PC - freeware - Tutorials

 

VDownloader
Released here

You will (almost) forget internet browsers

I am serious! I was lost in this software for almost an hour and didn’t even had to open Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox (or Internet Explorer for those who still use IE). The advantage being, I was surfing the internet like I regularly do and was downloading videos (plus converting them to the most comfortable format any one of us can dream of) simultaneously. All this was happening in just one single piece of software and this made my life look extremely simple. I was in heaven, literally!



VDownloader is extremely simple to use application with 5 buttons on its left side bar that are enough to control your computer as well as your complete surfing habits. The small size of the setup file (6.62 MB on my system) makes it easy to download and less CPU hungry. The application can be made to run in background so that your favorite videos are download regularly while you are busy handling other useful tasks of yours. One might not believe this but the simple looking features of VDownloader make this application the complete video downloading engine that video junkies die for.

Design

Just once, take a close look at the screenshot below and try to find out something complex in this application.



So, were you actually able to find anything overly complex in your first glance? Hell no! The reason is simple. Complexity and VDownloader are two totally opposite words that have no relationship whatsoever between themselves. VDownloader has been designed keeping in mind the average Internet user who is not aware (and not even interested) in anything fancy while he/she is busy searching for some of the best videos. The Activity Button is where the basic feature of the application lies.



As show above, all that you have to do is enter the Video URL and opt for the output format in which you want your downloaded video to be saved. The application has various forms of output formats available that will make life a lot easier for an average video downloader. From windows media player compatibility to iPad compatibility, VDowloader handles everything without any downsides.

One can set default output formats by changing the settings of the applications so that all videos are download in that particular format by default. Setting timers, default folders to save downloaded videos, surfing your downloaded history, surfing through your disk to look for more videos, searching videos from the Internet and surfing the web for your own personal use are some of the few features that VDownloader boasts about.

Features

The tiny VDownloader has plenty of features which (at times) contradict its size but (somehow) are unbelievably true. As you can always surf through all the features of VDownloader on its website henceforth, we will concentrate on some of the attractive features that make this simple looking application extraordinary.



VDownloader supports more than 10 languages thus making it extremely easy to use for people from around the planet. Nobody has been spared from YouTube mania. Not even a single country. With the spur of YouTube people have constantly tried to download different videos from YouTube for there collection and also to avoid bandwidth problems. Such softwares that can be used by users in any part of the world tend to increase their reach amongst its customers. From English to Chinese, VDownloader can understand literally anything.



Here comes one of the best features of VDownloader – scheduler! You can edit software settings so that the application downloads videos only during weekends, weekdays or during some predefined hours thus making your downloading habits highly controllable. Decide the time when your Internet bandwidth is least used and set VDownloader to complete the downloads during that time period. Now, you won’t have to face slow Internet problems due to parallel downloads and you won’t even have to worry about starting/stopping downloads when your Internet is free. VDownloader does the honors for you.



To add on to the above scheduler feature one can go ahead and start batch downloads (check File Menu) during those free hours so as to utilize your Internet bandwidth to the max. After all you are paying for the same then why not squeeze out even the last drop from the bandwidth that you receive?



Lets face the reality! No Internet based downloader is complete without the search based feature. Folks behind VDownloader are also pretty much aware of the above fact hence they have come up with their own kind of search feature. You search for what you want to download and Vdownloader will search for the same keywords in four different websites at the same time. Later on it will be your choice if you want to watch the video online or rather download it for your collection. The websites that VDownloader search supports are YouTube, Google, Yahoo! Video and DailyMotion (literally enough to quench your thirst for videos!)



Lastly, the side feature of VDownloader that makes it the perfect package. Using the web feature of VDownloader you can surf literally any website and download videos from that website provided that the particular page has some video that can be downloaded.

Conclusion

All in all, Vdownloader is the perfect package for those who are looking for a free video downloader with basic features and something extra for those who are looking for a video downloader which is different from its counterparts. It is worth a try due to its small size and CPU cycle saving capabilities. No reasons why one should not try VDownloader at least once.

Pros

• Small in size.
  
• Simple to use.
  
• Consumes less CPU cycles and literally no RAM.
  
• Can download videos in batch.
  
• Downloads can be scheduled on weekly basis.
  
• Converts videos to almost every possible format.
  
• Basic features are free to use.

Cons

• No help manual available. Though the application is simple to use yet a help manual is a must with every software that goes live on the Internet.
  
