Driver Utilities

A device driver, or a software driver is a type of computer software, typically developed to make the hardware in your computer work. Typically this constitutes an interface for communicating with the device, through the specific computer bus or communications subsystem that the hardware is connected to, providing commands to and/or receiving data from the device, and on the other end, the requisite interfaces to the operating system and software applications. Often called a driver for short, it is a specialized hardware dependent computer program which is also operating system specific that enables another program, typically an operating system or applications software package or computer program running under the operating system kernel, to interact transparently with a hardware device, and usually provides the requisite interrupt handling necessary for any necessary asynchronous time-dependent hardware interfacing needs.

1) Portable Guru3D - Driver Sweeper description
July 30th, 2007 GMT
License: Freeware
File size: 675 KB
Guru3D - Driver Sweeper allows you to remove driver leftovers from your system.It's very important to remove your drivers on a proper way, because driver leftovers can cause problems like stability and startup problems. You can use it if you want to update/remove drivers from your system. The current supported drivers are NVIDIA (Display and Chipset), ATI (Display), Creative (Sound) Realtek (Sound), Ageia (PhysX) and Microsoft (Mouse). Use the official uninstaller(s) of the driver(s) you want to uninstall.
Reboot your PC in Safe Mode.
Use Driver Sweeper and select what to clean.
Press the clean button.
This method will delete remaining files upon reboot (if deleting failed).

Homepage
Requirements:

· Computer where you can run .NET Framework 2.0 or higher on
· .NET Framework 2.0 or higher
DOWNLOAD LOCATIONS
for Portable Guru3D - Driver Sweeper 0.9: Mirror (US) [EXE]
Mirror (RO) [EXE]


2) Driver Cleaner.NET 3.3.0.0
Driver Cleaner.NET has been completely rewritten from the ground up to fully support .net framework which runs in Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, 2003 and natively in Windows Vista.

Driver Cleaner.NET is a program which helps you to remove parts of drivers that are left after uninstalling the old drivers. The program is for ATI, nVidia, Creative, Realtek, SIS, 3Dfx, S3 and more drivers. First you need to uninstall the drivers from the control panel, then reboot to safemode. After rebooting, run the program. For a good description of what steps you should take, you really need to read the help file as it contains detailed instructions and descriptions. Driver Version Check can display what your current installed drivers is and it will download a file from the Driverheaven downloads server with the latest versions on the download server and displays that. Currently supported are ATI Display Drivers and nVidia Display Drivers. For more details on the program you can also check the online documentation. In the documentation are a lot more details and descriptions.
Homepage
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 or higher must be installed.
Download

3) Driver Genius Pro Edition
Driver Genius Professional is a professional driver management tool features both driver management and hardware diagnostics. Driver Genius provides such practical functions as driver backup, restoration, update and removal for computer users. Driver Genius can automatically find driver for a device that the system can't find a driver for it. It can recognize the name and vendor's information of the device, and directly provide download URL for the required driver. Driver Genius also downtr supports online updates for drivers of existing hardware devices.
DOWNLOAD
Driver Genius Pro 2008 v8.0.316.rar
DOWNLOAD Driver Genius Professional Edition v9.0.0.186

4) Driver Magician
Key features


* Back up device drivers of your computer in four modes.
* Restore device drivers from backup in one mouse click.
* Update device drivers of your PC to improve system performance and stability.
* Uninstall device drivers
* Live Update device identifier database and driver update database.
* Detect unknown devices.
* Back up more items such as My Documents and Registry.
* Restore more items from backup.
* Get detailed information of the hardware drivers.
* Clone all drivers to an auto-setup package (.EXE), so you can restore drivers without installing Driver Magician. Homepage
Download here


4) DriverMax
DriverMax is a new tool that allows you to download the latest driver updates for your computer. No more searching for rare drivers on discs or on the web or inserting one installation CD after the other. Just create a free account, log in, and start downloading the updates that you need.

You can also export all your current drivers (or just the ones that work ok) to a folder or a compressed file. After reinstalling Windows you will have everything in one place!

DriverMax - for Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 2003
Download now (free program). Note: DriverMax only works on Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 2003 (all service packs). Driver downloads are *only* available for Windows Vista and Windows XP users.

