In This Issue...

Newbies Nook - Information, Tips, and Instruction for Computer Users

Forum Favorites - Popular Questions and Threads from the Forum

Security Corner - Computer Security Tips and News

Carol's Corner Office - Microsoft Office and OpenOffice How-To's and Tips

Dave's Recommended Software - Our Picks of the Best Software Available

Acronis True Image 2009 - Jim gives an overview and basic imaging instruction!

Useful Free Software - Free Software Found on the Net and Recommended by Readers

Useful Websites - Useful Websites Found on the Net and Recommended by Readers

The Lighter Side - Funny, Interesting, and Thought Provoking Items Found During Our Travels Across the Internet

How to take ownership of a file in Vista

By default Vista protects files and folders that it believes are important to the operating system. These files are even protected from users operating under administrative permissions. The reasoning behind this is two fold; first so the user doesn't delete an important file which can render Windows unusable, and second to prevent spyware or a virus from interacting with system files.

Sounds all well and good, doesn't it? The problem is occasionally Vista or another program will not release it's hooks from a file after it is done using it. There are also instances where you really do want to change or replace a system file. Each of these situations will result in a "no go" from Vista. No delete, no change, no rename. Just a "you can't do that" and an offer to try again!

Defrag.exe as an example

Let's have a look at the windows defrag program. You can follow along by navigating to c:\windows\system32\defrag.exe. Right click on defrag.exe and select properties. In the window that opens click on the Security tab and you will see the following:

This tab allows you to see and edit security permissions for a file. With Administrator highlighted you can see that Vista restricts the actions to "Read" or "Read & Execute" even for the computer Administrator. This means no one using this computer can rename, change, delete, or otherwise alter the file. Click on a few other choices in the upper window and see what the differences are. (It's OK, I'll wait...)

What you will find that only TrustedInstaller (part of Vista) has full privileges.

Taking ownership of a file

All is not lost! There are actually three separate ways you can go about correcting the issue and I'll show you two of them.

Taking ownership the old fashioned way - using the command prompt

Click the Start Orb and type cmd. This will produce "cmd.exe" as the result in the top of the window. Right click on "cmd.exe" and select Run as Administrator.

You will receive a UAC (User Account Control) warning, which you should approve.

Doing that correctly will open the window below (called the command prompt).

This is a command prompt with elevated privileges. (notice the word Administrator in the upper left), which will allow you to do things you could otherwise not do from a command prompt. You have told Vista that you want to have complete control and Vista displayed the UAC warning to double check your decision.

The first command to type at the command prompt is takeown /f filepath (takeown[space]/f[space]filepath). Substitute filepath with the complete path to the file you wish to take ownership of. Using defrag.exe as an example the command would be takeown /f c:\windows\system32\defrag.exe

If you entered the command and filepath correctly when you press the enter key the command will be carried out and you will receive the following message indicating success.

The second command is icacls filepath /grant yourusername:f (icacls[space]filepath[space]/grant[space]yourusername:f). Substitute filepath with the complete path to the file you wish to take ownership of. Substitute yourusername with the username you logged onto your computer with. Also notice there is no space between the username and ":f".

Continuing with defrag.exe as an example I would type icacls c:\windows\system32\defrag.exe /grant David:f.

If you entered the command and filepath correctly when you press the enter key the command will be carried out and you will receive the following message indicating success.

Just for grins go back and check the properties of the file you took ownership of.

You can see that I have ownership of the file! This may seem a little complicated, or difficult. How about an easier method?

Taking ownership of a file the easy way - editing the registry

I promised easy and then tell you editing the registry is required. What am I thinking? :)

OK, where is the easy way. Open notepad (Start>Accessories>Notepad), highlight and copy the text between the lines below, paste into Notepad.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"

--------------------------------------------------------------

Your screen should look something like this:

Use File>Save As to save the file to your desktop. I suggest you choose a descriptive filename, such as "take_ownership". Go the the desktop and change the file extension from ".txt" to ".reg". This will allow you to automatically merge these instructions into the registry without having to manually edit the registry. I told you it was easy!

Double clicking the file will result in the following warning:

clicking Yes will import the information directly into your registry, so you do not have to enter it manually. You will receive a confirmation which you can click Yes to.

That's all well and good, you say, but what exactly does this thing do? Adding this to the registry adds an entry to the right click menu which allows you to take ownership with just a mouse click!

Let's have a look at a protected file, after we have added this info to the registry.

