Windows 7 Logon Reworked is a sexy welcome screen replacement

Just about everyone customizes his or her Windows desktop somehow, but most probably don't bother tinkering with the Welcome screen. After all, you really don't see it that often unless you're a stickler for security and always log off when you're AFK (which is a good habit to get into, really).

If that's how you roll, take a look at Windows 7 Logon Reworked. It's available in three variations -- the one you see above, another with the Windows logo embedded in the login box's glass border, and one more which is completely logo-free. As with a lot of other shell modifications, installing Reworked requires a little bit of tinkering in your system folder. You'll have to replace the stock Windows authui.dll in Safe Mode to do it -- check the author's instructions on DeviantArt if you need help and make sure you create a backup before making any changes!

Both 32 and 64-bit versions are available for all three styles, and there's also a snazzy Aurora-inspired replacement background should you want to change that as well!

VistaSwitcher is a beautiful Alt-Tab replacement

VistaSwitcher is a beautiful Alt-Tab replacement. It's aimed mainly at Windows Vista and 7, but it also works under Windows XP.
You get a huge thumbnail of the destination window; it's far larger than the one that comes with the "stock" Alt-Tab. Another neat feature lets you Alt-Tab between the windows of just one application. It's kind of like pressing Win+[number] in Windows 7, but you don't have to look at the taskbar and count the icons in order to see what the number is for the application that you want to switch to. That's done using Alt+` (backtick) by default, but it's configurable.
VistaSwitcher also introduces one feature that I've never seen before: Alt-Tabbing between the windows on the current monitor only. I use two monitors, but I'm not convinced that this is a handy feature. Still, it's certainly innovative and can help split your desktop into two distinct workspaces.
One thing that bugs me about VistaSwitcher is that it looks very similar (visually) to another Alt-Tab replacement that I saw a long time ago (but, for some reason, I can't find it now). I'm not saying it's a clone; it certainly innovates on its own, and it seems to be a very interesting application. It definitely looks like another application, though. Help me out in the comments.

SecondShell is a portable utility that makes Windows Explorer a lot more user friendly

SecondShell is a tool that makes window management both less fiddly and more keyboard shortcut oriented. It doesn't actually do a whole lot (it's only 200 kilobytes!), but it adds such handy features that you'll wonder why Windows doesn't include them by default.

First, you can resize windows by holding down Alt+Right click and dragging the mouse anywhere in the window. Alt+Left click moves the window. By Odin's beard, how frickin' awesome is that?! Ctrl+Alt+Arrow key maximizes your window either horizontally or vertically, and Ctrl+Alt+Numpad 1-9 moves the window into the respective corner of your screen. There's a bunch of other keyboard shortcuts, too (but Windows 7 already has most of them built-in, I think).

Netbook and laptop users: if the resize-anywhere bit wasn't enough to get you excited, you can also remap Caps Lock to act as a Middle Mouse button! No longer will it be a struggle to open links in new tabs! It should be noted that Caps Lock remapping (and some other advanced features) will require some .INI file hacking -- the FAQ should have you covered, if you've never done that before, though.

SecondShell is one of those tiny little utilities that you simply must try; it's fast, flawless, and completely portable. It's also Windows-only, I'm afraid.

Logon Screen customizes your Windows 7 welcome screen

The default Windows 7 welcome screen looks fairly nice, but it's not customizable out-of-the-box like the rest of your desktop is. There are, however, plenty of free apps that allow you personalize the background and add text messages -- and Logon Screen is a good option.

Just install Logon Screen, browse for the picture you'd like to swap in, and configure any advanced options you'd like. In addition to changing the background, Logon Screen allows you add a customized notice and tweak button appearance. If you like, you can also require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Del prior to logging on, hide users' accounts, display information about who was last logged in, and enable or disable shutdown options.

FluffyApp is like CloudApp for Windows

Mac users everywhere have been singing the praises of a little program called CloudApp (as has our own Matt Heerema). It's a simple app which sits on the menu bar and allow drag-and-drop file uploading complete with an auto-shortened URL for easy sharing. CloudApp can even be set to auto-upload screenshots.

Now, if only there was a version of CloudApp for Windows users...