• History feature can be a bit confusing to use.
  
• Test download not explain properly. The application requests to edit the TestList.txt file to perform download tests but does not give the exact path of TestList.txt file. It is actually present in the folder where the software is installed (Usually C:Program FilesVDownloader)
  
• Beware before you edit the proxy settings (see image below) from this software. The large buttons for various browsers when clicked change the proxy settings of those particular browsers (if the checkbox for Enable local proxy server is checked) instantly. This can hamper your browsers connection to the Internet. It did the same in my case and I had to dig into the settings of Internet Explorer and Chrome to disable proxy which VDownloader had enable due to one single click. So, think before you click!

Securely Store Your Passwords with KeePass (Released here)

There has been a lot of attention in the news lately about email passwords being compromised. Today we take a look at using KeePass to secure your passwords in an encrypted database so no one can get a hold of them.

KeePass

For this article we are using KeePass 2.09 but you can still download the Classic Edition as well, which you may want to do so you can use certain plugins. Installation is straight forward and after installing KeePass, the first thing is to create a new password database by clicking on File \ New.



You will need to come up with a Master Password which is the only one you will need to remember moving forward. Make sure and pick a strong password with several characters, symbols, and numbers. It can be an entire phrase, sentence, or whatever you want it to be with virtually any characters you want.

Alternatively you can use a Key File which a master password in a file. This makes it so you don’t have to remember a long Master Password, but if it gets lost and not backed up you’re out of luck. Also, you want to keep the file in a secret location other than your local hard drive, malware attacks can find it if it’s openly available on your hard drive.



Now you can start entering in your passwords. To start Right-click the open window on the right and choose Add Entry.



Fill in the identifying fields and the password for the entry.



Rather than typing in your own password you can have KeePass generate a random one.



After an entry is made you can Right-click to get a menu of different options.



When you exit out of KeePass you will need to save your changes. Click the box below to automatically save when exiting out.



If someone were to get a hold of the Database, they will need the Master Password you created to do anything with it. Again we need to stress how important your Master Password is, make sure it is something no one can guess. Your date of birth, favorite pets name, 12345, etc are horrible passwords and can be guessed easily.



Another neat utility in KeePass is the Random Password Generator which will create a random password with as many or few types of characters you want to include.



Plug-ins

There are several interesting plugins which add additional functionality and compatibility with other apps.

Note: Unfortunately not all Plugins will work with all versions of KeePass.



In the Plugins section you can configure them and find more by clicking on the link.



More Password Tips

Again, we need to mention to make sure your passwords are strong and is something no one can guess. Your password is the only thing between you and your accounts that contain important personal information. Your pets name, favorite kids name, “123456″, “qwerty”, “password”…etc are poor choices. Here are some other tips to follow for creating strong passwords and keeping your accounts secure.

• Don’t user real words and make sure there are upper and lower case characters, numbers, and symbols included in your passwords.
  
• Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts. If someone gets your email password and you use it for your online banking or other sites, the accounts will be compromised.
  
• Don’t give your password to anyone ever. Even if you think you can trust your spouse or best friend, it just adds to the potential of it being compromised in some fashion.
  
• Don’t write your passwords down and leave them under your keyboard or in some other obvious place. You would think this should go without saying, but in my IT career I’ve been shocked at how many user I have seen do this.
  
• Don’t use short passwords, make sure they are at least 8 characters.
  
• Use a password management tool like KeePass or if you use Firefox to manage them, make sure you create a Master Password to protect them.
  
• Change your passwords periodically. Usually in an office, the IT staff requires you to change your login and other passwords every 3-6 months. You also what to change your passwords for your online accounts as well. If you know your password(s) have been compromised then change them right away so your accounts can’t be accessed.

Conclusion

With KeePass keeping your passwords safe in an encrypted database and following strong password practices, you can have peace of mind knowing your personal data is secure.

music2pc (Released here)

Getting started
Following is a Quick Start Guide to using music2pc.

1. Install music2pc or Run the Program from Floppy, CD, USB etc.

2. Enter an artist name or song title in the "Enter artist name or song title to search mp3 for:" field.



3. Change output file folder in "Your default download location is:" box, if necessary.



4. Press the "Search" button.



5. Select a song you want to download in the results by clicking on the "Download" button. The song will then download to your computer.