Producer Homepage

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Clickjacking-The latest Internet threat cloaks Web links

Clickjacking allows an attacker to literally steal your mouse clicks when clicking on a simple button to see the next page of an article. This may actually triggered in doing something entirely different, such as log on to your online checking account. A wayward click can download malware to your PC without your knowledge. To make it worse all browsers and other Web software are susceptible to clickjacking. criminals can hijack your system by intercepting clicks of what appear to be legitimate links by working on vulnerabilities in Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla's Firefox, Apple's Safari, and all other Web browsers including but not limited to popular Web tools as Adobe's Flash player and Microsoft's Silverlight streaming-media plug-in.

In clickjacking surreptitiouslinks lurk behind clickable buttons. Robert Hansen, CEO of SecTheory, and Jeremiah Grossman, chief technology officer of WhiteHat Security describes the scope most clearly in his blog posting :

"There are multiple variants of clickjacking. Some of it requires cross domain access, some doesn't. Some overlay entire pages over a page, some use iFrames to get you to click on one spot. Some require JavaScript, some don't. Some variants use CSRF [Cross-Site Request Forging] to pre-load data in forms, some don't. Clickjacking does not cover any one of these use cases, but rather all of them."

Adobe's Flash player are also exploited by hacker who can use the Flash player to take over a PC's webcam and microphone. Imagine the implications of stalkers eavesdropping on your laptop's built-in camera and mic. Attacks may also be launched via iFrames by using cross-site scripting techniques. Hansen says that disabling browser plug-ins and scripting will help but is no panacea, given the threat's complexity.

Securing your browser in a clickjacking world?

Browser and plug-in vendors have joined watchdog organizations in describing what you can do to stay safe.

* Adobe: The Flash vendor has issued a patched version that will help keep you safe from Flash-based attacks. See the company's download page. Previously, the company had posted a security advisory containing a workaround.

* Mozilla Foundation: Install Giorgio Maone's open-source NoScript plug-in to block execution of JavaScript except for sites you approve. NoScript is free, though the vendor requests a donation. The add-on lets Firefox users designate the sites on which scripts are allowed to run and blocks JavaScript on all other sites.

* Microsoft: To date, the company has taken a noncommittal stance in regard to the clickjacking threat. Microsoft responds to questions by referring users to the company's Security Support page.

* U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT): The agency provides a document that describes how to protect IE, Firefox, Safari, and other browsers from a range of attacks.

No system is 100% immune to the new threat, so be conservative in visiting untrustworthy sites until the applications you use are made more secure. Since most malware attacks occur on adult sites, keep your browsing rated PG-13. Also on sites that offer game-cracking software. Always think twice before you click even on sites where you could reasonably expect to be safe from such attacks.

To repeat the precautions (1) use the Firefox browser with Giorgio Maone's NoScript script-blocking add-on installed (donation requested) and allow only trusted sites to run scripts, (2) update to the latest version of Adobe's Flash Player, and (3) stay away from questionable sites.(4)use the Firefox browser with WOT, Web of Trust, warns you about risky websites that try to scam visitors, deliver malware or send spam. Protect your computer against online threats by using WOT as your front-line layer of protection when browsing or searching in unfamiliar territory. WOT's color-coded icons show you ratings for 20 million websites - green to go, yellow for caution and red to stop – helping you avoid the dangerous sites. Surf safer and add WOT to your Firefox.

Also See : Sandboxie front line browsing defence

Recast VIA Stuart J. Johnston on "All browsers are vulnerable to clickjacking "

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SIW - System Information for Windows

SIW is an advanced System Information for Windows tool that gathers detailed information about your system properties and settings and displays it in an extremely comprehensible manner. SIW is a standalone utility that does not require installation (Portable Freeware)

Platform: Microsoft Windows 98 / Me / NT4 / 2000 / XP / Server 2003 / Media Center / Tablet PC / Windows 2003 Server R2 / Windows Server 2003 x64 / Windows XP x64 / Windows Vista / Windows Vista x64 / Windows Server 2008 / Windows Server 2008 x64 / WinRE / Bart PE / Winternals ERD Commander

SIW (System Information for Windows) does not contain any form of malware, including but not limited to: adware, spyware, popups, viruses, Trojans and backdoors.
DOWNLOAD
Homepage

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Google Launches Its Challenge To Wikipedia with its Knol

Wednesday, July 23, 2008-Knol has been described both as a rival to encyclopedia sites such as Wikipedia and Scholarpedia and as a complement to Wikipedia, offering a different format that addresses many of Wikipedia's shortcomings.

