Recuva pronounced "recover" is a freeware utility to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer. This includes files emptied from the Windows Recycle bin as well as images and other files that have been deleted by user error from digital camera memory cards or MP3 players. It will even bring back files that have been deleted by bugs, crashes and viruses! Like all other Piriform products including CCleaner, Recuva is free for both commercial and personal use. Features
Simple to use interface - just click 'Scan' and choose the files you want to recover
Easy to use filter for results based on file name/type
Simple Windows like interface with List and Tree view
Can be run from a USB thumb drive
Restores all types of files, office documents, images, video, music, email, anything.
Restores files from removable media (SmartMedia, Secure Digital, MemoryStick, Digital cameras, Floppy disks, Jaz Disks, Sony Memory Sticks, Compact Flash cards, Smart Media Cards, Secure Digital Cards, etc.)
Restores files from external ZIP drives , Firewire and USB Hard drives
It's fast, tiny and takes seconds to run!
Changelog:
- Added content searching for specific text in deleted files.
- Added regular expression matching to the filter.
- Added preliminary support for Windows 8.
- Improved support for BartPE (added new folder creation).
- Fixed filter drop down highlight issue.
- Improved recovery of compressed files from drives with non-standard cluster size.
- Many minor UI improvements.
- Latvian language added.
SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition is 100% Free and will detect and remove thousands of Spyware, Adware, Malware, Trojans, KeyLoggers, Dialers, Hijackers, and Worms. SUPERAntiSpyware features many unique and powerful technologies and removes spyware threats that other applications fail to remove. Easily remove pests such as WinFixer, SpyAxe, SpyFalcon, and thousands more. Repair broken Internet Connections, Desktops, Registry Editing and more with our unique Repair System. Dedicated Threat Research Team scours the web for new threats and provides daily definition updates.
SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition does not include real-time blocking or scheduled scanning. Changelog:
As an avid user of the Sleep function on my laptop, I’ve been more than irritated with Windows 7 or Vista’s habit of changing the Sleep/Shutdown button into an “Install Updates and Shut Down” button whenever there are updates from Windows Update.
After the last time I accidentally clicked this stupid button when I just wanted to enter sleep mode, I decided to look for a solution.
Update: Windows 7 does the same thing to my Shutdown button, and this same registry hack fixes the problem. Manual Registry Hack
If you’d like to manually create this hack, you can open up regedit.exe using the start menu search box and then browse down to the following key, creating the key if it doesn’t exist.
Add a 32-bit DWORD value called NoAUAsDefaultShutdownOption with a value of 1. No reboot should be necessary.
Now our Sleep button should be back to the way it was, but if you wanted to use the Install Updates and Shut Down option, it’s still available via the shutdown menu: Download Registry Hack
Unzip the file and double-click on the StopHijackingMySleepButton.reg file to activate the registry hack. You shouldn’t have to restart anything, as the changes will happen immediately. There’s also a registry file to uninstall the hack.
I believe there is a similar option for XP, but I’m guessing the key is located in a different place.
While running my PC Repair business, I have to deal with a lot of virus and spyware infestations on my client’s computers. One of the most common questions I’m asked is: What kind of anti-virus should I use? The answer, of course, is one with updated virus definitions!
There are many choices for anti-virus, like commercial applications Norton and Trend Micro, which are definitely effective and provide an almost overwhelming amount of features, but if you’re looking to save money, free personal anti-virus applications are a very sound choice as well.
Over the next few weeks we will take a look at a few of the reliable free options.
Avira AntiVir Personal
Avira’s AntiVir Personal Edition is a popular and well rounded anti-virus solution. AntiVir scans quickly and efficiently, is light on system resources, and provides real-time protection with AntiVir Guard. The personal version is completely free for private use.
Installation is a smooth process. If you’re looking to quickly secure your PC with AntiVir select the Complete install. Personally I like to have a bit more control over components during installation. If you have any doubts on what components you need, err on the side of caution with a full install.
