All you need to do is install Firefox. It’s that simple. As an alternative to Internet Explorer, Firefox is much safer because it’s constantly being worked by the security experts in the open source community to ensure that your private data remains private, as well as having powerful anti-phishing and anti-malware tools built in. Plus, when you make the switch to Firefox you also get to enjoy faster browsing, powerful extensions that give you added functionality, a skinnable user interface, better support for web standards, an integrated ad blocker, and much more. So if you’re reading this in Internet Explorer click here to get Firefox now – before it’s too late!

There are a lot of new features and improvements, including the new interface. For examples, screenshots, video, and information on the new WordPress 2.7 version, see WordPress 2.7 Release News and Links, Countdown to WordPress 2.7 and WordPress 2.7 Hits WordPress.com Thursday, December 4, 2008.

WordPress.com has been running WordPress 2.7 for a week across almost 5 million blogs and the response has been incredibly positive. Old users are finding the learning curve almost non-existent and new users are embracing it.

The hard work done by all of the development team, especially by Jane Wells who lead the conversion to the new interface, deserves some serious rounds of applause.

For those concerned about upgrading to WordPress, and how often those updates occur, take a step down memory lane with Justin Tadlock in “Be Thankful WordPress Gets Updated.” He takes you through the various versions and why we should be so thankful for the most current versions, considering the path it took to get here.

Upgrade WordPress Now!
Unlike previous versions where it’s a good idea to wait, I recommend upgrading to WordPress 2.7 now. It is very stable and has been well tested on WordPress.com. It also includes the latest security updates. Once installed, it will notify you for automatic upgrades, making the upgrade process incredibly easy.

If you are using one of the Release Candidates, the upgrade announcement should be on your blog. Follow the extended upgrade instructions. In the past, it was highly recommended that you turn off all WordPress Plugins before upgrading. WordPress 2.7 will automatically put WordPress in “maintenance mode” so this step is no longer necessary.

No one can find out if any of the files or folders is hidden. This is achieved by low-level file access which is reliable, robust and fail-safe. Hide My Folders launch is password-protected and you will be the only person to see and access your private info.

As a security measure, Hide My Folders incorporate foolproof control which means that nobody cannot hide system critical files and folders (such as C:\windows etc.) and lock your system. In order to hide files with specific names and extensions Hide My Folders offers advanced pattern-matching approach. By specifying special string as a mask you may hide a group of files that comply with it.

Monitor your system and replace Windows Task Manager

• Information about processes, startup programs, services, internet connections, drivers
• Integrated database with Descriptions for 70 000+ startup programs, Internet Explorer toolbars and services
• Icons in the tray that indicate CPU, disk, network, memory and battery

Get rid of viruses, Trojans and spyware that your antivirus missed

• Security risk rating for each active process and startup program
• Get notification/remove when any program tries to add itself to startup

Enhance and tune up XP or Vista

• Tweaker that gives access to hundreds of XP / Vista settings
• Click on the title of any application to minimize window to system tray
• List of recently used folders in Open / Save dialogs
• Drive’s free space as a colored horizontal bar in Windows ‘My Computer’

Speed up your PC and Windows startup

• “Delayed Startup” lets you set up any startup program to run few minutes later after Windows startup
• Run startup programs minimized to system tray, or as a floating icon
• Balance CPU usage

Besides missing all the new features of most recent versions, an outdated app can also be a threat to computer security, especially if it’s an Internet related app. So if you don’t want to take any risks, use any of these automatic update finders that will help you keep all your software up to date.

• AppUpdater – Cross-platform tool that scans your system and finds updates for all installed programs, as long as they’re supported by the program. You can suggest new apps to be included on the list and also create your own repository.

• UpdateStar – Performs a thorough scan of your system and looks for possible updates. The database includes more than 135,000 entries and is being constantly refreshed by an active user community. Also recommends paid software.

• AppSnap – Open source tool that detects installed versions of your software, searches for updates and downloads them straight away. Its database is not very extensive (less than 400 entries) but you can suggest new apps.

