Sometime earlier this year, our cable internet service at Adelphia was bought out and taken over by RoadRunner. This change-over has not always meant smooth sailing for us. We've had to deal with service outages, changing our email addresses, and billing issues.
Other than that, I can't complain too much. Most of the time it works and even though I pay too much, I'm happy to have high speed internet. I'd be really sad if I had to switch back to dial-up.
When we first started using the RR service, my wife and I tried out their free offering of EZ Armor security suite. Neither of us liked it much and it caused my wife's PC all kinds of problems. Now they've come out with another offer. The CA Internet Security Suite 2007 is published by the same folks that gave us the EZ Armor system. Has it improved? I had to find out.
The download and install went off without problems. The suite is very nice looking and has complete coverage of your basic home security needs. It offers Anti-virus, Ant-Spyware, Anti-Spam and a Firewall.
After I installed it and went through the settings that I wanted, I noticed that it now took twice as long to boot my PC. Arrrrrrgh!
Shortly after I discovered that, I got the first Blue Screen of Death that I've ever gotten on this PC. I've had this PC for over a year and have never had software misbehave so badly. More BSODs followed occasionally of the next two days. I'd had enough and I uninstalled it.
I cannot recommend this suite, but I'm sure there are folks out there who love this suite and have no problems. All I can say is that I wish them the best of luck.
Thanks to RichK at CHC for reminding me about this suite.
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Road Runner is offering free antivirus and firewall software to protect High Speed Internet customers' computers.
Road Runner subscribers can use Computer Associates Internet Security Suite 2007 antivirus and firewall desktop security suite at no charge for as long as they subscribe to Road Runner's Internet service.
Combining award-winning antivirus technology with industrial-strength firewall protection, CA's Internet Security Suite 2007 is designed to dramatically improve the safety of individual home PC use and greatly limit the proliferation of Internet threats. It normally retails for $69.95.
Every now and then I try a new firewall. I saw this one and just had to try it. PC Tools is normally thought of as being one of the top providers of Anti-Spyware applications. Have you ever heard of SpywareDoctor?
This is a new offering from PC Tools and I didn't expect it to be as good as I have found it. So far, it reminds me of older versions of ZoneAlarm. It's easy to install and easy to use. I can't speak about how good it's protection is, but I'm certain that I am better off with this firewall than I am by using only the Windows default firewall. Please comment below if you have more info on this free firewall.
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New smart Application Rules
PC Tools Firewall Plus now incorporates a set of new smart application rules, designed to make it simpler and easier for you to continue working with minimal interference from your Firewall.
Technically, using the Application Rules within PC Tools Firewall Plus, you can create a heuristic set of rules that control how applications are allowed to connect to the Internet/network and their permissions on your PC. If an application attempts to connect to the Internet/network and there are no corresponding rules, Firewall Plus will allow you to choose how the application should behave.
Stealth Mode protection
Firewall Plus provides you with extra protection via its Stealth Mode feature which enables your system to appear invisible to other computers in the network. When in Stealth Mode, your computer is able to make connections to other computers in the network, but Firewall Plus will prevent other computers from connecting with yours.
Data validation using SPI – stateful packet inspection
Firewall Plus offers extra protection by validating all attempts to access your computer when connected to the internet. No data is permitted to transfer unless if has first been validated by Firewall Plus.
Firewall Plus validates data using SPI – stateful packet inspection – in which it performs a protocol handshake and if successful allows data transfer, otherwise all traffic is blocked - ensuring no unauthorised data is transferred onto your computer.
Application protection
Firewall Plus offers additional application protection by guarding all the applications on your PC from unauthorized access. Enabling this option will shield applications on your system from other applications attempting to take control of them and potentially use them for malicious purposes.
After recently trying out a security suite that I didn't like, I was temporarily out looking for free anti-virus tools to use. I ended up choosing AntiVir, but while I was looking, I found that one of the top ranked security vendors has a free AV client.
Be aware that this tool does not include active protection. It should only be used as a second layer of anti-virus defense.
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BitDefender Free Edition is your chance to use one of the world's most effective antivirus engines for free!
BitDefender Free Edition uses the same ICSA Labs certified scanning engines found in other BitDefender products, allowing you to enjoy basic virus protection for no cost at all.
BitDefender Free Edition is an on-demand virus scanner, which is best used in a system recovery or forensics role. If you are on an "always-on" Internet connection, we strongly advise you to consider using a more complex antivirus solution.
Virus scanning and removal
On demand scanning - Powerful scan engines ensure detection and removal of all viruses in the wild every time you need it.
