SmartScreen Filter is a security module that is integrated into several Microsoft products such as Internet Explorer or Windows Live Messenger. It basically warns users if they are about to open a potentially dangerous website or file. A warning is displayed and it is up to the user to continue or stop at this point. [...]

I have been using the open source encryption software TrueCrypt for a long time to keep my data secure on connected hard drives. The program has evolved over the years, and can now create encrypted file containers, encrypt full partitions and even the whole computer system. TrueCrypt is that solid that its developers need to [...]

DHE Drive Info is a free portable software for the Windows operating system that displays extensive information about all connected hard drives and their partitions. It may take the program a few seconds to scan all drives before information about them are displayed in list form in the main application window. Each device is listed [...]

Every now and then you may want to make sure that files that you delete on a PC cannot be recovered anymore by other users. This may be important if you are passing on the PC to another user, working on a multi-user PC or system that others may have access to. It may even [...]

Many notebooks, laptops and netbooks ship with a smaller sized keyboard that lacks some of the keys that are on standard sized keyboards. This often includes media keys like play, pause or changing the volume, but also keys like numlock or other numpad keys. These keys are usually removed because of size constraints. Manufacturers add [...]

As a Windows user, I’m keeping a close eye on all Windows 8 development tidbits and leaks that I can find online and offline. Most of what I know comes from the developer preview version of the operating system that was released last year, and leaks that seem to have picked up in pace recently. [...]

Having a translator at hand can be quite useful when you are browsing the Internet. With users from different social background and countries coming together, there is always the chance that you stumble upon text written in languages that you do not understand. Often your only option to make sense of the text is to [...]

One essential tool in a blogger’s repertoire is a screenshot capturing software. These programs range from basic applications to sophisticated tools that offer editors and other features that make life a lot easier. Screenshot Captor is one of those Swiss army knifes in the screenshot taking world. The program supports all the capturing options that [...]

Remember Clipboard Magic? No? Then you are in good company as the program has not made the news in the last six years. The developer of the clipboard manager has released version 5 of the program after six years of radio silence. Clipboard Magic 5 at its core is a clipboard manager for the Windows [...]

Remember Soluto, the software that allowed you to optimize the startup time of the Windows operating system? Appears that the developers have moved their application from the desktop to the web. Instead of downloading the program right away, installing it and using it locally, Soluto users now need to create a web account first before [...]

Microsoft today has released an update for the popular voice over IP, messaging and video calling software Skype. Skype 5.8 for Windows is currently only available on the Skype homepage and not via the program’s update checker. Existing Skype users who click on Help > Check for Updates are receiving notifications that they are running [...]

The author of Speed Clicker has created the program to get more out of games such as FarmVille or FarmTown. While I have never played those games on Facebook, it appears as if players need to click the mouse as fast as possible in various situations like harvesting or fishing. Speed Clicker saves your mouse [...]

Just yesterday we have reviewed the Norton Identity Safe password manager which had been released as a beta version earlier this month. Today, I’m going to look at another password manager that is currently making the rounds. Dashlane is currently in private beta, which means that you need an invite to start using it (thanks [...]

Password managers are essential tools to stay safe on the Internet. Most offer a lot more than just saving passwords in a secure database. My personal favorite KeePass for instance can generate secure passwords, export or import some or all into various other formats, integrate with web browsers to make the login more comfortable or [...]

If you ever wanted to create a stunning photo slideshow for your own personal use or for distribution, you’d probably discovered that it can be quite difficulty to find the right program for the job. We have covered slideshow creators like Wow Slider for instance in the past. IMGDissolver has been released in an early [...]

One of my favorite media players of all time, SMPlayer, has recently been updated to version 0.7.0. SMPlayer is a front-end for MPlayer making it a player that supports nearly every video format out of the box without the need to go codec hunting before you can start watching the video or movie you are [...]

