We have covered several Skype recorders in the past, including Call Graph, Skype Call Recorder, MP3 Skype Recorder or iFree Recorder.

All have in common that they allow you to record Skype calls. Some can do that automatically while others only on manual request.

Skype Auto Recorder joins the list of applications, but instead of just being “another” audio recorder, it adds features to the table that many of the other programs are not offering.

Probably the most prominent of features is the ability to block and enable calls from individual contacts or groups to be recorded. This happens silently in the background without any user intervention or action.

There is two things that you need to do after installation. You first need to allow the application to access Skype. This pops up automatically after installation if Skype is running, or on the next start of the voice over IP software.

You then need to check the program settings for the initial configuration. Here you can select the output directory and format for recorded conversations, block contacts from being recorded at all, and create filters to change the default save location and name for selected contacts.

You can configure the program to only record calls from contacts that you have added to the filters listing. For that, you need to uncheck Record unfiltered conversations to, to avoid the recording of other conversations by the program.

The last option lets you increase the volume of the recordings automatically.

Calls are from that moment on automatically recorded by the application. Skype Auto Recorder indicates a recording session with a red dot on the program icon. Mp3s are saved with the following parameters: 64 kb/s bitrate, 16000 khz sample rate and mono channel. No settings are provided to change the quality of the recording.

Skype Auto Recorder can be downloaded from the developer website over at Codeplex. (via Addictive Tips)

A new version of SmartScreen Filter has been integrated into the Windows 8 Developer Preview. It is not clear yet if the feature will make it into the final version of Windows 8 in this form, or at all, but it is likely that it does. Whenever you execute a file that you have downloaded from the Internet, it is first checked by SmartScreen Filter against a database. Files that cannot be identified are blocked automatically, and a warning is displayed instead.

Windows protected your PC

Windows SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized program from starting. Running this program might put your PC at risk.

The only two options on the screen are the highlighted OK button, and a more info link that is nearly as distinguishable from the background. A click on OK closes the message and blocks the executable from being started. If you want to start the program, you need to click on More Info. This changes the Windows protected your PC screen slightly.

Microsoft displays publisher and program information, and a run anyway button. The program will be executed on your system if you click on that button.

This feature has the potential to cost you some time and a lot of nerves. If you are running an up to date antivirus software, you probably have no need for SmartScreen Filter’s additional protection.

Disabling SmartScreen Filter In Windows 8

You can disable SmartScreen Filter in the Windows Control Panel. Use Windows-Pause to bring it up, and click on Control Panel in the address bar afterwards. Select System and Security and then Action Center afterwards.

Select Change SmartScreen Settings on the left. This opens the following menu where you can turn Windows SmartScreen off.

The following options are available:

• Require approval from an administrator before running unrecognized programs from the Internet (recommended)
• Give a warning before running unrecognized programs from the Internet, but don’t require administrator approval
• Turn off Windows SmartScreen

Windows SmartScreen could be Windows 8′s User Account Control. A feature that aims to make the system more secure and annoys the hell out of users at the same time. (thanks Caschy for the tip)

TrueCrypt is that solid that its developers need to update it only once or twice a year. The last update dates back to September 2011 where support for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion was added to the application, and the update before that was almost a year before that.

Yesterday the first 2012 update was released. The change log over at the TrueCrypt website lists minor improvements and bug fixes as the only changes in TrueCrypt 7.1a. It does not go into further detail, other than stating that these have been applied to all supported operating systems.

TrueCrypt users can download the latest version of the application from the official project website. You need to close all TrueCrypt instances running on the system before the update can be installed.

Should you install the update if you are running a version of TrueCrypt that is not causing problems or issues on your system? I’d say you may still want to update to TrueCrypt 7.1a, considering that the update may have resolved rare bugs that you might experience in the future if you do not apply the update.

