Recuva is a file recovery tool that allows you to recover deleted files from hard drives, flash drives, MP3 players, and much more. What is even better is they have a full install version and a portable version. This program is free to download and works on most Windows Operating Systems.

Whether you want to launch an application when your computer goes idle or you just simply want to mute your speakers that way when you leave the office your email notifications do not annoy your fellow coworkers, System Silencer can help. System Silencer has a set of stock toggles such as turning off your monitor, muting your sound, and locking your workstation, all of which can be activated by your computer sitting idle for a specified number of minutes. This is a really nice program and works on most Windows based Operating Systems. 

Looking for a nice tool to install to manage other applications and tools on a flash drive? LiberKey is software that installs on a flash drive and allows you to have many portable applications that can be taken to any computer and used without installing them. Basic version has only 12 Apps, standard has 90 Apps, Ultimate has 168 Apps and then is also a Platinum version for people who would like to customize which apps are installed. http://www.liberkey.com/ 

Do you need a quick reference for those beep codes coming from your motherboard. Give Beep Codes Viewer a try. Beep Codes Viewer is a small, portable, and free application designed to give you a quick reference guide to look up what Beep Codes mean, with different codes by motherboard manufacturer, and see what the problem is. This little program will save you a lot of time.

If you are suffering from a slow startup on your Windows based machine then I would give StartUpLite a try.  Malwarebytes has created a safe, easy, and efficient way to eliminate those unnecessary applications that automatically start when you turn on your computer. The program allows you to disable or remove unnecessary startup entries from your computer which in return will dramatically help shorten the startup time of your computer.

StartUpLite is a free application that works on most Windows based machines and can be found at http://www.malwarebytes.org/startuplite.php.

HouseCall is made by Trend Micro, this program will help you to identify and remove viruses, Trojans, worms, unwanted browser plug-ins and other malware detected on your system.  You have the option to perform a quick scan, full system scan, or a custom scan.

This Program is free to download and is a portable application so it makes as a great tool to add to your thumb drive if you are an IT Professional. You can download 32 bit and 64 bit versions and it works on most Windows Operating systems including Vista and 7.

Cryogenic FileSplitter is a simple file splitter program with a real easy to use drag and drop interface. You can specify how many sections you want the file to be split into. It also displays each segment size so that you can see how big each segment is going to be before you split it.

Cryogenic FileSplitter is a free portable application and will work on most Windows Operating Systems. I personally tested it on Windows 7 and had no issues.  

USB Safe Guard is a free portable program that will encrypt all of the files on your flash drive very easily, anyone can do it. You can also set this tool up to shred your files in case you lose your flash drive.

To get the program installed onto your flash drive you simply download it from the following website http://usbsafeguard.altervista.org/download.html, then you drag the program onto your flash drive. From here all you do is launch the software from your flash drive, then you should be prompted to create a password. Once you do you are then able to encrypt the entire flash drive or specific files or folders, in which all you do is drag into the interface. This program also gives you options on what to do when someone tries to access your data and does not know the password. You can set it to shred all of the data, leave it alone, plus a few more options.

 You can also enter in your phone number or email in case your lose your memory stick. Most other programs like this do not have this option, which is very nice to have when you leave your flash drive at a clients site. This program will work on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7.

Panda Vaccine disables autorun on your computer to protect you from getting infected, but also protects your USB drives from spreading viruses when you use them in another PC. To use this tool all you have to do is just install the tool then click the Vaccinate computer button. The software just creates a hidden, protected autorun file on the drive so that viruses won't be able to easily infect it.

Spyware removal tool SUPERAntiSpyware has released a portable version of their application, and, just like the installed version, it easily removes most infections on your computer.

When you go to download the application you will notice the funny filename… SAS234543.com . The file name will have SAS and then some random characters. This is because many infections while stop you from running known AV’s or even exe files to prevent you from removing the infection. Then by clicking on it you still have the ability to update it to make sure the application is up to date so no need to keep downloading a new copy everyday just to keep updated.

SUPERAntiSpyware Portable is a free download for Windows users.

Windows operating system has a utility called system restore that allows you to restore your computer to a previous day and time.

