123 Technology News, Views, and Reviews

It was hard to pick the #1 best, must-have utility, since all on this list are so good. But when we thought about which one has the most impact on our daily (or hourly) experience with Windows, Copernic Desktop Search came out on top.

Copernic has a lot of competition: X1, Google Desktop, and Windows Desktop Search. We’ll briefly discuss each of the competitors and why they weren’t selected:

X1 – There had been a shootout between Copernic Desktop Search (”CDS”) and X1. In fact, we prefer X1’s interface over Copernic’s. But two things lead to its dismissal:

1. Stability – We’ve had off and on problems with stability of the program. Crashes. Slowness. Not acceptable when the point is to find things fast!
2. X1 standalone does NOT allow you to search mapped network drives. Big problem. We’ve got lots of stuff on our server, and we need to be able to index that material from our desks. You would have to buy their enterprise solution, which includes a server-side component, to get this functionality

Google Desktop Search – Well, what works great on the Internet isn’t necessarily the best solution for the desktop. We find that it’s a bit of a memory hog. But the biggest problem is that it produces simple Google results – a hyperlinked list based on keywords you’ve entered. There’s no ability to refine you search to pinpoint what you’re looking for. You simply need to slog through the list of results, or try to come up with better keywords. Again, we love Google for its simplicity in web searches. But that doesn’t play the best on the desktop

Windows Desktop Search – Unfortunately it suffers the same issues as Google Desktop Search. It is very limited in its ability to refine searches. Also, as with most Microsoft products, Windows Desktop Search tends to inject itself into many different aspects of the OS, and into Outlook. Generally, we prefer an indexer that is looking from the outside in. It’s faster.

So, with those three contenders dismissed, we’re back to Copernic.

Copernic Installation

Go to www.copernic.com, and click on the Free Download button at the top. Next screen you’ll need to click Free Download again. Select Copernic Desktop Search 2.1, their just-released upgrade, which works well with Vista and Office 2007. Download it to your desktop, and then double-click to run it. Then:

• Accept the License Terms and click Next
• Select the installation folder and click Next.
• Select the type of configuration – choose Typical
• Once it’s done, click Finish, and the interface will open up:

(click to Enlarge)

Default Settings

By default, Copernic will:

1. Index any Outlook or Outlook Express email boxes you have on your machine
2. Index your Desktop, you’re My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, and My Videos folders, and will index everything on the C: drive except your Program Files folder and the main Windows folder.
3. Index your Outlook and your Outlook Express contacts
4. Index browser Favorites and History for your default browser
5. Suspend indexing while your computer is in use (keyboard or mouse activity)
6. Index new and modified files, and received and sent Outlook emails “on the fly”

There are a lot of changes you can make to the default settings. Click on Tools > Options to see them all. Read the documentation to tweak the settings to your liking. The one thing we will mention is, this is where you can add your mapped network drives for inclusion in indexing.

To see a list of all the types of files it indexes:

Tools > Options > choose Advanced on the left side. On the right side at the top, you see a list of all the file types it indexes. Need a special file type indexed that’s not on the list? Click the Add button.

Initial Indexing

The initial indexing will take an hour or more. We suggest you set it up at night and let it run overnight. In the morning, you’ll come back to a fully populated CDS.

Conducting a Search

You start your search much like you do in any search engine: by entering keywords, but then you can refine your search in multiple ways. The best way to explain is by example.

[Hint: Understanding the syntax of a keyword search will still help you tremendously. For example, if you wanted to find a document that contained either the word “meeting” or the word “appointment, you would type: “meeting OR appointment”

See the whole page of syntax for the Copernic keyword field on this page:

http://help.copernic.com/topic/desktopsearch21en/CDS2.htm#]

EXAMPLE #1: I’m looking for a document that I wrote this week. It was written using Word, and it contained the phrase “IP Address”

Here’s how I think about searching for this:

1. I first enter the phrase “IP Address” iin the Search box. I get 1,425 hits. This might be where Google or Windows Search stops. But we can refine our query with the additional information we have:
2. At the top of the search window, I pick the File Category, since I know I’m searching for a file – 866 hits
3. On the left side, I enter the file type Word Document, since I know I wrote it in Word – 118 hits
4. On the left side, I enter the Date This Week, since I know I edited it this week – 6 matches

(click to Enlarge)

And there, I have my short list! Now I can preview the document, double-click it to open it and work on it, open the folder it’s contained in, and more.

