Panda Internet Security 2012 fills the gap between Panda’s Antivirus Pro and Global Protection products. It is a complete solution that combines protection with disaster recovery options. Installation of the program is straightforward. Users can customize the program during installation to disable some of the features that would otherwise get installed. They can also configure [...]

Remember Pandora, the Internet Radio service that went viral shortly after its release thanks to its interesting music suggestion service and the fact that it was available to users from all over the world? Pandora shortly thereafter went US-only blocking access for users who tried to connect from other countries. It is still possible to [...]

Cataloging CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, other optical discs or external drives that are not always connected to the PC can aid the user in finding data faster than without. The core benefit of archiving software is accessibility. In best case, it should not take longer than a minute to find which discs you need to access [...]

Most computer users know that they can take a screenshot of the screen with a tap on the print key on their keyboard. And while that’s sometimes all they need, it is often not the most comfortable or practicable solution. This is especially true if you only need a screenshot of a program window or [...]

Keeping track of all accounts and passwords can be a daunting task for some users. One reason for that is that most use multiple applications that may require passwords. Think of desktop email clients, instant messengers or web browsers for instance. Even if you are using a password manager like KeePass, you will usually have [...]

Computers that you buy from manufacturers contain so called OEM Information that are integrated into the operating system. This may include the manufacturer’s name, support website, logo, support phone and a unique product ID. Sometimes you may not want those information to be displayed on your computer. That’s where software like OEM Configuration come into [...]

SEO is all about increasing the visibility of a website on the Internet. This is done through various means like link building or optimizing on-page elements. It is important to keep a record of everything that is done on and off the site, and to check results regularly. And while it is perfectly possible to [...]

File duplicates can take up valuable disk space. While that’s usually not an issue on a 2 or 3 Terabyte hard drive, it can be one for Solid State Drives and other hard drives that usually offer lower storage capacities. Dup Scout, available as a free limited version and a professional version, is a powerful [...]

Image batch processors can be useful tools to automate repetitive processes like converting image file types or changing other parameters like image resolutions. Programs like ImBatch save you a lot of time, provided they are easy to use and offer the processing options that you need. ImBatch can be useful to reduce the size of [...]

Sometimes you may want to know when files are deleted, moved or otherwise tampered with on your system. Maybe you want to make sure that important files do not get deleted by other users of the computer, or that you have access to a log to document file deletions. The free software Deletion Extension Monitor [...]

We all know that there is not a single antivirus software on the market, either free or commercial, that detects 100% of malicious software. Some users help themselves by adding additional layers of protection to their system. This can be virtualization or sandboxing, or the installation of another security application. Others use online services such [...]

Converting video files can be an intimidating task. Not only are there hundreds of video converters in all sizes and shapes available, but most programs demand at least moderate video technology knowledge. Most just wont work for a user who has no idea what frame rate, bit rate or aspect ratio means. And while it [...]

As a webmaster I communicate with users and companies from all over the world. While that’s usually not a problem when I’m writing emails, I sometimes make calls and that’s where different time zones come into play. I have to time the calls to make them when the other person is awake or in office. [...]

Many computer users have the impression that their systems become just a little bit slower with every day of use. Software installations, updates and even user actions on the PC can turn a powerful PC into a painfully slow system that is no pleasure to work with. System tools like System Mechanic Professional can resolve [...]

Entering text on a tablet PC without physical keyboard can be a frustrating experience. Especially so if you need to enter characters that are not displayed by default. One of the situations where this may be encountered is during sign in on the system. If you are using special characters in your account password, you [...]

SuperAntiSpyware is a popular and effective malware scanner that is available as a free and professional version. The developers of the program have now launched SuperAntiSpyware Online Safe Scan, a free portable scanner for Windows systems. Some users may find the name to be misleading, as it is not a web based scanner such as [...]

When it comes to making backups of data stored on your computer, you have got a lot to consider. Two of the most important aspects are the frequency of backups, and the location where they are stored. Storing backups in the cloud has advantages (if your house burns down or someone steals your PC, and [...]

