Lock Your Desktop Innovatively with ScreenBlur

Lock Your Desktop Innovatively with ScreenBlur:
Windows comes with default locking options and Windows 8 has altogether a new lock screen. But ScreenBlur is a freeware app for Windows which allows you to protect you desktop from unauthorized usage with an innovative locking mechanism. ScreenBlur enables you to keep your desktop private with a password protected screen overlay or with a Desktop Blockout option, which will temporarily mask your wallpaper, shortcuts to prevent any unauthorized usage. The app has quite a lot of options to lock the desktop with automatic locking option.

The app is portable and does not require any installation. The password is stored in one of its files in the folder. The app sits in the system tray and has option to set hotkeys for locking it. The translucent lock screen allows you to keep an eye on open windows or applications, which preventing others from messing with your computer.

To unlock the screen, just type the password and the app does not have any separate window for entering the password. ScreenBlur can also automatically minimize all open windows and hide desktop icons while your screen is locked.

There are quite a lot of settings available including customizing the lock screen message with custom image. The app is not a fool proof method to protect your computer, but just a simple mechanism to prevent kids or others from using your desktop while you are away. Moreover if you restart the PC, the protection is removed.
Download ScreenBlur

Via Nirmaltv

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SkyDrive RT Sync Automatically Syncs SkyDrive with Local Folder in Windows 8/RT

SkyDrive RT Sync Automatically Syncs SkyDrive with Local Folder in Windows 8/RT:
Microsoft has already released a SkyDrive app for Windows 8/RT which features the metro UI even though Windows 8 users can also install the normal desktop app. But the metro app comes with many restrictions like no ability to sync the files to local folder. So for Windows RT users on tablet, they can only view and download files, but not sync with local folder.
But now a third party app, SkyDrive RT Sync, is released in Windows Store which features the ability to synchronise your SkyDrive account to a local folder on your Windows or Windows RT device.

The application does basic file compare to work out which files match and which need updating. One challenge is that if a file is deleted, this will be seen as a new file, so will be re-synchronised

When you run the app for first time, it will be slow, however a local cache file is then created to speed up the process.

Features

• Scans a local hard disk folder and synchronises it to SkyDrive
• Drag and drop support to move files between SkyDrive and your local system
• The ability through the settings to automatically select and synchronise files on opening

Download SkyDrive RT Sync

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Remove Rootkits from Windows

A rootkit is a stealthy type of software, often malicious, designed to hide the existence of certain processes or programs from normal methods of detection and enable continued privileged access to a computer. If you are using Windows, there are many ways your PC could be affected with rootkits. Bitdefender has released a new tool, Rootkit Remover, which is a quick and easy tool for dealing with known rootkits. Bitdefender  claims that it can currently remove Mebroot, all TDL families (TDL/SST/Pihar), Mayachok, Mybios, Plite, XPaj, Whistler, Alipop, Cpd, Fengd, Fips, Guntior, MBR Locker, Mebratix, Niwa, Ponreb, Ramnit, Stoned, Yoddos, Yurn, Zegost and Necurs.

The app is compatible with Windows 8 as well and you can simply download the app and scan it. It does not interfere with any other security tools installed on your PC. Just download the portable program, click “Start Scan”, and it should take care of everything else.

Download Bitdefender Rootkit Remover x86 | x64

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A Critical Update For Java That You Must Install

A Critical Update For Java That You Must Install: For the past few weeks, security experts have warned that recently-discovered security flaws in Java were so dangerous that you should uninstall Java from your PC.



Oracle, the company behind Java, has now issued an update for the system. It corrects 50 separate security problems, many of which could have allowed hackers to gain remote access to your PC.



If you deleted Java, it's now safe to reinstall. If you didn't uninstall Java, you really should uninstall your current version and then install the latest release. Here's how to do it.





http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/critical-update-java-you-must-install.htm

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Google Chrome not Opening Some Websites

Google Chrome has been one of the most preferred browser ever since it was released by Google. It quickly was able to capture the browser share and it is quickly catching up with Firefox. Another good thing is that Chrome is available across multiple platforms including Android and iOS, so you can easily sync your stuffs across multiple devices.
Even though being one of the favorite browser among techies, it still has many issues and one of the prominent ones being “This webpage is not available” error. The strange thing about this error is that not all websites show this error, only few of them show this error when you open them on Chrome.

How to Fix this error?

The best solution to this error is by clearing the cache and cookies on your Chrome. Click on the settings icon –> Tools-> Clear browsing data.

In the browsing data, select both the options empty the cache and also delete cookies.

Once this process is completed, try opening the websites again and you can see them loading without any issues.