Enter FluffyApp -- the little cloud in my system tray which brings CloudApp to Windows desktops. Once installed, just drag a file onto the icon, wait for the upload to complete, and then share away! The link to your file is automatically copied to your clipboard. FluffyApp also displays your last five uploads, which allows for quick and painless retrieval of their short URLs.

Like its Mac cousin, FluffyApp can also be configured to auto-upload screenshots and set to launch at startup. About the only thing Fluffy is missing is support for CloudApp's plugins -- but that's not a big deal.

What might be a really big deal is the fact that CloudApp and its short URL service run on a .LY domain. Here's hoping the Libyan government doesn't execute another content-based shutdown and cut off CloudApp at the knees.


Note: You'll still need to register for an account on getcloudapp.com, since FluffyApp utilizes CloudApp's plumbing.

Aerofoil extends your Windows laptop battery life by automatically switching power profiles

I've got an old Toshiba laptop. It's a workhorse, and I take good care of it. But as a laptop ages, one thing invariably happens: Battery life grows shorter and shorter. It's a matter of chemistry, and no amount of prudency seems to keep it from happening.
So as your laptop ages, intelligent power management becomes increasingly important. The question is "how do I keep this thing from hogging so much battery when it's not connected?"
Sure, Windows has built-in power profiles; but for some reason, right-clicking the battery icon only shows two profiles (out of the three default ones), and somehow that list never includes the particular profile I'm trying to switch to (I have four profiles).
Aerofoil is a free application that strives to make the power-saving process painless. It's one of those things that should have been built into Windows in the first place: As soon as your laptop switches to battery power, Aerofoil switches the power profile to Power Saver. Plug the laptop back in, and Aerofoil switches you back to High Performance (or whatever you've got configured).
But wait, there's more! (Cue cheesy infomercial music) Aerofoil also switches off Windows' Aero Glass interface whenever it switches to Power Saver mode. It can also automatically mute the sound when you switch to battery mode!
One note: When you first run Aerofoil, your computer may pop up an error message about msvcp100.dll. In that case, you need the MS Visual C++ redistributable, which you can grab from Microsoft for free – both for x64 and for x86 systems. Enjoy!

FREE Download WinX iPhone Ringtone Maker Worth $29.95

WinX iPhone Ringtone Maker is a professional and innovative iPhone (iPhone, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G) ringtone creating program which empowers users to convert audio to iPhone ringtone file. It supports almost all audio formats, e.g. MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, AAC, MP4, M4A, FLAC, FLA, MPC, MP+, MPP, AIFF, AC3, APE and more.
With this handy iPhone ringtone creator, users can customize ringtone duration depending on individual needs, and beautify the ringtone by adding fade-in and fade-out effect as you like. DSP function supported, it allows users to increase or decrease the original audio volume, removing the original high and low distorted voice that could not be played by iPhone. What' more, this iPhone ringtone maker allows users to define tag information for converted audio.
Generally this software costs $29.95 but now you can get it absolutely free using following link:
Download Link
The offer expires on Dec 10, 2010.

Windows 8 release in 2012 hinted at by Microsoft Netherlands

There have been rumblings about the arrival of Windows 8 in 2012 as far back as late last year, when bloggers noticed some interesting slides during Microsoft PDC 2009. At the time, Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky was pretty quiet about the whole thing, but someone over at Microsoft Netherlands has been a little more loose-lipped.

The final paragraph of the post is where the juicy bit is hiding -- even if you don't read Dutch you can certainly see Windows 8. While the text translated somewhat awkwardly in Google Translate (and just about every other online translator we tried), and it rendered a somewhat odd-sounding English rendition, we were able to track down a Dutch-speaking human for assistance.

The result: "But it will take about two years before Windows 8 will be for sale."

Anyone else picture Ballmer shouting, "Who's the GOLD MASTER?!" while he holds that disk?

Adobe AIR 2.5 announced, supports smartphones, tablets, TVs and desktops

Yesterday's session of the MAX 2010 conference saw the announcement of the latest iteration to AIR, Adobe's desktop runtime for HTML, Ajax, Flex, and (of course) Flash. AIR 2.5 brings greater device support with it, covering smartphones and tablets running BlackBerry Tablet OS, Android and iOS; Windows, OS X and Linux on the desktop; and TVs, with Samsung the first to jump on-board the AIR bandwagon with its Smart TVs due in 2011. With support for hardware features, such as accelerometers, GPS, cameras, microphones, and multi-touch, and hardware acceleration (currently only available for Windows) to make sure that the experience is still smooth, AIR could make quite a convincing write-it-once, get-it-out-on-everything platform. Adobe's even leveraging its Adobe InMarket to help developers get their AIR-driven apps packaged and into various app stores, minus its 30 percent cut of course.