Scheduled scanning
The Scheduler lets you plan ahead, and schedule full system/drive scans in the off hours, when you won’t be using your computer.
Immediate scanning
With just a right click you can check your files and folders.
Skinable interface
You can express yourself, designing new interfaces, or you can use those drawn by others.
Quarantine
By isolating the infected files in quarantine, the risk of getting infected diminishes. You also have the possibility to send these files for further analysis to BitDefender Labs.
Reports
When launching a scan you may choose to create a report file where you can see statistics about the scan process.
I've had mixed results with add-ons for Explorer, the Windows file manager. Some of them have caused me a bit of trouble, but some of them can be very useful.
I saw the features for QT TabBar and I had to try it out. It's a keeper for me. My favorite features are the image preview when you hover over an image or text file, the pop-up folder expansions and the inline folder searches. Very cool ...
Most people would think that the main feature, adding tabs to your Explorer would be the best of the features. I'm not so sure about that after using it awhile.
Customizable Tabs: the program options give you a significant degree of control over how the tabs are presented and what they look like.
Folder Favorites: called ’groupings’. You can create a single ’favorites’ entry for a a group of folders that you can use to open these together. You can access your ’favorites’ through the “QT TabBar standard buttons” which can be displayed within the explorer toolbar.
Preview tips: hovering over a number of file types creates a little preview window, including text files and images.
Subfolder tips: a little arrow becomes visible under folders that can be clicked on in order to navigate/preview the directory tree structure within it (you can optionally also view files within the tree structure not just folders - see screenshot). This is one of my favorite features, although I might also mention that, in my experience, navigating through a lengthy tree of folders containing many files caused the program to become rather slow and unresponsive.
Launcher for applications: from within windows explorer folder. Drag an app icon to the QT TabBar toolbar and it will give you the option to save it a ’favorite’ that you can easily access from within the the toolbar.
Folder memo: i.e. the ability to create a note that is attached to any of your folders. This is similar to HOBComment except it does not support files and the memo cannot be displayed as a column within the ’details’ view. Noted are stored in a centralized location and the folder has to be deleted manually if you uninstall the program (see the enclosed manual).
Installation: see the enclosed html manual for instructions (very simple process).
Hotkeys: every single function that this program offers can be controlled using hotkeys. Run the “QTShortcutKeyEditor.exe” executable (included in the download) in order to customize these.
Recently visited: maintains history of visited folders that can be used to quickly go back to any folder you were recently working with.
Password protect folder: works well but does not survive terminating the program and/or uninstalling it.
Other functions: quite a number of these including windows transparency settings, a search box within explorer toolbar, keep folder topmost, locking a folder, copy path to clipboard, and others.
Last week I mentioned an article from Gizmo which describes how to use the built in file comment feature in XP. At the end of the article he mentions a freeware tool for adding comments by right clicking on a file or folder.
The standard method of adding comments to a file requires several steps and this is a great shortcut.
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What is HobComment ?
It's a little extension for your Microsoft Explorer. It permits to add/edit comments for each one of your directories.
On your NTFS partitions, you can add/edit comments for each files too.
with Clickster you can Rip and Download any of the 110 million MP3's
hosted there by over six-million bands.
Security Fixes
Some customers have reported in earlier versions that, ocassionally
advertising popups appeared during the MP3 validation process, served
by the MP3 hosting site. This flaw in Clickster has now been fixed.
Improved Interface
The display of Search Results has been totally re-written. When the
Search Process is in operation the 'Jolly Roger' icon is animated.
Improved Search Process
Large parts of the search process and results reporting have been
re-written, providing even more quality results.
New File Download Feature
The file download feature has been totally re-written. It is now
possible to download multiple mp3's at the same time (currently up to
three) and where a file is found to reside on more than one server,
the download is called from multiple locations, making for much faster
download speeds. Finally, customers can now download mp3's even while
the search process is running.
Best wishes from England Clif for a good weekend.
Rob
Robert Palmer
Author - Clickster
Review from Bluepwrdup:
Clickster 1.10
remlapsoftware
License (Freeware - donation for Pro version)
File Size: 1.72 Mb
What is Clickster ? The answer to this question is simple. Clickster is a safe and legal option for searching and downloading Mp3 music files from the Internet without the negative impact of being prosecuted by the ruthless RIAA ( Recording Industry Association of America ). The RIAA is currently engaged in the business of tracking down P2P users who share illegal music files. The RIAA is determined to spank the P2P / BitTorrent network into submission - making peoples lives miserable with their hard core anti-piracy practices. According to the RIAA, get caught downloading material that is protected under the copyright infringement act and you will face the music in court.
