Firefox 16 FINAL tweaks performance, adds Developer Toolbar and OS X VoiceOver support

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Automate your software installs and updates with Chocolatey

Windows software management is a tedious business. If you want to download a particular program, you have to find the relevant website, then the download link, save the file locally, grab any other components the program might need, and install everything in the right order. You'll need to start again for every new program. And they'll all have their own procedures for updating, or uninstalling. What if you could automate all of this, though? Manage downloads, updates and everything else, just with a few keypresses? That's the aim of Chocolatey, a tool which brings Linux-like package management to the PC. The program comes in the form of a PowerShell-based command line tool. And yes, we know, that's less than ideal, but don't let it put you off just yet. Chocolately doesn't require any PowerShell knowledge to use; if you use the command line occasionally then you'll be able to try out. Getting started is simple, as there's nothing for you to download. Just paste the text below into a command prompt (copy it to the clipboard, launch cmd.exe, right-click in the window, select Paste) and press Enter. @powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy unrestricted -Command "iex ((new-object net.webclient).DownloadString('http://chocolatey.org/install.ps1′))" && SET PATH=%PATH%;%systemdrive%\chocolatey\bin The Chocolatey code should download automatically, while status messages keep you up-to-date with the installation process. And when it's done, close and reopen the command window and you're ready to go. Don't be put off by the command line approach - Chocolatey is still easy to use Installing programs is now as simple as using the "cinst" command. Would you like a copy of Skype, for instance? Type "cinst skype" (less the quotes), press Enter, and Chocolatey will handle the rest. Or try "cinst keepas" to install KeePass Password Manager, "cinst procexp" for Process Explorer, "cinst gimp" for the GIMP image editor, and more. (Enter "clist" at the command line for the full list of packages, or use "clist | clip" to copy the list to the clipboard). This isn't just a matter of downloading an installation file and leaving you to do the rest, either. If a program needs something else installing before it'll work, Chocolatey will grab that first. And as long as the application allows it, installation is silent - there's no working your way through some tedious setup program. Better still, Chocolatey can also handle updates for you. So if you need the latest version of Firefox, just enter "chocolatey update firefox" (or "cup firefox" for short) and it'll be downloaded and installed. Or, if you really want to save time, using "cup all" will check everything you've installed via Chocolatey and update it to the latest version. Plainly the command line approach here is still a hassle, but the key is that it's scriptable, and that brings some very interesting opportunities. If you want to set up a PC to your specifications, then you could create a batch file with the appropriate "cinst" commands (as you've seen, they're not exactly complicated). Once Chocolatey is installed on the target system, run the batch file and all the programs you need will be downloaded and installed. Add another shortcut to run updates - or maybe a batch file which you have Task Scheduler run once a day - and suddenly your software maintenance has become a whole lot easier.

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Tweak and pimp Windows using Ultimate Windows Customizer

The number of tools that can be used to tweak and customize Windows does nothing but increase, and the claims made by many of these utilities can be difficult to believe. So a program that claims to be the Ultimate Windows Customizer is giving itself a lot to live up to – but it turns out that the title is well-deserved as the tool perfectly balances the tweaks that make a difference to system performance with those that allow you to stamp your mark on the operating system. Tasks such as editing the context menu or tweaking the shortcuts that appear in the navigation pane of Explorer have long been possible by editing the registry, but this is not something that everyone is comfortable with. Ultimate Windows Customizer eliminates the need to delve into the darker recesses of your computer if you are uncomfortable in doing so, but this does not mean that you are compromising on features and options. The program makes it easy to add new entries to the context menu, change settings for libraries, skin Windows Media Player with your own custom background image and even hide individual items in the taskbar. If you like the idea of choosing a custom button for the Start Orb, you can do so with this application. A backup of system settings is made every time the program is launched so it’s easy to experiment with different settings and reverse them if you change your mind about them. Another great things about the tool is that it is an on-going project, and new features and options will be added over time. With this in mind, and to avoid the need to have to keep checking back to see when a new version has been released, the Ultimate Windows Customizer will automatically check for updates when you start it up. It is easy to dismiss programs like this as ‘just another tweaking tool’, but it is well worth downloading this one to see what it could do for you. You can find out more and download a free copy of the app by paying a visit to the Ultimate Windows Customizer review page.

