Get the Classic Start Menu back in Windows 8

If you miss the Classic Start Menu from other versions of Windows here is a free solution.

Download StartMenu8 from MajorGeeks

"StartMenu8 is specially designed for Window 8. It offers a perfect solution for users who work with Windows Start Menu all the time and are not accustomed to the new Metro start screen in Windows 8. This smart tool brings back both the start button and Windows Start Menu, and offers the option to skip Metro start page, allowing users who only work on desktop to boot to Windows 8 desktop directly. It’s the best start menu replacement for Windows8.

Features:

More Efficiency and Convenience
StartMenu8 not only brings back the convenient Start Menu to Windows 8, but also allows you to bypass Metro screen on start of Windows 8 and boot to desktop directly.

Easily Switch between Metro and Desktop interface
You can easily switch between two modes by pressing and holding the Windows key, depending on your preference.

Faster Access to Programs and files
StartMenu8 brings back Start Menu where you can get quicker access to programs, documents and files, control panel and settings.

Quicker Searching
Unified and instant Searching for both desktop and Metro apps decreases the time taken in Searching and makes your work more efficient.

Customizable to your needs
You can pin programs to Start Menu and Taskbar for quicker access to your favorite programs. It's easily customizable to have everything you need at just one click.

Safe and Secure
IObit StartMenu8 is safe and secure, and is 100% free of malware.
Copied from http://majorgeeks.com/StartMenu8_d7934.html"

I'm not sure why but it does not run at startup for me like it's supposed to so I just put the .exe in my startup folder to solve that problem. It is v1.0.0 so maybe future updates will show some improvements but I like it as it is so far.

Go to:
C:\Users\{User Name}\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Then Copy/Paste this file into the Startup folder:
C:\Program Files (x86)\IObit\StartMenu8\StartMenu8.exe

App Advisor - Security for your Facebook profile

Before installing an app it's good to know just how much of your personal information it has access to and what it may do with it. App Advisor from Secure.me lets you search a wide variety of Facebook apps to see just how safe they are.

Just visit the App Advisor Homepage, enter the apps name in the search box and then search for it's information page. There you will find information on the apps Permissions, App Behavior and User Ratings including detailed information on how the app has to access your personal data, the apps behavior after connecting and what users think about the app.

An example of when an app reportedly has too much control can be seen on the FarmVille app reputation page.

If you find an app that has too many permissions for your taste you can remove it in your Facebook App Settingspage.

Other App Advisor tools from Secure.me:

• App Advisor Extension for Chrome
• App Advisor Firefox add-on
• secure.me for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

Secure.me also has other Facebook privacy controls including:

• Privacy Control
• Reputation Guard
• Child Safety

How many apps of your have permission to access your private information?

MyPermission.org
 
The title of the web page was enough to get me to have a closed look. “Take 2 Minutes to Clean Your Apps Permissions” which lists some popular applications and sites in which we may have granted permission to get access to your personal information. Google, Twitter, Facebook and more.

Any application that has permission to get access to your personal information in your profile on different websites potentially puts that information at risk on being stolen or “Phished.” Facebook for example could put your friends’ information at risk as well.

MyPermissions doesn’t ask for your personal information or login details. You simply fill out that information once you arrive at the services website. Then you can easily revoke access from the permissions page.

MyPermissions will also let you sign up for a monthly email reminder to check your apps permissions helping you keep your private information your own. The email reminder will come at the first of every month.

Head over to MyPermission.org and tighten up your security. It’s quick, easy and you and your friends will be thankful.

Alternative Windows Desktop Search Tools

The built in Windows Search, formerly known as Windows Desktop Search (WDS), is a nice feature on Windows computers for easily locating files and folders that you may not know the exact location of. However the built in search can be slow and doesn't always find what you know is there.

Third party Windows search tools offer more robust features and some have add-ons.

• Everything Search Engine
• Everything Search Engine FAQ

• Find and Run Robot (FARR)
• FARR Features You Should Know About
• FARR Add-ons

• Wise JetSearch
• Wise JetSearch Help Center

DocFetcher searches inside your document files! Find yourself looking through tons of documents? Try DocFetcher, a search tool that only searches for documents and text inside of documents saving you time.

