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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

I Love Free Software

I Love Free Software


Map Folders As System Drive Using XSubst

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 06:30 PM PDT


XSubst is a free software to Map folders to your system drive. This free folder mapping software has got a user-friendly and straight-forward interface, making it easy even for the beginners to use it.

Normally you have one or more drive in your computer, like “C Drive”, “D Drive”, etc. What this software does is it lets you designate your folders as drives, and you can access them like you can access any other drive. It displays the folders as drives within My computer.

By creating folder drives, this software makes your computing easy, as you don't need to click several times for accessing frequently accessed folders. After creating a folder drives, you simply need to click the respective folder drive for accessing the contents within the folder.

Xsubst Map folders

XSubst is an easy to use folder mapping software, as you simply need to select any of the available drive letter in XSubst from letter A to Z, click the connect button. You will come across the browse for folder window. So select your desired folder for which you want to make a folder drive. That's all you need to do for mapping folders to system drive. In addition, you should keep in mind that the link between the folder and drive letter is not permanent until and unless you click the Permanent button available on its interface.

If you are frequently accessing few folders several times in a day, then I would suggest you to use this folder mapping software in order to map those folders to system drive. Download XSubst for free. You may also check out our tutorial on How to map Google Drive as a hard drive in Windows.

Features Of XSubst To Map Folders:

  • Clean and user-friendly interface.
  • Lightweight folder mapping software.
  • Drive letters are available from A to Z.
  • Set the drives as permanent or Temporary.
  • Modify folder drives with a single click on Modify button.
  • Link on Desktop button to provide the link of drive on the desktop.
  • Disconnect the folder drive anytime with a single click.

XSubst is smart and easy to use folder mapping software which I came across, as it effortlessly let's you map folders to your system drive. Download XSubst for free.

Map Folders As System Drive Using XSubst was originally published at I Love Free Software

Related posts:

  1. BuduLock: Freeware to Lock Folders and Lock USB Drive
  2. How to Map Google Drive as a Hard Drive in Windows?
  3. Hide Hard Drive Partition: Drive Locker

Free Notepad Alternative for Taking Notes: Jubiho

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 05:00 PM PDT


Jubiho is a free Notepad alternative that makes the process of taking notes and saving them on your computer pretty simple. However, this comes with a few extra functions that enhances this software and makes it better than the traditional notepad on your computer. The options which you get that make the difference are feature of adding interesting designs and write the notes rapidly. It works better on Windows 7 and XP and is available for free.

1

Installing Jubiho

The installation process is simple and fast. You just need to go here and click on the download button. The zip file gets downloaded in less than two minutes and you can start using the file as soon as the installation process completes.

2

User Interface of Jubiho

This small program has a very simple and user friendly interface. It has been designed on a very minimalistic concept to provide nice note making application to the users. There are few options and tabs which help you perform all the functions for this software. Some of the options included in this compact sized note editing software are undo buttons, dialog box to delete notes. Using all these options is very easy and this is what makes the software user friendly.

Using Jubiho

You will find all the tabs giving you the access to its features at the bottom. The first box can be called as a category tab. There is already a task option there in this tab. You can add more categories in this tab by typing in the box next to this tab. You can see "Add Another" written in the box and when you type the name of a category it automatically comes in the drop down menu which contains different categories.

3

While writing in the white space you add title and start writing your notes. This program allows addition of links and the links can be opened in the editbox. The tab which looks like a magnifying glass helps you change the size of the things you write.

Then the next tab has three options namely:

  • Copy text
  • Send as mail
  • Export

4

The copy text option simply helps you copy whatever you have entered in the space provided for typing. By clicking on the Send as Mail option you can directly send the whole note through your id to any person. Finally by using the export option you can save the note in an .rtf format to the desired place.

5

At the end there is an option through which you can change settings, delete notes, minimize, or exit the software. In the settings option you can make changes in the colour theme and whether you want to launch Jubiho along with windows or not. Overall this software is a pretty handy application to save your notes and the fact that it comes with some added features as mentioned above makes it worth using.

Free Notepad Alternative for Taking Notes: Jubiho was originally published at I Love Free Software

No related posts.

Play your Favourite Videos and Movies with Video Player

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 03:30 PM PDT


Video Player is a software that lets you play video on your computer. Video player supports a variety of video formats including AVI, ISO, MPEG, MOV and FLV.