Whether you'll be able to get AIR apps through Apple's approval process remains to be seen, but given Apple's relaxed stance, anything's possible. Excited Flex and Flash developers should be able to get the SDK imminently (currently still showing 2.0.2 at the time of writing), while the rest of us will have to sit back and wait with baited breath to see whether AIR 2.5 improves on its rather clunky forefathers

Service Pack 1 Release Candidate for both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 now available

Microsoft has announced that the Service Pack 1 Release Candidate for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 is now finally available to download and test. The download package is the same for both operating systems.

While Service Pack 1 is mainly a collection of all the previous updates the OS has received, there are a couple of interesting additions, namely RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory. RemoteFX enables host-based rendering of 3D graphics, allowing you to get the same rich graphic abilities you have on your machine even when you're remotely connecting to another computer. Dynamic Memory allows servers using Hyper-V to use memory more efficiently.

The final version of SP1 for both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 is expected to hit in the first quarter of next year. And unless you need to test the state the SP is in now, you'd probably best wait for that to ship.

In case you want to download the RC, you need to go here and follow the instructions.

Easily set your Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo! Mail as Windows' default email client

Mailto:// links are still pretty common on the Web, and they can be somewhat bothersome if you use a Web-based email app like Gmail or Hotmail. Wouldn't it be great if you could tell Windows to open your webmail's compose page instead of trying to load a desktop program like Outlook Express or Windows Mail?

There are actually several ways to get Windows to do this, but not many are as simple as GmailDefaultMaker. It's a free program that allows you to choose whether you want mailto:// links to open with Gmail, Hotmail, AOL Mail, or Yahoo! Mail during the installation process.

Once the install has completed, you'll never notice GmailDefaultMaker at work -- there's no taskbar or system tray icon. It's still doing its job, however, but like a lot of handy little programs it just works and stays out of the way.

No, this won't let you email files from your desktop with a right-click. Affixa may be the answer if you're looking for a more full-featured solution.

Half of all companies will continue to use Windows XP after it retires in 2014

According to a shocking report, 48% of IT administrators intend to continue running Windows XP after Microsoft officially retires it in 2014. The "IT [sector] just really, really likes the XP operating system," says Diane Hagglund, a senior analyst at Dimensional Research, reporting on the findings of a survey of 950 IT professionals. "They say it's just that good, and don't want to mess with it."

Windows XP might be really good, but its retirement in April 2014 means that it will no longer be supported by Microsoft -- there will be no more security fixes. That almost half of the IT sector intends to keep Windows XP installed -- it will be 13 years old in 2014! -- can only be indicative of two things: either Windows XP really is is that good, or IT professionals are lazy.

In other news, 6% of companies have now rolled out Windows 7, as opposed to only 1% back in January. "What's really interesting here is that if you look at the numbers, they've almost exactly adopted according to plan," said Hagglund. "That's a real indicator that Windows 7 migration is going well." With almost a quarter billion copies sold in the first 12 months, and the biggest market segment -- the workplace -- about to roll over, 2011 is looking good for Microsoft.

Microsoft now offers student discounts on Windows 7 in more countries

Microsoft loves to gives students great deals on their software, and over at the Windows Team blog they've got some good news for our international readers. If you're a student and looking for a nice, cheap copy of Windows 7 you're in luck!

The same program which allows U.S. students to pick up Windows 7 Professional for $29.99 has been expanded to eleven additional countries: Italy, Belgium, New Zealand, Thailand, Spain, Portugal (all available now), Sweden, Denmark (available November 4th), Norway, and Ireland (available November 11th).

If you take advantage of the offer, don't forget about this handy tool which helps you create a bootable DVD or USB flash drive from the disc image file (.ISO) you'll be downloading.

Hit up the official Microsoft post for the purchase link for your country.

