Posts Tagged ‘Internet’

Siva`s Recommendation : Must Have Softwares !

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Hi !

Usually I find that many don’t have the very basic essential Software’s installed in their system or they would have installed a crap-ware or bloatware .. or a software which have seized to exist years back. Software is an area where there is a constant upgrades and new innovative features are introduced . Its always vice to stay updated. This topic/article after a year or even after few months may become obsolete. That is the nature of the software.

Many years back i was a big fan of Norton Anti virus(AV) , and used to wait for hours to get update (which where usually on Tuesday/Wednesday) , simply coz it was fun but now i would say a big “NO” to Norton AV. It was a bloated software at that time.. but we didn’t have many option. Other Av include Mcafee and Panda AV.
Fast-Forward 5 years … We now have hefty number of AV`s and each touting to be the best. I usually follow the AV comparison done on various reliable website. Each time a comparison is on the air , each time a new winner arises. Last time when Arstechnica did a comparison test , a new winner rose to the top spot and previous winner where around in 8th spot. But AV department is somehow complicated and with rising number of different worms and Trojan , its difficult to be on top.

Lets take another example, Video Player. 6 years back I had very few option like WMP or Reaplayer or Inter video Player. time zap to 2009 you find Video players in hundreds. And few software’s like Netscape ( Once top browser like Firefox ) have vanished.

Lets cut to the point. If you are new to the PC world and have a fresh laptop or PC , here is my recommendation of software which will help you a lot . I have worked around with many software and this list is the best as far as i know.

Media Player :

This is were many have different opinion , Few like Real player because it helps in Youtube downloading. But its a bloatware and there are many alternatives to it. Take it or not here are the best player at present

1.) VLC Player :

VLC

Why ?

It is very light weight and can handle nearly all music / video file formats. If you are interested , you can skin them too….

Where to Download ?

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

2.) K-Lite Codec :

K-Lite Codec

Why ?

This is the codec pack to play nearly all existing video/music file on earth ! Even though support to RM files is poor , but still who uses the crappy RM files nowadays ?

Where to Download ?

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_lite_codec_pack.htm

Install these two software and you will have nearly all music and video file playability!

Browser :

Again many think Internet Explorer is the one and only and most reliable Browser , for your kind information , IE is a bloatware and no knowledgeable internet user use IE !

Firefox :

FireFox

Why ?

Firefox is simply the best and almost 80% of tech savvies use Firefox. Firefox is first of all a open source software. and secondly mainly because of it hundreds of useful add-on which make ones life pretty easy on net , Many prefer FF .

Where to Download ?

http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

Chrome :

Chrome

Why ?

This is the new iteration from Google and currently gaining a good momentum with recent opening of the Add-on feature in chrome , Many have seen chrome as a good contender for Firefox . But still i would suggest all to go for Firefox !

Where to download ?

http://www.google.com/chrome

Worth mentioning Software :

Opera :

Opera

Why ?

Opera is the best browser in the area of fast page loading , if you using airtel gprs or bsnl or whatever , just install opera and enable ” Turbo ” mode at the left bottom , and see the speed increase !

Where to download ?

http://www.opera.com/

Anti-virus

This is a controversial area and suggestion is based solely in the performance of the software in the recent times. No AV is prefect and cant detect all virus/Trojan/worm. and there are always new worms and Trojan for which there are no signatures and no removal tools ! That said , protecting yourself at least against the current database should be the prior intention. Always install a AV and a firewall ( if you are on Windows 7 or vista , you can omit installing a firewall as the default one is pretty good ! ) if you going to hook your system to internet !

Kaspersky Anti-virus / Internet security :

Kaspersky

Why ?

Kaspersky has shown a good result in recent comparison and its one dependable company . Go anywhere on the net and ask for a advice on AV , they would simply say kaspersky , even though it paid software , its not that costly either.for 500 Rs you get 3 license key which you can share with your friends for 1 year ! Thats a good deal if you ask me .More over the detection rate is pretty good . And constant updated also helps you in tackling the latest virus and other malware.

Where to download ?

This is trial version : http://www.kaspersky.com/trials
For Original : Get it from local dealer.
My best advice is to run the trial version for one month and as the month gets over go to the nearby dealer ands get the key and install , this way you will get 13 months of AV , instead of 12 months !

Worth Mentioning Softwares:

AVIRA AntiVir
G DATA AntiVirus 2010

These two are also good ones. Avira is a Free version (Personal Edition Alone )

Download Manager:

Download Accelerator Plus is good software , but its free version sucks a lot. Its best alternative are Orbit and Flashget Downloader. Both are free.But Flashget is pretty better than Orbit Downloader

FlashGet:

Why?

A Decent Download Manager with feature like inclusion within the browser , make youtube downloading easy.

Where to download ?

http://www.amazesoft.com/index_en.htm

Torrent Client :

Torrent is current hot topic in all colleges and among young teenagers. There are many option in this area

UTorrent :

Utorrent

Why ?

For starters to get started , this is the best one.It resembles a download manager and simplifies all the procedure for you. With under 500 KB size , this is the lightest app around !

