Tips ‘n Tricks »
Here you will find tips, tricks, and guides on various different topics, but mainly focused on computers.
DVDSmith will bypass DRM protection and region locks to allow you to rip your DVDs
Recently I posted about WinX DVD Ripper. WinX DVD Ripper is a useful software because it bypasses DRM protection and region locks to allow you to rip your DVDs to different video formats (such as AVI, WMV, etc.). Now I would like to tell you about another DVD ripping program [...]
Read More »Pidgin, Trillian, Miranda or Digsby: “Which IM app should I use?”
Lets be honest here: who does not instant message (IM) nowadays? Heck, I walked into the advising office at my university and the front desk secretary was IMing my adviser to see if she was available. So most of us, if not all of us, IM. The problem is the [...]
Adrian’s recommendations on what to grab from the Google Pack
More and more we are seeing companies releasing software “packs” – basically a one-size-fits all installer for multiple programs. Google is one of those companies – in the form of the Google Pack – and could be credited with actually making this wave popular (no pun intended). Google Pack includes [...]
Read More »Supplement your computer’s security with WinPatrol (now with a portable version!).
I am sure everyone has read my list of top 6 free security software. Well today I am here to tell you of a program that you can use to supplement your protection software to enhance digital security. Meet WinPatrol:
WinPatrol is a very lightweight security app that does all [...]
Read More »Re-enable critical Windows’ components disabled by malware
One popular form of attack used by malware is disabling Window’s components such as the Command Prompt, System Restore, and Task Manager. Re-enable is a simple portable tool that allows users to easily re-enable Windows’ RegEdit, Command Prompt, Task Manager, Run, Folder Options, and System Restore:
Using Re-enable cannot get [...]
Read More »Facing the my-new-billion-dollar-iPhone-4-has-a-design-flaw problem? Duct tape may solve your problem.
If you own an iPhone 4 you probably are already aware of the must talked about iPhone 4 design flaw. Well now Consumer Reports, a nonprofit authoritative source on everything consumer, has confirmed there is indeed an iPhone 4 design flaw. Until Apple decides to man-up to their problem instead [...]
Read More »Need an awesome (and free) video capture/screen recording tool? Try BB FlashBack Express.
I am sure most of you have seen the videos that I have begun to incorporate in some of my reviews; for those videos I used a video capture tool called Debut. For the longest time Debut has been my favorite video capture tool – it is simple to use [...]
Read More »8 free online image editors (Photoshop alternatives and photo quick-fix tools)
Not many will argue with me when I say Photoshop is one of the best image editors created to date. At the same time, Photoshop is probably one of the best expensive image editors created to date also. So what are your options if you can’t afford Photoshop? Well for [...]
Permanently change the processing priority of a running program with Prio
Prio is a simple program which adds a “Save Priority” option to Windows Task Manager effectively making any priority change by you permanent:
Screenshot originally found on the developer’s website
Of course this “Save Priority” feature is optional so you do not have to enable it (if you just want [...]
Read More »IObit’s “Advanced Uninstaller” tries to satisfy your clean uninstalling desires
Recently IObit, a software publishing firm famous for their Advanced SystemCare software package and their Internet Security 360 scandal, released a freeware product – Advanced Uninstaller – that aims to serve all your uninstalling needs:
While the focus of Advanced Uninstaller is on performing clean uninstalls (i.e. performing a regular [...]
Read More »Dropbox user privacy/data security issues and how you can protect yourself
Dropbox is a popular cloud-storage service. It is loved by all and used by many. Heck, it is dotTech’s favorite and I personally use it too; I have even used – in conjunction with other file hosting services – to run some dotTech Promotions. However, recently some alarming accusations have [...]
Dynamic Dummy Image Generator: Generate hassle-free placeholder/”dummy” images
We have all seen Lorem Ipsum text floating around. In short, Lorem Ipsum is just a bunch of gibberish letters/words used as “placeholders” or “dummy text” when the author of something (a website template, a brochure, etc.) wants to showoff some aspect of their work, but does not want to [...]
Read More »Resize non-resizable windows with ResizeEnable
Resizable windows are one of the key parts of the window metaphor. Unfortunately, not every piece of software follows this design standard. For example, how many times have you gone to a Properties panel, only to discover you had to scroll? Stop this madness now with ResizeEnable.[...]
What it does
Read More »Desk Drive automatically creates – and removes – shortcuts on your desktop for external media (USB/flash drives, external hard drives, etc.)
While I personally have depreciated the use of my desktop, some people are desktop fiends: All important files, folders, and shortcuts should be accessible directly from the desktop. If you are one of these desktop fiends, then Desk Drive may be for you.
Image Credit: Ody5iu5[...]
What Is Desk Drive
Read More »iPrint – now freeware – helps users cut back on printing costs “by up to 60%”
Forget the fact that “going green” is now the cool thing to do. Just think about saving money. iPrint is a very simple software which helps users reduce printing costs (developer claims printing costs can be reduced “by up to 60%”) by using some smart – yet simple – page [...]
Read More »Surf Canyon: Using search engines just got easier
You have a final project due on interracial marriages; you need to do some research so you go to Google.com and type in “interracial marriages”. You find a link that you think may be relevant to your research and you click on it. The page is not bad but you [...]
Read More »iWisoft Video Converter: Terrific freeware video and audio converter
Everyone knows dotTech’s favorite audio and video converter is FormatFactory. However a week or so ago Jeff, a dotTechie, brought iWisoft Video Converter to my attention, a freeware video and audio converter, as a possible software that can triumph FormatFactory (big thanks to you my friend). So here I am, [...]
