35 Amazing web tips part two

jjones | Guides | 08/10/2008 12:32pm
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Essential Software

Hold a web meeting

Do you need to discuss something with friends or colleagues? Visit Dimdim (www.dimdim.com) and you can invite up to 1,000 people to an online meeting where they can share your desktop, write on a whiteboard, watch you on video, and chat via audio or text. The basic product is powerful, yet easy to use – and free!

ONLINE EVENT Dimdim uses a Flash applet for your meeting, which means no software to install

Secure your PC for free

PC security can be expensive, but don’t be tempted to go without: just install a free package. There are plenty to choose from. AVG Anti-Virus (free.grisoft.com) is a popular free anti-virus program, and PC Tools AntiVirus (www.pctools.com/freeantivirus) and Avira AntiVir (www.freeav.com) are also worth a look.

ThreatFire (www.threatfire.com) detects malware based on behaviour rather than signatures, so it detects even the latest threats. Comodo Firewall Pro (www.personalfirewall.comodo.com) keeps hackers firmly locked out of your system, and SpamFighter (spamfighter.co.uk) blocks junk mail.

Clean out your Favorites

I have hundreds of Favorites spread over more than 50 folders. These can be tricky to maintain, but the free AM-DeadLink (www.aignes.com/deadlink.htm) is a great help. The program quickly scans my Favorites, detects dead links and duplicates, then removes them once I’ve given permission. It works with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and more.

Train times to your desktop

Taking a train journey? Windows Sidebar can help. Load the Sidebar, click the plus sign and select ‘Get more gadgets online’. Type ‘National Rail’ in the search box and press Enter, then click Download > Install > Open when the gadget appears. Choose the settings option, for example entering your local station but leaving the destination set to ‘All destinations’ and you’ll see the latest train times.

ON TIME Don’t waste time at the platform; install this gadget and keep up-to-date with train times

Free online backup

Address books, emails, documents – your PC is crammed with information, and that’s why you need to protect it by backing up the most important files. Install Diino (www.diino.co.uk) and you can upload up to 2GB to its servers, so
your files can survive any data disasters.

Share and synchronise files

I use several different PCs and laptops, so often find I need a document that’s on another system. But with Windows Live FolderShare (www.foldershare.com) that isn’t a problem. I can create a personal library of key folders, and when I create or change a file on one PC it’s automatically uploaded. Move to another system and I can synchronise with the library to download any new files. It even lets me selectively share documents with others, or remotely access one PC from another.

Easy software updates

Updating your applications usually means you get bug fixes, improved performance and handy new features. But who has the time to constantly check for the latest releases? Not me, and that’s why I use a program to automatically scan my system for installed apps, check online for updates, even download and install them for me. Try UpdateStar (www.updatestar.com), AppSnap (appsnap.genotrance.com) or the File Hippo Update Checker www.filehippo.com/updatechecker) and see which one works best for you.

Weather reports

If you want a quick weather report, don’t open a browser window: install a free copy of WeatherMate (ravib.com/wm), instead. You’ll get a system-tray icon with the temperature, and speedy access to predictions for today, the week ahead, animated radar images, almost whatever you want: it’s highly configurable.

Virtual Earth Screensaver

Bored with the same old screensaver? Try the Virtual Earth Screensaver, instead (www.codeplex.com/vescreensaver). Set the program as your default screensaver and, whenever activated, it’ll go online to grab a random Virtual Earth image. You can customise it with your own RSS feeds of new images, too.

PICTURE PERFECT The Golden Gate Bridge is just one landmark on the Virtual Earth Screensaver

The ultimate blog editor

Choose Windows Live Writer for the best blogging experience

1 FREE DOWNLOAD Don’t live with feature-free browser-based blog editors. Windows Live Writer (writer.live.com) is a much more powerful tool. Download a copy from the web site, and wait for a minute or two while it sets up the program.

2 FIRST STEPS If you have a blog already then select ‘I already have a weblog set up’ and Windows Live Writer will connect to it. You’re a blogging newbie? No problem, select ‘I don’t have a weblog’, follow the instructions, and the program will set up a blog for you.

3 WORD PROCESSOR Type thoughts, news, anything you want to share. Click Insert > Picture to add an image, and click on it to tweak contrast, add special effects, and more. Then insert tables, videos, even maps – handy for explaining where you went on holiday.

4 WORK OFFLINE Need more? Click ‘Add a Plug-in’ for add-ons to apply special effects, work with Flickr, Amazon or Facebook, and much more. Best of all, you can work on your post offline, then post it when you connect to the web. It’s ideal for laptop users.

Technical Tips

Fix handheld problems

Windows Mobile devices such as smartphones can have internet access problems, just like anything else, but usually don’t come with in-depth tools to diagnose them – very frustrating. The solution? Install the Windows Mobile IP Utility (tools.enterprisemobile.com/iputil). It can display and renew your IP addresses, and includes network tools, speed tests and in-depth logging.

Faster firmware

Sometimes poor internet performance can be the fault of your modem or router. But how can you tell? One way is to swap your router with a neighbour, both install the new hardware on your PCs and see if you notice any difference. If your internet speed suddenly improves then there could well be a problem with your old hardware, but don’t give up on it immediately. Browse the documentation or web site and check to see if there’s any way to upgrade the firmware: that really can make an enormous difference to your connection speed and reliability.

Disable IPv6

Windows Vista provides full support for IPv6, a new network standard. Great, except that right now almost no-one uses it, and occasionally IPv6 causes problems of its own. If your connection is misbehaving, try disabling IPv6. Run Regedit, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip6\Parameters, and click Edit > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Call this DisabledComponents, then double-click it and enter ffffffff (that’s eight f’s) and restart. If this
makes no difference then be sure to delete the DisabledComponents value, otherwise you’ll be confused if you later need IPv6 and it doesn’t work.

Use Wi-Fi securely

There are thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots just waiting to help you get online, often for free. Track them down in the huge JiWire directory (www.jiwire.com). Hackers now target hotspots, though, hoping to steal usernames, passwords and other details. Protect yourself by installing the Hotspot Shield (hotspotshield.anchorfree.com), which encrypts all traffic, keeping your data safe from any passing snoopers.

Faster online navigation

Forget tiresome menus or buttons: install Mouse Gestures for IE (snipurl.com/2smkv) and you’ll be able to control Internet Explorer with your mouse alone. Hold the right mouse button while moving the mouse down, for instance, and you’ll close the current window. Hold the button as you move the mouse to the left to step back through your history, or move the mouse right and you’ll go forward.

Interference

Slow speeds could be down to poor line quality. To find out, open your router or modem configuration program and look for statistics on your connection. The SNR Margin is a measurement of signal quality: 12db or over is good, under 6db and you may have a lot of line noise. Make sure you’ve a microfilter on every phone connection; swap filters if you’ve spares; use short cables; route them as far as possible from other electricals; and try plugging the modem directly into the master phone socket.

Part One ? Part Two ? Part Three

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