6. Enjoy your newly downloaded MP3 file by clicking the "Play" button.



7. You can locate your downloaded mp3 files by pressing the "Open folder ..." link.

Handbrake for Windows Usage Guide Released ( here)

First things first. Handbrake does NOT decrypt commercial DVD or Blu-ray discs. It only supports sources that DO NOT contain any form of copy protection!

Third-party software is required in order to remove copy protection before encoding. There is plenty of software available for this task, but it will not be discussed in this article. Feel free to Google and research the various options available.

Warning: Please note that decrypting copy protected sources is not legal in all countries. You should consult the law in your own country before using these applications.

This guide will talk you through how to use install and use Handbrake. Let's begin:

Stage 1 – Install Handbrake.

Simply download the “Windows GUI” from the Handbrake download page then run the installer. It's that simple.

You may additionally have to install the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 Please note, this must be installed even if .NET version 4 is installed. 4 is not backwards compatible.

HandBrake's installer should inform you if you do not have it installed, but this is not 100% reliable.

Stage 2 – Using Handbrake

When you launch the program you will be faced with the below interface. This is the point where you… DON’T run away in fear. It’s not as scary as it looks.



Stage 3 – Selecting a Source file

Firstly what you need to do is click the "Source" button which will give you 3 options.

• Video File : Use this if you plan on converting a video file. (e.g. a file that ends with .mp4, .wmv etc)
  
• Folder : Use this option to select a DVD / Bluray drive or a Video_ts folder which is located on your hard drive
  
• DVD Drive Option : If HandBrake detects a DVD movie in your drive, it'll show the name of the disc and you can simply select this option.

Depending on what option you select, you will either see a file or folder selection window appear. Simply select the source or drive, and click the "OK" or "Open" buttons.

After selecting your source, HandBrake will scan it and setup the GUI for that source.

Stage 4 – Selecting a Title and Chapters

There is a drop-down menu named "Title:". You are given a list of Titles on the source. Select the one you wish to encode. (The one with the longest duration is usually the main movie.)
By Default, HandBrake will *try* to select the main title for your source. On some sources you may need to change this as it is not always the correct title.
If you are unsure which title to select, open the source in a Media or DVD player application and watch what title it selects for playback.

When encoding sources where there are multiple titles (e.g. TV episodes), you may wish to encode several of them. After you've encoded a title, you can simply select the next one from the list and encode it. You may also want to look into using the queue as this will automate the encoding process.

Stage 5 – Setting up the Output File.

Click the "Browse" button in the Destination box. Browse to where you wish to save the output video. Type in a file name. Click "Save".

Note, You can enable/disable and configure automatic file naming in the program options. (See "Tools" Menu > "Options")

Stage 6 – Encoding Settings (using presets)

Choose a preset from the Preset list. This will automatically setup the all the required settings. All you need to do now is press the "Encode Video" button and wait for it to finish.

"Normal" and "High Profile" are good starting points for watching on your computer or TV. "Universal" may be better suited to mobile devices.

Note, although many of the presets are targeted at Apple devices, they may well work fine on competitor devices also. You can experiment by performing short encodes (Select a chapter range of 1-1 for example to encode a small part of a video)

Stage 6.1 – Encoding Settings without presets

You'll need to do some experimentation when setting options manually. It's recommended you start with the closest preset and adjust it as required.
You should look through the rest of the documentation on this wiki for information on what each of HandBrake's features do.

Stage 7 – Start the Encode and Queueing items

If you have a source with multiple titles, you can queue these up using the "Add to Queue" button.

Alternatively, you can simply press the "Start" button to begin encoding. This will encode your current job, and also work through any items sitting on the Queue.

Notes:

Encode times will be anywhere from a few minutes to many hours depending on the length of the video, the settings which are being used and the hardware in your PC.

The Query Editor from previous releases is now hidden by default. This can be enabled in the program options. Only advanced users should enable this feature.

How to Mount an Image to a Virtual Drive

This tutorial will show you how to mount a cd image file to a virtual drive. Most programs that you will download will be in a disk image format (ISO, BIN/CUE, etc.). In most cases you will have to burn the images to a CD or DVD so that you can install the program. It is a waste of a CD to burn the program and then install it. You can save from having to burn disks by using a virtual drive. A virtual drive is a drive that is not physically there, but will trick your computer into thinking that you have another CD/DVD drive. It will load the CD image file off the disk and then run the installation just like it would from a burnt disk. This can also be used to launch some no CD cracks for certain games.

