gHacks technology news » offers

Ghacks Christmas Giveaway Announcement

Martin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:01:40 +0000

Last year’s Christmas Giveaway was a very successful endeavor. We were able to hand out hundreds of commercial software programs to ghacks readers. Here is a short description of what happened last year for new Ghacks readers. We decided last year that it would be nice to use the marketing power of Ghacks to convince software companies to donate some of their software programs for a giveaway. We were able to close several deals with highly respected companies which resulted in one giveaway per day from December 1 to December 24. Ghacks readers could participate by simply leaving a comment in a Giveaway post which would entitle them for taking part in the drawing of the winners.

We want to continue the tradition this year but instead of just writing to software companies that we think might fit we would like to do it different this year. We are asking you to leave a comment with software that you would like to see in the giveaway. We will take your suggestions and contact the companies that produce these software program to see if they are willing to participate in the giveaway.

We cannot guarantee that the software companies that you mention will donate some of their products but we will do our best to convince them that it’s a win-win situation for all sides. Leave a comment below if you would like to see a software program or developer included.

Tags: Christmas giveaway, ghacks, ghacks giveaway, offers

Double Anti-Spy Professional Review And Giveaway

Martin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:09:04 +0000

The anti-spyware niche and the security software niche in general are crowded with lots of companies competing with their software programs for market share. It is difficulty to get a foothold in that market even with a good product as other factors than the product’s effectiveness play a role in the market. Double Anti-Spy Professional is an anti-spyware software for the Windows operating system. It’s main feature that sets it apart from other anti-spyware programs is the use of two spyware engines to scan and protect the computer system. Experienced users might know this concept for example from the online virus scanner Virustotal or the security software Hitman Pro which also utilize multiple engines to achieve better results. The main reason for multiple engines is a better hit ratio as no single detection engine will catch 100% of malicious software.

The focus of Double Anti-Spy Professional is a complete spyware protection of computer systems running the Microsoft Windows operating system which includes protection against spyware and adware but also against other forms of malware including backdoors, computer bots and trojans.

The installation of the anti-spyware software and the interface of the program have been designed with ease of use in mind. The program will always start up with the status report window which will display relevant information like the date and time of the last scan, the freshness of the definition files or the results of the last scan. The four buttons on the left side are used to switch between sections of the software.

Double Anti-Spy Professional can perform three types of scans: A quick scan that will only scan important locations, a full scan to scan all files and locations and a custom scan that the user can define individually. A full system scan is recommended after installation and updating the definitions to find all traces of spyware that might be located on the computer system.

The anti-spyware software protects the computer system from spyware that tries to attack the PC. It does so by actively monitoring the system for suspicious files. The depth and level of protection can be configured in the Active Defense section of the program.

Here it is possible to configure the active defense and email defense settings to block and quarantine files and software before it can become a threat. Email defense works with several popular desktop email clients including Microsoft Outlook, Windows Mail and Mozilla Thunderbird.

The very same menu can also be used to schedule scans and add programs and files to a whitelist or blacklist.

The fourth and final tab Settings can be used to configure the different scans that Double Anti-Spy Professional can perform, set the update check interval, configure a proxy server and scan optimizer or disable Windows Explorer automatically if it is running on the system to avoid compatibility problems.

Now, how good is the anti-spyware software? Avanquest show test results conducted by AV-Test on their homepage which tested Double Anti-Spyware Pro against PC Tools Spyware Doctor and Webroot Spy Sweeper. Other tests have not been published yet and it is not even possible to find the AV-Test results anywhere on the Internet. But what about the two engines that the security software is using? According to users on some web forums the program is using the engines of Outpost AntiSpyware + VIPRE (CounterSpy) which both did receive good reviews and recommendations.