Set your computer to sleep and wake up on a schedule with SmartPower

I recently covered Aerofoil, which can be used to make your laptop a bit smarter about its power usage. Now you can show your desktop computer or Windows Home Server the same kind of love using SmartPower. While SmartPower has some features in common with the previously covered Shutdown Timer, there's one major difference: it can make your computer wake up, too.
You can use SmartPower to force your computer go to sleep every day at 2AM and wake up right before you're due back from work. Combined with Windows' auto-logon feature, it would seem to you as if your computer is constantly on. In reality, though, you would be saving quite a bit of power -- as well as wear and tear on its hard drives and fans.
SmartPower also lets you set other conditions. For example, you can have your computer go to sleep at 2AM unless it is currently downloading something, or if a program is running, or if there's a specific host on the network (for example, your laptop is on, and you're streaming media from your home server).
All in all, this is a clever application. It does something that I wish had been built into Windows in the first place.
Download SmartPower for Windows

The new Mozilla Firefox Mobile Browser for S60 5th generation devices

The War of Mobile Browsers starts here:
First we had the Opera mobile browser and Nokia’s own mobile browser. The came the Iphone safari browse and now Mozilla is researching on launching its own version of Firefox Mobile browser. What this means is that there will be a cut throat competition taking place amongst the top mobile browser developers and we will get to see more powerful and user friendly mobile browsers in future.
Mozilla, company behind the open-source browser Firefox has released a sneak-peak of the interface that will drive mobile version of their popular desktop browser obviously optimized for touch-screen phones.Early screenshots reveal the very simple and clean interface that will definitely requires further improvements and optimization but there is no doubt that will perfectly fit to upcoming S60 5th generation devices with new combined touch / non-touch interface.
It’s clear that the team are thinking hard about changes that will really improve how the system works on mobile phones, with discussions including the irritation iPhone users feel when trying to cancel a page load and finding that the ‘Cancel’ button has become a ‘Reload’ button just before they hit it and ways to keep the Firefox Mobile browsing experience familiar for users of Firefox 3 on the desktop.
Touch vs. Classic interface
There are some contradictor information, some sources claims that new browser is designed for both classic and touch-screen phones but it seems that we’ll definitely get the two versions of the Firefox browser with completely different UI, one optimized for older non-touch lower resolution phones and another one optimized for the touch based devices.Perhaps the most interesting inclusion in the mobile flavor of the browser is a four-tab system whereby up to four pages can be loaded at any one time, then shrunk into a split view where the user can pick which page to bring into focus.
It’ll be interesting to see how a mobile version of the Firefox would stack up to Opera Mobile, and especially Skyfire, its cloned and improved version, or to other big players like the great Safari based browser forced by Apple and Nokia and offers the best mobile browsing experience nowadays

iOS 4.2.1 out today, brings multitasking to iPad

Let the iTunes-powered updating begin: iOS 4.2.1 is here, and ready to install on your Apple device. If you own an iPhone 3, 3GS, 4, iPod touch 2nd gen or newer, or an iPad, you're good to go. Among the big additions to iOS this time around: multitasking and app folder support for the iPad. There's also AirPlay and AirPrint for even more cord-free computing action on your handheld and Game Center integration is now live as well.

The full presser from Cupertino is available after the break.

Apple's iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch

Major Software Update Brings Multitasking, Folders, Unified Inbox, Game Center, AirPlay & AirPrint to iPad

CUPERTINO, California-November 22, 2010-Apple® today announced that iOS 4.2, the latest version of the world's most advanced mobile operating system, is available today for download for iPad™, iPhone® and iPod touch®. iOS 4.2 brings over 100 new features from iOS 4.0, 4.1 and 4.2 to iPad including Multitasking, Folders, Unified Inbox, Game Center, AirPlay® and AirPrint.

"iOS 4.2 makes the iPad a completely new product, just in time for the holiday season," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Once again, the iPad with iOS 4.2 will define the target that other tablets will aspire to, but very few, if any, will ever be able to hit."

iPad users can now run their favorite apps and switch between them instantly, while preserving iPad's legendary battery life. Users can organize their apps with drag-and-drop simplicity using Folders, and Mail now features a Unified Inbox, fast inbox switching and a threaded message view.

Game Center allows iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users to challenge and play friends or be matched automatically with new opponents, showcase their scores and achievements, and discover new games their friends are playing.