For this tutorial I will be using Daemon Tools (released here). DAEMON Tools is a virtual cd/dvd-rom emulator. It is able to emulate nearly all known copy protections on the market today.” It is also a free program, so I thought it would be an excellent choice. Daemon tools will allow us to create as many virtual drives as we need.

First you will need to Download Daemon Tools. Once downloaded, double Click the icon to run the installer. Follow the on screen direction (You will probably just use the default selections). After you install Daemon Tools, you will have to restart your computer.



Now you will see that Daemon Tools is running in the task bar.



To mount an image, right click on the Daemon Tools taskbar icon and selection “Virtual CD/DVD-ROM then “Device 0:” then “Mount Image”.



Now browse to your image file (I will be using the latest version of Ubuntu Linux.)

Daemon tools will automatically run the disk if it is an autoexecutable.



You can also browse the CD if you go into My Computer and select your Virtual Drive.



You will notice that it is just like browsing the actual disk.



Now if for some reason you may want to add another virtual drive. Right click on Daemon Tools, then select “Virtual CD/DVD-ROM” then “select number of devices. There you can select up to 4 drives.



When you are finished with the mounted images, you will want to unmount it. Leaving multiple images will affect your PC’s performance negatively. To unmount an image right click on the Daemon Tools task bar icon and select “Virtual CD/DVD-ROM” then select the device you want to unmount and click unmount.



Now take sometime to explore some of the other functionality of Daemon Tools. I hope this tutorial helped you create a virtual drive and mount an image file. Hope fully it will save some coasters (used CD’s) in the process.

Easily Backup Data with Karen’s Replicator (Released here)

Backing up data is one of the most crucial jobs to perform, though many of us don’t always remember to do it as often as we should. To make sure your data is backed up today we look at Karen’s Replicator, a free set-it and forget it backup utility.

Using Karen’s Replicator

This back up application is part of Karen’s Power Tools suite (free for personal use) that contains several other handy utilities. Installing Karen’s Replicator is quick and easy following the installation wizard.



When you first run the application you will need to add a backup job by clicking on Edit Settings.



The Edit Settings screen comes up where you will want to click on the New Job button.



Now go in and set up the new job by selecting the source to backup, the backup location, and other settings for the job.



Explorer will open when you click Browse to set up the destination and source folders for the backup.



You can change and customize the backup schedule to your liking.



If you need any help with any of the categories while setting up a job just click on the Show Tips button to get the details.



After you have set up your backup jobs make sure to click Save Changes and Close.



Now in the main screen you will see the job you created and select to have it run right away.



To make sure all of your jobs run according to their schedule, make sure to minimize the application and not exit out of it.



Another handy feature is being able to review different backup logs.



There are several additional options you can customize to your liking as well.



If you are looking for a free and easy way to perform schedule backups for your data, you might want to check out Karen’s Replicator. It works with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and I had no problems with it on Windows 7.

This utility is free for personal and non-commercial use.

How to rip a DVD to the hard disk using DVDFab HD Decrypter

Released here.

Most the DVD editing / converting tasks begin by ripping the DVD data in your hard disk, for various reasons. For example, DVDs are encrypted and by default most programs do not read these CSS encrypted files. Ripping the DVD files to the hard disk takes care of that and speeds up the process greatly as you only access the DVD once and then read all the data from the hard disk which is of course much faster and reduces the stress on your DVD drive that would have to keep working for many hours in case you were transcoding the DVD to another format.

The tool we are going to use the the free DVDFab HD Decrypter, probably the most common choice to rip a DVD since DVD Decrypter's development ceased. You can download it for free from here.

Step 1



This is the main DVDFab window. Please note that in the free version only the top two options are available, "Full Disc" and "Main Movie". As you suspect, the first one copies everything the DVD has (including menus, trailer, extras etc) while the second one only rips the movie itself. We will explain both modes. The screenshot above we have selected "Main Movie". Using DVDFab is pretty straightforward, first of all you have to select the DVD drive at the "Source" area and then the folder you want to save the files in at the "Target" field. Afterwards check the title that contains the main movie (the longest one) and remove any audio or subtitles streams you don't like. You are now ready to click on Start and begin ripping the DVD.

Step 2



The "Full Disc" function is every simpler. You don't have to change any setting at all, just as before select the DVD drive at the "Source" area and then the folder you want to save the files in at the "Target" field. Make sure "Copy DVD-Video" is selected and click Start!