Full disc encryption or encrypted container files are useful to prevent unauthorized access to a larger number of files. This may feel like overkill though if you only want to make sure that a single file is protected from access. That’s where a program like Encoding Decoding comes into play. The program, available as a [...]

File and program icons distinguish different file types and applications visually from each other. Users come into contact with icons every time they use the computer, but only a few would consider changing or modifying program icons on their system. I can only think of two user groups who would need the to view, modify [...]

If you are using Windows Explorer for your file copying jobs you have probably noticed that it is not the best tool for advanced operations like copying all mp3 files in a folder structure to another folder, or merging directories. That is where specialized tools like SmartCopyTool come into play. The free program lets you [...]

With the Windows 8 Beta just around the corner, it is becoming easier to see into which direction Microsoft is heading in regards to the final version of the operation system. I have already expressed my concern that Windows 8 could become too tablet centric, and as a result alienate a large part of the [...]

You may have heard about so called ransom ware before. This is a type of malware that tries to extort money from computer users by making the system or data inaccessible until the money has been paid. This can be a serious issue, especially if you need access to the data immediately. Kaspersky WindowsUnlocker is [...]

If you like to view comic books, ebooks, or image series on your computer you are probably using a specialized program like CDisplay or CoView for this which offer features that standard images viewers do not offer. GonVisor is another versatile software that combines the functionality of an image viewer with ebook and comic book [...]

Keeping track of all your history items can be quite the feat if you are using more than one browser. Privacy conscious users usually delete the information regularly, while the majority of users is likely unaware what their web browser and operating system can reveal about them. History Viewer is a free program for the [...]

Usually when you want to download a video from a popular site such as YouTube, Gametrailers, Facebook or Twitter, you need to put at least some effort into it. You could for instance install a browser extension like Download Helper for the Firefox web browser or the desktop application Video Cache View which displays cached [...]

I sometimes close applications accidentally, and every now and then forcefully, for instance when they are not responding anymore. To start them again, I have to click on their icon in the system tray, start menu or another location from where they can be started. The free software Undoclose changes this, as it adds an [...]

The FBI back in November managed to close down a botnet that was created with the help of a malware called DNSChanger. In operation since 2007 it grew to a size of nearly 4 million infected computer systems of which about 500,000 were located in the United States. The operators manipulated the DNS system of [...]

One of the things that a browser does when you open a web page is to move downloaded page items into the browser cache. Elements can be all kinds of things, from the HTML page itself to media like images or videos. Some users may wonder why browsers make use of a cache, and the [...]

Microsoft revealed additional information about the Windows Store that the company plans to integrate into the Windows 8 operating system yesterday. When I first saw the store landing page screenshot, it immediately reminded me of the Chrome Web Store turned by 90°. The store basically consists of a horizontally scrolling page that lists spotlight apps [...]

You can only control the active window with your mouse in a default Windows installation. If you need to do something in another window, you need to activate it first, before you can do so. This can for instance be done with a left-click on the window, the program’s taskbar or system tray icon, or [...]

If you have a large directory of files that has become just to messy to work effectively with, you may want to move those files into appropriate directories. We have already covered Extension Indexer, a program that lets you sort files based on their file extension. FileSieve now lets you sort files based on a [...]

Sometimes you may download or receive music in a format that you cannot really use in all of your devices. Maybe it is a Flac file that your mp3 player cannot play, or an audiobook that you want to merge all of the chapters from. Hamster Free Audio Converter is an easy to use program [...]

York at its core looks like yet another networking monitor that is using the WinPcap packet capture library. If you look closer though, you will notice that it makes some things more comfortable than other programs of its kind. Alternatives include the Open Source application Open Monitor, NetWorx or NirSofts’ Network Traffic View. The program [...]

There are a lot of programs out there that let you time one or multiple activities on a computer. Cherry Tomato does that for instance automatically by gathering information about the windows that are in the front of the screen. Other programs like Chronometask, Free Light Timer or Time ComX offer timing functionality as well. [...]