EXAMPLE 2: I want to look up contact information for Joe Anthony. Instead of opening Outlook, or Outlook Express, or any other program that might contain contact information for Joe Anthony, I just use Copernic:

1. Select the Contacts category
2. Enter “Joe Anthony” in the search field

I see this (click to Enlarge)

And I can Send Joe a Message right from here – Copernic calls my default E-mail client for me.

Summary

I don’t go a day without using Copernic to “find stuff.” Let’s pray for the day when we can banish hierarchical folders as our main way to organize and find information, in favor of flexible, comprehensive, easy searches that let us find what we need, wherever it may be!

Enjoy!

Randy Garland, 123 Technology

Virtualization is hot these days in IT circles. Any engineer anywhere near a data center wants to be able to virtualize OS instances to maximize hardware utilization.

But something that has been generally overlooked is a specific category in virtualization: Desktop Software Virtualization. And the tool we recommend for the task is Altiris’ SVS (Software Virtualization Solution).

You install SVS on your desktop (or server) computer as if it were any other application. What it does is create an encapsulated (or isolated) environment that in turn encapsulates and software installations that you install within it. When you install software under SVS, everything written to disk, including Registry entries, is actually captured by SVS and maintained in SVS’ virtual mapping to the actual OS. Later, when you use the software you installed, it appears to the user that it’s a completely normal install: installation files are located where you would think they would go (for example, C:\Program Files), and you can create and save to any location on your hard drive.

But that is all virtualized. That is, the data doesn’t really reside where you see it. It remains encapsulated within SVS.

So Why Is This So Interesting?

It’s interesting on many levels, including:

1. Registry and system file clashes between programs are generally eliminated, since registry and system files in SVS are actually separated from the core OS
2. You can run different versions of the same product at the same time on the same machine (for example, you can run MS Office 2007 under SVS, and still run Office 2003 normally, with access to both).
3. For software that you want to try before you buy, using SVS is ideal! Your registry stays clean, and you can remove the entire application with one swipe.
4. Applications that are installed under SVS can be packaged and run on another machine with SVS installed. Vastly simplifies multiple installs, and allows the initiator to set all settings and configurations once, and roll the package out to other desktops. Altiris calls this desktop provisioning.

How Do I Use It?

Once you’ve downloaded it from

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1941342,00.asp

and installed it, you’ll see a new icon on your desktop:

Double-click the icon to show the main program interface:

To install an application under SVS

Click File > Create New Layer > Install Application, and give the Layer a Name

Then, under Program Name, browse to the installation file , click Open, and then back on the Install Virtual Software dialog box, click Next.

Click Finish. The application will install. Once it’s installed, it will appear in the application list in the SVS interface (see above). If the name is bolded, that means its active.

Activate and Deactivate Layers

To activate a specific application, or “layer”, right click on the application in the list, and choose Activate Layer.

To deactivate a specific application, right click on the application in the list, and choose Deactivate Layer.

Many More Details

There’s a lot more to know about Altiris’ SVS. We strongly suggest reading the documentation (look for the Software Virtualization Solution section, down the list).

Cheers!

RG 123 Technology

OK, this isn’t so much a product as it is a class of products. Actually, a class of services.

Let us explain:

Going back to the beginning of computer time, engineers realized the importance of BACKUPS. “You can never be too safe with critical data!” was the battle cry of many a computer warrior.

Backups began life as critical information copied to large reels of magnetic tape, and then manually carried off-site by THE KEEPER OF THE BACKUP. If an Act of God were to happen upon and smite both the inhabitants and the computers at the live location, the backup was safely removed off-site and data was (hopefully) recoverable.

And thus it was in the 1960’s. And the 70’s. And into the 80’s.

Then, an incredible breakthrough!!!! They made the tapes smaller. Well, a lot smaller… But the concept was exactly the same: Back up to tape, and physically take the tape off-site.

That was the 80’s and the 90’s.