There you have it! Oh, wait. There is more...

Added bonus! The super easy way!

I've created the registry files for you, which you can download and apply.

take_ownership.reg - Adds Take Ownership function to the right click menu of protected files

remove_ownership.reg - Removes the Take Ownership function

Cautions

• Always backup your computer before changing system settings!
• Always backup your registry before making edits or merging files.
• Use Take Ownership responsibly. This is an important security feature in Vista. As such, it should only be used when there is a need.

Help me name Jim Hillier's new Freeware column in the newsletter! Just visit this thread. Vote for your favorite or add your own!

Shockware update driving you mad? Starchy updated Shockwave and Norton PC Checkup tagged along for the ride. Offer your ideas, or follow along for the ride!

Typing an address in Internet Explorer without the http://www part (i.e.,"davescomputertips.com") will usually cause IE to add the http://www part and open the page. What happens when it doesn't work? That is the problem facing NightOwl. Have an idea? Know the answer to the problem? Just curious?

Can you disable automatic updates? Richard asks the question - we provide the answer!

What happens when you can't get a reliable wireless signal? Is all hope lost? Will the world end? Well, probably not. What do you think of the solution offered?

How do YOU connect to the internet? Join the ongoing discussion!

Geothermal heat - Are you interested in saving energy and helping the environment? Add your thoughts to the thread!

Do you use Hotmail? Are you satisfied? Care to offer Mindblower an alternative?

How to Configure and Use NoScript

In our last issue, I discussed a Firefox add-in called NoScript. Since then, I've had feedback from newsletter readers and others who frequent my blogs. On the surface, NoScript appears to be a simple program—and it really is, actually—but some users have been daunted by the multiple selections that sometime show up on certain web sites. So, I want to explain what's going on and give some guidance to those who feel a bit overwhelmed. First of all, some basic instruction into the two approaches to security is in order. You're probably familiar with both approaches: blacklist and white list. We all want to be on the white list and don't want to be on the blacklist.

The blacklist approach—the prevailing security method used by most security software today—is actually terribly unreliable, since it depends upon some authority or authorities to say that something is bad based on past behavior; this is the “trust everyone until they prove untrustworthy” approach. It's a bad idea—probably the worst idea in computer security. The problem with this method is that you don't know something is bad until the damage is already done and, as we know, the damage can be devastating. This boneheaded approach has resulted in some of the biggest security nightmares ever to hit the Internet. For example, Code Red and Nimbda worms spread with impunity a few years ago simply because Microsoft's Internet Connection Firewall was turned off by default. As soon as XP SP2 came out with the firewall enabled by default the problem disappeared.

NoScript uses the white list approach to security; in other words, “if you ain't on the the list, you ain't getting in.” So, if you're a script on a web page, you're blocked until I put you on the white list and allow you to run. The white list approach is the safest since everything is blocked until you say it's trusted; this is the “trust no one” (TNO) approach. The problem with this method is that it breaks everything on a web page that relies on scripting; however, you'll never be hijacked or click-jacked by simply surfing to a web page. If you want to be as secure as you can be on the web, this is the only way to go.

Before I give you a few tips of my own on how to use NoScript, take a look at this short video that explains some its key features.

Now, let's take a look at what those variations of the NoScript status bar icon represent. Here's a screen shot from the site:

(click the image for a larger view)

The more you use it, the more familiar you'll get familiar with what all this means. You can change the settings at any time by left-clicking on the icon. One thing you are sure to notice is that some sites have several frames that are attempting to run scripts. For example, browse over to CNET.com with NoScript running and you'll see a list of more than six different domains hosting scripts. For each of these sites, you have the following options: Allow, Temporarily allow, or, if you've previously allowed it, Forbid. You can allow scripts globally (don't do that!), allow everything on the page, or temporarily allow everything on the page. Take a look at this shot and pay careful attention to the menu options and note the red and blue “trapped worm” symbol where a blocked ad would normally show:

(click the image for a larger view)

I normally start by allowing the top level site and work my way up the list until the functionality I care about starts working. I usually don't care about ads, so in most cases, I let them stay blocked. In this case, I trust CNET, so I'd be inclined to do an “Allow all this page” and read on. The beauty of NoScript is that you don't have to worry about it: you're in control.

The NoScript site has a very good FAQ that will answer most of your questions. Of course, don't forget about the Dave's Computer Tips forum and feel free to drop me a private message if you so desire.

