Maximum PC Load Letter #37: How to Properly Benchmark Your PC, Customize Your Desktop

Issue 037 Ahoy! This week, we're in process of overhauling our system benchmarks. This is no easy task, and we've had long discussions about what programs to use in the new benchmarking suite, what media source files to test, and how to future-proof our benchmarks so they'll be relevant a year or two from now. We're also updating our zero-point machine to be more representative of a current top-tier rig. We're not ready to release the specs for the zero point yet, but the picture to your right will give you some clues as to what will be included. Benchmarking is one of those enthusiast skills that borders on science and art, and we wanted to make sure that you're able to replicate our benchmarking process on your own machines. That's why we've posted a huge feature on proper benchmarking technique, including recommended free tools that you can download. In the coming weeks, we'll also be posting our benchmarking source files on the website, so be on the lookout for that! As always, shoot me an email if you have any comments! Please Digg our stories, and be sure to become a fan of our Facebook group to qualify for giveaways! We've also launched a TechMart, where you can buy special issues of Maximum PC. Norman Chan Online Editor, Maximum PC How to Properly Benchmark Your PC -- To casual observers, PC builders who fixate on benchmarks are geeks unable to see the forest from the trees. "Why," they ask, "can't you just enjoy your new computer and let it be?" Our answer: the difference between a person who cares about benchmarking and one who doesn't is how much that person values their free time. To care about benchmark is to care about performance. And to care about performance is to care about having more free time on your hand. But you shouldn't just download any benchmarking tool to run--there's a right and wrong way to benchmark your machine if you want to get meaningful results. We'll teach you proper benchmarking techniques and how to interpret your results. Read on to learn how to benchmark the Maximum PC way. If you like this story, please help us by Digging it! How-To: Properly Apply Thermal Paste and Install a CPU -- Building a PC is a many-step process, but one in particular stands out as being intimidating to first-timers: properly mounting a CPU and cooler. Why? Because, generally speaking, that one little cpu chip is simultaneously the smallest, most delicate, and most expensive part of your system. Mount the cooler wrong, or improperly apply the thermal paste and you're looking at (at best) a drop in performance and system crashes, or (at worst) a $200 disaster.But don't worry! It's actually not terribly hard to install a new CPU, as long as you know what you're doing. And so that you do know what you're doing, we've put together a quick primer on installing a new CPU. 12 Best Rainmeter Skins to Deck Out Your Desktop -- From Google Desktop to the Windows Sidebar introduced in Vista, there have been several attempts to integrate our online life onto our desktop. But none of them come close to Rainmeter, a totally customizable platform for decking out your desktop with a variety of useful applets that can stand prominently in the foreground or blend into the background. Rainmeter isn't at all difficult to use, but there is an initial learning curve as you come to understand just how powerful this unassuming app really is. On the following pages, we'll guide you through the setup process and show you the ins and outs of using Rainmeter. We'll also highlight the 12 best skins out of the hundreds that are available to give you a head start on decking out your desktop like never before. How-To: Create Custom Windows Shortcuts with AutoHotkey-- Think about all the time you spend in front on your PC. Are you being efficient? Here's a better question: Are you being as efficient as you can be? The simple answer is 'No.' Every time you lift your fingers off your keyboard to navigate Windows, you're wasting time. Sure, it only takes a few seconds to drag your mouse cursor over to the Firefox icon or to navigate the Start menu to open up the Control Panel, and while none of that sounds like a big deal, it all adds up over time, be it a week, a month, or a year. The reason Microsoft includes so many shortcuts in Windows is so you can streamline these little time wasters, but these preset hotkeys will only take you so far. That's where AutoHotkey comes in, a lightweight but powerful app that allows you to create keyboard shortcuts for any Windows program. Here are a few tricks to get you started. White Paper: Rechargeable Batteries -- Batteries are everywhere. They're in our phones, mice, cars, laptops, game machines, controllers, remotes, cameras-you name it. Battery technology influences the design, capabilities, and feature set of nearly everything portable, from laptops and cell phones to hybrid and electric vehicles. Most of the batteries in our lives are rechargeable, and our more eco-aware world is quickly replacing standard alkaline AA and AAA batteries with rechargeable equivalents. Still, few people know how all these batteries work or how to best take care of them. We're going to focus on common rechargeable battery types, but before we get into that we should cover a few basics about how batteries work and go over common terms. Mass Effect 2 Lian Li Tyr PC-X1000 Dell UltraSharp U2410 24-inch Display Intel DP55KG Synology DS409+ NAS Trendnet TEW-639GR Wireless Router Scythe Kabuto Verizon MiFi 2200 Freeware Files: 5 Add-ons for Ultimate Email Tweaking! Whether your inbox gets flooded with messages like the Nile during rainy season, or it's barren as one of those outback wastelands that Bear Grylls likes to visit, you probably aren't using your email client of choice to its fullest potential. That's ok. Neither was I before undertaking the research for this week's open-source and freeware roundup. But now that I have seen the light, as it were, I would never go back to the ol' vanilla installations of Outlook, Thunderbird, Gmail, or whatever one's particular email utility of choice happens to be.  