Better Web Page Printing

The Printliminator
Go to this site and watch the demonstration video.
The Printliminator is a bookmarklet that enables you to clean up a web page quickly and easily for printing.

Protect your Facebook profile from scammers

Facebook Impostors – How To Configure Your Profile To Protect Yourself From Scammers

There are some decent basic privacy tips in this article for Facebook users.

32bit or 64bit - which to choose?

The Pros and Cons of 64-bit Windows 7 | Maximum PC

The Pros and Cons of 64bit:
Pros - You can use more than 4GB of memory, so it is great for things like Photoshop, video editing and games (IF you have the 64bit version)

Cons
- 32bit hardware (this means, for the most part here, peripherals - like printers, scanners, things you plug into your computer) drivers won't work in 64bit, and some hardware doesn't and won't have 64bit drivers. - So, some most hardware won't work in 64bit.
- not all programs come in 64bit
- not all plug-ins for Photoshop come in 64bit
- some 32bit programs will not run in 64bit (most will run in 64bit, usually the ones you need to run won't)
- some programs meant to be 64bit don't work in 64bit
- 16bit (very old) programs won't run in 64bit
- few games are written yet to take advantage of 64bit
- not all video editing (or that old video editing program you have) will be written for 64bit (and these 32bit video editing programs are some of the ones that most likely won't work in a 64bit operating system.

Who should get a 64bit operating system?
Someone who is going to be running a or some specific made-for-64bit programs, who also is using new peripherals with 64bit drivers, and won't need to use other software or hardware that is or could be incompatible with the 64bit system.

Who should not get a 64bit operating system?
Everyone else.

Eventually, when most things work with a 64bit system, then it will make sense to get it. Otherwise, I would stick to the 32bit system.


Read more about this at the above link.

A comprehensive overview of the new features/changes in Windows 7

Windows 7 Review: XP vs Vista vs 7 in 80+ Benchmarks | Maximum PC
Note: Homegroup - this section may seem discouraging for those who will be networking a Windows 7 machine with machines running older versions of Windows. But, do not despair, you can easily connect and share between machines, just like Vista could. The Homegroup feature just ADDS another level to what you can do (although just for sharing between Windows 7 machines).

AVG Free version 9 in now available

AVG Free v9 Installation Instructions
(Basic installation instructions with some changes to reduce annoyances)

Download from here Download AVG Free - FileHippo.com

Close all open programs.
Run the installer file (avg_free_stf_en_9...)
Next
Check off "I have read the license agreement"
Accept
Check off "Custom Installation"
Next
Username and License number appear - no need to do anything in this window
Next
Destination Folder - no need to do anything in this window
Next
Do you want to create the directory? ... - Yes
Component Selection - no need to do anything in this window
Next
AVG Security Toolbar - UNcheck "Install the AVG Security Toolbar (recommended)"
Next
AVG will now check for and install updates

Schedule Regular Scans and updates
- Updates - once a day (this is usually checked as the default setting). This section may be greyed out. If so, don't worry about it - you can always change this in the program later via the Update Manager section.
- You can set up your automatic scan schedule here, or later after you have installed the program. Once a week is usually a sufficient schedule.
- If you have or often have removable devices (external USB sticks, drives, memory cards) attached to your computer, check off the "Enable automatic scan of removable devices..." box so these are scanned too.

Next
Finish

Restart computer - Yes

After your computer restarts, eventually, this will pop up:
AVG Optimization Scan
Yes, run this now.
(This only takes a few minutes and it will make your scans run faster in the future.)

And finally, if you don't want it, delete the new AVG icon on the desktop. You can always access the program from the system tray icon.

Update: As of Sept. 2010, there is another pop up regarding adding some other Yahoo or AVG toolbar to your browser. Uncheck the bottom check box and then the top one and continue/okay...

For advanced computer users only:
If you want to remove the annoying notices that show up below the program window when you open it, this is how to remove them:

Make sure you can see hidden folders and file extensions.
Go to the Program Files\AVG\AVG9 folder
Alter the names of these files by adding something like
.bak
after each one (example: avgfree_us.mht.bak)

avgfree_us.mht
avgmwdef_us.mht
avgresf.dll
avgsbfree_us.mht

avgtrial_us.mht

VistaSwitcher - Alt+Tab replacement for XP, Vista and Windows 7

VistaSwitcher is a Ridiculously Awesome Alt-Tab Replacement :: the How-To Geek

This is a great Alt+Tab replacement viewer. It has a big preview, and a very legible list of the open programs. Plus, you can change how it works and with what keys. 32bit and 64bit versions for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

Adobe Acrobat Reader - another bug, another reason to switch to Foxit Reader

Adobe Acrobat Yet Again Under Attack by Zero-Day Bug | Maximum PC

If it seems like Adobe's Acrobat Reader is constantly under attack, well, that's because there's some truth to it. The latest threat comes in the form of another zero-day bug being exploited in targeted attacks, Adobe said.

Not a whole lot of information has been made available on the newest threat, though according to an advisory from VUPEN Security, the vulnerability in question is an unspecified memory corruption error that occurs when users open a specially crafted PDF file. VUPEN says the bug can be exploited remotely.

....
Want a less-bloated, faster, less-buggy PDF reader that has proven itself over the years?
Try Foxit Reader

Some good Facebook tips

How to Make Facebook Worth Your Time Again

AVG Free version 9 to be released by mid-October 2009

Download AVG Free Edition 8.5.420 - FileHippo.com
Watch the above link mid-to-late October for the free version of AVG 9 (anti-virus and anti-spyware).
AVG 9 claims to be much improved in performance/speed and in threat protection.