Scanning a computer system with a computer security software like ESET SysInspector can reveal security related problems in short time. Those security software programs are by far not the all-knowing and -seeing eye but they provide an in depth analysis of a computer system that can be used to find some of problematic files that could be a security risk.

ESET SysInspector does that by scanning the computer’s hard drive and Registry. It assigns a risk level to every item that has been analyzed which ranges from fine (1) to risky (9) with three always bundled together. Risk levels 1 to 3 are assigned to files that have passed the check, 4-6 for unknown files and 7-9 for files that have been identified as being risky. The different levels are also colored differently (from green to red) to make identification as quickly as possible.

The computer security software will build a report that provides access to eight different categories including Running Processes, Network Connections or Important Registry Files. Each category is displayed in the color of the item with the highest risk level that it contains. That’s excellent for identifying the highest risks with one glance without having to look at the actual items at that time.

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Aero Shake was one of the new Windows 7 features that came to light during the Professional Developers Conference 08 in Los Angeles. It provided basic window management functionality by manipulation windows that were moved to the sides or top of the screen. Moving a window to either the left or right side would display it on one half of the screen while moving it to the top would maximize it.

It did not take long until Aero Shake was ported to the Windows Vista and Windows XP operating system. A beta version of the software program was released by the software developer and is available for download on the homepage. The software requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0 or higher.

The functionality is immediately activated after installation and execution of the software. It works extremely well for a beta software and mimics the window management of Windows 7. The only difficulties during the test involved double-clicking a maximized window which should normally reduce the window to its previous size but it seems that the application sometimes tried to maximize it again.

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We have covered virtual CD / DVD drive applications before here at Ghacks. Among them popular applications such as Virtual CloneDrive which was able to create up to eight virtual CD drives that made it possible to mount image formats such as iso, img or dvd on a computer system.

ISODisk is another software that can create virtual CD drives. It is limited to the ISO format but can mount up to 20 images on virtual CD drives which might be interesting for users who need more than the usual 4-8 virtual drives that the other applications provide.

The interface if ISODisk is one of the cleanest in the field. All of the software’s functions can be configured in two tabs. The first tab displays the 20 possible virtual drives including their drive letters. The same window provides access to a file browser that can be used to locate an ISO image on the computer’s hard drive or local area network and mount it to one of the available drive letters.

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It can sometimes be complicated to check if an Internet connection is still alive. Sure, modem or routers usually display information about the Internet connection and might reveal if it is still up but they are sometimes not in the same room or even house. Some users would like a software based way to check if an Internet connection is still alive.

A software program called Is It On by Erightsoft, the makers of the popular video converter Super, can do that. It is a small portable application for most Microsoft Windows operating systems that can check the status of a connection in a heartbeat and displays a green or gray light depending on the status.

The interface of the software application is as basic as it can get with virtually no settings available at all. It displays three items under Network Status: Direct Active Internet Connection, Lan Connection and Behind Intranet Network Proxy.

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Users who like total desktop conversions might seek methods of removing standard Windows elements like the Windows Start Button to maximize screen estate. Not everyone would want to give up on the Windows Start Menu but someone who is working with an application launcher like Launchy would probably not miss it at all.

But even those users who rely on the Windows Start Menu won’t have that many difficulties accommodating because Start Killer, the name of the application, removes the Start button only for the time it is running in the background. It furthermore provides keyboard shortcuts to display the Windows Start Menu even while running.

Start Killer will automatically remove the Windows Start Menu button from the Windows Taskbar once it is running. It works with every taskbar orientation possible which should make users happy who run the Windows Taskbar on the left or right side of the screen.

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