• DocFetcher Downloads (also a portable version)
• DocFetcher Homepage and usage

Supported Document Formats: Microsoft Office (doc, xls, ppt), Microsoft Office 2007 and newer (docx, xlsx, pptx, docm, xlsm, pptm), Microsoft Outlook (pst), OpenOffice.org (odt, ods, odg, odp, ott, ots, otg, otp), Portable Document Format (pdf), HTML (html, xhtml, …), Plain text (customizable), Rich Text Format (rtf), AbiWord (abw, abw.gz, zabw), Microsoft Compiled HTML Help (chm), Microsoft Visio (vsd), Scalable Vector Graphics (svg)

One limitation of DocFetcher is that it requires the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to be installed on the computer.

Extra note: If you have forgotten the name of the file or folder you are looking for, using the above search tools, you can type in a partial search term and search. Doing so will still list all of the files and folders containing those letters or numbers.

Stolen Camera Finder – find your photos, find your camera

Stolen Camera Finder - This is a pretty cool service that allows users to search the Internet for images taken and uploaded by a possibly stolen camera. Stolen Camera Finder uses the serial number stored in a photo to search the web for photos taken with the same camera. That said, there are limitations like the image must be a valid jpeg file.

Though if you know the serial number, you can still run a manual search, or a look at the map and submit a report.

For photos to show up, they not only have to have embedded data, but also must be posted somewhere like Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, or any public site. You must register at the website for 1 free search. More than 1 search requires a premium payment. Each service has options with the paid services having many more options than the free service.

• The Free account allows 1 free search. 
• The Pro account with a cost of £4.99 each month (around 8 US dollars) and you then get 100 searches per month. 
• The Business account is £99.99 each month (around $162 US dollars) for unlimited searches per month.  

Stolen Camera Finder Homepage

• EDIT: Since posting this I have found another service called Camera Trace and it appears to be the same except for pricing. They are wanting $10 per camera or around £7.

Moved to WordPress

I have moved my work to WordPress. I will still keep this blog online but any new postings will be located at http://evilfantasy.wordpress.com

Thanks to everyone who has visited me here and please stop by the new blog and check it out.

Kevin.

UPDATE: I'm now moving back to Blogger. Had a good run at Wordpress and I still keep thet blog active but I'm more interested in Blogger right now.

Thanks for visiting!

Kevin

EULAlyzer 2.0 released!

Javacool Software EULAlyzer 2.0

Making EULAs Easy
Discover if the software you're about to install displays pop-up ads, transmits personally identifiable information, uses unique identifiers to track you, or much much more. EULAlyzer can analyze license agreements in seconds, and provide a detailed listing of potentially interesting words and phrases.

EULAlyzer 2.0 Release Notes

* Faster performance (especially when scanning and saving EULAs)
* An improved “Capture Text” method, that automatically gets out of your way
* Enhancements to EULA-Watch to support more installers
* User-specific settings and Saved EULA databases
* Runs great on low-privilege accounts (no more occasional permissions errors if running on XP or Vista with a limited/Standard user account)
* Interface improvements
* Full Vista compatibility

This release also packages numerous additional bug fixes, including:
-FIX: Occasional problems submitting EULAs to the EULA Research Center
-FIX: Top program title incorrectly changes text color based on custom windows themes
-FIX: Occasional crashes with additional right-click options in My Saved EULAs
-FIX: It was possible to select multiple EULAs in the My Saved EULAs list
-FIX: Some program functions were not compatible with low-privilege user accounts
-FIX: Vista compatibility enhancements (numerous, including fixes for easily capturing license agreements)
-FIX: All white-space is now removed from beginning + ending of input text, to ensure consistent duplicate detection and analysis

Easily manage multiple Gmail accounts

The Gmail Manager FireFox extention allows you to manage multiple Gmail accounts and receive new mail notifications. Displays your account details including unread messages, saved drafts, spam messages, labels with new mail, space used, and new mail snippets.

