Being the computer go-to-guy amongst my friends, I have noticed a big outbreak of fake anti-virus software. This Fraud-ware tries to fool you into thinking you have thousands of infections, when you may only have 1 (being the bogus software itself).
It may ask you for a payment of $10-$50 to register and remove the threats- DO NOT DO THIS! You run the risk of identity theft, or a plain and simple rip-off.
These programs get into your computer without your knowledge or consent- it may be through pop-ups, bad files on P2P networks like Limewire, and many other ways.
If you do not get this taken care of, it can become worst. You will see more and more of these bogus products when you start your computer.
Signs to look for:
• Bogus anti-virus/spyware programs often generate more “alerts” than the software made by reputable companies.
• You may be bombarded with pop-ups, even when you’re not online.
• High-pressure sales copy will try to convince you to buy RIGHT NOW!
• If you’ve been infected, your computer may dramatically slow down.
• Other signs of infection include: new desktop icons; new wallpaper, or having your default homepage redirected to another site.
(Mac users: if you run Windows using Boot Camp, Parallels or VMWare, these tips apply to you. However, at the time of this writing, Mac OSX does not have these problems.) (more…)
If you are looking for some clean, and glossy buttons or icons for your new site design, you should definitely check these out. Smashing Magazine has put togheter a bunch of freebies for designers trying to get that Web 2.0 look. This is some amazing sh*t!
This is a very nice video featuring Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Ubuntu Linux. He goes into some of the reasons he started the Ubuntu project, and where he hopes to take it. Enjoy.
If you’re like me, you use more than one computer in your day to day life. I spend half my day on the computer at work, and my home computer from time to time after work. I discover some great sites while I’m at work, which I’d like to continue browsing from home.
Before, I would just email the links to myself, and open it from the inbox at home, until I discovered “XMarks”. Xmarks is a Firefox add on which syncs your bookmarks to multiple computers at once.
This is how it works:
You create an XMarks profile, install the add on, and sync your bookmarks to their server.
Install Xmarks on your secondary computer as well, and sign in to the profile you created earlier. Xmarks will sync the bookmarks from computer 2, and merge them with the computer 1 bookmarks on their server, giving you all of your bookmarks on both computers at completely different locations.
From now on, bookmarks you make on computer 1, will sync to computer 2, and vice-versa. XMarks also has the ability to sync passwords.
I can not imagine going on without this piece of software, it has truly made my life much, much easier!
This is a basic essential every Windows user should know and use.
Following these steps will allow you to disable unused software from
the Windows startup queue.
Some software enables itself to auto start every time you boot up your
computer- this causes unnecessary lag, and down time. To turn startup
items On or Off:
1. Click Start > Run
2. In Run, type in “msconfig” and click “OK”
3. Click the “Startup” tab
4. Uncheck the applications you want to disable from startup, and check mark the ones that you would like to enable.
*Bonus:Stop Startup Services (proceed with caution- you must have working knowledge of MS services)
1. Click the “Services” tab
2. Click “Hide All Microsoft Services” (this will hide the services that may be important, so you won’t screw them up by mistake).
3. Again, uncheck the services you would like to disable.
4. Finally, click “Apply”, and then “OK” – Restart, and notice the difference in startup speed!
These are apps every Ubuntu user should look into. They make life on Linux so much more pleasant and easy. As a new Ubuntu user, I don’t know how I would go on without them:
AllTray – Allows you to minimize apps to the alltray system tray.
If you’re like me, you use more than one computer in your day to day life. I spend half my day on the computer at work, and my home computer from time to time after work. I discover some great sites while I’m at work, which I’d like to continue browsing from home.
These are apps every Ubuntu user should look into. They make life on Linux so much more pleasant and easy. As a new Ubuntu user, I don’t know how I would go on without them:
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