The 21st Century arrived, and things still carried on as they were. But a few years into it, someone had a truly bright idea: how about making a complete “image” copy of the original hard drive (definition: “image copy” is a byte-for-byte duplicate of the hard drive. An exact, well, image). Instead of just saving critical data, we could now save the data and ALL SYSTEM SETTINGS, so that, in the event of, yes, an Act of God, you could recover not just your critical data but also your entire system, without having to reinstall Operating Systems and Applications and reconfiguring everything! Praise be thee, Lord! And pass the Manischevitz!

And it was good. But not as good as good could possibly be.

Problems still remained. There were still a few gaping holes:

1. Data was usually backed up once a day. What would happen if there were a critical failure 23 hours after the last backup?

2. Data was stored off-site only. In the event of a computer problem, major or minor, time to recover from an off-site location was measured in hours, not minutes;

3. There was widespread lack of testing of the integrity of backups. A recent report by a very well respected journal (trust us) has indicated that as many as 70% of all recovery attempts made from backups failed due to one or more reasons, including, most commonly, human error with properly establishing correct backup procedures to begin with.

Alas, it was not so good. Not nearly as good as the goodness originally appeared to be.

But, lo and behold, came the year of two thousand and seven, the same year that the Holy War in the ancient land of Iraq went into it’s fifth year, one year longer than World War II, with no end in sight (pardon the digression).

Two thousand and seven, also known as 2007, saw the introduction of what we at 123 Technology are now considering the Holy Grail of Backup and Recovery.

Picture this:

You are on a Windows server network. Your server is the essential hub of activity. In fact, you are running Windows 2003 Server for Small Business Server (aka, thankfully, “SBS”), which acts as your Active Directory root domain controller, file sharing server, printing server, Microsoft Exchange E-Mail Server, and the collaborative neighborhood called Sharepoint, full of things called ‘blogs’ and ‘wikis’ and ‘process-driven document repositories’ and other scary stuff.

And it’s all pretty scary, and only but a precious few power geeks actually know how the whole thing stays together and works, but everyone knows that daily business life almost completely depends on that server being UP and AVAILABLE to the corporate masses, and that all of the data placed, stored, and retrieved thereupon, therein and therefrom must be kept whole and preserved, and available 99.999% of the time, and that none of said data could ever be irretrievably lost lest the company suffer extermination with the loss of its secret sauce.

Fear not! We now have a solution. From the people-who-love-to-call-everything-by-an-acryonym, and-then-fight-over-what-the-heck-the-acronym-really-means (pwltcebaaatfowthtarm) department comes Continuous Data Protection, or “CDP”.

Ah, this is very good! Very very good, indeed! ! In fact, perhaps most excellent! !! But what the heck does it really mean?

Well wouldn’t you know that of all things, the devil is in the details. And, too, we are hereupon the celebration of the country’s birthday and must go forth into the night and celebrate, so alas, the details will need to be saved for another time, soon to come.

But trust us: it’s really cool.

RG, 123T on this, the one hundred and eight forth day in the year two thousand and seven of the Lord.

Do you have visions of VPN connection hell dancing around in your head? Has your IT department not been able to successfully link your remote notebook via VPN to your company’s internal network, but they’re “working on it”?

VPN connections are notoriously difficult to set up and quite finicky. In addition, if you’re setting up a VPN through your router, you’ll typically need to buy software from the router vendor, and configure both the router and each remote user for VPN access.

For small companies, this can be a real problem.

A little-known company (they seem to always have the best stuff!) created version 1.0 of a product called Hamachi and quickly got snapped up by LogMeIn, who now owns the technology.

“Virtual” VPN

Normal VPN connections make a link into your network using existing IP addresses, including NAT (Network Address Translation) addresses. Hamachi has created what we consider a new segment of the market, and what we call Virtual VPN. You need to set up an account with Hamachi. Then, you install Hamachi on each machine inside and outside your network that you want to be on this new virtual network, and they each get assigned a static IP address from Hamachi’s pool of owned addresses. You’ll have your own, encrypted virtual network up and running quickly.

Here’s a walk-through on how to get it set up:

Create a Hamachi Account and Download the Software

Go to the following web site, and create a new Hamachi account:

https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/vpn.asp

Click the Download Now button. You’ll need to register, including providing a valid email address. On the next page, click the appropriate Download button (there are versions for Windows, Linux, and the Mac OS X).