VLC is one of the most popular third party media players. If you check the download stats on portals such as Softpedia or Betanews, you will notice that it is always listed in one of the top spots. That’s not because of the player’s pretty name but the functionality it provides. VLC plays nearly every [...]

SearchMyFile is a portable desktop search software for the Windows operating system. The program’s portable nature ensures that searches do not leave traces on the system the program is executed on. And while that may slow down result generation a bit, it is still faster than many other programs that you can use to search [...]

Every now and then you may come upon a file that you cannot open right away, because you do not have the right file opener available on the system. While you could fire up your favorite Internet browser to research the file extension to find out which program you need to open it, you could [...]

Rogueware, or rogue security software, is a class of malicious software that disguises itself as legit security software. These programs often have the look and feel of antivirus applications, but instead of protecting the computer from malicious software, they do the exact opposite. The majority of rogue applications fake infections of the system to scare [...]

The operating system FreeBSD 9.0 has been released yesterday. The new version introduces several new technologies, feature additions and updates, including USB 3.0 support, the TRIM command for the Fast File System which improves interaction with Solid State Drives (SSDs), an update to Storage Pool Allocator version 28 which adds support for data deduplication and [...]

The majority of web developers develop their websites and services locally before they publish them on the Internet. This makes sense in a variety of ways, from saving a lot of bandwidth to faster updating or improved security. Even better, new technologies have made it a lot easier to setup a local web development system [...]

I sometimes have to edit or convert videos before I upload them to YouTube or save them to a backup server. This is for instance the case for gaming session recordings which often reach the 100 Gigabyte mark and beyond. Tools like Virtualdub or Avidemux are advanced tools that I use most of the time, [...]

Email signatures are automatically added to emails. They often contain additional contact information, for instance the senders phone number, messenger chat name or address, and sometimes disclaimers and other legal notifications. Creating a basic signature is actually pretty easy even though the process has changed with every new version of Outlook. You can create a [...]

Sorting files into folders manually is not the most comfortable option available, especially if you need to create multiple folders to move different files into them. I have reviewed a few programs in the past that automate that process, from I like To Move It which allows you to move files and folders based on [...]

I know quite a few computer users who are regularly writing down what they have achieved or are currently doing. Some use applications like Notepad for this, or full blown applications designed for that purpose, while others use the good old pen and paper method to keep track of things. You usually have to open [...]

Before Ghacks I was working in the support department of one of Germany’s largest financial companies. I regularly received support requests from customers and employees, and many of the most common requests were login related. Users and employees trying to access a service could not do so because their login credentials were not accepted. Two [...]

The open source desktop publishing software Scribus has just received its first big update after nearly four years of development. Scribus 1.4 brings along more than 2000 bug fixes and feature requests that the developers managed to squeeze into the new version. One of the biggest improvements over previous versions of the application is that [...]

Sometimes you may want to display information about your Internet connection right on the desktop, for instance to test the speed of a new dedicated server that you just bought, or to make sure that you are uploading or downloading at full speed. Having direct access to realtime stats can also be helpful if you [...]

Microsoft today has released seven security related bulletins that fix issues in the Windows operating system and in Microsoft’s Developer Tools. One bulletin has received the maximum severity rating of critical, the highest available rating, while the remaining six bulletins have all received a rating of important, the third highest rating. It is interesting to [...]

When you want to look at a calendar in a default Windows installation the only option you have is to click on the clock in the lower right corner of the screen. And while that’s an option, it is not a very comfortable one if you need to look at the calendar regularly. The calendar [...]

Back in the beginning of last year I ran a piece on how to free up disk space by removing older versions of the Chrome web browser. I started to investigate the issue after installing a Solid State Drive on my computer and noticing that it filled up rather quickly with auto-generated data. Turned out [...]

Sometimes you may want to make sure that an e-mail address exists before you start sending out messages to that address. While you could simply send a test message to the address and see if it bounces off the mail server, you’d may want to try a sneakier solution so that the recipient does not [...]