AirPlay is a new feature for streaming music, video and photos wirelessly from iPad, iPhone and iPod touch to Apple TV®, transforming Apple TV into a great accessory for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. iOS users also will be able to use AirPort Express® and AirPlay to stream wirelessly to any stereo or powered speakers, or directly to AirPlay-enabled speakers coming to market in the months ahead.

AirPrint is a next-generation Wi-Fi print architecture that dramatically simplifies printing by completely eliminating printer drivers. A selection of AirPrint enabled printers including the HP Photosmart, HP LaserJet Pro and HP Officejet will be the first to support printing direct from iOS devices. iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users can simply tap to print their documents or photos wirelessly to any printer that supports AirPrint.

The Find My iPhone (or iPad or iPod touch) feature is now free to use without a MobileMe℠ subscription and helps you locate your missing device.* The Find My iPhone app is a free download on the App Store℠ and lets users easily locate a missing device on a map and have it display a message or play a sound. Users can even remotely lock or wipe data from a lost device to protect privacy.

Other new features that iOS 4.2 brings to the iPad include: the ability to rent TV episodes directly to iPad using the iTunes® App with a 30 day viewing window and a 48 hour session window once playback is started; the ability to easily find and highlight specific words and phrases on web pages in Safari®; enhanced enterprise support so businesses can take advantage of stronger security features, new device management capabilities and improved enterprise integration; industry-leading accessibility enhancements; and support for 25 additional languages, including Korean, Portuguese and Traditional Chinese.

The revolutionary iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. You can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, using the innovative Multi-Touch™ user interface. iPad weighs just 1.5 pounds, making it easy to carry and use anywhere.

Today, customers have downloaded more than seven billion apps from the groundbreaking App Store and more than 300,000 apps are available to consumers in 90 countries, with more than 40,000 native iPad apps. Over 125 million iOS users around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.

Availability
The iOS 4.2 update is available today to download to iPad, iPhone and iPod touch by syncing the device with iTunes 10.1. iOS 4.2 is compatible with iPad, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, second and third generation iPod touch (late 2009 models with 32GB or 64GB) and new iPod touch. Some features may not be available on all products. For example, Multitasking requires iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, third generation iPod touch (late 2009 models with 32GB or 64GB) or later.

*The free Find My iPhone feature is available for iPhone 4, iPad or new iPod touch (4th generation).

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Adobe Connect 8 is now available for purchase or upgrade

The latest in the Adobe Connect line of Flash-based Web conferencing solutions is now available for purchase or upgrade. Featuring browser-based meeting and conferencing abilities, plus an iPhone and Android app, Adobe Connect 8 builds on an already strong teleconferencing package. Adobe is currently in the process of migrating eligible institutions over to Connect 8, starting with hosted solutions in North America and spreading to the rest of the world in 'early 2011.' If you're a system administrator with an on-premises Adobe Connect package, keep an eye on your inbox, as Adobe will be emailing customers in the next 7 to 10 days.

Head on over to the Adobe Connect 8 website for more information, including timelines for migration and purchasing details.

7-Zip version 9.20 released, still the best tool for compressed files

  7-Zip, one of the most active and mature open source projects, has just reached version 9.20. Work on Version 9 only begun last year, in 2009, but it's already far ahead of the old version (4.65) in terms of speed and functionality.

If you've never used 7-Zip before, now's the time to start. In one fell swoop it removes any need for other compressed file managers. It's faster and slimmer than WinZip, and lacks the nag screens of WinRar -- and it supports more file formats to boot! After installing, 7-Zip (or '7z') sits innocuously in your right-click context menu, ready to decompress almost every archive under the sun.

With version 9.20, you can even decompress some EXE, FLV and SWF files, peek inside NTFS, FAT and VHD files, and the command-line tool has been beefed up considerably. There's also localizations for Hindi, Gujarati, Sanskrit, Tatar, Uyghur and Kazakh, meaning there's more than 70 supported languages.

Google Earth 6 adds integrated Street View and 3D trees

Google Earth just got a whole lot more realistic with the release of Google Earth 6. The new version of Google's gorgeous "digital atlas" integrates Street View and adds 3D trees, making browsing Google Earth even closer to actually being there.

The trees have been added to Google Earth's existing 3D environment, while Street View has basically been dropped on top of it. You can activate Street View just as you would in Google Maps, by grabbing the little "pegman" icon and dropping him on the highlighted blue street you want to view. Arrow key and scroll-wheel navigation have also landed in Street View, making it easier for you to take a virtual walk around.

