Feedly - Recommended news and RSS feed aggregator for Firefox.

I've been testing Feedly for about two weeks now and I must say...I really like it! Feedly is a news and RSS feed aggregator similar to Netvibes and iGoogle - a social and magazine-like start page.
Feedly is integrated with Google Reader - so in case you were using Google Reader in the past, any subscription you add to feedly will be added to Google Reader and vice versa.



To quote some Feedly features:

* The welcome wizard can learn from your existing personalizations - bookmarks, My Yahoo!, Bloglines, Netvibes, Twitter, Yahoo Mail, Gmail and Friendfeed - and apply them to your feedly.
* The what's new? page provides a real-time summary of the most relevant content available on the web based on your interests, your reading patterns and recommendations from your friends.

* The annotation tool makes it easy to clip the most interesting parts of a an article and share them with your friends. It also allows you to easily search for related information.

* The feedly+twitter integration allows you to easily spread the word about articles you find interesting. In context.

* The wall gives you a quick overview all the all the articles recommended and annotated by your friends. It combines your activity on both twitter and feedly.

* The explore module adds a pinch of serendipity by continuously suggesting new sources you might be interested in.

* The search bar allows you to perform a personalized search across your favorite sites.

* The dashboard makes it easy to get an at-a-glance view and manage all your favorite sources.

* The feedly API allows content owners to extend their reach by taking control over various aspects of the feedly UI. It will also allow third party developers to create new UI experiences (see cover, screensaver and feedly+flick'r for example) or weave in new annotation extensions (see Yahoo finance for example).

http://www.feedly.com/features.html

I also like the "screensaver" option where it displays a summary of pictures of RSS feeds you're reading



Anyway, you should try it!

Backup your data frequently!

I've already discussed the backup option in Windows Vista previously - However, I'm still amazed that many people don't backup their important data at all, including companies.
A Dutch company contacted me today and asked my advice about a file infector which infected 6 of the 10 computers present there. They have tried several Antivirus Scanners and none of them could properly disinfect the files. Some files were properly disinfected, other files were corrupted after disinfection and some files couldn't be disinfected at all.
2 of the 6 infected computers couldn't load Windows anymore because of the malware present and the damage it already caused.
So I recommended them to format and reinstall Windows - After all, this is still the fastest and safest solution, ESPECIALLY since these computers are used for work.
There was one big problem.... there were no backups present. All the important data, documents and programs they used were never backed up.. ever! This is not the first time that I've helped someone with a company owned computer, crippled with malware, and no backups ever being made.
That's why I can't stress enough how important it is that you backup your data frequently. As a matter of fact, not only companies, but everyone should invest in Backup Software and backup frequently.

There are 2 types of backup software. File Backup Software and Disk Imaging Software.

File Backup Software is designed to backup important files and folders on your computer such as documents, some programs, emails, pictures, music, etc.. Most of the File Backup Software has an option to backup your data automatically.
The File Backup Software I recommend are:

* Handy Backup
* Genie-Soft Backup Manager
* Double Image
* BackupNow!
* Acebackup

Disk Imaging Software is designed to be a complete system recovery solution. This one creates an exact copy of your hard disk, including programs installed, registry, all computer data etc. So in case of disk failure, you can restore it with the image you backed up.
Disk Imaging Software I recommend are:

* Acronis True Image
* Norton Ghost
* Paragon Drive Backup
* NovaBackup

Don't wait until it's too late, backup your data today!

Protect your family and computer with Windows SteadyState

If you're having kids who use the computer frequently, then it may happen once in a while that important settings were changed, or malware and other unwanted software was installed.
That's why Windows SteadyState may be the ideal program for you.

Windows SteadyState is mainly Parental Control software, where you can create several different user profiles and for each of the profiles you can set restrictive policies.
Example of Windows Restrictions, Feature restrictions and Block programs:




Also, under the general tab, you can set how long your kid may use the computer and you can lock the user profiles in order to prevent that they are making important changes.


