On a previous article, I posted a list of BIOS Beep Codes that were helpful when trying to isolate motherboard problems.

Here is another tool called “Beep Codes Viewer“. No installation is required, it is portable and yes it is freeware.

You can download Beep Codes Viewer here.
Source: Rizon3

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Jorge R. Hernandez
123 Computer Repair Services
http://123ComputerRepair.com
Phone: 954-247-1580

For a quick and fast overview of a computer system I came across this easy to use utility called System Spec.

System Spec gives you a complete specification and system information of your PC. This includes hardware, software and settings.

This utility displays a comprehensive view of your computer system including: Operating System, Computer Name, Model, Processor, Memory, BIOS, etc.

You can see, save and print a complete spec of your PC.
No installation is required, it is portable and yes it is freeware.

There are many other auditing tools available such as Speccy, SIW, Belarc and Sydi which can also be used. Belarc and Sydi require installation; Speccy and SWI do not.

Source: AlexNolan.net

ShareWatch is a great utility that allows you to see who is connected to your computer and what files are being accessed. This is similar to the “Computer Management” utility (available in most versions of Windows) but with a much easier and friendlier look.

It will display the computer name and IP address of the computers connected; allowing you to disconnect any user, file, computer or share.

This is great in case you ever need  to find out if remote users are accessing your computer or to monitor hard drive activity on your computer. ShareWatch will also show you all resources/shares in use by remote users.

Works on most versions of Windows.

You can also use netstat -a or netstat -b via the command prompt to see connections.

Source: SteveMiller.net

Here is a quick list of online backup solutions that I’ve been able to put together based on knowledge, experience, feedback from users and from other sources such as Podcasts, internet, radio, etc.

My favorite one is DropBox but I’ll let you be the judge on which one is your favorite.

I’ve only used some of them but they made the list based on my research.

Carbonite
$54.95 a year
Completely automatic online backup, secure file transmission and storage, Simple file recovery, Access your files anywhere

SugarSYnc
5GB free
SugarSync’s online backup, file sync and sharing service makes it easy to stay connected. With SugarSync you get secure cloud storage for all your files, documents, music, photos, and videos.

LogMeIn Backup
$39.95 a year
Store data on the devices you manage and reduce third-party involvement, Schedule recurring backup sessions and ensure that routine backups occur, Use incremental backups to minimize bandwidth and storage impact, Protect data during transfer and storage with industry-standard encryption, Dynamically negotiate firewall boundaries and work with existing network devices, Utilize server storage, NAS devices, or other storage systems

Mozy
$54.45 a year (MozyHome)
Mozy offers a number of backup solutions to fit your individual needs. For non-commercial backup of your personal files, including music, photos, home videos, and personal tax records, check out the simplicity of MozyHome. If you’re a professional looking to back up business data, financials, and administrative files for multiple users, MozyPro is your best solution.

DropBox
2GB free
Allows you to sync your files online and across your computers automatically. Work on files in your Dropbox even if you’re offline. Your changes sync once your computer has an Internet connection again. Dropbox transfers correctly resume where they left off if your connection drops. Efficient sync: only the pieces of a file that changed (not the whole file) are synced. This saves you time. Doesn’t hog your internet connection. You can manually set bandwidth limits. Sharing files is simple and done in only a few clicks.

iDrive
5GB free
Features include Automatic Backup, True Archiving, Versioning, Continuous Backup, Mapped Drive Backup and more.

Windows Live SkyDrive
25 GB free
Store, access, and share thousands of documents, photos, and Microsoft Office files on Windows Live SkyDrive. SkyDrive password-protects your files so you control who has access to them

CrashPlan
$1.50 a month per computer up to 10GB
CrashPlan’s groundbreaking social backup concept makes it easy to back up to computers belonging to your network of friends or family for offsite backup, in addition to using your own computers and external drives for onsite backup.

IBackup
$9.95 a month for 30GB
Multiple computers backup, Hands-free scheduled backups, Online database backup (SQL, Exchange, Oracle, etc), Rapid serve for quick initial backup, 24×7 data access via any browser, Map account as a network drive, Share backup files

Backup Solutions
$14.95 a month for 5GB
They offer business class online backup solutions that are designed to securely protect your PC, Mac or Server. When your data matters you need a service you can trust. We have over 10 years experience providing our customers with proven backup solution software and Iron Mountain world class data centers.