Strengths, weaknesses, and article quality in Wikipedia Wikipedia's greatest strengths, weaknesses, and differences all arise because it is open to anyone, has a large contributor base, and articles are written by consensus according to editorial guidelines and policies. Wikipedia is open to a large contributor base, drawing a large number of editors from diverse backgrounds. This allows Wikipedia to significantly reduce regional and cultural bias found in many other publications, and makes it very difficult for any group to censor and impose bias. A large, diverse editor base also provides access and breadth on subject matter that is otherwise inaccessible or little documented. A large number of editors contributing at any moment also means that Wikipedia can produce excellent encyclopedic articles and resources covering newsworthy events within hours or days of their occurrence. It also means that like any publication, Wikipedia may reflect the cultural, age, socio-economic, and other biases of its contributors. There is no systematic process to make sure that "obviously important" topics are written about, so Wikipedia may contain unexpected oversights and omissions. While most articles may be altered by anyone, in practice editing will be performed by a certain demographic (younger rather than older, male rather than female, rich enough to afford a computer rather than poor, etc) and may, therefore, show some bias. Some topics may not be covered well, whilst others may be covered in great depth. Allowing anyone to edit Wikipedia means that it is more easily vandalized or susceptible to unchecked information, which requires removal. While blatant vandalism is usually easily spotted and rapidly corrected, Wikipedia is more subject to subtle viewpoint promotion than a typical reference work. However, bias which would be unchallenged in a traditional reference work is likely to be ultimately challenged or considered on Wikipedia. While Wikipedia articles generally attain a good standard after editing, it is important to note that fledgling, or less well monitored, articles may be susceptible to vandalism and insertion of false information. Wikipedia's radical openness also means that any given article may be, at any given moment, in a bad state, such as in the middle of a large edit, or a controversial rewrite. Many contributors do not yet comply fully with key policies, or may add information without citable sources. Wikipedia's open approach tremendously increases the chances that any particular factual error or misleading statement will be relatively promptly corrected. Numerous editors at any given time are monitoring recent changes and edits to articles on their watchlist. Wikipedia is written by open and transparent consensus — an approach that has its pros and cons. Censorship or imposing "official" points of view is extremely difficult to achieve and almost always fails after a time. Eventually for most articles, all notable views become fairly described and a neutral point of view reached. In reality, the process of reaching consensus may be long and drawn-out, with articles fluid or changeable for a long time while they find their "neutral approach" that all sides can agree on. Reaching neutrality is occasionally made harder by extreme-viewpoint contributors. Wikipedia operates a full editorial dispute resolution process, that allows time for discussion and resolution in depth, but also permits months-long disagreements before poor quality or biased edits will be removed. That said, articles and subject areas sometimes suffer from significant omissions, and while misinformation and vandalism are usually corrected quickly, this does not always happen. (See for example this incident in which a person inserted a fake biography linking a prominent journalist to the Kennedy assassinations and Soviet Russia as a joke on a co-worker which went undetected for 4 months, saying afterwards he "didn’t know Wikipedia was used as a serious reference tool.") Therefore, a common conclusion is that it is a valuable resource and provides a good reference point on its subjects. The MediaWiki software which runs Wikipedia retains a history of all edits and changes, thus information added to Wikipedia never "vanishes", and is never "lost" or deleted. Discussion pages are an important resource on contentious topics. Therefore, serious researchers can often find a wide range of vigorously or thoughtfully advocated viewpoints not present in the consensus article. Like any source, information should be checked. A 2005 editorial by a BBC technology writer comments that these debates are probably symptomatic of new cultural learnings which are happening across all sources of information (including search engines and the media), namely "a better sense of how to evaluate information sources."

