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P55 Motherboard Roundup: Asus, EVGA, GB, Intel, MSI, which is KING

admin — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 17:39:23 +0000

When it comes to motherboards, you have tons of options. Making the right choice for your prized rig isn’t easy with all the bells and whistles each mainboard has. If you’ve been checking out new Core i5 or Core i7 machine to replace that aging rig of yours, but aren’t quite feeling froggy with all the new boards that support Intel’s P55 Express chipset, then you are in luck.

The geeks over at Hot Hardware rounded up motherboards from ASUS, EVGA, Gigabyte, Intel and MSI in order to see which is king of the hill, better yet, which one is right for you. Boards which cost $130 to $340 were chosen for the roundup, although the top contender was the top-end EVGA P55 Classified which performed really well, just about every single candidate had something different to offer that will no doubt attract different buyers.

Picking a winner in a roundup such as this is hard to do when each board has something different to offer. Check out the source link and get the details.

Source Hot Hardware

Best Free Antivirus Software

Bob — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:08:09 +0000

Hackers are as plentiful as the mid and late nineties and every day there are thousands of threats that your computer can are susceptible to. However with the recent advancements in technology, it’s becoming harder and harder for viruses, Trojan software and spyware to take control of your computer thanks to the cooperation of many browsers, email clients and the overall more security of the Windows operating system.

With these advancements in technology, it’s not necessary to pay $50-$100 a year for virus protection. Yes you should have virus protection (unless you’re computer savvy enough to use MsDOS) because most malicious code can cause great damage including the theft of financial and other personal information.

The virus programs listed below are recommended for Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems. While they can work on XP, we wouldn’t advise it because with the release of Windows 7, there is no need to stick with an archaic operating system that supports a max of 3GB of RAM.

Microsoft Security Essentials Free Antivirus

Microsoft has long been accused of monopolistic plays to corner the software market and you can imagine that the likes of Norton, McAfee and TrendMicro are none too happy with Redmond’s decision to release a full fledged antivirus, spyware and Trojan protection for the Windows operating system.

Being a beta tester of Windows 7 I can honestly say that I have not had a single problem with the OS concerning viruses and spyware, however I did install Microsoft Security Essentials just to make sure and so far it has worked perfectly. It’s very lightweight and provides great features.

Best of all since Microsoft Security Essentials integrates into Windows so well, it uses very little system resources and runs quietly in the background. If you want a free solution with all the basic support you need, this is the selection to go with. Download it here.

AVG Anti-Virus (Freeware and Shareware)

This lightweight anti-virus fighter provides excellent protection against the various unwanted nasties floating around the Internet. This virus killer provides freeware (with limitations) and commercial versions of their software, but most users find AVG Free is all they need.

This has been one of the all time favorite free antivirus solutions for millions of users. Users also swear by AVG Anti-Virus as a comprehensive and bulletproof solution. It’s not hard to see why AVG is the top downloaded antivirus on download.com. Although recent versions have become a little bloated and do hug system resources, this is a great option for those who have the power to support it (Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM should be fine).

It provides unparalleled support and is more feature rich than Microsoft Security Essentials. However the reason it ranks second is because it still has way more features than you will probably ever use and as we said before, thanks to the improved security of Vista and Windows 7, you won’t need to be deleting that many viruses unless ThePirateBay and online movie sites are your regular internet traffic. Download it here.

Avast Antivirus (Freeware and Shareware)

Available in both freeware (Home) and shareware (Professional) options. Avast is slightly heavier on system resources than most, all though it’s still considered light weight and users argue its excellent protection makes up for the increased load. The freeware version will cost your time to register on their website, they will then send you a registration code from their to activate the free download.

There is a reason why Avast continues to receive 4 to 5 star ratings from the likes of PC World, CNET and others. It’s not only a powerful anti virus protector, Avast carries a suite of features including IM and P2P sharing security as well as network shield and support for 64-bit operating systems. If you’re looking for the perfect combination of speed, power and reliability, Avast is one of your best options. It features stellar automatic updates and with its built in firewall support, you can be sure that hackers will be kept at bay. Download it here.