Ken Harthun is the Security Editor for Daves Computer Tips. He also writes about security issues for IT Knowledge Exchange and blogs on general Geek things at Ask the Geek. You can read more about Ken here.

Hi everyone,

It is rainy and dreary where I live today - the kind of rain that is a steady drizzle - just enough to mess up the windshield when you're driving. Thank goodness it isn't cold!

I hope you all did your patriotic duty and voted! The lines were long here, but it moved quickly.

Ok, on with the article now.

Using List Styles in MS Word 2007

Last issue I promised to cover List Styles and so I am keeping my promise!

The numbering in Word 2007 is only slightly less confusing that it has been in previous versions and it still gives lots of folks heartburn when they use it. Following the steps below should clarify the process and make it a bit easier for you.

1. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click on Multilevel List.
2. Use the drop-down arrow to open the List Library.
3. Select Define New List Style.
4. The Define New List Style dialog box is displayed.

5. Name your List Style using something that is intuitive to you.
6. To get access to all options for the list, click the Format button.
7. Click Numbering.
8. As with any multi-level list, it is a good idea to associate each list level with a paragraph style.

Once you have created your list style, it will appear under the List Styles heading on the Home tab, under Multilevel Lists. You can click an icon to apply that list to text.

You can also make use of the Apply Styles task pane using the CTRL + Shift + S shortcut, just like you do with any other style. If you attached paragraphs styles to list levels, it will be easier to apply the paragraph style to text directly.

To modify a list style, follow the steps below.

1. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click on drop-down arrow next to Multilevel List.

2. The Current List will be displayed.
3. Find the list you would like to change and right-click on it and select Modify from the context menu.

I hope this has demystified some of the numbering in MS Word 2007 for you!

I'm not sure what I will cover next issue, but if there is anything in particular you would like me to cover, just leave a comment or post in the Forum!

Until then, take care of YOU!

Carol Bratt is the Office Applications Editor at Daves Computer Tips. She has authored several informative Microsoft Office books and writes the monthly Word Bytes Newsletter with more tips and tricks in each issue. Visit Carol's website for more great Microsoft Office tips and tricks! Click here to see her latest books! You can read more about Carol here.

Anti-spyware and Anti-malware

Webroot SpySweeper - Daves Computer Tips Seal of Approval Winner! See the test results HERE. Spysweeper provides the best protection of the seven anti-spyware programs tested! Great detection and removal rates with a small real-time protection memory footprint. This is the one you want! SpySweeper includes the ASK toolbar. Be sure to uncheck this option during installation. Free 14 day trial.

CounterSpy - Runner-up in my Anti-Spyware test. Not only does CounterSpy scan and remove spyware, it also uses real time protection. Real-time protection prevents spyware infection. Free 15 day trial. Winner of Computer Shopper Magazine's Best Buy Award!

Antivirus and Firewall

ESET Smart Security - New from the maker's of NOD32. Antivirus, Antispyware, Antispam, and Firewall all wrapped into one effective, swift, and low resource package. It is what I use to protect each of my computers!

Kaspersky Antivirus - Kaspersky is my second choice for antivirus software. A good program that is very close in performance to NOD32. Free trial.

Online Armor Firewall - You shouldn't be on the internet without a software firewall that offers inbound and outbound protection. Online Armor is the Best of the Best for those needing a firewall. Online Armor's easy to navigate interface and the protection level can't be beat!

Audio and Video

Acoustica Audio Converter Pro - This program converts audio formats and bitrates. Perfect for those with portable audio players or large music collections. 30 day trial.

Adobe Premier Elements 8 - Elements is the home version of Adobe Premiere, the best professional video editing suite today. Premier Elements costs 1/6th the price of the professional version, but is very capable of making videos that will impress everyone.

DVDFab is my favorite DVD software. I tried over 30 different programs before settling on DVDFab. It offers every function of the other programs and more! Copy, burn, shrink, convert for mobile devices, or convert for streaming. Almost all of the other programs I've tried did not function as advertised, were extremely slow, or did not have features that worked as advertised. DVDFab works, and works as advertised! It's easy to use, has a pleasant user interface, and it updated often.

Computer Hardware

Crucial Memory - Memory (RAM) is the upgrade that gives any computer the best bang for the buck. If you want to speed things up with more memory, why not purchase it from the leading source of quality RAM memory. Great selection, good prices, excellent support, and a lifetime warranty! A real winner!

CyberGuys - The place to get those hard to find cables and accessories for your computer!

