WinRAR is one of the most popular and easy to use archiving programs available today.  With WinRAR you can easily create and extract .rar and .zip files.  The wizard tool makes it easy to create and extract arcives and also set the compression rate for the RAR file that is created.

Archiving a file or collection of files is very useful for a number of reasons.  You can create the arcive at a high compression rate which means that the program will compress the files to the smalles size possible.  This can make emailing and uploading the files much faster.  The disadvantage of high compression is it takes WinRAR long to create and extract the files from the archive.

Another reason you may want to create a rar acrive is to compress a multitue of files into one file.  If your trying to email someone a collection of photos or music it is much easier and faster to send one RAR or ZIP archive then is is to send each file individually.

WinRAR will also allow you to split the RAR archive into multiple files.  For example, if your trying to fit a large video file onto several CD’s you can split the RAR file into multiple files that are each small enough to fit on an individual CD.  Then you can later put these RAR parts together and extract the full video.

Another reason you may want to compress your data into a RAR archive is for security.  When creating an arcive you can set a password for your data so that nobody else can access your archive without the proper code.

WinRAR is very easy to use and extremely useful.  Anyone who needs to share data digitally should look into using this program.  It is free to try or you can purchase your own copy for only $29.

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Bored…
nothing to do
sitting here
watching the rain
wishing my boredom away
what to do?
what to say?
how will I waste my day
today
cable is disconnected
the bill is past due
and I can’t afford
a movie for two
head in my hands
I begin to sigh
close my eyes
and wonder “why?”
then into my mind
an idea does fly
if only I could watch
my TV anytime
anywhere that I go
I could watch my show
anywhere I might be
my computer and me
so I download this program
for online TV!

That’s right! Using Online TV Player you can watch over 850 FREE internet TV stations as well as access over 1500 online radio stations. All this from anywhere. And you can do it anytime you want!
An internet connection is required.
So stop paying for your cable television and turn your computer into your entertainment center!
(or turn your entertainment center into your computer…)
With the Online TV Player you will never be bored at your computer again!

I’m sure many of you are thinking that just because their are some sites that are infected maybe it will be OK if you just avoid those sites. That is safe browsing practice but unfortunately if you are browsing at all you are putting your computer at risk of catching a virus. If you are even plugged into the internet you run the risk of infection.  That is why I am telling you today to always use protection.

There are many choices and brands when it comes to internet virus protection. Norton AntiVirus is one that has been around for quite some time as well as McAffee. These programs require users to register and pay to use them and can end up being quite expensive.  Then AVG stepped on the scene to give away free protection and help prevent virii from spreading throughout the internet.

AVG works just like any other antivirus software.  After installing it runs in the background checking files and running scheduled scans to keep your computer clean.  When an infection is found it will notify you and move that file to the virus vault.  Then you can safely clean the virus before it infects your system.

AVG free edition is licensed for private use only so if your looking for antivirus for your business you will probbably want to get the complete edition.  I would also like to remind you all to only have one antivirus program installed and running at a time.   Having more than one antivirus running at once can often cause major system conflicts.

I have been using AVG free for a few years now and I have yet to have it miss an infection or leave me unprotected.  I would recomend this program to everyone for home computer virus protection.  Keep it running all the time, scan any questionable files, run a weekly system scan and most of all be careful what you download.  Then you too can have a protected internet browsing experience.

Resources:
Operating System – Windows & Linux
Developer – AVG Technologies
AVG Free Website
Download AVG Free

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One of the most devastating events that has happened in my life is when my laptop got stolen. I went to bed and it was there, I woke up and it was gone. All that data, all that work, everything was gone. And the worst thing was I had no idea who took it or where it went. Even though the serial numbers were registered in my name the detective told me that the chances of having my computer returned were slim to none. If only I had known about the Retriever Security software prior to this tragic event.

Retriever Security software can increase the chances of having your computer returned in one piece. 97% of stolen PCs are never recovered but with Retriever you have a 97% chance of recovering your stolen equipment. What a way to flip the odds!

Retriever has a number of tools to help recover stolen computers.  You have the ability to lock the computer down and prevent anyone from having access without your security code.  You can then blast a message across the screen that says anything you wish to the thief.  You can also upload an audio clip to play at start up or at random intervals.  This clip can be an alarm message or if you want to be really annoying you can have it blast “The song that never ends.”

