Maintaining Your Computer So Your Computer Can Maintain You

If your computer starts performing different than normal, or running very slow, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to buy a new computer. Like cars, computers also need tune-ups and require regular maintenance. There are applications that will clean your computer and make it run like new.

PC system utilities can repair a hard drive, generate free space on a hard drive, recover data, optimize processes and most of all clean your computer registry! Utilities applications will warn the user of any viruses or other issues that are potentially hazardous to your computer’s functionality to include hard drive errors, security issues, inefficient settings, or any files that may need deleted to free up disk space.

Computer technicians use the Utilities Applications when beginning diagnostic processes, so when you purchase this software, you are basically purchasing your own computer technician! Running utilities regualarly and using diagnostics tools, your computer will last longer, experience very few slowdowns and improve the overall performance, saving the user a lot of frustration.

What to look for in system utilities

System utilities defragment hard drives and remove errors, while some mainly focus on repair and recovery. If you have the same computer issues over and over, then you are familiar with the main problems your system has, and you can purchase the PC utility application that is ideal for your specific needs. The best utilities application, however, manages a wide range of issues.

Software for specific needs include:

Repair/Recovery-Applications such as spyware, adware and Trojan can often be infected with viruses, because they are attached to unsecure websites. Repair and recovery can fix errors and remove these viruses to stop your computer from slowing down or stop working. This application will also remove files that are not necessary and erase internet history, cookies and temporary files from internet.

Management and Diagnostics-This application will uninstall programs that you do wish to have on your computer and keep your computer running at optimum speed. This is the best application for managing your start up programs and will solve issues before they cause serious problems.

Ease-This utility makes computer maintenance easy! This will incorporate easy to use features and easy to navigate interface.

Recommended: 10 Easy Steps to Speed Up Your Computer!

Optimization will give you utilities that can tweak settings for memory and internet options which will ensure your computer runs at optimum functionality. This will provide the quickest and most noticeable performance of your computer and you can adjust the settings for your Windows operating system.

PC utilities assist in fixing a broad range of problems and help maintain your computer’s functions. This application will keep you from having to take your computer to be fixed by a professional. This software provides a good amount of information so you can repair and maintain your computer yourself. This software will improve the efficiency and performance.

Of course there are numerous, additional software applications such as file sharing like Rocket Software, etc. When you choose the right application for your computer, be sure to do your research on the specific programs. Sometimes you will have to pay for these applications, but you may be able to find some free downloads!

Author Bio:

Missouri resident C. Jones devotes much of her writing to software applications when she is not occupied with her medical profession.

Windows Security Threats Now Hit Android Devices

As if malicious users still don't have enough to do, they have decided to target more Android devices with their viruses. The more popular Android becomes, the worse it seems to get hit with all kinds of problems that users just do not want.

Major Android Security Threats

Typical threats targeting Android phones are similar to the kinds of security threats that attack Windows computers. The Trojan Horse hidden in what seems to be a useful, legitimate app is the hugest one that is being passed along.

The Trojan apps usually are installed with the following purposes in mind:

• To be able to send spammed e-mails from a hacked account.
• To automatically text from a personal number to someone else's.
• To otherwise tamper with data that could make the hacker money.

One of the major Android security threats right now is the “Zeus” one that steals banking information. It targets banks in Italy, Thailand, and Australia. However, many other major threats are being announced daily. Two examples include the "SmSilence" which steals info from Korean phones, and the multitude of fake Android anti-virus apps on the rise.

Don't Miss: Protecting Your Mobile Phone from Being Hacked!

The Number One Motive of Malicious Security Threats

A small but significant amount (23.5 %) of viruses are planted on phones are put there out of revenge, or just to play a cruel joke on someone. This rather reckless category of offenses may not hurt as much financially. However, it still does damage and may be done to help cover up legal information or to frame someone of a crime.

The rest of the hacking instances that involve viral infections on Androids totals about 76.5 %. You guessed it, too. It is this majority of cases that is done with motivation that is one purely of wanting to make a profit from the virus attack.

