Windows Enhancements Tip and Tricks

The Best Free Windows Enhancements That You Should Know About (part 2)

29. Miso: temporarily disable your screensaver and power-saving options
There are times when you do not want your screensaver or power saving options to kick in (i.e. PC going to sleep, display switching off, etc). For example, you might be giving a presentation, watching a video, engaged in screen sharing with other PC(s), etc.
This tiny app lives in the system tray and allows you to toggle these features on and off with a single click.
Go here to download Miso (WinAll; 32bit and 64bit).

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30. Sevendex Plugin for Dexpot: displays Dexpot’s virtual desktops on the Windows 7 taskbar (see screenshot)

Dexpot is, in my opinion, the best freeware virtual desktop program for Windows. Sevendex is a plugin for Dexpot that displays the different desktops as thumbnails on the Windows 7 taskbar for quick and easy switching between them.
If you use Dexpot on Windows 7, I highly recommend you use this plugin with it. (Note: Sevendex is already bundled in your Dexpot download; go to the Dexpot settings then the “plugins and extras” section (in the bottom left sidebar). You should find the checkbox for SevenDex there; check it and click OK.)
Go here to download Dexpot (Sevendex works on Windows 7 only, 32 bit and 64 bit).

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31. MadAppLauncher: simple, competent tabbed launcher

The attraction of tabbed launchers lies beyond their usefulness as launchers, in the prospect of using them to organize shortcuts that would normally clutter the desktop. (At least that’s my view).
MadAppLauncher is a very good tabbed launcher for programs, file, and folder. It is invoked via hotkey and it will map entries to the keyboard and optionally let you launch any program, file, or folder by pressing a key. Simple, drag and drop, and generally has a nice feeling to it.
Go here to download MadAppLauncher (Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7; 32 bit and 64bit). Also see my full-length review of MadAppLauncher.

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32. RunIt: a nifty launcher that appears when right clicking the edge of your screen
A launcher for shortcuts, files, or folders, activated by default via right clicking the upper edge of the screen. It’s a very simple launcher that just works really well.
The setup screen allows you to drag and drop shortcuts, files, and folders to it in order to add them to the launcher (which is quite handy).
If you’re looking for a simple launcher that can help organize your items then check this one out for sure.
Go here to download RunIt (WinAll; 32 bit and 64 bit). Or you can see my full-length review of RunIt.

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33. SuperCopier: accelerate, pause, and resume file copying and moving operations
I mentioned TeraCopy in the first “43 of the Best Windows Enhancements” article; this is a similar program that, since I wrote that article, has become my favorite and the one I use. It works really well, has a very small (tiny) footprint, and is open source to boot. I did a little test comparing it to TeraCopy and SuperCopier proved the faster of the two (which I wrote about here).
Go here to download SuperCopier (WinAll; 32 bit and 64 bit).

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34. Mo0 WindowMenu Plus: adds useful window manipulation options to the window menu
A program that adds a number of controls into the the windows on your desktop (the so called”system window menu” that appears when you right click on a n window’s title bar), including “keep on top”, transparency, minimize to tray, but also more advanced functions such as “kill process”, “process priority” and the ability to find the process behind the window on the hard drive.
For me, the most frequently used of these functions would be “maximize to”, which maximizes your window Aero-snap style to the sides or quadrants of the screen (and also horizontally or vertically), and the “move to” function, which can center your window or push it, without resizing, to any of the 4 edges of the screen.
The program will let you pick and choose the functions that you would like in your context menu, and consumes very little memory.
Go here to download Mo0 WindowMenu Plus (WinAll; 32 bit and 64 bit).

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35. IconViewer: copy, save, icons from file properties
Lets you right click properties on a file to find an additional “icons” tab, from which you can copy and save icons that reside in that file.
This utility makes any icon from any file immediately accessible, but is especially useful for files that contains multiple icons (e.g. DLL, Exe, or ICO files).
Go here to download Icon Viewer (WinAll; 32 bit and 64 bit). Also see my full review of IconViewer.

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36. Piles: display any folder as a stack on the Windows 7 task bar

For Windows 7, lets you pin any folder such that it displays its contents as a jumplist in the Windows 7 taskbar (see screenshot above). Somewhat similar to previously mentioned Standalone Stack but visually more compact. It also installs a Windows context menu entry that will let you create a Pile from any folder by simply right clicking “create pile from folder”, then pinning the resulting shortcut to your taskbar
Note: the pile icon can be customized, as in the left screenshot, by right clicking on any piles folder shortcut and customizing the icon before pinning to the taskbar (or re-pinning it if it had already been pinned). The only drawback I found with this program is that, once clicked, each pile appears as an entry in Alt+Tab application switching list (unless you manually close it via right clicking the pinned shortcut); which is somewhat annoying. Otherwise a great little utility.
Go here to download Piles (Windows 7 only; 32 bit and 64 bit).