Features

  • Easy to use as you only need to drag and drop to add videos to the player
  • Support for the most common video formats like FLV and AVI

How to use Video Player

The interface is very simple and attempts to deviate from the typical look and feel used on most applications. There is no menu bar at the top, just the title, help button and window controls. The player window occupies the centre and player controls occupy the bottom. Unfortunately, none of the buttons is labelled or has tooltips. On launching the application you are welcomed by a message prompting you to drag and drop video files onto the interface. Video files can be added by either dragging and dropping or by using the open button which allows you to browse for files you want to open. Unfortunately, the drag and drop feature only works for the first video only-you will have to open consecutive files manually.

Video player

Player controls are just like you find in an ordinary player only that in this application you have to find out what they actually do as they are not labelled in any way. Fortunately, you will find that you are familiar with most of the control. The first button plays video, the second pauses video, the third and fourth allow you to rewind and forward video and the last opens video files. Volume is adjusted via the round button on the right bottom. You can resize the interface as you wish or double click inside the video window to toggle between full screen and window mode. The progress bar lets you view how much of the video you have viewed and what remains and can also be used to specific video frames. Help is available but you need to be connected to the internet to access it.

Video player

Opinion

Lovely, unique interface and great idea generally about this Video Player. However, all is not well. Once you use the drag and drop feature on the first video, you can't drop another video. The program hangs from time to time and becomes unresponsive while still playing video. Audio quality is great but deteriorates when you crank up the dial. The program failed to play some file formats like FLV which was very disappointing as the publisher had stated otherwise-I later learned that the program relies on third party software, K-LITE Codec pack to play some formats. FLV being one of the most common video formats nowadays means that functionality of the program is greatly reduced. I tried to play an AVI file which as tagged at 23 fps and the video could not play seamlessly without freezing every few seconds. The program doesn’t not come with a playlist so you have to play each file individually which is quite inconvenient. Functionality is limited as the program lacks support for common video formats like FLV and MP4.

Verdict

Video Player is definitely not the best video player out there and you will be better off with top of the range player like VLC media player.

Play your Favourite Videos and Movies with Video Player was originally published at I Love Free Software

No related posts.

Free Educational Program To Learn Alphabets And Numbers: Sebran

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 02:00 PM PDT


Sebran is a free educational program which helps your kids to learn alphabets and numbers playfully. This free software is basically a collection of educational games related to alphabets and numbers. By playing games on this educational program, your kids will surely enhance their knowledge over alphabets and numbers. These educational games are designed with simplicity, so your child can easily play these educational games.

Sebran

This free educational program includes 10 games related to numbers and alphabets. It includes games like How Many?, Add, Subtract, Multiply, Pick a Picture, First Letter, Memory, Word Memory, ABC rain, Letter rain, etc. Pleasant sound, easy interface, colorful numbers and alphabets makes this educational program more attractive to your kids unlike other such kind of software. In addition, this educational program supports multiple languages, you can choose your preferred language for the interface. You are even allowed to choose the Rain exercise speed between normal, slow and very slow. This free program even allows you to choose the letter case between Mixed case, upper case and lower case.

Sebran 001

Various games available on this free educational program are different from each other and contributes a lot in learning. Download Sebran for free. If you are in search of browsers suitable for kids, then you should surely check our featured post on free browser for kids.

Features Of This Free Educational Program:

  • Offers 10 educational games related to alphabets and numbers.
  • Small in size with a file size of less than 1 MB.
  • Supports multiple languages.
  • Teaches alphabets and numbers playfully.
  • Adjustable rain exercise speed for ABC rain and letter game.
  • Music and sound effects can be made to turn on/off any time.
  • Easy to play educational games.

How to Download And Install This Free Educational Program:

  • Visit the homepage of this Sebran's ABC and click the download link.
  • A setup file of Sebran will be downloaded into your system.
  • Run the Sebran's setup file and follow further easy installation steps for installing this educational program.

If you are looking for a free educational program that can help your child in learning numbers and alphabets playfully, then you should definitely try Sebran for atleast once. Download Sebran for free.

Free Educational Program To Learn Alphabets And Numbers: Sebran was originally published at I Love Free Software

No related posts.

Chatter: Free Business Social Network

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 12:30 PM PDT


Chatter is a free business social network for collaboration of employees of a company. Employees with verified company mail id will be able to use Chatter.

