From today's MajorGeeks front page-Nov 2008

[bigbazza]

A pinch and a punch for the first of the month.
A new month, a few days to the election of a new US President, 7 weeks to Christmas, 8 weeks to the New Year. Time flies, as they say.

Enough philosophising (sp?), the chosen few for Saturday 1st November 2008, are:

Gbridge 1.0.0.1146
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Gbridge_d6053.html

A free software that lets you sync folders, share files, chat and VNC securely and easilyGbridge is It extends Google's gtalk service to a VPN (Virtual Private Network) that connects your computers and your close friends' computers directly and securely. Gbridge has many unique features.Requires a GMail account. Rating: 4.88 (9 votes).

My note: Excellent rating.

Avant Browser 11.7 Build 18
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Avant_Browser_d2346.html

Avant Browser is a multi-window browser which features with many functions such as Pop-up Stopper, Built-in Google Searching, Safe Recovery, Integrated Cleaner and Advanced Browsing Options. Rating: 4.55 (577 votes).

Wiseval Photophant 1.0.4
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Wiseval_Photophant_d6062.html

Wiseval Photophant is a free software for batch resizing, converting and renaming images or your digital photos from and to jpg, bmp, png and gif formats.

Main Features:
- 100% Free. No spyware, adware, banners etc.
- Resize, rename and convert images in batch mode
- Supports jpeg, png, gif, and bmp formats
- Variable options and settings for advanced users
- Built-in templates: iPod, iPhone, Facebook, DVD etc. Rating: 5 (6 votes)

My note: and lots more features. Excellent rating.

If you are new to this column, or Major Geeks, or both, I list 2-4 programs daily that you maybe interested in trying. I haven't necessarily tried the above programs. I just list them. If they have been listed previously, then this listing is the latest upgrade.

For lots more programs and updates, today, check out www.majorgeeks.com

Check the Ratings score, out of 5, on the right hand side of the program/s you have chosen. This is the MG members review, and maybe should be taken into consideration.

For you non-MG members / visitors / guests / lurkers reading this, also check out the "Must Have Free downloads" at
http://www.majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=20
for lots of good FREE stuff.

For those interested in the Tips threads, if you missed Tips 1-7, go to "From today's MajorGeeks front page-July 2008" at http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=163425 Read from post #29, onwards, to the end of the month.

If you missed Tips 8- 34, go to "From today's MajorGeeks front page-Aug 2008" at http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=165925

If you missed Tips 35-57, go to "From today's MajorGeeks front page--Sep 2008" at http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=168572

If you missed Tips 58- 78, go to "From today's MajorGeeks front page--Oct 2008" at http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=170775

Bazza

[bigbazza]

The chosen few for Sunday 2nd November 2008, are:

ShellMenuView 1.06
http://www.majorgeeks.com/ShellMenuView__d5779.html

ShellMenuView is a small utility that display the list of static menu items that appeared in the context menu when you right-click a file/folder on Windows Explorer, and allows you to easily disable unwanted menu items.

ShellMenuView works properly on Windows 2000 and Windows XP. You can also use ShellMenuView on Windows 98 for viewing the menu items list, but the disable/enable feature won't work on this version of Windows. Rating: 4.5 (6 votes).

Startup Delayer 2.3.133
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Startup_Delayer_d6064.html

When Windows loads it's Startup file, it attempts to load every program in there at the same time. Therefore if you have quite a lot of programs starting when Windows starts, each program will try and grab CPU time so that it can load. Startup Delayer allows you to setup how many seconds after Windows has started, to load each program.

For Example:
If you have your mail program and a special clock starting up, then you can make your mail start say 10 seconds after Windows has loaded, and then the special clock start 20 seconds after Windows Starts.

Compatible with Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista Rating: 5 (2 votes).

My note: Another example would be to start your Firewall and Anti-virus programs before all others.

Rss Bandit 1.8.0.855
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Rss_Bandit_d5052.html

An RSS/Atom aggregator for your desktop written with the .NET Framework. Instances of the program can be synchronized using WebDAV, FTP or a file share. Single-click automatic discovery of RSS feeds. Ability to post comments to weblogs. Support for tabbed browsing using embedded Web browser. Support for password protected feeds using SSL & HTTP Authentication. Look of news items displayed in the feed pane can be customized using XSLT. Ability to flag items for followup. Ability to track related news items and displaying them in a threaded view akin to a mail or news reader. Rating: 3.6 (5 votes).

Major Geeks slogan, selected for today:
"MajorGeeks.com - We put the "eek" back in "Geek"."

