Viber looks and feels just like your regular phone, so you won’t have to waste any time figuring it out. The sound quality though is much better than a regular call. Viber uses your phone number as your "identity" and lets you make free Viber phone calls to any of your friends that have Viber - using THEIR phone number. Once you've downloaded Viber, you will receive an Access Code via SMS or via callback to activate Viber. The Access Code ensures that you are the real owner of the cellphone number you have registered and prevents others from obtaining your Access Code and placing calls with your caller ID. Viber uses your device's address book to automatically tag who has Viber in your contact list and it's always synced. If you don't have 3G you can still use Viber via WiFi.
Viber works on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android devices, with some exceptions. They've tested Viber for Android on various devices. The complete list can be found here:
Here is a list of currently not supported devices or systems by Viber.
iPhone 2g - Probably because of Edge only internet connection.
Android OS less than 2.0
Android Tablets - They are not supported but a friend of mine has a Samsung Galaxy Tab with WI-FI only and Viber works just fine on this device. I’m sure that in the near future we will have a list of tablet devices on which Viber works OK.
Motorola Flipout - Although it comes with Android 2.1, it is not officially supported, and judging by users’ reports, it seems that it doesn’t work.
HTC Wildfire, HTC Hero - For some time, Viber was unavailable for download from Market for those two devices. Now they are available, but still known as problematic.
Note on Jailbroken iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch - They are supported, but the Jailbreak interferes with Push Notifications mechanism and this causes problems in terms of Viber’s functionality.
Viber to Viber calls or messages are absolutely free when selecting the Viber badge in your Viber contact list or the button which says 'Free Call' or 'Free Message' within the contact info of your Viber contact list. Viber does not charge your carrier nor Viber users. Calls or messages placed from Viber to "non Viber users" will go through your local cell phone provider like a regular cell call. Once you and your friends download Viber you can talk freely, locally and internationally, and these calls will not show up on your phone bill. All you need is an Internet connection: 3G or WiFi wherever available (3G may incur operator data charges or internet access fees. Check with your 3G provider to see your 3G plan). The bandwidth rate during a Viber call is approximately 240 KB per minute / 14 MB per hour. If the party you are calling doesn't have an active internet connection or has their Viber application turned off when you call, the call will time out, and once the person reconnects to the internet, or once the person opens the Viber application, they will receive your missed call notification or the text message you've sent. Viber will not automatically divert to your regular GSM (cell phone provider) service. If you try to place a Viber call to a user who doesn’t yet have Viber, you will receive a warning message that the call is going to be placed as a regular paid call, or you can choose to invite the contact. This way, you can choose if you still want to place a paid call through your device's phone application or not. Always use your Viber contact list to see who has Viber...
This tells the computer to backup the command program and the screen saver file, then edits the settings so when the machine boots the screen saver you will get is an unprotected DOS prompt without logging into XP.
3. Once this happens enter this command: net user <admin account name here> password
If the Administrator Account is called "techmix" and you want the password to be "blogger" enter this command: net user techmix blogger
This changes the password on techmix machine to "blogger" and your in.
An OUNCE of prevention is worth a POUND of cure. If you don't know what "Virtual Machines, and "Sandboxes" are I suggest you look them up. Returnil is an elite sandbox application that deletes EVERY CHANGE MADE TO YOUR COMPUTER and contains changes within a sandbox. However it's a PARTIAL pay application i.e. there is a free version and a paid version. The free version is fine though.
Next up Sandboxie. You can use it while you browse the world wide web.
If you want a virtual machine that you don't have to pay for use VirtualBox.
If you don't already know VirtualBox is a virtual PC that runs on your current operating system. If you are running on Windows you can install VirtualBox and run any other operating system in a window as if it were any other application running in Windows. The OS running in VirtualBox is called a guest OS and your main OS is called your host OS. Basically the guest OS thinks it is running on it's own PC when it is in fact just running off of a file on your hard drive. Any files you save on your guest OS will be stored in a file on your hard drive.
Download an operating system, I recommend a Linux distribution such as Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com
Here's the deal. You'll need a firewall installed, if you're on Windows the Windows Firewall will work fine. Setup all of your firewall profiles to block all inbound and outbound connections that do not match a rule specifically setup to allow the connection. If you're using Windows Firewall a few rules are already setup to allow certain connections, go into the advanced settings and disable all rules except for those related to core networking. This will block all applications from accessing the internet, including internet explorer or any web browsers you have installed. Now setup an inbound and outbound rule to allow only VirtualBox access to the internet.
