Making sure you get a clean malware scan

Sometimes when malware gets into your computer, it takes over the security software and stops it from cleaning everything out. Lincoln Spector has some suggestions for how to ensure that you get a completely clean scan.

How to buy a digital camera

Digital photography keeps getting better. Higher-resolution images, sophisticated but easy-to-use controls, and more. This article helps you sort out the features that matter, and those that don't.

When dialogue boxes extend beyond the screen

How often do you find that dialogue boxes extend below the bottom of your screen, so that you can't click on the necessary buttons? Happens to me a lot, and I have a reasonable size screen. Here's a little utility that allows you to drag any window (including dialogue boxes) around by holding down the Alt and Windows keys.

Fix your shaky videos, for free

With vReveal software for Windows, it's easy to quickly fix the videos from your cell phone, HD camcorder, digital camera, or other device. Stabilize, brighten, sharpen, add fun effects and more with just one click. It's completely free.

Automatic home page on new tab

When you launch a new tab in Internet Explorer, that tab automatically opens with your default home page. Sadly, Firefox doesn't have that feature, but a new add-on - New Tab Home Page - can provide it. Very simple to install.

Posterous: the quickest way to create a web page

Posterous is almost certainly the quickest way to create a web page and get it online. Post a simple text message, or include additional content such as an MP3 file or a picture. Unlike traditional blogging and publishing services, such as Blogger or MySpace, you don't even need to sign up for an account. Just think of something to say, then email it to post@posterous.com. Within a few seconds, you'll get back a reply telling you the address of your published page. Click on the link, and it's there for you (and the world) to see. Web publishing doesn't get easier, or quicker, than this.

New Microsoft Service Fixes Common PC Problems for Free

Fix it Center is a new Microsoft service currently in public beta that provides a set of online and offline tools for diagnosing and fixing common PC and device problems. Fix it Center consolidates into a single product a whole range of trouble shooters, wizards and other support resources currently scattered throughout the Microsoft site and Windows itself. It works with any Windows version from XP through to Window 7. The program will not only solve known problems but will also scan your PC for potential problems and suggest fixes.
The nice thing about this product is that it requires little technical input from the user. All the user needs to do is indicate the broad kind of category describing the problem and then the program will launch a diagnostic program for that category.
To setup Fix it Centre you need to go though a three stage setup procedure:
1. Go to http://fixitcenter.support.microsoft.com/Portal/ and click the “Try It” button. This will download a small 437KB program.
2. Run the downloaded program and accept the licensing agreement. This will then initiate a download and installations of the full Fix it Centre product. No download file size is given but it appears to be around 10MB.
3. Fix it center will install a number of troubleshooters based on your PC configuration but to tap into the full power of the product you need to setup an online account. There you will not only have access to a full range of troubleshooters but access to other support resources as well such as the Microsoft knowledge database. Additionally you can store the support history of your PCs on line.

A selection of helpful articles

Whew! Haven't posted in a long while - things got a bit hectic on the work and home fronts. So to kick things off, some helpful articles spotted in the intervening time...
How to block bad websites, from Gizmo.
Why your DVD player can't play some disks. In order to exercise greater control, movie studies pressured DVD manufacturers into splitting the world into separate play regions. NZ and Australia, for instance, are in Region 4, so a disk bought in the USA (Region 1) probably won't play on your home DVD. Fortunately, your computer is not controlled quite so heavily, and Lincoln Spector gives you some help to get around the problem.
I have long been struggling with how to create a pdf file from a web page or an html document. A very neat Firefox add-on has solved the problem. pdf edit does a very nice job, even creating a pdf from your home directories (ie, in other words, you don't have to put the html document on the web first).
One day you could well need some computer diagnostic and maintenance tools on a flash drive. Lincoln Spector shares his list. And here's a list of
http://www.pcworld.com/article/191362/top_free_troubleshooting_tools_for_windows.html?tk=nl_wbx_h_crawl2 - seven handy tools help you diagnose and cure a wide range of Windows ills.
Confused about the mumbo-jumbo that surrounds all the hardware inside your computer case? How do you know what to buy when you are upgrading? Here's some helpful explanations about the essential bits.
Banish Seven Bad Tech Habits: Seven ways to improve your computing life by changing the way you use your computer.