Bazza

[bigbazza]

"The Race that stops a nation" is on today in Australia (Tuesday, our time).
USA's big day is tomorrow (Tuersday), your time.

The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major annual thoroughbred horse race. Billed as The race that stops a nation, it is for three-year-olds and over, and covers a distance of 3,200 metres. It is generally regarded as the most prestigious "two-mile" handicap in the world. The event is held on the first Tuesday in November. As of May 7th, 2008, the Melbourne cup's prize money increased 10% to AUD$5.5 million with First place increasing 10% to AUD$3.3 million dollars.

One link is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Cup_Day

For USA / UK / European MG readers (and others), the chosen few for Monday 3rd November 2008, are:

SysProt AntiRootkit 1.0.0.7
http://www.majorgeeks.com/SysProt_An...kit_d5708.html

SysProt AntiRootkit is an advanced, free tool that allows you to detect and remove Rootkits from Windows systems. Rating: 4 (9 votes).

GVG Info (formerly PC Info) 3.8
http://www.majorgeeks.com/GVG_Info_f...nfo_d5575.html

This program is used mainly by administrators or by people, who making computer installations as job or they do that for friends and want to have summary in one place of all installed machines. Rating: 3.15 (13 votes).

DriveImage XML 2.02
http://www.majorgeeks.com/DriveImage_XML_d4919.html

DriveImage XML is an easy to use and reliable program for imaging and backing up partitions and logical drives.

The program allows you to:

Backup logical drives and partitions to image files
Browse these images, view and extract files
Restore these images to the same or a different drive
Copy directly from drive to drive
Schedule automatic backups with your Task Scheduler
Image creation uses Microsoft's Volume Shadow Services (VSS), allowing you to create safe "hot images" even from drives currently in use. Rating: 4.42 (42 votes).

Ad-aware 2008 Definitions File 0136.0000
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Ad-aware_2...le__d5711.html

Manually update Ad-aware 2008 with the latest definitions file. Rating: 4.45 (46 votes).

From Way Off Base, today.
A teenager has changed his name to Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine Hulk And The Flash Combined.
The record-breaking name, now thought to be the world's longest, was the idea of music graduate George Garratt, 19. He changed his name by deed poll online for £10 last week.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...Fantastic.html
My note: Idiot. I wonder how many computer systems are going to crash when he tries to fill out forms.

Second note: The link, above, will take you to a £100,000 Ferrari literally wrapped itself around a telegraph pole after its driver lost control in Adelaide, Australia. The driver and his passenger walked away from the crash with minor injuries. Check out the picture, unbelievable. (see thumbnail)

Major Geeks slogan, selected for today:
"MajorGeeks.com - We got downloads coming out of our waxy, geeky ears."

Bazza

[bigbazza]

The chosen few for Tuesday 4th November 2008, are:

Free PC Audit 1.3
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Free_PC_Audit_d6052.html

Free PC Audit is a freeware system, hardware and software information tool. It extracts details of all components of the PC, shows installed software with version and product key. Free PC Audit does not require installation and can be used as a portable application. Rating: 4.5 (6 votes).

Dr.Web CureIT 4.44.5 04.11.2008
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Dr.Web_CureIT_d4783.html

Cure your computer with free Dr.Web CureIT! utility. This is a FREE anti-virus and anti-spyware utility based on Dr.Web Anti-virus scanner, which will help you quickly scan and cure, if necessary, a computer operated by MS Windows 95OSR2/ 98/Me/NT 4.0/2000/XP/2003/Vista without installation of the Dr.Web Anti-virus. Rating: 4.37 (72 votes).

TheWorld Browser 2.3.1.6
http://www.majorgeeks.com/TheWorld_Browser_d5898.html

A tiny, fast, yet free, secure and powerful web browser. TheWorld Browser provides a fast, safe, and easy way to browse the Web. It will revolutionize your internet experience with many useful features that other browsers don't provide. Give it a try, we guarantee our browser is 100% malware free.

FEATURES:

Multi-threaded frame.
Intelligent Ad blocking + Blacklist filter.
Web page mute
Powerful Tools
Safer.
Built-in Download Manager
Skins and plugins
Size: 600 Kb License: Freeware Requires: Win XP/Vista Downloaded: 9689 Times Rating: 4.58 (58 votes).

My note: All this in 600KB's.

Major Geeks slogan, selected for today:
"MajorGeeks.com - These are not the droids you are looking for."