If you are a new TrueCrypt user you may be interested in our collection of TrueCrypt tutorials that we have published over the years. Here is a short selection of guides to get you started:

• Create a secure data safe with True Crypt
• Create a secure USB Data Safe
• How to Create a Hidden Encrypted Volume With True Crypt
• Storing Data In The Cloud With Dropbox And TrueCrypt
• Disguising True Crypt Volumes In MP4 Videos
• TruPax, Create TrueCrypt Containers Without True Crypt

Are you a TrueCrypt user, or do you prefer a different encryption software? (via Caschy)

All drive partitions are listed underneath each drive with their assigned drive letters, file system, size and status.

Below the drive listing is an area with six tabs that display information about the selected hard drive or partition.

The Information tab lists everything there is to know about the selected drive. From the firmware version over transfer mode and version, to the drive’s rotation rate, temperature, transfer features and controller information.

The S.M.A.R.T. tab lists all Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology information that the drive provides. This can be helpful for troubleshooting purposes, as you get realtime data that may reveal upcoming drive issues. Error logs, including self-test logs, write and read stream error logs or extended self-test logs are displayed in the logs tab next to it.

The Control tab lists supported drive features and whether they are enabled or not. This includes features such as S.M.A.R.T. but also Advanced Power Management, Advanced Acoustic Management or Auto Offline Data Collection. State changes are not saved even though it is possible to click on on or off to switch a feature on or off.

DHE Drive Info offers additional tools that are mostly relevant to technicians. This includes a built-in sector browser, a list of all supported features and commands, and an option to create reports via the File > Save Reports menu.

Regular users can configure the program to display a notification if a drive’s temperature reaches a selected threshold.

DH Drive Info is a useful hard drive diagnostic software for the Windows operating system. The portable nature of the application makes it a good fit for a troubleshooting DVD or USB stick.

Some might now bring forth the old argument of having nothing to fear if you have got nothing to hide, which has been refuted over and over again. One argument against is that you may value your privacy. There is really no need for someone else to see family photos, financial documents or private email messages when you are crossing the border.

Zer0 is a basic program for Windows that deletes files so that they become unrecoverable on the system. The developers state that it is using a “high security file deletion” algorithm, but fail to elaborate on that. Tests confirmed that files can’t be recovered with software like Recuva or Undelete My Files.

While that may do for private use, it is not recommended for corporate environments because of the lack of information.

Files can only be added via drag and drop to the program interface. Each file is listed with its full file path, size and a status code.

A click on delete removes the selected files from the system and overwrites the occupied space on the hard drive so that it cannot be recovered afterwards. Successful deletions are indicated in the status column in the interface.

Zer0 is nowhere near as sophisticated as Eraser for instance. The program still gets the job done even though you’d probably would want to skip it if you are deleting a lot of files regularly on the system.

You can download the program from the developer website. Please note that a “free of all sponsored” offers version is provided on the download page next to the regular program versions. If you download the regular version, you will notice that it is filled to the brim with those offers that install toolbars and other gimmicks that you may not need on your system.

Free File Wiper is an alternative that provides more information about the file deletion process.

Most laptop keyboards display a key’s Fn action in blue on the keyboard. To activate one of the features, one has to press the Fn key and the key the function is mapped to.

Function key layouts may differ depending on the manufacturer of the laptop. Media keys most of the time are mapped to the F-key bar at the top.

One of the issues here is that it is often not that comfortable to use these keys. It may be difficult to nearly impossible to use the functionality with just one hand.

SfunKey has been designed to provide comfortable access to some of the extra keys. It maps a total of 12 keys to the F-keys on the keyboard. These features can now be activated by pressing the key twice on the keyboard, which is more comfortable than having to use the Fn key with one of the F-keys.

The following actions are available after the portable program has been launched (from F1 to F12): Sleep, LCD Brightness-. LCD Brightness+, Connect to Projector, Lock PC, Task Manager, Volume Mute, Volume-, Volume+, Previous Track, Play/Pause, Next Track.

The F12 key is not active by default, as it is often reserved by the system.

The program displays selected actions in an on screen display by default which can be disabled in the program settings.

Incompatible programs can be added to the compatibility listing which blocks program features when those applications are running on the system. This may be useful for full screen games for instance.