Installation

Once the software is on your system, double-click the icon and walk through the setup. You’ll note that there are two versions of Hamachi: Basic (which is free) and Premium (which is not free. You can read online about the advantages of the Premium version).

During the installation Hamachi will set up a new ‘Hamachi Network’ network connection.

First Launch

when you first launch Hamachi, you’ll see a Welcome screen, and also Hamachi’s main interface, which will be blank to start:

Hamachi will give you a Quick Guide walk-through of how to use the controls. When you’re ready to launch Hamachi and establish your network, click the Power button.

You’ll be asked to assign your Account a nickname - this is the name of the computer that others will see when they join the network.

Here’s what the Hamachi interface should look like once it’s setup and connected:

and you’ll see a new icon in the Windows taskbar:

Now, you have a ‘node’, but you have not yet created a network. That’s our next step.

Create A Network

Click the Network button, and choose ‘Create a new network‘. You need to create a Network Name; this will be your virtual network name that you’ll use for each station you will add. Give it a Network Password - you’ll need this for each new account setup as well.

When you’ve been successful, you’ll see your network name listed in the box:

Set Up Another Machine to Join the Network

Put the Hamachi installer on a USB key, or even on a floppy disk, and go to another machine that you want to add to your virtual network.

Install as before, but instead of creating a new network, you want to join an existing network, which you can select under network button. You’ll need to enter the Network Name and Network Password.

Repeat for each node you want on your virtual network.

Communicating with other computers on the v-net

To communicate with others on your virtual network, right-click on the computer name. You’ll be able to browse files and folders, share printers, and you’ll even be able to chat IM-style right from within Hamachi!

One Key Rule

The machine from which you first established your new network is considered the ‘master network’ computer. It must be on and must be connected to your virtual network in order for any of the nodes to communicate with any others.

As always, there are more details, which you can explore on your own…

Pretty cool.

- Randy Garland 123 Technology

If you don’t know by now, having a Windows logon password is NOT sufficient to protect the data on your computer. There are many ways, both remotely and locally, that your data can still be accessed.

There are really only two ways to absolutely protect data from prying eyes:

1. Keep the data off your computer, in a safe somewhere, or
2. ENCRYPT your data with a strong and reliable encryption code

Since we’re computer people and can’t imagine having to keep our data jewels in a physical safe, how about an encryption safe on your computer?

TrueCrypt

TrueCrypt is an encryption program that enables you to create your own digital safe. You can create an encrypted file container, or you can encrypt entire hard disk partitions, floppy disks, USB memory sticks, and other storage devices - openable only by you with your secure (!) password. If anyone gets access to that digital safe, they would see the safe as an unintelligible file only.

The rest of this article assumes that you have created a file-hosted safe.

BTW, this tool is FREE. As always, we love FREE.

You can find the download at:

http://www.truecrypt.org. When there, click on Downloads in the toolbar, and then grab the latest stable version (version 4.3a as of the time of this writing). Open and run it to install. At the end of the installation it recommends that you read the Beginner’s Tutorial. We suggest that, too.

Creating Your Encrypted File Container

TrueCrypt creates a file of a size of your choosing, which acts as the container for all forms of data that you’d like to save in it:

• Double-click the TrueCrypt icon on your desktop
• In the dialog box, click the Create Volume button. You have the option of creating a standard or a hidden volume. Select standard, and click Next.
• In the Volume Location dialog box, click the Select File, and browse to the location where you want to place your file store. Give the file store a name (any name; preferably nothing obvious like “encryptedfiles”), and click Save. Then click Next.
• On the next page you have your choice of encryption algorithms; the default settings are perfectly fine (algorithm is AES, and the Hash Algorith is RIPEMD-160). Click Next.
• Next, decide how big you want your file store to be. If you want a 1 GB file store, enter 1000 (1000 MB = 1 GB). Click Next.
• On the Volume Password screen, you need to create your password. This is critical. You want it secure, but you don’t want it so cumbersome that it’s difficult to open the file store every time you want to access it.

As an aside, Microsoft defines a strong password as one that has the following characteristics:

1. Is at least seven (7) characters long
2. Has at least one character from at least three of the four following categories:
   1. Capital Letters
   2. Lowercase Letters
   3. Numbers
   4. Characters (such as #,$, %)

An example of a safe password:

Tio9*az – Capital letter, lowercase letter, number, AND character.