Bazza

[bigbazza]

The chosen few for Wednesday 5th November 2008, are:-

Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 FREE 6.75
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Ashampoo_B...REE_d5937.html

Get power, simplicity and file backup too! The new Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 FREE keeps all the advantages of its predecessor and adds multi-disc file backup, an integrated audio CD ripper and further improved support for the exciting new Blu-ray format with capacities of up to 25 gigabytes per layer. Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 FREE is still totally simple and intuitive to use. We listened to your feedback, added the new functions you asked for and made a long list of corrections and changes. The result is a better, more powerful and more efficient CD, DVD and Blu-ray burning application than ever before. Author: ashampoo GmbH & Co Date: 2008-11-05 Size: 11.6 MB
License: Freeware Requires: Win 2K/03/XP/Vista Downloaded: 10474 Times Rating: 4.59 (22 votes).

My note: You must register before use and you will be bombarded with their products spam. But the price is right.

MemInfo 2.0
http://www.majorgeeks.com/MemInfo_d5308.html

MemInfo will display the current memory usage in the system tray. With a small graphic, and the value updated in real time, MemInfo gives a fast feedback to current memory usage in Windows.

On mouseover, it also reveals some additional information. To further investigate memory usage, a double-click on the Meminfo tray icon will launch the Windows Task Manager. Rating: 3.42 (7 votes).

StarBurn 10.5
http://www.majorgeeks.com/StarBurn_d5936.html

With StarBurn you can perform grabbing, copying and burning operations as well as advanced DVD authoring and mastering. These advanced features enable you to create DVD-Video content from custom video files, or compilations from other DVDs. Additionally with the DVD Splitting Wizard you can split DVD-Video discs into smaller parts and burn them to DVD writable discs or share them with the StarPort DVD-ROM emulator and watch DVD video directly on your PC. This enables you to create copies of 8.5 GB dual layer DVDs with just a few mouse clicks.

Limitations
Default install options include Rocket Division software being set as default home page, search provider and to load their page when complete. All can be unchecked. Not a big deal as I am sure you pay attention to installation routines. Right?

Major Geeks slogan, selected for today:
"MajorGeeks.com - Pretty major, always geeky."

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Not too many to choose from for Thursday 6th November 2008:-

Flock 2.0.1
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Flock_d4807.html

A cutting edge Firefox-based Web browser dubbed 'Flock', which integrates next-generation Web technologies such as RSS content feeds, blogs and bookmark and photo sharing.

Flock is completely independent from Mozilla but Flock is based on the open source Mozilla code base. Rating: 4.45 (57 votes).

DirectX Redistributable 9.0c (November 2008)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/DirectX_Re...ble_d2924.html

The Microsoft DirectX® End-User Runtime provides updates to 9.0c and previous versions of DirectX — the core Windows® technology that drives high-speed multimedia and games on the PC.
Author: Microsoft Date: 2008-11-06 Size: 298 KB License: Freeware Requires: Win All Downloaded: 194760 Times Rating: 4.68 (419 votes).

An extra couple from Wednesday:-
Asterisk Key 8.3 Build 3047
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Asterisk_Key_d3558.html

Asterisk Key shows passwords hidden under asterisks.

Features

- Uncovers hidden passwords on password dialog boxes and web pages
- State of the art password recovery engine - all passwords are recovered instantly
- Multilingual passwords are supported
- Full install/uninstall support
Rating: 4.42 (71 votes).

XnView 1.95.3
http://www.majorgeeks.com/XnView__d4974.html

XnView is a utility for viewing and converting graphic files.

Main Features:
- Import about 400 graphic file formats
- Export about 50 graphic file formats
- Multipage TIFF, Animated GIF, Animated ICO support
- Image IPTC, EXIF metadata support
- EXIF auto rotation support
- IPTC editing
- Resize, rotate, crop support
- Lossless rotate & crop (jpeg) support
- And many many other things...

This version is freeware but you must register for commerical use. Rating: 4.51 (137 votes).

Major Geeks slogan selected for today:-
"MajorGeeks.com - Geek your mind, the rest will follow."

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Tip # 79 Checksums

Camtech Checksums is a free utility for verifying the integrity of files.
A checksum is a value which is computed to allow you to check the validity of a file, similar to a serial number. All files have a unique checksum and if you change even one byte in a file, and then run it through the program again, the result will be different. This is used as a way to verify whether a file has been altered.