Update: The software is using the following engines: Double Anti-Spy includes Sunbelt’s VIPRE (Engine A) + Outpost AntiSpyware combined with Virus Buster SDK (Engine B)

Verdict:

Double Anti-Spy Professional utilizes two scanning engines from respected companies to protect the computer against spyware which makes it more effective. Resource usage was a bit high on a Windows 7 test system if the window of the program was active (about 80 Megabytes). The program itself is compatible with Windows XP and 32-bit or 64-bit editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. More information are available at the Double Anti-Spy Professional homepage.

Giveaway:

We have ten download copies and licenses for Double Anti-Spy Professional. Just leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy. Every comment in the next 24 hours will take part in the draw and the winners will be emailed. The email will contain the download link, license key and instructions.

Tags: anti-spyware, avanquest, double anti-spy professional, Double Anti-Spy Professional Review, giveaway, offers, security-software, windows software

Panda Internet Security 2010 [free]

Martin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:28:57 +0000

Seems that some security companies and software developers are going crazy on the launch day of Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 7. Panda Security is the latest security software developer that will be offering one of its products for free on October 22. That’s right; Users who visit the promotion website on that day can grab a one year license of one of Panda’s flagship products. Now what does Panda Internet Security 2010 offer to Windows users?

Anti-malware Protection (including personal firewall, antivirus protection, wifi monitor, instant messaging protection and proactive protection)
Identity Theft Protection (anti-phishing, anti-banking trojan engine and anti-rootkit technology)
Safe Internet Browsing (anti-spam filter, parental control features, web filter and information filter)
PC Backup including 2 Gigabytes of online backup storage

October 22, 2009 is the magical 24 hour period when ordinarily pricey things turn into free things. Well, Panda Security is now compatible with Windows 7, so why not pair the two? Register on this glorious day for ONE FREE YEAR of Panda Security’s anti-virus protection. Prevent viruses, malware, Trojans, worms, identity theft, online banking and other threats from infecting your PC. Internet Security is ultra light-weight because it’s using “cloud” technology so it won’t hinder your computer from operating as freely as it can. Because the only free thing we can think of that isn’t good is a computer virus.

Users who want the free license for Panda Internet Security 2010 need to visit the promotion website on October 22 (the countdown on the page is showing that the offer starts in 8 hours and 44 minutes from the time of posting this article).

Registration on the page is mandatory on October 22 to receive the activation code per email. A download link is already visible but not yet activated. The promotion website can be accessed by following this link. An overview of Panda Internet Security 2010 is available at the Panda Security website.

Tags: antivirus software, offers, panda, panda internet security, security-software

WinX DVD Author Giveaway

Martin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:24:39 +0000

Remember the WinX DVD Ripper Platinum giveaway last month? The same company is now giving away the DVD authoring software WinX DVD Author. The software program can create DVDs from various video formats. The software supports video formats like avi, mpeg, rm, flv or mov among others which can be loaded into the interface. The program itself is as easy to use as the DVD ripper. It is possible to author a DVD with just a few clicks.

The whole process is divided into three easy to follow steps. The user adds videos to the program in step 1. Various information about the videos – like the bitrate, playtime or screen resolution, are displayed in that step. Here it is also possible to switch between DVD-5 and DVD-9 DVD DVDs, aspect ratios and Pal or Ntsc video formats.

The DVD menu is created in the second step. Several templates are available in that section and there are editing possibilities to add text, move elements around and to add background music to the DVD menu structure.

The actual DVD creation is handled in the third step. Here it is possible to select the DVD burner, volume name, output folder for the video_ts folder and output quality settings.

Here are some information about the software program:

Supported Video Formats: AVI, ASF, WMV, MPEG, MP4, MOV, RM, RMVB, XviD, DivX, H.264, OGG, QT, FLV, etc.
Disc Type: DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, DVD DL+R, DVD DL+/-RW, etc.
Platforms: Windows 98, NT, 2000, 2003, XP, Vista (32 & 64 bit), Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit)
Language: English, French, Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, etc.
Subtitle support
Video clipping

WinX DVD Author can be downloaded for free for the rest of October from the developer’s website.