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37. SendToClipboard: grabs the contents of text files into the clipboard

If you take save notes as text files or have a whole bunch of code snippets in text files you might like this one: Send To Clipboard will import the contents of a text file directly into the clipboard, saving you the need to open a text file, selecting its contents, copying, etc.
I only wish it had the ability to import images into the clipboard as well (I did find a software that purport’s to do this with the very same name (here), but for some reason the download link is missing and I cannot find it anywhere).
Go here to download SendToClipboard on Softpedia (WinAll; 32 bit and 64 bit).

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38. ViGlance: brings Windows 7 style superbar to XP
For Windows XP and Vista, ViGlance iconizes Windows XP taskbar buttons in the Windows 7 “superbar”style and provides many of the functions that the Windows 7 taskbar provides (including live previews the windows as well as pinning/unpinning.

I tested this program on Windows XP and it is quite impressive; however, I read reports of some adverse effects while running this with some programs (e.g. MS Office apps), so make sure to check for this sort of thing. For a less fancy alternative to this try Taskbaric in conjunction with Activatebynum and Taskbar Shuffle. Another alternative: try Sbar Taskbar Replacement.
Go here to download ViGlance (Windows XP, Vista only; 32 bit and 64 bit).

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39. DriveGleam: activity indicators in the system tray menu

Installs activity indicators in the system tray that include CPU usage, RAM usage, virtual RAM usage, as well as hard drive activity for each existing partition.
It is similar to SysTrayMeter (#14 above), but more extensive. It displays tooltips on mouse-over that provide more detailed information. Users can pick and choose which of the different indicators to display.
Go here to download DriveGleam (Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, Windows 7; 32 bit and 64 bit). Also see my full DriveGleam review.

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40. TrayBar: add activity indicators for common keyboard keys in the system tray menu
This app installs a slew of activity indicators in the system tray that are unlike most apps in the genre. Instead of the typical hard drive, CPU and RAM usage, TrayBar displays indicators that show whether common keyboard keys are toggled on or off; namely Num Lock status, Caps Lock status, Scroll Lock status, Alt key status, Ctrl key status, Shift key status, Windows key status, as well as (of course) Hard Drive activity.
TrayBar also lets you pick and choose which indicator to display, and provides more details tooltips on mouse-over.
Go here to download TrayBar (Windows XP, 2000 SP4, 2003, 2008, Vista, and Windows 7; 32 bit and 64 bit).

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41. Path Copy Copy: copy filenames or paths from the context menu

Although I reviewed a number of these shell extensions that grab file and folder names or paths, this is my go-to option that I recommend at the moment. This is because it (a) has a good variation of options, (b) works well with Windows 7 64 bit, and (c) is still in development and featured on it’s developer’s site.
Path Copy Copy will let you select files and folders then copy their names as a list to the clipboard or copy their full paths, ; it can grab the long path (C:\Program Files), the so called short path, used in the command line (C:\PROGRA~1) or even the “internet path” (file://C:\Program Files).
Go here to download Path Copy Copy (Windows XP, Vista, 2008, Windows 7; 32 bit and 64 bit).

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42. Diswy: show or hide desktop icons in a single click

It’s unavoidable: icons will invariably pile up and clutter your desktop. No doubt that you, like me, look forward to the nice feeling you get once you get rid of the clutter …eventually. In the meanwhile, there are so many things you might be doing that will require you to instantly declutter your desktop, such as taking screenshots, giving presentations, screen sharing, etc. Wouldn’t it be great if you could hide and display icons in a singe click.
Diswy does just that. It is a portable app that can be placed anywhere (e.g. pinned to your taskbar as in the screenshot above) and, once clicked, will hide your desktop icons. Another click will restore normal icon view.
This app is similar to the effect you would get if right-clicking the desktop / view / then unchecking (and re-checking) hide desktop icons.
Note: I previously wrote about a similar program called HideDesktopIcons, but am experimenting with Diswy since the former can sometimes be somewhat unreliable.
Go here to download Diswy (Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7; 32bit and 64bit)

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43. FileToFolder: create folders from files via right click

This is one of my favorite utilities, and therefore I had to include it here. What it does is create folders from files; so, for example, you can select three files named ‘Project A.xls’, ‘Project B.xls’ and ‘Project C.xls’ then right click FileToFolder and send each one of the free files to a folder that is created in-place under the same name. Note, however, that any other files with the same name but different extensions will be sent to the same folder (e.g. ‘Project A.jpg’ and ‘Project A.xls’ will be sent to the same folder).
I find this app very useful when managing media downloads.
Go here to download FileToFolder (Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7; 32bit and 64bit). Also see my full review of FileToFolder.

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Best Free Windows Enhancements

The Best Free Windows Enhancements That You Should Know About 

1. Listary: advanced file filtering in explorer at the press of a button
This program changes something that everyone does without even thinking about it; pressing a key in, say, a folder that has many items in it, in order to jump to the first letter of the file or folder being sought (e.g. pressing “d” to jump to “dashboard.xls”.)