In Chatter you can post updates, upload files, post links, and chat with your colleagues. You can also use Chatter on mobile platforms like: iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry.

You can check out similar business social networks I reviewed earlier, like: Yammer and Socialcast.

Chatter signup

 

Signup This Business Social Network:

Get started with this business social network by simply signing up in the homepage and you will be sent a confirmation email to your inbox. You have to enter a valid company email address (like your-name@ilovefreesoftware.com) to create or join your company network. Email id's like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoomail, etc. wont work for joining this network.

Then you have to click on the link given in the confirmation email. You will be redirected to the Chatter webpage; where you have to enter your details and a password containing minimum 8 characters with a number in it. You will also be required to enter a security question and answer to recover your password; if you forget it. Be careful as you are going to enter a long password, make sure you remember at least the answer for that security question (I forgot my password as it was new and very long one to remember and this security question came to the rescue). Then you can invite your colleagues to join the network.

My Chatter:

In Chatter the homepage is called My Chatter. Here you can:

  • Post Updates: Post updates on what you are working or any queries in this tab.
  • Share Files: You can share files with your colleagues; which can be updated later also.
  • Post Links: Post links for your colleagues, to have a look at.

When someone posts an update you can like it or comment on it. You can also bookmark others’ update or shared files to refer quickly in your bookmarks section.

You can also visit others’ profile or groups or files posted on the network. You can send private offline messages also to your colleagues.

chatter homepage

Profile:

You can visit profiles by simply clicking on the names of the users. There you can see the posts they have participated in. You can also see how many posts or comments they have written or how many posts they liked or how many likes they've got.

If you started the network first then you can grant moderator rights to others also, so that they can delete or modify the data on the network.

Chat Messenger:

There is an inbuilt messenger to chat with your colleagues. Very few business social networks provide this option.

In this chat box you can see who are online; they are indicated with a green dot. You can also save some people to your favorite list and chat with them instantly without searching for their names. You can have a group chat also by adding other members to your chat window.

chatter chat

Desktop App:

Chatter provides a simple desktop app, where you can see all the updates and you can chat with your colleagues from here also.

This app is like a mini website on your desktop; it has all the features of the web page. Here is the link to Desktop app.

Mobile App:

You can use Chatter on mobile platform also. This means you can stay connected with your colleagues on the move.

In the starting you will be asked to accept some license, then you have to enter your username and password. To view various options, you just have to click on the menu button on your phone as shown in below screenshot.

The various platforms on which Chatter app is available are: Android App, iPhone App, and Blackberry App.

chatter apps

Chatter is a simple business social network where you can share your work related issues. Stay connected with all your colleagues even when you are on leave through Chatter.

Sign up here on the Chatter Homepage.

Chatter: Free Business Social Network was originally published at I Love Free Software

No related posts.

Free Application Uninstaller: Revo Uninstaller

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT


Revo Uninstaller is a free Windows application uninstaller which you can use in order to easily list all of the programs and apps that you have installed on your computer and then easily remove them by right clicking and selecting Uninstall from the small pop-up menu that shows up. What we are gonna be testing out today is the free version of Revo which isn’t as feature rich as the paid version, but it’s still very useful.

Revo Uninstaller default window

As you can see from the image above the default interface of Revo Unistaller Free is very simple. There’s no classic interface where you would see a menu bar followed by a list of programs that you have installed, but you can activate something similar to it if you click on View and select the List view. Instead of a classic interface, there’s a tab like selection of all the options at the top and then down below there’s a huge array of all the applications that you have installed on your computer. Some of the things that Revo Uninstaller Free offers would be:

  • Uninstallation leftovers detection and deletion
  • Junk file scanning and removal
  • Startup program editing
  • Free technical support

Those who decide to pay for the professional version of Revo, they get pretty much all of the same tools which are found in the free version, only they are a bit more advanced and more problems will be detected. Uninstalling applications with Revo Uninstaller is easy, and you can have your computer free from them in just a couple of seconds.

How to delete applications and speed up the computer with Revo Uninstaller

There are a lot of situations where people who are interested in uninstalling applications discover that programs which they want to delete don’t have a Start Menu entry, or if they do, there’s no uninstall link there to activate the removal process.

Revo Uninstaller app uninstall not available

One such example can be seen on the image above. The application Deep Sound which we talked about before has a Start Menu entry, but it doesn’t have the usual uninstall link provided there. This is where Revo comes in handy, because notice on the right that Deep Sound is available in the list of applications which you can remove from your computer. To remove an application, you’re gonna have to right click on it and select Uninstall.

