Windows Tools, Help & Guides

Every month we take a look around some of the most interesting windows-related web sites. We collect the best free stuff and write tips to help you get more out of Windows. Below you’ll find wallpapers, icon packs, fonts, screensavers, and freeware we’ve found over the last 30 days. We’ve also put together our most popular windows guides.

Enjoy the overview of stuff you shouldn’t have missed in September 2009

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Windows Guides Reader, Keith Johnson, recently downloaded IOBIT Security 360 after I reviewed it earlier this month. Keith liked it so much, he wrote the following review:

Recently, Rich Robinson, MVP and Webmaster of Minty White Dot Com, sent out a most useful piece of information in his website RSS feed. Specifically, Rich informed readers like myself of a utility program called IObit Security 360. Now, I have seen quite a few computer care programs out there, but this program is really cool. What I like most about it is the extremely simple and intuitive user interface. Once you download and install the program and get it running, you will notice four basic buttons on the left pane of the utility: Overview, Scan, Protection and Tools.

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Readers, I believe a brief update is on the cards; a  few things have changed lately. I’ll attempt to keep you updated with the major changes:

MyWindowsPC

• ReCaptcha is being used on members’ blogs to cut spam comments for them (thanks for the suggestion Christopher.)
• MyWindowsPC Help, the official MyWindowsPC help blog has been updated and given a new name.
• Members’ posts are now being featured on the front page.
• The site activity feed is now being parsed to the sidebar of Windows Guides.

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The PC Maintenance Handbook is now available. This handbook is designed to help you find ways to maintain your Windows XP/Vista/7 PC and ensure your PC remains clean and speedy throughout its life. Computers quickly get bogged down by junk files, invalid registry entries, a fragmented hard drive, spyware, adware, low disk space, and more. A speedy system is just a few clicks away, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to start or even what to do.

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The PC security handbook is now available. This handbook is designed to help you find ways to protect your Windows XP/Vista/7 PC and ensure your data is safe.

The purpose of this book is not to define the ultimate solution; its purpose is to give you simple, unbiased advice on what I’ve found to be the best options out there. In this handbook, I only give advice and share programs that I’ve used for at least a year. Some programs seem good when you first use them, but quickly annoy you or slow down your PC.

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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:

You can specify what types of files to backup or specify folders— it’s up to you:

Mozy even integrates into My Computer so you can browse and restore your backed up files (even ones you’ve deleted from your computer):

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

Update: Having trouble with the comments system? Get help here.

Windows Guides has a new comment system and, to introduce you all to it, I’ve decided to run a competition. We’re giving away a fully licensed copy of  Windows 7 Home Premium to a random visitor who comments on this site between now (right now) and Sunday, September 13, 2009 @ 11 P.M. EST (GMT-5.)

What Do I Win?

Windows 7 Home Premium (Retail: $199.99)

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