Camtech Checksums offers two different types of checksums.
CRC32 is an 8 character string and MD5 is a 32 character string.
Some downloads include the checksum so you can check the file to be sure it hasn't been altered. You can also generate your own checksums for later use or for sending to someone. That way when they receive it they can check it to make sure it hasn't been corrupted.

It is Freeware for Win95/98/Me/NT/Win2K/XP/Vista

More info and screen shots at:
http://camtech2000.net/Pages/Checksums.htm

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Tip # 80 Mayabase XP Laptop Switcher.
http://www.mayabase.nl/index.php?PageID=22

With our free tool MayaBase XP Laptop Switcher You can setup as many configurations as you like.
Every configuration can have unique settings for:

Enabling and Disabling network cards.
Automatic or static Network settings for the TCP/IP protocol.
The desktop Wallpaper.
The speaker volume.
The default printer.
The system files host and lmhost for presetting names.
Stop system services you don't need.
Start services you do need.
Run software at startup you would have to run anyway.

My note: Obviously suitable for desktops for hardcore gamers, etc.

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Not too many to choose from for Friday 7th November 2008:

nFLVPlayer 1.3.0.61
http://www.majorgeeks.com/nFLVPlayer_d5819.html

nFLVPlayer plays Flash Video (tm) format also known as .flv. This format provides the best available compression out there through the VP6 codec. At this time this is the best video format for online video playback ... but it lacks support in other means of ussage. Rating: 5 (3 votes).

My note: 5/5 rating.

nFLVPlayer 1.3.0.61
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Fresh_Diagnose_d440.html

Fresh Diagnose is an utility designed to analyze and benchmark your computer system. It can analyze and benchmark many kinds of hardware, such as CPU performance, hard disk performance, video system information, mainboard information, and many more!Use this free software to learn more about your computer and its components, detect/diagnose any problems in your computer, and increase your computer's performance! Rating: 4.18 (49 votes).

FastPictureViewer 1.00 Build 58
http://www.majorgeeks.com/FastPictureViewer_d5926.html

Browse entire folders of digital photos in the shortest possible amount of timeAs a minimalist picture viewer, the program is optimized to do just one task: browse entire folders of digital photos in the shortest possible amount of time. Rating: 4 (29 votes).

My note: One from yesterday.
Spiceworks IT Desktop 3.1.28009
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Spiceworks...top_d5657.html

Combines Network Inventory, Help Desk, Reporting, Monitoring and Troubleshooting. Your network may be complicated and expensive but your IT management tools don't need to be. Spiceworks IT Desktop is the only application that combines Network Inventory, Help Desk, Reporting, Monitoring and Troubleshooting in a single, easy-to-use interface designed for IT teams in small and medium businesses. Plus, Spiceworks lets you collaborate with IT pros around the world to solve problems, share ideas and decide what additional features you need in Spiceworks.

And, the best part -- it's free
Size: 12 MB
License: Freeware Requires: Win All Downloaded: 9582 Times Rating: 4.62 (16 votes).

My note: These selections are only a portion of those shown at www.majorgeeks.com and only at a particular time of the day. Many are added after I review the days listings.

Major Geeks slogan, selected for today:
"MajorGeeks.com - This is my Geek. There are many like him but this one is mine."

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Tip # 81 Ashampoo software at your price.

Now is your chance to get the latest versions of various Ashampoo software at your price.

How much would you like to pay for Ashampoo software?
Today YOU name the price!

Just offer what the products are worth to you:
http://r.ashampoo.com/r.php?id=19046...84&lk=0B2N1aeH

If we accept your offer, we will email you the registration codes for the software which you download off our website. If we don't accept your offer, we will notify you via email.

MAKE YOUR LOW BID NOW - WE MAY ACCEPT IT TODAY:
http://r.ashampoo.com/r.php?id=19046...84&lk=0B2N1aeH

Bazza

[bigbazza]

The chosen few for Saturday 8th November 2008, are:

BitMeter 2 3.5.8
http://www.majorgeeks.com/BitMeter_2_d5603.html

BitMeter 2 is a bandwidth meter, it allows you to visually monitor your internet connection by displaying a scrolling graph that shows your upload and download speed over time. Bitmeter 2 requires version 1.1 or later of the Microsoft .NET framework to be installed. Rating: 4.59 (22 votes).

My note: The one I use. Other display options available.
See thumbnail.

lastpass 1.35 Beta
http://www.majorgeeks.com/lastpass_d6035.html

A freeware password manager that will make your browsing a lot easier and more secure. Rating: 4.9 (10 votes).