The most beneficial feature of this program is its ability to tell you the IP address of your computer. This information can be used to run a visual IP trace and help determine the location of your laptop. You can use the IP to open a virtual connection and remotely control your computer if you have a VNC program already setup and configured. You could also configure your webcam for network access and view it as well.  This would allow you to get any needed files and possibly even an image of the perp before locking the computer down.

When I first setup the software the first thing I noticed was that when you boot the computer it pops up a Retriever window showing the owner information. Initially I didn’t like this feature because I would prefer any thief to be oblivious to the fact that I have a security program on my computer. It was then explained to me that a large number of lost laptops are returned because their owner information is easy to find. I was also informed that hiding that window will be an option in a later version of the program. As an alternative I would recommend having your computer fixed with a security tag or engraved with your owner information.

Another thing I noticed about the program is when tracking an IP address it will often trace back to the ISP address and not the physical address of the machine. This depends on the network the computer is connected to. To get detailed address information you would have to contact the service provider and acquire it from them using the IP number. Future versions will also include integration with a computers onboard GPS if it is available. I also heard that an upcoming feature for the software will be the built in ability to capture an image from the webcam. This could prove to be very handy in court and can help to identify the thief. I was told these features are being worked on but I do not know when they will be available.

One thing I really like about the Retriever Security program is when setting up your online account it allows you to keep track of the model and serial numbers of your machines. If your computer gets stolen having this information easily accessible is very useful.

I wish that I had Retriever Security working for me that fateful morning when I woke up and found my computer stolen. If that was the case then there is a very good chance I would still have all those files I lost. Now I have Retriever Security Software so if someone tries to steal my new computer, GOOD LUCK!

Resources:
Operating System – Any
Developer – World Security Corp
Retriever Security Software Website
Purchase Retriever Security Software

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The program itself is very easy to install.  Plug your memory stick into your computer and download the software package.  You have a few choices of initial installation.  You can install only the PortableApps platform and then download and install the programs you want separately.  You can also download their compiled software packages.  The software packages come put together for 256mb and 512mb memory sticks but I would recommend using at least a 1gb memory stick  so that you have room to save files as well as install additional software.

Once the application is installed onto your memory stick you can have it run whenever your memory stick is inserted into a computer.  It will open up the PortableApp icon in the notification area in the lower right corner of your screen.  Once clicked this icon will open up the PortableApp launcher.  From the launcher you can run any of your installed programs as well as close PortableApps and eject the drive.  You can even have the launcher automatically change the computer background while your memory stick is plugged in.  (do this by saving the image file as Drive:DocumentsPicturesportableapps_wallpaper.bmp)

There are a number of free portable programs that you can download and install on your memory stick.  These include:  OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, GIMP, Pidgin and more.  These programs can allow you to:  edit any document you need anywhere you go,  install the firefox plugins you want and take your internet bookmarks everywhere, access your email, edit photos on any computer and run your messaging service any time.  There are even more programs you can download that will let you access FTP servers, run virus scans, play and edit multimedia files, open and compress ZIP and RAR files, manage your passwords, edit web pages and defragment your hard drive.  If that’s not enough you can search the internet and find just about any utility you might need on the go.

Since I have setup my PortableApp drive I use it on a daily basis.  I setup the memory utility on my cell phone to run PortableApps whenever I plug it in to the USB charger.  It helps me keep all my necessairy programs and utilities with me wherever I go.  Its also an excellent tool to help with computer diagnosis and repair.  Now that I have had a taste of portable software freedom I don’t know if I could live without it.

Resources:
Operating System – Any
Developer – Rare Ideas, LLC
PortableApp Website
Download PortableApp Platform
Download Additional Portable Programs

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I would highly recommend this program if you use multiple messaging services.  Having all your contacts in one place makes things much easier.  You also save a lot of memory only running one program instead of 5 at once and it makes your IM communication much easier.

Resources:
Operating System – Windows
Developer – Cerulean Studios
Trillian Website
Download Trillian

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There is an online gallery of images that have been created using Chaoscope and they even allow users to upload their own images. Also its good to know that you own the rights to any image you create with Chaoscope. Overall this is a very fun program to play around with and you will most often end up being very impressed with the results.

There is also a Dutch artist who is selling his strange attractor sculptures generated with Chaoscope. You can send him your project file and have a 3D model created of your project.

Resources:
Operating System – Windows
Developer – Nicolas Desprez
Website – www.chaoscope.org
Chaoscope Online Gallery
Download Chaoscope

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