Do you know how many personal information you have stored on your computer? And where? Most PCs are filled with documents and emails that may contain information like credit card numbers, social security IDs, passwords, email addresses or scanned certificates that are all there in plain sight and accessible by anyone looking for them. The [...]

The developers of the system maintenance tool SlimCleaner have released a new version of the program. Our last review dates back to last year, reason enough to take another look at the program. Back then we liked the cloud based community rating system that made it a lot easier to distinguish between applications in good [...]

When I first read that Microsoft made the decision to improve Windows 8′s credentials feature I was all excited about it. Who would not want a built-in password manager that would be tied automatically to the user account of the system? But as I read on I noticed that the improvements are rather limited. Lets [...]

Windows users have lots of choices when it comes to maintaining and optimizing the operating system. They can use built-in tools, make use of single-purpose applications or install a full system maintenance suite like IOBit’s Advanced SystemCare 5. The software is provided as a limited free version and a professional version that are both packed [...]

Are you interested in your or someone else’s family? Computer programs can be a great asset in bringing a family’s history back to life. My Family Tree is a free, ease to use, genealogy software. The program supports importing and exporting GEDCOM data which is used by other genealogy software as well. This makes it [...]

Yesterday’s Patch Tuesday brought 13 security bulletins fixing a total of 19 different vulnerabilities affecting Microsoft products. The majority of security patches have been released for Microsoft’s Windows operating system and Microsoft Office, with a cumulative security update released for Internet Explorer as well. The updates are already available on Windows Update and via the [...]

Windows users have lots of choices when it comes to playing music on their computer. They can make use of Windows Media Player for instance, or download and install a third party music player like iTunes, Winamp or AIMP3. The choice of available program shrinks significantly when it comes to software that not only plays [...]

As programs are installed and uninstalled and files are deleted, remnants of the files are left behind and sectors of the hard drive become fragmented. Uninstalling programs does not completely get rid of them, fragments of the files and folders remain behind, occupying hard disk space, rendering it unusable for storage. Defragmentation tools are included [...]

Windows users who think that the system’s default file management application Windows Explorer is too limited to be of practical use can pick from a wide array of free and paid products. XYplorer Pro is a professional file manager for the Windows operating system that can be used in addition or as a replacement for [...]

Kaspersky has been in the Internet security business for a very long time. A veteran company that usually scores very well in comparative tests. Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 fills the space between Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012, a security application concentrating solely on virus and malware protection, and Kaspersky Pure, Kaspersky’s flagship product that adds security related [...]

A sandbox in computing in layman terms puts a border around programs running in the sandbox so that they run isolated from the rest of the system. This protects the rest of the system if the sandboxed program is attacked or exploited. Sandboxing can be a very effective option when testing programs, running files where [...]

Program removal under Windows is often not as thorough as it should be. It happens more often than not that program traces remain on the computer. This can be empty folders, files that the program created after installation or Registry entries. And while that’s usually nothing to worry about, it may have consequences. Among them [...]

If you have followed uTorrent’s development closely in past weeks you have probably asked yourself if the developers would ever stop releasing release candidate versions of uTorrent 3.1. The developers went through ten release candidate builds before they released the final version of uTorrent 3.1 yesterday. Another update was rushed on the same day to [...]

The Windows operating system ships with a basic calendar that’s linked to the system’s date and time settings. A click on the system clock displays the current month with options to display other months instead. But that’s all the functionality that is offered by the system calendar. If you are looking for additional information, you [...]

Remember TweetDeck, the Adobe Air Twitter client that offered better faster access to all things Twitter? Adobe Air was not the only platform TweetDeck was offered on. A web based version and Google Chrome application were offered as well by the developers. TweetDeck made the list of Melanie’s Top 5 Twitter Add-ons and has been [...]

You may sometimes want to make sure that data on a drive is deleted permanently. Permanently in this case means that it cannot be recovered with recovery software. Many computer users do not know that the data remains on the drive even if they delete it from the recycle bin. When it is out of [...]