Networx 4.5
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Networx_d2528.html

Account, Monitor and log your network activityprovides an accurate account of the data which is flowing through your computer's network connection at any given moment. This readout is presented in both numeric and graphic format, in real time. NetWorx includes extensive logging facility, flexible events system, and more. It supports Windows 98/NT4/2000 and XP. NetWorx works with virtually all types of network connections: phone modems, DSL, cable modem, LAN, satellite, and more. ... Watching your data transfer rates can be very enlightening as you download a web page, email, or a software application. This will give you a much better idea of how long the operation will take. It will also let you know how efficient your Internet connection is. And it can alert you of dangerous or unexpected network activity. ... If you are trying to improve your performance over the Internet and you are going to spend some time optimizing your configuration for maximum download speeds, it's critical that you accurately monitor your download speeds or data transfer rates so you can compare them at various settings. ... Also, if you are on a LAN or local network, you can immediately see if someone is accessing your computer and transferring information. Rating: 3.78 (14 votes).

Major Geeks slogan, selected for today:
"MajorGeeks.com - You want the Geek? You can't handle the Geek!"

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Tip # 82 BETA software.

Beta software updates are usually released to fix up bugs, etc., in previous versions of the Software, or introduce new features.
To be on a slightly safer side, I'd recommend to at least creating a new System Restore point before installing a Beta version of any program.

For the truly paranoid, a FULL backup of your vital data may be a good idea.

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Tip # 83 Majorgeeks Forum Rules
Some of you may never have read these MG site rules, or forgotten some of them. I recently contravened one of them. Sorry, MA and CP.

From http://forums.majorgeeks.com/announcement.php?f=21

This is a shortened version of the rules you agreed to when you joined Majorgeeks. We consider ourselves to be a PG-13, or family friendly website. Keep that in mind and you will be fine. The first set of rules are "generic rules", the second set are "Majorgeeks Specific Rules" which are designed to protect us against any unseen problems and are rarely, if ever, used.

The following are rules we ask you to abide by:

Generic Rules:

- No Hacking - This should go without saying, but you are not permitted to hack the board. Guessing someone else's password and succeeding counts as hacking.
- No Discrimination - You may not insult members based on their religion, race, sex, political beliefs, or whether they are gay or straight.
- No Bullying - Do not pick on other members. The worst kind of bullying is where new members are picked on. This hurts the member as well as the board.
- No Flaming - Flaming harms the nice atmosphere of Majorgeeks. It also causes thread's to go off topic, and most importantly, it hurts the person being flamed.
- No Profanity or Obscene Content - Such content does not belong on Majorgeeks. A censor system is in place as a backup. If you see words in your post being replaced with ****, you have done something wrong. Please edit your post and tone it down before your timer runs out.
- No Advertising - Ads, text links or promoting your software or products.
- No Illegal Activity - You are not allowed to break the law using Majorgeeks. This can get Majorgeeks into legal trouble. Often times people asking for help accidentally mention they downloaded something and this ends your attempt to get help from us.
- No Double Posting or Spamming - You may not post more than once in a row in the same thread. Spamming is also not allowed, and is defined as a post that has no meaning.
- No Topic Bumping - If a topic you created has no replies, you may not post again in it (although you may edit the post if the timer has not run out).
- No Posting Personal Info - Keep your personal information personal, including your email.

Majorgeeks Specific Rules:

The owners of MajorGeeks Support Forums reserve the rights to:

- Remove, edit, move or close any thread for any reason, at any time.
- Remove, edit, ban deny or limit access of any user account for any reason at any time.
- The private message system should not be considered personal or private. MajorGeeks.Com reserves the right to review private messages for any reason at any time.
- Once your account is registered, it will not be deleted by request, unless the owners agree to do so. All new accounts should be considered permanent.
- Content of the message board should be considered copyright MajorGeeks.com unless otherwise specified.

[bigbazza]

Featured today is a Keylogger.

The chosen few for Sunday 9th November 2008, are:

REFOG FREE Keylogger 4.5.8
http://www.majorgeeks.com/REFOG_FREE...ger_d4590.html

Editors note: Keyloggers install stealth-like on a machine and can often be detected as some form of malware by your security software since your software may assume it is a trojan or rootkit. If this makes you uncomfortable, do not download any sort of keylogger or monitoring software in the covert ops section.

