Thumbs.db is a Windows Xp file that is used to cache the thumbnails of a folder, and it can be very annoying to say the least. If you want to get rid of Thumbs.db take the following steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Click Tools -> Folder Options -> Open the View tab.
3. Make sure that Do not cache thumbnails is checked.
4. Click the Apply to all folders button.
5. Click OK.

As probably many of you know Microsoft was about to offer Windows 7 BETA as a free download and in fact it did - they posted the files with some delay but then pulled them since their servers couldn’t handle the overwhelming traffic.

Right now the Windows 7 default page displays the message:
Thanks for your interest in the Windows 7 Beta. The volume has been phenomenal—we’re in the process of adding more servers to handle the demand. We’re sorry for the delay and we’ll re-post the Beta as soon as we can ensure a quality download experience.

Anyway if you want to download Windows 7 BETA then this is the page you should keep your eye on:
Windows 7 HOME page

PS I am aware of all the torrents that have been around for a while but I wouldn’t advise you getting Windows 7 from an unknown source.

Try Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Character Map, then choose the symbol you want (say the copyright character) and click on it, click the Select button and then click the Copy button to copy the symbol to the clipboard, open your text editor and paste it there. It’s that easy ;)

If you are looking for a free and really good hardware and software diagnostic tool which can help you solving almost any computer problem then you are presented with a few options with and if you are running Windows Ultimate Boot CD for Windows is by far one of the best products available right now, and above all it is a freeware.

As of this moment Ultimate Boot CD for Windows works with Windows 2K / XP / 2003, as for Vista it can still be used but you have to be cautious, please read the FAQs on the site for further info. So what exactly is Ultimate Boot CD for Windows and how can it help me fix my computer problems?

Ultimate Boot CD for Windows comes with the following programs:

• Anti-Spyware Tools


• AntiVirus Tools


• Disk Tools


• File Management tools


• Network Tools


• Password Tools


• Registry Tools


• System Information Tools


• Applications


• CD Burning Applications

Once you download Ultimate Boot CD for Windows for free if you have any questions you can always go to the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows forum and get help.

Great cool way to customize and organize your desktop is using docks. Two great programs that can do that are Stardock ObjectDock and RocketDock.

Both applications are quite easy to use and provide a number of way to customize your desktops, both are pretty light on your system resources, and on top of all look really cool!

Here are two screenshots from a computer running Windows XP with ObjectDock installed - as you can see you have the options to hide (or not) the Windows task bar and use the dock alone for your needs, you can add or remove programs to the dock, launch your browsers from there, check your email, check out the weather, launch a number of your favorite applications and many other features. Well, above all, it is free (the Plus version costs $19.95 at this moment) so you have niothing to lose!

If you are looking for good data recovery software then you have a few options:

GetDataBack - this program will recover your data if your hard drive boot sector or the partition table have been damaged, even after fdisk was ran. The software comes with free demo.

EasyRecovery Professional - Trial Edition - if you need another good data recovery software - DO NOT download and install on the SAME media or partition on which you are experiencing data loss!!!. Please read carefully the web page including the FAQs on how to download, install, and use EasyRecovery.

If you have a device that is marked as uknown device in the Device manager you can use these free programs to find out what the deivce is, its model, manufacturer etc, which will help you get the right driver for that device and install it properly:

Unknown Device Identifier 6.01
Unknown Devices

If you right click on your taskbar then go to Tools and you don’t see Language bar option there are a few things that you can try to fix that problem.

1. Click Start then Control Panel then double click Regional and Language Options open the Languages tab then click Details.
Under Preferences click Langiage bar then make sure that Show aditional Language bar icons in the taskbar is checked.

2. Click Start then Control Panel then double click Regional and Language Options open the Languages tab then click Details.
Open the Advanced tab, make sure that Turn off advanced tetx services is un-checked!

3. If option 1 and 2 don’t fix your problem then click Start then Run, type regsvr32 msutb.dll amd press Enter. Type regsvr32 mlang.dll and press Enter again.

Various web sites offer free online virus scanner, here we list the three best known:

BitDefender online scanner

Kaspersky online scanner

Active Scan

AntivirusTrigger is another rogue anti-spyware program just like AntiVirus 2009, and it also displays fake security alerts and prompts the user to purchase the program.

How to remove AntivirusTrigger:

1. Download Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware and save it to your desktop, close all running programs and browser windows, double click on the installation file to install the program.

2. During the installation leave all the default options, do not change anything.

3. If prompted to update the program click OK, once you see the main window choose “Quick Scan” and press the “Scan” button.

4. Wait for the scan to finish, depending on your hard drive size and number of files you have this might take some time.