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COMODO BackUp 4 Beta reveals a future that's no longer completely free

COMODO has made a third beta of the next version of its backup product, COMODO BackUp, available for download. The major change in COMODO BackUp 4 is the switch to a two-tier product, with a function-limited Free version now being joined by a fully functional Pro version, pricing details of which will be made available on the program’s final release. At the present time, the Pro beta version functions as a 30-day trial. This seems to be the major driver for version 4, with other improvements and changes being relatively minor, while the user interface itself remains largely unchanged from the current version 3 release. Minor changes of note in COMODO BackUp 4 include the default backup type changing to incremental, while differential backups can now also be used as a base for an incremental backup. Version 4 also claims improved performance when backing up files and folders, while there’s also an option to run scheduled backup jobs every few minutes as well as hours. The most visible option removed from the Free version is the simple Backup option, whereby a user simply ticks one of My Computer, Documents, Pictures, Music or Video to quickly back up that folder. There’s no instant scan when choosing what to back up, which slows the program’s performance when picking folders or files. Other features reserved for Pro users include password-protecting backup archives, running tasks before and after the backup and being able to back up to a file that’s subsequently emailed to the user. Scripting and command-line support, automatic disk image verification, the ability to export backup and restore jobs to script files and email notification of completed backups are also now exclusive to the paid-for version. COMODO BackUp 4.0 Beta is available now in both Free and Pro versions of PCs running Windows XP or later. Those wishing to enjoy all of functionality at no cost can still download and use COMODO Backup 3.0.

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Lunascape 6.8.0 gives you the best of IE, Firefox and Chrome in one program

Are you forced to run two or more web browsers on your PC for compatibility reasons? Perhaps your online banking doesn’t work properly unless you access it in Internet Explorer, while for day-to-day browsing you prefer Firefox. Switching between browsers can be a real pain, which is where Lunascape 6.8.0 comes in. This freeware browser takes the browser engines from Internet Explorer, Chrome/Safari and Firefox, and wraps them up in a single program, letting you switch effortlessly between them. Lunascape works with the Trident engine used by Internet Explorer, Gecko engine used by Firefox and the WebKit Plugin engine utilised by Google Chrome and Safari, enabling it to cover most bases (you can even use Firefox plugins and Internet Explorer add-ons). Set specific engines for specific websites with Lunascape 6.8.0. Users can switch manually between browser engines from the main Address bar to see how a website looks in different engines. Lunascape also makes it possible to always open specific pages in a specific engine – to do this, click and hold on the browser engine displayed in the Address Bar and choose Associate Page with Engine. Latest release notes Version 6.8.0 has just been released, and comes with a number of improvements. The first promises significantly faster loading times of video, photos and other media when using the default Trident engine thanks to its GPU rendering features. The new Trident engine also allows an increased maximum number of connections, which can boost loading times of content-heavy sites. Lunascape is now also compatible with Internet Explorer 10, although its HTML5/CSS3 framework support is limited. The program should also be more stable thanks to the fixing of a compatibility issue between IE9 and Active X controls. Other minor bug fixes include one that saw the browser UI being displayed incorrectly after being started from a minimised state. Lunascape 6.8.0 is a freeware download for PCs running Windows XP SP3 or later. Both Gecko and WebKit Plugins are downloaded and installed separately as part of the install process.

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VirtualBox 4.0.6 released with a raft of bug fixes

Virtualisation has become so popular that it is even available as an integrated option in Windows 7. Most people prefer to turn to a dedicated virtualisation tool, however, and VirtualBox has proved to be one of the most popular and impressively powerful programs available. Version 4.0.6 of the app has just been released, bringing with it a sizeable list of bug fixes. There have been major improvements in the stability of the app, helping to provide a far more user-friendly virtualisation experience. Memory leaks have also been plugged and the option to store snapshots in the same directory as virtual machines has been added. A number of networking issues have been addressed in VirtualBox 4.0.6 and problems with sleep mode and system resumption have also been fixed. Linux users can now take full advantage of more recent kernels thanks to improved support, while Mac and Windows users will find that interface quirks and unexpected hangs have also been eliminated. VirtualBox is available for Windows, Linux and Mac, and can be used to run virtualised copies of Windows , DOS, Linux, Solaris and OpenSolaris, OS/2, and OpenBSD. To find out more and to download a free copy of the application, pay a visit to the VirtualBox review page.

