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Lazarus: A must have form recovery add-on for Firefox (and Chrome)

Ashraf August 18, 2011 23

We have all had those oh **** moments where we fill out a form (a registration form, a comment on a website, a post on a forum, writing an e-mail, etc.) and when we go to submit it, there is a technical error that prevents the form from being submitted [...]

[Android] Best free office documents editor

Ashraf August 17, 2011 4

A few months ago I wrote an article discussing the best free office documents viewer on Android. Now we revisit the realm of office documents, but this time we are looking for the best free office documents editor.

Before we discuss what app is the best free office documents [...]

Two tools from Master Nirsoft to help you download streaming videos (and audios) off the internet

Ashraf August 17, 2011 18

URL Snooper is a pretty popular software for allowing you to download streaming videos/audio off the internet. However lately I have been having a problem with URL Snooper and YouTube videos. So I went looking for other tools and I came across two more masterpieces by Nirsoft.

VideoCacheView

You see [...]

Tip: Download codec packs to avoid video/audio playback problems

Ashraf August 17, 2011 30

Ever try to play a video/audio file in Windows Media Player and get an error message telling you the file type is not supported? The reason this happens is there are many different types of video/audio files out there; these different file types require different codecs in order to be [...]

Case Study: How even the most experienced users can install third party crapware (like toolbars) and how to protect yourself from such offerings

Ashraf August 16, 2011 29

While I may not have as many years under my belt as other people, I consider myself to be a moderately experienced and knowledgeable techie. Yes, some people can disagree about my level of knowledge/experience, but I think we can all agree I know enough to be able to dodge [...]

[Android] Best free video call/chat app

Ashraf August 14, 2011 14

Not all phones/tablets have front facing cameras. However, for the ones that do, video calling/chatting is an exciting feature. However, although the technology has been around for years, video calling/chatting is a resource intensive process. Although many apps claim to provide users with optimal video calling/chatting functionality, in reality most [...]

“Show them what’s important” – use Awesome Highlighter

Ashraf August 14, 2011 15

We have all experienced the frustration when someone is unable to follow our directions clearly and unable find that one link/text on a web page. We have all also had disagreements with others about certain facts and have tried to provide proof that we in fact are correct in our [...]

The best free file backup software: GFI Backup Home Edition

Ashraf August 13, 2011 87

In my article on FBackup I just ranted about how I am obsessed with Titan Backup. Well let me tell you my affair with Titan Backup is over; we are done – I broke up. I found myself a new love which comes in the name of GFI Backup Home [...]

[Android] Best free OCR (image-to-text) app

Ashraf August 13, 2011 18

OCR (Optical Character Recognition, also known as image-to-text) is a delicacy on PCs; the technology itself has advanced leaps and bounds, but the price of this technology is still out of the reach of many. The good, quality OCR programs on Windows cost an arm and a leg while the [...]

xPud: Quickly gain access to your files and/or the Internet by booting up in under 10 seconds

Ashraf August 13, 2011 20

Typically, it can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes for someone’s computer to cold start. Have you ever been in a hurry and wished your computer would boot up more quickly, say in like 10 seconds? Well you know what they say – be careful what you wish [...]

Use Android Mate (Free) to remove bloatware from your Android phone

Ashraf August 12, 2011 21

Update: If Android Mate does not work for you, try freezing apps to remove bloatware. Freezing bloatware usually works better than deleting bloatware.

A growing trend with Android smartphones is the inclusion of bloatware (software/apps that come preinstalled on the phones). While bloatware is easily uninstallable when included onto Windows [...]

[Firefox] HTTPS Everywhere automatically encrypts the web by forcing websites to use HTTPS

Ashraf August 11, 2011 4

To S or not to S, that is the question; the S in HTTP vs HTTPS, that is. HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It is the English of the Internet (or Internets, depending on who you are talking to). HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure; it takes HTTP [...]

Surf Wikipedia without internet access; take Wikipedia with you on the go. I am serious.

Ashraf August 11, 2011 24

We all know about Wikipedia.com. It is the single largest source of information on the internet. Period. However did you know you can surf Wikipedia even when you have no internet access? I am not kidding. WikiTaxi is a portable no-installation-needed application that allows you to download and store the [...]

Free USB Safely Remove (v4.7)! [Limited time offer]

Ashraf August 10, 2011 28

Software Description

The following is a description of USB Safely Remove, as per the developer:

USB Safely Remove is a USB device manager. It saves time and extends user abilities on active work with flash drives, portable drives, card readers and other gadgets.

A handy menu to stop devices

[...]
Read More »

How To: Install ADB and Fastboot on your Windows computer for use with your Android phone

Ashraf June 18, 2011 47

Anyone that has ever tried to mod their Android phone has come across users telling other users to run various different ADB and/or Fastboot commands. The only problem is the average Joe has no idea what ADB and Fastboot are because, well, they aren’t your run-of-the-mill applications. I was completely [...]