Read More »4 ways to monitor who is accessing your shared folders/files
Windows allows us to easily share files and folders with other people on our network; but some of us may want to know when someone else is accessing our shared files and folders. I am going to show everyone 4 different methods to do just that.
Computer Management
For all [...]
Read More »Tip: Softpedia allows users to easily identify freeware programs that come bundled with toolbars/third-party programs
We all like freeware programs. What none of us like, however, are the third-party offers (such as toolbars) that come with many freeware programs. While I am not bashing on freeware developers for including third-party offers in their programs (freeware developers need some sort of revenue), I am saying that [...]
Tip: “Can’t establish a reliable data connection to the server” when trying to sync your Google account with your Android phone? Sign in via the Youtube app to fix the problem
I must say I love my Android phone. (This is the point where you BlackBerry, iPhone, Nokia, and Microsoft fans cringe with hatred). However, as good as the Android platform is, it isn’t without its fair share of bugs. Typically all minor, temporary bugs on an Android phone can be [...]
Tip: Cleaning out your browsing history? Remember to delete the Adobe Flash Player storage
Originally posted: April 24, 2010
Cleaning out your browsing history is very easy nowadays, with all major browsers having an option to delete surfing history, cookies, cache, etc. However, simply using your browser’s built-in browsing history cleaner does not fully clear your browsing history. One thing your browser’s built-in cleaner [...]
Read More »HOW TO: Format your text (hyperlink, bold, etc.) when writing comments on websites.
Many people have asked me “Ashraf, how do you make the link say what you want when you post those comments?”. It is a question that has been asked of me over and over. Therefore, I have decided to write up this simple guide which contain information on how you [...]
Read More »Control the volume on your computer with your mouse wheel.
Some of us have dedicated buttons on on laptops/speakers that allow us to control the volume of out computer; some of us don’t. However, would it not be convenient if you did not have to use those buttons at all; rather you could just scroll up or down using your [...]
Read More »Are applications contacting home? See what programs are using the internet without your knowledge
What’s that program you have running that’s accessing the internet? You don’t know? Find out using a simple command prompt command. It’s important to know what your programs are doing at any one time. You should have full control over what does and doesn’t use your connection, whether you’re at [...]
ÜberIcon: add simple effects to opening files, folders, and shortcuts in Windows
Sometimes when using Windows I think about the awesome eye candy of Linux and cry (ok… I don’t really cry). You know, Windows has some nice effects and all but at times its so… boring. So keeping with that line-of-thought, ÜberIcon is a simple lightweight program which adds effects to [...]
Read More »PStart: Extremely useful and unique program launcher for USB/flash drives
With more and more software being designed to be “portable” so they can run off USB/flash drives, more and more users are jam-packing their USB/flash drives with programs to take with them on the go. However, with new horizons comes new problems. One of the new problems with having dozens [...]
Read More »The only free file (audio, video, image) converting program you will ever need.
Ask yourself these five questions:
- Do I want to be able to easily convert a video file to literally any video format?
- Do I want to be able to easily convert an audio file to literally any audio format?
- Do I want to be able to easily rip the audio
[...]
Read More »Easily encrypt your USB/flash drive with SafeHouse Explorer… even if you don’t have administrator access!
We all know TrueCrypt is the king of encryption software. Undoubtedly, it is one of the most feature filled and secure encryption software out there; best of all, it is open source. The only one problem with TrueCrypt is you need administrator access to install it on any computer or, [...]
Read More »Firefox Sync: have all your bookmarks, tabs, and passwords everywhere
Keeping passwords, bookmarks, and other things synced across the internet is a pain. There are third-party services like LastPass and Xmarks, but none of them sync all of your data, leaving you with shreds of data across each device. Luckily, Mozilla has seen the problem, and in Firefox 4, introduced [...]
March 31st is World Backup Day: here’s what you might miss
The most frequent hardware failure on any computer is its hard drive, which incidentally stores all of your files. Unfortunately, many hard drive failures risk the permanent deletion of all of your precious data. Take today, World Backup Day 2011, to back up these important but often forgotten things.
Image [...]
Read More »WinX DVD Author is now freeware
Two years ago dotTech reviewed WinX DVD Author and last year we ran an exclusive promotion giving away WinX DVD Author v5.5 for free. Now, similar to what they did with WinX DVD Ripper, Digiarty Software has made WinX DVD Author a freeware program. Click up the link below to [...]
Twelve must-have Gmail labs projects
One of the cool things about Gmail is that it has so many Labs projects. You can text people, you can insert images, you can easily translate emails, you can optimize Gmail for the wide-screen, and much much more!
1. SMS in Chat & SMS in Chat gadget
Although [...]
Read More »Easily convert rich text to plain text with PureText
Anyone that has copied and pasted anything in the past knows how annoying it can be when one wants just the text and not all the formatting and images that come with it. Yes, being able to copy + paste rich text is a handy feature of Windows Clipboard, but [...]
Read More »Dropquest 2011: Get 1 GB extra free Dropbox storage space!
Mirror, mirror on the wall: What is the best file sharing/backup service of them all? Dropbox. All free Dropbox accounts come with 2 GB of storage space. Last November I posted about how to increase that 2 GB of storage space by 50%. Want more free Dropbox storage space? Participate [...]
Quickly close all running programs – and easily restore them – with SmartClose
Sometimes we install programs that require no other programs to be running. Other times we are doing something resource intensive and would like there to be no other program running in the background. For whatever reason, there are situations where users need to quickly and easily close all running programs. [...]