Startup your VirtualBox system and do all of your web browsing and internet activity through your guest OS. Any spyware, malware, virii downloaded will think that is has infected your system, but it has actually only infected one file on your hard drive, it will not be able to spread to your host OS because it does not even know there is a host OS.
I forgot to mention that VirtualBox allows you to setup a 'network' folder with your host OS so you can transfer files between the two. I recommend NOT setting up networking between your host and guest operating systems, this would allow any software or hacker access to your host OS through your guest OS. If you need to transfer files between the two use a USB disk or something of the like.
Trustware.com has a sandboxing software called BufferZone Pro. In a nutshell, you install it, then reboot. Anything that comes into your computer from the browser, Limewire, Media Player, or whatever (custom programs) can be undone with six mouse clicks. In six clicks everything will be back as it was when you first installed the program. This WILL include anything you want to keep also, so you have to learn to use it and move things in/out of the bufferzone as you see fit. You can use it on your PC to protect against flash drive infections, where it buffers then entire drive when I plug it in. I just have to be sure to move everything out of the zone that I want to have saved on the drive.
Calibre
Official Site - http://calibre-ebook.com/
Calibre is a free and open source e-book library management application developed by users of e-books for users of e-books. It has a cornucopia of features divided into the following main categories:
Library Management
E-book conversion
Syncing to e-book reader devices
Downloading news from the web and converting it into e-book form
Comprehensive e-book viewer
Content server for online access to your book collection
If you like reading ebooks Calibre is almost all that you need to read and convert ebooks.
Calibre supports the conversion of many input formats to many output formats. It can convert every input format in the following list, to every output format.
1. Always opt for CUSTOM INSTALLATION so you can opt out of installing foistware like toolbars, search engines, and trial utilities.
2. As no single antimalware/antivirus program is 100% effective consider Malwarebytes Antimalware Free Edition for weekly second opinion on-demand scanning and to assist with security updates consider using Secunia PSI. CCleaner is often suggested as more convenience than anything but avoid the temptation to use the registry function, besides if you have Revo there enough cleanup tools included.
3. Always install any anti-virus, anti-malware and firewalls first, then fully update Windows. Only after that should you download anything (hell, you shouldn't even be connected to the Internet while you install your anti-virus/firewall programs, since unpatched Windows, regardless of the version, is simply BEGGING to be invaded).
4. Only download programs from known safe sources like CNet, Majorgeeks and the official websites of the software you are interested in.
5. The best defense is a layered defense plus common sense.
The Windows command line is very useful if you know how to use it. Unfortunately, most people do not know how to use it or are scared of using it because they do not know enough of it. There's no better time to get your feet wet on how to use the Command Prompt than now. So are you all ready?
Launch your command prompt. Here's how I do that in Vista. I simply hit the Windows key (on my keyboard) or click the Start menu and type "cmd" (no quotes) in the Start Search box, then hit the Enter key. The Command Prompt will usually open the C:\Users\(your username here) directory. If you type "cd.." (no quotes & those are two dots after "cd") your directory will revert to C:\Users\. If you enter "cd.." one more time, your directory will revert to C:\. If you enter "dir" (no quotes), Command Prompt will list the sub-directories and/or files in the current directory. The sub-directories have the "<DIR>" designation. The rest are just files. To shift to the subdirectories, just type "cd (name of the sub-directory here)" then hit Enter. For example, you can type this command:
cd Windows
When you hit Enter, your Command Prompt will shift you to the Windows directory. So that's your crash course on how to navigate through your file system using commands in Command Prompt. If you are using Windows 7 or other versions, the procedure is similar to the steps I described above. The difference may just lie on the way you get to your Command Prompt. SOURCE: http://maketecheasier.com/simple-yet-useful-command-line-tricks-for-windows/2012/08/06#comment-32442
If you are familiar with using Command Prompt, see if you know some of these tricks:
1. Output to Your Clipboard
Type this command in your Command Prompt:
dir | clip
Note that there's a space after "dir" and before "clip". The straight line character is called a pipe. You can reach that by holding down the Shift key and hitting the backslash key (usually situated to the left of the Enter key on desktop keyboards or above the Enter key on laptops). If you use the above command, you will be outputting the contents of the current directory to your Clipboard. Try it! Then launch Notepad. Right-click Notepad then choose Paste from the menu. As you will see, the list of files and subdirectories in your current directory were copied to your Clipboard because you are able to paste its contents onto Notepad.