REFOG Free Keylogger is an opportunity for you to be a good parent and keep an eye on your children. And isn't it wonderful that your parental duty will cost you nothing this time. If you see no danger in your children using the net on their own, just remember some recent headlines: The Kazaa case where parents had to pay for their children infringing copyright, the convictions of soliciting sex from minors, and so on. REFOG Free Keylogger can look after your children without them even noticing. Even technically minded children won't detect the key logger when it runs in a stealth mode. The program removes all the shortcuts and can be accessed only through a hot key combination. Running unobtrusively from the moment the system boots, REFOG Free Keylogger keeps track of all typed or pasted text. You can set it to monitor only selected applications or everything that is done in the system. Size: 4.33 MB
License: Freeware Requires: Win 2K/03/XP/Vista Downloaded: 51362 Times Rating: 3.78 (61 votes).

VLC media player 0.9.6
http://www.majorgeeks.com/VLC_media_player_d4674.html

VLC (initially VideoLAN Client) is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network. Date: 2008-11-09 Size: 13.9 MB License: Freeware Requires: Win All Downloaded: 110244 Time Rating: 4.62 (224 votes).

Rainlendar Light 2.4 Build 66 Beta
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Rainlendar_Light_d5433.html

Rainlendar is a customizable calendar that displays the current month.
Rainlendar Lite is a very lightweight application that doesn't use much system resources or take much space on your desktop.

Rainlendar is a feature rich calendar application that is easy to use and doesn't take much space on your desktop. The appearance can be customized with skins and you can even mix different skins togetherStable release also available. Rating: 4.64 (28 votes).

If you have any comments . . . or suggestions for improving this listing, please post them to me here in this thread or PM me if you are bashful.

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Featured today is a Portable Anti-Virus program.

The chosen few for Monday 10th November 2008, are:

Portable ClamWin 0.94.1
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Portable_ClamWin_d5067.html

Portable ClamWin is the popular ClamWin antivirus created as a portable app, so you can take your antivirus with you to scan files on the go.
ClamWin is a Free Antivirus for Microsoft Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/2003. Rating: 4.26/5 (30 votes).

UBCD4Win 3.21
http://www.majorgeeks.com/UBCD4Win_d5710.html

Bootable CD that allows you to repair, restore, or diagnose your pAll software included in UBCD4Win are freeware utilities for Windows®. UBCD4Win is based on Bart's PE©. Bart's PE© builds a Windows® "pre-install" environment CD, basically Windows® booted from CD. We include many free hardware and software diagnostic tools that allow you to fix almost any problem you will face with your computer. Rating: 4.92/5 (28 votes).

My note: Amost perfect rating. Huge download, don't try this on dialup. Ask a friend with Broadbamd to download it for you, and burn it to a CD.

Weather Watcher 5.6.4.0
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Weather_Watcher_d4190.html

Weather Watcher is your personal Windows desktop weather station. Automatically retrieve the current conditions, hourly forecast, daily forecast, detailed forecast, severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service (US only), and weather maps for over 77,000 cities world-wide. The current conditions can be quickly viewed by holding your mouse pointer over the Weather Watcher system tray icon. Rating: 4.90/5 (708 votes).

My note: Almost perfect rating.

Dr.Web CureIT 4.44.5 09.11.2008
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Dr.Web_CureIT_d4783.html

Cure your computer with free Dr.Web CureIT! utility. The utility contains the most up-to-date add-ons to the Dr.Web virus databases going up to twice per hour frequency at periods of high malware submissions.

Dr.Web CureIt! detects and removes:-
* Rootkits * Mass-mailing worms * E-mail viruses * Peer-to-peer viruses * Internet worms * File viruses * Trojans * Stealth viruses* Polymorphic viruses * Bodiless viruses * Macro viruses * MS Office viruses * Script viruses * Spyware * Spybots * Password stealers * Keyloggers* Paid Dialers * Adware * Riskware* Hacktools * Backdoors * Joke programs * Malicious scripts * Other malware*
Size: 11.9 MB License: Freeware Requires: Win 2K/03/XP/Vista Downloaded: 37421 Times Rating: 4.37/5 (74 votes).

Site News
Got geek? Try our forums! 159,000+ members await at http://forums.majorgeeks.com/

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Featured today is an iTunes manager.

The chosen few for Tuesday 11th November 2008, are:

Floola for Windows 3.9
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Floola_for...ws__d5834.html

Floola is a freeware application to efficiently manage your iPod or your Motorola mobile phone (any model supporting iTunes) under Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. It can be run directly from your iPod and needs no installation. It supports all common used iPod features including artwork, podcasts and smart playlists. It is also able to convert audio or video incompatible with the iPod so that you can copy almost any file to it. It even allows adding youtube and myspace videos just entering the page url. Rating: 3.25 (12 votes).