SFunKey is a handy portable program for mobile users who prefer to access media actions and other actions without the Fn key. The program is compatible with all recent 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

It always felt like I had to switch between the Metro UI and the desktop constantly to start and work with the programs I wanted. I never warmed up to the idea of gadgets or icons on the desktop either, and it feels to me as if Metro UI is a modern version of that.

The Metro UI start page feals out of place, like something that would make life more complicated instead of easier. I have to admit that I did not test it on a touch enabled device, and it probably makes more sense there. Most Windows PCs on the other hand are not connected to touch screens, and even if that number will increase in the future, I cannot see myself connecting my desktop PC to a touchscreen for a number of reasons.

The switching between the desktop and Metro UI does not make much sense to me at all. Why do I have to use Metro UIs search to find applications that I want to launch on the desktop? Why is there no file launcher directly on the desktop?

For me, it is nothing more than a startpage, just like Opera’s Speed Dial feature for instance but with the difference that it does not make it more comfortable to open applications I want to run. Another thing that bothered me in the developer preview was the limit of two open application windows at a time in the Metro UI interface. On my desktop, I always have two web browser windows displayed next to each other. More often than not, I also have a video player open, an instant messenger, image editor or another program that I’m also using regularly.

Recent leaks highlight another change that is likely going to make it into the beta and final release of Windows 8. Microsoft has removed what’s left of the start button from the desktop interface of Windows 8. If you have worked with the developer preview you may remember that the start menu was limited to five charms links there. With the start menu gone in current builds, users need to activate the charms menu otherwise to access its functionality.

Charms appear when you move the mouse over the area the start menu button was all those years. You can open them with the keyboard shortcut Windows-c as well. Moving the mouse to the lower left corner to open the charms menu on the rightmost location does not seem to make lots of sense from a usability point of view. It is likely that Microsoft will improve that to make it more intuitive to use.

The core problem as it stands right now is that users do not see options to return to the Metro UI interface. There is no button or tooltip that explains how this is done. If Microsoft fails to provide those, or at least a thorough tutorial after installation, it could end disastrous.

Why has Microsoft removed the full start menu, and now the start menu button from the Windows 8 desktop interface? The most likely reason is to get users to use the Metro UI interface. With all their programs gone from the start menu, the only option users have is to place shortcuts on the desktop or taskbar, to use the search, or the Metro UI start page to launch their applications.

It is hard to keep an open mind at the moment. Everything that I have seen and tested so far looks like it is impractical for the desktop. Still, it is too early to tell and leaks are not always a reliable source anyway. It is likely that we will know more after the Windows 8 beta gets released by Microsoft.

I still hope that Microsoft will pull something out of a hat that will make all my worries go away. The only thing that I can think of right now that would do that is an option to turn off Metro UI, or give me more control when Metro UI is activated, and when it is not.

Am I the only one who thinks that two user interfaces is one too many? That Metro UI is impracticable on desktop PCs?

Update: After reading through this again it appears to have become more of a rant than what I intended it to be.

Web browsers like Google Chrome offer built-in translation options, others offer add-ons like Quick Translator to add this functionality to the web browser.

But browser add-ons or features are limited to one browser, which may not be enough if you are also receiving emails, messages or documents in languages that you are not fluent in.

That’s where desktop translation clients come into play. QTranslate is a lightweight free translation software for the Windows operating system. The program supports six different translation engines: Google Translate, Microsoft Translate, Promt, SDL, Yahoo Babel Fish and Yandex.

QTranslate registers several global hotkeys that let you translate text from any open program window. The two most important hotkeys are Ctrl-q, which displays a translation of the highlighted text in a popup window, or Ctrl-Ctrl which sends the highlighted text to the program window where it is then translated.

Tests in the Firefox web browser, Thunderbird email client, Google Mail and Microsoft Office were all successful.

QTranslate detects the original language the highlighted text is written in automatically. First time users need to make sure that the target language is set correctly in the main program window.

The keyboard shortcut Ctrl-e furthermore uses text to speech synthesis to read the text out loud. This only works if Google Translate or Microsoft Translate are selected as the translation engines.

Another interesting option is the ability to run a web search for selected text with the shortcut Ctrl-w. Web hits are displayed in a small popup window next to the highlighted text.