• Once your entered and confirmed your password, click Next.
• On the Volume Format page, set the filesystem to NTFS if you’re running anything later than Windows 98. Then (and this might sound strange), spend 30 seconds wiggling your mouse around on the dialog box. This randomizes the hash algorithm for your data store. It’s actually important.
• Once you’re done wiggling, click Format. TrueCrypt will now build your file store.
• When it’s done, you’ll see the Volume Created dialog box. Click Exit.

Using TrueCrypt

Here is a picture of the main TrueCrypt interface:

(Click to Enlarge)

Click on Select File and find the file store you created. If you want TrueCrypt to remember that location and automatically fill in the location for you in the future, Uncheck the Never Save History box. It’s less secure (anyone who accesses your machine and opens TrueCrypt would know the name and location of your file store), but it’s more convenient. Your call.

Then click an open drive letter from the list at the top, and then click the Mount button and enter your (safe!) password. Leave the check boxes unchecked, and click OK.

Your file store will now be unencrypted and will appear as the drive letter you selected. You now have full access to the data in the file store.

When you’re done working on your files, re-open TrueCrypt, click the Dismount button, and the file store is safely encrypted again.

Usability Notes

A few quick tips will make TrueCrypt a bit easier to work with:

1. Right after you’ve selected a drive letter, clicked Mount, and entered your password, go up to the toolbar and select Volumes, and choose Save Currently Mounted Volumes as Favorite. This will set it so that the same drive letter is always used for that particular file store. You won’t have to choose a drive letter, and it’s also good if you have more than one file store – assign them to different drive letters.
2. In the toolbar, choose Settings > Preferences. We recommend you Check the following settings:
   1. Auto Dismount: Auto-dismount volume after no data has been read/written to it for 60 minutes (or less).
   2. Windows: Open Explorer window for successfully mounted volume
   3. Password Cache: Wipe cached passwords on exit

There are lots of other options, a way for you to place an encrypted file store on a USB key (or encrypt the whole key), and more. Read the Help files for details.

Randy Garland 123 Technology

One of the major causes of slowdowns with desktops is the number of applications or applets that start up automatically when you boot your machine. Often unbeknownst to you, as you install new applications on your computer, they often set up pieces of code to automatically start. A lot of these you don’t need and don’t want to have taking up memory on your system.

Here are a few examples:

1. Quicken and Quickbooks – Both automatically setup the Billminder to automatically start when your computer starts. You might not even use Billminder, but it’s there, consuming memory. Also, Quickbooks, and I believe Quicken too, installs a run time program to automatically check for updates. Shut it off! They’ll remind you periodically anyway that you “haven’t checked for updates in a while…” and you can do so manually.
2. Adobe Reader – We’re not big fans of Adobe Reader to begin with. It is HUGE compared to other PDF readers out there. But if you insist on using it, just know that a piece of Adobe Reader starts up every time you start your machine. Why? Because, when you DO go to open up Adobe, they want it to open FAST. So they pre-load some code, and it’s eating memory, all the time.
3. Same story for some versions of Microsoft Office. There’s a component that automatically starts up with your computer, to make all their apps open faster when you call on them. We turn this off.

So, how do you control just what’s going on with your computer at startup time? Well, you’re reading the right blog…

StartupCPL

This was written by an MIT grad named Mike Lin, and has been around for years. Go to:

www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

You’ll find an introduction, a ‘tip jar’ (please donate if you can), and then down below, two choices of downloads: A control panel and a standalone executable. The standalone executable is a ‘run it once, use it, and it goes away’ application; the Control Panel actually creates a new Control Panel in Windows Control Panel. You can use either, but we install the Control Panel.

Simply save the file, then unzip it and run it. It installs with one click.

If you’ve installed the Control Panel version, if you go to Start > Settings > Control Panel, you find a new control panel icon that looks like this:

Double-click the icon, and you’ll see this interface:

Click each tab to see what’s starting up at start up time. Uncheck the items you don’t want. Then re-start your machine. If you notice anything not working the way you need it to, go back to the Control Panel and review what you unchecked. You need to be a bit conservative here.