But the feature I love the most is the "Windows Disk Protection".
With this option enabled, you can make all changes back undone - it clears all changes that were made during the last user session and resets it to the condition it was in before. A simple reboot is needed to reset it. You can also modify the settings and set it to retain changes temporarily + adjust the date when it should revert itself to a previous condition.
Or you can select to retain all changes permanently.

This is ideal in cases when the computer gets infected, or important settings were changed, or a program is causing problems after install or update etc etc..
As a matter of fact - anyone could use this feature if you like to test several settings on your computer, install software to betatest or perform any important system change if you're not sure what the outcome may be. Just revert to a previous condition if it didn't work out or retain the changes.

Windows SteadyState is for *FREE
*only for genuine Windows XP / Vista

PhraseExpress - Useful tool for common used phrases

As most of you know - or don't know... I am active at several different Security related forums to guide people how to remove malware.
For that, I use canned speeches, because most of the instructions always return. For example, a step-by-step guide how to run a certain Online scanner, how to run certain Removal tools etc...
I have been using several different tools in the past to manage my canned speeches and enter them immediately in my replies. Some are great, however, there was always something I was missing - until I installed PhraseExpress.
This was Exactly the program I was looking for!

It has so many features. Some of them are:

* Supports Hotkeys, custom text abbreviations - so you can give each common used phrase/canned speech a hotkey or text abbreviation. Just use the hotkey or text and it inserts the phrases/canned speech automatically.
* Autocompletes phrases with predictive text recognition.
* Uses a context menu, so phrases / canned speeches are easy to select.
* Has the option to open a certain context menu folder or phrases by using an assigned word.
* Includes spelling correction.
* Contains a clipboard cache where recently copied clipboard contents are stored.
* You can even launch applications by entering text shortcuts.
* Very easy to manage and to backup.
* And for me, the most important advantage (since many other similar tools don't support this (yet): It works in any application where you can enter text!!!
* And so many more!

Here's a screenshot how it looks like in my case:



In this case, I opened it via the tray icon, but you can also let it open (context menu) via an assigned word in every application.
Example (in this case a forum post):



In this case, I assigned the word "tu" in order to open the PhraseExpress "Tool & Utilities" folder I created. As you can see, I have seperate phrases stored in this folder. I only have to select the one I want and it enters itself automatically into the textfield.
The same applies for other applications, for example notepad or any other application where you can enter text.

Visit the main site for more features and info: http://www.phraseexpress.com/ - including video demos.
Even better is to try it - It's still the best way to find out the advantages of this tool.

And... before I forget.. You can use PhraseExpress for free!
http://www.phraseexpress.com/freeware.htm
But since I like this tool so much, I supported them by purchasing a license. It's really worth the money!

Dial-a-Fix -- Fix most common Windows issues

One of the tools I have been using a lot of times with success is Dial-a-fix (DAF), developed by DjLizard.
And that's why I wanted to blog about it - this to make people aware that most common Windows issues can actually be fixed with one single tool, instead of creating several different fixes such as registry fixes, batches etc...
Even though this tool is meant for Power users, technicians, it's safe to use without technical experience. However, guidance is still recommended.

Some examples of what it fixes:

* Windows Installer
* Windows Update
* Registration of ActiveX, Control Panel Applets, Explorer/IE/OE/Shell, OLE...
* Reinstall of BITS, Windows Firewall, WMI, Help and Support, defrag... and so many more.

Take a look at the following screenshots to find out what options/fixes it contains:



And the Tools option (Hammer below in the main screen):



Many programs/tools, or malware may change default settings, break applications, so the idea behind Dial-a-fix is to fix problems by resetting everything back to their original Microsoft defaults.
For example, if you have been using Registry Cleaners, System Tweaking tools which I do not recommend, then Dial-a-Fix may be the solution to restore what above tools have broken.

Dial-a-Fix is mainly developed for Windows XP, but it also works under 98, 98SE, ME, 2000 and Server 2003. It doesn't support Vista yet.

Important note.. Before you use Dial-a-fix, make sure you read the WARNINGS section on the Dial-a-fix site first.

And in case you need assistance with Dial-a-fix, or there are problems with Dial-a-fix, post your issues here.