The only thing most users do not know, in the event that your system becomes infected, chances are the system restore files are infected as well. The latest malware infections that claim that your system is vunerable, and you must protect it, can be hidden on your system for an extended period of time. To just restore the system to an earlier day and time will not remove the infection. It will more times then not be restored along with all the other files. Your best bet is to have a Tech Expert remove the infection.

When will it stop.

It seems that the rouge antivirus programs have been finding their way everywhere. I have seen infections before, but this one keeps on making itself known, over and over again. I can not stress the importance of watching every window that pops up and be careful. The malware that can infect you happens so quick, you have to pay attention, and realize what they are trying to do. They are trying to infect your system. It is like a bad practical joke. I just wonder... when will it stop. 

The holidays have come and gone .... and someone got a new computer. What do we do with the old one?

You could donate it to a local charity, but if it is really old and no longer functioning, you have to dispose of it properly. Electronics like telephones, radios, TVs, computers and cell phones are items we rely on daily. These products make up the bulk of electronics that have the potential to cause the most environmental damage because of their hazardous ingredients. This section of waste is referred to as electronic waste, or e-waste.

Consider recycling or donating old electronic devices. With either choice, we can reduce the amount of e-waste landfilled and put our outdated items to good use.

As the New Year approachs, most folks have to make the tough choice, what to keep and what to throw away.

Perhaps now is the time for the new resolution, dump your old system and head forward into the new year. The new Windows 7 operating system, by far and away, surpasses the old windows operating systems. So head into the new year with a new operating system on a new computer, and fly into the future 

Ryan's post below explains the latest is hard drives. But the one thing you do not want to hear is click, click, click.

What you have to understand is the hard drive is one of the few moving parts in a computer. And any engineer will tell you "moving parts are prone to fail". And when your hard drive fails, more than likely you will hear a clicking noise from it. This clicking is usually in a steady beating pattern. The best advice I can give you is to use the tools you were born with. Listen and if you hear strange noises from your system, get it checked right away by a professional, before failure happens.

Everyone loves spring.

Everything is new again, time to dust off the grime from winter. But wait, winter has just arrived. Most people do not realize that the wintertime is when the house is closed up and the fresh air is not coming around the computer like it does during the warmer months. Dust buildup is deadly to your system. You need to make sure your system is operating at peak cooling potential. My advice is to have your system professionally cleaned at least twice a year. And with the holidays approaching, the last thing you need is another bill to pay.

Well this is getting out of hand.

You think the box that just popped up is asking you to protect your computer. It says you could be at risk. You will be if you click.

The box that just opened may look legit, but it is not. The fake antivirus programs change so fast it is hard to keep up with them.

I just had one try to infect my system during a download of a driver I needed. We all have to watch and be carefuel not to click to fast. Because the program you think may be trying to keep you safe, is in fact the virus itself.

Ok, I know change is hard to accept. But the latest edition to the Window's tree is Window 7, which has been buzzing all over the Internet ever since its release. Windows7 has three releases Ultimate, Professional and Home Edition. Microsoft really wants to get as much consumer's attention they can possibly get and for this very reason they are now targeting the netbook users, by giving them option to download and install Windows 7 via USB drive. That is right ...download to a USB drive.

For netbook users whom probably don't have a CD or DVD drive, this is actually a nice option to get a hold of the new Windows 7.

The Microsoft tool would download the Window 7 files into the USB and convert your USB drive into a bootable installer. The program may also be called Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool (WUDT). Remember you need to have a USB drive which has sufficient enough space to hold on all the files.

In this day of energy saving, many times we leave our gadgets Mobile phones, PDAs, MP3 players, Cameras, Laptops etc with charger plugged in overnight. Lets check if this is a major waste of energy..

I just saw a commercial on television, sponsored by some kind of environmentalist group. They claimed that a cell phone charger or any charging unit plugged into an outlet was "wasting energy" even when there was NOTHING attached to it. Is it possible to draw energy with nothing attached?