Tags: dvd authoring, offers, windows software, winx dvd author

Zonealarm Pro Firewall 2010 Promotion

Martin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:08:39 +0000

Remember last year? Zonealarm ran a promotion in November where users could grab a valid one year license for Zonealarm Pro Firewall. Seems that the promotion was a success as the devs are readying their website for this year’s promotion. The rules are simple. You need to visit the Zonealarm website – to be precise the website with the promotion information – on October 13 at 6 a.m. PDT to be able to get the free version of the commercial firewall. A registration is required to receive the registration keys. Download were available for seven days and the server were breaking under the load. It is therefor good to be among the first or wait ten or so hours before attempting to register.

The Check Point ZoneAlarm Pro promotion represents a $40 value and includes a full year license for up to three PCs. It is limited to only one download per new customer.

Features of Zonealarm Pro Firewall 2010:

Advanced Download – Analyzes browser downloads in three unique ways before they can infect your PC and warns if they are malicious.
Free Credit Bureau – Protects your identity with daily credit report monitoring and provides victim recovery services.
Complimentary and Compatible – Works well with other free and paid (non-firewall) security products, such as AVG and Norton Antivirus.
Automatic Program Control – See less alerts than with ZoneAlarm Free Firewall.
OSFirewall™ – Monitors changes within your computer to spot and stop new attacks that bypass traditional anti-virus protection.
Anti-phishing and Site Status – Blocks fraudulent websites including “phishing” sites that trick you into entering personal data.
Two-way Firewall – Keeps hackers out by making your PC invisible online and blocking intrusions.

Additional information about the firewall are available at the Zonealarm website.

Update: Users need to add credit card information for “verification” purposes. Check Point is setting the subscription to automatically renew after a year which can be changed in the use profile on the website.

Tags: firewall, offers, zonealarm, zonealarm pro firewall

WinX DVD Ripper Platinum Free Offer

Martin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:34:26 +0000

We reviewed the free version of WinX DVD Ripper exactly a month ago and were very pleased with the DVD ripper and converter. The DVD software was easy to use but offered enough functionality to please most users. It was for example possible to rip a DVD with just a few clicks. Users who wanted more control were able to configure several settings in the DVD ripper to customize the DVD ripping process.

The developers of the free version were also offering a commercial version on their website called WinX DVD Ripper Platinum. The commercial version provides access to additional features and advanced settings making it worthwhile for some users. The free version could for instance not rip a DVD straight into a format supported by Apple’s iPhone or iPod. Users who wanted that functionality had to use a video converter to do that which usually meant double the work and time.

Why are we writing all this? Because the developers have decided to offer WinX DVD Ripper Platinum for free in September. You can head right over to their website and download the commercial version of this excellent DVD ripping software for free. A quick chat with one of the representatives of the company revealed that minor updates will be available for free as well while major updates, e.g. a version bump to 6, would not be free but could be purchased for a small amount of money. Updates are not mandatory on the other hand which means that users can work with the version of the DVD ripper for as long as they like.

WinX DVD Ripper Platinum will automatically recognize video DVDs. The structure of the DVD is automatically displayed in the program’s interface with the main movie selected by default. The interface looks pretty much like the one used in WinX DVD Ripper with the exception of a few additions. Options to convert the DVD to various formats that are supported by devices like iPods, Apple TVs, PDA or Zune are displayed next to the general format options known from the free version of the software program.

Next to the additional devices that are supported by the platinum version of WinX DVD Ripper are the inclusion of a high definition encoding engine which promises a superior audio and video quality over its free version of the software.

The DVD ripper can rip copy protected DVDs and supports all other features of the free version. Users who are looking for a reliable and easy to use DVD ripping software might want to download this program and install it for a test ride. The offer to download the premium version of WinX DVD Ripper for free lasts until the end of September.