These majority of situations are ones in which identities and cash is stolen and the user is somehow fooled into giving users access to personal files. This could take place on their Android-powered phones as well as their tablets. Every single piece of information stolen is so that the attacker can somehow steal money or resources to make money.

So What is Being Done About Android Security Threats?

Public forums are being held to take new plans of action against viruses and malware. More legitimate services are also being provided to help people safely protect their Android phones as well as Windows tablets. As more effective protective shields are placed on phones, safety will be increased for everyone.

The goal is to ensure the security of everyone on their mobile devices as would when using a PC. Prevention will be a major priority. However, finding ways to clean up the messes already created on infected devices is one action taken.

In the meantime, Android mobile users as well as anyone who has a Windows Tablet PC needs to beware. It is highly advised that all files come from a legitimate source. Otherwise, correcting the problem later on could take more work.

Author Bio:

Erin Walsh is the Director of Public Relations for Boost Software. She is an avid blogger that enjoys sharing her knowledge with the everyday computer user, by helping them with common errors especially error 1722, error 1719, error 0x80070424, and error 0x80004004. She also specializes in helping pc users update drivers, especially the most problematic ones such as toshiba drivers, no sound, motherboard drivers, chipset drivers, lenovo drivers, nvidia drivers and hp drivers.

Top 2 Apps For Flickr Users

With DSLR cameras becoming more accessible to ordinary consumers, photo sharing and photo print products has almost become a norm in our society. Now with a mobile device one can take almost unlimited shots of one’s favorites and store, organize and create a photo album off them. Additionally, there are also almost endless lists of photo editing apps designed to help people better create stunning photos and storystreams with their shots. One of such apps with remarkable recommendation is Picasa.

Picasa is a popular image organizer and viewer used for organizing and editing digital photos. It is integrated with a photo sharing website called Picasa Web Albums (PWA) to enable users share their photos with ease.

Now, a very similar website to PWA is Flickr, a popular media hosting website where people host and share their personal photographs. However, Flickr has become the media home on which bloggers host the images they embed in their blogs and social media thereby making it one of the biggest media host on the internet. If you are one of those who use Flickr almost on daily basis or perhaps an individual who just fancy this photo platform, here are the top 3 apps you should consider having installed in your device to enhance your Flickr experience.

Flickit Pro

Flickit Pro is an app designed to enhance Flickr experience on iPhones, iPod Touch and iPad. It is a product from the Green Volcano Software and requires iOS 4.0 and later.

Basic features:

Photoflow - A clean photo navigation feature resembling Cover Flow on iPods or in iTunes. Additionally, users can enable the tilt ‘mode’ so they can scroll through photos using their device accelerometer.

Infinite Scrolls – Perhaps you have a photostream on Flickr with thousands of photos. With Flickit Pro you can just scroll through them endlessly as a single list of photos without any waiting time that may distract your browsing.

Batch Uploads – Flickit Pro enables users to upload their photos in batches instead of one by one. Additionally, users can also choose sets, tags or groups, and set metadata defaults. You can also auto post to twitter and other logging services, and if you are using a device with 3GS, you can even upload videos.

Favorite Contacts – With Flickit Pro you can create a customized list of favorite contacts so you get to follow only your family and friends or get updates only from those your cherish their work.

In addition to all these cutting edge features, Flickit Pro will also allow you to get details on photos, including reading comments on them and being able to add your own comments. You can also view Flickr videos, find photos with keyword search, view nearby photos and explore other interesting photos on Flickr right from your mobile device. Flickr Pro sells for a mere $4.99.

What The Users Think of Flickit:

Flickit Pro is a popular app that has gained way too much popularity among Flickr lovers because of the wealth of features it provides. Many users have used and continue to recommend this app based on its ease of use, the ability to multi-upload and organize photos in a way to suit the user. This is the one app that combines almost all features of other 3rd party apps for Flickr, even those that couldn’t be found on other apps. For instance, while no other app supports putting photos into multiple sets, Flickit Pro allowed a user to conduct a 365 project right from his device.

Pros:

• Supports multiple photo uploads.
• Upload and view videos.
• Cutting edge photo organizing features.
• Exceptional photo navigation features.