Step 3



The DVD ripping process that starts when you click the start button can take up to 30 minutes. You can cancel it or pause it at anytime. When it completes you have the DVD in your hard drive and ready to load it in any program you may want to process it with.

Utorrent Tutorial

BitTorrent is a popular way to share large files over the Internet, and uTorrent is one of the most popular programs to access the BitTorrent network. While standard Internet file transfers involve moving a file from one computer to another, BitTorrent connects users to a network of people who all have pieces of the file instead. This is advantageous since it is not affected by an individual file server's connectivity. uTorrent is popular because it is a small program (less than one megabyte) and intuitive to use.

Installing and Configuring

When you install uTorrent, it will become the default application for torrent files. This way, when you click on a torrent link in your Internet browser, it will automatically launch uTorrent, and then uTorrent will ask you where you want to save the file that is associated with the torrent link. Once you have installed it, run the Speed Guide to check if uTorrent can correctly connect to the Internet. This Guide tool will diagnose problems and make recommendations. It will also recommend settings based on your download and upload speeds.

There is also the Preferences tool, located in the Options menu. You can also click "Ctrl" + "P." Here, you can make changes to the choices you were presented with during installation. You can also make the settings advised by the Setup Guide. You can change the default destination for your downloads, and tell uTorrent to move those downloads to a specific folder once they have completed. The Preferences menu also gives you access to a scheduler.

RSS Downloading

Some websites offer RSS subscriptions for their torrents to keep you updated when new files arrive. Some websites also create RSS subscriptions for torrent tracker servers they do not own. For example, a site may offer an RSS subscription which keeps track of Ubuntu Linux's available torrent downloads (all of which are screened for legality). This would allow you to monitor for newer versions of Ubuntu Linux as they arrive. Subscribe to RSS torrent feeds from uTorrent's Options menu.

Adjusting the Interface



Utorrent's interface is also highly adjustable. Place your mouse pointer on the divider between the left panel and the upper panel, and you can slide the divider left and right.

The same goes for the divider between the upper and lower panels. In the upper panel, where the actual torrent is listed, you can add and remove column descriptions (like the name of the file, how fast it is downloading and how far along the download is). Simply right click the name of the column to open a menu. Items with check marks are present in the upper panel; items without check marks are not. By default, uTorrent only shows the most popular columns.

Tweaking a Torrent

Right clicking the torrent opens a menu where you can adjust settings for that particular download (or upload, as the case may be). You can do things like change the speed of the transfer, delete the file (or just the torrent file it is associated with) or open the folder containing the download.

Utorrent released here

Encrypt! (Tutorial)

In fact, it's very very simple: with True Crypt, you create an encrypted virtual drive (which consists of a file that can be deciphered with your password by True Crypt only) and then mount this file. In your system it appears as an extra hdd partition on which you can store data and install software. (To mount this drive you have to enter your password)

Step 1.

Download, install, and start True Crypt, released here


Step 2.

True Crypt program window -> Menus bar -> Volumes > Create New volume ..




Step 3.

Follow the instructions of True Crypt Volume Creation Wizard, I use defaults





Choose the name and location of your virtual file:



By default, I use AES encryption which is quite strong:



When specifying the size, check the appropriate box Kb, Mb, or Gb, and then enter a number next to it, e.g. 4 Gb or 4096 Mb:



Set a password for your volume :



Check mark if you're gonna be using files larger than 4 Gb:



You can choose which file system you want, I leave it NTFS, and click "Format":




Step 4.

Finally, select the drive letter and enter your password to mount the encrypted virtual file:



You'll get a hard drive partition at your disposal which can be accessed from your account until you unmount it, reboot, shutdown, log off, or turn the power off. All the changes to this drive will stay:

Freerip (Released here)

Ripping Audio CDs

Simply put an audio CD into your computer and start FreeRIP. It will look up the information on FreeRIP DB for you, so now you should see the fields (such as artist, album, titles, year, etc.) filled without you doing anything! The information isn't stored on the CD itself, so the FreeRIP DB provides it all for you, free of charge. If you want to add your own tags you can do so easily by just writing your changes on the right side of the program in the Info Tags section. It is divided into two tabs, CD Info and Track Info. From the CD Info tab you can change the tags for all the tracks while from the Track Info tab you can change the tags for single tracks.



