Kiran Upadhyay

Can’t boot your computer, and think the problem is malware? Boot a live CD made specifically for scanning your computer without starting Windows. A live CD is a tool that boots completely from a CD or a flash drive, meaning you can use these tools whether Windows is working or not. A variety of live CDs exist that make it possible to scan your computer for viruses. Recently I wrote the manual  50 Cool Uses For Live CDs . In this manual I pointed out a variety of different disks made specifically for scanning for viruses. Five such tools are highlighted in the manual; find out about three of them below. Be sure to download the manual to read about the rest! BitDefender Perhaps the best-known live virus scanner,  the BitDefender live CD  removes viruses when all else fails. This tool, which uses the same definitions that power BitDefender’s desktop scanner, runs on a version of  Xubuntu . Start the CD, update your virus definitions, run a scan. It’s simple to...

By now many of you will  know about Google+ , its rising popularity and the inevitable knock-on effect for  Facebook . Maybe you’ve seen the light and been converted to Google’s way?  Are you worried your Facebook profile is going to suffer as a consequence? You could always try migrating your current list of Facebook cohorts to your new-found greener pastures, which is exactly what the Facebook Friend Exporter for  Chrome  aims to do. Of course, Facebook isn’t too pleased about this and it’s become somewhat of a cat-and-mouse game. The extension’s developer, Mohamed Mansour, has promised “I will maintain this version. Just bear with me” – so it looks like the battle is on! At the time of writing this only works if you are using the English language version of Facebook. If you’re not used to browsing in English you could always change your language in your Account Settings, then switch back when you’re done. Cat & Mouse Grabbing your entire army of ...

For many years, I switched between a whole range of email clients. First I went with Outlook Express. Then I bought a new computer and decided to test the waters with Thunderbird. Once Gmail became popular, I became an avid Gmail user for years. More recently, I’ve started experimenting with Thunderbird again. I keep gravitating back to Thunderbird, because of all email clients it really appears to be the most powerful and robust, with the ability to easily handle and organize as many email accounts as you want. The one thing that always bothered me about Thunderbird though, compared to using Gmail, is the fact that Gmail simply does a better job at organizing email threads. Only recently did I learn that there are actually a number of very cool Thunderbird add-ons that make Thunderbird rival even Gmail in terms of simplicity and organization. You’ve seen a number of Thunderbird add-ons featured here at MUO, including Aibek’s older list of  must-haves , as well as Dami...

How do you usually spend your Friday nights? In the pub with your mates? With an  Xbox  controller in your hands? Or do you prefer to be curled up on the sofa in a dimly-lit living room, peering at your television screen, awaiting the next gallon of blood to  trickle across the screen ? If you chose the latter option then you’re in the right place. The Internet Archive is home to  gigabytes of media  that anyone can view or download for free. Finding what you’re looking for can often prove problematic however, mainly because there’s just  so much  to see. Those of you who are fond of suspense, thrills, blood and guts will be pleased to know we’ve hacked and slashed our way through the tripe to find some of the best  scary films available  in the public domain. Nosferatu  (1922) [ IMDB ] An incredibly important, successful and controversial production for a variety of different reasons. The film was an unofficial movie adapta...

Google have recently been rolling out a new design for Google Calendar and Gmail, sporting a minimalist theme. The new look of the Google services is designed to match the recently released Google+. The Google+ design is reported by Techcrunch to have been created by original Macintosh designer, Andy Hertzfeld. The Gmail blog says that this is “ part of a Google-wide effort to bring you an experience that’s more focused, elastic, and effortless across all of our products ” and that changes are intentionally being rolled out slowly in order to incorporate  user feedback on the design . For many users, the new look in Google Calendar is already available. Users have the option to use the new look or revert to the classic look (by clicking on the settings icon and choosing “ Use Classic Look “). For Gmail users, the new look can be enabled by using the “ Preview ” or “ Preview (Dense) ” theme from thethemes tab in Gmail settings. The new looks ...

Last week we ran an article about  How to Create an iPhone or Android App Without Any Coding Skills , which is an introduction to a fairly easy-to-use online web application program called  Buzztouch . It works sort of like putting together a website in which you use templates and plug-ins as a basis for your iPhone or Android app. With a little imagination and of course media content, you can create your own application using Buzztouch, and have it exported to the respective software development kit – Xcode for Mac or Android SDK – for final coding production. Buzztouch could also be used as the building block for learning more advanced coding. In this follow-up article, I will share five model iPhone applications developed using Buzztouch. While these apps are not at the top of any iTunes Store List, you will see how they are useful for niche markets, organizations, clients, and the like. Imagine not only handing your clients your business card but also a portfolio mobile...

MP3 is a digital audio encoding format, in which audio files are compressed to reduce the amount of data (i.e. shrink the file size), without losing sound quality in the ears of most listeners. The standard procedure of editing an MP3 file involves several steps: decompression of the file, editing, and re-encoding to MP3. The decompression and re-encoding process typically results in a significant loss of quality. mp3DirectCut  is a freeware audio editor and recorder that can work with compressed MP3 files. It allows you to cut, copy, and paste audio bits or change the volume without decompressing the audio file. In other words, you can edit your MP3 files without a loss of quality. Moreover, you can record MP3s and auto-detect pauses to cut and ID3 tag a file. The Interface mp3DirectCut has a clear interface, which provides easy access to all key features. Editing and playback buttons sit at the bottom of the window, navigation in the middle, topped by the MPEG audio data wave...