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  Firefox is the preferred browsers for the millions of the "informed" Internet users these days. The single most important reason being the endless customization possibilities possible through the thousands of Firefox addons and Firefox extensions developed by independent third parties and persons. These Firefox extensions integrate seamlessly with your firefox to make it customized as per your requirements and preferences.

And one such Firefox Extension is FoxMarks.

Today’s average Internet user has tens and sometimes hundreds of bookmarks stored in their browser. They make their life easy and give fast access to their preferred Internet destinations and websites. And if you work on multiple PCs, like home and office, then it is sometimes very difficult to synchronize them.

FoxMarks is the tiny extension, which allows you to synchronize your bookmarks across different PCs and also make a backup of them in the unfortunate instances of your firefox crashing to delete all your bookmarks.

Features:

• Seamless Synchronization of all your bookmarks
• Easy Backup & Restore
• Web Access to your Saved Links
• Mobile Access
• Share Bookmarks with Friends
• Even you can synch selective bookmarks through different profiles (currently under beta)
• Import & Export Your Saved Links

With the rapid proliferation of Internet, more and more Malware attacks are being faced by us. Some of them can be detected, stopped and removed by inspecting the processes running in your system through Windows Task Manager (Use Ctrl+Alt+Del) and then click on Task Manager Processes.

Now comes the interesting part. If you know this fact, then the creators of the Malware also know this fact. And hence they try all ways and means to disguise themselves and make it difficult for you to discover them. One of the tricks used by them is to disable your Windows Task Manager so that you are not in a position to check for the malicious processes being run by the malware.

So what do you do then ?

If this happens to you, then you can easily Enable Task Manager by following these simple Registry Tweaks.

Follow these steps.

• Click Start > Click Run
• Type REGEDIT > OK to open the Registry Editor utility.
• Browse to the following key:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\system
• Righ pane will show the value: DisableTaskMgr. Right click on it and select Delete.
• Repeat the above steps for the following key:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system
• Close the Registry by choosing File | Exit
• Now you should be able to use Task MAnager. If it is still not opening, try to reboot your system in Safe Mode and repeat the above mentioned steps.

The most sure-fire way to be certain that spyware and other unwanted programs don’t infiltrate your system is to prevent them from finding their way in your system. Being aware of threats that are out there and practicing safe surfing are the best ways you can keep your computer safe. In order to keep your system safe you need to basically be aware of the threats that are out there. With that being said we’ve compiled a list of tips that you can consult to make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep yourself free from unwanted spyware:

1. Stay up to date with your security: Don’t disregard the security updates that pop up on your computer from time to time. Make sure that the software that you rely on daily is updated at least on a weekly basis. If your system allows it you should set this up on an automated schedule.
2. Download from trustworthy websites: If you’re hesitant about downloading a program from a site that you’ve never used before then you’re wise to not download the program. Try searching Google to see if the site that you’re unsure about has any related items indicating that the site is rife with spyware or ask a friend that you trust to take a look at the site.
3. Read the fine print: As annoying and time consuming as it can be, it’s important that you read all disclosures before downloading or installing a program to your computer. Be sure that all your concerns are addressed in the fine print. It’s imperative that you understand exactly what you’re getting yourself into before going ahead and downloading a suspicious program to your system.
4. When in doubt “x” out of a web site: It’s right to be suspicious of websites that pop up a dialogue box asking you if you’re sure you want to close out of a site. Many times these boxes will have, in small print, a message indicating that you’re going to be downloading a program before getting out of the site. Just go ahead and click the “x” in the top right hand of the page you’re unsure about.
5. Install firewall: Unauthorized users are a major threat to your security online. In order to combat hackers that can cause serious problems for you it’s important that you have a trusted firewall properly installed on your machine. Also, be sure to keep up with any updates for your firewall as well.

This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of Comcast specials. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.

With the ever increasing threats of eavesdroppers, data thieves and all sorts of people (including governments) trying to know more about you for various reasons, the need of Anonymous web browsing is increasing day by day. Besides this, Anonymous web browsing is helpful for you in case some website, which you want to open, is blocked in your path, may be by your local school / college network, or by your ISP or in some cases by your government.

How to Browse Web Anonymously ?

Welcome to xB Browser.

xb Browser combines the flexibility of our loved Firefox, with the capabilities of TOR technology, to give you this robust anonymous browser, which can help a great deal in protecting your online privacy. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet. It uses the web channels and bandwidth provided by its users, in a manner similar to torrents, to transact the data online.

xB Browser is the free and open-source anonymous web browser. You’re just a click away from anonymous surfing right now! The benefits of xB Browser are that it allows you to securely and anonymously surf the Internet, and bypass firewalls and website censorship. For enhanced privacy, xB Browser automatically clears surfing history and deletes cookies when you close the browser.

The main advantage compared to other anonymous web browsers is that xB Browser requires no configuration or technical knowledge in order to achieve anonymity. xB Browser is open-source so you can feel safe knowing what goes into xB Browser. Additionally, it is even portable on a USB stick so you can take it to work, school, or on vacation.

You can test about the functionality of xB Browser anonymity, by checking your IP address on the sites like whatismyip.com. You will get a different IP address than your actual IP Address.

How xb Browser provides Anonymous Browsing ?

xB Browser provides you two options at the time of installation as you can see in the following screenshot.

1. XeroBank Client: This entitles you to encrypt your data and let it pass through the XeroBank servers, thus providing you total anonymous surfing. This is fast and secure method, but it requires you to shell out $35 per month by subscribing. Although you have to pay $1 only for the first month after adjusting for $34 discount for the first month.