BackBlaze
$5 a month unlimited storage
Secure. Offsite. And the only online backup service that doesn’t need you to pick folders and file types.

ElephanDrive
$9.99 a month  (100GB)
Unlimited Online Backup, Remote Backup, Online Storage. Provides automated scheduled backup, and infinite online file storage service.

SafeCopy
$50.00 a year (200GB)
Online backup providing one account for all your computers. Backup, Share and Access your files securely from anywhere: Mac, PC, secure web browser.

Jungle Disk
$2 a month (5GB free) Personal Edition
$4 a month (10GB free) Workgroup Edition

Here is a great article courtesy of Gizmo’s Freeware.

For one reason or the other, a print job may get hung up and stop responding. You may be unable to print or even to cancel the job.

One way to possibly clear up this problem is to use the Windows command line to stop and restart the printer spooler after flushing it.

The services command “sc” or the “net” command can be used.

Here are the steps using the services command:

1.   Open the command prompt (For Vista or 7 you will need administrator privileges).

2.   In the command prompt, type and enter   “sc stop spooler” (without quotes).

3.   Next type and enter the line below:
del /q /f /s “%SystemRoot%\system32\spool\printers\*.*”

4.   Then type and enter “sc start spooler” (without quotes).

This procedure will clear out the Spooler and should allow you to continue with your printing.
Note that this will not clear paper jams or mechanical problems.

WirelessKeyView recovers all wireless network keys stored in your computer.  It allows you to easily save all keys or copy a single key to the clipboard.

It allows you to see the passwords your Wi-Fi manager has stored on your computer. It shows not just the ASCII password, but also the Hex key, the adapter type, and the adapter GUID. All in all, it’s a great little app for revealing some of the hidden mysteries of the Wi-Fi signals you’re using.

WirelessKeyView doesn’t require any installation process or additional DLL files. Just copy the executable file (WirelessKeyView.exe) to any folder you like, and run it.

This utility is released as freeware.

Source: NirSoft
Source: CNET

Defragging is not an issue these days, for several reasons:

Hard drives are bigger
We use smaller overall percentage of our drives, so the read/write heads don’t have to move as much.

More RAM
Abundance of RAM permits the PC to cache the data actively in use rather than having to write repeatedly to the drive minimizing fragmentation delay.

Optimized OS
Windows file system allocation strategies with newer and improved caching and prefetching algorithms.

Automatic Defrag
In Windows Vista and Windows 7, the system automatically handles defragging (1:00AM every Wednesday). If your PC is off, the process will occur in the background the next time the machine is idle.

Solid-State-Drives don’t need to be defragmented
SSDs don’t have a drive platter or read/write heads that need to go searching around the drive.

Defragmenting is generally not recommended for SSSDs because it wears down the hard drive’s data cells, shortening the drive’s overall lifespan.

Everyone knows that Chrome, Firefox and Safari are all way more secure than Internet Explorer.

Well, not so fast !!!!


Symantec’s Threat Report for 2009 shows these results based on the number of vulnerabilities:

169/Firefox
94/Safari
45/IE
41/Chrome

The US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team) which hosts the National Vulnerability Database, shows these results also based on the number of vulnerabilities:

51/Safari
40/Chrome
20/Firefox
17/IE

According to Symantec’s report, the average window of vulnerability (the time between when the flaw is reported and when it’s patched) in 2009 was:

Internet Explorer (Less than a day)
Firefox (Less than a day)
Chrome (2 days)
Safari (13 days)

Clearly, Internet Explorer is doing fairly well.

If you believe your wireless connection is a little bit slow, maybe you are using the same channel everyone else is using in your Wi-Fi area.

You can turn your android phone into a Wi-Fi analyzer!

This application shows you the channels around you and it will help you find a less crowded channel for your wireless router.

Source: Farproc

CrystalDiskMark is a utility that allows you to test reading and writing speeds on your hard drive. It performs sequential or random read/write tests on a selected drive.

It comes in handy when your hard drive’s performance fails or when you think there’s a problem with it. It analyzes your hard drives by running a series of tests and displaying the results on the screen.

This is an easy way to detect any possible physical problem on your hard drive.

Source: CrystalMark