Is Your PC Safe Enough?

There was a time when people used to have only two basic facilities in a PC (there were no notebooks then) that is, keyboard and mouse. The monitor looked like a packed up dustbin and had basic "black and green" graphics. Computers hardly had any network connectivity then and were mostly safe.

But today... computer users are like rats on the field -- constantly under surveillance by the government and spied upon by hackers like eagles looking for potential prey. Now what can the rats do to save themselves from being pounced upon? They can hide!

Today I will share some common tips and tricks with you that if you practice you will have the greatest amount of security as you can have without installing the costly so-called "internet security" applications or locking up your PC with useless security crap.

Use plain and simple firewall applications... AVOID THE INTERNET SECURITY SUITES! The so-called "internet security" applications simply slow down not only your system but also your internet. They send so much of your "anonymous" data to their servers that these companies start to know more about you than even your relatives.

Install adblocker addons in your internet browsers. Even Internet Explorer has adblock addon available these days. Google for it and enjoy faster opening websites without obscene images and useless ads appearing on the screen along with your favourite websites.

Please be careful while running application installer wizards because there are some options hidden AMONG the license agreement that if you do not DESELECT will install additional bloatware on your system without your knowledge (or consent).

Just like point 1 above, please always use antivirus/antispyware solutions that are light on resources and DO NOT include any internet security with them.

Try to improve your personal knowledge about what network ports are and how hackers can exploit open ports on your system. Though a good firewall can take care of the ports for you still it is advisable to be aware.

If you happen to use pirated software, always remember to first run anti-virus scan on such software. In case of cracks and keygens (that are generally deleted by antivirus software automatically) you may use "sandboxing" applications so that they cannot access your system locations.

Please be careful while using "Run As Administrator" option on untrusted applications.

Learn to use Google to look for solutions and help and do not panic if you find any infections in the system. Try to have a Windows reinstallation disc and portable virus scanner ready to use on a CD/DVD that you can use in emergency.

And last but most important -- keep a backup of all your important documents on an EXTERNAL MEDIA.

Whew! Finally I listed them all. These are very simple and convenient techniques that don't require any extra work. The key to safety is to always be a bit paranoid and to be aware.

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How to Setup Windows 7 Taskbar in a Better Way

A taskbar is the center of control in Windows 7 from where a user can operate, manipulate and customize Windows 7. But there are several shortcomings in default setup of the taskbar like:

• The icons have more-than-required gaps in between that kill the purpose of pinning lots of items.
• The themes with "better graphics" are stuck with thumbnail previews that appear when mouse pointer is moved on the open taskbar application icons... very distracting!
• Though not a big problem or any issue - it would have been great if there were a feature to just point at any open application's icon on the taskbar and the application opened up.

To do all this and more a very nice application is available called 7+ Taskbar Tweaker. This tiny application with hardly any memory footprint can setup up your taskbar the way YOU want it. It is free to download and has been in use since many years.

7+ Taskbar Tweaker is regularly updated and there is even a beta version also available with some new features on the developer's website. This app can be downloaded HERE.

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Use Multiple Accounts Simultaneously in Firefox

There are millions of Firefox users all over the world and many (if not most) of them would like to be able to use multiple website accounts on a single browser without much hassle. For example, many people have couple of Facebook, Twitter or Gmail accounts and they want to able to open each of them at a click of a button instead of using two or three memory-hogging browsers at the same time.

As always Firefox (and its army of addons) has the right solution. The name of this addon is CookieSwap. It is visible as a small menu on the top right of Firefox window and it allows to select multiple profiles at the same time. It is fully configurable and light. You can even rename the profile names if you want.

Click here to visit the addon homepage. Alternatively, you may directly visit this Firefox addon page.

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