Next, make sure only the tracks you want to rip are checked, then click the "Rip Selected Tracks To Default Format" button



Then you will see a new window pop up to show you your progress



Once you see the "Done" message on that screen, it is done!



You can find your new files on the desktop in a folder named after the band/artist



If you would like to convert to a format other than the one you have set as "default", you can easily convert to any of the formats by choosing "Rip to..." in the Rip menu.

Recuva (Released here)

Restore Deleted Files Easily With Recuva

We’ve talked about file recovery tools on MakeUseOf before, including one that I discussed last September in How To securely Retrieve and Delete PC files. But several friends have constantly urged me to try out Recuva, which is made and supported by the same people who created CCleaner (another favourite app of mine and MakeUseOf).

The interface of Recuva is similar to CCleaner, it is simple to use (even a computer moron could use it) and after testing it, it seems to be very effective in restoring deleted files. So I figured it deserved its own write-up on MakeUseOf.

So let’s get the short product description first of all from the Recuva homepage:

Recuva (pronounced “recover”) is a freeware Windows utility to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer. This includes files emptied from the Recycle bin as well as images and other files that have been deleted by user error from digital camera memory cards or MP3 players. It will even bring back files that have been deleted by bugs, crashes and viruses!

But as with any deleted file that you want to bring back, the older it is, the harder it will be to bring back. Plus if you are able to bring it back, the older it is, the more corrupted the file will be. So if you want to bring a deleted file back, you need to do it as fast as possible. The more you delay, the less chance there is of recovering it.

After using Recuva for a couple of days, I have ended up being very impressed with it. It is very fast with finding recoverable files and when you click on what you want brought back, it restores the file and sends it back to your hard drive within seconds.

So here’s how the program works.

1. After opening the program, select the drive where the file was deleted then click the “scan” button.



2. Recuva then starts sweeping the specified hard drive looking for files that are able to be restored.



3. You then get a list of all the files that Recuva was able to find. As you can see, some of the files are unidentifiable with just scrambled file names but a lot of other files have their original names intact (more on that later). What I really liked about Recuva is that it has a colour-coded system where you can see right away the status of each file and whether or not it is in any condition to be downloaded successfully or not.

Red means the file is basically screwed and you can forget it. Yellow means the file is in very bad condition but you can still download it and take your chances with it – some of it might be salvageable. Green means that the file is in excellent condition and you can get it back no problem.



4. If there are too many files returned to manage or you are looking for a particular file, you can filter the files. Just specify a file type or a file name in the “filename or path” field or drop down the menu to specify a file type. So for example, by typing in “googleupdate”, I was able to find three particular files.



5. Now say I want to want to recover those 3 files? I just need to tick them and click the “recover” button. Recuva will ask me to specify where on the computer they should go and when I have told it, the files will start downloading. In fact, they are put back on the computer so fast that I didn’t even have time to make a screenshot!



That’s basically all there is to it. Just remember to untick those files in Recuva before you close the program because Recuva remembers those files next time and will keep on downloading them over and over again! So untick them once you have recovered them and you’ll be fine.

How to compress files

Step 1: Open IZArc (Released here)
Step 2: Select "New Archive" from the File menu or click on the New button. An open dialog appears.
Step 3: Select the folder where you want to create the compressed archive.
Then give a name of the archive and click Open. "Add Files" dialog will be opened.
Step 4: Select the files that you want to compress (Hold CTRL key to select more than one file).
Additionally you can select the archiving type, the level of compression and password.
Step 5: Click OK.
Step 6: Close IZArc.

Tips: You can easily compress a file by right click on it and from the IZArc context menu select
"Add to <Name of the file>.zip"

How to extract files

Step 1: Select an archived file and double-click on it. If IZArc is configured correctly, it will be launched
and open your archive otherwise first open IZarc and then open the desired archived file.
Step 2: If you want to extract only few files from the archive you can select them in the file list
(Hold CTRL key to select more than one file).
Step 3: Select "Extract" from the Actions Menu or click on the Extract button.
Step 4: After Extract dialog appeared you can select the folder where your files will be extracted.
Step 5: Click Extract button.
Step 6: Close IZArc.

Tips: You can easily extract the content of an archive by right click on it and from the IZArc context menu
select "Extract Here".