Revo Uninstaller deleting application

Choose between the type of uninstaller that you want, application’s own uninstall wizard or the one offered by Revo. What you see on the image above is the Revo app uninstallation in progress. It’s more thorough, but also slower so use whenever you can afford to wait for the process to finish.

Similar software: Uninstall Button, Application Uninstaller.

Conclusion

Revo is a great tool which you can use not only to remove installed application, but also to fix the list of installed programs and remove those that you’ve deleted manually, which some people do when they have no other option of how to remove applications that they no longer used. By clicking the Tools button you can remove junk files or you can edit the list of programs which are started with Windows. Try Revo Uninstaller and see how it can help you.

Free Application Uninstaller: Revo Uninstaller was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Chrome Extension to Remotely Access PC: Chrome Remote Desktop

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 09:30 AM PDT


Chrome Remote Desktop Beta is a free Chrome extension which allows you to share your computer over internet. It also lets you remotely access your computer from another computer placed anywhere using  Google Chrome browser. This software is installed as a Chrome extension on both source computer as well as destination computer.

chrome remote desktop beta interface

Chrome Remote Desktop Beta is an amazing application which gives you an advantage of sharing your computer with others and providing remote access. You need not be on the same internet connection for sharing or remotely accessing computers. It uses your Gmail account to make remote connections.

How is Chrome Remote Desktop Beta useful to me?

I was so amazed when I first came across this great application. I always wondered how could I take some technical help from my sister sitting in Madhya Pradesh while I myself stay in Delhi. Chrome Remote Desktop Beta made my task so much easy. All we did is we both installed Chrome Remote Desktop Beta in our Google Chrome browsers and connected our Pcs through the application. After the connection was made, she was able to access my PC from her own (as if she is working face-to-face on my PC) and managed to repair all technical flaws in my PC. That is how I was able to repair my PC without calling a technician and paying extra bucks to him.

chrome remote desktop beta getting started

Chrome Remote Desktop Beta is a very good application to provide temporary remote connections to computers. You can connect to the internet from anywhere and use this exciting app to share your PC with other people on the internet. It also provides a remote access to computers. That is, you can access your computer from another computer, access somebody else's computer from your computer, or let others access your computer from their computer. It is very much useful, especially when you have to share your important files or applications or need a remote support for your PC. Isn't that great?

Also check other free software to remotely connect your PC.

How to Connect Computers using Chrome Remote Desktop Beta ? 

Making connections using Chrome Remote Desktop Beta  is pretty easy.  All you need to do is to install Chrome Remote Desktop Beta to your Google Chrome browser. Once you install Chrome Remote Desktop Beta to your Google Chrome browser, an application icon will appear on the Apps section of the new tab page. You can open Chrome Remote Desktop BETA by clicking on this application icon.

Initially when you open Chrome Remote Desktop BETA, you will be asked to allow it to access your Computer and your Gmail account. Once you authorize that, you can easily Share your computer with others or allow Remote Access to all those computers on the web which have Chrome Remote Desktop Beta installed on their Google Chrome browsers. Chrome Remote Desktop Beta generates separate sessions for every remote connection that it makes. These are the temporary sessions and their performance may vary according to your internet speed.

How you can Share your Computers using Chrome Remote Desktop Beta?

You can follow some simple steps to connect computers for sharing, using Chrome Remote Desktop Beta. I am listing the steps below with clear screenshots to help you better understand the process.

  • Open new tab window in your Google chrome browser.
  • Click on the Chrome Remote Desktop Beta app icon.
  • Click on "Get started" button. (This would be done only for the first time.)
  • Click on the "Share" button.
  • Chrome Remote Desktop Beta will generate an Access Code for you.
  • Ask your friend to follow the first three steps.
  • Ask him to press the "Access" button.
  • Let him enter this access code in the window appeared.
  • Chrome Remote Desktop Beta will start generating a temporary remote connection.
  • Your computers get connected.
  • Share your computer with your friend's computer.

chrome remote desktop beta share

The connection is always made between two computers. The one who enters the access code will be able to access the other computer on his own.

chrome remote desktop beta sharing

Sharing allows you to only share screen. You cannot open files or applications on other computer. For that you need to enable your system for a remote access. Below I am explaining how you can remotely access your computer or let others access your computer from their own system using Chrome Remote Desktop Beta .

