A good password can mean the difference between identity safety and identity theft. Unfortunately, too many otherwise intelligent people rely on ridiculously weak passwords, the kind that make hackers rub their hands with glee.

If you're not certain about the strength of your password(s), head to Microsoft's password checker. This free tool couldn't be simpler to use: Just type in your password and get an instant strength rating: Weak, Medium, Strong, or Best.

for its own eeeeevil purposes. The page doesn't record what you type, it merely generates a response based on the nature of the input.

So, what kinds of passwords can get you a Strong or Best rating? Here's a clue: The dog's name won't cut it. Neither will "1234" or, heavens, "password." According to the password checker, you should aim for a minimum of 14 characters and include a mix of numbers, symbols, and both uppercase and lowercase letters.

Personally, I'm a fan of taking an easy-to-remember phrase (like, say, "PCWorldRules") and replacing various letters with similar-looking numbers. Thus, my password would be "PCW0r1dRu135." According to the checker, that's a good, Strong password.

What about you? How do you go about crafting bulletproof passwords? Share your methods in the comments.

you can go to : Microsoft's password checker

source : pcworld

Most of us can't live without email or web these days. But what happens if you're going somewhere that doesn't have an internet connection? Fear not, we've got some handy hints that will ensure that you can still read emails and surf, you just have to plan ahead.

The web has become a staple in our everyday lives. But what happens when you go somewhere that doesn't have an internet connection, such as a plane for example?

If you're about to hyperventilate at the thought of a few hours without email or web browsing, fear not. You can still partake in these online activities, you just need to be prepared ahead of time.

Email

You obviously can't send or receive email without an internet connection. But you can read messages you've already received and compose replies and new messages; those last two will simply wait patiently until you're online again.

Before you leave

If you use just one PC for email, and if you access all your accounts using POP, your incoming messages are automatically downloaded to your computer. If you set your email client to skip or partially retrieve large messages, you should change that before you go offline.

If you have one or more IMAP accounts, your email client is still likely to download local copies of your messages - but you should check a few settings to be sure. If you adjust your mail client's settings, your email will automatically sync your server-based mail folders with their local counterparts. Still, it doesn't hurt to check your email manually one last time just before leaving.

Google Gears for Gmail

If you use Google's Gmail and prefer to access your email using a web browser rather than a stand-alone email client, you can still get offline access to your saved mail and queue new messages to be sent later. You must first install Google Gears, which lets you work with Google apps offline.

Once you've downloaded Google Gears follow the instructions to install it. Then, log in to your Gmail account, click on the Settings link at the top of the page, and click on the Labs link. Look for the Offline option, select its Enable button, and then click on Save Changes. Now click on the Offline link at the top of the window. Click on Next to confirm you want to install offline access. If you want an optional shortcut, click on Yes.

Now wait while your mail synchs; this can take several minutes. Depending on the volume of mail you store, Gmail may download only a portion of it. When the synch is finished, you can safely go offline.

On the road

Your email client will automatically know that you're offline, allowing you to continue working with messages you've downloaded and queuing any outgoing messages for later delivery. Although it may slow down for a while trying (and failing) to connect to your mail servers. Other than that, you can work normally, including filing and moving email messages.

If you use Gmail's Offline feature, you can either double-click on the Desktop shortcut (if you created one) or simply enter 'http://mail.google.com/' in your browser's address field. You can browse any of the messages that Gmail stored locally, and any new messages you create will be sent when you connect to the internet again and load the Gmail page.

When you return

Once you've reconnected to the internet, your email client should automatically send any messages in your outbox, download new messages, and change the locations on the server of any messages that you've relocated locally. Everything should sync automatically within a few minutes; if you still have messages waiting to be sent after 10 minutes, quit the program and reopen it.

Web browsing

If all you need is information from a finite selection of web pages, you can package up their content and take it with you to read, even when you lack internet access.

Before you leave

The trick to browsing the web offline is to save all the pages you might need, in an appropriate format, before you lose internet access.