With Listary, you could go ahead typing a second or third letter, and it will display a little popup list that quickly filters all instances of the word, including entries that may have the string of text in the middle of the file name (see screenshot above). You could then use the arrow keys to hone in on the file you want. Its not really desktop search and is not recursive to subfolders for example; however, it is extremely useful and after having used it for a few months now I am totally hooked.
Listary works not just in folders but also in all sorts of lists in Windows (such as the task manager to name an example).
Go here to download Listary (Windows 7, Vista, XP; 32 bit and 64 bit). Or check out my full-length Listary review.

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2. Nemo Documents: displays your desktop files on a calendar grid

Presents your files on a calendar-style grid, so as to enable the user to quickly scan the calendar to locate files or projects that were last in use last week or last month or the month before that, etc. It also is a full-fledged tagging engine for your files.
Nemo Documents is useful for those who work on multiple projects and multiple files and/or would like a way to keep track of the many files that pass through their desktop.
The thing about this one is that it is such a simple yet brilliant concept, and brings an entirely novel way finding and retrieving files that can really be very useful.
Go here to download Nemo Documents (Windows 7, Vista only; 32 bit and 64 bit). Or check out my full-length review of Nemo Documents.

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3. Browser Chooser: lets you choose the browser you want to use, case-by-case
This app is for those who use multiple browsers. It installs itself as your PC’s default browser so that, whenever you click a link (from within a program or anywhere in your Windows environment outside of a browser), it will display a popup window that gives a choice as to which browser to use for that particular link, file, or web page.

This program can work really well if you launch your web pages via a launcher program such that you can, for example, launch certain sites from IE (for me, work-related sites, Sharepoint, and Web based Outlook, all of which work best in IE), launch your web based email from the browser that works best for it, or launch several web-based email accounts in different browsers simultaneously, etc.
Go here to download Browser Chooser. (Windows 7, Vista, XP; 32 bit and 64 bit).

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4. ClassicShell: brings back some cool XP features to Windows 7
Does a number of different things in Windows 7 and Vista to revert these operating system back to “classic” Windows XP style behavior.
For example, it can transform the “Start Menu” in Windows 7 and Vista into the typical Windows XP-style, as demonstrated in the screenshot to the left, below.

However, my favorite tweak that this program does (and the more important one, in my opinion), is its ability to restore the “go up one folder” button in Windows Vista and Windows 7 (a function which used to be part of Window XP before it was removed). See screenshot above, right for an illustration.
A step by step tutorial on how to install the “folder up” arrow can be found here.
Go here to download ClassicShell (Windows 7, Vista; 32 bit and 64 bit).

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5. QTTabBar: provides tabbed folder browsing in Windows 7 Explorer (see screenshot).

To add a tab, simply drag and drop a folder to the tabbed area. The software also provides the option to browse folders in-place via cascading menus (as displayed in the screenshot above, towards the bottom right).
I mentioned this one in the first “43 must have Windows Enhancements” posting. Back then it was only for Windows XP, but since then it has been re-launched as a project on Sourceforge for Windows 7 and Vista, hence the re-mention. (And yes, it works beautifully on 64 bit Windows 7).
Go here to download QTTabBar (Windows 7, Vista, XP; 32 bit and 64 bit).

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6. Hot Corners: triggers user-defined events when hovering over screen corners
Will let you simply hover over any of the four corners of the screen to perform any number of functions, such as opening favorite folders, launching favorite programs. or performing a number of common tasks such as searching Google, showing the desktop, or locking the computer.

It works really well, with one caveat: it is very likely that a user might hover over any one of the corners and trigger a function accidentally. To remedy this, Hot Corners allows you to set a delay in seconds before it kicks into action, making it less likely to launch a function unless you demonstrate that you mean to do so by lingering in the corner for the requisite number of seconds.
Go here to download Hot Corners (Windows 7, Vista, XP; 32 bit and 64 bit). Or go here to see my full-length review of Hot Corners.

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7. Quick Cliq: launch favorite files, folders, and tools on-demand
Is an all-in-one, hotkey-activated launcher for apps, files, folders and even URLs. It has a smattering of cool extra functions (e.g. a clipboard manager of sorts, a window manager, etc).
Quick Cliq will even let you access favorite folders in Windows open/save dialogs (launch Quick Cliq then CTRL+right click on the folder in the list), and because it can use relative paths for files and folders it can function as a launcher for USB sticks. Any of its functions can be launched via user-defined keyboard shortcuts or mouse gestures.
Adding items to the launcher is easy via the “Quick Cliq” context menu entry in Windows explorer. This program is really super cool, and consumes little memory to boot (around 8 megs).
Go here to download Quick Cliq (Windows 7, Vista, XP; 32 bit and 64 bit). Or go here to see my full-length review of Quick Cliq.