The program keeps track of all previous translations, which can be displayed in a history window with the shortcut Ctrl-H.

Verdict

QTranslate is a versatile translation software for the Windows operating system. Support for six translation services and hotkey driven translations are the program’s main selling points.

Screenshot Captor is one of those Swiss army knifes in the screenshot taking world. The program supports all the capturing options that users expect, from capturing the whole workspace to individual windows, free form rectangles or scrolling windows. All modes are selectable from within the program interface, or by keyboard shortcut. New users find all shortcuts listed under the capture menu in the program window.

Screenshot Captor displays a preview window after capturing a screenshot that offers options to process the image directly. Here it is possible to print it, create a thumbnail of it, save it, copy it to the clipboard or use the send to menu to transfer it. Options are provided to bypass the preview window if it is not needed.

You can send the image to the main program window where you can process it further. Screenshot Captor offers all the tools that users except from a screenshot editor. This includes adding annotations and watermarks, highlighting or blurring areas, drawing arrows, or resizing or cropping images directly.

Screenshots can be saved in a wide variety of formats, including png and jpg, but also jpeg2000, bmp or pdf among others. The program can be configured to remove all meta data from the image. A preview is available that displays both the original image and the new version that will be saved to the system.

Screenshot Captor 3 ships with a set of new features. You can for instance configure the program to upload screenshots automatically or on-demand to image file hosting sites such as Flickr or Imageshack, or to an ftp server. Especially the scrolling window capturing tool in Screenshot Captor 3 needs to be mentioned, as it handles many scrolling windows with ease that other screenshot taking programs fail to capture.

Another feature that sets the program apart is that it is highly configurable. This includes automatic processing options, the ability to take and save screenshots directly or support for third party applications that you can send the screenshots to.

New users may feel overwhelmed at first because of the sheer size of options and menus that the program offers. Mouser has created demonstration videos that explain all the program’s key concept in a few minutes each. Especially the first video, which offers a quick overview, is recommended.

You can download the latest version of the program from the Donation Coder website. The program is compatible with all versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system, from Windows 9x to the very latest version.

Verdict

Screenshot Captor is a professional screenshot taking application for Windows. It offers a rich feature set and ships with features that are usually only available in commercial applications.

All text that you copy to the clipboard is saved automatically by the program, so that you can access each entry for as long as the program is up and running. You can paste a saved entry easily by selecting it first with the left-mouse button or cursor keys in the program interface, and then using the shortcut Ctrl-v to paste it into another application. Even better, you can copy multiple saved clips to paste them all at once into another application.

This is done by selecting multiple clips in the Clipboard Magic interface, selecting Edit > Copy all clips to the clipboard (or alternatively Shift-Ctrl-A), and then pasting the contents directly via Ctrl-V or the mouse.

All major program features are accessible both via menus and the mouse, and keyboard shortcuts. The program supports two special pasting shortcuts. You can use Shift-Ctrl-[0-9] to paste the last ten saved entries directly without selection. The shortcut Shift-Ctrl-P allows series pasting. The shortcut may interfere with other programs like Firefox (where it launches private browsing mode). You can change both keyboard shortcuts in the program options.

Clipboard Magic users can furthermore edit saved clipboard items, add items manually to the program, and use the programs find and replace feature to modify contents right in the program interface. Entries can be edited with a simple double-click on the entry’s line in the program window. You can leave the editing window again with a click on View > Zoom out or the shortcut Ctrl-PageDown.

Clip lists can be saved in a native format or as text documents. Both can be loaded into the program again at a later time.

The program preferences offer extensive configuration options. From changing shortcuts to configuring auto saves, visible toolbar buttons, to the number of rows and the font face used in the program window. You can furthermore load the last used list on program start automatically.

Clipboard Magic is fully Unicode compatible. It is compatible with all versions of the Windows operating system from Windows ME up to the latest version (currently Windows 7). Interested users can download the latest program version from the developer website.