How to Remotely Access computers using Chrome Remote Desktop Beta?

In order to enable your computer for a remote access you can follow some simple steps listed below.

  • Click on Enable Remote Connection button.
  • Enter a PIN and press OK. This will protect your computer from an unauthorized access.
  • Chrome Remote Desktop Beta will start enabling remote access for you.
  • Confirm your PIN.
  • Your system is ready to allow remote access. Now you can easily access your computer from another computer by connecting the computers through Chrome Remote Desktop Beta.

chrome remote desktop beta sharing

Features of Chrome Remote Desktop Beta:

  • Sharing: It allows you to share your computer over internet using your Gmail account.
  • Remote Access: It allows you to access your computer from another computer through your Google Chrome Browser.
  • Full screen Mode: It offers you various screen options: Fit to screen, Original size, Full Scree. By switching to the full screen mode, you can get a feeling as if you are actually working on  a PC placed somewhere else.

chrome remote desktop beta screen options

  • Secure Connections: Chrome Remote Desktop Beta offers absolute secure connections for computers.
  • Password Protected: Chrome Remote Desktop Beta lets you enter a password while allowing your computer to access remote connections. This will protect your computer from an unauthorized access. Nobody can enable your compute for a remote access unless he/she knows the correct password.
  • Multi Platform: It’s a multi platform tool which works on Windows, Linux, Mac, and Chromebooks.

Final Verdict:

Chrome Remote Desktop Beta is a credible tool which allows remote sharing and accessing of computers over internet. The only thing you can’t do is that you can’t transfer files over internet using this application. But you can view other screen-sharing software that allow file transfer also.

Download Chrome Remote Desktop Beta free and give it a try.

Chrome Extension to Remotely Access PC: Chrome Remote Desktop was originally published at I Love Free Software

Related posts:

  1. Remote Desktop Manager: Remotely Connect to your Computer
  2. SkyFex: Remote Desktop Access over Web
  3. TeamViewer: Free Software for Remote Desktop Access and Screen Sharing

Yammer vs. Socialcast: Comparison of Yammer and SocialCast

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT


Yammer and Socialcast are two business social networking sites. Both the websites provide very good business social networking features and are a good choice for any organization who wants to setup an enterprise social network.

We have earlier done review of Yammer as well as review of SocialCast. So, we thought why not do a showdown between them to see which one offers more bang for the buck. This comparison of Yammer vs. SocialCast is only for their free vesions, and not paid versions.

 

yammer vs socialcast

Here is the comparison of Yammer and Socialcast:

1. Signup:

  • Yammer: Yammer offers a free signup only with your domain email (company email id like example@ilovefreesoftware.com). You cannot use it with Gmail, Ymail, Hotmail, etc. After signup you will be sent a mail to your domain email for confirmation.
  • Socialcast: Socialcast also offers a free signup with your company email id only. Socialcast also sends a mail to your domain email for confirmation.
Verdict: Both Yammer as well as SocialCast offer similar sign-up process, and the sign-up is limited to emails of companies only.

2. Free Version:

  • Yammer: A free version is available in yammer for unlimited members.
  • Socialcast: Socialcast also offers free version. However, it is limited to 50 users only.
Verdict: Both Yammer as well as SocialCast offer a decent free version. However, Yammer takes the lead here as it lets you have unlimited members in the free version, whereas SocialCast caps it at 50.

3. Admin Rights

  • Yammer: In free version, you can’t claim for admin rights which has many advanced features. In paid version you can have the admin rights.
  • Socialcast: In Socialcast you can be an admin and many options are available.
Verdict: SocialCast scores over Yammer here, as you can access advanced admin features in free version as well. In fact, SocialCast lets you access all the features of paid version in free version.

4. Customizations:

  • Yammer: You can’t customize anything, except for the email notifications.
  • Socialcast: In Socialcast after claiming the admin rights you can keep a logo, change the theme, and many other options can be modified.
Verdict: Again SocialCast comes out as winner here as it allows all sort of customization in free version as well, whereas Yammer provides those only in paid version.

5. Analytics:

  • Yammer: In Yammer you can’t analyze or monitor who is participating more and the groups progress.
  • Socialcast: In Socialcast if you are an admin you can see the analytics report of each issues and individual members.
Verdict: SocialCast again scores here. Socialcast actually provides pretty good analytics capabilities that let you analyze your social network. Yammer does not provides this in free version.

