Software

[Download] Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0

by

Microsoft security essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 has just got out of beta and is available for public download. One good reason to use this antivirus and anti-spyware program is that it is coming from the Microsoft folks and even that too for free! If you are already using an earlier version of the Security Essentials, you don’t need to download the software again. Just run the program and it should automatically update itself to the latest version.

Microsoft security essentials v2

Microsoft Security Essentials runs very smoothly and efficiently in the background taking up very lesser amounts of your CPU resources.

Features of Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 :

  • Windows Firewall integration
  • Comprehensive malware protections
  • Free to download and use
  • Automatic updates
  • Network inspection system
  • Enhanced protection for web-based threats
  • Easy to use

Microsoft Security Essential keeps itself up to date by downloading updates automatically. As long as the program is in green, your computer is running fine and you can continue working on your PC without any worries. But when it turns to red, it means that your computer is at risk and the program will show you the steps that you can follow to keep your PC secure. The interface comes with a lot of settings giving you more control over the program.

Microsoft security essentials v2 settings

You can configure various settings like:

# Scheduled scan

# Default actions

# Real-time protection

# Excluded files and locations

# Excluded file types

# Excluded processes

# Advanced

# Microsoft SpyNet

Download this free antivirus program from the following links. But please note that your PC must be running a genuine Windows to install Security Essentials.

Download Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0:

For x86 machines (7.5 MB)

For x86-64 machines (9.5 MB)

Supported OS: Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP

[Download] Opera 11 Release Candidate 1 (RC)

by

Opera 11 installer

Opera has achieved another landmark with the release of Opera 11 Release Candidate. Now that has come really quick. It was just less than a month ago that the Opera 11 Beta was released and now comes the RC version.

Opera 11 now supports adding extensions much like Google Chrome, where users can install extensions from Opera’s extensions catalog.  You don’t need to restart your browser while installing or uninstalling the extensions like you do in Google Chrome.  There are loads of other improvements. Take a look at some of them.

New features in Opera 11:

  • Tab stacking: Drag and drop a tab onto another to create a tab group.
  • Extensions support
  • Visual mouse gestures
  • Enriched HTML 5 support
  • Auto-update of extensions and Opera Unite apps
  • Google search suggestions
  • On demand loading of plug-ins
  • Enhanced email panel
  • Faster installation

If you are installing Opera 11 with a stable version already being installed, you should note that the Opera 11 RC version gets installed in the same default installation folder as that of the stable version. To avoid this, click on “Options” in the installer window and change the settings.

opera 11 installer setup

Download the Opera 11 for your operating system from the below direct links:

Download Opera 11.00 Release Candidate 1 (RC 1):

Windows

Mac

Linux/FreeBSD

[Tip] Remove Skype Icon From Windows 7 Taskbar

by

skype logo

If you are using the latest version of Skype on your Windows 7 machines, you might now be very aware of the fact that Skype pins itself to the Windows 7 taskbar.

skype icon in taskbar

This is a bit annoying as you don’t want Skype to reside in the taskbar and occupy the useful space. If you are wondering how can this be removed from your taskbar, this is what you have to do:

1. Click on the Skype taskbar icon and sign into your Skype account.

2. Click on the “Tools” menu and choose “Options” from the list.

skype options in the tools menu

3. Click the “Advanced” button under Skype options.

Skype options list

4. Under the “Advanced Settings”, uncheck against “Keep Skype in the taskbar while I’m signed in”.

Skype options advanced settings

5. Click the “Save” button to save settings and close the window.

That is it! Now, close the Skype window and it should disappear from your taskbar as well.

No Skype taskbar icon

Gmail For Android Gets Priority Inbox

by

Google has just updated the Gmail Android app (version 2.3.2) with some really interesting feature additions. Gmail app for Android devices now supports the Priority Inbox feature which is already available in the desktop version of the Google’s free email service.

Priority inbox includes all the important messages (both read and unread) in your inbox. All the important messages will carry priority-inbox-gmail-marker marker.

Gmail priotiy inbox in Android

You can always change the importance of a message from the menu.

Gmail Android menu

What’s more? You can also get notified (vibrate, notify or ring) when an important mail arrives in your inbox. To set this, just go to Menu > Settings > Priority Inbox and configure the settings.

The other improved features in the Gmail for Android 2.3.2 include the improved compose mode. When composing a reply, you can quickly choose to reply only to sender, reply to all or to forward the mail.

Reply options in Gmail for Android

You can also choose a custom from address while composing a new email message, a feature which is already available in the desktop client from long time.

Custom from address in Gmail for Android

The update is available only for the users of Android 2.2 (Froyo) or later versions (Gingerbread). To get the latest version of the Gmail Android app, go to this Android Market Place link from your Android device or scan the following image your barcode or QR reader app. Have Android 2.1? Sorry, no luck!

QR Code:

Gmail for Android QR code

Download Dropbox 1.0

by

Dropbox

Dropbox has reached to 1.0! A nice achievement there. Dropbox team has released RC version of the Dropbox 1.0 which is  available now for free download. For starters, Dropbox is a pretty popular too which allows you to store your desktop files on the cloud, share them and access them from anywhere in the world over the internet, irrespective of the platform (be it Windows, Mac, Linux or even any mobile OS). Dropbox also synchronizes the files between your offline directories and online directories to make sure it always has the latest version of the files within it.

dropbox graphic

Dropbox 1.0.0 RC is coming with a plenty of bug fixes and performance improvements and the latest version will use lesser CPU resources to run. The most appealing feature in the 1.0 RC version of the Dropbox is “Selective Sync..” which allows you to control which folders should be synced to your computer.