Cons:

App might be slow on some devices. If this happens to you be sure you are using the latest version and running on the recommended iOS.

FlickFolio for Flickr

FlickFolio is an app designed to facilitate Flickr photo gallery organizing and batch uploads from Android devices. It is a perfect app that excels at offline viewing.

Features:

FlickFolio grows with your device - It is perfect for tablets running on Honeycomb (Android 3.0), comes with a native functionality that is ICS (Android 4.0) ready, and decodes JPG on Android 2.3.3+ devices.

Supports offline viewing – With FlickFolio, you can auto download your photos and take them anywhere you go with you. To make sure this doesn’t interface with other commands on your device, the auto downloads are made small and syncs when your phone is charging.

Unlimited exploration – Explore Flickr to its fullest; find photos that interest you, create contacts, find groups and create favorites. Find details to reach photo, see their comment and add your own comments.

Make stunning presentations – You can use FlickFolio to make a clean presentation to family and friends or to your clients. The app automatically optimizes your photo size to fit your device; your phone or tablet.

Supports batch uploads – You can upload photos in batches in the background while you do other things with your device. You can simply share photos from your gallery with FlickFolio to upload them or set up your auto uploads to add your photos and videos to your photostream.

Ease of use with amazing UI – FlickFolio comes with an amazing user interface that is not only easy to use but presents all the control options in a clean pattern. You can view photos in full screen slideshows, move photos between albums, upload with geolocation and share your photos via email, facebook and twitter.

It is reasonably priced – Regardless of all its features, FlickFolio sells for $2.99

What The Users Think of FlickFolio:

With a dominant of 5 star ratings on independent review sites like Amazon.com, and on some app listing sites, FlickFolio seems to have built a huge database of well satisfied users. Users love its boatload of functionalities, customization and control options. The fact that one can schedule batch uploads at the background which doesn’t interface with other activities on the device made it a worthy app for some users. Additionally, many people loved that they were able to get such a great app at fewer than 3 bucks.

Pros:

• Supports batch uploads.
• Auto optimizes image to fit device screen.
• Accommodates different Android OS versions and grows with your device.
• Provides great offline access to photos.

Cons:

A few customers had problems with logging in and staying logged in on Kindle Fire device.

Author Bio:

Steven is an avid android user, who is always looking for new applications to write reviews and evaluations about, and a writer in his software blog. Steven focuses on online services, like cloud storage, photo sharing platforms and online printing.

Make Your Road-Trips Exciting With These Apps

License: Creative Commons image source

With the bright summer around, almost everyone’s making plans for picnics, trips, and more travel. Road trips can be fun and adventurous, but confirming on the right pit stop could be tricky. With mobile apps designed for all your needs, it surely does make your road trip easier and exciting.

If you are planning on an adventurous road trip, but not sure about the plan of action, here come some of the best mobile apps to guide you through the entire trip and make it memorable.

Don't Miss: Best 5 Navigation Apps For IPhone

1.) Waze Social GPS, Maps & Traffic

The smartest navigational solution that provide services like - crowdsourcing fuel prices, real time traffic data, alert on road hazards and speed traps, and help you save time and money. With the help of Waze, you can easily find out the nearest and the cheapest community gas station, keep your friends posted about your joy ride with a real-time map showing your location, fully voice guided navigation, report on any road closures with real time data and much more. The app is a perfect solution to make any road trip hassle free and memorable.

2.) Food Tripping

The GPS designed app helps the user to find the nearest food joints, juice corners, farmers’ market, breweries, etc. with one of the best user interface, the app provides the best database with healthy and popular food stuffs, various food category, popular food joints, new business offering suggestion, sharing details through social media, and much more. FoodTripping app is available for both iOS and Android platform.

3.) Serendipitor

Worried about getting lost in a road trip or trying to find a route, Serendipitor comes to the rescue. The user can simply put up the starting point and the desired destination, and the app provides the road map for the route. It gives you a systematic direction guide, which makes the navigation easier. The app also gives its user some fun detours and location, which can make your road trip even more exciting. The app definitely offers the best of hassle free travel.