Safari lets you save a web page - including graphics, style sheets, and other related files - in a 'web archive'. To save an archive in Safari, simply choose File and Save As. In the Format pop-up menu at the bottom of the Save dialog, make sure ‘Web Archive' is selected. Select a name and a location to save the archive, and click on Save. That's it.

Firefox can do much the same thing with the help of extensions. Once you install the free ScrapBook extension, you can save a page by choosing ScrapBook and then Capture Page. The free Breadcrumbs extension is even simpler: You merely browse to the pages you want to save; Breadcrumbs will save a copy of each one, which you can search for later.

Apple Safari 4.0 review

Mozilla Firefox 3.1 beta 2 review

If you'll need more than a few pages from a site but don't want to archive them individually, you must use more powerful tools. Numerous programs - including the free Getleft, SiteSucker, which requires a donation, and Web Devil, $35 (£25) - can crawl an entire web site and save it as a set of files on your hard disk. In SiteSucker, enter a URL to start from, and the programme traverses the links on that page to the level you set, downloading all the files to your disk.

These web crawlers can take a long time to do their work, so start early. And be sure to read the instructions so you can reasonably limit the depth and breadth of what gets downloaded. (Trying to download the entirety of, say the BBC website would take eons and fill up your hard disk.)


On the Road

If you've saved web archives in Safari, you can view them by double-clicking one of the archive files in the Finder. Safari opens it and displays something that looks and works just like the original (except for any server-based components such as database access).

The same goes for any of the web crawlers - simply open the top-level HTML file for a given site (usually called index.html) in your favorite browser, and then navigate the site as you normally would.

In Firefox, if you used the ScrapBook extension, view saved pages by choosing a page name from the ScrapBook menu. To search for a page saved using the Breadcrumbs extension, choose Breadcrumbs from the pop-up menu to the left of the search field in the Firefox toolbar and search for a word from any previously visited page.

source: www.pcadvisor.co.uk

OpenOffice.org 3.0 costs absolutely nothing but comes closer than anything else to letting you delete your copy of Microsoft Office (which probably cost you a lot). Even though OpenOffice.org—which is, yes, an application suite, not just a Web site—can't do everything Office can, it can do a lot, and it has some of its own tricks that even Office can't manage. Here are a few that may not be obvious, as well as a few ways to make OpenOffice.org less annoying out of the box.

1. Edit two or more parts of a document at the same time. Microsoft Word has a nifty split-window feature that lets you divide the current window into two panes, so you can edit page 5 of your document in the top pane and page 505 in the bottom. To switch from one pane to the other, you don't have to waste time scrolling back and forth—you simply click in the other pane. OpenOffice.org doesn't let you split a window into two panes, but it offers an even better feature. Click the Window menu, then New Window, to open a new window that displays the same document you're working on. You can open as many windows as you want, each at a different place in your document; any change you make in one window immediately appears in all others. You can reduce screen clutter by turning off toolbars in one or more windows (use View | Toolbars), and you can tile or cascade the windows by right-clicking on the OpenOffice.org button on the Windows taskbar.

2. Use OpenOffice.org to open legacy documents. Years ago, older versions of Microsoft Office could open documents created by almost any of the myriad word processors and spreadsheet programs that were widely used before Microsoft monopolized the market. Recent versions of Office can't open many of those older formats—including old Microsoft Word versions such as Word 6.0. By contrast, OpenOffice.org continues to open Word documents dating back to Version 6.0. OpenOffice.org also opens WordPerfect documents, including files created in WordPerfect for the Macintosh 3.5 Enhanced, which not even WordPerfect for Windows tries to open.

By the way, there's something confusing about OpenOffice.org's claims. The product purports to support at least one format that never existed: The list of supported file types in its File | Open dialog includes "Microsoft WinWord 5.0," even though there never was such a version. Word for Windows skipped from 2.0 to 6.0 in its version numbers.