Because there is current being drawn from it. The power converter of your cell phone is constantly turning the AC power from your wall to the DC power that your cell phone requires for charging. The same is true for any object with a power converter (those bulky boxes between the device and the wall, sometimes plugged in directly to the wall). Common devices include laptops, some stereos, speakers, etc.

In the world of technology, this old saying is truly words of wisdom.

My fellow Expert Guys here on this site have written more than one blog about the importance of backups. I would like to call attention to the fact that at least 95% of the clients I deal with have only one backup in place, which is done right in their office and one has to wonder "is that backup happening and can I restore data from it". Any attempt at a backup is better then none at all. But we offer a service, at Tech Experts, that is very affordable for even the smallest backups. Online offsite backups allow you to relax and rest assured that your data is being backed up and will be ready, if and when needed at a moments notice.

These backups occur automatically and require no interaction on the clients part. But the best part is the data is being backed up to a backup and recovery device that is located in a different location. In addition to all local backups, this service offers peace of mind, and it is truly "out of sight".  

Over the Halloween weekend, and even continuing into early this week, G MAIL users' have been unable to access their web mail.  This incident is no where near as bad as the September 1st outage, but users' have every right to complain.  Google's support forums were blasted over the weekend with hundreds of upset users.

 Apparently users were experiencing a 502 error when attempting to log in from the web interface.  To make matters even worse, even the customers who pay for 24/7 phone support could not get through to anyone, despite paying $50 per year.  Google stated that about 0.001% of G Mail users world-wide are effected, and they should have this issue resolved late Monday afternoon.

With the growing popularity of wireless, I have been asked "Why do I keep losing my connection?"

Well, this can be do to a variety of reasons, a few I will cover here.

Lots of things can affect wireless reception (basically a radio signal); construction of your house, interference from other devices and reflected signals etc. Being above the router isn't necessarily bad, but generally mounting the router higher in your house tends to give a better range.

Things you can try:
- change the channel that your router broadcasts on to see if any are better than others
- make sure that the router's aerial is upright and give it as much free space around it as possible

Another thing that is important is to update the network drivers (wired and wireless) on your computer to the latest available. along with updating the firmware to the latest version available on the manufacturer's site.

Grisoft, the manufacturer of the anti virus software known as AVG has upgraded once again.  As of October 17th, 2009, version 9.0 is released.  AVG being widely known for their network security for enterprise and personal protection, but probably best known as a great FREE antivirus program.  Yes that's right, they have a free edition for home users, which I would highly recommend if you're not wanting to pay for the usuals. 

Symantec (Norton), McAfee, Panda, as well as many others that you pay a fee for, and really tend to slow the systems down, this is a great alternative to those high prices, memory sucking programs.  With the new release of AVG, they have claimed 50% increase in scan times, as well as a 10-15% increase in boot up times.  So if you're a home user, looking to try out something new, visit http://www.avg.com.  They recommend you removing all of your previous anti virus/security related softwares before installing.  Installation is a jiff, and takes only a couple minutes, requiring one system restart.  The interface is very user friendly, and easy to navigate through, and the best part is that is is FREE.

I was watching the 6 o'clock local news, and they had a warning for all computer users to watch for a new virus.

They went on to describe a type of virus that has been out there for sometime now.

These viruses parade themselves as legit programs that are trying to protect you from infections. But please be aware, these programs that claim they can help, are in the business of trying to get you to send them money. Antivirus 2009 is just one of many fake programs out there that claim they can help you get rid of a virus you never had... until you download them. So pay attention, and as always, if you did not ask for it....

Tuesday, October 13th, Adobe rolled out an astounding 29 patches to security vulnerabilities which apply to their Reader and other Adobe applications.  These apply to all platforms, including Windows, Unix, and yes even Mac.  Adobe released a security advisory last week warning of attacks exploiting critical flaws that could cause the apps to crash and enable remote attackers to take control of machines and install malware, change files, or even crash the entire operating system.

If you're like me, and you use Adobe products to open PDF's and other documents, then you need to be sure to download and install these released patches.   A great thing about having Adobe products on your systems is that if you do, Adobe can identify any available updates, and will continue to prompt the end user to install the updates until they have been completed, or you can visit www.adobe.com/downloads to get the latest and greatest from Adobe.