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Music loving Spotify users finally gets a dedicated iPad app

Fans of Spotify need no longer endure a blown up app designed for the smaller screen of the iPhone, thanks to the release of a dedicate iPad version of the app. Spotify 0.5.0 has been a long time coming and, as you would expect, there is support for the Retina display of the new iPad. There has been a shift in focus with this release, as the app now makes it easy to discover new music rather than simply enabling you to listen to things you have already found. The interface has been given a gesture-friendly overhaul and the screen is divided into two sections that allow for easy navigation of playlists, friends and news, while providing a clear display of the information you are looking for. The newly released app is comparable to its desktop counterpart, providing access to almost the same set of features, although there is no support for the likes of last.fm and other apps at the moment; this is likely to be something that is added in the future. Spotify for iPad New features in this version include gapless playback – which is ideal if you are using Spotify to provide a party soundtrack – as well as crossfading for seamless transitions between tracks. There’s also AirPlay functionality so you can stream music to other devices. There are lots of nice touches throughout the app such as the way searching works. As you start to type the name of an artist or song, there is live updating with results shown from both your existing library and tracks you are yet to discover. As you would expect, there are also a number of fixes to address problems that have been discovered, and this is by far the most impressive version of Spotify for iOS to date. As with previous versions of the software, it can only be used in conjunction with a Spotify Premium account and you have the option of signing up for a free 48 hour trial if you do not already have one. You can find out more and download a free copy of the app by paying a visit to the Spotify 0.5.0 review page.

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Geekbench 2.3.0 drops support for PowerPC Macs, adds Ivy Bridge support

For anyone that is interested benchmarking the performance of their computer, be it a Mac, PC, Linux machine or a mobile device, Geekbench is a simple, low-cost tool that provides you with all of the tools you need. Benchmarking tools are often used by fans of overclocking and tweaking to see what difference can be made to performance, but they can also be helpful for revealing helpful information about the hardware in mobile phones and tablets. If you are interested in benchmarking performance, it is likely that you are running recent hardware. As such, it is little surprise to find that the latest version of Geekbench drops support for PowerPC Macs. The fact that this is hardware that is no longer supported by Apple and the ever dwindling numbers of remaining users mean that this was really inevitability, and the day has now finally come. Test the performance of your computer and mobile device with Geekbench Obviously there is nothing to stop PowerMac users from sticking with an older version of the app, but as of now development in this area has now ceased. But the app continues to grow and develop in other areas. In addition to new support for Ivy Bridge processors, there is also better support for 2009 MacBook Pros. Other changes include the ability to use a Pro license for a portable version of the app. It is also worth noting that there are iOS and Android versions of the app available. For iOS users the app is not really able to reveal a great deal of information, but the Android version is somewhat more useful. In addition to revealing basic information about the hardware and OS you are working with, your mobile device can also be assigned an overall rating by testing the performance of memory, floating point operations and much more. You can find out more by paying a visit to the Geekbench 2.3.0 review page. Separate versions are available for Android devices and for the iPad/iPhone.

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COMODO Rescue Disk 2.0 combats even deeply embedded malware

COMODO has released COMODO Rescue Disk 2.0, a bootable environment which includes a copy of Cleaning Essentials for Linux to help remove even the most deeply embedded malware. Changes from the previous 1.x betas are fairly basic, and for instance include some bug fixes and the inclusion of the very latest COMODO Antivirus Engine for Linux (1.2.3). Otherwise the package remains a capable rescue disc which is worth considering for your emergency toolkit. The system is relatively lightweight, for instance, coming in the form of a 50MB ISO image. The Rescue Disk is extremely easy to use, and does a good job of finding and removing malware And it's focused very much on ease of use. There are no technicalities here: the system boots directly to COMODO Cleaning Essentials and you're able to fire off a full scan of your system in just a couple of clicks. If you're willing to go a little further, though, the Rescue Disk provides extra tools which can help. Are you having problems reaching the internet, for instance? Click the icon of two monitors top-right and you're able to view and reconfigure your network settings via SliTaz Network Manager. COMODO Cleaning Essentials itself can manually import a virus update, if you're able to download the file elsewhere (click Tools > Import Signature Database from within the program). And if you click the Applications button top-left you'll find links to a file manager, and a web browser (very useful if you need more help in solving your problem). All of which are very usable, even if you're a total Linux newbie. COMODO Rescue Disk 2.0 isn't just a single function tool, then. And if you find your PC is no longer booting properly then it just might prove a useful addition to your system.