HP Computers - My current pick for new laptops and desktops. In the current market I don't think you can beat HP's combination of price and performance. Their laptop line is very cost effective and the design is absolutely beautiful!

Newegg - Newegg.com is known for great service and awesome pricing on computers, upgrades, and electronics. If you're looking for computers, computer parts, or electronics you owe it to yourself to start here! Great Products. Great Prices. Great Customer Service!

Computer Maintenance

Diskeeper 2010 - My current favorite defrag program. As files are written and erased from the hard drive they begin to leave "spaces" behind. When the drive is written to again files are broken up to fill in these spaces. This causes the drive to go to several different locations to read an entire file, which slows performance greatly. Diskeeper has several advanced features such as; automatic defrag, scheduled defrag, and the ability to defrag the MFT (Master File Table) and paging file. 30 day trial.

Registry Mechanic - A very thorough and efficient registry cleaner and defragmenter. A definite must to maintain peak performance and stabile operation. 30 day trial.

Computer Utility

Acronis True Image 2010 - Do you value the data on your computer? Do you value your time? How much time will you spend recovering data and returning your computer to its original state after a hardware failure or software glitch? True Image is my #1 choice in backup tools. Whether you choose file or image based backups (you should use both!) True Image will perform better than any other application I've used. Disk images created with True Image are generally 10-20% smaller than those from comparable programs. If your time and files are as important to you as mine are to me this is a must have.

Acronis Disk Director - My favorite tool to partition, format, and resize hard drives.

Roboform - This program is the next best thing since sliced bread in my book! This program integrates into Internet Explorer and firefox. It generates very secure passwords at the click of a button. How do I remember these complex passwords? Roboform allows you to save passwords and personal data in an encrypted format. A master password (yes only one password to remember!) allows access. Roboform in IE and FireFox works like a super powered bookmark. You click the site you want to go to and Roboform opens the site, enters your username and password for the site (if required) and as if by magic clicks the submit button. If you shop online Roboform can enter your personal information and credit card information, which is also stored in a secure encrypted file, in one click. A real time saver with great security thrown in to boot! 30 day trial.

WinRar - What is commonly called a zip utility, similar to the more widely known WinZip. WinRar is faster and works with more formats for about 1/2 the price of WinZip. 30 day trial.

Desktop Utility

LogonStudio - Change the screen that appears when you log into Windows (where you enter your password). Hundreds of skins available online. It's free.

CursorFX Plus - Change the cursors on your computer, add interesting effects. Hundreds of cursor packs are available online for free.

IconPackager 5 - Icon Packager puts you in control to change every icon with the click of a button. Tired of the plain icons built into Windows? There are hundreds of Icon Packs available online for free, which will add a truly personal feel to your computer.

WindowBlinds 7 - WindowBlinds changes the look and feel of Windows. By changing the appearance of the task bar, start menu, and any other window or program you open. It adds transparency, shadows, alpha blending, and animations. Hundreds of themes are available online for free.

Internet and Email

1&1 hosting - If you want to start your own website, blog, photo gallery, or have a personalized email address then 1&1 is for you. 1&1 can not be beat for reliability, features, support, and price. 90 day guarantee.

Google Gmail - The best internet based email (webmail) available. Each mailbox has a 6.5GB limit. The interface is superb, and the spam filter is top notch. You will never need to delete an email again! It has a great search function and a feature called thread view, which makes finding emails easy. A webmail account offers several advantages including not being required to change your email address if you change service providers. Gmail requires an invitation from a current member. If you are interested shoot me an email and I'll send you an invite.

Microsoft Outlook 2007 - Outlook is the current email client of choice for corporate America. I get well over 200 emails a day. Outlook has a few features I really need such as a plug in for automatic backups, office sounds which offers me some audible feedback, and the ability to change headers. I've used Mozilla Thunderbird and liked it a lot. With the amount of mail I go through I really need the features of Outlook. If you aren't a heavy user, or don't need the features I do then Thunderbird is a great alternative.

Firefox 3 - An amazing, free, web browser. If you aren't using it you should be! Highly customizable through addins called extensions. There are thousands of extensions which can allow FireFox to do just about anything you can imagine. More importantly, Firefox is not subject to ActiveX, which is a large part of Internet Explorer, AOL, and MSN. No ActiveX means much less chance of getting spyware! Firefox also conforms to web standards more closely than Internet Explorer, which means you will see what the authors intended, not Microsoft.