After several months in beta, Google ( NSDQ: GOOG) is going wide with content site Knol. Google is maintaining a professional difference between Knol and Wikipedia is that all entries must have be identified by the writer's name whereas Wikipedia, which allows anonymity. While Wikipedia does rely on editors and the community to police the site,
Knol does not edit or endorse the information and visitors will not be able to edit or contribute to a knol unless they have the author's permission. Readers will be able to notify Google if they find any content objectionable. Knol is a hybrid of the individual, often opinionated entries found in blogs and the collective editing relied on by Wikipedia and other wiki sites. The service uses what it calls "moderated collaboration" in which any reader of a specific topic page can make suggested edits to the author or authors, who retain control over whether to accept, reject or modify changes before they are published.

DuPont said that rather than competing with Wikipedia, Knol may end up serving as a primary source of authoritative information for use with Wikipedia articles.

Knol has publishing tools similar to single blog pages. But unlike blogs, Knol encourages writers to reduce what they know about a topic to a single page that is not chronologically updated.The name of the service is a play on an individual unit of knowledge and entries on the public website, knol.google.com, are called "knols. Google wants to rank entries by popularity to encourage competition. Google plans to rank related pages according to user ratings, reviews and how often people refer to specific pages.

Product manager for Knol DuPont said, Knol focuses on individual authors or groups of authors in contrast to Wikipedia's subject entries, which are updated by users and edited behind the scenes.

In its early stages, Knol remains a far cry from Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org, which boasts 7 million collectively edited articles in 200 languages.(nearly 2.5 million in Wikipedia’s English language version.) Google signed a deal with Conde Nast's New Yorker, giving Knol authors the rights to use one of the magazine's famous cartoons in each Knol posting. Google will allow Knol writers to run ads on their entries and will share income with them. VIA

Related Post:
Google's browser boon with a pandora's box?
External Link on related article:
Online medical records

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Windows XP - the OS that won't die

Microsoft allows vendors to either include or offer a downgrade from Vista to XP will run longer than previously expected. Many have not made the switch from XP to Vista as part of their standard operating environment, yet they still need to buy new computers.

The downgrade option made the process easier, and meant they already have Vista licences for those computers in the event they do decide to change to Microsoft's current desktop OS. Another reason Microsoft still offers XP licences for computers that aren't sufficiently powerful to run Vista well. (eg, netbooks and ultra-low cost PCs)

Microsoft seems reluctant but will continue to develop security patches for XP until April 2014. According to a leaked email Microsoft will allow XP to be offered in conjunction with Vista in that the downgrade option - which applies to Vista Business or Ultimate, and XP Professional - until the end of July 2009.

Small PC suppliers are cutoff as Microsoft has confirmed that the January 31, 2009 will remain for so-called system builders who want to purchase XP licences for the systems they assemble for customers.

This means there will be only a short period which Vista will be Microsoft's only mainstream OS. Windows 7 expected to be ready in the second half of 2009, but even if it doesn't debut until early 2010 that's only a few months after XP's phase-out.
VIA
Related Post:
Windows XP Retirement Postponed, Again
Maintain XP well until Windows 7 arrives
Windows Vista's successor & predecessor
Go from XP to Vista only with 64-bit processor

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Gmail is slow

Gmail is slow

Symptoms:
While using Gmail, the response time for opening messages, switching labels, or performing actions is slow. No error appears.

Cause:
A conflict with software on your computer, browser cache that needs to be cleared, or a temporary problem on the Gmail server.

Solution:
Configure your security software
Internet security, firewall and anti-virus applications can prevent Gmail from working correctly.

ZoneAlarm

To use ZoneAlarm with Gmail:

1. Open ZoneAlarm , and click Privacy.
2. Click Site List, and then click Add.
3. Enter mail.google.com.
4. Click the X under Persistent Cookie Control for mail.google.com.
5. Set the cookie control to Allowed.
6. Clear your browser's cache, and log in to Gmail.


Clear your browser cache and cookies In Mozilla:
1. Log out of Gmail. Close all other open browser windows.
2. Click the Edit menu at the top of your browser, and select Preferences.
3. Click the + next to Advanced.
4. Select Cache under Advanced.
5. Click Clear Cache.
6. Click OK.

For other security softwares & browsers configuration visit here.

Gmail offers an encrypted site for extra security. Because browsers and security applications are more likely to trust encrypted data, visiting Gmail through its encrypted login will often resolve issues caused by that software.