Where to download ?

http://www.utorrent.com/downloads

Worth Mentioning Softwares :

VUZE :

Vuze

Touted as “King of HD(High Definition) ” this is for more advanced users and for those who seek High definition.Its user community has loads of High definition contents from music videos to trailers to podcast , its fun filled community. If you want to expand your reach in HD , try VUZE!

Few other software’s which must be installed or worth installing are

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[NOTE:All the download links are given within the Name , Click on the below names to download the softwares]

1.) CCleaner :

Helps in cleaning all those unwanted stuffs which gets piled up after some month of usuage !

2.) Auslogic Disk Defragger :

As time goes , the hard disk gets cluttered with data scattered all around making the Operating System and the Disk reader longer time in fetching the files . Use this software to increase the speed .. Useful after few months of usage ! not intially and also how much you store and delete stuffs from hard disk

3.) Foxit Reader :

Forget about Adobe PDF Reader , its a Bloatware , Install Foxit Reader which is free , open source and fast !

4.) Burnaware Writer :

If you think Nero is only burning software , you are wrong. Burnaware is a free software and does all the work nero does .Nero takes nearly 1GB of space and it consumes huge amount of memory . Give Burnaware a try and reply back …

5.) SUPER © :

If you ever thought that converting video to mobile , look no further than this software . This software supports wide range of inputs and can spit it into anything you want. just add the Video you want to convert and set the output at the top and this will do the rest. Even though the controls and UI are little complicated , feature wise its superior than the usual crap Xillisoft software. I will try to write a guide on how to use this software in near future..

6.) MyphoneExplorer :

Exclusively for Sony Ericsson User . This free app , is the best SE phone manager. It can do all the wonders . just connect your SE phone and sit back and do all the things from your PC / Laptop. Write msg , send it to multiple friends , start music player , transfer files , install java apps , backup phone books , check the battery status etc etc..

I have tried my best to stay on with free apps so that you wont need to spend money or uninstall after some trial period gets over.
If you are person who cant spend , they definitely choose the software which are free. Google is your best friend. If you are trying to install a app , just Google about it and see if there is any better free alternative to it . this way you can know that you wont be having trouble later on. My advice is always try to use Free- Open source software’s .Its always better on the long run.

Even though i have missed many useful softwares , i dont want to trash all the software on the system . Not many PC/Laptop are high end and installing too many apps will only make it much slower.

This is not a complete list . These are basic software you will need. A Antivirus ,Browser, Music/video Player , PDF reader , Video Converter, CD/DVD Writer , Phone Manager , Torrent Downloader and Download Manager

If i had missed anything , please do mention it in the comments below , so that i can add them.

Thanks again for reading through ..

-Urs Siva

Copyright : What side are we really?

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Hi all ,
Hope you like articles thus far. Today i want to just discuss on some issues we netizens face every day. Copyrighted stuff! This is the hot topic at present throughout the internet. Whatever news pops out as top news contains some copyright stuff in it. Recently The Pirate Bay owners were sent to jail, but they have appealed to high court, that’s a different story. The pirate Bay stands tall among all the netizens. They worship TPB like anything, Why? Simply because these guys have the guts to face the Music and Movie industries Threats.

copyright-piracy

Today my question is, What side are we really on ?
We love Music, We love Movies, and we love games. We are fan boys for some cult! be it Star wars , or LOR, Matrix , PS3 , XBOX , Britney , Lindsay Lohan … etc. We are fans because of their awesome work. Are we really doing them any good by downloading their work for free?
One part of my brain says that, this free downloading has been my virtual Search engine for finding extra-ordinary musicians, movies, games etc…
I found Within Temptation because of the torrents. And i would surely say that i would buy her next album, not because i can’t download from the internet anymore, but more of like showing the artist a respect, a token of appreciation for their work.
But my other part of the brain says that you should stop downloading other artist which you haven’t become a fan…
Wait a second! , I can surely say that i have stayed away from some artist, because their works suck, or say, i don’t like their genre! But anyway, i am not going to buy a CD of some unknown anyway! So does my downloading really count? And needless to say the downloaded album will be deleted as soon as i hear them and find they suck!
Torrents have been the place where i discover many new works, like Office, Heroes, and Prison Break etc. Office and Prison Break haven’t been started yet here in India, but even if they start, they show them at some time and miss a episode or two in the middle, they simply don’t care what we see and they simply don’t know what they are doing. And top it all, nowadays every single program comes with a Subtitle! , Damn you morons! And those subtitles only distract us from seeing the actual serial. It’s like a audio book with visual text … It can’t get worst than it is now. Only thing they haven shown the subtitles is in the Advertisements! Do they think that we don’t English or what, i simply can’t understand? If they put a Hindi subtitle it’s ok for me, since it would be great for north Indians who don’t know English to enjoy these serials/ movies. But what if your damn viewer is a frequent movie goer, an addict… He will hate you like anything.
Actually I have stopped (nearly) watching movies on TV, simply because the subtitles kill the experience!
I think i have deviated too far!
Coming to the topic.