Via Nirmaltv

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Ultimate Multitasking app for Android

Android does come with a good option to multi tasking and switching between apps. If you on core Android, you can click the extreme right button on screen to switch apps. Swapps is an ultimate tool for multitasking on your Android device where you can quick launch apps from the drawer. With a simple swipe action you can get to any other app you wish. Swapps is for people who work with multiple apps and switch between them frequently.
To use this app, just Swipe your fingers from the edge of the screen to the middle of the screen and the app drawer will be visible, from there you can launch your favorite app.
 
Swapps Active Panel is divided into 3 spaces:

• Starred – Your favorite apps will always be on top for quick access.
• Recent Used – the last recent applications that you used for quick switching between tasks.
• All Apps – Full app drawer

Swapps features:

• Swapps contains full app drawer just like in your home app
• ‘Recently Used’ panel contains 5 last apps you opened
• ‘Recently Used’ app’s background process can be closes by long press on the app
• ‘Starred’ panel holds up to 10 of your favorite apps
• Swapps! is accessible anytime, regardless of which application is currently running, using a simple swipe!
• Notification icon can be disabled or made transparent in the settings screen.
• Fully customizable swipe-area (Side, Width, Height)
• Doesn’t affect battery life

Here is a video on how to use Swapps!

Download Swapp!

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Ubuntu Style Launcher for Android

Ubuntu Style Launcher for Android:

Last year Ubuntu has showcased its OS for phone. The new OS came with some awesome UI effects and features. Now if you liked those features, you can now get them on your Android phone with Unity Launcher. Now you can test Ubuntu Apps switch Launcher on your Android phone. It is a true multi tasking app for Android. You can easily launch your apps from the sidebar launcher. You can also customize it by adding your favorite apps. Related Reading: Ultimate Multitasking app for Android 
 
Features:

• Launch Applications from any where Just swipe Edges.
• Select apps to pin into launcher.
• Change launcher bar color.
• Change Icon Backgrounds.
• Customize animation and launcher visibility duration.
• Swipe from left or right edge of Phone.
• Re- Order apps with dragger
• Add shortcuts.

The launcher is available in free and paid versions with paid one having more customization options.
Unity Launcher Free | Paid

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8 Best Phablets you can Buy

Mobile phones have had a big leap in technology and also new features. Along with new high speed processors, awesome displays and feature, the screen size has also increased considerably. If 3.0 inch and 3.5 inches were big screens a few years back, today many phones have more than 4.5 inches screen size. There is also higher screen size, namely above 5.0 inch and also called phablets as they try to do the job of phones as well as tablets.
Ever since Samsung launched its first Android phablet, the Galaxy Note, it had created this new segment where every mobile manufacturer is trying to add in a new phone. 2013 is going to be an year where we are going to see more and more phablets being announced. So which are the best phablets around, which has the best specification and functionality? Here is a list of top phablets you can buy in 2013. Please note that some of them are only announced models and their actual availability will be some time later this year.

Existing Phablets:

Samsung Galaxy Note II:

Samsung Galaxy Note II was released in September 2012 as the successor to the popular Galaxy Note. It features a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280x720pixels. It comes with a Quad core 1.6 GHz Cortex A9 processor and 2GB of RAM. It sports a 8MP camera and one of the best phablets money can buy. It has a 3100mAh battery and comes with a s-Pen which performs more than a stylus. It is also one of the most popular phablets currently available in the market.

HTC Butterfly/ Droid DNA:

HTC Butterfly is high end smartphone from HTC. HTC Droid DNA is the Verizon exclusive version of Butterfly with similar spec. It features a 5-inch Super LCD that boasts 1920×1080 pixels resolution. The internal memory available is 16GB, but no support for expandable storage. It is powered by a Quad core 1.5GHz Krait processor, coupled with 2GB of RAM and also 2020mAh battery. There is also a 8MP shooter which produces stunning photos.

LG Optimus Vu II:

LG Optimus Vu II comes with 5-inch HD-IPS display that boasts a resolution of 1024×768 pixels. A dual core 1.5GHz Krait processor runs the phone which is complemented by 2GB of RAM. There is also expandable storage upto 64GB. It also features a 8MP camera.

Samsung Galaxy Grand:

Samsung Galaxy Grand was released in December 2012 with a 5.0 inch screen with 480 x 800 pixels. Galaxy grand is a budget phablet with lower specs. A Dual-core 1.2 GHz processor runs the phone with 8 GB storage, 1 GB RAM. There is also expandable storage support upto 64GB. It also has a 8 MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus and LED flash.


Apart from these, you can also try the first generation Galaxy Note, although the device is more than a year old now, it is still available in many stores.

