Windows Update is a really nice function of Windows that applies both service packs and hotfixes to your OS installation, but for other programs you are left with no notification of updates or potential security holes in the versions you have installed unless the particular program checks itself for new releases. A tool which can help you manage this is Secunia...

We have posted a couple of times with regards to downloading and saving online videos from sites like Youtube, but the site Bender Converter takes this process to the next level. Here you can download and convert videos from the following sites: youtube.com, dailymotion.com, vimeo.com, twitvid.com, wat.tv, veoh.com, vids.myspace.com, video.google.com, blip.tv,...

I have been pretty clear in past tips that I take comparisons based on benchmarks with a grain of salt. That said, I do understand and appreciate how they can be useful as an objective tool in stress tests. I am curious, however, what our readers think. Do you give benchmark results consideration when making a decision to purchase a CPU, graphics card, memory,...

I have written in the past about how it is a huge time saver to copy/clone virtual machines instead of rebuilding them, however the information I supplied in that tip was with regards to Microsoft Virtual PC. The same can be done with Sun’s Virtual Box, but the process is apparently a bit more involved. Cloning and copying VirtualBox VMs is not as straight...

Whenever you make certain tweaks to Windows (change to file type icons, change of system fonts, etc.), they may not take effect until the system is ‘refreshed’ which is typically done via a reboot. Instead you can force a refresh of the Windows state using the multi-tool NirCmd. Two commands it supports are: shellrefresh Initiate a general refersh...

At some point or another, you will probably need to use directory assistance to get a phone number or address. Calling 411 is ideal for situations like this, however there is a fee associated with calling this service. As an alternate, you can try using Free411 by calling 1-800-FREE411. The service works exactly like 411, however the catch is you have to listen...

Whenever I listen to any sports talk radio this time of year, there is always talk of the upcoming NFL draft. One of the tools used to evaluate players is the Wonderlic Test which is used to measure intelligence. The Wonderlic Personnel Test is a twelve-minute, fifty-question test used to assess the aptitude of prospective employees for learning and...

Do you need to know what time it is in XXX? What about the calendar for 1934? What about the time the moon will rise in Arizona on March 12? All of these questions (and loads more) can be answered on TimeAndDate.com. When you visit, there are a huge collection of tools that give you just about any information you would want to know regarding time and...

As you probably know, your hard drive is the device which is most likely to fail. While a hard drive can fail at any time without warning, the S.M.A.R.T. sensors build into modern hard drives are a good indicator of your overall drive health. A very simple tool which allows you to view this data is Nirsoft’s DiskSmartView. DiskSmartView is a small utility...

Whenever your anti-virus program fails or you are having to clean someone else’s computer, a way to clean your system is by using malware scanners. If you ever have the need for these types of tools, one you should take a look at it is a-squared Free. Like most tools in it’s class, a-squared Free scans for the typical set of malware and cleans it...