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8. Switcher: terrific Mac Expose clone for Windows 7 and Vista
This app for Windows 7 and Vista is one of best Mac expose-style application switcher/Alt+Tab replacement of its kind.

It offers different visual styles (see the screenshots above), can be invoked via hotkey or mouse gesture, and is relatively low on resource consumption.
Go here to download Switcher (Windows 7, Vista; 32 bit and 64 bit). Or go here to see my full-length review of Switcher.

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9. Super F4: quickly terminate any program
A program that terminates other programs without asking nicely. This program, surprisingly, has become an essential download that I always install. Why?, because when working with Windows (and perhaps any modern OS) you will invariably encounter crashed programs that refuse to close promptly, and this program can take care of that for you quickly in a way that ending the process in task manager (CTRL+Alt+delete) will not.
Super F4 is launched via hotkey and employs a visual interface whereby you click on the offending program with Super F4’s skull icon to shut it down (see screenshot)
Go here to download Super F4 (Windows 7, Vista, XP; 32 bit and 64 bit). Or go here to see my full-length review of Super F4.

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10. Windows 7 Taskbar Pinner: pin individual files and folders to the Windows 7 taskbar
This program lets you pin anything you want to the Windows 7 taskbar, including individual folders and files. “But wait!”, you might think, “I already can pin items just by dragging and dropping”. Actually, no; while it is true that you can drag program executables and shortcuts to pin them on the taskbar, individual folders and files will in fact be buried within a jumplist on the taskbar, not on the taskbar itself.

Unless, of course, you use Windows 7 Taskbar Pinner, in which case you can pin just about anything straight to the taskbar. You can do this from the program interface or optionally the program can install a Windows context menu entry to quickly right-click on any item (file or folder) to pin it.
Go here to download Windows 7 Taskbar Pinner (Windows 7; 32 bit and 64 bit). Or see my full-length review of Windows 7 Taskbar Pinner.

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11. Pismo File Mount: mounts disk images as well as ZIP archives as virtual drives
Can mount ZIP, ISO, CFS and so-called “private folders” as virtual drives or folders that can be accessed through the Windows file system. This means that you can access ISO files without burning them to CD or DVD first; but, more interestingly, it also means you can mount ZIP files to work with them, then simply unmount them. This occurs without having to deal with duplicate files (as occurs when you unzip a file and have both the zipped and unzipped archives to deal with, rather un-elegantly).
Note, however, that ZIP files are mounted as read only, and you cannot add or write to them.

One thing to note that mapping a mounted volume to a drive letter is optional. Pismo File Mount installs a Windows Explorer context menu entry for both 32bit and 64bit Windows that enables you to simply right click on a volume to mount it.
Go here to download Pismo File Mount / Audit package (Windows 7, Vista, XP; 32 bit and 64 bit). Or see my full-length review of Pismo File Mount.

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12. WinArchiver Virtual Drive: mounts almost all disk images, as well as ZIP and RAR files as virtual drives
Like Pismo File Mount above, this utility can mount both the most popular CD/DVD image files (ISO, BIN, CUE, and many, many others), as well as ZIP and RAR archives.
Also like Pismo, ZIP/RAR archives are mounted as read only (although its support for RAR is an advantage over that program); but WinArchiver lacks the right-click context menu support, which is a drawback.
Go here to download WinArchiver Virtual Drive (WinAll; 32 bit and 64 bit)

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13. MouseExtender: very cool on-demand launcher
A launcher for favorite programs, files, folders, or URLs that is invoked via middle mouse button, a user-defined keyboard hotkey, or a combination of the two.
This program is super stylish and really very practical and user friendly. (And what more could anybody want?). Although it doesn’t look it at first glance, MouseExtender is actually a tabbed launcher, allowing you to create several different pages of shorcuts (see screenshot above).
You can browse to an item to add it, add any program that happens to be running, or (if you have the launcher pinned to desktop) you can drag and drop items directly onto the MouseExtender interface.
Go here to download MouseExtender (Windows 7, Vista, XP; 32 bit and 64 bit). Or you can see my full length review of MouseExtender.

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14. SysTrayMeter: displays free RAM and CPU usage in a SINGLE system tray icon.
Achieves the remarkable feat of displaying both CPU and RAM usage in the system tray menu within a single icon. And should you wonder if this may be overreach, I assure you that it is not; it works beautifully. This program in fact is a favorite that I install on every machine.
CPU usage is displayed in the upper half of the icon, while unused RAM is displayed below, and you can hover over the SysTrayMeter to get more detailed info. Left clicking on the icon exits the program (which is kind of strange, and at first results in many an instance of closing the program without really meaning to do so).
The developer’s program page for this program has disappeared; however you can use the link below to download.
Go here to download SysTrayMeter (Windows 7, Vista, XP; 32 bit and 64 bit). Or see my full-length review of SysTrayMeter. (Note: developer’s program page seems to be down, but the program is available at the link above).