AntiVir allows you to update the virus database right away during installation so you can activate a thorough full system scan right away.
After a successful installation you are prompted to register with Avira. Registration is certainly not required, but if this is the first time using AntiVir you might be interested in getting up to date updates and news.
I found full system scans to be surprisingly quick. While scanning, a window pops up to show the progress. There is also the ability to pause, stop, and resume a scan from this panel.
With any anti-virus program you will notice a lag in performance during an active scan. If possible schedule a full system scan for off hours. To schedule a scan launch the Avira UI and to to View Administration Scheduler.
Highlight the default Complete System Scan and give the job a name and description.
Then select a profile or what you want to have scanned in this job. As you can see you can do a complete system scan or narrow it down to individual sections.
The next step is to choose a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule and time for the scan. This is where you can schedule it for “off-hours”. The actual time is military so you know if it’s AM or PM.
Finally choose the display mode the UI will have while scanning. You can select Maximized, Minimized, or Invisible. Also you can have your computer shut down after the scan to save power and add to your Green Computing.
AntiVir will integrate into Windows Explorer so you can scan individual files.
If a virus is detected you can get detailed information from the Avira database. This comes in handy for several reasons. You find out the threat level of the malware, specific removal instructions if necessary, or may determine it is a false positive.
AntiVir does have a pop up screen urging you to purchase a premium version every time you update the definition database, but that seems a minor inconvenience for free anti-virus protection.
One final feature to point out is Reporting. You can get a detailed text based report or all scans and updates that take place.<br>
Download Free Avira:
<br><a href="http://download.cnet.com/Avira-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10322935.html?part=dl-&subj=dl&tag=button">Avira-Free-Antivirus</a><br></br>
If you have a PC infected with Internet Security 2010, you’re probably reading this article so you can understand how to get rid of it. Thankfully we’ve got the instructions to help you get rid of this awful thing.
Internet Security 2010 is just one of many fake antivirus applications like Antivirus Live, Advanced Virus Remover, and others that hold your computer hostage until you pay their ransom money. They tell you that your PC is infected with fake viruses, and prevent you from doing anything to remove them.
Note: If you just want the instructions to get rid of it, you’ll want to scroll down a bit. Anatomy of an Infection
Normally these infections start with a popup message like this one, coming from a rogue site or malvertisement—and they are often served up from porn sites, though these viruses are not exclusively from there. IMPORTANT NOTE
If you’re a regular How-To Geek reader, you’re probably savvy enough to know how to avoid actually installing these things, but there’s a good chance that your mom isn’t. If you’ve got a relative that doesn’t know what they are doing, here’s what you should tell them to do when they get a popup like this one:
HOLD DOWN THE POWER BUTTON FOR 10 SECONDS!
Seriously. If they really are infected with a real virus, powering off won’t be any worse. Some of these things are tricky and will try and install themselves no matter which way you click, and they look just like a real Windows error message. Powering off is just the simplest and best option for non-tech-savvy users. And yes, this is exactly what I tell my mom to do. Moving Forward…
Once you click the popup message, you’ll be presented with a page that looks like your My Computer view, telling you that your PC is infected. Nevermind that no real antivirus looks like this, regular PC users don’t know any better.
After a few seconds of this, you’ll be presented with a popup dialog in the web page that says your PC is infect, and you can click the button to Remove all. The dialog looks real, and can even be dragged around the page—in my research, this seems to be the point where most regular users get confused.
Once you’ve clicked it, you’ll be prompted to run an installer—which you might note has a number of warnings.
As soon as the installer is able to execute, you are infected.
You won’t be able to open up any applications…
And you can’t remove it from Control Panel.
Removing Rogue Fake Antivirus Infections (General Guide)
There’s a couple of steps that you can generally follow to get rid of the majority of rogue antivirus infections, and actually most malware or spyware infections of any type. Here’s the quick steps:
Those are the rules that normally work. Note that there are some malware infections that not only block safe mode, but also prevent you from doing anything at all. We’ll cover those in another article soon, so make sure to subscribe to How-To Geek for updates (top of the page).
