Software: Windows 7 – Changing the log-on screen picture

Customizing the way Windows look is something everyone does, from the picture you choose as your background, to the colors of your windows, to the way your start menu shows the program list, to numerous other possible changes. One of the things that I like about Windows 7 is changing the log-on screen, I think it makes my pc more “ME”.

Windows 7 – Default Log-On Screen

There are various ways to manually change the log-on screen, plus numerous applications that say they will let you change the log-on screen, however, the one we are going to talk about in this post I would consider as the best and easiest application to change your log-on screen (That’s opinion of course).

The programs called Tweaks.com Log-On changer (From Tweaks.com) allows you in a simple fashion to pick the image you want to use and makes all the changes for you. It even allows you to test the image you choose and to change the image back to the default Windows 7 log-on screen if you are just not happy with your choice, so the changes are completely reversible.

All the you need to do is download the program, and run the TweaksLogOn.exe file (Nothing actually gets installed on your pc), at which point you will see your default screen with the choices of

- Change Logon Screen – Which is how you select your image

- Test – Which allows you to test your image change

- Revert to Default Logon Screen – Which puts your Logon Screen back to the Windows 7 default

Once you select Change Logon Screen and select your image, if you test it and its to your liking, all you do is close the Tweak.com Logon Changer program and your done. That’s it.

Here is what my pc looks like now with the changes.

My New Windows 7 Logon Screen

The software for this change can be found at Tweak.com (LINK: http://tweaks.com/software/tweakslogon/ (http://tweaks NULL.com/software/tweakslogon/))

Software: Resume Templates for MS Office

With unemployment as high as it is currently, sending out your resume has become a full time job for some. I have had a number of family and friends all ask me to look over their resumes (I guess being employed qualifies you to review resumes), and a few of the resumes I saw needed some serious help. So to help them fix their resumes I started looking around for templates and I found some very good and free (if your sending out your resume, you probably aren’t in a position to be more than you have to), and found some very good ones being offered on the Microsoft website (in partnership with monster.com) for MS Office. The templates can be found on the Microsoft Office Online page (LINK: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/FX103504051033.aspx (http://office NULL.microsoft NULL.com/en-us/help/FX103504051033 NULL.aspx)).

The page breaks the templates down by resume type (Basic, Entry level / College student, Experienced Professional, Job-Specific, Career move, Academic). Just click on the resume type your looking for and then select from one of the 4 templates for each category.

Since the templates are being “Powered by monster.com”, you will see a couple of links in Office (only while you are using that specific template) pointing giving you the option to post the resume directly to the monster.com site. If you use monster.com, then that’s an extra help, however, if you don’t use monster all you have to do is just ignore the links, as you are still able to save and print the resume itself without any monster.com labels on your resume.

When you open the template you will see a Joe Doe type set up with some made up information, all you need to do is use that as your guide and over ride that information with your resume information.

If your in the need of getting Microsoft Office, one option to consider is downloading the new beta version of Microsoft Office 2010 (LINK: http://us2.office2010beta.microsoft.com/default.aspx?culture=en-US (http://us2 NULL.office2010beta NULL.microsoft NULL.com/default NULL.aspx?culture=en-US)). The beta includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, One Note, Publisher, Access. The beta version of Office 2010 will expire in October 2010, which gives you a full version of Office for free (Legally), for almost an entire year.

For those in the middle of the job search, TechGeekandMore wishes you luck in your quest.

Software: Microsoft “My Phone” software

With the release on Windows 6.5, Microsoft has also taken the My Phone service out of beta. The following email from Microsoft talks about some of the features of the My Phone service.

*************************************************************

Microsoft® My Phone Launches!

Dear My Phone User,

We appreciate your participation in the Microsoft My Phone beta. Your feedback has been invaluable in improving the service.

Today, with the launch of Windows® phones, the My Phone service is exiting beta and launching commercially. We’ve added a number of new features to the service:

Share photos on popular social networks

With just a few clicks, you can post photos to Windows Live, Facebook, MySpace and Flickr from the My Phone online portal or directly from your phone.

Find your missing phone

My Phone can show you the last known location of your phone on a map. To activate this feature, select "Send phone location" in your phone’s My Phone settings. Not available in all markets.

