wish to allow and add them to the allow filter. Then click on Apply to done. Interested users can download Outlook Security Configurator free at developer’s page.

The MD5 (or SHA1) algorithm is mainly used for checking the integrity of files. The integrity of a file can be changed due to a variety of reasons like virus attack, data loss, etc. Here is an application called VT Hash Check that enable you quickly check the MD5 checksum of a given file against the checksum database of VirusTotal.com. The application adds a context menu item to windows explore. Just right click any application and select ‘Check File Hash to send the checksum of that file to http://www.virustotal.com. If the checksum matches a file already scanned by VirusTotal.com then the results of 0/42 anti-virus scanners are shown. By default it will only check MD5 hash. There is an option to use the SHA1 hash of a file. If you prefer for SHA1 to be the default, create a file called "usesha1" (sans quotes) in the installation directory (by default: C:\Program Files\Boredom Software\VT Hash Check) You can download VT Hash Check from developer's page

There are certain Facebook applications that let people to post messages (news feeds) automatically on your Facebook wall or home page. Sometimes it can get very annoying, especially if you use Facebook primarily for family purpose. Facebook Application Blocker is an extension for Google Chrome that allows you to block all the postings on facebook that have been posted by any application. With this application you can hide all application postings (this is the default setting) or you can choose if you want to see all application postings. The extension also provides a white list so you can exclude all the applications you like from being blocked by the extension. The small counter at the top of the icon tells you about how many application postings were blocked by the extension. To add an application to the white list simply click at the "add to white list"-link at the end of the posting. You can install Facebook Application Blocker from Google Chrome extension gallery

All installed software, whether it is browser, system utility or media player, must be updated regularly to make them more secure and stable. Update will fix bugs and vulnerabilities and often bring new features, which make the software more useful. However, some programs don’t have an automatic updating feature or if it is available, this feature is generally turned off by most of the users. So you need to manually update each program. R-Updater is a handy solution that helps you keep all of your software up-to-date with as little or as much user intervention as you'd like. R-Updater allows you to keep tabs on the latest major releases, beta versions and updates for all of your programs, regardless of the developer or distributor. Here's how it works: 1. After installation ( a portable version also available for download ), launch R-Updater. The first time you run R-Updater, the software will automatically populate a list of your installed software. 2. Select the programs...

One of the most popular features of the Microsoft Outlook calendar is the ability to popping- up reminders for scheduled tasks and appointments. If you would like to have the same remainder feature for your Google Calendar events, here is a small, free application called Atchoo. It will add Outlook style reminders feature in Google Calendar. Using this application is simple. All you need to connect it to one of your Google calendars and then it will remind you of the upcoming events. You can snooze or dismiss an event, if you wish. You can also specify snooze delay time. Atchoo is clean (see VirusTotal result) and can be free downloaded at developer’s page .

There are several ways to reduce computer related eye strain. If you want to spent long times for reading PDF document, here is a simple tip to change the background and text color in Adobe Reader. This will ensure an eye strain - free and distraction - free PDF document reading. Here is how to change page background color and text color in Adobe Reader: Open Adobe Reader and select Edit menu, and then select Preferences . On the left from the categories choose Accessibility . Now check the box against ‘ Replace document color ’ and then choose ‘ Customize color ’ option. Simply click on the colored square to change the background and text color. After completing the adjustments click OK to save the changes. However, remember that, it is better to select gray color for page background (and dark color for text); otherwise, some PDF documents can’t read.