If you have multiple Gmail accounts then you know checking them can be a pain with signing in and signing out. The Gmail Manager FireFox add-on lets you manage all your Gmail accounts from within your browser. After installing it and configurating your accounts in the preferences, you will see Gmail Manager in the status bar in the bottom-right corner of the browser window. Mouse over it for a pop-up listing your newest messages. Click it to open Gmail in the new tab or right click it to select a different account. Gmail Manager has other options you can tweak such as new email notifications, a numeric unread e-mail count, and will show “snippest” of mail as well as allowing you to add any WAV sound to alert you of new mail. It does everthing you could want short of actually reading your e-mail for you.

Livedrive - Unlimited online storage

Edit: Since posting this I have recieved an email from the LiveDrive team. After beta the service will no longer be free.

How much will the service cost after the beta?
Livedrive is free to use during our beta period. The beta period is a chance for you to give us your feedback about our service and for us to ensure any problems with the service are found before we “go live” in January 2009. After the go-live date Livedrive will be available in two editions with prices ranging from approximately £40 per annum for the standard version to £200 per annum for the business version. Both editions will include unlimited storage.

Livedrive is an online storage service that offers two advantages over most services in this space:

1. Unlimited file storage
2. Integration with Windows Explorer

When you install Livedrive (and reboot your computer), you'll notice an L drive show up in Windows Explorer. To copy files to the service, just drag and drop them to the L drive. You can also upload and download files through a web-based interface. And once your files are online you'll be able to access them from any computer using the web client.

Thanks to the Windows Explorer integration, you could easily use LiveDrive as an offsite backup tool like Carbonite or Mozy. Just install your favorite file backup utility and point it to the L drive.

Livedrive is free while in beta, but I have a feeling the company will probably start charging a fee when the beta ends.

Credit to Lifehacker

What is link bait?

I went looking for the definition to link bait and as usual I found a Wikipedia article on it. As with everything related to a computer there are good and bad uses for link bait. I'm sure many web site owners would argue that it is essential to creating a successful web site or blog as it increases traffic. This is true but I also encourage anyone who is link baiting to be careful not to get too caught up and start creating link fodder. Getting people to your site is half of the battle. Keeping them there is the victory. In other words, don't send them away as soon as they walk in the door.

The entire article involves much more then I have here but here are the types of link bait according to Wikipedia.

Wikipedia - Methods of website linking

Types of link bait

Although there are no clear-cut subdivisions within link bait, many attempt to divide them into types of hooks. This is a short list of some of the most common approaches with brief descriptions:

• Informational hooks - Provide information that a reader may find very useful. Some rare tips and tricks or any personal experience through which readers can benefit.
• News hooks - Provide fresh information and obtain citations and links as the news spreads.
• Humor hooks - Tell a funny story or a joke. A bizarre picture of your subject or mocking cartoons can also prove to be link bait.
• Evil hooks - Saying something unpopular or mean may also yield a lot of attention. Writing about something that is not appealing about a product or a popular blogger. Provide strong reasons for it.
• Tool hooks - Create some sort of tool that is useful enough that people link to it.
• Widgets hooks - A badge or tool, that can be placed or embedded on other websites, with a link included.

Glubble Web Browser for Families

Glubble turns the Internet into a fun, educational, secure and social experience for the entire family. With this free add-on for Firefox your children can explore, play and enjoy thousands of fun games, color pages, interactive exercises, audio books and puzzles – all easily pre-approved by you. As a parent you create your own private Family Page where you can send messages to your children, add grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, upload photos, monitor and support your children’s online activities as well as organize your busy family life. It doesn’t matter where you are: once registered your homepage is accessible from every computer!

Glubble Homepage

Learn how your family can play, discover, share and learn together. Just click play to watch a quick video tour…and then join Glubble for free!

WOT Web of Trust Internet Security

Free Internet Security. WOT warns you about risky websites.

WOT is a free Internet security addon for your browser. It will keep you safe from online scams, identity theft, spyware, spam, viruses and unreliable shopping sites. WOT warns you before you interact with a risky website. It's easy and it's free.

Surf safer and protect your computer. Add WOT to your Firefox or Internet Explorer browser now!

To get the most out of WOT you should register. After you register you have access to our full range of features.

• Create a user profile
• Write comments on the WOT scorecard
• Participate in the forum and blog

Register now

WOT Homepage

WOT Demo