Dropbox preferences

Selective sync in dropbox

Selective Sync would be very useful in saving the bandwidth for you. With Selective Sync, you can choose a folder to be on the Dropbox server as backup without still needing the folder to be synced to all the machines where you use Dropbox. Download the Release Candidate version of Dropbox 1.0.0 from the following direct links.

Download Dropbox 1.0:

Windows [13.96 MB]

Mac OS X [20.90 MB]

Linux: x86 [13.77 MB] x86_64 [14.54 MB]

Note:

There are some bugs being reported by users on Mac and Linux when upgrading from 0.7.110 to 1.0.0. You might not want to install this version if you are on any one of those two platforms. However there’s a workaround available on Dropbox forum (scroll down to note section) to get this work.

[Download] Realtek R2.55 HD Audio Drivers

by

Realtek logo

Realtek has recently released a new updated version of the HD audio driver codecs, Realtek High Definition Audio driver R2.55. Apparently there are no feature updates or fixes released with this version. This may be the reason why they haven’t released any release notes with the release of Audio Codes Driver R2.55.

If you are happy with using earlier version of Realtek HD Audio Codecs Driver you may choose to skip this update. However, if you are having with HD audio output of your audio device, download this HD Audio Driver R2.55 for Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP systems. Download the driver package from the direct download links added below.

Download Realtek HD Audio Driver R2.55:

Windows 7/Vista [32/64 bits – 77.92 MB – Exe file] [link expired]

Windows XP [32/64 bits – 30.55 MB – Zipped file] [link expired]

Related: Download Realtek R2.48 High Definition audio driver

[Download] Google Chrome 8 Stable Version

by

Google Chrome 8

Google Chrome has just been updated to stable version 8.0.552.215. Google Chrome 8 is coming with over 800 bug fixes and other minor improvements. The big feature enhancements in Chrome 8 is the addition of a built in PDF viewer (and yes, it is secured in Chrome’s sandbox) and the latest version also updated to support the upcoming Google Chrome Web app store .

Download:

If you are already using an earlier version of Chrome, just click the wrench Chrome Tools button and choose “About Google Chrome”. Google Chrome’s “Auto update silent mode” should get you the the latest version of the Chrome. If it didn’t, it’ll for sure now when you choose to open “About Google Chrome” as shown here:

Google Chrome updating

Or if you may choose to download the Chrome online installer. If you want to download a standalone offline installer so that you can install it on any other computer without an active internet connection, you can do so by downloading the exe setup file from the following link:

Download Google Chrome 8 Offline Installer [23.42 MB]

[Download] TeamViewer 6

by

TeamViewer

TeamViewer v6.0.9895 final is available for download. TeamViewer is widely used desktop sharing application (available for free for non-commercial use) supporting all kinds of platforms be it Windows, Mac, Linux and even iPhone, iPad and Android.

TeamViewer screenshot

Salient features of TeamViewer 6.0.9895:

* Remote Administration of unattended servers: Control unattended computers and servers and even perform remote reboot and reconnect.

* File transfer: You can easily transfer files and folders between your computer and remote computer.

* High security standard: Uses 256-bit AES encryption

* Remote support without installation

* Remote presentation of products, solutions and services: Share live demos, presentations and others with the remote partner (or client).

* Works behind firewalls: Works behind all firewalls and NAT routing.

* Browser based access: TeamViewer Web Connector (flash based) can be used to control your computer remotely using nothing but just a browser.

* Optimized performance: Even if you are slow internet connection, TeamViewer optimizes display quality and speed depending upon your connection speed.

Download TeamViewer 6.0.9895 [3.37 MB]

[Download] LaCie USB 3.0 Driver For Mac

by

Lacie

LaCie has released first ever USB 3.0 driver for Apple Mac , though which the Mac users can make use of the LaCie’s USB 3.0 hard drives and enjoy much better the data transfer rates. In fact, the USB 3.0 specification (known as SuperSpeed), is touted to be at least 10 times faster than the current USB 2.0 standard, offering data transfer rates up to 5 Gbps. Though the theoretical throughput of the USB 3.0 is 5 Gbps, that is hardly achievable and it is considered reasonable to achieve 3.2 Gbps speeds under normal circumstances.

Comparison Chart:

USB storage speeds comparison

LaCie, promises speeds up to 130MB/s for single hard drives and speeds up to 220 MB/s for dual hard drives. To add the USB 3.0 support to your Mac, you first need to download the LaCie USB 3.0 driver and you are supposed to buy LaCie’s PCIe or ExpressCard expansion cards (PCIe – $49.99 & ExpressCard – $59.99). For more information on the type of USB 3.0 cards your should use for your Mac, read LaCie support page.

Download LaCie USB 3.0 Driver for Mac

[Download] WordPress 3.0.2

by

wordpress logo

WordPress 3.0.2 is now available as a mandatory security update for all the earlier versions of WordPress.

WordPress 3.0.2 release fixes a moderate security issue identified in WordPress that could allow a author-level user to gain access to some administrator related features of the site. The update also fixes as many as 9 minor bugs and also packs some security enhancements. For full list of updates in the versions 3.0.2, read at WordPress Codex.

WordPress 3.0.2 Update

To update your blog to to the latest version of the WordPress, either download 3.0.2 version or use the automatic update feature from Dashboard > Updates menu from the administrator’s area in your blog. It is highly recommended that you download this update immediately even if you think your site hasn’t got any untrusted users.