There are just too many interesting ways to tweak and alter the normal email experience to better enhance your ability to read, organize, and shuffle your messages. That's kind of "the big point" of the roundup this week--making your email work better for you. No BS Podcast #128: By the Time You Read these Lines, I'll be Gone No need to rub your eyes--it's true. The No BS Podcast has finally come back after a long Winter hiatus. The first podcast episode of 2010 is also a bittersweet one, as it marks Will's last as host of the show (though he may return occasionally as a special guest). But life goes on, and we'll be bringing other familiar staff voices to join the podcast, including Nathan and Alex. In this episode, however, we discuss CES, Google butting heads with China, and our thoughts on this year's new technology trends. AMD's Desktop Roadmap Through 2011 Revealed The Asian press got a sneak preview of AMD's processor roadmap at the launch event for the new Phenom II and Athlon II chips. It's no secret that AMD has been lagging behind rival Intel, but if the slides are to be believed, AMD could still come back. It looks like AMD plans to release the "Leo" platform later this year with a 6-core 45nm process. This would be in competition with Intel's Clarkdale CPUs at 32nm. The Leo is slated to be replaced with the 32nm Scorpius platform in 2011. This platform would apparently be equipped with a "next-generation discrete graphics solution", Bulldozer Zambezi CPU, and up to eight cores. We will also see the mid-range Lynx platform in 2011 with "next-generation integrated graphics". Could this be what happened to Fusion? Google Sneaks into Apple's Walled Garden with Web-based Google Voice App With no end in sight for Apple's ridiculously long review of the Google Voice app for the iPhone, the search engine heavyweight decided to single-handedly break the deadlock. A web-based Google Voice app for the iPhone and Palm's Web OS platform is Google's repartee to Apple's delaying tactics. The HTML 5 app can be accessed from the phone's browser. This being an HTML 5 app, it is more advanced than the existing browser-based version for mobile phones. The two companies have been on the warpath ever since last July, when Google claimed that Apple had refused to admit its Google Voice app to the App Store. Although Apple had categorically denied rejecting the app back then, Google Voice is yet to earn its approval. Another HP Slate Video Surfaces, Still No Release Date We know you're anxious to learn all about Apple's upcoming tablet, and you will, but not until tomorrow morning when Steve Jobs plans to announce "a major new product that we're really excited about." So even though it might be pretty poor timing on HP's part, there's a new video making the rounds on the Web in which Phil McKinney, CTO of HP's Personal Systems Group, answers a few questions about his company's upcoming HP Slate. Most of the video deals with the Slate's background and history, and we learn that HP first began working the tablet concept five years ago "around the concept of an e-reader platform." Based in part on user feedback requesting rich media content, the initial concept evolved into the Slate, McKinney says. Is the Google Toolbar Tracking Your Browsing Even When You Tell it Not to? No means no, except when Google decides it doesn't? This might be the case, according to Benjamin Edelman, who says that Google's Toolbar not only tracks your every browsing move when you've authorized it to, but it also continues to track you when you tell it not to. Edelman tells us that when enhanced features are enabled in the Google Toolbar, the URL for all websites visited are sent to Google. In return, Google adds some additional information, such as "PageRank", "Related Sites", and "Sidewiki" to the Toolbar. That's to be expected. But, when the "Disable Google Toolbar only for this window" option is selected, or if the Google Toolbar is disabled using the "Manage Add-Ons" option, URLs are still sent to Google for processing. Google acknowledges this, but says that URLs are no longer sent after the browser is reset. Edelman points out this requirement is meaningless for the first scenario, and that Google provides no warning of the necessity of a reset for the second.

Gizmo's Best-ever Freeware"

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Free Music Player, Organizer, Tagger and More Posted: 25 Jan 2010 06:02 PM PST Our editor Jojo stumbled on this freebie and it's creating quite a buzz. It's a free music player, organizer cum tag editor, rich in features, with a plain, simple yet highly configurable user interface, allowing album arts and lyrics to be displayed alongside the music files played or selected.