The desktop application sends information to the web service where they are processed and displayed to the account owner. Soluto has evolved with recent releases. It can still be used to optimize the startup of Windows PCs, but it can also be used for a lot more than that. You’ll first notice that when you open the web interface after you have added your first PC.

The PC is controlled from this startscreen. You get some basic information and quick links to program sections such as Apps, Internet or Protection at the top. Here is an overview of each module:

Apps

Lists updates for installed applications, with options to run the update directly from the web interface.

Just click the update or update all button to update all applications silently in the background. It is furthermore possible to install popular applications such as Open Office, Teamviewer or Adobe Reader from the web interface. All of this happens without disturbing the user working on the PC.

Background Apps

This section lets you optimize the system startup and resource usage by removing applications from the boot process. Soluto divides applications in “safe to remove from boot”, “potentially removable”, and “required (cannot be removed).

Each application is listed with a short description, a recommendation and a pie chart that is visualizing what other Soluto members have done.

Options are to to pause the application from running, to delay it or to make no changes to it.

Internet

Here you see a list of Internet related settings and information. From the default system browser over the current homepage and search engine to the current Internet Service Provider and installed add-ons and plugins.

Soluto lets you manage all aspects right from within the web interface. You can change the default browser, modify that browser’s homepage or search engine, and enable or disable installed add-ons or plugins.

The program displays the same descriptions, recommendations, effects and user pie charts to aid you in the decision making process.

Misc

The protection and hardware sections list information about installed security software and the computer’s hardware. This includes temperature levels, hard drive space, fragmentation level or the ability to enable or disable the firewall on the system.

Once you are a user you can invite other people so that you can help them with their PC. Once that is set up, you control their PC in the same way that you are controlling your own.

The Soluto desktop application needs to be running for that though. The interface lists all the optimizations and changes that have been done to the system, with options to disconnect the PC from Soluto at any time.

Verdict

The idea to control computer systems over the Internet is not new, but Soluto makes it as easy as possible. Controls are limited but end users who give up control still need to put a lot of trust into the person managing their PC from a far.

Tech savvy users may miss a few options, like the system’s actual boot time for comparison purposes, or options to install custom apps on the PC.

Interested users can visit the Soluto website to set up an account. The service is currently in beta.

Soluto will still undo all changes that you are making if you uninstall the software at a later time. Keep that in mind before starting to use the program.

Skype users who try to update by downloading Skype 5.8 from the official website will notice that they need to log in on Skype before they can do so. Users who do not want to do that can download the latest (English) version from download portals such as Softpedia instead.

Skype 5.8 introduces several new and improved features in the Windows client. A blog post at the Skype website provides information about those changes.

The release brings full HD video calling if you happen to own a Logitech C920 webcam and have at least 2 Mbps of upload and download speed available, beta support for Facebook audio and video calling from within Skype, and group screen sharing which allows “users to share their entire screen or a single application window with other participants on a conference call while continuing to stream video”.

The group sharing feature could open up new applications for Skype, for instance as a tool for presentations.

Skype 5.8 furthermore supports Push to Talk now which allows Skype users to set a hotkey with which they can toggle the microphone on or off. Skype users can enable the Toggle mute hotkey (Push-to-talk) under Tools > Options > Advanced > Hotkeys.

The blog post mentions two features that are not explained further. First the Skype updater service, which may indicate the move to an updating service for the Skype software from an in-software updater, and the Bing toolbar integration.

Update: Skype automatically enabled “Start Skype when I start Windows” after upgrading to the latest version. You can disable that option under Tools > Options > General Settings.

But Speed Clicker users can utilize the program for other purposes as well. For instance in other games where clicking performs an action that needs to be repeated a lot of times, or applications where selections are made with mouse clicks rather than entering a number or value with the keyboard.

When you fire up Speed Clicker for the first time, you see the main application window in front of you. Here you define the click rate and the variance. The default click rate speed is set to ten clicks per second. The variance value will move the mouse cursor into a random direction after each click.

You activate the computer aided clicking with a tap on the Ctrl key on the keyboard. It is currently not possible to change the hotkeys which is unfortunate as they interfere with other hotkeys on the computer (for instance Ctrl-T to open a new browser tab). The developer has however announced plans to integrate the option in a future release of the program.