Let’s Get to Removing Internet Security 2010
The first thing we’ll want to do is kill the virus that’s currently running on the system, and there’s a really easy way to kill Internet Security 2010 without downloading any special software just to kill it (we’ll still need to download something to clean it, however).
Open up the Start menu, click the Run button (or use the Win+R shortcut key), and then type in the following:
taskkill /f /im is2010.exe
Hit the Enter key, and the main virus window should go away. After you’ve done that, you’ll want to quickly execute the following commands:
At this point the virus isn’t currently running on your system—but it’s still lurking in the shadows, but you can actually run any malware removal tools that you’d like. Use SUPERAntiSpyware to Clean the Malware
Now that we’ve killed off all those processes, we’ll get to removing the actual malware from the system by downloading SUPERAntiSpyware and installing it. You should be able to grab the full version, or you can use the portable variety that we’ve already recommended.
If you grabbed the full version, make sure to use the Check for Updates button, and then click the Scan Your Computer button… make sure to perform a Complete Scan, and select all of your drives.
It should easily find and kill all of them. You’ll probably note that on this particular machine that I was using in the screenshot, there was a lot of other bad stuff that it caught as well. Woot!
Once it’s done, it’ll let you remove them all in a click, and then prompt you to reboot… you shouldn’t reboot yet. Job isn’t done, however! Install Malwarebytes and Scan
Next you’ll want to install MalwareBytes and run it, making sure to run a full scan. The main reason to do this is because there’s no way a single malware removal tool can know about every single piece of malware out there, and you may as well make sure your system is clean. Install Microsoft Security Essentials
You should definitely install Microsoft Security Essentials and run another full scan once you’re done. Note: If you used a thumb drive at any point during this process, you should make sure and scan that as well—I’ve had viruses hop over to the thumb drive, ready to infect the next machine. Sidebar Note
Here’s an interesting fact for you—the two processes that we killed earlier are actually from Advanced Virus Remover, another awful malware we’ve previously told you how to get rid of. Clearly they are both developed by the same jerk.
The winlogon86.exe seems to be mostly used to show messages like this one:
While winupdate86.exe is responsible for blocking you from opening other apps, and re-launching the main Internet Security 2010 window. Note: Robert, one of our excellent readers, wrote in mentioning that you can often just leave this window open, and then continue to install any malware removal tools you like. Here’s what he had to say:
There is one little trick that you missed, that I mentioned on a different post that was similar to this one. When it pops up with the error message saying; “Application cannot be executed. File is infected.” ..etc… Simply *MOVE* that message box to the corner of the screen, and you can install SuperAntiSpyware just fine.
There appears to only be one instance of that “error message” that will run at any given time. You will get multiple errors, you won’t get that obnoxious sound that computer makes when it tells you that you can’t do that…. Now, if you hit “OK” you’re just asking for a headache.
Complete the steps outlined below to utilize XP's Automated System Recovery (ASR) functionality.
Scope:
Dual Partitions (C and D)
XP installed on C
Backup
1. Go to the Start button/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Backup
2. Select the Advanced Mode link within the Backup wizard.
3. Click the Automated System Restore Wizard button.
4. Point the backup media file name to the D drive rename the backup file asr (d:\asr.bkf). (*Do not point the backup to the C drive where XP is installed because during the Restore mode the C drive will be formatted) Click Next and then click Finish. ASR will start it's System State backup (which copies all system files and registry configuration)
5. After the backup of the system state is completed (approx 5-10 minutes), You will be prompted to insert a floppy disk into the A drive. Click OK. XP will complete the ASR backup.
* ASR will only backup the system state (windows folder) and registry configuration. You must return to Backup and create a separate backup of your valued data to the D drive.
Restore
In the event that your system becomes inaccessible and/or System Restore does not function properly, complete these steps.