One less-flashy -- but still very interesting -- addition to Google Earth 6 is historical imagery. When you're viewing an area for which Google has historical images, you'll see a timeline which you can click on to jump back in time and look at previous shots of the area.

How-to: Disable Chrome's built-in Flash to use a Flash beta release

As a quick follow-up article to the Adobe Flash 10.2 beta announcement, we thought we'd show you how to disable Google Chrome's built-in Flash plug-in so that you can use a pre-release build like the 10.2 beta. It's a quick and simple process, but please remember that once you've disabled Chrome's built-in Flash you won't get the benefit of Chrome's internal Flash updates.

1. Download the Flash plug-in that you'd like to use with Chrome (10.2 can be found here).
2. Fire up Chrome and type about:plugins into the address bar; hit enter.
3. Click on Details in the top right of the window to expand the plug-in details.
4. Find the Flash plug-in that's listed as being in the Chrome directory and hit Disable (shown above).
5. Check which version of Flash you have by heading here.

That's it -- now you can jump on over to Adobe's Stage Video demo and watch as your CPU basically idles as you play HD video. If you want to reverse the procedure, just re-enable Chrome's built-in Flash plug-in and it'll take priority over the pre-release version.

Opera Mini 5.1 beta for S60 brings copy and paste, native email, and speed

This week, Opera let loose a new beta of their latest and greatest proxy-based browser for S60-powered smartphones. Essentially giving any Nokia S60 phone a fast and fairly decent browsing experience, Opera Mini 5.1 beta now supports the platform's native copy and paste feature, and it can call up the native email client. This doesn't sound like a lot, but in usability stakes, the ability to copy and paste or email a link, article, or page directly from the browser is a real boon.

The update also brings with it some tweaks to the back end -- the bit that essentially powers your browsing experience in Mini. Start up, scrolling, and page loading have all seen speed improvements, while font support has been increased and so has the number of Nokia handsets that can run the Mini-marvel. Those bugged by the constant dialog boxes requiring permission to connect to the Web will be pleased to know that Opera's managed to do away with them.

It's currently only available in English, although greater language support is promised as the beta develops. Interested parties can get their Mini-on by visiting the Opera Mini download page on your Nokia S60 device.

Microsoft Security Essentials now offered via Windows Update

We're big fans of Microsoft Security Essentials -- it's lightweight, free, and offers malware protection that's every bit as good as (if not better than) more recognized names like Norton and McAfee (quit giggling, DS regulars...). Today, Microsoft has begun offering Security Essentials as an optional install via Windows Update.

Like Live Essentials and the Windows 7 Language Packs, users can now opt-in to load MSE on their Windows system. The update notification beckons small office users as well, offering a reminder that Security Essentials is free for them to use, too -- as long as they have 10 systems or fewer.

Malwarebytes 1.5 detects and cleans more malware faster than ever

Malwarebytes is one of the most trusted and effective tools for removing all kinds of malicious software. Over at the Malwarebytes forums, there's big news today: MBAM 1.5 has been released, and it's faster, smarter, and better than ever. Startup time has been trimmed to just a few seconds and scanning speed improved by as much as 500%. There's also a host of new detection algorithms which allow MBAM to better detect all the frustrating, shifty malware floating around cyberspace.

Users can now manually add files and folders to the Malwarebytes ignore list, too. If you own the pro version, you'll get enhanced command line tools, a smarter, faster "Flash scan" which takes as little as 10 seconds to complete, and one-touch automatic updating.

Download Malwarebytes 1.5

BIOS Update Procedure

All latest Motherboards today, 486/ Pentium / Pentium Pro etc.,ensure that upgrades are easily obtained by incorporating the system BIOS in a FLASH Memory component. With FLASH BIOS, there is no need to replace an EPROM component. Once downloaded, the upgrade utility fits on a floppy disc allowing the user to save, verify and update the system BIOS. A hard drive or a network drive can also be used to run the newer upgrade utilities. However, memory managers can not be installed while upgrading.

Most pre-Pentium motherboards do not have a Flash BIOS. The following instructions therefore do not apply to these boards. If your motherboard does not have a Flash BIOS (EEPROM) you will need to use an EPROM programmer to re-program the BIOS chip. See your dealer for more information about this.