More to come from EliteBuyer.com 562-366-4177

 

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How To Restore Windows 7 or Vista using system retore

Using Windows 7 or Vista System Restore

Windows 7 and Vista has a feature called System Restore that automatically backs up registry and system files whenever you install new software or drivers. This feature is useful when you install evil software that makes your computer run really slow. But don’t worry, System Restore won’t remove Windows Vista.
Using System Restore in Windows
There are two places that you can use the system restore feature from. From within Windows, you can just type restore into the Start menu search box, and you’ll immediately see System Restore at the top of the start menu:

Or you can type rstrui into the search box and hit enter. Your choice.
You will immediate see a screen where you can choose to roll back the system to the last restore point. You can select “Recommended restore”, and just click next, or you can choose a different restore point.
 
If you do choose a different restore point, you will see a list of restore points that you can choose from. How many times have I typed the word choose at this point?
You’ll notice in the screenshot below that the last thing I did was install Virtual CloneDrive to mount ISO images, but right before that I installed the NVIDIA drivers.

Click one of them, and you will have to confirm and then restart your computer to roll the system back.
 
Note: For best results, you should run System Restore from safe mode.
If you receive an error while restoring, then use it from safe mode and it should work fine. To get into Safe mode, you can reboot and use the F8 key right before Windows starts up.
If the F8 key doesn’t work for you, you can force the system to go into safe mode by following instructions from Larry in the comments.
If Your System Won’t Boot
If you can’t even get into windows, you can boot off the installation dvd, and choose the “Repair your computer” option on the lower left hand side. If you don’t have an installation/repair disc, you can make one with these instructions.
Click next on the next screen, and then choose System Restore from the System Recovery dialog. It will take a few seconds to come up, and you will see the same screen that you would see in Windows:

Click next, and on the next screen select the drive that your copy of Windows 7 or Vista is installed on.
Click Finish, and Windows will roll back to the previous restore point. Really pretty simple stuff.
Conclusion
I’d absolutely recommend keeping the system restore feature on in Windows 7 or Vista

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Six Free Tools for Removing Malicious Software

Malicious software (be it viruses, rootkits, Trojans, worms, or malware) is so prevalent, it seems one of the primary jobs for IT is to protect, clean, and remove it. Yet no matter how hard you try, or how much you pay for the software you use to protect your desktops, it always seems like a losing battle. Fighting a losing battle really hurts when you're spending a good deal of your IT budget (if you even have an IT budget) on software to protect machines from attacks.
It doesn’t have to be that way. I have found plenty of tools that can help in the quest to have a virus/malware-free environment. These tools can either be installed on your machines or used as a toolkit to carry with you to fight the good fight. You won’t find enterprise-grade tools here. What you will find are tools that have done the best job at keeping my systems clean.
1: Combofix
Combofix is my first line of defense when I suspect something has taken over a machine. But you shouldn’t just run this powerful tool without a few considerations. First, what will Combofix fix? After a successful run of Combofix, you should have cleaned (if applicable): malware, rootkits, Trojans, worms, and viruses. What you need to know about Combofix prior to running is quite important. The single most important issue with Combofix is that you can't run it with an antivirus tool enabled. With some antivirus solutions, you can simply disable the tool (Symantec Endpoint Protection is a perfect example.) I have found that one particular antivirus solution, AVG, requires complete removal before running Combofix. And to be on the safe side, I prefer to run Combofix with the computer in safe mode. One other note: Never download Combofix from any other site than Bleeping Computer or ForoSpyware.
2: CCleaner
Another free tool, CCleaner, does two things incredibly well: It cleans the Windows registry and removes cached Web data. There are a lot of registry cleaners available, but CCleaner is the one I always trust. As with any tool, you want to make sure you understand it before using it. Cleaning cached browser data is fairly harmless, but cleaning the registry is not. I highly recommend always backing up the registry when using Ccleaner to clean the registry. Fortunately CCleaner has a built-in tool for handling the backup.
3: Microsoft Security Essentials
After using many antivirus tools, the one that seems to work nearly as well as any other --without any attached cost -- is Microsoft Security Essentials. Not only will this antivirus tool help prevent infection, it does so with as little drain on the system as most other antivirus tools.
Six free tools for removing malicious software