4.) Hotel Tonight

This is one is specifically for the sudden multiday trips, where you just hit the road and later realize you are yet to book a hotel. Hotel Tonight is specially designed for all those adventure travelers, who can grab the best and last –minute deals with the help of this app. One of the biggest adventures about the app is that it provides last minute hotel deal over 12 countries.

Author Bio:

Michael is a copywriter with Zco Corporation, One of the Largest Custom Mobile App Developers in the World.

3 Great Facebook Alternatives

Maybe you’re tired of the the ticker. Or the timeline. Maybe it’s because your parents constantly check your profile. If it’s not any of these then you’ve probably had it with the constant stream of ads that are specifically tailored to target you. Because let’s face it: we are a bit tired of Facebook. It’s time to unlike them and chose a different social media platform.

Here are three great alternatives:

3.) MeetMe

According to their website you should join as it is “fun, friendly and free!” and currently boasts more than 90 million users MeetMe is different from Facebook in the sense that it is a place to meet new people rather than staying in touch with friends you already know. MeetMe was founded eight years ago under the name myYearbook by two students. On the site people use a virtual currency with which they can send gifts to each other: lunch money. You can earn lunch money by playing Flash games on the site. On MeetMe you’ll find the chance to instant message your new friends, ask them to rate your appearance and play games like truth or lie.

2.) Nextdoor

Nextdoor is a social network platform that specifically targets a special geographical area. Their website informs us that “when neighbours start talking, good things happen.” You will be able to only get in touch with people that live really close to you. Upon registering you need to fill in your address. Once this is done you’ll get a list of people living nearby who are also using Nextdoor. The website hopes to build a stronger neighbourhood by helping neighbours connect so that they can inform each other and share local information.

1.) Google +

This will not come as a surprise to many, but the best alternative to Facebook is Google +. G+ is the second biggest social network site in the world. With 500 million users, it surpassed Twitter in January this year. Where you share with your friends on Facebook, on Google + you share with your circles. The most striking feature is Google hangouts: a place where you can invite people from your circles to join a video chat. Other features are games and instant messaging. In a ‘community’ you can invite people to share information as you would do with a group on Facebook. Users can see what plussers talk about most in the ‘what’s hot’ section.

These are some Facebook alternatives that are definitely worth checking out. Do you know which one you want to sign up on next?

Author Bio:

This guest post is written by Rens van der Windt, a digital marketing executive from London. One of his clients is Intralinks more than a VDR, a secure document storage provider.

Why The Humble Inkjet Printer Will Not Be Completely Superseded By Lasers (at Least Not YET Anyway)

Although laser printers are far more affordable than they once were (there was a time in the not too distant past where a decent laser printer would set you back about the same as a new car), the market for ink based printers in larger than ever. Why is this? You might ask yourself. Well it can't be denied that cost is still a significant contributing factor but it's more complicated than that. Inkjet printers might not be able to compete with the definition and clarity of their laser based counterparts when it comes to plain black text, but in the world of colour printing, ink still reigns supreme.

Colour me In

No matter how much you spend on a laser printer, you will never achieve the kind of realistic, textured results you'll get with a decent colour inkjet printer. For printing photographs there really isn't any comparison. Colour laser printers have come a long way in the last 10 years granted, but there's a depth to inkjet printing that just can't be replicated by laser.

Money Money Money

To put into perspective just how much more expensive laser 'toner' cartridges are than standard ink cartridges; it will take an average of £300 to fund an entire colour print cycle of a laser printer and around £70 to fund a print cycle with a colour inkjet printer. Granted the page yields offered by laser printers are far superior but you're only saving money if you print a lot and on a regular basis. For those who use their printer on only a semi-regular basis, there is really no need to spend the extra money. The printer itself will also be far more affordable, with a range of budget ink printers from reputable manufacturers such as Brother and Lexmark that should cost half as much as laser printers of comparable quality.

Versatility

Inkjet printers are incredibly versatile and can quite comfortably print on a variety of media including craft paper, printable CD's and even T-Shirt transfers. Laser printers on the other hand can print only onto standard paper or specifically engineered 'printer paper'. Certain inkjet printers are also capable of printing to larger formats whereas the majority of laser printers (even expensive models) are restricted to A4 sized paper and smaller.