• SUMo – Detects software apps installed on you PC and finds required updates or patches for them. You can filter Beta versions and also create a “black” list that enables you to track only those apps you’re interested in.

• AppHit.com – Website specializing in updates. Get their desktop client (no installation required) and it’ll find updates for the programs installed on your computer. This client doesn’t install updates, only shows search results on a web browser.

Even if an unauthorized person gets access to your files, he will not be able to read it without decrypting the files with the correct pass.

It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on system drivers: check their versions, make sure they’re updated, and create a backup copy of them – just in case. But all these tasks take time and effort, so what if you could let a program do the hard work for you? Have a look at these driver analysis and backup tools and choose wisely!

• Double Driver – Analyzes your system and creates a list with all the drivers currently installed. You can also create a backup copy of selected drivers.
• Driver Magician Lite – A simple tool to backup your currently installed drivers. Restoration only works in the paid version though.
• DriverMax – A powerful tool to backup and restore drivers with a very user-friendly interface, simple enough for beginners.
• DriverView – The easiest, fastest way to obtain a list with all the drivers installed on your system.
• RadarSync Free Edition – Find out if the drivers on your system need to be updated. You’ll need to upgrade to the paid version though if you want to download the updated drivers.

Smartphone:It seems that any magazine you pick up these days will have half a dozen personality tests in it. Wouldn’t it be good if instead of having to buy all these magazines to test different aspects of your personality you could do them all in one hit? Personality Psychology Pro does just that, allowing you to analyze yourself through a series of different biometric tests.

Mac: Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder which enables you to record live audio, convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs and edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files. You can also cut copy, splice or mix sounds together as well as change the speed or pitch of a recording – and it’s all free!

Defense:

The back line would be formed of two strong central defender in the shape of Agnitum Outpost Firewall, a secure tool that won’t let any rivals past, and TuneUp Utilities, which can clean up if there are any defensive blunders. Outside of these would be two fast and reliable defenders, in the shape of Argente Registry Cleaner and CCleaner.

Midfield:

In the middle, sitting just in front of the defense, would be GetDataBack. As well as helping to prevent the team losing the ball, it is also great for retrieving balls (where the ‘balls’ are made of data, of course). On the wings, we would have Trackmania Nations, a game noted for its speed and the fact it’s available on a free transfer, along with Google Chrome, the Messi of web browsers – young, fast and with plenty of technical ability. The real brains of the midfield is Scanner, a disk usage analysis tool that would the players functioning well as a team.

Strikers:

In attack we would have to plump fort Pando P2P, which is feared for its pace and effectiveness in finding the goal. Partnering Pando up-front would be our “fox in the box”, Firefox, a versatile forward with the ability to adapt to any situation. I reckon this line-up would destroy any opponent but if you think you can make a better footballware team then let us know.

But hang on a minute: how can you be so negative about wonderful applications such as Gmail and hosting services to store their data. It’s almost an inevitable part of going online nowadays and can’t be avoided and unless you’ve really got something to hide, who cares? If you’re foolish enough to store something really sensitive online, then you should be prepared for potential breaches of privacy. In addition, Google’s servers are probably so reliable, I have more faith in them retaining my data than my own external hard drive backups.

As regards fears that Google may charge for some of its services, well it already does. Google Apps Premium is a prime example indicating that Google’s business plan is to only charge for high level services. Besides, if Google were to charge for any of it’s services, it would surely give users plenty of notice so they could save their data. At least in the case of Google Docs, it’s easy to import and export to desktop versions of Microsoft Office and that surely says a lot about their wish to ensure that the user is in control.

It’s more likely that Google would use advertising within its applications if it wanted to make serious money out of them. And even if they did charge a flat fee, whatever a company like Google would charge would be a minimal amount and for the convenience of something like Gmail, I for one would be happy to pay it. For now at least, I’m quite happy to keep my head firmly in the clouds.