Always looking for speed…

Randy Garland

123 Technology, LLC

The software environment for remote access to computers has blossomed in the last few years. Using one of the many solutions now available, you could, for example, from any broadband Internet connection in the world, log on to your home/office computer and access the computer as if you were sitting right in front of it. Need to work on a document that sits on your computer at work, from home? Remote Access. Want to view your email that sits on your home/office computer in Outlook or Outlook Express and you’re half-way around the world? Remote Access. Lots of possibilities.

The two serious contenders in this category are Citrix’ GoToMyPC and LogMeIn from LogMeIn.

The two go back and forth in terms of features offered and quality of connections. Generally, LogMeIn is less expensive. Better yet, LogMeIn has an absolutely FREE version. We like free. Hence, our pick is LogMeIn.

SETUP

Here’s what you do to set up your free LogMeIn account:

From the computer you will want to access remotely, visit www.logmein.com

On the home page, there’s a big green button that reads ‘Get LogMeIn Free Click Here’. Click the link

On the next page, toward the bottom, you are asked for your email address, zip code, and a password to create an account. Answer a couple of quick questions, and Go

You’ll then be asked to Download software and run it on your computer. When the setup is done, you’re just about ready.

View your email inbox for the account you just set up with LogMeIn. There will be a message from them, asking you to verify your email address. Click the link in the message

Setup is done!

REMOTE ACCESS

To access your computer from literally any computer that has a broadband Internet connection:

1. From the local computer, open a browser and go to www.logmein.com
2. At the top of the page, enter your email address and password that you used to establish your LogMeIn account
3. Once you’ve signed in, you’ll be presented with a list of computers to which you could connect. Select the computer you set up
4. After a plug-in download for your browser, a window – your ‘target’ computer’s window – will appear. You’ve got connection, and you’ve got control.

At this point, you can do just about anything you could normally do if you were actually sitting in front of the computer itself.

With the free version of LogMeIn, there are two limitations:

1. You cannot transfer files between your ‘local’ and ‘target’ computers
2. You cannot print something that’s on your ‘target’ computer to your ‘local’ computer

For that, you’d need to sign up for their paid version, LogMeIn Pro, which is currently $12.95 per month, or, if you prepay, $70 per year ( a deal!). This compares to GoToMyPC which will set you back either $19.95 per month or $180 per year, prepaid.

FYI, LogMeIn has a bunch of other products, two of which we use quite often: LogMeIn Rescue, which allows 123 Technology engineers to quickly access a customer’s PC to remotely troubleshoot problems, and LogMeIn IT Reach, which allows us to monitor and receive automatic alerts from remote computers.

Randy Garland

123 Technology

If you’re an Internet junkie (who isn’t), then you will find Roboform indispensable. It’s the kind of utility that grows on you, and over time you’ll come to realize just how much easier and safer your online surfing experience can be by using this browser toolbar plug-in.

Pass on the Cookies and Windows Auto-Fill

First, a word on Cookies and Windows’ Auto-fill feature: both are used to capture and maintain information entered into form fields, to make your life easier the next time you come to that particular form on that particular page. Nice. But inherently unsafe. 123 Technology’s recommendation: don’t ever choose the ‘remember my password’ choice on a web site where you’ve just entered your username and password. This goes straight to a cookie (a text file), where a very simple and crackable encryption algorithm is applied. It’s unsafe. Don’t do it. Consider yourself warned : )

As far as Windows auto-fill, it’s unclear just where Windows stores this information. Scary. Instead…

Passcards

Roboform saves what it calls ‘Passcards,’ which are something like browser bookmarks on steroids. A passcard stores not only the URL, or web site location, but also login information such as username and password. When you click on a Passcard from the Roboform toolbar in your browser, it automatically:

1. Goes to the website
2. Enters your field information, such as username and password in the appropriate field
3. Hits the Enter key for you, so that you are automatically signed on

Do a lot of Google searching? How about being able to auto search on pre-saved search keywords or phrases? You can save a particular word or phrase that you enter in the Google search field as a Passcard. Then, select the Passcard, and steps 1,2, and 3, above, will happen automatically.