Upcoming Phablets:

Sony Xperia Z:

Sony is also entering the phablet market with brand-new Xperia Z. The device was announced in January 2013 and expected to be available in first quarter of 2013. It’s a 5-inch phablet with a 1080p HD display and a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The Xperia Z packs a 2400mAh battery and is slim at 7.9mm. Sony has also included a 13MP shooter on the Xperia Z. Sony says it also has the fastest shutter speed of any similar device on the market. Xperia Z is IPX5/7 water-resistant and IPX5 dustproof.

Sony Xperia ZL:

Sony Xperia ZL is similar to Xperia Z in specifications and only major difference is the size. Unlike Xperia Z, ZL is not water proof or dust proof. The phone features BRAVIA Engine 2 technology, which improves brightness and contrast in images and videos. Similar to Xperia Z, ZL also comes with 13MP camera and 2.2MP front camera.

Huawei Ascent D2:

Huawei Ascent D2 is a massive phablet with 6.1 inch display with 1280×720 resolution and 4050mAh battery, which is much higher than even the Galaxy Note. It also packs a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. The phone was announced in Jan 2013 and expected sometime in first quarter of 2013.

ZTE Grand S:

ZTE Grand S comes with a 5-inch display and has a full 1080p HD panel with 441 ppi. It’s also packing a quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor clocked at a blistering 1.7GHz, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage. It has a 1780mAh battery and is just 6.9mm thick. It also has a 13 MP, autofocus and LED flash. It was announced in Jan 2013 and expected to arrive soon.


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MEGA for Android [App]

MEGA for Android [App]:
The new cloud storage from Kim Dotcom, MEGA, was released last month and it is already a hot topic of discussions for its speed and security. Kim has already promised apps for popular mobile platforms, but it is still under works as of now. Mega has released a new Firefox extension to speed up the upload and download when using it from Firefox. We had already covered a Mega cloud storage app for Android phones (unofficial). Here is another useful app for Mega on Android- Mega for Android.
The app is currently in beta, but comes with pretty good features and a fast interface. Everything you upload to MEGA is completely encrypted, so you don’t have to worry about files.
 
You can upload and download you files to the 50GB free account at Mega. You can also share files easily from this app using the settings.
 
Features of Mega for Android;

• Browse your MEGA storage account
• Upload and download files to your Android device
• Search for files within your MEGA account
• Share and download MEGA links
• Delete files
• Rename files
• Move files
• Create folders

Although this is not an official app, it has been implemented neatly with Mega.
Download Mega for Android

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8 Best Backup and Recovery Tools for Windows

8 Best Backup and Recovery Tools for Windows:
When it comes to digital life, backup is the most important aspect as you never know when you end up losing all your data. If you are storing all your data including pictures, files and documents in one computer, you should be seriously thinking of either an offline backup or an online backup. There are many free services which offer online backup, but for that you need a good internet connection. Offline backups are much more easier and cheaper as you can easily get flash drives or portable drives to take a backup.
If you are using offline backups, then there are many tools for Windows which can take a backup of you files and folders automatically. You can also schedule backup, so that all your latest files are safe. These backup tools allow you to restore the files in case the system crashes or your files are not recoverable from the existing partition.
Here are some of the best free and paid tools to backup and recover your data.

Free Backup and Recovery Apps:

1. Paragon Backup & Recovery 2012 Free:

Paragon Backup & Recovery 2012 Free is a disaster recovery tool for stand-alone Windows-based PCs. Combining all the existing backup techniques and exclusive recovery environments, this latest edition satisfies the needs of even the most demanding user and is simply the most powerful free backup tool available today. Paragon Backup & Recovery 2012 Free allows you to take complete control of your PC’s safety.

2. EaseUS Todo Backup Free:

EaseUS Todo Backup Free is a professional free backup & system disaster recovery software for home users. It can full protect your system from system crash and other system disasters, comprehensively backup & restore your home data easily. This app is free only for home users, commercial users should get a licence. It features one-click back up system, photos, music, videos, documents, and applications in case of any disaster problems.

3. DFIncBackup Home:

DFIncBackup Home is a freeware backup program designed for full, differential and incremental backup of files directly to zip archives. With this app, you don’t have to backup all your files again and again, instead, you can backup only new ones or ones that have changed since last backup. You never lose or overwrite valuable files – all their versions will be stored into zip archives.

4. Cobian Backup:

Cobian Backup is a multi-threaded program that can be used to schedule and backup your files and directories from their original location to other directories/drives in the same computer or other computer in your network. FTP backup is also supported in both directions (download and upload). Cobian Backup exists in two different versions: application and service. The program uses very few resources and can be running on the background on your system, checking your backup schedule and executing your backups when necessary.