Tags: dvd, dvd ripper, offers, rip dvd, video dvd, winx dvd ripper, winx dvd ripper platinum

Free Paragon Software Special Editions

Martin — Sat, 02 May 2009 21:18:31 +0000

It has been a while since we last covered free downloads of commercial software programs. This time it is a collection of software programs from Paragon Software. The programs are so called special editions which have a few limitations. Among them a limitation for private usage only, no upgrade possibilities to newer versions and no official support from the developers. The functionality on the other hand is usually close to the commercial version or even exactly the same.

The following software programs are available as special editions:

Just follow the links. They lead to registration websites that ask the visitor to enter a few basic information including the name, email and country. Paragon will send an email to the email account containing the product key and serial number needed to activate the software program on a local computer system. The very same email contains a link to the user profile page at the Paragon website from where the software program can be downloaded.

Update:

Download links for programs that are not listed under My Downloads in the Paragon profile.

Drive Backup 9.0
Partition Manager 9.0
Drive Copy 9
Hard Disk Manager 8.5

Tags: free software, offers, paragon, paragon software, software, windows software

Free Computer Magazine and Whitepaper Subscriptions

Martin — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:08:55 +0000

We have a deal in place with a company that is providing free magazine and whitepaper subscriptions and downloads for industry professionals. The following is a list of computer related subscriptions and computer magazines that might be worth subscribing to. Again, it is totally free but one needs to qualify as a industry professional which usually is not that hard. The requirement for Website Magazine is for example to have a website. All of the following offers are valid for US users. If users from other countries are allowed as well it will be noted.

Below is a selection of interesting magazines and whitepapers. You can alternatively take a look at the directory of all magazines or only those that are eligible for international users.

Recommended Subscriptions:

10 Really Good Reasons To Use Predictive Analytics (International) – Predictive analytics is a powerful tool that helps organizations solve key challenges by using business knowledge to drive efficiencies and strengthen their competitive advantage.
Content Management System Pocket Guide (USA) – Use this valuable guide to identify the pitfalls and explore the opportunities available in implementing a CMS solution for your organization.
Oracle Magazine (International) – Oracle Magazine contains technology strategy articles, sample code, tips, Oracle and partner news, how to articles for developers and DBAs, and more.
Security Source (International) – From spyware to phishing attacks, security threats are growing more virulent as the promise of big payoffs increase
Vulnerability Management for Dummies (USA) – Get all the Facts and See How to Implement a Successful Vulnerability Management Program.
Web Application Security (USA) ? How to Minimize Prevalent Risk of Attacks

Subscriptions:

Asia Electronics Industry (International) – Each issue delivers reviews of hot technologies affecting the electronics industry in Asian countries as well as how these companies are improving productivity and quality.
Budget Squeeze: How to Maintain Security During a Recession (USA) – Learn how the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation is keeping information security costs in check by automating processes with the Archer SmartSuite Framework.
Electronic Design (USA, Canada) – Electronic Design’s on-going objective is to observe and report the latest breakthroughs in EOEM technology.
Electronic Products (USA) – Electronic Products reports on important developments in products and product technology. Its editorial serves as a key information source for engineers and managers.
Government Computer News (USA) – Government Computer News’ coverage of government, technology and products/solutions helps provide news and tools that support the effective deployment of IT budgets to achieve agency missions.
Internet Retailer (International) – Internet Retailer is the first magazine devoted to reporting on the Internet revolution in retailing and today remains the only magazine on the market with this exclusive focus.
NERC CyberSecurity Solutions (USA, Canada, UK) – Find out how to prepare for the new NERC cybersecurity regulations. All bulk power system owners, operators, and users are responsible for compliance with regulations, measures and standards developed by North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) starting July 2009
Processor (USA) – The Most Complete Coverage Of New Data Center Products & Technologies.
Streaming Media Magazine (USA) – Streaming Media Magazine is a quarterly resource for executives and technology managers who use online video and audio for both business communication and delivery of consumer content.
Website Magazine (USA) – A free magazine offering practical advice and helpful tools from industry experts to help any website achieve Internet success.