4: Malwarebytes
People are always surprised to find out they need anti-spyware as well as antivirus protection. Of the anti-malware tools I have used, Malwarebytes seems to be the most effective. Now there are two versions of Malwarebytes: Free and Paid. The biggest difference is that the Paid version has a real-time scanner built in. The free version must be run manually. This is not a problem if you are in control of all the PC scanning or you can trust your users to manually run the software nightly (and to manually update the definitions often). If you can't trust your users to do that, you might need to drop the $24.95 for the licensed version.
5: Clonezilla
Clonezilla is free open source software (FOSS) that allows you to do bare metal backups and recoveries. There are two versions available: Clonezilla Live and Clonezilla SE (Server Edition). As the name implies, Clonezilla Live is a small, bootable live Linux distribution that allows you to do a single clone at a time. The Server Edition requires a DRBL server and allows you to do massive cloning. With the Server Edition, you can do large simultaneous restores quickly. Regardless of which tool you use, Clonezilla is a reliable tool for bare metal backups and restores.
6: Hamachi
Although not a tool that will help you clean up your systems, Hamachi enables you to add machines to a VPN without having the associated costs of a typical VPN. I have already covered this tool in my blog post Use Hamachi VPN on your Linux clients, so I will let you use that as a basis for installation and use. If you’re curious about how to use this as an admin tool, you can always house your toolkit on a machine connected to a Hamachi VPN and then access those tools from anywhere (so long as you can add Hamachi to the machine in question).
Final thoughts
There are many pieces of software available for the DIY user, which can make it a challenge to discern which ones are worth using. I hope the list above will help you narrow down the tools you need to keep around in your DIY toolkit. need Better Tech Support give us a call 562-366-4177 www.elitebuyer.com

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Archive old email in your Gmail inbox the easy way

Quick Tip: Archive old email in your Gmail inbox the easy way

Takeaway: No matter how hard you try, your Gmail is going to get bloated with old messages. Take advantage of Google’s archive system to manage the clutter.

It is inevitable. Your inbox, whether it is Gmail, Outlook, or any other client, is going to fill up with old email. If you are like me, and I suspect that many of you are, you don’t really archive email as you go. Instead you wait for a critical mass to build up and then you look to manage the problem.
The good thing about Gmail is that Google has a built-in archival system that you can take advantage of when you are ready. Of course, before you can archive you have to identify exactly which emails currently residing in your inbox qualify for the procedure. The simplest approach is to use the power of search - something Google is very good at non-coincidentally.

Search and identify

For this example, let’s archive messages in my inbox more than 30 days old. Using some keyword searches we can get a list of email messages received before a specific date. In the search box at the top of your Gmail page type a search in this format:

before:yyyy/mm/dd

And, to further limit our search, specify that we are only searching the inbox:

in:inbox

The entire search string will look something like Figure A.

Figure A

in:inbox before:2012/01/01

Now that you have a list of results matching your search criteria, you can start the archive process. First check the Select All check box as shown in Figure B. That check box only accounts for the messages that manage to fit on the first page, so you have to click the link that says: Select all messages that match this search, to select all of the messages in the list.

Figure B

Click the Select All check box and the Select all messages that match this search link

Once you have made those two selections, all that is left to do is the archiving. For that you click the Archive button, shown in Figure C. When you click the button you will get a warning message, click OK to complete the process.

Figure C

Archive your inbox messages

You will now have less clutter in your Gmail inbox. If you ever want to find emails you have archived, they are now located under the All Mail label.

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Tweaking Windows 7 for Faster Online Connections

Getting the most out of an Internet connection is important with any operating system, and Windows 7 is no exception. There are several ways that you can tweak Windows 7 for faster online connections, helping you to get the most out of the time that you spend online.

Tweaking Windows 7

The Windows 7 operating system was designed to be user friendly, but that doesn't mean that it's optimized for all users. Out of the box Windows 7 is ideal for casual home use and performs well in business settings as well, but power users and those who want to browse the Internet at high speeds may need to make a few adjustments. Tweaking Windows 7 for faster online connections isn't difficult so long as you know what changes to make. It's important to keep in mind, however, that the speed of your online access is determined largely by your Internet provider so you will only see improvements within the limits of your home or business Internet connection.

Improving System Speed

One of the first things that you should do when trying to tweak Windows 7 for faster online connections is to make sure that your computer is configured to get the most out of your system. Internet speed is affected by how well your computer is running, and if your processor isn't able to handle all of the data that it is receiving over the Internet then having a fast connection isn't going to do you much good. Make sure that your BIOS is set up to enable hyperthreading and multi-channel memory if these options are available on your system, and keep your computer in good working order by undergoing scheduled virus scans, defragmentations, and registry checks. The faster your computer is, the faster it will be able to access the Internet.

Optimize Your Browser

By default, most Internet browsers are set to make only one connection with a server at a time. This can severely hamper your ability to access data on the server quickly, especially since many servers are set up to accept multiple connections from a single host. Adjusting the number of connections to optimize your browsers is a common way to tweak Windows 7 for faster online connections. You can alter this by either changing the configuration using "about:Config" in Firefox and Opera or editing the registry in Internet Explorer. If changing the configuration, set "network.http.pipelining" to True and change "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to 10 or greater; if editing the registry, navigate to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Internet Settings" in your registry editor and change "MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server” and “MaxConnectionsPerServer" to 10 or greater. Restart your browser for the change to take effect.