Microsoft has made changes to the taskbar in Windows 7. One of the new features is the ability to pin programs, and with some tweaking files and folders to the taskbar for easier access. The size of open windows in the taskbar has been reduced to the program’s icon. Users can hoover over open windows [...]

Keeping track of online accounts is not necessarily an easy task. Especially so if you follow security guidelines to never use the same password on different sites. Web browsers offer basic password managers that store the data for the user, but this means that the data is only available in that browser. If you want [...]

The majority of threats that land on a Windows PC can be removed by antivirus software while the operating system is running. Some threats on the other hand cannot be fully removed when the system is running. The only solution in this case is to either boot into a different operating system, restore a previous [...]

I have to admit that I’m not making full use of Windows 7′s library feature. Libraries are basically used to consolidate, or virtually merge, directories. The operating system ships with libraries for photos, music, documents and videos. Windows 7 users can add folders to existing libraries, so that their contents are displayed in the selected [...]

Can you find out if someone else has been on your PC, has connected an external USB drive to it, and copied data from it to the drive? Tools like USBDeview tell you which USB devices have been connected in the past. The program even tells you when a device has been connected to a [...]

Microsoft’s next operating system Windows 8 will have an app store. That’s what every tech savvy Windows user knows. Microsoft’s own Antoine Leblond and Ted Dworkin have now started a small series of posts about the Windows Store over at the Building Windows 8 blog. Much of what’s being said in the first post is [...]

The Internet has made it a lot easier for computer users to look up words, definitions, translations and encyclopedias. But even if you use the Internet for these things, you may run into usability issues or sites that display one kind of information but lack others that you are also interested in. WordWeb Pro is [...]

This fascinating freeware is a system information and diagnostic application that gives you an interface that the Windows Control Panel just can’t offer. All of the information Everest provides is something you could find on your own, it would just take much longer. Even low-level hardware information is displayed in detail. The interface is friendly [...]

Some folders in Windows Explorer show a single preview picture embedded in the folder icon. It seems as if the selected image is picked randomly from the available images in the folder. This guide will show you how to change the default folder picture in Windows Explorer. When you use Windows Explorer in thumbnail view [...]

You have several options when you are running out of storage space. You could consider uninstalling software that you no longer need, run a temporary files cleaner like CCleaner, search for large files to delete them, backup files to restore space or even buy a new hard drive to extend the available space. One of [...]

When you look at how alarms are configured in the windows operating system, you’d probably come to the conclusion that the system used is not all that comfortable. One would expect an alarm system to be tied to the system clock for instance, for easy configuration. That is unfortunately not the case. One of the [...]

This new free software package is an all in one stop to help you speed up you PC in many different ways. There are built-in suggestions to fix registry errors, defragment drives and much more. This package looks at the overall health of your system and reports the perceived health on the main window. You [...]

I have started writing a book. It is just that I have that idea in my head that I’d like to bring to paper. I first started to write it all down in Microsoft Word. I eventually started to encounter limitations in the software that made it more difficulty to keep an overview of characters, [...]

SourceCode Monitor is a free monitoring software for the Microsoft Windows operating system that collects and compares source code metrics. The program supports a variety of programming languages that include C++, C#, Java, Visual Basic, Delphi and HTML. Depending on the selected programming language advanced features like method and function level metrics may be available [...]

FastPictureViewer Professional has always been a part of the Christmas Giveaway here at Ghacks, and deservedly so. Back in 2008 when it was first released it was more of a fast but basic image viewer that was fully color managed. Today, the program is a full blown tool for professionals and enthusiasts that can “process [...]

Download managers back in the days of dial up Internet connections where must have applications. Downloads in the Megabyte range where large downloads back then. Considering that modems were only capable of downloading a few Megabytes per hour, and that their connections where often flaky, you had to use download managers to make use of [...]

The security software market is flooded with products. Consumers not only have to cope with dozens of companies, but also with multiple products offered by the same company. The majority of companies offer two or three different security programs that are updated every year. With different security products available, consumers face the problem that they [...]