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TechnoPets: Even our Animals are Going High Tech

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Vol. 10, #4 - Jan 26, 2010 - Issue #414  TechnoPets: Even our Animals are Going High Tech Editor's Corner TechnoPets: Even our Animals are Going High Tech Follow-up: Unofficial Tech Supporters, Unite Quotes of the Week Cool Tools Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without News, Hints, Tips and Tricks Prolonging the life of your XP computer Which web browser(s) will survive? Hackers target Microsoft forensics software Love those Bing images? How To: Using XP Features How to turn your display back right-side up XP Security News Emergency Patch for IE flaw released XP Question Corner Can I keep documents from being changed? XP Configuration and Troubleshooting Error message with network printer Change the default icons for folders in XP Fav Links This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff Product of the Week WhiteSmoke Writer 2010: Advanced Writing Check Software for Error-Free Writing! Shop Online Securely, Protected By VIPRE Protect yourself from cyber thieves during this online shopping season. VIPRE protects you against today's highly complex malware threats including viruses, adware, spyware and rootkits. And it does not hog your PC resources like many traditional (free) antivirus products. Make online purchases with confidence, Get VIPRE! http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-VIPRE  Editor's Corner TechnoPets: Even our Animals are Going High Tech Most households in the U.S., and in many other countries, include four-legged members. The 2007 Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook reported that there were over 72 million pet dogs and nearly 82 million pet cats in this country alone. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Pet-Ownership-Stats We love our animal friends, and it's no wonder. They provide companionship and entertainment, while asking for very little in return. And we now know there are proven health benefits, in addition to the psychological benefits, of living with pets. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Pet-Health-Ins And we're not about to give them up. People may be sacrificing their big cars, shivering or freezing in their homes, and throwing away their printers to "go green," but when it comes to our furry friends, we draw the line. A recent New Zealand study that suggests pets are "twice as damaging to the environment as a four-wheel drive vehicle" was met with responses indicating that's just too bad and readers will do "pretty much anything" to keep their pets: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Environment-n-Pets What does this have to do with technology? Just as other aspects of our lives have been affected by computers and other high tech gadgets, so have our relationships with our pets. It begins with methods for acquiring a new puppy, kitten or other pet. Prior to the Internet era, most people got their pets from the local animal shelter, a pet shop at the mall, or a friend's or neighbor's litter. If you wanted a purebred animal, you might go to a local dog or cat show to connect with a breeder. Newspaper classified ads were also a common way to find a pet. Today, many of us turn to the web as soon as we start considering adding a pet to the family. When Tom and I recently started talking about getting a dog, my first task was to research different breeds to determine what type would fit best with our lifestyle. You can even find surveys and quizzes that ask you a series of questions about your preferences and how you live and attempt to match you up with the right breed, such as the one at http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Dog-Breeds These can get you started in the right direction, but they don't usually cover all of the breeds or ask all the right questions. We knew we wanted a small dog that would stay indoors with us all or most of the time, but that wouldn't be "yappy." We aren't extremely active, so we didn't want a high energy dog that would be jumping around all the time. We've long been "cat people," so we needed a dog that would get along with our cats, and in fact that would be as much like a cat as possible - while still being able to do "dog things" like swim with us in the pool, walk on a leash and ride in the car. Pre-Internet, I doubt I would have found that perfect dog. But with the help of the web, I stumbled across a reference to the Japanese Chin - a breed I'd never heard of before - and more research showed that this breed fit our needs more than any other. A web search also turned up a couple of breeders in our area, and next weekend we're bringing home our little Suki: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Suki The web has also made people much more aware of the phenomenon of "puppy mills," and more careful about checking out the credentials of breeders who offer pedigreed animals for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. But the technology angle doesn't stop there. At their first visit to the vet, many pet owners are having RFID chips implanted into their dogs' and cats' bodies so that if the pets are lost, they can be more easily identified and returned. Microchip implants for pets has grown into a multi-million dollar industry, and the Humane Society, the American Kennel Club and numerous other pet-related organizations endorse the practice. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Microchip One of the earliest technological developments that had an impact on pets and pet owners is the "invisible fence," an electronic device that some people use to keep their dogs and cats in their yards without a fence. It uses radio signals to activate a collar that causes a slight shock (similar to static electricity) when the pet gets close to a boundary wire. These products have been around for over three decades, with varying degrees of popularity. I've never tried them, but I know a few people who swear by them. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Hidden-Fences A less controversial technology is the "pet cam." Once upon a time, putting a surveillance system in your house or yard was expensive and installation wasn't a snap. With today's computer-connected web cams and wireless self-contained IP cameras, it's easy to keep an eye on your pets when you aren't at home. With microphones and speakers built into some models, you can even talk to your pet. If someone else is at home with the pet, you can have them bring your dog, cat, or bird to the computer and you can engage in a video call with the pet. If you're leaving the pet home alone, you can set up cameras in the places where the pet usually hangs out (for example, near its food dish or favorite sleeping spot). Some camera vendors are even marketing their products specifically as pet cams: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-PetCam There are even "automatic" litter boxes now, such as the Litter Robot, that clean themselves (up to a point). A couple of years ago, one company was even selling a "SunSpa" so that if your pet was suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) on gloomy winter days, you could give it a little dose of simulated sunlight in which to bask. Unfortunately, they seem to have since gone out of business. I'm not the only person who has created a web site for my pet. Many cats and dogs have their own web pages now, and some of them (not mine) even have their own social networking sites. Dogbook is a Facebook application that's available for the iPhone, which you can use to upload photos and update your dog's status from your phone (or, I guess, in the case of some very pampered pups, from the dog's own phone). http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-DogBook Some of the new pet-related technology borders on the gruesome, though. I recently ran across a company called Perpetual Pet that "freeze dries" your animal after death so you can keep its body around forever. I hate the thought of ever losing my "babies," but I think I prefer to give them a proper burial when the time comes. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Perpetual-Pet But if you want a pet that will never die, there's another way. Some companies are betting that people will be willing to trade in their flesh-and-fur animals for metal and plastic ones. Robotic pets are marketed as alternatives for those who live in "no pets" apartments, those who travel too much to provide a proper home for a dog or cat, or the elderly for whom pet care is too much of a chore. Although these robopets have been on the market for a few years, they haven't exactly surged in popularity in recent years. The Sony Aibo, a robotic dog that was introduced amidst much hype way back in 1999, was discontinued in 2006. Maybe it was the high price - or maybe we just aren't ready to make machines a part of our family as we do with real animals. After all, even children can tell the difference: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Robot-Dogs Tell us what you think about technology as it pertains to pets. Do you shower your furry or feathered friends with the latest pet gadgets, or do you keep the relationship more low tech? Does your dog or cat have its own web page or Facebook site, or do you think that's just silly? What technological developments would you like to see that would benefit your pets? Would you ever consider having your precious pet "preserved" for eternity? How about a robotic pet - does the low maintenance aspect appeal to you, or do you believe a machine, no matter how lifelike, could never substitute for a living animal? We invite you to discuss this topic in our forum at http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Forum-Discussion Follow-up: Unofficial Tech Supporters, Unite In last week's editorial, I discussed the position in which many of us find ourselves, serving as the unofficial tech support person for our family members and friends. Wow - this piece inspired the most lengthy discussion we've had since going to the forum feedback format. Apparently many of our readers can relate to what I said, although one accused me of "just whining" and another turned it into an anti-Windows/pro-Mac issue. Yet another noted that he could fix any problem in an hour and implied that the rest of us are incompetent if any problem ever takes more time than that. But the topic seems to have struck a chord with most of you. Some of you said you enjoy being able to help and don't mind the requests. I suspect those folks either don't get as many requests as I do, or don't have as much other (paid) work that they have to get done every week. I enjoy helping, too - but I don't enjoy being overloaded. Other readers shared some good tips and tricking for reducing the numbers of those tech support calls. I liked the one from RJMGroup: ask the person who needs help to bring the computer (and its peripherals) to you instead of making a house call. That will, indeed, help to weed out those who want you to do it all. However, this strategy can backfire, too. If you're not careful, you could end up with several friends' computers stacked in the spare room, awaiting your magic touch. It was interesting to see the differing opinions regarding charging for your services. Some of you were adamant about not accepting money, pointing out that this creates a situation whereby your friends now think they "own" your services because they paid you. Others pointed out that quoting your fees will, in many cases, make the request go away altogether. But many of us have trouble asking for money from close friends and family members who ask for a "favor." That's especially true when many of your friends and relatives are less well off, financially, than you are. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had the same experience Ozekoala mentioned: a friend offers to pay when he/she brings you the computer to fix, but then after the work is done, all you get are thanks and praise for your skills - apparently that previous offer has been consumed in a bad case of selective amnesia. I really enjoyed reading about all of your experiences and wish you all the best in your (wanted or unwanted) tech support roles. Thanks for participating. 'Til next week, Deb Shinder, Editor feedback@wxpnews.com PS: Did you know this newsletter has a sister publication called Win7News? You can subscribe here, and tell your friends: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Win7News And for IT pros, there's our "big sister," WServer News, at http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-WserverNews Look up the WXPnews Fan Page and join us on Facebook! Quotes of the Week "Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds." Marian Evans "The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work." - Harry Golden "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." - Sir Richard Steele Own a Single-user VIPRE? Upgrade Now To Unlimited Home License For Just $19.95 You run VIPRE and love it. But what about the other PC's at the house? We have a special, limited time upgrade offer. You can upgrade now and just pay the difference (20 bucks) between the Single License and the Unlimited Home License (UHL). But wait, it gets better. Your UHL starts fresh and you get a new 12 month subscription! Do the math. Wait and pay 30 bucks later, or buy the upgrade now and get a whole year for 20 bucks. A no-brainer! Remember this is for a limited time only, get that upgrade now! Click here to learn more and order: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-UHL-Upgrade  Cool Tools Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without ADVERTISEMENT Never reinstall your XP again. New technology: easy set-up, no loss of data or applications. The ultimate professional repair tool. Free comprehensive PC diagnostic with every scan, get it now! http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Reimage Do you have programs you just can't seem to get rid of? Uninstaller! 