Please try logging in to Gmail via https://mail.google.com.


HTTPS access

HTTPS access is available via https://mail.google.com, and our system offers an SSL-encrypted login by default. Your Gmail password is always encrypted when sent over the Internet.

You may find that Gmail is considerably slower over the HTTPS connection, because browsers do not cache these pages and must reload the code that makes Gmail work each time you change screens.

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Babylon dictionary and translation software

Babylon Ltd.
OS : Winall

Babylon 7 is the world's leading dictionary and translation software in
over 75 languages.

No more spelling mistakes or time wasted looking for the correct word or
translation. With Babylon 7, reading and writing in all languages is
easier, faster and more efficient.

Babylon 7 does all the work for you with great new automatic features:
Spell check of your online text entry, Smart dictionary to and from any
language and Auto completion of your query terms.

Add more offline free varieties by clicking the following URL (Uniform Resource Locator is an URI which also specifies where the identified resource is available and the protocol for retrieving it)

1. Have Babylon installed on your computer.
If you don't have Babylon, Download Trial here.
2. Download the dictionary or glossary of your choice.
3. Run Babylon
4. Doubleclick the offline dictionary or glossary file.


Free Babylon Offline Dictionaries, Thesauruses and Encyclopedias


Babylon Ltd. Babylon v.7.0.3 (r24) is an innovative desktop application that provides translations, conversions and access to reference material in a single click.
Babylon's patented OCR technology enables users to click on any word, phrase or


number in any Windows application and immediately receive a translation or description of the term.

Babylon includes a full text translator service that can handle sentences and passages up to about 50 words.

Babylon includes a conversion utility that recognizes different types of numbers and units and converts these values into different currencies, units of measure or time zones.

Babylon also provides audio pronunciations and phonetic symbols to help users hear and pronounce terms correctly.

Babylon includes writing aids, such as cross-translation, conjugations and direct paste, to help users who are not fluent in English compose better texts in English.


Download BabylonPro.v7.0.3.8. below in 3 split winrar parts
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Includes Five Premier Dictionary licenses for : Download & Install The Concise Oxford English Dictionary and Thesaurus Download & Install The Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary and Thesaurus Download & Install The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia



• The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
- Is the perfect resource for information on the people, places, and events of yesterday and today. You'll find fast facts compiled with the quality and accuracy that have made Britannica the brand to trust.
With over 28,000 articles, Britannica has created an incomparably practical and powerful tool that is easily accessible and affordable to users.
The Encyclopedia's clearly written entries cover various branches of human knowledge, such as science, history, business, art, culture, geography, and geology, as well as more contemporary issues, such as cloning, terrorism, and globalization.
Entries also include images and links to related articles.
This is the ultimate desktop reference.

• The Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
- Contains over 225,000 definitions, phrases, idioms, and usage examples. Dictionary definitions include pronunciations, etymologies, derivatives and illustrations, as well as, links to related words and definitions.

• The Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus
- Contains more than 340,000 synonyms, antonyms, idioms and contrasted and related words.
Each thesaurus entry contains a brief definition describing the meanings shared by synonyms and links to related entries or phrases and idioms within the thesaurus.

• The Concise Oxford Dictionary
- Contains over 78,000 headwords providing coverage of more than 240,000 words, phrases and meanings.
This dictionary offers rich vocabulary coverage including rare and historical terms, as well as scientific and technical vocabulary, with hundreds of helpful notes on grammar and usage.

• The Concise Oxford Thesaurus
- Contains over 17,000 headwords offering more than 365,000 synonyms covering everyday vocabulary as well as more unusual and specialist words, with clear labeling of informal, dialect, literary, and technical items.
The most useful alternative words are given first, with the word closest in meaning to the word given in capitals.

Homepage:
"http://www.babylon.com/"

OS : Winall

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Trillian multiple instant messaging services

Trillian is a fully featured, stand-alone, skinnable chat client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC. It provides capabilities not possible with original network clients, while supporting standard features such as audio chat, file transfers, group chats, chat rooms, buddy icons, multiple simultaneous connections to the same network, server-side contact importing, typing notification, direct connection (AIM), proxy support, encrypted messaging (AIM/ICQ), SMS support, and privacy settings.