Tags: computer magazines, ghacks, magazine subscriptions, mags, offers, subcriptions, whitepaper subscriptions, whitepapers

Ghacks Christmas Giveaway Announcement

Martin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:07:13 +0000

I actually had the idea last year but did not pursuit it enough to make it happen in 2007. This year however is different. I’m very proud to announce the first annual Ghacks Christmas Giveaway. We will provide visitors with the opportunity to win excellent software programs (and probably other things as well) from December 1 to December 24.

Many well known and respected companies have already agreed to provide us with free software products that we could hand out to lucky readers. I do not want to spoil the fun just yet and announce which products we are going to offer but you can be sure that they have been selected because they are excellent.

A new post with additional details will be posted on December 1 when the Ghacks Christmas Giveaway officially starts. It will include all rules and information needed to grab a few nice software packages. Stay tuned. We are counting on you to spread the word of the giveaway.

We are still in the talks with several software developers and would like to use this article to listen to you. Do you have a software company in mind that would make a good fit for the Ghacks Christmas Giveway? We cannot guarantee anything but we might contact the company to see if they would donate a few software packages. Let us know in the comments.

All posts related to the Giveaway will be tagged as “ghacks christmas giveaway” which should make it easy for anyone to stay up to date with the latest posts.

Tags: Christmas giveaway, free software, ghacks, ghacks Christmas giveaway, offers, software

Free Zonealarm Pro Tomorrow

Martin — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:29:53 +0000

George send me the tip via email. Checkpoint, the developers of Zonealarm Pro, will hand out the software program for free tomorrow. To be precise, it will be free starting at 6 AM PDT on Tuesday 18 and remain so for the next 24 hours.

The url with the free offer will go live at the same time which is why it cannot be posted yet. It is likely that the following page will provide access to the download, it seems to be connected to the offer.

Users who download Zonealarm Pro will receive the software program for free including its one year subscription. The package would normally cost $39.95 for a year. The Zonealarm Pro suite contains a firewall and anti-spyware application.

The website will most likely be overrun tomorrow by thousands of users who want to grab their free copy. The best spots are probably to be among the first or download it in the second half of the day.

Tags: anti-spyware, check point, firewall, offers, zonealarm, zonealarm firewall, zonealarm pro

Download 20 Metallica Live Albums For Free

Martin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:19:51 +0000

I have to admit that I was a Metallica fan back then in the times of Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets and denied their existence after their release of the Black Album. My denial was confirmed by their stance against file sharing and their fans which was full of blatant mistakes and an inability to understand what was going on.

It surprised me that they decided to offer 20 Metallica live albums from 1982-2003 for free on their website Live Metallica which is selling live albums from their recent concerts as mp3 and flac on the site as well. Well the 20 albums are free to download after registering at the website which just takes an email and password.

Don’t expect the downloads to be that easy. They are offering a Java download manager or single downloads of the files. Single downloads mean that a user would have to right-click files about two hundreds times to download all of them. Most live albums have a playing time between 1:30 and 2 hours and mostly contain classic Metallica songs. All test downloads used a bitrate of 192 Kbit.

A nice surprise for Metallica fans, past and present.

Tags: albums, free-mp3, livemetallica, metallica, metallica mp3, metallive live, offers

Five Free Akapost Plus Upgrades For Grabs

Martin — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:31:52 +0000

I covered the email provider Akapost about ten days ago and liked what it had to offer. It was not your usual Gmail / Yahoo Mail kind of provider but one that would put an end to email spam to your mail inbox. This was achieved by acting as a proxy between the user’s email account and the destinations.

The user would create an Akapost email account at their website and link it to one of his real email accounts. Whenever he wanted to signup on a site he would use the Akapost email account which would forward all incoming mails to his account.

Mails that he wanted to send could be send to Akapost first which would forward them to the email recipient. This effectively means that no sender or website is able to uncover the real email address of the user. Akapost featured a few additional options, just read my initial article if you are curious.