2010 "ALL New" Version Just Released: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Your-Uninstaller Billing address autofill, Secure password storage, all automatic and safe. Not a little toolbar utility. Huge time saver! http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-RoboForm Moving to Windows 7 is Easy! PCMover moves programs, files, and settings from your old PC to your new PC http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-PCmover Search for a driver and you get a ton of Driver Software offers instead. But how do you know which one is good? Try Driver Genius 9.0. Free scan. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Driver-Genius Behind on your backups? Why back up when you can sync? Simply replicate every piece of data to another drive in real-time. Set it and forget it. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-GoodSync Spellchecker is NOT ENOUGH! Improve your English writing skills with WhiteSmoke a smarter solution for high quality writing. Try it: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-WhiteSmoke  News, Hints, Tips and Tricks Prolonging the life of your XP computer In this economic climate, many people who used to buy a new car and a new computer every year or two are now looking for ways to stretch out the lifespans of the ones they already have. This article offers some tips for keeping your old XP system running for a while longer. Check it out here: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Technobuddy Which web browser(s) will survive? France and are advising everyone to ditch Internet Explorer following attacks in China that exploited a vulnerability in IE 6 (which Microsoft has since patched): http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Abandon-IE Talk show host Kim Komando was spouting the same advice on the radio a few days ago. At the same time, Randall Kennedy over at InfoWorld is telling us that Firefox is doomed: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Firefox-is-Doomed Does anyone really think Chrome is going to overtake the top two anytime soon? It currently has less than 5 percent of the browser market, and Safari has even less. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Browser-Market-Share Opera is down there in the 2-3 percent range. Should governments really be telling their citizens what browser to use, anyway? Hackers target Microsoft forensics software Microsoft makes a forensics tool called COFEE that they give away to law enforcement agencies, world-wide, for examining computers for digital evidence. Now hackers have come up with a countermeasure that they call Decaf, that looks for the COFEE software and attempts to prevent it from doing its job. Read more here: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-War-on-MS-COFEE And here's an update about the new version, DECAF v2: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-DECAF Love those Bing images? If you enjoy seeing what great new photo will be featured on the Bing web site, you'll be happy to know that those images are archived so you can check out the ones that you might have missed, or set your favorite to be your Windows wallpaper. You'll find the Bing image archive at http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-BingImages  How To: Using XP Features How to turn your display back right-side up I got an urgent message a few nights ago, asking me to call an old friend I haven't seen in years (but with whom I've reconnected on Facebook). Curious, I gave him a call. It seems he had a problem with his computer. He came home to find that his Windows XP display was upside down. He didn't look forward to standing on his head to read his email, so he was hoping that I might be able to help. How did it happen? Well, his wife said she "moved the mouse." Maybe so, but this is an old trick that many folks have played on friends and family members. If you want to annoy someone, next time you're alone with his/her XP system, try pressing CTRL + ALT + Down Arrow Key. If the computer's video card supports 180 degree rotation, this will turn the display upside down. Luckily, it's usually just as easy to fix the problem by pressing CTRL + ALT + Up Arrow Key. Sometimes, however, the key combination doesn't work. In that case, you may need to find the graphics card's settings. If your card displays an icon in the notification area (system tray), click or right click that and look for a "rotation settings" option. If that doesn't work or you can't find the graphics card settings application, do this: Open Display from Control Panel or by right clicking the desktop and selecting Properties. Click Settings | Advanced Click the tab that represents your video card. This tab may contain a rotation settings option. If so, choose "0 degrees" or "normal." If you encounter the upside down display immediately after restarting the computer, check out KB article 915164: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Upside-Down-Desktop  XP Security News Emergency Patch for IE flaw released In case you don't have XP set to automatically download and install critical updates, be aware that Microsoft released an "out of band" emergency patch of Internet Explorer last Thursday. This addresses the exploit that was used in the attacks on Google and other companies. Be sure to do a manual update to ensure that your system is protected. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Google-Attack-Patch  XP Question Corner Can I keep documents from being changed? QUESTION: I have some documents that are in their final form. Some are Word documents and some are .txt files. The point is that I don't want to accidentally change them and don't want them to get changed by my family members that use my computer. I've read about rights management service that lets you disallow modification of documents but if I understand right, you have to have a special server for that. Is there an easier way? - Howard L. ANSWER: The easiest way to protect files from accidental changes is to set the Read Only attribute on them. When a file is Read Only, any changes you make to it can't be saved under the original file name. You can save changes with a new file name, but your original will remain the same. Here's how you set a file to Read Only: Navigate to the file in Windows Explorer. Right click it and choose Properties. Click the General tab. Check the box that says "Read Only." Click OK. If you want to make all files in a folder Read Only, you can check this box on the folder's Properties sheet. Note that this will make all of the files currently in the folder Read Only, but it won't affect new files that you put in the folder. Remember that others can still delete or move Read Only files, they just can't make changes to them.  XP Configuration and Troubleshooting Error message with network printer If your XP computer tries to open the printer properties dialog box for a network printer that's connected to a Windows Server 2003 domain controller, you might get an error message. To fix the problem, you have to remove the printer and driver, install a hot fix and reconnect to the printer. For step-by-step instructions on how to do it, see KB article 924078 at http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Properties-Dialog-Box-Error Change the default icons for folders in XP You can't customize the default icon for a folder in Windows XP but you can make a shortcut to that folder, and change the icon for the shortcut. KB article 310192 walks you through the steps for doing this. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Changing-Default-Icons  Fav Links This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff Disclaimer: WXPNews does not assume and cannot be responsible for any liability related to you clicking any of these linked Web sites. Nothing like mom's lap http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Moms-Lap Who knew spiders could be so ... cute? http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Spiders Cat on the rail http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Cat Best spelunking photos http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Spelunking Real pictures that look like PhotoShops http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Photography 360 degree camera views in Jerusalem http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Jerusalem The Besler Steam Airplane from 1933 was powered by a steam boiler and was so quiet that spectators on the ground could hear the pilot talking to them: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Steam-Powered-Airplane The most spectacular Boeing 747 fly-by you'll see this week: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Fly-By An amazing 3-year-old hip hop dancer. This kid knows he can dance! http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-Hip-Hop-Star  Product of the Week WhiteSmoke Writer 2010: Advanced Writing Check Software for Error-Free Writing! It allows you to perform advanced grammar checking, style checking, and spell checking on your texts, in a single click. The latest version features Writing Review, a summary of your text, which provides an overall readability score. WhiteSmoke Writer works with all text-based applications. Now, in an exclusive offer for WXPNews subscribers: 2 Extra Pro Versions + Multi-Lingual Dictionary for FREE! http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/100126-White-Smoke  About WXPnews What Our Lawyers Make Us Say These documents are provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this document represents the current view of Sunbelt Software on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. 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15 MAYBE Essential Programs and Freeware

The folks over at  MakeUseOf.com have come up with this list of 15 essential programs. I do not necessarily agree with all of them. For example AVG is popular but it is NOT the most effective freeware antivirus. Either Avast or Avira are tops in this category. At least this week (:-) All of these are worth a check but BE CAREFUL. Highlighted and bolded apps are ones I totally agree with. Disagree based on tested evidence on the web. Normal: I have no experience with these products. I loved Digsby at first but it is TOO BIG covering a lot of desktop real estate. I am sure they will realize this sooner or later and make it easy to hide or shrink. I like GoogleTalk download the free GoogleTalk here because it also can accept messages from MSN and a few other messenger programs but MAINLY because of its SMALL, CLEAN, POWERFUL interface. You can chat, video chat, phone with addins, and send files. You can . Or if you have gmail you can switch on the integration so people can talk to you WHEN you are using your gmail. Works on PC or MAC! MakeUseof.com List Follows These are the essential programs that we recommend you install and keep on your arsenal. 1. Firefox / Chrome (Web Browser) 2. AVG Anti-Virus (Anti-virus Software) 3. Auslogics Disk Defrag (Disk Defragmenter) 4. Glary Utilities (System Maintenance) 5. Malwarebytes (Spyware Removal) 6. IZArc (Universal Archiver / Extractor) 7. Google Picasa Software (Photo Management) 8. doPDF (PDF Printer) 9. Memento (Post-It Notes) 10. xVideoServiceThief (YouTube Video Downloader) 11. Mozy (Backup) 12. Digsby (Multi-protocol Instant Messenger) 13. VLC Media Player (Video Player) 14. Foobar2000 (Music Player) 15. ImgBurn (CD / DVD Image Burner) 16-20. Plus 5 Bonus Programs 1. Firefox / Chrome (Web Browser) Both Firefox and Google Chrome are excellent browsers. They are both fast, user-friendly and known to be secure. So, which one do you choose? The rule of thumb here is that you should use Firefox if you're looking to add additional features (i.e. ad blocker, password manager, video downloader, page translator etc.) to your browser. You can see all add-ons for Firefox at https://addons.mozilla.org/ . There are extensions for Google Chrome as well, but the choice is rather limited. See, 10 Cool Extensions for Google Chrome . 2. AVG Anti-Virus (Anti-virus Software) AVG Free Anti-Virus is the most popular free anti-virus software in the world. It's also the most downloaded software program according to Download.com. Most of the MakeUseOf authors use AVG and we highly recommend it to others. It's easy to use, consumes a relatively small amount of system resources and auto-updates itself with virus definitions on a daily basis. Install it once and it will keep your system secure without your intervention. For those of you who frequently shop online and do regular online banking, AVG recommends AVG Internet Security. While it's not free, it does offer complete Internet Protection that will keep you safe even from advanced online threats. Download AVG Free: http://free.avg.com/gb-en/homepage Download AVG Internet Security (Free Trial): www.avg.com/gb-en/download (Platform: Windows only) 3. Auslogics Disk Defrag (Disk Defragmenter) Auslogics Disk Defrag is a must-have free PC maintenance tool that was designed to cure system sluggishness and prevent crashes caused by disk fragmentation. Windows already comes with its own disk-defragmenter but Auslogics Disk Defrag is considerably faster and much more efficient. It's extremely simple to use, does not require any analysis phase and is faster than most of the other disk defragmentation software. While there are several other free disk defragmenters, Auslogics seems to be the defragmenter of choice according to the poll results on MakeUseOf, Lifehacker and mega tech sites like CNET. Download Auslogics Disc Defrag: www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/overview (Platform: Windows only) 4. Glary Utilites (System Maintenance) Glary Utilities is a free system maintenance tool for protecting, cleaning, repairing, and speeding up your PC. It comes with one-click maintenance option that automatically runs all optimizations and repair jobs with a click of a button. But the best thing about Glary Utilities is that it integrates over 15 other useful tools that nearly every computer user likely to make use of. These are: - Uninstall Manager - Startup Manager - Memory Optimizer - Context Menu Manager - Registry Defrag Tool - Track Eraser - File Shredder - File Undelete - File Encrypt/Decrypt