Trillian provides unique functionality such as contact message history, a powerful skinning language, tabbed messaging, global status changes (set all networks away at once), Instant Lookup (automatic Wikipedia integration), contact alerts, an advanced automation system to trigger events based on anything happening in the client, docking, hundreds of emoticons, emotisounds, shell extensions for file transfers, and systray notifications.

Click here to download Trillian Basic 3.1.11 freeware

MINIMUM Microsoft Windows 98, 2000, ME, Windows XP or Windows Vista 64MB of RAM
30MB Hard Drive Space

Internet Connection
AUDIO / VIDEO CHAT REQUIREMENTS
A microphone and speakers are required for an audio chat, but a headset is recommended whenever possible. Headsets often provide superior sound quality and echo cancellation, resulting in a better all-around experience.

Windows XP users who do not have a headset may be able to utilize a software echo cancellation package that ships with Windows XP. To ensure echo cancellation is enabled, disable all programs which are using the sound devices (such as Winamp or Windows Media Player) before launching an audio chat. This feature is not available on all XP machines, but Trillian will attempt to use it if it can be located.


A webcam is required for video chats. Most newer webcams (Logitech, Creative) work well with Trillian, and only very few that do not work. Trillian supports the newer WDM model for webcam functionality and does not have legacy VFW (Video for Windows) support.

The audio and video chats new to Trillian 3.0 require a direct connection between two computers. Trillian attempts to work around firewalls and NAT devices as best as it can, but you may need to forward/unblock certain ports to initiate a session properly.

1)
Trillian.Pro.3.1.7.0
Trillian connects to multiple instant messaging services without the need of running multiple clients. Trillian is a proprietary multiprotocol instant messaging application for Windows created by Cerulean Studios that can connect to multiple IM services, such as AIM, ICQ, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, IRC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, Bonjour, Jabber, and Skype networks (the latter four with Trillian Pro which allows for additional plugins). Trillian Pro allows to add features via plugins. Browse through the following categories to find your favorite one.

2)
Portable Trillian Pro 3.1.11.0
stand-alone, skinnable chat client without installation. Portable Trillian Pro does not allow to add features via plugins.


Trillian™ is a fully featured, stand-alone, skinnable chat client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC.
Extract on hard disk or USB key (Pendrives and run Portable Trillian Pro 3.1.11.0
It provides capabilities not possible with original network clients, while supporting standard features such as audio chat,
file transfers, group chats, chat rooms, buddy icons, multiple simultaneous connections to the same network, server-side
contact importing, typing notification, direct connection (AIM), proxy support, encrypted messaging (AIM/ICQ), SMS support,
and privacy settings. Without stealing your home page and with no other included software, pop-ups, or spyware, Trillian
provides unique functionality such as contact message history, a powerful skinning language, tabbed messaging, global status
changes (set all networks away at once), Instant Lookup (automatic Wikipedia integration), contact alerts, an advanced
automation system to trigger events based on anything happening in the client, docking, hundreds of emoticons, emotisounds,
shell extensions for file transfers, and systray notifications.

Why can't I download from FileFactory?

We will normally tell you why a file cannot be downloaded.

Possible reasons include:

1. The file no longer exists.

2. Exceeded daily download limit (remedy: try again tomorrow ).

3. More than one download in progress (remedy: wait until your current download is completed ).

If you see some of these messages even though you are not downloading or have not reached a daily limit, it could be that you are using a shared IP or a Proxy. A proxy server, or a shared IP, allows many computers on a network to share a single IP connection to the Internet. It is commonly used at places of employment, universities and some Internet Service Providers.

1) Download Link: Trillian.Pro.3.1.7.0
2)Download Link: Portable Trillian Pro 3.1.11.0

Homepage

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Go from XP to Vista only with 64-bit processor

The major question is not 'Do I want this 64 bits hardware, increased speed,?' It's 'Will my existing software run on Vista-64, or will I have to fork out huge amounts of cash for new editions?' "If the answer is, 'Yes, I will have to buy all new software,' then I'm sticking with XP until my machine dies and I can't find something else to run it." It's looking more and more likely that 64-bit desktop computing won't go mainstream until long after Windows 7 ships.

