Help!
After many years of being asked for links to stuff on the internet and dolling out that information on post-it notes, the back of business cards or even on napkins, I have decided that this will be the best forum for posting all those links to usefull stuff out there on the internet. To follow is the most requested information.
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A BETTER BROWSER
Everyone should use Mozilla’s Firefox as their primary internet Browser. Due to the fact that it is not as tightly integrated with your operating system, it will provide you with a safer browsing experience.
A BETTER EMAIL
The best free e-mail with benefits I’ve found is GMAIL. In addition to being free, you have access to online software, blogging, photo storage, integration with your Blackberry or iPhone…
FREE ANTIVIRUS:
Yes, you need anti-virus software. The internet is not a safe place. It’s like a seedy bar after midnight. Protect yourself and download AVG’s Free antivirus software. It is better than nothing. The important thing to remember is that you can only be running one antivirus software at a time. You must uninstall any other one that is running before installing a new one. If you are in the market to pay for your software, check out Windows Live One Care. it is not free, but it integrates with windows nicely.
YOU ALREADY HAVE A VIRUS?
Here is a tool that may just save the day… Combofix can fix many of those fake antivirus warning programs… here’s a link to the instructions. This is a specialty tool, but if you need it, it works perfectly.
Here’s a program everyone should use regularly… Malwarebytes software keeps your computer clean of most malware infections. Everyone has some bad software installed, so go to the download link, get it, install it and use it regularly.
ONLINE VIRUS SCANNERS:
Trend Micro has a great online virus scanner called Housecall if you think your infected.
SPEED UP YOUR PC:
Most PC’s slow down over time because your files get scattered about your hard drive… windows has built in defragmentation software, but I like to use a program called JKDefrag. I think it’s more effective and it’s free as well.
PHOTO SOFTWARE:
The best of the breed is Google’s Picasa software. It’s free and will allow you fix, crop, recolor, organize and share your photos with others… If you really like photoshop, try the online express version at photoshop.com. It requires registration and is a new service to compete with google. One that I use on the fly is PIXLR… a cool online photoshop-like application. Well worth checking out.
AUDIO SOFTWARE:
Do you need to edit an audio file? if so, Audacity is your answer. It’s Free software and it just so happens to be one of the best.
VIDEO PLAYER:
Ok, we have all received a video file that we just couldn’t play at one time or another… VLC Media Player seems to play everything. There is also DIVX which has a free player and a snazzy interface.
MOVIE MAKER:
Most versions of windows XP have Windows Movie Maker built in, but there is another free video maker onn the marker… Video Spin by Pinnacle is a free movie editor with the ability to upload directly to YouTube.
GOOGLE:
Google has a great pack of software available for download here… I encourage you to download the pack and pick and choose what you need… Earth, Firefox, Chrome, the aforementioned Picasa, Adobe Reader, Skype, Realplayer… They’re all here!
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