[Android] Best free sticky notes app

Ashraf June 12, 2011 6

Sticky notes are a great way to serve as reminders for things you need to do/things you need to remember. However, using actual sticky notes can be somewhat of a hassle. With everything becoming digital nowadays, why not replace physical sticky notes with sticky notes on your phone? Oh wait, [...]

[Android] Best free remote desktop access/control app

Ashraf June 10, 2011 12

Originally written on June 10, 2011. Updated on August 10, 2011 to clarify TeamViewer is now available on Android Market.

Although nowadays we can pretty much do anything on our smartphones, sometimes there is a need to access our desktops remotely from our phones. To do this, there are remote [...]

InPaint goes online with Web InPaint

Ashraf June 8, 2011 6

InPaint, as I am sure most dotTechies know, is a quick “fix-it” program that allows users to remove blemish from images easily (see dotTech review on InPaint for more details). Now, Teorex - the developer of InPaint – has released Web InPaint, an online version of InPaint:

Web InPaint is [...]

[Android] Best free custom widgets/Power Control bar replacement app

Ashraf June 7, 2011 4

Despite what iPhone users may want you to think (they don’t get to use widgets, yet), widgets are a very useful feature of Android. However, sometimes the default widgets (such as the Power Control bar) that come with Android and the widgets phone manufacturers add in are not enough to [...]

Save 20% ink while printing by using EcoFont

Ashraf June 6, 2011 7

We all like saving money. Recently I posted about 5 tools which can help you print more efficiently and thus save you money. Here is another way on how to save money related to printing; however for this one you do not have to claw in your printing habits (even [...]

Lower the temperatures on your laptop by undervolting.

Ashraf June 6, 2011 58

xps_laptop_icon_by_freaky_design Anyone that has used a laptop knows how hot they can get. Many commercial products like cooling pads are very popular because they claim to be able to cool down your laptop. Well for one most of them actually don’t work (only a few do). For two, undervolting is a [...]

[Android] Best free password manager

Ashraf June 6, 2011 14

Some of us use the same password for every login. (Very bad idea.) If you are one of these people, you don’t require a password manager. (Unless, of course, you need a password manager to remember all your usernames. Would it then be considered a username manager? o_O) However, many [...]

5 tools to help you make a website more printer friendly

Ashraf June 5, 2011 14

Out of curiosity, how many times have you copy + pasted the contents of a webpage into Word (or any other text editor) because you did not want to waste ink/paper printing all the “junk” on the website? I know I have… many times. Wouldn’t it be more convenient if [...]

[Android] Best free anti-virus app

Ashraf June 5, 2011 9

Does Android have viruses (otherwise known as malware)? Everything has viruses, regardless of what Apple fanboys want you to believe. The real questions are: What are the chances of your Android phone being infected? Do you *have* to download anti-virus (also known as anti-malware or mobile security) apps to protect [...]

[Android] Best free network data usage monitor

Ashraf June 3, 2011 10

“Unlimited” data plans are a thing of past. For both prepaid and post-paid, most everyone is now on a data plan with a quota (hard cap quota, such as AT&T’s 2 GB a month with overage charges, or soft cap such as T-Mobile’s 2 GB a month but no overage [...]

Get CyberLink PhotoDirector 2011 for free (when it is released) by participating in the CyberLink PhotoDirector 2011 Beta program

Ashraf June 2, 2011 26

Looking for a professional-grade photo manipulation software? This may be your chance to get one, without having to pay a cent. Recently CyberLink released the Beta version of their PhotoDirector software: PhotoDirector 2011 Beta. As a way to encourage people to participate in the Beta program (so bugs can be [...]

New CleanMem Mini Monitor allows users to manually run CleanMem and keep an eye on RAM usage

Ashraf June 2, 2011 17

Do you use CleanMem? (If not, you really should.) Yes? Well, then, you will be glad to hear CleanMem has been updated to v1.6.0 and now comes with an extra goodie – CleanMem Mini Monitor.

CleanMem Mini Monitor is a very simple addon to CleanMem; it allows users to

View

[...]

Dropbox Security Flaw: Files outside of the “Public” and “Photos” folder can be accessed by others

Ashraf June 2, 2011 19

My oh my. Dropbox has been in the news recently for privacy/security concerns. It appears I may have stumbled upon another security flaw.

All Dropbox accounts have a Photos and Public folder. Files in the Photos and Public folder can be shared with others. According to Dropbox, no files outside [...]

[Android] Best free cloud storage/file sync app

Ashraf June 2, 2011 8

Originally written on June 2, 2011. Updated on June 2, 2011 to include SugarSync.

With more and more people using their smartphones for more work than play, it is becoming increasingly important to have access to files across all platforms. In other words, many people desire a way to easily [...]

This is Windows 8

Ashraf June 1, 2011 25

A few weeks back, I was surfing the web and came across a website. I no longer remember the specific details of what that website was, but I remember there was a slider on the website. To work that slider I continually tried to slide it by using a touch [...]

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