How to create self-extracting archive

Step 1: Open IZArc
Step 2: Create a new archive or open an existing one.
Step 3: From the Actions menu select "Make .EXE file". A dialog appears.
Step 4: (Optional) Choose the default extract folder, caption of the self-extracting archive dialog box
and if you want you can specify a message given before the main extraction dialog shows itself.
Step 5: Click OK to create the SFX archive. After that you can test the newly created file.
Step 6: Close IZArc.

Tips: You can easily create SFX archive by right click on an archive and from the IZArc context menu select
"Create Self-Extracting (.EXE) File"

How to split large archive

Step 1: Open IZArc
Step 2: From the Tools menu select "Create Multi-Volume Set". A dialog appears.
Step 3: Select a single archive that you want to split.
Step 4: Select the location and the file name of the spanned archive that will be created.
Step 5: Specify the size to be used for the individual parts.
Step 6: Click OK.
Step 7: Close IZArc.

How to merge multi-volume ZIP archive

Step 1: Open IZArc
Step 2: From the Tools menu select "Merge Multi-Volume Set". A dialog appears.
Step 3: Select a multi-volume archive that you want to convert into single zip archive.
Step 4: Select the location and the name of the single archive.
Step 5: Click OK.
Step 6: Close IZArc.

Using Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 (released here)

A Quick Walkthrough.

Much of today’s malware is expert at hiding or camouflaging itself – making it both hard to detect, and obviously more difficult to remove. But, if you can get to malware before it has a chance to run live within the installed operating system – you have a real chance of detecting and eradicating the varmint.

This is where a Rescue Disk (Live CD), which I like to think of as the “SWAT Team” of antimalware solutions – comes into play. More often than not, a Live CD can help you kill malware DEAD!

It’s important to know though, not all antimalware Live CDs are in fact, “Rescue Disks”. And, not all “Rescue Disks” are in fact – antimalware Live CDs.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10, by far and away my antimalware tool of choice, combines the best of both genres. Not only is is superb at identifying and removing malware but, with it’s onboard tool kit it, definitely qualifies as a Rescue Disk.

Note: Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10, is designed to scan, and disinfect, both 32 bit and 64 bit machines. As well, Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 can be run from a USB device.

The following is a quick walkthrough using Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 in both malware scanning and “tool kit” capacities.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 is available for download as an ISO file only, which means – you must burn the ISO image file to a CD/DVD, and then boot the application from your CD/DVD drive.

At boot-up, Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 runs through a fairly large number of routines so be patient until the main menu screen appears.

From the menu screen, run the update task which will update the anti-virus databases. Following which, you can then go to “Scan your computer” or….



you can choose to configure the scan settings to your specific requirements.



As the application is scanning, you will be reminded of both the percentage of objects scanned and, an estimated time to completion.

The bonus features bolted on to Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 include:

Firefox

The Firefox web browser integrated into Kaspersky Rescue Disk can view websites and save the pages you have visited. You can view all visited pages after exiting Kaspersky Rescue Disk. By default, the Kaspersky Lab website is displayed in the browser.

In the following usage example, I have chosen to search Google for “malware help”. Let’s hope you’ll never have to do this but, if you need to you can – without having to boot back into Windows.

Internet configuration

By default, the web browser works with system proxy server. You can specify the proxy server settings when configuring the web browser. Since malware can often affect Internet settings, this feature can be an invaluable assist.

Integrated file manager

The Integrated file manager will allow you to access the hard drive/s – as the following screen capture shows. As a last resort (if it comes to that), you will be able to save your important files (any file for that matter), using this tool.

Heuristic analyzer

Threat detection technology for threats that cannot be detected using Anti-Virus databases. It allows detecting objects suspected of being infected with an unknown virus or a new modification of the known viruses. This mechanism is fairly effective, and very rarely leads to false positives.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 is an extremely powerful tool, with many more capabilities than I’ve been able to cover in this short review. I’m more than a little surprised that it can be downloaded at no cost. A serious computer user would do well to have this application ready to go when faced with one of those - O No!!, moments.

How to burn an ISO image file to a CD/DVD.

If you’re unsure as to how to burn an ISO image file to a CD/DVD in order - for example - to create a bootable disk, here’s an easy method. In this illustration I’m using a freeware application CDBurner XP. (Released here)

1) Activate CDBurner XP.
2) Insert a blank CD/DVD into the CD/DVD drive.
3) Click on “Burn ISO image”, which will open the write screen.



4) Select kav_rescue_10.iso which will reside in the location in which you saved the file.
5) Click on “Burn disc”



6) Sit back and relax until the job is complete (2/3 minutes).