( pun-intended )
There are literally tons of Mp3's already available on the Internet - it's just a matter of locating them. This tidy StandAlone application performs it's magic by searching the net for Mp3 files employing several databases, Altavista and a couple of smaller search engines to find Mp3's that are indexed in the "http communications protocol." The developer plans on incorporating Google in future build releases. A little known fact, Google has more Mp3's indexed than all the P2P networks combined.
Out of concern over the legal aspects, I contacted the developer questioning the legalities involved using this software and how the RIAA would respond when they catch wind of the 'Clickster'.
This is what he had to say :
"I am expecting some grief from the RIAA and their partners in the UK and Europe over Clickster. But with there being nothing illegal passe within Clickster, it's difficult to see what, if anything they can do to me...except threaten and moan. Current legislation both within in the States and Europe does not make provision for it to be illegal to download copyrighted material...if it was then every user of YouTube would be breaking the law whenever they access a pop-video. It's the sharing/distribution of material which is illegal and while I guess a few webmasters could be prosecuted for hosting mp3 files, that's about it. The RIAA currently attempts to block the Ports used by BitTorrent and P2P networks, Clickster uses Port 80. As I'm sure you are aware, Port 80 is the main Internet traffic port and blocking this results in a total block of all Internet traffic, which is obviously not an option." Point well taken - my emphasis.
If the RIAA wants to put an end to downloading they will have to destroy the Internet altogether, and that's highly improbable. Being a musician myself, I have seen the music industry heading in the wrong direction for years. I will spare you the torture of going into great lengths babbling about my own personal views regarding the recording industries despicable (shameful) treatment of the artist and their fans. I will say this, the RIAA is a depository of the greediest people known to mankind. They have in effect given the artist a bad name. The wave of upcoming artist's are taking a new novel approach by eliminating the middleman. By promoting a few tasty numbers as free downloads, if the music enthusiast likes what they hear, they will buy the CD. Enough rambling on my part. I'm supposed to be writing a review.
Comparing 'Clickster' to some high profile P2P programs you will find that it is so easy to use it's ridiculous. Once you have it installed, it loads up with a simple uncomplicated user-interface. No difficult settings to deal with. No exposure to infected files that are all to common in the illegal P2P file sharing realm.
To use 'Clickster' you simply type in the artist, a genre, song title, a phrase and a list of tracks will be generated. I wanted to see what would show up for Frank Sinatra. To my surprise there were over forty tags of his most popular songs. All of the songs I downloaded were high quality. To be on the safe side all tracks were scanned for infections - no threats were detected. By clicking on the mp3 track location button the URL will be displayed. You can download the files directly or you can listen to them through the interface player by double clicking on the song name. Note: in order for the player to function properly you will need the latest Internet Explorer Macromedia flash player plugin installed.
Note: Nagware included to update to Pro version. The author will gladly take donations. I asked what would be the least amount he would accept.
Here's the reply I received :
"With regard to donations, I'll pretty much accept anything. That said, anything less than $3 actually costs me money to process. When I first embarked upon this bizarre payment schedule for Clickster-Pro, friends said I was crazy and would never receive a payment in excess of $1. While that happened a couple of times and worse, two people have so far sent me 1 cent, the vast majority have been fair and generous. As long as I get enough money to pay for the hosting and bandwidth charges, I'm a happy man."
"Most software developers seem to come from an angle which almost seems to assume that all customers are thieves; looking to rip off them and their software. I prefer to assume that the majority of users as honest people and concentrate my efforts into making better software, rather than ensuring I milk every last cent."
"As for kids, who are not old enough to hold a PayPal account or people living in parts of the world not recognised by PayPal, I give away free copies of Clickster-Pro upon receiving their email."
All in all, Clickster is a spiffy little program that performed well. The author is a down to earth individual. I'm sure he wouldn't mind hearing from you if you have any questions relating to the usage of "Clickster'. If you think it's morally wrong or illegal to download music files, then don't do it. The controversial issues surrounding the downloading of Mp3's is meant to make you paranoid by design. Just keep in mind that if you decide to download, I encourage you to please go out and purchase other music CD's created by your favorite artist's or go see them perform live. Happiness is a two way street - if ya catch my drift.
Every now and then someone asks me for free Macintosh software. Here's a tip that I found at LifeHacker. Now all I need is a Mac to try them on.