You can also create and save a Windows shortcut to any Passcard you want. So, if there is a site or a few sites that you access very frequently, you just need to double-click the shortcut. That will open your browser automatically, and then perform steps 1, 2, and 3, above.

Personal Profiles and Web Forms.

Roboform lets you create and store personal profiles containing information such as your Name, Mailing Addresses, Phone Numbers, Email Addresses, Instant Messaging Account Information, Business Information, Bank Account data, Credit Cards information, and more. Enter as much or as little as you like. You can then use your Personal Profile to automatically fill in web forms. You can on-the-fly select from multiple addresses, multiple credit cards, and so on, to choose what data to enter in a form.

Safenotes

You can also create sticky-notes style files containing any secret text data for just about anything. These are also encrypted and protected by Roboform (see below about Passwords and Encryption).

Password Generator

Added Bonus Feature: Do you want to create a password that is actually secure, instead of using your standard password ‘fluffy67′? The Roboform toolbar has a Password Generator, which will generate a randomized passwords with all the criteria you request (such as length, whether it needs to include uppercase, lowercase, numbers, etc.). Then you can copy and paste the strong password, and save it in a Passcard. Never use the same password twice, and get safe by throwing away your old standards.

Master Password and Encryption

All Roboform files and data, and access to them, can be protected from prying eyes (or fingers) with a Master Password that you can set. All files are encrypted with a virtually uncrackable, worldwide standard encryption algorithm.

IMPORTANT NOTE: YOU MUST REMEMBER YOUR MASTER PASSWORD. IF YOU FORGET THAT, THEN YOUR ALL YOUR ROBOFORM DATA WILL BE LOST TO YOU (OR ANYONE ELSE) FOREVER!

Backup and Restore

You MUST backup your Roboform data. If a lightning bolt hits your computer and your hard disk is destroyed, your Roboform data will be gone, too. If you’ve stored username/password information on hundreds of sites like me, you’ll know what pain and panic really feel like.

Roboform has a rudimentary Backup capability which really just copies your data from its home folder to another folder of your choice. We strongly recommend that you periodically print out your entire Roboform data and save the hardcopy in a very safe place, away from your computer.

But Wait! There’s More!

Of course; there’s always more. But we can’t spend any more time or space on this gem of a utility. Download yourself a copy (free for up to 20 saved passcards) and read the manual. I know you don’t read manuals. Read this one. You’ll be amazed at all the other features.

Enjoy!

Try to go to the Windows Update page with Firefox, and you’ll find that you just can’t update your operating system unless you’re “running Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later.”

Well Of COURSE Microsoft won’t let you download their update to their Operating System for a browser other than their own!

But there is a quick and tidy solution for this and other IE-dependent web sites: IE Tab for Firefox.

Installation (running version 1.5 or 2.x of Firefox):

1. Go to the IE Tab Add-On Page, and click the Install Now button. A window that looks like this will pop up:

2. Click the Install Now button. A new window will pop up showing a quick install, and then asking you to click a button to Restart Firefox. Click the button. When you’re back in Firefox, it’s ready to go.

How To Use:

3. In Firefox, right-click the tab that you are working in, and you’ll see the following pull-down menu:

4. Left click Switch rendering engine, and the page will re-draw using the Internet Explorer engine! You’ll know your page is being rendered by IE by the little icon in the tab:

Now, try re-loading the Win Update page, and you’ll see it’ll be perfectly happy working within Firefox.

To switch back to Firefox, simply open a different tab, or do the same steps above; namely, right-click the tab and select Switch rendering engine. You’ll be back, safe and warm at home.

Enjoy!

As we mentioned in #10 on this Top Ten list, one of the great things about Mozilla’s Firefox is the hundreds of add-ons, written by third-party companies and individuals that take Firefox from Excellent to The Best. We use many add-ons, but if we had to select one, indispensable add-on that everyone surfing the Internet with Firefox should have, it is IE Tab by Hong Jen Yee.

There are STILL some web sites, most of which use either .asp or .aspx scripting languages, that don’t work quite right in Firefox and for which you would normally need to crank up Internet Explorer to make full (or in some cases, any) use of. A perfect example is Microsoft’s own Windows Update page.

But with IE Tab installed, you CAN run Windows Update right from Firefox. The ultimate compatibility test.

Read our blog entry on how to Install and Use IE Tab.