My note: One for me to try.

Vista Codec Package 5.01 Final
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Vista_Code...age_d5326.html

Compiles the best codecs from all the big name codec packs. V5 is a large updatThe installer will automatically remove most other popular codec releases from your computer before installing this concise yet comprehensive package. You won't need to make any adjustments or tweaks to enjoy your media content immediately. Windows Media Player and Vista's Media Center will instantly recognize all your files as playable.

It does not contain a media player and it does not associate filetypes. With this package installed you will be able to use any media player, limited only by the players' capabilities, to play all movies and video clips. Streaming video is supported in several formats in all popular web browsers. Size: 18.9 MB License: Freeware Requires: NT/200x/XP/Vista Downloaded: 1113220 Times Rating: 4.83/5 (3864 votes).

FreePOPs 0.2.8
http://www.majorgeeks.com/FreePOPs_d4637.html

FreePOPs is an easily extensible program, which allows access to the most varied resources through the POP3 protocol.

Mainly, it can be used to download mail from the most famous webmails, but it could also be used as an aggregator for RSS feeds and much more.

This way it is possible to get all your messages in your favorite email clientFor example there is a plugin to read news from a website as if they were mails in a mailbox. You can easily extend FreePOPs on the fly, without even restarting it. You can add a plugin or modify an existing one simply changing the script file since the plugins are written in LUA and are interpreted on the fly. Rating: 4.47/5 (17 votes).

Major Geeks slogan, selected for today:
"MajorGeeks.com - We know you're out there, and we're coming to get you."

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Featured today are the choice of 3 Browsers.

The chosen few for Wednesday 12th November 2008, are:

Mozilla Firefox 3 3.0.4
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Mozilla_Firefox_3_d2248.html

A free, open-source web browser featuring tabbed browsing, popup blocking and more. Rating: 4.63/5 (1299 votes)

also Mozilla Firefox 2 2.0.0.18
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Mozilla_Firefox_2_d285.html

Rating: 4.25/5 (16 votes)

and Maxthon 2 2.1.5.1170 Beta
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Maxthon_2_d1167.html

Maxthon Browser is a powerful tabbed browser built for all users. Besides basic browsing functionality, Maxthon Browser provides a rich set of features to improve your surfing experience. Rating: 4.69/5 (558 votes).

Cddoc 0.37
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Cddoc_d5626.html

This utility perform some benchmarks on your optical driver such as compact disc driver, digital versatile disc driver, etc, and logs some useful informations about this drive. Results can be viewed after run directly or as log file in your favorite text viewer and or editor. Application is still under development.

Editors note: Be sure to have inserted media into your CDROM drive before starting the application. Size: 19.1 KB License: Freeware Requires: Win All Downloaded: 3837 Times Rating: N/A (0 votes).

My note: Be the first to vote. Size: 19.1 KB

Make sure you check out www.majorgeeks.com as there are lots of Anti-Virus updates, today. Too many for me to list them all here.

Major Geeks slogan, selected for today:
"Major Geeks.com- Feel the Geek.. BE the Geek!"

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Tip # 84 System Restore size for Vista

The MS default for system restore is 15% of your hard drive capacity.
In a 1 terabyte drive (not unusual these days) this would be 150 gigs, when you usually only need a few gigs. Actually a 1 terabyte drive is actually around 930 megs when formatted, so 15% is nearer to 930 x .93 = 139 megs approx. allocated by default.

In 300 gig hard drive (if this was your formatted size), 15% allocated to System Restore would result in 45 gigs for System Restore. and leave 255 gigs approx. available for other programs. Setting the System Restore size by using "vssadmin resize shadowstorage /on=C: /for=C: /maxsize=5GB" , would result in savings 40 gigs approx.

Repeating, to limit System Restore to 5 gigabytes on the C: drive, for Vista use:
Start (ORB) and enter vssadmin resize shadowstorage /on=C: /for=C: /maxsize=5GB in the Search/command box.
See MG thread 135866, from Halo, for how to implement this command.
Thanks to Halo, for the above.

Alternative method using Regedit, if you are comfortable with using it.
In regedit, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE-->SOFTWARE-->Microsoft -->Windows-->NT-->Current Version-->System Restore-->cfg
Right click on Disk Percent in the right hand pane ---> Modify--->Decimal

Default will be 15(%) if you haven't altered it previously. Set it to 2% -- 5%, and save heaps of hard drive space, (or around 5-10gigs).
MOST IMPORTANT: This setting DOES NOT stick. If you clear out your old Restore points (and then turn them on again, later), then MS may helpfully resets your System Restore BACK TO 15% and you have to do it all over again.
NB: Vista apparently needs a bigger % allocated to System Restore than XP does.