Eliminate Bandwidth Reserves

Microsoft enables bandwidth reserves on its operating systems by default, eliminating up to 20% of your maximum bandwidth on every upload and download. You can disable this reserve in Windows 7 fairly easily. Open the Local Group Policy Editor by typing "gpedit.msc" into the Start menu search and opening the resulting listing. Once the Editor is open, open the "Computer Configuration," "Administrative Templates," and "Network" folders, then select the "QoS Packet Scheduler" item. Right-click the "Limit Reserved Bandwidth" option, selecting "Properties" from the context menu. Enable the limit, then change the limit amount to 0 in order to disable any reserves. Reboot Windows 7 to let the change take effect.

Remove Unnecessary Protocols

By default, Windows 7 has a number of different Internet protocols active in order to allow for a greater range of connection options. Unfortunately, not all of these protocols are necessary and may actually interfere with each other on some computers. Removing unnecessary protocols as a means of tweaking Windows 7 for faster online connections is a common practice that may result in slight improvements to your connection speed. Right-click on your internet or network connection and choose "Properties" from the context menu, then see which network protocols you currently have active. You will need to have a TCP/IP protocol active, but most of the other protocols on the list are optional. Keep in mind that if you have shared files or devices on your network or wish to access the shared items of others then you will have to keep the Client for Microsoft Networks and the fire-sharing protocols active as well. Reboot your computer.

Disable Unnecessary Plugins and Addons

Browser plugins and addons interact with webpages in a variety of ways, and these interactions can take time. While many plugins and addons are initially added because you find them useful, a number of them will not be used very much once they have been installed. Open your browser's addon manager and see how many plugins and other browser addons you have installed that you rarely if ever use; disable any that are not an essential part of your internet experience. Without as many small applets trying to access the data you receive from a website you'll find that your Windows 7 internet experience is noticeably faster.

Third-Party Tweaks

There are a number of third-party programs that can help you tweak your internet speeds in Windows 7 as well. Many of these programs will make adjustments to Internet browsing and make other recommendations to increase Internet performance so that you don't have to make all of your changes by hand. While the majority of these programs are either shareware or must be purchased in order to utilize all of their Internet speed tweaks, trial versions are available that will allow you to use a portion of the program's features even though you have not purchased it. The ability to tweak Windows 7 for faster online connections is generally one of the features available in the trials..

Periodic Review

Tweaking Windows 7 for faster online connections works best if you periodically check your settings to make sure that they are still optimized. Programs that you install and upgrades to your web browsers may reset or change some of the tweaks you make, so take the time to review your adjustments periodically to ensure optimal browsing speed. Likewise, making additional system upgrades or adjustments to provide more powerful hardware for your computer and checking to see that your current hardware is being used correctly will improve overall system speed and may improve your online connection speed in the process.

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How to Multi Boot Windows 7

Windows 7 takes over the primary partition as soon as you install it. So, how do you multi boot Windows 7? This article explains setting up a Windows 7 multi boot process so that you can use two or more operating systems.

Multi Boot Windows 7 – Why is it Complex?

The main thing to keep in mind while preparing to multi boot Windows 7 is that there is no boot.ini in Windows 7. Unlike XP and other Windows operating systems, you cannot manually edit boot.ini to inform your boot loader about other operating systems existing on the computer. You will need some command line entries to report the other operating systems that we discuss in this guide.

Preparing to Set Up Multi Boot in Windows 7

Normally, the rule of thumb is to install the latest operating system first. However, as soon as you load Windows 7, you cannot log into XP or other previous Windows versions. The best method for setting up a multi boot process in Windows 7 is to do a fresh installation of all operating systems. We will be discussing the same here. If you do not wish to reinstall all the operating systems again, you may try troubleshooting when XP won't boot after a Windows 7 install. In this article, we will discuss installing all operating systems by creating different partitions for each. If you wish, you may use an additional HDD containing enough space to handle as many operating systems as you wish to install. In the latter case, make sure you make it the primary HDD (fix the jumper using the settings as shown on the hard disk).

For now, we will consider a single hard disk with enough capacity to multi boot Windows 7 with Vista and XP. You may also use Linux, Desktop Ubuntu or anything else.
The first step is to back up all the important data from all partitions. If you need a good backup software, you can use Macrium's Reflect to back up data - faster than remote backups, burning to a CD/DVD, etc.
Remember that it is very important to have each operating system on a separate partition.
As we'll be installing Windows 7 first, we will use its disk management software to adjust the partitions. Another method is to re-partition the entire hard disk using Fdisk, a very old yet highly reliable DOS based tool that I use to date. Just remember that Windows 7 will take up 16-20GB space. So your first, active partition should be around 30GB (to reserve space for programs that you intend to install on the operating system). In case you are using Fdisk, you have to delete all of the logical partitions before you can delete the secondary partition. You can't delete the primary partition before deleting the secondary partition. You need only the primary partition from Fdisk. Remember to format it using the command Format else you wont be able to install anything. Once we install Windows 7 on the primary partition, we can use Windows 7 utilities to create other partitions to save time.
IMPORTANT: Before trying to create a multi boot environment in Windows 7, make sure your computer is compatible with the new OS. Download and run Windows 7 Compatibility Advisor for this purpose. If the compatibility report is in your favor, turn to the next page for the best multi boot method.