3. Play a vintage Space Invaders game. Remember the days of software "Easter Eggs"? They were not-very-secret keystrokes or mouse clicks that brought up silly graphics in some programs and games in others. Even Microsoft Excel used to have a secret game built in before Redmond lost its sense of humor. OpenOffice.org's Calc spreadsheet program still includes a 1990s-era shoot-'em-up Space Invaders game. Open the Calc app, and in any cell enter:

=GAME("StarWars")

Make sure to copy the capitalization shown here. Calc will open a StarWars game in which you shoot down a fleet of evil alien ships. The explanatory text is in German (the original version of OpenOffice.org was written in Germany), but you don't need to know even English to play the game. Calc has a slightly Teutonic attitude toward fun-and-games, however: After you quit the game, you'll need to shut down Calc and start it up again before you can play a second time.

4. Turn off the blinking light bulb. By default, a light-bulb icon appears in a tiny window whenever OpenOffice.org does anything that isn't exactly what you typed—for example, when it replaces two hyphens with a dash. It doesn't exactly blink, but after the third or fourth time it opens, you may think of it as "that blinking light bulb" (you might use a word other than "blinking"). To turn it off permanently, go to Tools | Options, and then, in the left-hand pane, expand the menu tree by clicking the plus sign next to OpenOffice.org. In the General dialog, remove the check mark next to Help Agent.

5. Save files in Office formats by default. By default OpenOffice.org saves files in its own format, which most Microsoft Office users can't open. You can save individual files in Office format by using OpenOffice.org's File | Save as… menu and selecting a Word format from the Save as Type dropdown. But you can tell OpenOffice to save in Office formats by default by choosing Tools | Options, then find the Load/Save category, and the General subcategory. In the Document Type dropdown, choose Text Document, and in the Always Save As dropdown, choose Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP. Then, in the Document Type dropdown, choose Spreadsheet, and in the Always Save As dropdown, choose Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP. These choices will create files that can be read by any modern word processor or spreadsheet.

6. Automate actions easily. Many advanced Microsoft Office users take advantage of macros that run automatically when you open, print, or close a file, but Office's interface doesn't provide built-in clues for creating an AutoClose macro that will run whenever you close a document. OpenOffice.org goes Office one better by providing a menu-driven interface that lists all the actions that can automatically trigger macros—and these include a wider range of actions than the ones that can be automated easily in Office. For example, you can create a macro that is triggered every time the number of pages in a document increases and that inserts a header with a page number if the number goes above, say, two. Other actions that can automatically trigger macros include saving a document under a different name and running a mail merge. To use this feature, record the macros you want to use, then go to Tools | Customize | Events and assign your chosen macro to specific events.

7. Fix those single quotes. By default, OpenOffice.org Writer creates good-looking, curly "typographic" double-quotation marks as you type, but when you type a single quotation mark (or an apostrophe) it uses a vertical line, as if you were still using your grandfather's manual typewriter. Fix this by going to Tools | AutoCorrect…, then go to the Custom Quotes tab and, under Single Quotes, add a check mark next to Replace.

source : PCMAG.com

Everyone likes to try new and shiny technology toys like the Windows 7 beta, but when the price is having to replace your existing operating system, that's too much for most people. That's when being able to use a virtualization program can come in darn handy.

To test out how well Windows 7 works on a virtualized system, I decided to use Sun's VirtualBox software. While there are, of course, other virtualization programs out there, such as VMware's Workstation and Parallels Desktop, VirtualBox has two significant advantages over the others. First, it's free. Second, you can use it with several operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Macintosh and OpenSolaris.

In my case, I decided to use VirtualBox to run Windows 7 on two Dell Inspiron 530S systems, one running Windows XP Pro SP3 and the other running MEPIS 7 Linux. Each PC came with a 2.2-GHz Intel Pentium E2200 dual-core processor with an 800-MHz front-side bus, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB SATA drive and an Integrated Intel 3100 Graphics Media Accelerator. While not powerful systems, these proved to have more than enough CPU power to run both their native operating system and Windows 7.
Running VirtualBox

VirtualBox comes in two editions. The full VirtualBox is free for personal use and evaluation, but doesn't come with the complete source code. VirtualBox OSE (Open Source Edition), also free, does come with the source code and includes several enterprise-level features, such as an RDP (Remote Display Protocol) Server and USB support. (Other virtualization applications, like Xen, require tweaking before they'll support USB.) Both versions can run Windows 7.