A better clipboard

One of the deficiencies of the Windows operating system is that it allows you to copy and paste only one item at a time. The one (sort of) exception I know is that in Word you can hold down the Control key and select discontinuous pieces of text. Fortunately, there are numerous free utilities that will hold a bank of clipped items, which you can copy and paste from with ease. Some examples are ClipMagic, M8, and Clipboarder.

Creating secure passwords you can remember

A study of more than 30 million passwords found that almost half use names, common dictionary words, or sequential characters like "qwerty". Fingerprint scanners and other biometric controls are becoming more mainstream, but the password will still be the main barrier between hackers and your data for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, here is how to create a secure password that you can actually remember in "12345" easy steps.

Create your own 3D pics

The first 3D movie I saw was a Mighty Mouse cartoon back in the 1950s. The second was Michael Jackson's Captain Eo at Disneyland three decades later. There has been a quantum leap in the technology since, and suddenly 3D movies are the rage. Dozens are being released this year, although the number of cinemas fitted to screen them is still small. But you can make your own 3D photographs using the free program Anaglyph Maker.
You can also create your own 3D movie using easily available software, although the process is a bit more complex. Not that complex, though - this article gives the simplest instructions I've yet seen.

Public domain music

1,193,526 public domain songs by 10,253 artists, boasts the website Dewey Music. You can listen to, download, remix, and share anything you see on this site legally and for free.
But if you are into music, the best website in the world for my money is GrooveShark, which plays streaming audio of every conceivable genre. You can tailor the site to send you just exactly what you want to hear, and it is so easy to use. If there is an award for "smooth", GrooveShark gets it.

Cleaning a monitor

Computer screens get dusty, dirty, and dingy just like windows. But unlike glass windows, computer screens are complex, sensitive electronic devices that can be damaged by incorrect cleaning. Here's how to clean various types of computer screens safely.

Cleaning a monitor

Computer screens get dusty, dirty, and dingy just like windows. But unlike glass windows, computer screens are complex, sensitive electronic devices that can be damaged by incorrect cleaning. Here's how to clean various types of computer screens safely.

Sudden computer slowdowns

Sometimes your computer seemingly goes to sleep for no apparent reason. Lincoln Spector has some trouble-shooting tips.

9 Gmail tips that will let you take a longer lunch

Gmail is not bad as an internet-based email system - better than most of its competitors, possibly. But it's not perfect. Here are 9 tips to improve it.
One tip not covered: If you have an "ordinary" email client (ie, program, like Outlook or Thunderbird), you can gather your incoming Gmail emails through that, without visiting Gmail at all. Here's an article that shows you simply how to do it.
Another PC World article lists 10 Gmail Labs features you may not know about but could benefit from.

15 internet annoyances and how to fix them

It seems that every day we go online and there's some new type of nagging Web annoyance to deal with, says Jared Newman. In a perfect world, we wouldn't have to worry about auto-playing video ads, leaping pay walls to read the news, fake emails phishing for our bank details, or Farmville spam from Facebook. But for now, we're on our own. Here are 15 of the most annoying things on the Internet, and how to work around, ignore, improve or fix them.

Why the internet has gone sour

"The central mistake of recent digital culture is to chop up a network of individuals so finely that you end up with a mush," writes Nick Galvin of the Sydney Morning Herald. "You then start to care about the abstraction of the network more than the real people who are networked, even though the network by itself is meaningless. Only the people were ever meaningful." He looks at why the internet has gone sour, and what effect it's having on us.

Computer maintenance on a flash drive

You can keep a toolkit on a flash drive for those times when things go wrong and you need some fix-it tools. Lincoln Spector shares his list of must-haves.

How to cope with email overload

"If you're suffering from email overload, I bet you didn't know you have a solution at your fingertips. In fact you have your very own personal inbox secretary at your disposal. One waiting to read all the emails you receive (and send); then manage them for you.," writes Debbie Mayo-Smith.