There are indications that Windows 7 due to ship in early 2010 won't be a major upgrade from Vista. Nevertheless the real choice isn't between Vista and Windows 7; it's between moving to a 64-bit version of Windows now or later.

It doesn't make sense to upgrade your XP operating system without upgrading to 64-bit hardware and software in order to get the most out of both.

Early testers of the new release indicated recently to All About Microsoft blogger Mary Jo Foley that a public beta of Windows 7 is due around mid-December 2008. One big reason why Microsoft should have no problem meeting its shipping deadlines for Windows 7 is that the OS will not be much different from Vista Service Pack 1, which shipped last spring. Testers of early preview releases indicate that Windows 7 will provide greater stability, reliability, and performance than Vista.

One of the three biggest complaints about Vista — or more specifically, the 32-bit version of Vista — is performance. (The other two big Vista problems, application incompatibilities and the lack of device drivers, have been solved over the past year and a half, with a few noteworthy exceptions.) The 32-bit edition of Vista supports only 3GB of memory, a limitation that the 64-bit edition doesn't have. Whereas 64-bit Vista address from 8GB for Vista Home Basic to 128GB for the Ultimate, Enterprise, and Business editions. All 32-bit operating systems, not just Vista, have greater memory restrictions than their 64-bit versions. The point is that lightning-fast processor cores require more ram (Random-access memory ) to support system that runs low on memory.

While there will be a 32-bit edition of Windows 7, it is inevitable the future of desktop computing is 64-bit. There is a 64-bit release of XP which Microsoft plans to end free support for XP on April 14, 2009, although the company will continue to issue critical bug fixes. Kip Kniskern, staff writer for Windows Live enthusiast site LiveSide.net said Windows 7 is much more than Vista SP2. One feature that will be new in Windows 7 is support for multi-touch displays, which Microsoft's Surface computer pioneered.

It's unlikely to be reason enough for the millions of XP users in the world to postpone their next system upgrade in a hurry unless when you're ready for a 64-bit desktop PC.

Excerpt from Stuart J. Johnston report.

Related Post
32-bit & 64-bit AntiVirus & Firewall

Vista: 64-bit or 32-bit Version? (x64 vs x86)

Windows Vista's successor & predecessor

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AutoPatcher Comeback

AutoPatcher

Developed by	Antonis Kaladis & Jason Kelley
Latest release	5.6.0.81 (AutoPatcher) 1.0.5 (APUP) / 2008-09-07; 25 days ago
Platform	Microsoft Windows
Available in	English (Other translations available)
Type	Software utility
License	Freeware
Website	AutoPatcher.com

After four years of existence which AutoPatcher debuted back in 2003, and to the surprised of many AutoPatcher team shut down the project after receiving email from Microsoft requesting them to stop distribution on 29 August 2007. Shortly after the project was shut down Antonis Kaladis, AutoPatcher Project Manager decided to resume production of AutoPatcher with a work around Microsoft's cease and desist notices using a program that downloads the updates directly from Microsoft's servers to create the AutoPatcher package on the client's machine instead of all being downloaded as a complete package.

As a result the AutoPatcher Updater, or APUP, tool was created to automatically download the required patches from Microsoft's web servers and store them in the same file structure used in previous AutoPatcher releases. Once the files have been downloaded "everything remains as you know it."

AutoPatcher is legal as you download all Microsoft files direct from Microsoft.

AutoPatcher could be described as an offline Windows Update. AutoPatcher provides an interface to a large collection of updates, common applications and registry tweaks, that can be easily and quickly applied to your computer system.

he main advantage is that you just have to do one download in order to have all the patches and add-ons, such as Sun Java, MSN Messenger 7.x and Windows Media Player 10. If you have many computers or if you format your computer frequently, it saves both time and bandwidth. With AutoPatcher, you can install critical patches offline, eliminating the risk of getting infected while using Windows Update. You can also come in handy when updating a friends PC, if he/she can't access the Internet (or uses a narrowband connection).

Previous post
External Links
AutoPatcher needy Downloads
AutoPatcher Homepage

AutoPatcher FAQ / Common Problems and Solutions

Related Posts :
Windows Update alternatives
Update Your Windows Using Mozilla Firefox, Opera or Any Other Web Browser

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