Setting up Multi Boot Windows 7 – How to Install Operating Systems

To set up a multi boot environment in Windows 7 so that your computer does not give you problems, we will install Windows 7, then Vista, and finally XP.
We'll do a clean install of each operating system to avoid possible hiccups in future. This means formatting each partition on which we will install the individual operating systems.
Assuming you did a backup of all the data to a secure place, proceed with the Windows 7 installation. You will have to install any programs that you wish to use. We can do this later once we successfully set up the other operating systems. Now that Windows 7 is ready to use, navigate to Disk Management under Control Panel. You will find it under Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Storage. As we need two more partitions, delete the logical drives and then entire secondary partition. The Windows 7 partition is primary.
You'll need 20GB for Windows Vista and a minimum of 2GB for Windows XP. I'll recommend you add at least 10 GB extra for each OS so you do not fall short of space while installing programs. This means 30GB for Windows 7, 30GB for Windows Vista, and about 15GB for Windows XP. Create the secondary partition and then the logical drives for each OS as per the calculations. You may use the remaining space for data. Format all new partitions using the Disk Manager so you can skip the "format screen" while installing Vista and XP.

To set up a multi boot environment in Windows 7 so that your computer does not give you problems, we will install Windows 7, then Vista, and finally XP.
We'll do a clean install of each operating system to avoid possible hiccups in future. This means formatting each partition on which we will install the individual operating systems.
Assuming you did a backup of all the data to a secure place, proceed with the Windows 7 installation. You will have to install any programs that you wish to use. We can do this later once we successfully set up the other operating systems. Now that Windows 7 is ready to use, navigate to Disk Management under Control Panel. You will find it under Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Storage. As we need two more partitions, delete the logical drives and then entire secondary partition. The Windows 7 partition is primary.
You'll need 20GB for Windows Vista and a minimum of 2GB for Windows XP. I'll recommend you add at least 10 GB extra for each OS so you do not fall short of space while installing programs. This means 30GB for Windows 7, 30GB for Windows Vista, and about 15GB for Windows XP. Create the secondary partition and then the logical drives for each OS as per the calculations. You may use the remaining space for data. Format all new partitions using the Disk Manager so you can skip the "format screen" while installing Vista and XP.

IMPORTANT: Label each partition with the OS name so that you do not mess up while installing.
Next, we'll move to Vista. To install Vista on a multi boot Windows 7 computer, insert the installation CD into CD Drive. Install Vista to the correct partition as marked when you were creating the logical partitions. After installation, reboot. You can see the boot loader showing you both operating systems. We now achieved a dual boot system for Windows 7 and Windows Vista! Smile - and move on to install Windows XP – the toughest part in setting up this multi boot environment.
Insert the Windows XP CD into the drive and start the installation process. You need not format as you have already done that while setting up logical drives. When prompted for drive letter, select the correct one else you'll loose all the work. Reboot after Windows XP installs. You cannot see XP in the boot loader! You need not worry. XP is on the machine (fully installed and ready to use) but the boot loader doesn't know it.
The problem is that XP installation changes the boot loader, sometimes making it corrupt. To fix this, use the Windows 7 installation DVD to boot. Select Repair and then select the operating system that is not appearing (in this case, it is Windows XP). Once you are at the command prompt type the following lines – one at a time – and hit Enter for each:
Bootrec.exe /FixMBR
Bootrec.exe /FixBoot
This will restore the boot loader. In case you want more information on bootrec.exe command, you can visit the Microsoft website.
Remove the Windows 7 DVD and reboot into Windows 7 again. Click Start, RUN (if RUN is not visible, press Windows key +R) and type cmd to get command prompt window. Now we'll add Windows XP to boot loader for setting-up multi boot Windows 7 with XP and Vista. To include Windows XP into boot loader, type the following and hit Enter for each line:
bcdedit –set {ntldr} device partition=C:
bcdedit –set {ntldr} path \ntldr
bcdedit –displayorder {ntldr} –addlast
bcdedit -set {ntldr} description "XP"
Close the command prompt. Reboot and see Windows boot loader. It should show all three OS. We are done with setting up multi boot Windows 7.
NOTE: Sometimes XP may not appear in Windows boot loader even with the above commands. Boot into Windows 7 normally and change the drive letter of Windows XP partition (to something like M, N, or X) using the Disk Management tool so that it appears few letters above the last drive letter in your computer.
Tip: After creating a multi boot Windows 7 computer, you may never want to go through the entire process again. After you install programs on each OS, create a disk image and a rescue disk using Reflect or any other disk imaging software. This may prove helpful if anything causes problems in the future.

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