Here is a short video that is showing it in action in the popular FarmTown game.

The application requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 on the computer. Interested users can download the latest version of Speed Clicker from the developer site.

Dashlane is currently in private beta, which means that you need an invite to start using it (thanks to The Next Web). Once you have have entered your email address you are redirected to a page where you can download the Windows or Mac client to your local system.

Dashlane currently connects with the Chrome and Firefox web browser only, with an Internet Explorer version in the making. Installation gives users choice to connect to one, multiple or all of the supported browsers, which is better than Norton’s all or nothing approach. It felt kinda weird though that you had to close all browsers, even if you unselected the extension from being installed in them.

The program ships with a desktop program that you can use for all management purposes, and a browser extension that handles input and detection in the web browser.

The browser extension basically acts as a link between the desktop app and the web browser. It can fill out login information automatically for you if you have configured it that way, and will automatically ask you if you want to send new logins to the password manager for safe keeping. It is furthermore possible to click into a login form directly to select one of the available accounts for the site.

You can configure the program to generate strong passwords for you whenever you register new accounts. Just click in the password field of the registration form, and then on the generate strong password button that appears right beneath it to create a strong password.

Dashlane furthermore can do all the form filling for you, if identity related information have been saved into the program’s database previously. The program takes care of multiple identities for you, and if you like also of ID related information and payments that you make on the Internet. These information can then be filled out automatically whenever you register a new account on a site.

One interesting feature of the desktop application is the security dashboard, which lists password strength ratings for all accounts.

Links point directly to low safety accounts giving users options to change their passwords on site directly to make them more secure.

The desktop app is protected by a master password which needs to be supplied on start before you are able to access the information. The developers have published a white paper that explains the security concept in detail.

You can synchronize password information easily, provided that your devices are running a support operating system and web browser. Data is encrpyted with an AES-256 key before it is written to the computer’s hard drive. Information may also be stored in the cloud, if users select to synchronize their information across devices for instance.

Users can access their data on the web as well, which is useful if you are on a public PC, mobile phone or computer that’s not compatible with the Dashlane desktop app. They should note though that the web app is read-only.

The program only asks you if you want to import your browser passwords into the password manager (and delete them afterwards). Users find desktop password manager import options under the File menu. Supported are popular password managers such as Last Pass, KeePass or 1Password.

Dashlane Presentation Video

Closing Words

Dashlane shows a lot of promise for a closed beta product. It is definitely superior to Norton’s password manager at this point in time. Not everything is golden though right now. The program lacks support for Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari currently, with only Internet Explorer listed as “soon” to be compatible.

An option to generate secure passwords, or to modify password creation rules, is not available currently.

It is also not clear if the developers plan to turn the service into a commercial password manager at a later point in time, or if they are going down the LastPass road which would keep the basic desktop version free.

If you are looking for a password manager for Windows or Mac, and are using Firefox or Chrome, I suggest you give it a try.

Symantec has recently launched Norton Identity Safe, a password manager for Windows PCs as well as Android and Apple iOS mobile devices. The program ships with browser extensions for all five popular browsers (Opera, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari).

Norton Internet Security and Norton 360 users may already know the program as it is integrated into their applications. Everyone else can download a free copy of the password manager from the Norton website.

The program stores password information in the cloud like Last Pass, another password management service, does. When you compare the two services you will notice that Last Pass has an edge over Norton’s tool, as it supports features like automatic form filling, a portable mode or 2-factor authentication. Some of those are on the other hand only available for Last Pass Premium account users who pay $12 per year for that service.

Norton’s Identity Safe on the other hand ships with Norton Safe Web which informs you about unsafe websites that you are about to visit. Norton Safe web Life then again is available for free.

Here is a short table comparing core features of both products:

All Norton Identity Safe logins, notes and cards are saved with a master password that you need to create during setup. Norton requires you to use at least one upper and lower character, one number and one special char for the master passwords.

Toolbars are installed in all supported browsers automatically during installation, with no option to block the installation in some browsers. The toolbar is unfortunately not compatible with all browser versions. It failed to install for instance in Firefox Aurora.

