When choosing an anti-virus program for Windows, the independent Virus Bulletin’s testing and review program provides invaluable information about which programs pass muster. The top 100 antivirus programs (along with those that didn’t make it) are found in this VB100 summary ( . To view the test results, you will need to register. Registration is free.
Jing Project is a free tool for both Mac and Windows users, that lets you capture your computer screen as a static image or a screencast, and then share your screen capture as a URL. Which means that not only are they providing the software to create the capture, they are also providing free hosting. How could you use this? It’s up to you. Add your Jing captures to your chats, your social networking, or your websites. Use to for fun, or to demonstrate computer stuff to friends and co-workers.
If you’ve ever wanted to print a text listing of files in a Windows folder, this week’s tip is for you. First, create a simple batch file (you can put it in your Windows folder) called filelisting.bat with a single line in it (without the quotes): “dir /a /b /-p /o:gen >filelisting.txt”. Then modify the Folder context menu so that your batch file displays whenever you right-click on a folder in Explorer. For complete instructions, read The Elder Geek.
When troubleshooting Windows problems, it is often helpful to view the Task List of currently running processes. In Windows 95/98/ME this is done by simultaneously pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del. In Windows XP/2000/2003/Vista, right-click on the Task Bar, and choose Task Manager. To find out what the various background tasks actually do and who they belong to, try the Task List at AnswersThatWork.com.
With the Send To function on the right-click contextual menu, Windows users have one-click access to various destinations such as Mail, Desktop, and My Documents. You can easily add new shortcuts to frequently used folders such as My Pictures or My Music by following these instructions for Windows XP. Vista users will also need this tip to avoid a common error.
Mac users with Intel-based machines have several options when it comes to running Windows on their Leopard machines: Boot Camp, Parallels, or VMWare Fusion. Boot Camp is included with OS X, and provides a dual boot machine that runs either OS, but only one at a time. Parallels and VMWare are virtualization products that allow you to run both operating systems simultaneously, in different windows on the Mac desktop. For more details, read Sam at NotebookReview .
Windows auto-play moves past annoyance into downright dangerous when it auto-installs a virus or trojan horse on your computer from an infected thumb drive or CD. The best way to turn off auto-play is with TweakIU, a free Windows XP addon provided by Microsoft. For detailed instructions, read Ask Leo.
When your internet connection goes down, and your browser window comes up with plain, blank, white window declaring that the server can not found, it is time to learn about the power of the IPConfig Windows utility. This little gem can refresh your IP address, and help get you back on the information highway. Learn more at PC World or About Wireless Networking.
To password protect a Microsoft Word document or Excel spreadsheet, go to Tools/Options/Security. Enter your password twice, and the next time you open your file, you
will be prompted for your password. This is helpful if you document is sensitive (such as a list of passwords), if you computer is shared by multiple people, or you want to email a private file.
Although Windows has built-in support for burning CDs, burning DVDs requires extra software. Many DVDs come with software such as Nero or Roxio, but computer expert Leo Notenboom recommends a free alternative: ImgBurn . For more, read Ask Leo’s detailed instructions.