Please read the following instructions in full before starting a Flash BIOS upgrade:
A. Create a Bootable Floppy (in DOS)

•With a non-formatted disk, type the following:

format a:/s

•If using a formatted disk, type:

sys a:

This procedure will ensure a clean boot when you are flashing the new BIOS.

B. Download the BIOS file

•Download the correct BIOS file by clicking on the file name of the BIOS file you wish to download.

•Save the BIOS file and the Flash Utility file in the boot disk you have created. Unzip the BIOS file and the flash utility file. If you don't have an "unzip" utility, download the WinZip for Windows 95 shareware/ evaluation copy for that one time use from _www.winzip.com or _www.pkware.com. Most CD ROMs found in computer magazines, have a shareware version of WinZip on them.

•You should have extracted two files:

Flash BIOS utility eg: flash7265.exe (for example)

BIOS eg: 6152J900.bin (example)

Use the latest flash utility available unless otherwise specified (either on the BIOS update page or in the archive file). This information is usually provided.

C. Upgrade the System BIOS

During boot up, write down the old BIOS version because you will need to use it for the BIOS backup file name.

Place the bootable floppy disk containing the BIOS file and the Flash Utility in drive a, and reboot the system in MS-DOS, preferably Version 6.22

•At the A:> prompt, type the corresponding Flash BIOS utility and the BIOS file with its extension.

For example:

flash625 615j900.bin

•From the Flash Memory Writer menu, select "Y" to "Do you want to save BIOS?" if you want to save (back up) your current BIOS (strongly recommended), then type the name of your current BIOS and its extension after FILE NAME TO SAVE: eg: a:\613J900.bin

Alternatively select "N" if you don't want to save your current BIOS. Beware, though, that you won't be able to recover from a possible failure.

•Select "Y" to "Are you sure to program?"

•Wait until it displays "Message: Power Off or Reset the system"

Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system. If you write to BIOS but cannot complete the procedure, do not switch off, because the computer will not be able to boo, and you will not be given another chance to flash. In this case leave your system on until you resolve the problem (flashing BIOS with old file is a possible solution, provided you've made a backup before)

Make sure the new BIOS version has been loaded properly by taking note of the BIOS identifier as the system is rebooting.

For AMI BIOS
Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system holding the "END" key prior to power on until you enter CMOS setup. If you do not do this the first time booting up after upgrading the BIOS, the system will hang.

BIOS Update Tips
note:
1.Make sure never to turn off or reset your computer during the flash process. This will corrupt the BIOS data. We also recommend that you make a copy of your current BIOS on the bootable floppy so you can reflash it if you need to. (This option is not available when flashing an AMI BIOS).

2. If you have problems installing your new BIOS please check the following:

Have you done a clean boot?
In other words, did you follow the above procedure for making a bootable floppy? This ensures that when booting from "A" there are no device drivers on the diskette. Failing to do a clean boot is the most common cause for getting a "Memory Insufficient" error message when attempting to flash a BIOS.

If you have not used a bootable floppy, insure a clean boot either by

a) pressing F5 during bootup

b) by removing all device drivers on the CONFIG.SYS including the HIMEM.SYS. Do this by using the EDIT command.

Have you booted up under DOS?
Booting in Windows is another common cause for getting a "Memory Insufficient" error message when attempting to flash a BIOS. Make sure to boot up to DOS with a minimum set of drivers. Important: Booting in DOS does not mean selecting "Restart computer in MS-DOS Mode" from Windows98/95 shutdown menu or going to Prompt mode in WindowsNT, but rather following the above procedure (format a: /s and rebooting from a:\).

Have you entered the full file name of the flash utility and the BIOS plus its extension?
Do not forget that often you will need to add a drive letter (a:\) before flashing the BIOS. Example: when asked for file name of new BIOS file which is on your floppy disk, in case you're working from c:\ your will need to type a:\615j900.bin, rather than 615j900.bin only.

AVG Free update cripples Windows 7 64-bit

Demonstrating quite clearly why you should never jump straight on an update the moment it's released, and that good backups are imperative, the latest update to AVG's free antivirus offering prevents Windows 7 64-bit from booting after a forced post-installation reboot cycle. The 271.1.1/3292 (432/3292) definition update, which requires users to reboot their PC after installation, blocks Windows from booting properly and throws up a c0000135 blue screen of death, requiring that you take recovery action.