6. Groups:

  • Yammer: You can create or join groups created by others in Yammer.
  • Socialcast: In Socialcast also you can create groups and join others groups.
Verdict: Draw here. Both of these business social networks let you create groups, or join groups setup by other group members.

7. Sharing:

  • Yammer: Yammer gives the option to share updates, files, and documents with all the employees or only certain employees.
  • Socialcast: In Socialcast also you can share updates, files, and documents with the members of your community.
Verdict: Again, both score one on this.

8. Thanks or Praise

  • Yammer: In Yammer you can praise anyone for their good deeds and any number of times.
  • Socialcast: In Socialcast you can send thanks only three times per week. This limit can be modified by the admin, though; up to 10 thanks per week.
Verdict: Though Yammer provides an unlimited number of praises, we do not think it is a big deal. So, let’s give a point to both.

9. Polls and Events:

  • Yammer: You can post polls and schedule events also in Yammer.
  • Socialcast: In Socialcast you can only post polls. You don't have the option to schedule events in Socialcast.
Verdict: Yammer has this interesting option of scheduling events, which Socialcast lacks. Definitely one up for Yammer.

10. Private Chat:

  • Yammer: In Yammer there is a private chat option available like instant messenger. You can also send offline private messages.
  • Socialcast: Socialcast doesn't have the option for instant chat. But you can send offline private messages.
Verdict: This is a big let down for Socialcast. It does not have any instant chat feature! That itself can seriously prohibit Socialcast’s acceptance as a full-fledge business social network. Thankfully, Yammer provides instant chat feature. One up Yammer.

11. Desktop App:

  • Yammer: Desktop application is available in Yammer; which is easy to install and use.
  • Socialcast: Socialcast also has desktop application.
Verdict: Both these business social networking sites have good desktop applications, apart from easy to use web interface.

12. Mobile App:

  • Yammer: Platforms like iPhone/iPad, Android, Windows, and Blackberry has Yammer apps to be downloaded and installed.
  • Socialcast: Socialcast apps are available for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry mobile.
Verdict: Both these enterprise social networks have launched apps for almost all the mobile platforms. However, Socialcast does not have an app for Windows phone yet, while Yammer does. So, Yammer scores here.

13. Paid Version:

  • Yammer:  Yammer offers a paid version for advanced features at 5$ per user per month for business level; and 15$ per user per month for enterprise level
  • Socialcast: Socialcast offers a paid version at 5$ per user per month and minimum of 100 users should register. Also annual contract should be signed for paid version.

So, Yammer vs. SocialCast; which one is Better:

I spent quite some time in testing both these enterprise social networks, and doing a neutral comparison of both. Both these networks score above one another on some features, and there is definitely no clear winner.

If you would like to have more than 50 members in your business social network without a need to pay, then Yammer is definitely the way to go. Apart from that, if your social network definitely needs to have instant chat feature, then again you go with Yammer.

However, if you would like to have admin control over your network, customization options, and analytics, then you need to go with SocialCast.

For us, we are using Yammer in our office because it provides chat, so we don’t have to separately install another software just for intranet chat.

For you, I suggest you carefully analyze the features and shortcomings I have mentioned above for each of these business social networks, and see which one works for you.

Yammer vs. Socialcast: Comparison of Yammer and SocialCast was originally published at I Love Free Software

Related posts:

  1. Socialcast: Free Enterprise Social Networking Site
  2. Yammer: Free Enterprise Social Networking Site
  3. Clearvale: Free Business Social Network

Download AVG Antivirus 2013 Free

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 06:30 AM PDT


AVG Antivirus is a world renown security software which is installed on millions of computers around the world, with millions of satisfied and secured computer users, which AVG protects from various different online threats like viruses, trojans, adware, and all the other types of malware that exist out there. Recently AVG has released AVG Security Suite 2013, both free and commercial versions. Most notable update is the new interface that AVG sports, which now has the same type of design that the new interface of Windows 8 has, but a lot of changes happened under the hood as well.