5. Once the scan is finished you should see: The scan completed successfully. Click “Show Results” to display all objects found.. Hit OK then click the Show Results button. Click the Remove Selected button. Wait for the program to remove the found malware and then close it.

6. Close the program and restart the computer.

7. Please do not download and install programs from unknown sites, in most cases viruses and trojans are masked as video codecs, use only well known and trusted sites for your downloads.

Are you looking for a parental control software to block access to adult sites on your kids’ computer?
In this post I will list some of the best programs that are available at this moment.

1. Net Nanny - this is one of the best known commercial products that can be used to protect children from viewing questionable content.

2. CyberSitter - another similar product which can help you filter web content.

3. CyberPatrol can be used for blocking offensive websites and protecting personal information.

4. If you use Windows Vista that you can use the built-in parental control software, if you want to learn how to set it up please visit this link.

1. Double click on the MyComputer icon, once it opens right click on the C drive (or other drive you want to check) and choose Properties.
2. Open the Tools tab.
3. Click the Error-checking Check Now button.

4. You are presented with two options, check them both and press Start.

1. Note where your dll is located sice you’ll need to enter the full path with the name of the dll (for this example C:\Windows\System32\new.dll).
1. Click Start.
2. Click RUn.
3. Type regsvr32 C:\Windows\System32\new.dll.
4. Click OK.
5. A message will pop-up to inform you if the registration was successful.

When you press Ctrl+Alt+Del that shold bring up your task manager. If you get an error message when trying this then it is very likely that your computer has been infected. Please run a complete virus and malware scan and see if that fixes it for you.

One more thing you can try is locate your taskmanager - navigate to C:\Windows\System32 and search for a file named taskmgr.exe, if it is there and gives you errors when double clikcing it then you should try the first step I suggested.

If you on the other hand get a message Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator then you can fix it by editing your registry.

You can download and use FileDate Changer - it works with Windows 95,98,ME,NT,2000,XP and allows you to change the Created/Modified/Accessed dates of one or more files.

If you are running Windows XP then do the following:
right click on your desktop-> select Properties -> Desktop -> Customize Desktop -> select Recycle Bin (full) and then click RESTORE DEFAULT

If that doesn’t work here’s something else you could try:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q810869

All the best

If you want to get sound from a youtube video and save it in mp3 format go to http://vixy.net/ , paste the youtube video url, choose the format you want to convert the video to (in this case mp3), and hit the Start button, wait for the conversion to finish, then download the mp3 file.

That’s it, you are done!

Another site you can use for exactly the same purpose is http://www.convertmytube.com/

System Restore is a utility (for Windows XP, Windows Me, and Windows Vista) which allows you to restore your data back to a previous date.

How to use System Restore (Windows XP): Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> click System Restore, make sure that Restore my computer to an earlier time is selected and click the Next button. Choose a restore point (the dates ou can choose from are in bold), and then continue with the Wizzard.

System Restore will undo any changes made to the sytem but your files and all programs installed will remain intact.

“We’re sorry, currently our video library can only be streamed within the United states. For more information on Hulu’s international availability, click here.”

If you see this message when you try to watch a video on hulu.com, then you are out of luck. Well, almost. There is a workaround:

Go to hotspotshield.com and download and install their software. It will give you an US proxy (US IP address) and you will be able to watch movies on hulu.com and veoh.com. Well, it will slow down your connection and the movies might not load as fast as you want them to, but as soon as you are done with the videos, you simply turn HotSpotShiled off and continue browsing with your normal speed.

Step one - get rid of all the viruses, spyware, malware, adware which might be running on your computer.

Here is a very simple tutorial on how to remove adware, malware, and spyware.

Now it is time to scan for viruses. Download the free AVG anti-virus, install it, and run a full scan. If you have AVG Anti-Virus already (or other Anti-Virus program) update the database before running the scan.

Step two - Windows updates. Make sure that you have the latest Windows updates installed on your computer. If you have your Windows updates turned off you might want to turn them back on or manually get the latest Windows updates.

Step three - take a look at your Startup programs. Once installed many programs insist on starting every time you boot up your computer. To remove some of them click the Start buttin -> click Run -> type msconfig -> press Enter -> open the Startup tab -> disable the programs that you don’t want to run on Start up.

Step four - uninstall programs you don’t use any longer. In order to do that go to Start -> COntrol Panel -> Add or Remove programs, see what programs you don’t use any more and uninstall them.

Step five - tune up Windows XP for best performance. Start -> Control Panel -> System -> open the Advanced tab -> under Performance click the Settings button -> select Adjust for best preformance.

Step five - be cool! If you are spending considerable time surfing the Net make sure you do that with Firefox or Chrome. This will not speed up Windows XP per se but it will sure make your life better!