In general, you'll need at least 1GB of RAM to run VirtualBox and a guest operating system. More RAM is always better. In my testing, I found that Windows 7 would actually run on as little as 512MB, while Vista really needs at least 1GB of its own.

VirtualBox should run on any recent CPU, but it does best with high-end processors that support hardware virtualization enhancements such as Intel's VT-x and Advanced Micro Devices' AMD-V.

The first step is to download a copy of VirtualBox. To run Windows 7 successfully, you'll need at least VirtualBox 2.1.0 -- I ran it on the latest version, VirtualBox 2.1.2.

If you're a Linux or OpenSolaris user, you can also obtain a copy using your software package manager program. VirtualBox supports openSUSE, Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Mandriva, PCLinuxOS, RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux), SLE (SUSE Linux Enterprise) and Xandros. You can also find additional support, both for specific operating systems and in general, in the FAQ file and in the User Manual (PDF).

On Windows and Mac OS X, installation requires little more than clicking on the installation file and letting it run. It's a bit more complicated on Linux and OpenSolaris. On Solaris, you need to compile the program. On Linux, you'll need to follow some additional steps, which are described in the Linux download section.

Finally, if you need more guidance, you can find step-by-step instructions for VirtualBox 2.1.0 at the Two Guys Tech site.
Setting up the VM

Your next step is to set up a new virtual machine for Windows 7. You do this by clicking the New button, which will then ask you how big a hard drive you want for the operating system. The default is to give it a 20GB virtual hard drive. With Windows 7, I decided to give it a more generous 40GB. You can also let VirtualBox dynamically determine how much hard drive room an operating system can have, but I prefer to decide for myself.

This done, you set up how much RAM and video memory Windows 7 can have. I prefer to give the operating system an ample 1GB of RAM and 128MB of video memory. You can get by with less, but you'll start noticing system delays.

VirtualBox also lets you set up 3-D graphics acceleration and access optical discs, USB devices, shared drives and so on through its main interface. You can set this up after you have Windows 7 installed, but I prefer to get this basic configuration out of the way first.

Installing Windows 7

With this done, you're ready to actually install Windows 7. You can either run the installation from a DVD or just load the Windows 7 ISO image file. Since I hate wasting time, I loaded the ISO. VirtualBox can load ISOs over both a network or from a local drive.

On both the Linux and Windows test systems, the Windows 7 installation was a snore. It took about half an hour, and the only thing I had to do was to set the proper time zone and enter the Windows 7 beta product key.

Once in place, I also loaded VirtualBox Guest Additions -- an additional set of functions that includes mouse integration (so you can mouse over from Windows 7 to your host desktop and back again without needing to hit the right-hand control button) and the ability to run the VM as a full desktop. They only work with Linux and Windows guest operating systems. But in either case, they're darn useful.

To install the Guest Additions (which downloads automatically with VirtualBox), you need to be running the VM and choose Devices --> Install Guest Additions from the VirtualBox main menu.

I found Windows 7 to run quite well as a VM under both MEPIS Linux and Windows XP SP3. As far as I'm concerned, the Windows 7 beta actually runs better than Vista SP1.

You should be aware, though, of some fundamental differences between running an operating system in a VM and running it natively. The most common problem is the inability to use the higher performance features of graphics, audio or network cards. That's because, like most virtualization software, VirtualBox provides the guest operating system with a virtual VESA-compatible graphics card, a virtual Intel ICH AC '97 audio and several virtual network cards. In short, your virtual Windows 7 can't use your high-end graphics card or what-have-you because only the host system has access to it, not the guest operating system, which must use virtual drivers instead.

Still, unless you want to run a high-end game, you're not going to notice these lacks. VirtualBox gives you everything most of you will need to decide for yourself whether Windows 7 will be worth your time. As far as I'm concerned, Windows 7 and VirtualBox are a great combination.

source : computerworld

Service Plans

Does your plan have enough minutes? The basic plans of most carriers offer 300 to 450 minutes. Unless you intend to use your phone only for emergencies, you'll need at least that many.