2. Tor Version: This is free. This requires you to transact your data through other clients in the form of small bits and pieces, just like the concept of torrents. The screenshot clearly explains the principles on which Tor technology works. Although I am yet to completely test xb Browser, but it appears that this version reduces the speed. But it is a nice concept and you can expect to get more and more speed for anonymous browsing web, as more and more people adopt this, which will mean more nodes and more bandwidth availability.

If you go for it, or have used it earlier, please don’t forget to let us know your experience about this tool for anonymous web browsing.

[Click here for more about xB Browser or Tor]

Ever since I have started learning more and more about Windows Performance and Windows Security, I am finding that most of the online threats can be avoided by some basic precautions and Windows Privacy / Security settings. Extensive features and options are available in our Operating System, which we either ignore either because we do not know about them, or we treat it as a hassle.

For instance, Windows Processes. There are so many Windows Processes running in the background that most of us seldom care to think about them. But a look at the running Windows Processes reveals a lot about the current behavior of your PC. If you are careful, then it can tell a lot.

But there is a small utility, which can help you a great deal here. Welcome to XP-AntiSpy.

This utility is developed and supported by Chris individually. Xp-AntiSpy is a little utility that lets you disable some built-in update and authentication ‘features’ in WindowsXP. In fact, it does much than simply controlling / disabling Windows Processes and tasks. It makes Windows more transparent and controllable. You get to know, what is running in the background, and allows you to control them from one place and that too in in simple, understandable language.

For example, there’s a service running in the background which is called ‘Automatic Updates’. I don’t know what this service transfers from my machine to other machines on the Internet, especially the MS ones. So I play it safe and disable such functions. If you like, you can even disable these functions manually, by going through the System and checking or un-checking some checkboxes. This will take you approximately half an hour. But why waste time when a little neat utility can do the same in 1 minute? This utility was successfully tested by lots of users, and was found to disable all the known ‘Suspicious’ Functions in Windows XP. It’s customizable, but comes up with the Default settings, which are recommended.

And the best part is, this utility is totally FREE.

The ribbon structure of commands in MS Office 2007 is liked by most for it provides you easy accessibility of most of the MS Office commands. But still there are lots of commands and features in MS Office products, which are not easy to search. I always had wished that there could have been a search feature, which would have searched the appropriate command for my requirement.

Now, at last, there is a MS Office addon, which does the job perfect for me.

Welcome to Search Command Addon, from officelabs.com. It is just a 2.4 MB download, which is free. You can download it and install it on your system. This will add a Search Command menu item on the menu bar of your MS Word, MS Excel and MS Powerpoint. If you click it, a new ribbon is opened, which has a search box on the left side.

You can type any of your query here. For instance, I was looking for the command on how to watermark an MS Word page. So, I typed a query "Watermark", and it was instantaneous to give me most of the buttons related to Watermark command on the ribbon.

This also has the capability to suggest you the appropriate command, if you are not knowing the exact name of the command / functionality you want to use.

Search Command Home Page | Download | FAQ

(Click to see full image)

OpenDNS is a great tool for getting the best FREE Internet Security while increasing your browsing speed at the same time. Setting your browser and Internet connection to use OpenDNS is absolutely easy and we recommend you to start using this service for your Internet Security.

But, what actually is DNS ?

DNS is an acronym for Domain Name Server, located generally with your ISP. When you type a URL address in your browser address bar, say webtoolsandtips.com, it propagates to the DNS, where it gets translated into the IP address where the files on my site are located. Your browser then downloads those files to show you the content of my website.

Ok, then what is OpenDNS ?

OpenDNS is a service which allows you to bypass your ISP’s DNS and query the servers of OpenDNS for IP address retrieval. IT is absolutely free.

Fine, but why should I use Open DNS ?

Simple because it is more safe, more speedier and increase your Internet Security.

Actually, the servers of OpenDNS use their cache to serve you the desired page faster. Whenever any other OpenDNS user opens a webpage, a copy of it gets stored in their cache, and when another user seeks that page, this data gets downloaded at a faster speed. Although it is only a marginal improvement in the speed, but still it matters, specially if your ISP’s DNS is not performing at optimum speed.

But the best part is not the speed, but the Free Internet Security provided by OpenDNS. Before serving your request for the IP address, OpenDNS checks the URL in its constantly updated database of phishing and malware sites, for any potential forgery. It uses data from Phishtank, a community site that is also used by Yahoo! Mail to determine if some particular website is part of any online phishing scam. When it founds it safe, then only OpenDNS serves a query, otherwise it blocks the website.

Great, How do I actually use OpenDNS?

The configuration is easy. You have to configure your Internet Connection settings as given on OpenDNS website. After you make the necessary settings, do not forget to restart your Internet connections and browser window to let the settings execute properly.

Is there anything Else ?

This is not all. There are many more things you can do with OpenDNS. Free Internet security, is provided to you without registering with OpenDNS. But if you prefer to register with OpenDNS, lots of other services are also provided to you. For instance, you can block adult websites to be accessed from your computers. You can assign shortcuts to access your favorite and frequently visited websites. Furthermore, if you wrongly type a popular website address or omit a few characters, OpenDNS might recognize the mistake and open the Google Search results with the possible suggestions. You can also configure OpenDNS to your networks and routers so as to give you an extended access to the filtering of the content on the network.

If it is so useful, why OpenDNS is free ?

OpenDNS is Free for its users. But when you encounter a blocked website, you actually are redirected to some pages, where you may find ads and sponsored entries. OpenDNS actually makes money from that. And you will be surprised to know the money involved here. It is estimated that they are making more than $20k per day from this useful service providing you the best free Internet security, just because of the millions of queries served by them each day.

Configuration of OpenDNS may be one of your single most important steps towards getting the best free online security.

Visit OpenDNS