5. AOMEI Data Backuper:

AOMEI Data Backuper features one-click back up all data of system drive, including system files and installed applications without interrupting system run. Backup your hard disk drives including MBR disk, GPT disk, external hard drive, USB disk, and other storage devices that can be recognized by Windows. If you just want to backup a partition or volume, not the entire disk, the feature will be your best choice. With it, you can backup one or multiple partitions/volumes (including dynamic volumes) to an image file. When your computer occurs some problems, such as accidentally deleted files, the system can not start, virus damage, by using the created backup before, you can restore system to its previous normal state or retrieve lost data.

6. SyncBack:

SyncBack is yet another freeware tool for backup and restore files in Windows. Along with backup and restore, it can also sync you files both ways. It also features scheduled backups and runs on Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP.

Paid Backup and Recovery Tools:

Although in most cases, free tools should be sufficient for backup and recovery of your files in case of any crashes, you can also check out some of the paid apps. Paid apps comes with more features when compared to free ones.

1. NovaBACKUP Professional:

NovaBackup Professional is good backup and restore tool for Windows and also supports Windows 8. It also comes with free 2GB online storage. You can use local devices such as external drives, USB media, cd/dvd, tape drives, NAS, etc for quick restore access and mirror image disaster recovery. You can also decide on how long, how many, and what versions of backups to maintain with the New Data Retention Feature in the app. The single PC version of the app is priced at $69.

2. Acronis True Image 2013:

True Image 2013 by Acronis protects your photos, documents, music, mail, programs, contacts, calendars, and more. It stores your content in a secure online location and syncs it with your devices. True Image 2013 is safe, reliable, easy. With the sync features, files you choose are pushed to all your devices – automatically, effortlessly, and seamlessly. You can restore everything, not just the files, but the exact configuration of your computer including your operating system, settings, and applications. The app is priced at $49.99.

So which is your favorite app to take backup in Windows?

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Use Windows 8 as Wi-Fi Hotspot

Use Windows 8 as Wi-Fi Hotspot:

Windows 8, although has the option to create Wireless ad-hoc connections, the direct interface to create it is missing unlike Windows 7. We had detailed a method to create a wireless ad-hoc network in Windows 8 using the command prompt. There are many third party tools like Virtual Hotspot, Connectify or mHotspot to create ad-hoc connection. Virtual Router Plus is another freeware and portable app which turns any Windows 7 and Windows 8 computer into a Wi-Fi Hot Spot using Wireless Hosted Network technology.

The application has a simple interface where you can set the SSID, password and also select the shared connection.



Virtual Router Plus is a free, open source software based router for PCs running Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012.

Using Virtual Router Plus, users can wirelessly share any internet connection (Wifi, LAN, Cable Modem, Dial-up, Cellular, etc.) with any Wifi device (Laptop, Smart Phone, iPod Touch, iPhone, Android Phone, Zune, Netbook, wireless printer, etc.) These devices connect to Virtual Router just like any other access point, and the connection is completely secured using WPA2 (the most secure wireless encryption.)

Download Virtual Router Plus

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How to Set up VPN Connection on Windows 8

How to Set up VPN Connection on Windows 8:

A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network and the resources contained in the network across public networks like the Internet. It enables a host computer to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if it were a private network with all the functionality, security and management policies of the private network. VPN helps to make data transfer more secure and also allows you to access websites which are not available in your country. For corporates, you can connect to company’s network using VPN.

We have already covered on how to set up VPN connection in Windows 7, although the process is similar, the screens are different in Windows 8. To create a new VPN connection, open the start screen (metro UI) and simply type “VPN connection”. Now select settings from the sidebar and you can see the option, set up new VPN connection.



In the create wizard, enter the VPN address and also the name for the connection. Now click on Create button.



This will complete the create wizard. Now to connect to this network, click on the network icon on the system tray and you can see the new VPN available under connection.



Click connect and you will be promoted to enter the username and password. Click OK and the VPN will connect with the authentication provided.



Once connected, you can see the connected status in the networks.



In the similar way,you can create multiple connections.

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Firefox Extension for Mega Cloud Storage Released

Firefox Extension for Mega Cloud Storage Released:

Mega, the new cloud storage from Kim Dotcom was released back in Jan offering more secure storage along with good upload speeds. Initially the service had many issues with large number of users signing up for the service as soon as it was launched. The upload and download faced issues in the initial days, but those issues were sorted out pretty quickly.

In the initial release, Google Chrome was the preferred browser for Mega, now Kim Dotcom has tweeted that a new extension for Firefox has been released which will provide blazing fast uploads on Firefox.