Free accounts can be created at Akapost which are good for one email link. I had a chat with the guys at Akapost and they told me that they would give me five free account upgrades to Akapost Plus which is good for 5 Akapost email addresses and 10 links.

The service usually costs $22.95 per year but five lucky Ghacks readers pay nothing to get it. You need to have an Akapost username. If you want to upgrade your account let me know in the comments. I pick five commenters in the coming days who will get the free upgrade. Regular commenters and visitors will be precedented.

Tags: akapost, Email, email provider, email proxy, email services, email spam, offers

ZoneAlarm Forcefield Free

Martin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:53:49 +0000

ZoneAlarm is running a promotion today that allows everyone to grab a free copy of their new ZoneAlarm Forcefield product if they register an account at the ZoneAlarm website. ZoneAlarm forcefield puts a protective layer around the browser. In other words it uses software virtualization / sandbox technology that is known from Sandboxie or SafeSpace.

Although the promotion is only running today users who download the virtualization software have seven days to install it and are still eligible to use it freely. The registration key will be send to the email address entered during registration and is good for one year of free updates.

Zonealarm Forcefield is compatible to Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7 as well as Mozilla Firefox 2 and Firefox 3. No Opera support in sight unfortunately though.

ZoneAlarm Forcefield adds a toolbar to the browser which thankfully can be shortened so that the icons only appear in the statubs bar and are thus less obtrusive.

Features:

Browser Threat Immunity
Keylogger & Screengrabber Jamming
Anti-Phishing
Spy Site Blocking
On-The-Fly Encryption
Website Safety Check

Unlike the other two virtualization software programs ZoneAlarm Forcefield virtualises only the browser and not other applications that connect to the Internet.

Tags: offers, safespace, sandboxie, software virtualization, zonealarm, zonealarm forcefield

Ten Interesting Free Magazines For Professionals

Martin — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:48:28 +0000

In short. If you are a professional you are eligible for free subscriptions to any of the information products (mostly magazines) that I have listed below plus every other that is available at my Free Trade Magazine Subscriptions & Technical Document Downloads page here at Ghacks.

While I do focus the products that I write about here because I know that most of you are related to IT the directory itself contains magazines for all kind of professionals from Agriculture to Utility & Energy including eight IT related categories like Internet, Network / Communications and IT – Data Management.

My motivation to post these is two-fold. I think that you can grab some very nice magazines and other informational products for free which is always great. US professionals usually get those in paper version send to their homes while international professionals get a digital version. I’m also getting paid for every subscription but I would not do it if this would not be totally clean and safe. Enjoy the magazines.

Quick Links: USA Magazines | International

12 SEO Campaign Killers (USA) – Learn what not to do when launching a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign to attract more visitors, leads and sales.

Dr. Dobb’s Journal (USA, Canada) – Dr. Dobb’s Journal is the essential multi-language/multi-platform resource for professional programmers and software developers. You’ll read about algorithms, coding tips, working code, discussions of fundamental design issues and actual program listings guaranteed to make you a better programmer.

Electronic Products (USA) – Electronic Products focuses on the new product and product technology needs of engineers designing today’s electronic equipment and systems.

Go Green, Save Green Through Energy Efficiency (USA) – This ForwardView webshow describes areas where IBM can help you maximize savings without minimizing your competitive edge. Like selecting machines with a sleep mode, reducing server sprawl with virtualization, investing in more efficient equipment, and IT outsourcing.

Online Strategies (INT) – Online Strategies magazine and eZine focuses on best practices in all areas of online marketing, including e-commerce, search engine marketing, optimization, email marketing, web analytics and affiliate marketing.

Oracle Magazine (INT) – Published bimonthly and distributed to more than 550,000 of the top IT managers, database administrators, and developers.

SC Magazine (USA, Canada) – SC Magazine is recognized as the global leader in delivering authoritative information dealing with all the pertinent issues relating to safeguarding e-business technology, IT security threats and the solutions available to remedy them, federal legislation, corporate best practices, and more.