AVG Antivirus default window

Free version of AVG Antivirus doesn’t have all of the features that the paid version has, which is to be expected, but like you can see from the screenshot above, it also experienced an overhaul and it now has a completely redesigned interface. Windows 8, whose official release is very near, also comes with a new user interface style which focuses on tiles. AVG Antivirus Free 2013 does the same thing and you can now see tiles representing various different security modules that AVG has in the main menu. Cool new features and security tools found in AVG Antivirus 2013 would be:

  • Standard antivirus protection – works against viruses, trojans, spyware, worms
  • Web browsing – protects from malicious websites while you’re browsing
  • Identity – protection again the constantly increasing identity thefts
  • E-mails – scans both incoming and outgoing emails for spam and malware
  • System tuneup – scan for registry errors, junk files, fragmentation etc.
  • New interface design with focus on tiles, similar to what Windows 8 has

Commercial version offers more features, two most interesting would be firewall, which has it’s own tile in the free version as well, but if you click on it you’ll be brought to the upgrade page where you’ll be able to purchase the commercial version. Banking information protection is the other very useful feature of the paid AV Security Suite 2013 version, which is gonna create a secure bubble for when you’re entering delicate banking information online, usernames, passwords and pins. Free version should be enough though, and if it’s not you can always install third party security software to complement what’s missing.

Similar software: Ad-Aware Free Antivirus, Avast Free, Rising Antivirus Free.

Installation and resource usage of AVG Antivirus Free 2013

Installation went fine, we used the online installer, which meant that we needed to have an active internet connection, but if you need to you can also download an offline installer, follow this link and you should find the updated offline installation file for AVG 2013. If you don’t want toolbars installed, make sure to uncheck them during the setup wizard, otherwise they are gonna be installed. A lot of you are probably now wondering what kind of resource usage AVG has, since it has the new interface, is it higher? Well to our surprise we discovered that it spends even less than previous versions, that’s at least what we noticed on our test machine.

Antivirus component of AVG Free 2013

Flagship protection module can be found under the Computer tile. It might be a little bit confusing to find it under that name, but it is. Since it offers computer protection, that’s probably the reason why that tile can be found under that name. When you click on it you’re gonna see a very basic menu.

AVG Antivirus computer tile

In this menu you can check on the status of the resident protection, to see if it’s enabled or disabled, as well as check settings for it. On the right you can also activate a rootkit scan which is gonna check for any signs of rootkits, which are a dangerous type of malware that has special ways of avoiding detection and continue to cause damage to your system. For this reason it’s a good idea that you run rootkit scans more frequently, next to the ones that are gonna be run during the usual system scans.

AVG Antivirus scan activation

Scanner can be activated if you click on the Scan Now button from the main menu. That’s gonna activate the scan right away, but if you want you can click on the settings icon next to the Scan now button, after which you’ll be able to see the scan type selection. The usual selection of scans is available specific folders, the whole computer and scheduled scans.

Web browsing protection with AVG Free 2013

Browser attacks are gaining more and more popularity with malicious hackers who are using them to infect unsuspecting users. Usually these types of attacks can be avoided if you disable Java which is used the most in order to spread attacks. However if you cannot disable Java, if it’s important to have Java for your work, and it cannot be disabled, you can rely on Web browsing module to protect you.

AVG Antivirus web browsing

Link Scanner is gonna be the thing that helps you out the most with protection while surfing. Each time that you see a link in Google, or receive a Facebook or MySapce link they’re gonna be cross referenced with the AVG database of links and you’ll be notified if they are safe or not.

Identity protection module

Identity protection that AVG has is useful when you are exposed to threats that would like to steal important information about you. Our identity is always under attack every time that you open up the web browser. Luckily with the Identity protection which can be found in AVG you’ll be protected all the time. It works the same way that the resident protection works. Scanner will be monitoring everything that you do and it’s gonna notify you in case that you do something which could cause your identity to be exposed and stolen.

Spam protection – incoming and outgoing email filtering

AVG Antivirus email protection

Spam filtering is also included in the free version of AVG, and the interesting thing about spam protection is that not only that there’s filtering of incoming messages, outgoing messages are also gonna be checked. Usually other programs which are fighting spam only scan incoming messages, which is a good thing. Email scams are increasing all the time, and having protection for yourself is a great thing, but with outgoing email filtering you’re not only protecting yourself, you’re also protecting others.