Ease of Use

A laser printer is a complicated machine with thousands of intricate components, any number of which could go wrong at a moments notice and cause your printer to fail completely. A laser printer will also require a 'warm-up' period before it becomes operational and might be prone to overheating (especially if it's a cheaper model). With an inkjet printer you're looking at a far more straightforward device that will be ready to use as soon as you boot it up and will be far more convenient to refill. The majority of inkjet printers built in the last 5 years will accept combination 'CMYK' cartridges too, whereas laser printers will require 4 separate toner cartridges in order to print in full colour.

Playing Devils Advocate

The major argument FOR laser printers really all comes down to how much and how often you plan on printing. It can be argued that in most office based situations where speed and quantity is more important than quality, laser printers are far better suited to the job. However this isn't necessarily the case in all commercial situations. In professional print shops for example where quality colour is as vital a component of their day-to-day business as readable text, inkjet printers are still common, though for larger runs (over 100), laser is (admittedly) the superior option.

The choice is really up to you. However, if you genuinely care about your colours, then the choice should at least have been made a lot easier for you. Inkjet printers have been around in the commercial marketplace since the 1970's and manufacturers have used that experience to make sure their inkjet products are more efficient than ever. With toner cartridges still beyond the price range of most home users and inkjet printers and cartridges getting more affordable by the day, it would appear that (for the time being at least) ink is here to stay.

Author Bio:

Jann Webb is a freelance copywriter who has been using the same inkjet printer for almost a decade and it has yet to let him down. She gets all of her supplies from the wonderful people over at http://www.inkcartridges.co.nz

Mobile Phones Apps Great For Keeping On Track Of Gold And Silver Prices

Given today's current economic crises around the world, some people have chosen to invest in precious metals to ensure future financial security. According to an article submitted to Zero Hedge, a top financial blog, "This is the first time in human history in which all the world's major currencies are collapsing together." Mike Maloney, the originator of the article, addresses the fact that the state of money throughout the world is constantly in flux, and right now, we're at the end stages before a new currency is introduced into the system backed by "sound money," or money backed by precious metals. Those who invest in gold, silver and other precious metals will find greater security in the coming years. How do you know the worth of these metals? There are apps for that.

The following lists several apps to help you stay informed on the going rate of precious metals.

For Android devices:

1.) Gold Live!

Developed by Kitco, one of the leading metals information sites in the industry, Gold Live! offers a plethora of features for those staying on top of the metals game. Its layout is customizable and interactive, allowing users to see the information they need quickly. With multiple language options, real-time metal pricing updates and rate comparisons with 13 countries, Gold Live! presents a wide array of features and is free to download.

2.) Gold & Silver Price Checker

If you're looking for a simple, intuitive app to help you buy and sell precious metals, then Gold & Silver Price Checker for Android is your go-to app. Its 2-click system allows users to access updated information quickly. This simple app features historical charts on gold prices as well as current spots, letting you find the information you need quickly, for free.


For Apple devices:

1.) Gold Silver

Developed by the American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX), the free Gold Silver app for iPhone brings you up-to-date information on a comprehensive list of precious metals. Unlike other apps, this one locates over 40 types of precious metals and their current pricing, which means you have a complete list of all major metals in the palm of your hand.

2.) Gold Tracker

According to the app's developer, Hearn Apps, LLC, "Gold Tracker has the most advanced calculator of any precious metals app on the App Store." With over 150 currencies available on the app, dealers and investors alike will find the information they need for currencies around the world. Its comprehensive set of features includes accurate updates, history charts and personalized records to help you stay on top of your metals. The fee for the app is $2.99 as of this writing.

If you need to stay on top of gold, silver and other precious metal prices, then having a handy app will help you to do that. These four apps come highly rated by thousands of happy customers. Whatever type of mobile device you own, you can stay up-to-date on the latest values of gold and silver in the current economy, which will allow you to determine whether it's time to buy, sell or invest in precious metals.

Author Bio:

Sally writes for hard to find metals company Dynamic Metals who also stock 300M steel alloy and many other hard to find metals.