Firefox is now #MEGA. Install our extension and enjoy blazing transfer speeds. On your next visit you will get an option to install it

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) February 9, 2013

The extension can be installed when you visit Mega from your Firefox.



We couldnt find any specific interface for the extension, but as Kim said it might be just to increase the upload speeds.

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Usable Storage Space on Microsoft Surface RT/ Pro

Usable Storage Space on Microsoft Surface RT/ Pro:

Microsoft had announced its premium tablet/ ultrabook Surface Pro back in 2012 with 64GB and 128GB storage options. Ever since the some review units of Surface Pro came out, there has been big discussion on how much usable storage is available in Surface Pro. Initial reports suggested that only 23GB was available in the 64GB version. Many criticized Microsoft not providing even half of the actual advertised storage space on Surface Pro. While reply to questions about Surface Pro, Microsoft confirmed that actual devices will ship with more storage than the actual report 23GB. Microsoft has now updated the Surface Pro website with details of actual storage offered for the two tablets.









Surface with Window RT (decimal system)





32 GB





64 GB






Total storage as reported by Windows (binary system)





29*





58*






Storage space reserved for Windows recovery tools





-5





-5






Available storage reported by File Explorer





24





53






Windows RT, Office Home & Student 2013 RT Preview and built-in apps





-8





-8






Available storage reported by File Explorer





16





45


The 32 GB Surface with Windows RT has approximately 16 GB storage and 64 GB Surface has approximately 45 GB storage available for user content.







Surface with Window Pro(decimal system)





64 GB





128 GB






Total storage as reported by Windows (binary system)





59*





119*






Storage space reserved for Windows recovery tools





-9





-9






Available storage reported by File Explorer





50





110






Windows 8 Pro and built-in apps





-21





-21






Available storage reported by File Explorer





29





89


The 64 GB Surface Windows 8 Pro has approximately 29 GB storage and 128 GB Surface Windows 8 Pro has approximately 89 GB storage available for user content. The table also shows that recovery partition takes 9GB of space, but you can easily copy it to a USB and then burn it to DVD and then delete that partition. This in turn will gain another 9GB of space. So with recovery partition gone, Surface Pro 64GB will have approx. 36GB which is not bad considering it is running a full OS.

Here is a nice article by Ed Bott on this whole Surface Pro storage issue.

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5 Best Email Apps for Android

5 Best Email Apps for Android:
Today smartphones are advanced that they can manage your digital life, from checking emails on to go, browsing the web and also planning your appointments. All the smartphone OS (including iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry) have a dedicated email app built in with the OS. While core email app on Android is good, there might be many features missing for a power user. In case you are looking for a fully featured email client app for your Android phone which supports POP, IMAP and exchange servers, then there are quite a lot of them available in Google Play store.
Related Reading: 5 Best Email Clients for iPhone

Here is a list of best email apps, alternatives to the default app on Android.

1. AquaMail

AquaMail has easy automatic setup for popular email services (Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, and more). Apart from this, it also has support for many other email services via standard Internet email protocols: IMAP, POP3, SMTP. This includes many corporate email servers, such as Lotus Notes and Exchange, provided that the administrators enabled IMAP/SMTP. The Lite version (free) is limited to two accounts, no identities, and adds a promo signature to all outgoing messages with a link to the program’s web site.

2. K-9 Mail:

K-9 Mail is an open-source e-mail client with search, IMAP push email, multi-folder sync, flagging, filing, signatures, bcc-self, PGP, mail on SD etc. K-9 supports IMAP, POP3 and Exchange 2003/2007 (with WebDAV).
 

3. MailDroid:

MailDroid is an ad-supported Webdav/POP3/IMAP Idle Push email client written from the ground up and and not based on the stock Android email client. You can customize the app using the settings and this includes support for signature, font size, ring tone, led color etc. You can also save/download Attachments from email to SD card using ES Explorer, Astro, or any other file explorer. You can also use the built in File Manager.

4. Enhanced Email:

Enhanced Email is a fully featured but lightweight E-mail client that can easily aggregate all of your e-mail accounts into a single location. Whether you are a regular e-mail user just needing to keep in touch with friends/family or a power business user needing to synchronize calendar/contacts/email with your Exchange server, Enhanced Email can do it. Unlike the previous apps, Enhanced Email is priced at $9.99.

5. Gmail:

If your primary email account is Gmail, Gmail app for Android is pretty good and worth a try. With Gmail, you get your email instantly via push notifications, read and respond to your conversations online & offline, and search and find any email. Apart from this, you can also manage multiple accounts with this email app.


Via Nirmaltv

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