Tool - Disk Space Usage Analysis - Duplicate File Finder - Empty Folder Finder - File Splitter and Joiner Highly recommended! Please note, it's highly recommended that you create a System Restore point when using system maintenance tools like Glary Utilities. This is a precaution to ensure that you can always revert your PC to an earlier state in case something goes wrong unexpectedly. Note: During the installation process make sure to uncheck the Ask Search toolbar. Download Glary Utilities: www.glaryutilities.com/gu.html?tag=download (Platform: Windows only) 5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (Spyware Removal) [update: In the original list we recommended the Spyware 360 as a primary tool for fighting spyware. But then we found out that Security 360 was actually using the definition library of Malwarebytes.] Malwarebytes currently ranks among top 10 most downloaded software on Download.com. It's a very simple tool that does an important job, that is protecting your computer from spyware, hijackers, keyloggers and other kind of malicious craplets. What makes Malwarebytes standout from the pack is its huge library of threats to protect against. That's exactly what it makes so effective when it comes to detecting spyware that other spyware scanners miss. This same library made the earlier recommended Security 360 a powerful tool. Malwarebytes may not be as feature-laden as say Spybot Search and Destroy (another good spyware removal tool), which has a ridiculous number of tools, but it is a very lightweight alternative with good spyware coverage. There are both free and premium versions. The only difference between two is real time protection. With real-time protection Mawarebytes will alert you about the spyware before even it's able to install itself on your system. Download MalwareBytes (Free): www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php Download MalwareBytes (Premium): https://store.malwarebytes.org (Platform: Windows only) 6. IZArc (Universal Archiver / Extractor) One archive utility to rule them all. This archiver suppots both popular (ZIP, RAR, ACE, 7-ZIP, TAR etc.) and less popular (IMG, ACE, TZ, GZ, TAZ etc.) archive formats. Basically this unpacker/archiver gives you everything you get with other popular archivers (ex. Winzip, Winrar etc.) but with additional features and support for a huge number of archive formats. It can decompress archived folders in over 40 formats. 7-ZIP, A, ACE, ARC, ARJ, B64, BH, BIN, BZ2, BZA, C2D, CDI, CAB, CPIO, DEB, ENC, GCA, GZ, GZA, HA, IMG, ISO, JAR, LHA, LIB, LZH, MBF, MDF, MIM, NRG, PAK, PDI, PK3, RAR, RPM, TAR, TAZ, TBZ, TGZ, TZ, UUE, WAR, XXE, YZ1, Z, ZIP, ZOO. That is to say, it supports pretty much every format you're likely to come across. There is something else, you can also use the IZArc utility to open CD image files like ISO, BIN, CDI and NRG. Do you know of any other free archiver that can do that? Note: When installing IZArc make sure to uncheck the "recommended" option to install PalTalk. Download IZArc: http://www.izarc.org/download.html (Platform: Windows only) 7. Google Picasa Software (Photo Management) Picasa automatically finds all the photos on your PC, wherever they are, and organizes them in seconds. It's an excellent photo manager, editor and viewer for your computer. With Picasa not only you can nicely organize your photos but also fix common problems (i.e. red eyes), add cool effects and even browse photos by people in them. Yes, it includes face recognition! Plus one really cool thing about it is that regardless of changes you make to your photos on Picasa the original version of each photo always preserved. Features include: - create video slideshows and photo collages from your photos. - organize photos based on the people in them. - browse photos by folders, albums, people. - geotag your photos on Google Maps. - one-click fixes for common problems like red-eye, color, and lighting. - 12 cool effects to make your best photos look even better. You can find out more about Picasa by watching this Youtube video . The Google team compiled a getting started guide for Picasa . Highly recommended for new users. Download Picasa Software: http://picasa.google.com/ (Platform: Windows / Mac / Linux) 8. doPDF (PDF Printer) Almost everyone once in a while needs to convert documents to PDF. The doPDF is the easiest tool that does exactly that. It installs a virtual printer on your computer that you can select using the print option from any program on Windows. Whenever you need to convert a web page, Word document, Excel spreadsheet, photo or pretty much anything else to a PDF file just go to the print option in your program and select doPDF from the 'Printer' drop-down menu. You can set the resolution to anything from 72 dpi to 2400 dpi, and the "printed" files are text searchable. Download doPDF: www.dopdf.com (Platform: Windows only) 9. Memento (Post-It Notes) Chances are you have never heard about this program before. Memento is a simple bare-bones post-it notes program for your desktop. It's better than anything else out there because it's extremely simple and yet a very effective tool. Whether you want a program to keep track of your tasks or quick note taking, Memento can help. It's very intuitive to use and consumes very few system resources. Highly recommended! It's an excellent program - and I've compared many other free ones! I have been using this for the last 5 years and recommend it to everyone. The very first MakeUseOf article was about this app :-). It's also easily transferable from one PC to another, it saves all your notes in Memento.notes file that is stored in the My Documents folder. Features: - double click memento icon on the taskbar to create a note - show/hide notes on the desktop - keep notes expanded or closed - notes always remain on top of other windows - position notes anywhere you like - instant autosave - notes are resizable - randomly makes each note a new color - make notes transparent Download Memento: http://www.guyswithtowels.com/downloads.html (Platform: Windows only) 10. xVideoServiceThief (YouTube Video Downloader) Almost everyone is on Youtube these days. And the fact that Youtube has more searches than Yahoo is good indication of this. The only issue with Youtube is that there is no option to download videos so that you can watch them on your computer, PSP, iPhone, mobile phone, iPod etc. Fortunately there are lots of free software for that, and my favorite is xVideoServiceThief. Apart from downloading videos, it can automatically convert the downloaded video file to another format. xVideoServiceThief can convert videos to several formats, including AVI, MOV, MPEG, DIVX, MP4 and several others. Moreover, xVideoServiceThief works with other sites as well, not only Youtube. It can also download videos from Yahoo Video, Google Videos, Metacafe, Dailymotion, CollegeHumor etc. Download: http://xviservicethief.sourceforge.net/index.php?action=downloads (Platform: Windows / Mac / Linux) 11. Mozy (Backup) Backups are very important! Here on MakeUseOf we have published dozens of articles explaining