Before we consider how to choose a spyware removal tool, let us see what the term Spyware means.
Spyware is software created with a malign intent that is installed without your knowledge on your computer. They are designed to hide itself from the average users. They will usually reside in your computer and may track keystrokes, URLs of the websites visited and the kind of products you usually buy.
In addition to spying on your personal preferences, they can also download additional programs, redirect browsers to specific sites or links.
The only way to combat the very real threat presented by spyware to your privacy is by using a spyware removal tools. These removal tools can detect and remove spyware from an infected computer or they may monitor data coming into the computer.
There are many spyware removal tools available in the market today. Both freeware and commercial. Here are some things to look for when you want to get this useful anti spyware tool:.
read more: 7 Tips For Choosing the Best Spyware Removal Tool
Filed under Computer How-To by 
Have you notice that your Vista computer does not seem to take full advantage of it's CPU processing capabilities and appears to run slower than XP?
If so, it may be because of the power plan option that Vista is using.
Unlike XP, Vista power plans include a configuration setting that can greatly effect speed and reduce performance by 50 percent, almost to the point of frustration.
Especially if you use the Power Saver plan.
read more: Speed Up Vista Performance By 50 Percent With Power Saver Plan CPU Setting Tweak
Filed under Windows Vista Tips by
Are you a pack rat with your Windows XP or Vista desktop?
You know you are if your desktop looks anything like this:
What a mess. Sure, all the icons are organized in nice neat rows and columns. But honestly, that's the only thing organized about it. What a double-vision-icon nightmare these desktops are when I have to work on people's computers.
So instead of telling them to get rid of everything, I show them a better way to clean up and organize their desktop, with out deleting anything.
read more: 4 CLean Up Tips To Declutter Your XP or Vista Desktop Without Deleting Anything
Filed under Windows Tips, Windows Vista Tips by
One thing is for sure with any computer operating system, the older it becomes, the occurrence of broken or "things don't work like they used to" become more frequent.
Take shortcuts for example. You know…the ones on your desktop or in the start menu.
You click on a shortcut that you have not used in a while, and chances are, it works as expected or you get the dreaded Problem with Shortcut error warning:
So to fix it, you re-point to the new location of the source or delete it. Now you wonder, how many more shortcuts do I have that are broken?
Well you could go one by one and click on each shortcut on your desktop or start menu and fix them. But that would take a be ridiculously long time (who wants to do that anyway).
Instead there is an easier way…
read more: How To Find And Fix Broken Shortcuts In Windows XP Or Vista
Filed under Windows Tips by
Ever have a need to show a list of what packages were installed (or recently installed) by date on Ubuntu?
Say you are troubleshooting a problem and need to back-track on when a package was installed. Or if you are a Windows user who has switch to Ubuntu and is not familiar with how to check when a package was installed.
Fortunately there are a few ways to find out. In this article, we'll look at how to view installed packages by date using Synaptics Package Manager and from the command prompt using a Terminal window.
read more: Display The List Of Recently Installed Packages By Date On Ubuntu
Filed under Ubuntu And Linux Tips by
With all the great features and ease of use, one item that Firefox does not include in the Options configuration menu is the capability to move the disk cache to another location or to a second hard drive.
Instead, all you can do is clear or change the allocated space that is reserve for the cache along with modifying some offline settings.. To see these settings, click on Tools \ Options from the menu, then click on the Advanced and Network tabs.
This is some what surprising since there are several benefits with moving the cache location, such as better browsing performance, faster video loading, more disk space for the cache or just being able to get to the darn cache directory.
By default, Firefox cache directory is buried deep under your user profile folder. You can easily view the location by typing about:cache in the address bar (for more information, see – How To View Contents Of Firefox Cache Location).
So, how can you move the disk cache to another hard drive location?
read more: Firefox Tip: Move Disk Cache To Another Location Or Second Hard Drive
Filed under Firefox and Internet Explorer Tips by
With the recent release of Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) people are finding a nice surprise after installing the service pack.
More free disk space.
Apparently Vista SP2 includes a clean up tool (Compcln.exe) that recovers hard disk space by permanently deleting previous versions of files such as RTM, SP1 uninstall files and restore points that are being serviced by SP2.
If installing SP2 does not automatically delete these files, you can run the clean up tool manually.
read more: Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Recovers Disk Space With Cleanup Tool
Filed under Windows Vista Tips by
With Ubuntu 9.04 (codename Jaunty Jackalope) some new features have been added that you may like or dislike.
For me, one feature that I don't like is the delayed shutdown. When I'm ready to shutdown my desktop I want it to begin shutting down immediately.
Unfortunately the default setting for shutting the system down in version 9.04 is a one minute delay. You do have the option of canceling the shutdown or clicking another button to…shut it down (what is this Microsoft thinking??)
One clicks to many.
If you want change this behavior and just have the system shutdown, keep reading.
read more: Disable Delayed Shutdown Notification In Ubuntu 9.04
Filed under Ubuntu And Linux Tips by