2. Output To A Text File
You can directly output the contents of a directory onto a text file using the Command Line. Here's how. First, type the "dir | clip" (no quotes) command on Command Prompt. Then type this:
dir > C:\crap.txt
After you hit the Enter key, launch your Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\. Look for the "crap.txt" file and open it. What you will see is a list of files and directories which are contained in the current directory in your Command Prompt. Simple enough for ya? Don’t forget to put quotation marks around the file path if you have spaces in the name! For example, if the name of your directory or sub-directory is "Lotsa crap" (which contains two words with a space in between them) and you need to include it in your Command Line command, you have to enclose the name with quotes. For example: c:\MISC\"lotsa crap.txt". Another example: c:\"Lotsa crap"\filelist.txt. In the first example, the text file name contains two words. In the 2nd example the name of the DIRECTORY "Lotsa Crap" contains two words. Clear as mud?
3. Show Your Command History
One quick way, both in Windows and Linux, to show ONLY your LAST COMMAND in your Command Prompt is to press the "Up arrow" key on your keyboard. But if you want Command Prompt to show you ALL the commands you had typed, you go with this command: doskey /history
4. Run Several Different Commands At One Time
There are ways to execute multiple routines in one shot. For example let’s say that you want Command Prompt to show you your IP address and display the directory structure of your current directory. Try this command:
ipconfig && dir
The "&&" conjoins any two commands. The above command will look for your IP address and display the directory structure of your current directory.
You can even do this:
dir && ipconfig && doskey /history
The Best Part
Did you know that you can combine anything you learned here within the command line? Try typing this:
ipconfig && dir > C:\crap.txt
This will execute both commands and print their output into a file.
If you know other tricks, don’t hesitate to share them with us!
Q: Is there a preferred order of doing things to secure a newly reformatted computer? I have already formatted the drive and reinstalled the OS (Windows XP Professional) and am wondering what to do next. What I am asking is what do I do to expose my unprotected PC to the internet for as little time as possible? The reason I am asking is that I have a couple of teenage stepsons and with their computer use, I feel like I should probably be familiar with reformatting and what goes with it.
A: Having teens using your computer is a good reason to install programs in your computer that will minimize damage to your system caused by careless online practices by less knowledgeable users. By all means protect and secure your system to the max with software. I mostly use freeware on my Vista machine which includes an antivirus, several anti-malware, a firewall, a HIPS program (not a freeware) and several utility programs. Here are some of them:
Ad-Aware
Many computer owners use this anti-malware. However my recommendation: Skip this one. It is taxing to your system resources. Read reviews of users here:
This tool is so fast and worthy that support people from other antivirus vendors will even suggest a check with Malwarebytes. Stick with the free version, as PCMag's tests of the Pro version indicate the "real-time protection" it offers isn't worth the money.
This is not just an install and forget it program. It has to be updated regularly. You have to activate the immunization features too everytime you update it. You have to configure it for maximum protection. Read up on how to use it using Google. If you're still in the dark on how to use Spybot, let me know.
You can close this program after you update & configure it. It doesn't have to be running to give you protection. It is a silent protector. After you update it, click the "Enable Protection for All Unprotected Items". Then close it. It will protect your system in the background by immunizing it with kill bits.
Extends the reach of CCleaner by expanding its database of programs and the digital debris they leave behind. It adds support for more than 500 new programs to CCleaner.
I use the Firefox extensions Adblock Plus, Better JTV, Video DownloadHelper and a few others. Better JTV makes chatting in Justin TV a better experience. If you do not go to Justin TV, then there's really no need for Better JTV. There are a couple of versions of Better JTV:
This is an alternative to the Firefox extension Video DownloadHelper which is used to download embedded videos in any website like YouTube. When you install it it adds a toolbar to both Firefox and Internet Explorer. You have to first watch the video you are interested in before you can download it. To learn more on how to use Freecorder proceed to http://applian.com/freecorder4/help.php#youtube. Freecorder is very easy to use.
Firewall
Every version of Windows after XP SP2 has a software firewall. If you like to use a third-party firewall, you can try Comodo Personal Firewall.