why you should always keep a fresh backup of important data. And Mozy is the perfect program for that. It's an online backup and recovery service that allows you to select files and folders on your computer and safely back them up online. It's fully automated, just set it once and it will do the backups without bothering you again. What's even better, whenever you make changes to individual documents or files within selected folders, your changes will be replicated on your backup copy as well. So your backup always stays up-to-date. In the case of file corruption, accidental deletion or hardware failure, you may easily restore your backed up files from the web to the original computer or any another computer, be it a Windows or Mac. Mozy offers both free and premium accounts (only $4.95/month). The only difference between those two is that free account comes only with 2GBs of storage space. If you want to backup your music library, photos, videos or maybe an entire drive then we recommend signing up for a premium account. (Discount: When signing up for premium account use 'makeuseof' promo code to get 15% off.) Download Mozy (Free): https://mozy.com/registration/free/ Download Mozy (Unlimited): https://mozy.com/registration/unlimited/ (Platform: Windows / Mac) 12. Digsby (Multi-protocol Instant Messenger) If you chat on a regular basis and are active on social networks then this is a must-have program for you. There is so much this app does that it's hard to explain it all in a few lines. Firstly, it's a universal instant messenger that allows you to chat with your friends on MSN, Yahoo, AIM, Google Talk, Facebook, Myspace, ICQ and Jabber, all from a single messenger. Secondly, it allows you to read and reply to your emails. That's right folks, whether you have a Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail account you can receive and reply to emails all from Digsby's slick interface. Currently Disgby works with Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, AOL/AIM Mail, POP Email, IMAP Mail accounts. And that's not all, you may also monitor alerts and set status message notifications for Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and LinkedIN accounts. Pretty cool, huh! Other less important but still noteworthy features include: - chat history (with search option) - file transfer history to keep a log of sent/received files - a widget for site owners to chat with visitors (Note: Pay close attention when installing Digsby on your computer and make sure to deselect (selected on default) the additional components you don't need. Plus, once the app is installed go to the preferences window and disable Digsby research.) Download Digsby: www.digsby.com (Platform: Windows / Mac / Linux) 13. VLC Media Player (Video Player) With over 67 million downloads so far and roughly 7 downloads per second it's one of the most popular video players around. VLC is a highly portable multimedia player supporting most audio and video formats and can play pretty much any video files you throw at it, including physical media like DVDs. Plus it doesn't need any external codec, program or codec pack to work. The VLC can be used both by beginners as well as expert users for working with video files. The player can also play Youtube videos, convert video files, play subtitles, etc. Download VLC: www.videolan.org/vlc/ 14. Foobar2000 (Music Player) The foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for Windows and supports pretty much all popular audio formats. This is an audio player of choice for many audiophiles (the reader polls on MakeUseOf and Lifehacker confirm that). But what's in it for you? Well, leaving aside its rich feature set, there are two things that make it stand out from the crowd. First, when it comes to the appearance of the player, it's HIGHLY customizable. There is NO OTHER audio player out there that can be customized as much. The Foobar2000 lets you change everything starting from buttons, layout, background colors, menus to visualization details. But the best thing about this gem, it needs very little of your system resources when compared to Windows Media Player, iTunes or Winamp. The Foobar2000 has also plug-ins for iPod support and things like lyrics and album art. There is also a portable version if you prefer to carry it on your thumbdrive. Download Foobar2000: www.foobar2000.org/download (Platform: Windows only) 15. ImgBurn (CD / DVD Image Burner) There are many reasons we need a simple, fast way to burn disks. ImgBurn is a CD/DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray burning application that is fast, lightweight, and completely free. With ImgBurn you can: - backup your data or media files to DVD. - backup your DVD movies to your PC. - create Audio CDs from any music files such as MP3, WAV. - create a duplicate copy of any DVD or music CD - create video discs (DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray) playable in your DVD player ImgBurn supports a variety of image formats and almost all types of discs, so you don't need to look any further for your disc burning needs. There is also a portable version that you can carry with you on your USB drive. For additional details see the MakeUseOf ImgBurn review here . (Platform: Windows / Linux) Download ImgBurn: www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download BONUS (+ 5 programs) Note: My experience with Revo is that it appears to work well and then will "eat" necessary files without warning you. 16. Revo - Free powerful uninstaller for Windows. It can uninstall programs that you are not able to remove using Windows' default program manager. 17. OpenOffice My recommendation is the FREE Softmaker 2008 suite which is faster than OpenOffice - Free alternative to Microsoft Office. Though requires some adjustments to program settings before it can fully replace the Microsoft Office. 18. Foxit - This one is basically a lightweight replacement to Adobe PDF reader. With Foxit you may launch PDF documents as fast as notepad files. 19. Spyware Terminator - A compliment to the above mentioned Malwarebytes. It's not as comprehensive but comes with real-time malware detection and fast daily scans. 20. Portable Apps - A huge collection of free programs that you can carry on your USB thumbdrive. The suite includes several of the above apps, plus many more. Carry your favorite computer programs along with all of your bookmarks, settings, email and more with you where ever you go. Use them on any Windows computer without leaving any personal data behind. So there you go, the top 15 that you should have on your system and use on a frequent basis. Since everyone is different with different needs, you will probably disagree with us on some of these choices. If so, head on down to the comments section below and let us know which apps you would put in their place and why. If you like this article, please spread it around and share it with your friends. It took us us a while to get it done and test all the apps thoroughly. [Update: This list is continuously updated]

Aibek Esengulov Editor-In-Chief MakeUseOf.com