The toolbar displays a search form, Safe Web, Identity Safe and sharing options. The search links to a custom Norton search engine. The Identity Safe button in the toolbar appears to be the only option to control the password manager. I closed the toolbar in Chrome and could not get it to open up again as there were no options to do so.

The menu links to the Identity Safe homepage, settings, a log in list that is directly accessible from the menu and options to log out of the password manager.

The password manager interface displays the password strength of the selected password. Here it is also possible to define whether the password information should be filled out automatically when the page is visited, whether a prompt for the master password should be displayed before that’s happening, and whether the program should you log in automatically if you select the login from the list.

The password manager works as expected most of the time. I had troubles getting it to work in Internet Explorer 9 though. The toolbar displayed fine in the browser, but new passwords and log ins were not recognized by the program.

Norton Identity Safe is an alternative to Last Pass, especially for users who want mobile access to their log in information. Most users will have troubles getting their stored passwords into the program in first place, which will keep many from using it (unless they use Internet Explorer for that).

The lack of browser selection during installation, missing form filling support, lack of frontend on the desktop and several bugs should keep most users from using it as their main password manager.

The Norton Identity Beta website offers no information on the future of the product. Will the final version remain free, or will it be turned into a commercial software that users have to pay for?

Have you tried Norton Identity Safe? If so, what’s your impression?

IMGDissolver has been released in an early alpha version, and while that early stage of development shines through somewhat when using the software, you’d be surprised at the functionality that is already integrated.

You can not only add photo formats but also video formats to your slideshow in the main tab of the application. A click on Add Images opens a file browser that you can use to add supported formats. Next to standard image formats such as jpg, png and gif, it also supports popular video formats like mpg, avi, mov or ogg.

The same configuration screen offers options to change the brightness, contrast, saturation or gamma, and red, green and blue values. A click on Effects furthermore displays effects like sepia, blur or gray scale that you can apply to individual positions.

You can add music to the slideshow under the Music tab. Just browse to an mp3 file on your computer and click the add button to have it play in the background while the slideshow is displayed on the screen.

Transition effects are applied under settings. Here you can select nice looking effects like mosaic, door or fall down, as well as background colors, the duration each image is displayed and filters that are applied to all photos.

The program ships with audio and video tools that you can use to merge or concatenate audio files, or to cut videos. This is nice for quick last minute editing.

You can play the slideshow right on the computer, save it in the program’s own format to play or edit it at a later time, or convert the slideshow to divx or DVD compatible formats. The former generates an avi file that you can play in all media players that play avi files, the latter saves the slideshow as an ISO image that you can burn to DVD.

This can then be played back on the television and compatible video DVD players. As far as the avi goes, you can select a resolution that you want the video to be in. Available resolutions range from 320×240 to 800×576. There is unfortunately no option to save photo slideshows in larger resolutions.

The only negative is that it sometimes loads slowly. It took about ten seconds for the program window to show up after start, and maybe five or so seconds to switch between some program menus. It is likely that the developer will resolve those issues in future versions.

It takes minutes to create great looking photo slideshows with IMGDissolver. The option to save them as avi or DVD compatible files ensures that they can be played on nearly every system. Great program, highly recommended.

SMPlayer, as always, comes in different release versions. Users can download a portable version, a web installer, or an offline installer. Existing users can simply copy or install the new version over the old one.

One of the big new changes in SMPlayer 0.7.0 is support for MPlayer 2, a fork of the original MPlayer project, which adds features to the video player that the original MPlayer does not support. This includes precise seeking, seeking while the video has been paused or ordered chapters support in mkv videos.

To integrate MPlayer 2 the following needs to be done. You first need to download the MPlayer 2 binary from the website linked above. Open the options menu in SMPlayer afterwards and select Preferences from the menu. You can alternatively use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-p to open the preferences directly.

Switch to the General > General tab if it is not displayed. Change the MPlayer executable path to the MPlayer 2 path to use it instead of the original MPlayer.