Avira Personal Free Antivirus

Avira AntiVir Personal Free Antivirus is for home-users only, it’s not as full featured as Avast. However, it comprehensive, easy to use, and it does a great job protecting against those unwanted nasties. This anti virus program offers : extensive malware recognition of viruses, Trojans, backdoor programs, worms, an advanced heuristic system and what it calls a Virus Guard real time monitoring system. Like most on this list it is easy to install, but it also offers forum and phone support; Knowledge Base with virus descriptions are available on the web site;

Version 9 introduces a quick-removal button for eliminating viruses with a single click, enhanced anti-spyware and anti-adware engines, and support for low resolution netbook screens. Download it here.

Comodo

Before installing Microsoft Security Essentials, I used Comodo to protect my Windows 7 installation. It is a great option for those looking for something free and provides some nice features such as built in firewall (something many free antivirus programs lack).

It also has the ability to prevent certain programs from accessing the Internet or receiving information from online servers. The only reason I rank it at number 5 on this list is the warning signs can be a little annoying at times and for some reason I cannot get the damn thing to remember my selection.

But that aside, it’s a great option and since it’s free for both home and commercial use, it can provide basic protection for you small business. Download it here.

How to Remove Fake Antivirus Software

Bob — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:59:04 +0000

All those so called anti virus programs listed below are fake antivirus software programs, imposters, scams designed to empty your bank account, most are Viruses or Trojans. The makers of the fake software fool users into believing they have an infected computer by displaying warnings saying “a serious virus threat has been detected”. They will then offer the user their so called fully licensed virus software for download to remove the high level threat for a small fee of course via your credit card.

Generally what these criminals are after with this fake antivirus software is your credit card number. Some really want to sell you some sort of so called virus protection software, and all it really does is remove the program that they put on your system from the start. There’s a lot of money to be made doing this, thus the motivation behind the scam.

Then there are those that are nothing more than your typical trojans and virus programs that has one mission and one mission only, wreck your computer.

Remove Fake Antivirus is used to remove the following fake antivirus programs from your system.

Cyber Security, Braviax, Alpha Antivirus, GreenAV, Windows Protection Suite, Total Security 2009, Windows System Suite, Personal Antivirus, Anti-Virus-1, Spyware Guard 2008, System Guard 2009, Antivirus 2009, System Security, Antivirus 2010, Antivirus Pro 2009, Antivirus 360, MS Antispyware 2009, Malware Doctor, AntivirusBEST, System Security 2009, Antivirus System Pro, WinPC Defender, etc.

Again all of the above are fake antivirus programs designed to do you harm.

How do you use Remove Fake Antivirus ? Its real simply: download the executable file, launch the program, and start the scan.

Remove Fake Antivirus is designed to run on the following operating systems:

* Windows 7
* Windows Vista
* Windows XP
* Windows 2003
* Windows 2000
* Windows ME
* Windows NT
* Windows 98

Download Remove Fake Antivirus

The Eye-Fi WiFi SD Card

Bob — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:53:41 +0000

Digital camera’s are simply amazing, I remember taking pictures on film cameras not to many years ago. Now with digital camera’s and the right memory card you can take hundreds if not thousands of pictures.

The one down side to digital cameras is eventually you have to empty that digital memory card, usually that means either removing the SD card and sticking it in your computer or getting those cables out and linking your camera and computer together to download the pictures.

With all the hassle getting those pictures on to your computer it’s no wonder we often find ourselves letting the pictures stack up, I have let them pile up to hundreds of pics.

We came across something that is amazing and tried it out. I must say it’s a ground breaking product.The product is called the Eye-Fi Card, it’s an SD card that works with all most every camera known and it has built in Wi-Fi, which is simply amazing. That’s right, What we’re talking about here is an SD card that you stow pictures on it like any other SD card but this one has an antenna built on to it, it has the ability to connect to your home or office network and share all the data that’s on the card.

All you have to do is insert the SD card to the USB reader, and simply plug the USB reader with your SDcard inside into your computers USB slot (you only have to do this once for set-up).