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Featured today is an article in Way Off Base, of Spam being reduced by 2/3rds.

The chosen few for Thursday 13th November 2008, are:

Vistapack 2.6
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Vistapack_d5846.html

Give your XP operating system the cool look of Microsoft Windows Vista. The pack uses ResHacker to change icons, bitmaps and some dialogs, to make it look like the new Microsoft Windows Vista!

It's rather safe in my opinion, but of course there are some risks when you modify system files. This is at your own risk!!!

But no need to worry, there are few bugs that cause your pc not to boot or something. Personally i did not had that happening here. Of course, when you don't like it, you can uninstall the pack like any other software. Size: 17.6 MB License: Freeware Requires: Win XP/2K Rating: 4.46/5 (15 votes).

Portable Firefox 3.0.4
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Portable_Firefox_d4424.html

Portable Firefox is a fully functional package of Firefox optimized for use on a USB key drive. It has some specially-selected optimizations to make it perform faster and extend the life of your USB key as well as a specialized launcher that will allow most of your favorite extensions to work as you switch computers. It will also work from a CDRW drive (in packet mode), ZIP drives, external hard drives, some MP3 players, flash RAM cards and more.

This is an unofficial package. It is an official build, but has been modified and a specialized launcher added to make extensions portable. No warranty is expressed or implied. Size: 8.01 MB License: Freeware Requires: Win All Downloaded: 82749 Times Rating: 4.76/5 (135 votes).

Ultra Defragmenter 2.0.0
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Ultra_Defragmenter_d5727.html

UltraDefrag is powerful Open Source defragmentation tool for Windows NT. It's engine is very fast, because it is created as kernel-mode driver. They are three interfaces to them: graphical, console and native. First is very useful, because it use cluster map visualization. Console is good for task scheduler, and native tool - for advanced users and programmers.

Design of the UltraDefrag is very ergonomic: no skins, no localization, no animation and so on. It's true small and powerful program!

It can be used on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista Size: 265 KB License: Freeware Requires: Win 2K/03/XP/Vista
Downloaded: 25913 Times Rating: 3.23/5 (42 votes).

My note: Only a 265KB download.

Windows Installer CleanUp Utility 4.71.1015
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Windows_In...ity_d4459.html

Remove Windows Installer configuration information on failed installs. Author: Microsoft Corp. Date: 2008-11-13 Size: 351 KB License: Freeware Requires: Win All Downloaded: 52952 Times Rating: 4.43/5 (41 votes).

From Way Off Base today.
Spam Volumes Drop by Two-Thirds After Firm Goes Offline
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/sec..._23_after.html

The volume of junk e-mail sent worldwide plummeted on Tuesday after a Web hosting firm identified by the computer security community as a major host of organizations engaged in spam activity was taken offline.

Experts say the precipitous drop-off in spam comes from Internet providers unplugging McColo Corp., a hosting provider in Northern California that was the home base for machines responsible for coordinating the sending of roughly 75 percent of all spam each day.

My note: Great news.

Major Geeks slogan, selected for today:
"MajorGeeks.com - These are not the droids you are looking for."

Bazza

[bigbazza]

Tip # 85. Updating Ad-aware 2008 Definitions File 0139.0000

If you forget how to implement the latest definitions, as I do, then creating a Shortcut to the destination Folder is a simple way to post thelatest Definitions download to the right place.

The instructions for Ad-Aware are:

You can manually update the Detection Database with the latest Definitions File by following the steps below:
- Close Ad-Aware 2008.
-Download the latest Definitions File in a ZIP file.
- Save the file to a temporary location.
- When complete, unzip the contents of the file to the installation directory of Ad-Aware 2008, which is usually C:\documents and settings\All Users\application data\Lavasoft\Ad-Aware 2008
- Open Ad-Aware 2008. You can confirm the latest Definitions File is installed by looking at 'Update Status' on Ad-Aware 2008's main status screen.

Who can remember this, so I have a Shortcut, named core for core.zip, as follows, pointing to c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Lavasoft\Ad-Aware

This opens the correct sub-Folder so you paste the zip file there, and un-zip it. Make sure you delete the previous definition file (core.aawdef) before unzipping the latest definitions. Hope this makes it easier for you to apply the latest definitions. It does for me. Bazza