Virtualization Everywhere (INT) – Access our featured guide, Virtualization Everywhere, and learn how you can easily virtualize your servers without the high cost and complexity.

Vulnerability Management for Dummies (INT) – Vulnerability Management for Dummies arms you with the facts and shows you how to implement a successful Vulnerability Management program.

Website Magazine (USA) – Website Magazine has tapped premier talent in the Internet industry for our content and each and every issue will contain practical advice and insights for website owners.

Let me know if you have discovered any interesting magazines in the directory that I might have missed.

Tags: free subscriptions, it magazines, magazines, offers

Free A-Squared Anti-Malware

Martin — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 08:53:55 +0000

The Giveaway of the Day website is offering some very nice software packages from time to time. Today’s offer is A-Squared Anti-Malware in version 3.5 from Emsisoft which can be freely downloaded and installed from the website. The software developers can spread their software to a wide variety of users and gain some free marketing from websites like mine who write about it.

The offer is good for another day which means you have enough time to download and install the software package. The usual retail price for the software is $39.95.

A-Squared Anti-Malware tries to be the ultimate solution in the fight against malicious software, it protects the computer against all kinds like trojans, keyloggers and rootkits meaning it is more than just an antivirus software.

It’s a great PC software especially for the price. It’s especially of interest for those users who missed the A-Squared Anti-Malware offer the last time.

Tags: a-squared, anti-malware, malware, malware protection, offers, software, Windows

Truespace 7.6 free download

Martin — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:17:29 +0000

Microsoft acquired the company Caligari back in February which was probably best known for their 3d modeling and animation software Truespace which came a long way since its initial release on the Commodore Amiga back in 1994.

Well two days ago Microsoft announced that the new version of Truespace would be free for download for everyone. That’s right, all you need to do is head over to the registration page, enter your details and you are ready to download the 130 Megabyte software, 51 Megabyte PDF manual and 132 MB of videos.

Registering gives users not only access to the software but also to the forums, technical support and shared spaces which are valuable for beginners.

One of the biggest chances that has been introduced in this version of Truespace is the connection to Live Search Maps and probably the main reason why Microsoft has decided to release Truespace 7.6 as a free download. Just read the announcement post Announcing trueSpace for Virtual Earth 3D Development to understand the decision.

I’m personally always a bit wary when Microsoft gives away software because they have used their position and this method in the past to gain an overwhelming market share. Internet Explorer anyone?

Tags: caligari, microsoft, offers, truespace, virtual earth

Grab A Free Copy Of System Mechanic 8

Martin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:37:22 +0000

The System Mechanic software has been around for ages and the developers have recently introduced version 8 of their troubleshooting and maintenance product that is compatible with the 32-bit editions of Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 2000.

The software provides access to various tools that repair so called “problems”, make the computer faster and fix security vulnerabilities. You are asked for example at the first start after installing System Mechanic 8 to perform a scan of your system.

That scan is detecting security vulnerabilities (automatic updates service not running), Registry problems, System Clutter but also unnecessary startup items and an unoptimized Internet speed. The user has the choice to let System Mechanic handle the errors and repair them automatically or view a list of the errors that have been found and correct them on a one on one basis which is definitely recommended.

Users who download and install System Mechanic will spend some time exploring all the menus and tools that are available.

Several of those tools that are provided by the software are available in free versions as well. Say CCleaner for removing system clutter or Regfrag to defragment the Windows Registry.

Raymond discovered a way to grab a free copy of System Mechanic 8 including license code that is good for six months. Here is a quick rundown of the process. I suggest you visit Raymond’s website if you are stuck somewhere because he explains the process in details.

Visit the System Mechanic Promotional page and click through the process. You have to enter some data like name, email. In the end the serial number will be send to your inbox.
Grab the latest version of System Mechanic 8 from this download site.
Install it, use the serial number from the email to activate it.