Comodo Internet Security combines the well-regarded Comodo Firewall with their antivirus and anti-spyware programs and a system monitor to create a comprehensive and free Internet security solution. The Comodo Firewall remains the strongest part of the package, and it beats all comers in the most demanding testing we found. The rest of the suite draws mixed reactions. If you only want the Comodo Firewall, you can choose to install that on its own. Select the "Firewall only" configuration during installation. Make sure to enable rule creation in 'firewall behavior settings' (so you can modify program rules later).
I would not recommend it. Early users are getting BSOD.
You can improve protection by using a hardware "firewall" (such as a router) and a software firewall in conjunction. Modern routers usually have a built-in firewall; consult your router documentation for more details.
This player plays just about every video format. VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVD, Audio CD, VCD, and various streaming protocols.
TeraCopy is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed, providing the user with a lot of features.
Foobar2000
This is an advanced free audio player. The days of Winamp are long past. For audiophiles with massive music libraries, foobar2000 is the chosen alternative to the memory-intensive iTunes organizer. Created by a former Winamp developer, foobar2000 has won the hearts and minds of savvy album collectors with its highly customizable interface, comprehensive audio format support (including OGG, Flac, and AAC), and gapless playback. There's even a rich SDK for third party coders to tinker with to add more functionality. Sure beats sorting through all your music in long playlist.
Go to the link above USING EACH of your INTERNET BROWSER. IOW, if you have Google Chrome, go to the link above and install the player. Then close it. Next, go to the link above using Internet Explorer then install the player. ETC...
If you have older versions of JAVA, uninstall ALL of THEM (you might have multiple versions installed). Then download the latest version and install it.
What makes this an unusual free program is it's an ANTI-FRUSTRATION software. It can speed up system boot & fix system slowdowns. It monitors your PC to find the things that are likely most annoying to users. For example, it tracks down printing problems, crashy apps, resource hogs — all the good stuff. That alone is interesting. But more interesting is that it offers up solutions for how you can fix your computer issues. And the data they’re (anonymously) collecting about PC problems should be useful across a range of industries and services.
Recuva is an excellent software to recover deleted files. Why do you need it now? That's because there's a lot of deleting and uninstalling happening with CCleaner, Revo Uninstaller, PC Decrapifier and all. If you suddenly delete something that you shouldn't, and then want to recover it, you would have this tool to fall back on. From start to finish, Recuva holds your hand through the process of getting your data back with a user-friendly Wizard. The first prompt asks what type of files you're looking for (pictures, music, documents, video, or all files), followed by where you want Recuva to look. If you don't know, select 'I'm not sure' and Recuva will rummage through your entire computer. Alternately, you can limit searches to the Recycle Bin, My Documents, a media card, or any other specific location you specify. This tutorial on using Recuva will provide more information on using this tool:
EASEUS partition manager is a nifty tool to create and manage disk partitions on Windows systems. Even if you created partitions during the setup process, and know how to use the disk management console to create partitions, I'd recommend you download and keep this tool. That's because it offers some amazing features like resize, merge or split partitions, convert FAT to NTFS, convert primary partition to logical and vice versa, and much more.
Most of the branded laptops and desktops come bloated with proprietary (and useless) software which you should get rid of if you want your computer to function properly in the long run. Hence the old and trusted PC Decrapifier becomes a must-install software for new Windows computer owners to weed out junk software and make space for better stuff. Here's a guide on cleaning up a new PC with PC Decrapifier:
Windows backup & restore center may not be available in all editions of Windows. A worthy, and more powerful alternative is Macrium Reflect. Use it to create an initial system image, and for other such tasks as you start using your new PC. Here's a guide on how to use this program:
Ninite will cover the "how to install" part when installing new stuff on your PC. This all-in-one installer lets you pick software and install them at one go. Ninite currently includes 58 freeware and shareware applications in 12 categories. Select which programs you'd like then just Click Get Installer and Ninite will package all the software installers in a single installer and install them all automatically. Here's a guide on batch-installing programs with Ninite:
Every geek knows to make sure that the OS and browser is updated but what about the version of Flash, Java or QuickTime that you're running? Not to mention the dozens of other applications that you have installed. Secunia.com's Personal Software Inspector tracks a massive amount of security exploits in applications and will monitor your PC for known exploits. If one is found, it will point you to any known patch. Even among our paranoid members we have yet to find a machine that PSI didn't find something with an exploit.