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Rebuild Your Mac with 20 Useful Downloads
Mac OS X only: So you erased your hard drive to install Leopard, and now you've got to load your Mac up with all your essential software. I kept a detailed inventory of the downloads I hunted down all over the internet to load on my Mac this weekend, so I thought I'd save you a few clicks. Here's a list of 20 (mostly) free apps with direct links to their download pages.
Flock is a web browser that was developed to make social networking and blogging easier. A couple of years ago, I tried out the Flock browser's first beta release. Since then their progress toward an alpha or final release has seemed as slow as molasses to those who want to use it.
They have recently released another version which is still beta, but somebody sure likes it. Maybe it's ready now ...
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Two years ago, when the Flock people started talking about the notion of a social browser, they might have been a little ahead of their time. Today, the whole dang Web has a heavy social bent, and this current version of Flock is significantly different and better than the one I tried back in 2005.
A few of the features that make Flock a strikingly different browser from IE, plain-vanilla Firefox, or Opera.
Gary at Internet Fixes continues to amaze me with hundreds and thousands of tips for your PC. Whatever your operating system, or how you use it, a visit to Gary's site will soon have you saying "So that's how you do this!".
2. Hi, having installed XP again I see the icons on the desktop are bigger than they used to be and the start bar seems about 1/3 or so deeper than before.
Here's a great web service if you like to listen to blogs instead of read them. There are lots of audio blogs to choose from: business, comedy, internet, movies, music, news, politics, productivity, science, sex, spirituality, sports, technology, television ... and more.
You can listen to them from your account at Odeo online, or you can download them as MP3 files and listen to them on your MP3 player.
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Millions of MP3s and 1000's of audio channels—podcasts, music, and more. Listen, download, subscribe... FREE
Virus May Be the Cause of Bee Disappearance - NPR's Science Friday
Downloadpedia is a web-based, free content software encyclopedia project. Downloadpedia is written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world. Its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the Internet.
I often feel the urge to sign up for new free web services. I call this web2omania (web-TOO-oh-may-ni-a), and it can lead to inbox overflow. I signed up a few weeks ago for a service called Squidoo that lets you create and share wiki-blog-sites that are called Lenses.
This week, I found a Lens called "words-and-phrases-that-should-exist". Below are a few of the wacky words I found there. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
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Warning. Danger.
If you're a copywriter or proofreader, I can take no responsibility for the skin-crawling itchy uncomfortable sensation that will crawl up the back of your neck, as you encounter the contents. You've been warned.
coblaborative (adj.)
Pron: co-bla-buh-ray-tiv
A group or committee venture spending the majority of its time together in nonproductive argument.
wackutorial
Pron: wah-kew-toh-re-ul
Unintelligible operating or assembly instructions.
blatherskype
Pron: BLA-thur-skIp
One who monopolizes VOIP or other internet telephone conversations.
algorbic
Pron: al-gor-bik
Delusional, convinced of the reality of fantasy. Overwhelmed with the desire to speak nonsense.
blofuddle
Pron: bloh-fuh-duhl
To publish a blog entry that appears completely factual while being completely fictional.
I just ran across a handy service called senduit, conceived and operated by David Karp, the guy behind Tumblr (also a cool idea, sort of between Twitter and Blogger, if you haven’t seen it). Anyway, David’s into minimalism when it comes to Web services, and I love it.
COOLSITES is a list of safe, fun, useful, informative and just plain cool websites and programs that are FREE, FREE and FREE. All of the programs and websites I list are free. If I list anything that is so good but isn't free I will list the price with it.
You need a free 2.8 GB Gmail account to access many of the cool features at Google. After more than two years in beta testing Gmail is open to the public. Just go to http://gmail.com and sign up for an account.
I think Gmail works best in the awesome Firefox browser. It's free, easy to use, and it's way more secure than Internet Explorer. My favorite thing to do is to customize Firefox so that it does much more than IE ever could. You can select new button controls for your toolbars, install extensions to add new features, or change the look of your browser with themes - the way Firefox looks and works is under your control.
Wow! Over 800 people and still growing! I invite all of you to record your locations on this map. You can include as little or as much information as you wish. I think you'll enjoy seeing yourself there.
Here's a small look at my frapper map.
Write your own review
I get many of the reviews in the newsletter from the readers. You don't have to be a genius or computer guru. Just answer a few questions and send me a review. I'll probably put you in the newsletter.
What do you have to say?
Just tell me what article you are talking about and leave me your comment.
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Quote from Bill:
Source - 
Source - 