Tags: computer maintenance, computer troubleshooting, iolo, offers, system mechanic, troubleshooting

Giganews Specials for Time Warner, Sprint and Verizon customers

Martin — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:52:51 +0000

You might have heard it in the news that Time Warner and Sprint / Verizon are blocking the complete alt.* hierarchy of the Usenet after coming to an agreement with N.Y. attorney general Andrew Cuomo in an effort to fight child pornography on the Usenet. This basically means that roughly 100.000 groups will be blocked because of a handful, I think it was 88, where child pornography was discovered.

This would be equal to force search engine providers to block a full country from appearing in the search index because some domains with the country extension were found to contain child pornography. A highly disproportional move by the Internet Service Providers. Time Warner made the decision to discontinue their Usenet service completely while Sprint / Verizon is blocking the complete alt hierarchy.

The alt hierarchy is known to be the group with the largest bandwidth requirements and it could be that the ISPs saw this as a welcome initiative to reduce their bandwidth costs.

Giganews, my Usenet provider of choice, is offering specials for Time Warner and Sprint / Verizon customers who would like to keep uncensored Usenet access.

Time Warner and Sprint / Verizon customers get 50% off of Diamond access and 20% of every other plan in the first month which is probably a good way to test the excellent service provided by Giganews. I’m a customer for more than 2 years and never looked back to other Usenet providers. Unparalleled in retention (200 days), speed and security in my opinion.

Members must click on the Free Trial link on the above landing pages and sign up with a valid Time Warner / Sprint / Verizon email address to receive the special.

I just realized that they added another ten connections to my Diamond subscription which means I get 20 simultaneous connections now. Speed is already maxed out with ten connections though, and that is 16 Mbit per second.

Tags: giganews, offers, sprint, time warner, verizon

Free 1 Year 3 Computer CA Anti-virus 2008 License

Martin — Mon, 26 May 2008 06:01:52 +0000

I was not able to find a lot of test results about CA Anti-virus 2008 on the Internet (Zdnet has one that includes spyware protection, here is a second) but it seems to be a solid antivirus software, not the best and not the worst. The offer itself is interesting. You do get a free license of CA Anti-virus 2008 that can be installed on three computers. This package usually retails for $39.99.

CA Anti-virus 2008 detects viruses, trojans and worms but not spyware and rootkits. It’s currently compatible to the 32-bit editions of Windows 2000, XP and Windows Vista.

Here is what you need to do to get your free license. Visit the promo homepage and fill out your registration details. The page is in German, enter the following details from top to bottom: First Name, Last Name, Country, Email, Email Repeat, Password, Password Repeat. A click on Senden submits the form and an email will be dispatched that contains a link to the download page that also contains the serial number.

The download button on that page links to the German version of CA Anti-virus 2008, if you prefer a different version use the following links : English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and two unidentified languages abbreviated tc and sc. The second is most likely Simplified Chinese.

I tested the license key with the English version which accepted it without problems.

Tags: antivirus, ca anti-virus, offers, virus-scanner

Free Paragon Hard Disk Manager 8.0 Special Edition

Martin — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:00:42 +0000

I usually use a hard disk manager to partition a new drive that I bought. I did so after building my new computer. It’s not really necessary anymore these days but I personally prefer different partitions for a better overview. The Paragon Hard Disk Manager 8.0 Special Edition can partition hard drives but provides other features like backing up and restoring partitions, moving and resizing partitions and creating recovery disks.

The Special Edition looks much like the Hard Disk Manager 2008 Suite from Paragon which retails for $49.95. To get your free serial number for the application you need to visit the registration page and fill in your information. The serial number will be send to your email account. The download of the actual software has to be done from the Computeractive website.

The information have to be entered during installation of the software and a restart of the system is necessary before all functions become available.

I think that the Paragon Hard Disk Manager is one of the better products and will come in handy from time to time. You should definitely give it a try for as long as the offer lasts.

Tags: hard-disk, offers, paragon, partition, software, Windows

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