AVG Antivirus activating outgoing email protection

It’s a known fact that malware uses it’s victim’s computers in order to spread itself even further. It can use your instant messaging clients to send messages where your contacts are fooled into download and infecting their own PCs with malware. Something similar is done with emails, there’s malicious programs out there which are using emails in order to send not only spam, but also to spread infections, this is where outgoing email scanning offered by AVG comes in handy. It’s gonna check every outgoing message that you decide to send in order to make sure that there’s no malicious code hidden somewhere either as an attachment or in some other way, direct link perhaps. By default outgoing scans will not be activated, to activate it, you’re gonna have to click on the Enabled for outgoing messages button to make it green, which means that it’s enabled, see image above. Once you do that, you’re protected for both incoming and outgoing spam, protection for both you and the people you know and are in contact with over the internet.

Improve system performance with AVG PC Analyzer

To access the PC Analyzer component that AVG has you’re gonna have to click on the Fix performance tile while having the main window open. System optimization became a part of AVG Antivirus Free in the previous yearly update, the 2012 version and with it came some very useful tools for which you would normally have to have additional software installed on your computer.

AVG Antivirus PC Analyzer

A total of 4 tools are offered, which you can use in order to find and get rid of system problems which could cause performance issues. Maintenance is something that a lot of people neglect, now it comes integrated into your antivirus software. You get utilities to fix:

  • Registry Errors
  • Junk Files
  • Fragmentation
  • Broken Shortcuts

Click Analyze to start checking if and what kind of problems it is that your system has. A nice little graph is gonna be displayed next to each one of the problems which are gonna point out the severity of each issue:

AVG Antivirus PC Analyzer error checking

After the scans finish, click on the Fix now button which is gonna appear and the computer should start getting rid of all the errors which were found. Details can be viewed by clicking on the Details link in the errors column.

Conclusion

AVG Antivirus Free comes with a refreshed look and also a significantly improved user experience. It now works much faster, with less resource usage, even though the interface has been modernized to increase similarities with the new Windows 8 design.

AVG Antivirus protected from threats

Tray icon is still gonna be there, and notification applets which are gonna be reporting you with all of the important threats and protection statuses. As the name of the program suggests it, AVG Antivirus 2013 Free is free, it costs you nothing to download it and try it out, so why not give it spin, you have nothing to lose.

Download AVG Antivirus 2013 Free was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Track Internet Data Usage On Android: Android Data Usage App

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 05:00 AM PDT


Data Usage is a free Android app to track internet data used on Android. Internet data in the app includes total cellular data and total Wi-Fi data. This Android Data Usage app tells you the total usage from both the mediums through which you run internet on your Android phone.

You can easily set a monthly quota for Wi-Fi as well as cellurlar internet. The app alerts you if you cross the quota set. You can save your money on over-usage of internet data as the app alerts you on crossing the limit set. The app provides detailed data, which includes today's usage, the week usage, and the whole month data usage. You can even set the billing period so that you remember the last date of your data plan.

Data Usage app also allows you to check the history of last usage which includes both Wi-Fi and Cellular. Also, you can go through the graphical presentation of the history.

The best part of the app is its automated disabling of internet. On setting up the data plan limits, the app automatically disables internet when you reach the data limit saved in the settings menu.

Do note that this app tracks only data usage, though, apps are also available on Android store to find call statistics on Android.

Why You Need Android Data usage App?

Android Data Usage app tells you the total internet data used including both cellular and Wi-Fi. Some of the data plans limit the data usage, and you are charged exorbitantly high price if you cross that limit. To get timely alert, Data Usage is one of the best app to install and use on Android. You get timely alerts when you are near to the data limits which you have set. With the help of data alerts you can work accordingly and save few bucks.

Features Of Android Data Usage App:

  • The app tells you total data used which includes both Cellular and Wi-Fi data.
  • Set monthly quota for internet data which you get from your service provider.
  • Get alerts when you are near the end of internet data.
  • The app displays the internet usage by displaying today's, this week, and monthly internet usage.
  • Set update frequency.
  • Simple and easy to use interface.
  • Automatically disables the internet as soon as you cross the set data usage limit.

Install Data Usage App:

Hit here to download and install Data Usage app from Google Play Store or just scan scan the QR Code below.

Android Data Usage app saves your money on over-usage of internet. It tells you how much you have used the internet data and how much the data is left to use. Also, with the help of graphical presentation, the app helps you to track the data usage of previous and current month. This provides you the clear picture of the data usage and makes you understand how to control it efficiently.

You can also check Data Usage Defender Efficiency app for Android.

Track Internet Data Usage On Android: Android Data Usage App was originally published at I Love Free Software

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