EYE-Fi USB reader with SD card

In the set-up menu you can have the device download your pics to a folder of your choice, we selected our pictures folder. What cool about this is you can also select web destinations as well which is really cool. Therefore, if you have a Flickr, YouTube or Facebook account ( there are dozens of social networks to choose from) you can set-up to have to not only upload your pictures or video to your computer, but have them also uploaded to your Facebook, YouTube or Flickr account as well.

This is a brilliant idea, you don’t have to worry about attaching your SD card or cables or doing anything. You literally come into the house, turn your camera on and they start transferring. Managing your pictures are so easy as there now automatic.

Eye-Fi boost about it’s Geotagging, which means it tags your pictures with the location they were taken. Eye-Fi uses an unconventional scheme to geocode images on the Eye-Fi Explore card (or with its geotagging service). It does this by using information from nearby wireless routers to plot the latitude and longitude of the camera’s location. We never got a chance to test this feature.

The Eye-FI comes in Seven versions: The Home, GEO, Share, Home Video, Share Video, Explore Video, PRO, we list each of them with features below.

Home model ($50/2GB), supports wireless photo transfer to your PC from your camera only and there is no geotagging.

Geo model ($59/2GB), includes the Home’s wireless camera downloads feature plus the Geotagging feature which uses Wi-Fi Positioning Service (WPS) technology to tag your photos with geolocation information. Desktop applications like iPhoto ’09 and sites like Flickr and Picasa also enable you to see and search for photos on a map. Where included, lifetime service is provided for the card. Other cards can be upgraded to the service for $14.99/year.

Share versions ($60/2GB), includes the Home’s wireless camera downloads feature, direct-to-web feature which allows you to uploads photos you take to your Flickr, Facebook or MobileMe account right from your camera. There’s 25 social networks that can be used for this feature and no geotagging offered on this model. Other cards can be upgraded to the direct-to-web feature for $9.99/year.

Home Video model ($70/4GB), includes the Home’s wireless camera downloads feature and supports wireless video uploads to YouTube, Flickr, SmugMug, Picasa Web and Photobucket.

Share Video model ($80/4GB), includes the Home’s wireless camera downloads feature, supports wireless video uploads to YouTube, Flickr, SmugMug, Picasa Web and Photobucket, direct-to-web feature that can uploads photos to 25 social networks.

Explore video model ($100/4GB), includes the Home’s wireless camera downloads feature, supports wireless video uploads to YouTube, Flickr, SmugMug, Picasa Web and Photobucket, direct-to-web feature that can uploads photos to 25 social networks, Geotagging, includes HotSpot Access which allows you to upload from open networks and over 10,000 Wayport Hotspots including McDonalds, hotels, restaurants and airports. Starbucks not included. Where included, 1st year is free, $14.99/year after that. Other cards can be upgraded for $14.99/year.

The PRO model ($150/4GB), features include the Home’s wireless camera downloads, wireless video uploads, direct-to-web photo upload feature, includes HotSpot Access, Supports Wireless uploads of RAW formats to your computer such as .CRW, .CR2, .NEF, .NRW, .DNG, .PTX, .PEF, .RAW, .RW2. They add the Ad Hoc feature which is a camera to computer connection that allows you to transfer photos and videos to your computer without the need for a wireless router. This ie a great feature for photographers or enthusiast on the go with time restraint.

With 2GB memory this version can store up to 1,000 photos, just like with your existing SD or SDHC card. The 4GB memory models can store up to 2,000 photos or 90mn of video, just like with any other existing SDHC card.

Now there is a iPhone app for that

There is also a FREE Eye-Fi app for your iPhone to extend the Eye-Fi card’s benefit to your iPhone. It provides unlimited photo uploads straight from your iPhone to your computer or to a social network such as Flickr. This is a great way to stay organized as photos automatically land in designated folders of your choice in your computer. No syncing, no tethering or any hassles.

Check out the video below, if you wish to purchase this wonderful product head over to there website here.

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