Premium features

My Phone can help you secure a lost phone using new Premium features. You can lock or post a message on your phone from the web. Or, if you know the phone is gone for good, you can use My Phone to erase all your personal information so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. For a limited time, you can try these features for free, so be sure to check them out. Premium features are not available in all markets.

The next time you sync, you will receive a notification on your mobile phone to update the My Phone software. The content you have already synced remains available and can be managed online.

Visit http://myphone.microsoft.com (http://myphone NULL.microsoft NULL.com/) to learn more and try out our new features!

Thanks,

The My Phone Team

Software: Free Editing software for Pictures – Paint.net

One of the biggest questions that comes up from family, friends, and clients involves “how can I do…….without having to spend the a lot of money for the commercial version of the software?” That specific question always comes with a double edged sword.

Yes I could talk about the many routes online that exist for downloading software (and all true techie or geek will know at least 2 of those) but those ways involve crossing legal areas and run an extreme risk of not only downloading the software that your looking for but also malware, viruses, logging software (so that someone else can record every single thing you do and type on your pc), and many other possibilities, so I choose to refer my family, friends, and clients to a different option.

In the software community if someone has come up with a major product (Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Nero Burning Rom, etc) then in 99.9% of the cases someone else has come up with a free or very low cost alternative.

Today I have one of those alternatives that I’m recommending. This one is called “Paint.net”. For anyone who has every needed to touch up, or crop, or edit a picture, you could use Adobe’s Photoshop but that will run you a lot of money for either the professional version ($699 US Dollars) or the elements version ($99 US Dollars which is still a lot in our current economy for some). An alternative to having to send that money is called “Paint.net.

“Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plug-in’s.”

Paint.net started development as an undergraduate college senior design project mentored by Microsoft, and is currently being maintained by some of the alumni that originally worked on it. Originally intended as a free replacement for the Microsoft Paint software that comes with Windows, it has grown into a powerful yet simple image and photo editor tool. It has been compared to other digital photo editing software packages such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop Pro, Microsoft Photo Editor, and The GIMP.

The requirements for Paint.net-

Minimum System

Windows 7 (recommended),
   or Windows XP SP2,
   or Windows Vista,
   or Windows Server (2003 SP1 or newer)

.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (http://go NULL.microsoft NULL.com/fwlink/?LinkId=124150) (free download from Microsoft (http://www NULL.getpaint NULL.net/download NULL.html#))

512 MB of RAM

1024 x 768 screen resolution

200+ MB hard drive space

64-bit mode requires a 64-bit CPU and a 64-bit edition of Windows

To download Paint.net just click on the icon below

(http://www NULL.getpaint NULL.net/download NULL.html)

For Additional information and support for Paint.net click on one the icons below

Paint.net features (http://www NULL.getpaint NULL.net/features NULL.html) Paint.net plugins (http://www NULL.getpaint NULL.net/redirect/plugins NULL.html) Paint.net support (http://www NULL.getpaint NULL.net/redirect/forum NULL.html) Paint.net tutorials (http://www NULL.getpaint NULL.net/redirect/tutorials NULL.html)

Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
Adobe and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
Corel and Paint Shop Pro are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Canada, the United States, and/or other countries.

Software: Microsoft Security Essentials – Now Released

Microsoft has just released (Today 9/29/09) its PC security software known as “Microsoft Security Essentials”. The MSE software helps protect your pc against Viruses and other pc malware. The MSE software is FREE and is in line to go up against offerings from AVG, Avast and others. MSE is a basic anti-virus/antimalware software package. This does not have a lot of the bells and whistles of products offered by Symantec or McAfee, but for a standard home user MSE will help add a layer of security to the pc. MSE is a simple (which most non-techie people will love) and very light weight, meaning that it will not slow down your pc while it scans it, which is a big complaint of the paid products.

Microsoft release a very successful beta version a few months ago, in which the beta version downloads (which were limited) were completely exhausted in less than 24 hours. (For the record: I have been running MSE on my pc’s since the release and can comfortably recommend MSE to my non-techie clients or clients looking for anti-virus/anti-malware software that will not slow down the pc).