Go national: Even if you don't travel extensively around the country, a national calling plan often provides the best mix of minutes, features, and cost.

Phones

Get at least 3 to 4 hours of talk time: Make sure a single battery charge on your phone covers at least that. This can save many headaches later.

Pick up a headset or earphones: Inexpensive hands-free earbud headsets let you safely converse while driving, working, or just walking. Some phones even allow you to set voice commands to dial frequently called numbers, so you rarely need to touch the keys.

Ask about E911: This is especially important if you are purchasing a cell phone to replace your home phone line. Ask your provider if its emergency services can track a handset to its exact location. Enhanced 911 service is critical if you intend to use the phone for emergencies.

source : PCWORLD

Shopping considerations include the cost of cartridge or toner refills. We'll also list things to watch out for when shopping for an inkjet or a laser printer.

Refilling the Tank: Ink and Toner Cartridges

Some people suggest that you can save significantly on the cost of printing each page by buying ink and toner made by a company other than your printer's manufacturer. That's fine, if you want just the cheapest possible printing for short-lived documents. If print quality is paramount, however, you're taking a risk. For example, at the temperatures applied by your printer's engine, generic toner may not fix to the paper as well as the manufacturer's compound. The result could be poorly shaped characters and gray banding across the page--and that's not a great way to impress a potential customer.

There are several ways to spend less on ink and paper for your printer. See our report "Six Savvy Ways to Get More Prints for Less Money" for sensible ideas to increase the efficiency of your printer and extend the page life of your ink cartridges.

Several laser printer manufacturers sell toner cartridges at a discount if you return empty cartridges for recycling. Lexmark, for instance, charges $115 for each 3000-page color cartridge for its C534n model if you return it, but a nonreturnable version costs $145. In part, this policy is intended to discourage customers from refilling the cartridges, but it can also help save the environment.

Other manufacturers have programs for recycling their inkjet and toner cartridges. For example, HP includes postage-paid shipping materials with most of its printers for returning used cartridges, but you can also order them from its Web site. Brother and Oki offer similar programs through their Web sites. Konica Minolta includes prepaid shipping labels with its new cartridges for returning the used part.

Your local school or charity may participate in a collection program that helps it raise funds. You can also look for an office supply store that pays you a small sum or offers a discount in exchange for refillable cartridges. Check out our report for other tips on staying green.
Inkjet Printer Considerations

Speed: Manufacturers often list faster print speed specifications on their packaging than we see in testing.

Photo printing: If you plan to print mostly photos, look for inkjets with features such as media card readers, a paper tray that fits photo paper, and an LCD panel that allows you to view and print an image without using your PC. Also look for bundled image editing software.

Overall value: Check the latest Top Inkjet Printers chart at PC World's Printer Info Center for the most recent test results. If you plan to print lots of graphics, keep an eye on our tested print speed for full-page graphics. Don't forget to research prices in PC World's Shop and Compare area before making a purchase.
Laser Printer Considerations

Text only? If you print lots of text-only documents, consider buying an inexpensive monochrome laser printer. They're very simple and affordable to operate, and these days even the least-expensive monochrome lasers consistently pass our rigorous tests for quality output and performance.

High-yield cartridges: When buying toner for laser printers, seek out high-yield cartridges. Many manufacturers produce cartridges for the same printer that come in larger capacities at a better price.

Print speed: PC World tests consistently find that color laser printers generate color graphics more slowly than the manufacturers claim they do. If print speed is a factor for you, always check the speeds on the latest Top Color Laser Printers chart listed at PC World's Printers Info Center before deciding on a model.

Recyclability: Most printer vendors accept spent toner cartridges for recycling. Make sure your vendor has a recycling program in place, or explore options through your local office store or recycling center.
Snapshot Printer Considerations

Speed: You buy these printers for fun rather than for speed. If you need faster output, buy an inkjet with a paper tray that fits photo paper. Manufacturers often list faster print speed specifications on their packaging than we see in testing.