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware - Recommended Malware Removal Tool

Marcin - aka RubbeR DuckY, the developer of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is a known person in the Anti-Malware field and is already developing malware removal tools and other tools for quite a while now.
Examples are AboutBuster (CWS.AboutBlank removal), E2TakeOut (E2Give/PTech removal), Qoofix (Qoologic removal), RogueRemover (Rogue Antispyware/Antivirus removal), StartUpLite (startupmanager), RegASSASSIN (deletes locked registry keys) and FileASSASSIN (deletes locked files)

And now his latest project: Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
I've been betatesting Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware for a while and I am still very impressed with its detection and removal.
It detects and removes malware in general, which means it detects worms, trojans, rootkits, dialers, spyware...

Key Features:

* Support for Windows 2000, XP, and Vista.
* Light speed quick scanning.
* Ability to perform full scans for all drives.
* Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Protection Module. (requires registration)
* Database updates released at least once every two days.
* Quarantine to hold threats and restore them at your convenience.
* Ignore list for both the scanner and Protection Module.
* Settings to enhance your Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware performance.
* A small list of extra utilities to help remove malware manually.
* Multi-lingual support. (English, Albanian, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish.)
* Works together with other anti-malware utilities.
* Command line support for quick scanning.
* Context menu integration to scan files on demand.

For more info and download: http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
And for online support, visit their forum: http://www.malwarebytes.org/forums/

What's up with McAfee lately?

I am active at several different forums where people ask for help with malware removal. They start with posting a HijackThislog or other logs and then we give "step-by-step" instructions what to remove and how to remove it.
Malware is one of the most common reasons why a computer becomes slow and unstable - However, many people do believe that every computer problem is a malware related problem, so they post their logs and ask for help.
In 40% of the cases, there's no malware present, so we have to look somewhere else what is causing these problems...

In most cases, it's like searching for a needle in a haystack - but after a while, it's becoming obvious what is causing these problems if you're dealing with them everyday. And such example is McAfee.

Not sure what happened with latest McAfee, but many people are having A LOT of problems with it. The most common problem I notice with McAfee is a severly slowed down system. I did the test, installed McAfee Security Suite (1024MB memory) and after reboot, my system was crawling!!
That's why, If people are complaining about a slow computer/slow internet - if there are no traces of malware present and they do have McAfee installed, then the first step I ask is to uninstall McAfee and replace it with another Antivirus/Security Suite. 90% success!

But the slow down issue is not the only problem that McAfee may cause. Other problems I've noticed with McAfee as well are:

* Programs freezing
* Explorer crashing
* Internet Explorer crashing
* Outlook crashing
* Only able to boot in Windows Safe mode
* ..... you name it.

McAfee already made its own incompatibility list and I am sure it's still missing a lot of Products there. It's normal that you shouldn't have more than 1 Antivirus/Firewall installed, because they are not compatible with eachother, even though they are disabled. But if it's up to McAfee, people should uninstall the most commonly used Antispywarescanners as well, such as Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D. Hence, they even recommend to uninstall SpywareBlaster. Huh?
And even though you uninstalled them all.... the problem remains....

In general, if there are no traces of malware present and McAfee is installed - uninstall McAfee first and see if that solves your problem (whatever problem you are having). Believe me, in most cases, it is the solution!
In some cases, it's hard to convince people that McAfee is responsible for the problems they are having, they just won't believe it since it worked fine in the past. Reference here. The guy believed he had a terrible Virus causing all these problems and couldn't believe it was his McAfee causing all these problems. I already explained to him a couple of times that I was pretty sure his McAfee was the cause, it took me 2 pages to convince him... and he still wouldn't believe.. until he decided to uninstall it after all as a test. And guess what? :)

Ofcourse, there are also a lot of computers where McAfee runs smoothly - where there are no issues at all - but unfortunately, nowaday posts at forums show that McAfee just won't run properly on a lot of systems. That's why, if you want to use McAfee, use the trial first before you decide to purchase McAfee.

There are some other Security Products that may cause similar issues as McAfee, such as Norton Internet Security, Zonealarm, but I'll rant about that later :)