Microsoft Security Essentials is for customers using Windows XP (32 bit), Windows Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit) and Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit). Note that MSE will verify if the version of

Download from:

Windows XP (32 bit) http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/3/8/A38FFBF2-1122-48B4-AF60-E44F6DC28BD8/mssefullinstall-x86fre-en-us-xp.exe (http://download NULL.microsoft NULL.com/download/A/3/8/A38FFBF2-1122-48B4-AF60-E44F6DC28BD8/mssefullinstall-x86fre-en-us-xp NULL.exe)

Windows Vista/7 (32 bit) http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/3/8/A38FFBF2-1122-48B4-AF60-E44F6DC28BD8/mssefullinstall-x86fre-en-us-vista-win7.exe (http://download NULL.microsoft NULL.com/download/A/3/8/A38FFBF2-1122-48B4-AF60-E44F6DC28BD8/mssefullinstall-x86fre-en-us-vista-win7 NULL.exe)

Windows Vista/7 (64 bit) http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/3/8/A38FFBF2-1122-48B4-AF60-E44F6DC28BD8/mssefullinstall-amd64fre-en-us-vista-win7.exe (http://download NULL.microsoft NULL.com/download/A/3/8/A38FFBF2-1122-48B4-AF60-E44F6DC28BD8/mssefullinstall-amd64fre-en-us-vista-win7 NULL.exe)

Software: Panda AV offering FREE USB Vaccine to help stop malware from spreading via external drives

As a tech, one of the biggest headaches involves someone bring there USB key (or external hard drive) from home, full of malware infections because the user doesn’t know how to protect their home pc. They go to the office and start “Copying that Excel sheet” or even better “The cute pictures of their kids” so that it can be seen on every pc. Unfortunately as that drive keeps getting plugged in, every machine it goes into get infected with malware because of what is know as the autorun feature.

Panda Labs is offering a FREE download (http://www.pandasecurity.com/usa/homeusers/downloads/usbvaccine/ (http://www NULL.pandasecurity NULL.com/usa/homeusers/downloads/usbvaccine/) ) that can be used on your external drives and on each pc, which will basically disable the autorun feature. With the feature disabled, you should be able to scan your external drive, and make sure its ok, prior to it being able to cause malware havoc.

********************************************************************

From the Panda Website

There is an increasing amount of malware which, like the dangerous Conficker worm, spreads via removable devices and drives such as memory sticks, MP3 players, digital cameras, etc. To do this, these malicious codes modify the AutoRun file on these devices.

Panda USB Vaccine is a free solution designed to protect against this threat. It offers a double layer of preventive protection, allowing users to disable the AutoRun feature on computers as well as on USB drives and other devices:

Vaccine for computers: This is a ‘vaccine’ for computers to prevent any AutoRun file from running, regardless of whether the device (memory stick, CD, etc.) is infected or not.

Vaccine for USB devices: This is a ‘vaccine’ for removable USB devices, preventing the AutoRun file from becoming a source of infection. The tool disables this file so it cannot be read, modified or replaced by malicious code.

This is a very useful tool as there is no simple way of disabling the AutoRun feature in Windows. This provides users with a simple way of disabling this feature, offering a high degree of protection against infections from removable drives and devices.

*********************************************************************

Just remember that this needs to be used both on the external drives and PC. Even if you don’t have an external drive yourself, its a good thing to run it on your pc, in case some one visits (or your kids or co-workers) and brings an external drive with them.

Software: ZoomIt for Training or Presentations

All techs have to do either Staff Training sessions or Presentations in front of Management or Clients at one point or another. During these meetings, it would be a great help if you could “Zoom” to specific parts of your screen or write on the screen to emphasize a specific issue or item your showing.

ZoomIt allows you to do that and a whole lot more. From the ZoomIt Web page ( http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897434.aspx (http://technet NULL.microsoft NULL.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897434 NULL.aspx) )

Introduction

“ZoomIt is screen zoom and annotation tool for technical presentations that include application demonstrations. ZoomIt runs unobtrusively in the tray and activates with customizable hotkeys to zoom in on an area of the screen, move around while zoomed, and draw on the zoomed image. I wrote ZoomIt to fit my specific needs and use it in all my presentations”.

“ZoomIt works on all versions of Windows and you can use pen input for ZoomIt drawing on tablet PCs”.