1. Make sure the system can boot from a CD-Rom (via the bios setup)
2. Insert the Windows XP CD-Rom into the drive
3. Insert the ASR Floppy disk into the drive
4. Power up the computer
5. Press the enter key when prompted to "press any key to run from the CD-rom"
6. Press F2 on the keyboard when prompted to start the ASR recovery action.
7. XP will format the C drive
8. The computer will restart
9. Let windows XP start automatically (do not press a key to run from the CD rom).
10. XP will go through the basic plug and play discovery and copy setup files to the C drive.
11. The computer will restart and boot into XP
12. The ASR wizard will start and automatically point to the asr.bkf file on the D drive. Click OK to restore the system state and registry configuration.
13. When completed XP will either present the login screen or login to the desktop automatically (depending on the configuration at the time the ASR backup was initiated).
14. Return to the Backup wizard to restore any valued data that was saved beforehand to the D drive.
Benefits of using ASR
Timesaver = Entire restore process takes less than 30 minutes.
Configuration in tact = Desktop and user preference settings will be maintained.
Redundancy = Provides an additional restore option besides System Restore.
Registry = Backs up and restores the entire current registry configuration settings.
Drawbacks of using ASR
Does not restore any installed programs from the program Files folder.
Does not work on a single partition.
Completing an ASR backup on a regular basis will provide additional control over the outcome of a system failure.
The_Wizard
CCleaner is the number-one tool for cleaning your Windows PC. It protects your privacy online and makes your computer faster and more secure. Easy to use and a small, fast download.
Cleans all areas of your Computer
Internet Explorer
Temporary files, history, cookies, Autocomplete form history, index.dat.
Firefox
Temporary files, history, cookies, download history, form history.
Google Chrome
Temporary files, history, cookies, download history, form history.
Opera
Temporary files, history, cookies.
Safari
Temporary files, history, cookies, form history.
Windows
Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, Temporary files and Log files.
Registry Cleaner
Advanced features to remove unused and old registry entries.
By doing the following steps you can browse on the Internet or Network faster. It uses the same tecnique as http://localhost. When you type http://localhost you will be redirected to your own ip. By adding some lines you could reach your ip by just typing http://l. Observe that some names can effect your network.
1. Find out which ip you would like to have a name for. It could be a website, a place on your network or anything else that got an ip-number. The localhost uses the ip 127.0.0.1. To find out a website's ip just type "ping www.website.com" (without the "")in the command prompt (start>run>cmd.exe).
2. Browse to WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc. Open the file called hosts in notepad.
3. Below "127.0.0.1 localhost" type the ip followed by a name. Read in the file itself for more information.
4. If you for example type 216.239.51.99 search (the ip belongs to www.google.com) and saves the file, you will end up on google's site if you type search in the adress bar in your Internet Browser.
Anytime your network refuses to send and receive data properly , your first troubleshooting step should be to check fof problems with the physical connection between the local computer and the rest of the network. Assuming your network connection uses the TCP/IP protocol , your most potent weapon is the Ping ulity. When you use the Ping command with no parameters , Windows sends four echo datagrams , small Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) packets, to the address you specify. If the machine at the other end of the connection replies, you know that the network connection between the two points is alive.
To use the Ping command , open a Windows command prompt window (Cmd.exe in Windows XP) and tape the command ping target_name (where target_name is an IP address or the name of another host machine ).
If all the packets you send come back properly in roughly the same time , your TCP/IP connection is fine and you can focus your troubleshooting efforts elsewhere.
Enjoy !
When I upgraded my computer to XP Professional, I ran into a problem which caused my computer not to show in the 'Workgroup Computers' category in 'My Network Place' I did some research, and even called Microsoft themself and they were stumped, they has no idea. The problem was (which i finally figured out myself) was that the Computer Discription Name that I configured when running the network setup wizard was to long, and was causing the computer not to be displayed. To fix this problem i did the following:
Internet Explorer
Firefox
Google Chrome
Opera
Safari
Windows
Registry Cleaner