Mozilla Thunderbird - A great free email client, from the same folks that brought us FireFox. Easy to use and highly customizable through extensions.

Photo and Picture

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 - Photoshop Elements is the home version of Adobe Photoshop. If you are serious about digital photos you will find Photoshop Elements a great program to have at your disposal. Elements provides all the functionality most will need at 1/6th the price of the full Photoshop version.

Picasa - A great (FREE) way to organize, edit, and share your digital photos.

Backup, Backup, and More Backup!

My advice to any new computer owner/user is, invariably, to establish some sort of backup strategy right from the outset. It’s a fact of life that many underestimate the importance of regular backups, they get lulled into a false sense of security as the computer continues to boot up and operate as expected... Then, suddenly, the dreaded ‘blue screen of death’ and panic sets in as thoughts turn to the possibility of losing all that precious data; birthday photos of dear old Aunt Bertha, videos of the first born, Johnnie’s resume... What to do!

The shame of it being that the scenario can easily be avoided by instituting any of the commonly used backup methods, from simply saving any important data to external media right through to using the latest dedicated software. I used to back up all my photos, music, docs, etc. to CD/DVD discs and rely on my old Dell’s recovery option to get me out of any serious trouble... What a chore after reverting to factory settings; reconfiguring everything again, re-installing all my favorite software and then the updates, literally hours of downloading… There had to be a better way, and there was... Acronis True Image.

For the uninitiated; Acronis True Image’s main task, among many options, it to create an image of your entire system. This from the Acronis site: ‘back up your entire PC, including the OS plus your data, applications, pictures, video, financial documents, settings and everything!’

The image can then be saved to CD/DVD, flash drive or any internal/external hard drive as well as on a network share or FTP-server; from there you can search for and restore any individual files or restore the entire system. To aid in conserving space there are three levels of compression available; normal, high, and maximum, as well as the ability to schedule incremental and differential backups.

Acronis True Image has long been regarded as the premier imaging software and the latest version (2009) continues that trend with a host of new features making for even greater flexibility, for a full list of features take a look here: True Image Features

True Image has so many advantages over its rivals, freeware offerings in particular always seem to be missing at least one crucial component or are seriously limited in some way but the four key elements when making comparisons are; speed, versatility, ease of use and above all reliability. True Image meets all the requirements and then some; it is fast, extremely versatile, very easy to use and totally dependable. I am a freeware nut and will search high and wide for free alternatives, as I did with imaging software. I say without hesitation, Acronis True Image represents the best investment and value for money I have ever outlaid for my computer.

To help demonstrate how easy it is to use True Image let’s go through the complete system backup process:

When Acronis first initializes, all the options will be configured for the most common settings by default so it is ready to go right out of the box. However, these can easily be viewed and changed by clicking on the ‘Tools’ tab and selecting ‘Options’, e.g. degree of compression, priority level, etc.

1) Start Acronis and you will see the ‘welcome’ screen. This is the main area from where you can select the various tasks. Obviously, in this case we would select the ‘Back up’ option.

THE WELCOME WINDOW (click the image for a larger view)

2) Now we can select exactly what it is we wish to backup. To backup the entire system select the ‘My Computer’ option:

THE DATA SELECTION WINDOW (click the image for a larger view)

3) Next we select the ‘source’ or, in other words, the location of the data we wish to backup. In most cases this will be the main drive (‘C’ drive). Acronis recognizes this fact and will display the window with ‘C’ drive selected by default. If you wish to change the ‘source’ just uncheck ‘C’ drive and place a checkmark next to the appropriate location.

THE 'SOURCE' SELECTION WINDOW

Note how Acronis recognizes all connected hard drives…. the last entry (Disk 3) is my external USB hard drive which will be the destination for the image.

4) Now its time to select the ‘destination’ or location for the saved image. In this case it is to drive ‘H’, my external hard drive.

THE 'TARGET' SELECTION WINDOW

For initial full backup select the ‘Create new backup archive’ option. Use the browse button to change/select the desired location. Click on the ‘Summary’ button if you are finished (see #6) or on the ‘Next’ button if you wish to set ‘scheduling’ or change any options (see #5).

5) This is after clicking on ‘Next’ in step #4. Click on ‘Summary’ to finish or on ‘Options’ to set scheduling or change backup options.

