If you are using Windows XP, and you want to easily resize images from the right-click context menu, this guide is for you. Here’s how to do this in Vista.
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This is an excerpt from the Windows Guides PC Security Handbook. To learn more or find out other security-related tips, download the PC Security Handbook now.
Data backup is essential. If you’d like to explore local backup options, download my Windows pocket guides. I strongly recommend using online (off-site) backups. Backing up your data online prevents data loss if your computer is damaged or stolen—or if your data is wiped by malware.
Online Data Backup
By far my favorite solution for online backup is Mozy. Mozy offers free online storage (up to 2GB with paid options too.) I’ve had Mozy installed on my laptop for over two years and it has saved me on more than a handful of occasions.
Setup is simple and after downloading Mozy, you can specify what you want to back up and when. Mozy will automate your backups and let you decide when it backs up (specific times), what causes it to back up (low CPU usage), and how often (one, two, three etc. times a day.)
I just let Mozy run and it alerts me after a successful backup:
![mozy backup01 Securely Backup Your Data Online for Free [How To]](http://mintywhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/mozy-backup01.png "mozy-backup01")
You can specify what types of files to backup or specify folders— it’s up to you:
![mozy backup02 Securely Backup Your Data Online for Free [How To]](http://mintywhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/mozy-backup02.png "mozy-backup02")
Mozy even integrates into My Computer so you can browse and restore your backed up files (even ones you’ve deleted from your computer):
![mozy backup03 Securely Backup Your Data Online for Free [How To]](http://mintywhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/mozy-backup03.png "mozy-backup03")
MozyHome Features
- Open/locked file support: Mozy will back up your documents whether they’re open or closed.
- 128-bit SSL encryption: The same technology used by banks secures your data during the backup process.
- 448-bit Blowfish encryption: Secures your files while in storage, providing peace of mind that your private data is safe from hackers.
- Automatic: Schedule the times to back up and MozyHome does the rest.
- New and changed file detection: MozyHome finds and saves the smallest changes.
- Backs up Outlook files: Disaster-proof email protection.
- Block-level incremental backup: After the initial backup, MozyHome only backs up files that have been added or changed, making subsequent backups lightning fast.
Download Mozy for Free
 | Download MozyHome Free |
Iobit Security 360 is the latest software from the company that brought you Advanced SystemCare, which is used by many Windows Guides readers. I’ve tested Security 360 for four weeks now and I’m very happy with it; thus, I share my findings with you and invite you to give it a try.
If you like to write or if you are compelled to write by work, school etc, you know how distracting it can be to use your computer. If I am not focused, I can take hours writing a paper because I take time to check my email, browse websites, play with my computer etc. In this guide, you’ll learn about Write Monkey and I’ll run you over the best features.
PDF’s are great for distributing documents across the web. Authors also love them because the original content is protected against change.
What if you need to make ammedments to, or copy PDF’s you’re sent from work collegues or friends? This is where AnyBizSoft PDF to Text comes in.
Don’t be fooled by the simple interface, this baby is powerful. It supports encrypted PDF file conversion as well as multi language conversion such as English, French, Spanish, German, Italy, Dutch and Portuguese.
PDF To Text Converter will convert your PDF into a text file in lightning quick time, which can then be used any way you want. Up to 10 PDF’s may be converted concurrently too.
The minimum hardware requirements are; 500 MHz processor, 256 MB memory and 15 MB hard disk space. (most phones could run this!)
You’ll need to provide a valid email address for your product key.
If you’re watching a video in full screen on the computer and you want to turn the system volume up, you need to minimize the video clip, click the audio item in the system tray and turn it up from there. This can be very tedious; thus I looked for a good solution to this problem and found Volumouse. Volumouse provides you with a quick and easy way to control the volume on your system—simply by rolling the wheel of your wheel mouse.
If you want to protect the files on your computer in an easy way, Secret Disk provides a great solution. in the past, I’ve reviewed TrueCrypt but the use of this program can be overwhelming at best. Secret Disk is a much simpler solution and has you up and running in no time.
Please note: if you are trying to protect your files from a customs, or similar, inspecition, you may be required to enter your password. Thus, using a program like this is not a solution to hiding illegal information–don’t do it!
As a web developer, it is important for me to test my websites in different browsers. As much as I don’t like to support older browsers, many people use them, and I need to ensure that compatibility is at its highest. If you are a web developer, or if you recently upgraded to IE8, you may notice that you cannot have multiple versions of IE on your computer at the same time. A solution to this problem is to use IE Collection. This program installs all of the main builds of IE 8 on your PC.
If you hold a lot online meetings or if you want a good way to show family members or friends how to complete a task on the computer, you may find Yuuguu a great solution for your needs. Yuuguu is an online collaboration system, which has a free version that is highly functional. I tested this program out with a friend and I am very impressed with its capabilities and want to share it with mintywhite readers.
Like an Instant Messaging Program with Screen Sharing
My first impressions of the program is that it’s like an instant messaging program with screen sharing capabilities. I took a couple of screenshots while using the program and they are shown below:
Upon logging into the system, I notified my friend wants to communicate with me:
As you can see, this program acts like an instant messaging program:
From there, you can share your screen and even control your computer. An example of how this can be useful is as follows: if you have a couple of family members who wanted learn how to use a program, you can have them join you and they can watch you demonstrate the task they’re trying to learn. From there, they can try the same function while you watch and help them along the way.
Yuuguu is still a relatively new program but shows great promise and I highly recommend it.
| Download Yuuguu |
Windows, by default, put a small arrow on shortcuts to indicate they are a shortcut and not a file. This feature is very useful and can help you determine what type of file you are dealing with. If you are customizing your desktop or a folder, you may not want these shortcut overlay icons as they may ruin your design. In this guide, you’ll learn how to remove the icons from the shortcuts with a simple program.