Planning on recording your own podcast (and who isn't, these days?) or creating a customized ringtone from your favorite dance song? You'll need Audacity, the best free audio editor on the internet. Audacity lets you drop in audio files of any format (or record from any hardware source) to cut, copy, and add to an unlimited number of tracks to mix. Built-in effects and pitch adjustment let you manipulate your samples, and you can output your compositions at up to 96kHz.
The installer will attempt to install the ASK toolbar by default; to avoid installing this requires a manual double opt-out during installation: unchecking option box #2 first, then option box #1 (simply unchecking #1 still allows #2 changes to your search). Here's a video on how to use Glary Utilities:
Gizmo's Freeware lists alternative to Glary Utilities here:
Instead of using the builtin Windows defragger, install this freeware from Glary. After using this freeware to defrag your hard drive, use this same software to Optimize (click the drop-down menu). This program is very fast. I have tried several defragging tools and so far this is the fastest one I tested.
Have you ever sorted a folder by file size, hoping to track down a hard disk hog, only to be frustrated by the fact that Windows doesn't let you see the size of nested folders' contents?
WinDirStat is an application which analyzes the composition of your hard drive, allowing you to identify which files are eating up your disk space. It presents this information in a size-ordered directory view, or as a colorful treemap, making it a snap to see exactly what is using up your hard drive space. Once you've figured out which files are taking up more than their fair share of your drive, you can get rid of them with WinDirStat's built-in cleanup operations. Here's a screenshot of its interface:
Acrobat Reader, as a program and browser plugin, is notoriously cumbersome and drains not only your time but gobs of memory as well. That's why I prefer Foxit Reader, a free lightweight application that weights in only at 3MB. The program launches with the speediness of a roadrunner, and gives you access to welcome features like text extraction and comment annotation. Just be careful when you install Foxit to uncheck the Ask.com toolbar and eBay icon options.
When it comes to image manipulation, there's really only two options right now: Photoshop and GIMP. GIMP doesn't quite capture the usability and polish of Adobe's offering, but where it does beat Photoshop is in price—totally free and open source is a whole lot easier on the pocketbook than the $700 or so that a legal copy of Photoshop will run you. And even if it's not totally perfect, GIMP is full-featured enough for almost any photo manipulation needs you might have.
Video Card & Motherboard Drivers
Install the video card drivers (normally comes in an installation CD) and the motherboard drivers (chipset - all mobo drivers usually come in one installation CD...choose everything that applies to your motherboard).
Ripping Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs used to be a perplexing affair, requiring multiple applications and hours upon hours of ripping, demuxing, transcoding, and remuxing before finally, often as not, you ended up with a file that was broken somehow. RipBot264 has made the high-def ripping game much, much easier. Install the application, as well as the three helper apps it requires, and you'll be up and ripping your Blu-ray collection in no time flat. While it's not as easy to use as Handbrake, we've found you typically get better results because the app uses a more recent version of the X264 codec than Handbrake does. While it's definitely not perfect (RipBot264 lacks an easy way to convert on-disc subtitles to a format that works with ripped video), but it's the easiest Blu-ray ripping app we've tested. Here's a guide on how to rip blu-ray discs:
Need to capture or process raw video from your digital camcorder? Virtualdub is the go-to application for converting AVI files into a large number of encoded formats and container packages. You won't be able to mix or significantly edit video files like you can with Adobe Premiere or even Windows Movie Maker, but for quick capture and encoding of your family vacation, look no further than Virtualdub.
Firefox already offers built-in spellcheck for text windows and forms, but what about every other Windows app? TinySpell is a free spell checker that monitors your text input in any program (including any words copied to the clipboard), and gives you replacement suggestions from its database of 110,000 words. The free version, unfortunately, doesn't give you a visual indicator of your typos (like a red underline). Instead, your mistakes are pointed out with an audio cue, which we eventually found to be a bit too annoying to keep on all the time. Maybe it's training us to be better spellers.
This saves time spent on repetitive typing, prevents typos & makes logging into sites a breeze.
KeyScrambler
Official Site - http://www.qfxsoftware.com/ KeyScrambler is an anti-keylogging program that encrypts user keystrokes at the keyboard driver level, deep in the operating system. The scrambled keys are indecipherable while they travel to the destination app so that no keylogger can steal your passwords or other crucial information.