THE 'PAT ON THE BACK' WINDOW

THE 'SCHEDULING' WINDOW

6) Any time you hit the ‘summary’ button (in steps #4 and #5 or in the Scheduling window) the setup process will be complete and Acronis will display this window:

THE 'SUMMARY' WINDOW

You will notice I have selected, via the backup options, to ‘validate’ the archive. This will make the process somewhat longer but, in my opinion, is best enabled for both ‘creation’ and ‘restoration’ of full backups.

Now click on the ‘Proceed’ button and Acronis will begin the backup, displaying its ‘working’ window with a progress bar and estimated time to completion.

Acronis will issue you with a warning if you manage to choose incorrect settings or attempt something inadvisable.

THE 'WARNING' WINDOW

This after selecting the main drive (‘C’) as both source and destination.

This backup took Acronis just 21 minutes to create and save a 25gb image file using ‘Normal’ compression in ‘Normal’ priority mode (the default settings). There is so much more to Acronis, many more features and options to explore.

Conclusion: The best just got even better. Acronis True Image 2009 is replete with the most desirable features and useful options... A must have for anyone seeking a seriously reliable backup solution covering just about every eventuality.

Jim Hillier is the Freeware Editor at Daves Computer Tips. A computer user with over 25 years of experience, his love of freeware is expressed through his Freeware Focus column in each issue of the Daves Computer Tips Newsletter. You can join Jim at the Daves Computer Tips Forum for other discussions on Freeware. You can read more about Jim here.

IceSword - Free rootkit scanning and removal. IceSword is a very powerful program which uses an explorer like interface. This one is for the more advanced user. (2000/Server 2003/XP/Vista)

Startup Inspector - Provides information about startup applications. Startup Inspector includes a database of popular programs and provides information including: if the program is required, and if there are any caveats to disabling the program. (Win7/Vista/XP)

Media Monkey – It’s difficult to categorize this multi functional program because it handles just about every audio task. I guess ‘Jukebox/Music Manager’ would be a fitting description. Media Monkey; catalogues CDs, AAC, OGG, WMA, FLAC, MP3 and other audio files. It offers multiple tools for looking up and editing tags, and an automated library organizer to organize files on the hard drive. It includes a CD ripper, CD/DVD Burner, and audio converter for saving music, and advanced playlisting for creating music mixes. Its player includes; automatic volume level adjustment and a ‘Party mode’ that locks down the library while still allowing requests. Auto DJ plays selections from the library, even when no requests are queued. It syncs tracks, playlists, and podcasts to portable audio devices such as iPhones, iPods, MP3 Phones, and other devices. Third-party plug-ins are available from the site for additional playback and/or sound-processing effects. The GUI is clean and easy to navigate with colorful icons throughout. Definitely one for serious music collectors and iPod users. (2000/XP/Vista)

PhotoFiltre - Is the ‘new kid on the block’, available in a number of languages, including English, and is a relatively small (1.6MB) download. It looks and acts very much like an old version of PhotoShop. It can read and save files to JPEG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, PNG, RLE. Although it cannot handle layers and despite it’s lack if size, it comes with an impressive range of tools, brushes and filters and has a lot of functionality packed into such a small program. (2000/XP/Vista)

KidZui - This one is for the kids (or grand kids). This is a great place to send the kids. Games and safe websites to keep them entertained for hours. You have to create an account, but other than that it is a clean and decent place for kids!

Wondering what that mysterious startup program is? Head over to Sysinfo.org and check out their comprehensive startup list. Definitely worth a bookmark!

CDcovers.cc - Billed as the "World's Largest Cover Archive". Thousands and thousands of CD covers for the music lovers.

SafeManuals.com - Another link worthy of a bookmark! Imagine... You can't remember how to set the clock on that new fangled TV. You search in vain for the manual, but it is no where to be found. This site has user manuals for thousands of products from cars, computers, TVs, phones, and much more!

Amazing Sand castles - WOW. Someone has talent and time!

Very cool 3D murals! - Things are not always what they seem!

Test your eyeballs - Well your ability to judge distance and angles. [Thanks Larry]

Howl-o-ween - Some people dress their pets in costumes for holidays. Some of them do not look happy! [Thanks Melissa]

US history from the 30's to the 40's - An interesting photo history of the US from the 1930s into the 1940s. Interesting, yet humbling. [Thanks Larry]

Ex Obama supporters - Have you wondered what happened to all those Obama supporters after the election here in the US? This is humor and infers no political motives! [Thanks Ray]

Free games - This site has downloads for computer games that have been abandoned by their authors. Lot's of oldies but goodies! You can't hold us responsible for time lost! [Thanks Jim]