Another change is support for playing YouTube videos right from within the media player. Just paste in a YouTube video via the Open > Url menu to watch it right within the desktop video player. You can alternatively drag and drop video links right from a browser into the SMPlayer window to play the videos in there.

The developers have added a new favorites menu accessible right from the new heart icon placed in the player’s main toolbar. This opens a menu with direct access to favorite videos on the computer, and options to add or edit videos in the new favorites window.

The changes introduced in this version of SMPlayer all make sense. Especially support for MPLayer 2 can improve the video experience significantly.

All that needs to be done is to drag and drop a file into the application window to encrypt or decrypt files. A password prompt is displayed if you drag and drop an unencrypted file into the program interface. This password along with an internal algorithm is used to encrypt the file, so that only users with the password can decrypt it to access its contents. Encoding Decoding displays the password strength of the selected password directly in the program interface which can act as a guideline for users who want to make sure they select a secure password.

Please note that the original file will remain on the system. If you do not want that, you need to delete it manually as there is no option to delete the original file automatically after a successful encryption. Check out securely delete files if you want to delete the file so that it cannot be recovered anymore.

The decryption works in exactly the same way. Drag and drop an encrypted file into the program interface and enter the correct password to decrypt the file. The file is then saved to the same directory the encrypted file is stored in.

Users who do not want to drag and drop files into the interface can alternatively click in the program window to open the file browser. The program supports three different encoding algorithms which are unfortunately not explained in the program window, help file or the developer page.

Windows users interested in the program can download it from the developer website. It is compatible with all recent 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the operating system.

Developers are the second group. They might want to experiment with different program icons for their applications to find the most suitable one. Thumbico is a free portable software for Windows that acts both as an icon viewer and extractor.

You can drag and drop icons into the program interface to view them in the selected resolution. One of the features of Thumbico is that it can display icons in a larger resolution than Windows can. You can change the resolution in the application’s top menu bar, with a right-click and the selection of Make Bigger or Smaller, or with the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+ or Ctrl-. If you ever wanted a larger than life version of the Firefox logo, now is your chance to take a look at it.

Standard icon sizes are available through the right-click context menu and the keyboard shortcuts Alt+ or Alt- as well. The latter cycle through all available icon sizes from 16×16 to 512×512 pixels.

Icons can be saved in their current display size and in various formats including bmp, gif, png and jpg. You can alternatively copy the image to the Windows clipboard to paste it directly into another application. The image will be saved with the background color that is displayed in the program interface. You can change the color or enable glass mode which adds transparency to the image if you save it in a format supporting transparency.

Most program features are accessible via keyboard shortcuts for fast access.

If there is one thing to criticize it is the lack of a load option in the program interface. The only way to load icons into the program is via drag and drop.

Thumbico is despite that a useful program for developers and users who want to customize their operating system.

Windows users can download the latest version of Thumbico from the developer website.

Update: Just got word from the author of the application that a load button is available after all. It is the top leftmost button in the program interface.

When you first start the program you are asked to pick a root folder first. This is the folder that you want to copy or move files from. You can then use the filter options under Options > Set Filters to define which files you would like to see in the listing. For music files, you would for instance use *.mp3 as a filter. This displays all mp3 files in the program interface.

You can naturally filter by name as well, or add multiple filters to the mix, for instance to list all music files and not only mp3 files.

The tool offers multiple options to work with the filtered file listing. It is for instance possible to select some or all of the files before copying or moving them to another directory.

The developer of the program originally created it to move part of his 500 Gigabyte mp3 collection to a portable device. It quickly evolved though and can now also be used for backup and synchronization purposes.

Smart Copy files can be used to synchronize a filtered list with another directory. Always wanted to have all your photos from all folders on your hard drive backed up in another folder? Smart Copy Tools does that with minimal effort. There is a lot more that you can do with the program. From merging folders over deleting files to saving file lists.

The program executes all tasks quickly. Small or medium sized directory structures update near instantly when new filters are applied.

The ability to copy or move specific files stored in multiple folders is without doubt the core feature of the program. Windows users who would like to take the program for a test drive ca download it from the application’s SourceForge project page. The program requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0. on the system.