Features: Look for a bright, well-designed LCD panel with menus that allow you to select and print your photos easily without a PC. Make sure the printer you're interested in has a slot for your specific media card.

Overall value: Look for snapshot printers that handle paper sizes up to 5 by 7 inches and have a lower cost per page; the lowest we've seen recently is about 25 cents per photo.

Are you ready to buy a notebook? This recommendations for specifications that will fit the needs of the average user.

A 2.0-GHz Core 2 Duo processor. For everyday work--word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail--you don't need the latest, greatest (read: "most expensive") processor, but thankfully, with the Core Duo, you get strong performance and great battery life.

2GB or more of memory. Anything less will slow your work. The only new machines that still carry less than 2GB of RAM are netbooks. Upgrade to a 64-bit OS if you want to carry more than 3GB on your laptop.

Supplemental battery. If you want more time away from an outlet, buy a higher-capacity supplementary battery when you purchase the laptop, or buy a notebook that has a modular bay capable of holding a supplementary power pack. Secondary batteries usually cost between $99 and $200.

A 13.3-inch wide screen. A screen larger than 12.1 inches permits higher resolutions. Unless you're pinching pennies--or you crave a tiny laptop--bigger is usually better, especially on your eyes. (Compare prices for laptops with screens that are at least 14.1 inches in size.)

A 160GB hard drive. Even some netbooks that cost under $500 are bundling a 160GB hard drive (granted, they spin slowly at 4200 rpm). So if you can get a large hard drive in your unit, do so. And as tempting as a solid-state drive may sound, it's an expensive choice for relatively little storage capacity.

A touchpad pointing device. Pointing devices are a matter of taste. Most people, however, find a touchpad easier to use than a pointing stick. For people who can't decide between a touchpad and an eraserhead pointing device, some notebooks include both. If you buy one of these, make sure that it provides two sets of mouse buttons--one for the touchpad and the other for the eraserhead--so you don't have to stretch to reach.

Multiple USB ports. Many laptops now come with two or more USB 2.0 ports, useful for connecting more of the latest peripherals.

All-in-one design. Unless you need a lightweight notebook, opt for one with an internal bay for the optical drive. This design enables you to swap in other devices, such as an extra hard drive or a second battery.

Like chocolate and episodes of Mad Men, there's no such thing as too much battery life. Alas, it's the rare notebook battery that'll give you more than a few hours-unless you know some tricks for squeezing extra juice. Remember these three tips the next time you travel:

Disable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Few airplanes offer Wi-Fi (yet), so turn off your notebook's power-sucking Wi-Fi radio. Same goes for Bluetooth.

Drop the screen brightness You can afford to keep screen brightness cranked up when your notebook is plugged into an outlet, but not when you're flying coach. Drop the brightness setting a few notches, then get back to work. Chances are you'll hardly notice the difference. Then drop it a few more notches. The lower, the better.

Watch downloads, not DVDs Notebooks are great for watching movies, but DVD drives consume a considerable amount of power. Therefore, leave the DVDs behind and choose digital downloads instead. Stock your hard drive with movies from Amazon or iTunes and you'll be able to watch longer. Don't want to pay for movies you already own? Use a tool like Handbrake to rip your DVDs, creating MPEG-4 files you can store on your hard drive (or put on your iPod, thus saving your notebook even more power).

source : PCWORLD

Make enabling or disabling System restore on Windows Me you can follow this step by step

Before you start this point disabling System Restore removes all previous restore points. To continue to use System Restore to restore your computer to a previous point, do not disable System Restore.

Turn Off :

Click Start > Settings > Control Panel.

Double-click System. If the System icon is not visible, click View all Control Panel options.

On the Performance tab, click File System.

On the Troubleshooting tab, check Disable System Restore.

Click OK.

When you are asked to restart Windows, click Yes.



Turn On :

Click Start > Settings > Control Panel.

Double-click System. If the System icon is not visible, click View all Control Panel options.

On the Performance tab, click File System.

On the Troubleshooting tab, uncheck Disable System Restore.

Click OK.

When you are asked to restart Windows, click Yes.