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Actually there is also a bigger responsibility for the music companies, movie, game.. Etc, on their part.
Simply put, who would get a 3000 Rs game in India? Pricing is essential! You can’t simply price like that, you have to get a hold of the local culture and mind set. India is a place where people don’t get 1 item for 10 Rs, They bargain till death and get 5 items for 10 Rs. They simply won’t and can’t shed a 3000Rs Single title game!
If the big companies don’t realise this faster and soon, they will invariably going to help the piracy soar to new height all because of their greed for money. Simply put the same game/movie/music is cheaper to obtain from black market or download free off the net.
I wouldn’t say that you shouldn’t download, this a broadband era. Download, but if you really like their work, please support them in any possible way. I loved Batman – Dark knight and i seriously got a Blu-Ray of the film. Not everyone can afford. But at least try not to focus on downloading and enjoying part alone. If these artist aren’t there, then the most important part of “ BroadBand Era “ life , The Entertainment won’t be there.
You could help them by writing a good review on EBay, Amazon, Post nice stuff on Forums, Blogs, Encourage people who CAN buy stuff.
Even though this isn’t the ultimate answer, but at least we can try to make ourselves conscious that we are doing something good to the artist / hero / developer…
I hope i made something or the other clear to you.
If you like this article, please leave a comment and if possible spread it to your friends.
Thanks a lot.
See you soon on another article!

GearUp Before entering the Arena of Internet!!

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Hi all …

Always use Protection

Always use Protection

When we had no internet in my place … ie pre-dawn period of even the Dial-up, we ( me and bro ) were happy with the things going on , i mean the system , no virus stuff ..etc etc… and we didn’t install any of those Anti-Virus or Firewall or anything…
But when we got hold of the nimble Dial-Up , Everything changed..

Today we live in a world were even the slightest mistake on any of the chains ( Antivirus , Settings , Firewall , Browser , Phising site ) could potentially compromise everything … right from the Identity theft to Whole system compromise..

Today is a world were internet is considered to be second Earth or Second Life .. and living there is somewhat different and any wrong move can have devastating effect .. and potentially loose all your second life.

So how do we protect ourselves ??
How do we know we have made mistake ?
How do we know our identity is not been misused ?

Here are the Few basic things you should be having or doing before you even open up the internet..

>>> 1. ) Firewall is a must !! If you are working on a XP machine .. I would greatly suggest you get ZoneAlarm Security suite which comes with Antivirus along with it … its the best XP can get and if you want to add… always have ” Spybot Search & Destroy “. Just in case you you wan to know other alternatives .. just visit www.Filehippo.com , a good site where you can see what are the other software to try and a good site to know whether the current software has  the latest update.

>>> 2.) So with first line of defense setup its up to us to take some of the basic steps to protect ourselves , for reference you can see this article “!0 10 Things You Should Have Stopped Way Before !!!

>>> 3.) Have a good Browser… Yes , When we first used internet there wasnt much choice to make , there were only two most prominent browsers , they were Internet Explorer and the infamous Netscape Navigator.. with the latter now absolute , Internet Explorer has come a long way today .. but there is a catch to it .. since its the browser which comes along with the Operating System , the users of IE is tremendous, So this males the hacking community to go after the most popular ones… Even though today’s IE is very stable and secure , still its the most hunted browser by the Black hat community !!! So now comes the question… Which browser to use ?? If you ask me there are two options … one is the open source ” Firefox ” and another is the Popular ” Opera ” . Each has its own ups and down.. for me opera is a browser which is secure and FAST !! if you are on a GPRS / DIALUP / or anything less that broadband , i would suggest you to go for Opera , Its cache function is the fastest of all browser and many of the features introduced by opera are spectacular and trend setting.. Even i have heard many saying that Firefox has constantly copied some of the features of Opera… So where does Firefox comes ?? — ADD-ONS !! Period.. Yes the Firefox is a browser where add-ons is the thing to go … the collection and functionality of the ADD-Ons are exotic and mind boggling … Firefox is for multi taskers , guys who know what they are doing kind , … Is it secure ?? yes its damn Secure !!!!!..

>>>> 4.) Update Everything .. when was the last time you have thought of updating your OS ?? anti-virus , Firewall … ???

Update

Update

Why do you think they ( the software companies , community ) release updates ??? because there is a hole in the software which needs to be fixed!! So if you haven’t updated for a while , please update it … !!  this will secure your system nearly 95 %. But also keep in mind , when you are doing update after a long time , say more than 6 months , be careful to read the instruction , since sometimes there are chances things to go wrong ..so my best advice is do it one at a time… If you planning to update a anti virus .. do it .. and if its ask for a restart , do it .. and then go for the next one … this would solve most of  the problems . Always have a backup of your documents , files on a rewritable DVD !!!

>>> 5.) With all the above things done .. for the last time , check that your network connection or the personal folders are not shared.. coz even with all the above said , a simple mistake like this can compromise all the personal data s… And also keep a eye over the firewall setting , anti virus setting , coz some times we might have turned them off and would have forgot to revert it back…

Well I think i have covered nearly everything before one must thing of accessing the internet or one must have fulfilled to stay alive in the second world !!!

If i had missed anything please do mention it … and thanks a lot for reading through

If you like my articles , please bookmark my site and visit regularly !!!

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