AVG as you might expect, have promptly pulled the update and included instructions for use of the AVG Rescue CD/USB, which allows you to simply go into the system drive and rename the offending AVG files so they don't play a part in the Windows boot cycle. Of course you could enter into Safe Mode and remove the offending piece of software, and while there, why not install our current favorite free antivirus solution, Microsoft Security Essentials?

Adobe Flash Player 10.2 beta brings greater hardware acceleration

Adobe's pushing hard with hardware acceleration and for good reason: using the GPU takes a serious load off the CPU, which Flash is pretty hard on at the best of times, especially on Mac OS X. Adobe hopes to address those concerns with today's release of Flash 10.2 beta and the arrival of a new feature called Stage Video.

The idea behind Stage Video is that it'll enable hardware acceleration of the whole video rendering pipeline, and as a result, decrease CPU load by up to 85%. If that's not enough to get excited about, Adobe claims that Stage Video will make Flash player best-in-class for playback performance of video, with higher frame rates, reduced memory usage, and higher video quality with greater pixel fidelity. To the end-user Stage Video means faster and smoother video playback on the Web, and most importantly, Flash video will no longer slow your computer to a crawl.

Another addition in the 10.2 update is hardware acceleration support for Internet Explorer 9, which takes advantage of the native acceleration hooks available in IE9 for rendering surfaces. Support for full screen mode with multiple monitors has also been improved, now allowing you to keep video in full screen mode on one monitor while still being able to use the other for something useful rather than a blank, black screen reminiscent of a chalk board. Native custom mouse cursor support has also been integrated into Flash player, which will be useful for mouse-orientated Flash-based games.

Adobe reckons that Stage Video will bring "native video performance" to the desktop, and therefore could be an important step in the war with HTML5 video tagging. Grab the latest beta of Flash player 10.2 for Windows, OS X and Linux from the Adobe beta labs -- and then check out Adobe's Stage Video YouTube demo, which has already begun leveraging the new Flash technology.

Microsoft releases details of the upcoming Silverlight 5

Speaking at the Silverlight Firestarter conference yesterday, Scott Guthrie, the vice president of Microsoft's Developer Division, reassured the masses of Silverlight's future by detailing the exciting new features in Silverlight in 2011.
On the application-development front, there's a ton of exciting new features. Font rendering has been improved (which is no surprise, given Silverlight's new home on the Windows Phone 7), lower-latency networking has been added,immediate mode graphics are now possible (cue some very sexy games and visualizations), and also some improved sandboxing features have been thrown in. Scott mentions better integration with IE9's hardware acceleration, too, but no real details are given.

Top of the bill, media-wise, is GPU-accelerated video decoding (I thought Silverlight 4 already did that?). There's a cool new feature called Trickplay that lets you alter the playback speed of Silverlight videos -- with pitch correction! (I've wanted this feature for so long -- why has Silverlight beaten you to it, Flash?) Finally, there's improved "power awareness," which will stop the screensaver kicking in while a Silverlight video is playing.

Exciting stuff, but we'll have to wait until "the first half of 2011" for the first beta!

Silverlight 5 Speaking at the Silverlight Firestarter conference yesterday, Scott Guthrie, the vice president of Microsoft's Developer Division, reassured the masses of Silverlight's future by detailing the exciting new features in Silverlight in 2011. On the application-development front, there's a ton of exciting new features. Font rendering has been improved (which is no surprise, given Silverlight's new home on the Windows Phone 7), lower-latency networking has been added, immediate mode graphics are now possible (cue some very sexy games and visualizations), and also some improved sandboxing features have been thrown in. Scott mentions better integration with IE9's hardware acceleration, too, but no real details are given. Top of the bill, media-wise, is GPU-accelerated video decoding (I thought Silverlight 4 already did that?). There's a cool new feature called Trickplay that lets you alter the playback speed of Silverlight videos -- with pitch correction! (I've wanted this feature for so long -- why has Silverlight beaten you to it, Flash?) Finally, there's improved "power awareness," which will stop the screensaver kicking in while a Silverlight video is playing. Exciting stuff, but we'll have to wait until "the first half of 2011" for the first beta!