Using ZoomIt

“The first time you run ZoomIt it presents a configuration dialog that describes ZoomIt’s behavior, let’s you specify alternate hotkeys for zooming and for entering drawing mode without zooming, and customize the drawing pen color and size. I use the draw-without-zoom option to annotate the screen at its native resolution, for example. ZoomIt also includes a break timer feature that remains active even when you tab away from the timer window and allows you to return to the timer window by clicking on the ZoomIt tray icon.”

You can download ZoomIt from the Sysinternals page http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897434.aspx (http://technet NULL.microsoft NULL.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897434 NULL.aspx) or You can even run ZoomIt directly** from the Sysinternals live page http://live.sysinternals.com/ZoomIt.exe (http://live NULL.sysinternals NULL.com/ZoomIt NULL.exe)

**If you choose to try ZoomIt from the Systernals Page you will see

Click on Run, then you will see

Click on Run Again

At this point either by downloading and installing or by running ZoomIt from the Live page you will see

That will show the following Icon in your Systray (The systray are the ICONs next to the clock)

And will also show you the following window

This is where you configure what short cut keys you want to use to start each of the ZoomIt features. It will list a default set of keys that you can either leave or change to your own short cut keys.

ZoomIt has the following features as shown by the Tabs in the configuration window.

Zoom – Where after toggling ZoomIt you can Zoom in with the mouse wheel or up and down arrow keys to any part of your screen.
Live Zoom – which allows you to change screen and continue your presentation while in zoom mode
Draw – Which allows you to write on the screen without affecting your actual presentation or training material
Type – Which allows you to type (instead of write) on your screen again with affecting your presentation or training material.
Break – Which allows you to set a specific countdown timer, which is great for giving 10 min breaks and being able to show everyone how much time they have left.

In all cases you can close or get out of your Zoom mode by either pressing the ESC (Escape) key or by right clicking on your mouse.

And More: Compare shipping rates – Fast & Free

Just came across this one, and since I do ship packages on a regular basis, I have already found good use for it. The site is called ShipGooDER ( http://shipgooder.com/ (http://shipgooder NULL.com/) ) and it allows you to compare shipping rates for everything from local carriers to national shippers (FedEx/UPS). The site which doesn’t ask for you to sign up or enter any personal information, is very simple to use. From there main page all you do is enter the To/From zip codes and the number of packages / weight and select search and what you get is

which will let you pick from a break out of pricing by number of days or by couriers (The map choice gives you a Google map breakout of the distance you have selected). So if you ship this may be a good way to save….

Software: Microsoft Security Essentials (Beta)

Microsoft has just released the Beta version of MS Security Essentials. It is a limited time download and it can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/ (http://www NULL.microsoft NULL.com/security_essentials/) which is the MSE website.

They have a download for XP, Vista/7 (32bit) and Vista/7 (64bit). This is MS offering to provide a basic level of security for Windows users who choose not to pay for AV products or do not know about other offerings. MSE is a free offering and a final product is scheduled to be released around the end of Sep or in Oct 09, which is just about the same time as Windows 7’s release.

    MSE is a intended to assist with protection against viruses and spyware, including Trojans, worms and other malicious software.
     In the short testing I have done it seems to do a good job. Some of the benefits seems to be that it is quiet (you don’t get needless alerts that would annoy advanced users and scare those with limit PC knowledge), and it also has a small footprint (doesn’t seem to use a lot of a computers resources).
     However, with that being said, a user is the 1st line of defense against Viruses and Spyware. Don’t click on links that you are unsure of, don’t download from unknown sources, don’t fall for social engineering scams (Friend from Nigeria with millions, or your local bank just checking your information details via email, or “Check out the cool new video…” emails (There are many more but that’s just an example). No antivirus free or paid can help when a user doesn’t follow common logic.

Software: Microsoft Security Essentials (June23rd)

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) will have its 1st beta offering on June 23rd. The software which was originally named morrow, will have a limited offering on June 23rd to the 1st 75,000 users who sign up in the US, Israel, and Brazil. This is MS 1st true consumer offering of Anti-Virus software (They have a product called forefront for business). The consensus is the final product will be available by the release of Windows 7 (Oct 22). MSE will be a free software offering once released.

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