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12 quick and easy tips to free up hard drive space

A cluttered hard drive means slower file searches, defrags, antivirus scans, sluggish Explorer navigation, and more. But it doesn't have to be this way. Just a few minutes trawling your system can free up plenty of hard drive real estate, revitalising your PC and improving its performance. We're not talking about running automated cleanup tools, though they can help too. The Windows Disk Cleanup applet (see Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools) will recover some hard drive space, CCleaner even more, but they're no substitutes for you taking a closer look at your system and applying your own judgement - that will deliver the best results of all. (Please note: manually deleting files can be extremely dangerous. Don't remove anything unless you're sure it's safe to do so, and you have a full system backup just in case you're wrong.) 1. Uninstall Unwanted Applications Launch the Control Panel "Uninstall a program" applet for a list of your installed applications. Are there any you no longer use? It's hard to tell by default, but there are tricks you can apply that might help. Press Alt, then click View > Choose Details, and ensure that "Installed On", "Size" and "Last Used On" are all checked (you don't need to clear anything else). Click OK. Now click the "Installed On" column header to sort by the application's installation date, and take a look at the oldest. Are there any you no longer use? Uninstall them if you're sure they're surplus to requirements. Click the "Size" column header to sort by application size. Are there any particularly bulky apps that you can do without? Remove those, too. Be careful here, though. Sometimes apps install components that you might not recognise, but are essential to their proper functioning. Don't uninstall anything unless you know what it is, and you're sure you can do without it. 2. Track Down Bulky Files Your hard drive may be clogged with forgotten files, but installing the free and speedy search tool Everything can help you locate them. Launch the program, and type a file specification for the largest types of data file that might be on your PC: *.avi, *.mpg, *.zip, and so on. Click the Size column header, and you'll get a sorted list highlighting the largest videos, archives and other files on your list. Look first for duplicates. Do you have a massive zip file in a Downloads folder, and on your desktop, say? If you're sure you need one, then delete the other. Then delete any other surplus files, and try searching again for another file type. Though again, be cautious - search only for documents and data files, nothing that might be a program component or system-critical in any way. 3. Program Files Remnants Browse your Program Files folder and the chances are you'll uncover the remnants of many uninstalled applications. An example: our test PC had been used to test AVG 10. The package had then been uninstalled. We still had a C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG10\Notification folder, though, containing various files intended to help you buy the full version. So we manually deleted the C:\Program Files\AVG folder and recovered a few KB of storage space. Check your hard drive, see what can be removed. Keep in mind this can be seriously dangerous, though. Don't delete things that you don't recognise - only wipe remnants of programs that you know you've uninstalled. 4. Program Data Now take a look in your C:\ProgramData folder, where you'll find the settings and data of installed applications, as well as assorted junk that you can certainly do without. Another example: we'd installed, tested and removed Avast 5. There shouldn't have been a trace remaining. However, we found a C:\ProgramData\Alwil Software\Avast5\log folder containing no less than 819MB of log files. Because we had no other Alwil Software packages installed, we deleted the C:\ProgramData\Alwil Software folder and freed up a big chunk of hard drive space. You'll probably find similar folders on your PC, but again, play safe, don't delete items you don't recognise, or that you might need again (a program might save licence data so you don't have to re-enter it if you reinstall, say). Only remove data you're positive is junk. 5. Archive Your Email Your email can take up a significant chunk of real estate (2GB on our test PC). You might cut this down now by manually deleting old and unwanted emails. But also, take a look to see if your email client has other tools that may help. In Outlook 2010, say, you can turn on AutoArchiving (File > Options > Advanced > AutoArchive Settings), and have the program automatically move old emails to an archive files. 6. Turn Off Hibernation Your PC may be maintaining a hibernation file. If you put your PC into hibernation, this will hold the contents of your RAM, allowing you to restart your PC and carry on exactly where you left off. But if you don't use hibernation this will just be wasting a gigabyte or two of drive space, and can safely be disabled. To turn off hibernation in XP, open the Control Panel Power Options applet, select the Hibernate tab and uncheck Enable Hibernation. In Vista and Windows 7, click Start, type CMD, right-click the cmd.exe link and click Run As Administrator. Type powercfg -h off and press [Enter] to disable hibernation and free up a chunk of drive space. 7. Control Crash Dumps If your PC has a blue-screen crash then Windows will automatically dump some of your RAM to disk, and depending on your settings these dump files can take a lot of drive space. If you'll use this (or know someone who can) that's great. If not, you can tell Windows not to create these files in the first place. Click Start, right-click Computer/ My Computer, select Properties, and select Advanced System Settings. In the Startup and Recovery section, click Settings. And select None in the "Write debugging information" box to turn off crash dumps altogether. 8. Browse Your Public Users Folder Return to Explorer, and take a look at your Users\Public folder. This may contain all kinds of sample videos, music and picture files (our test PC's C:\Users\Public\Videos folder was consuming more than 30MB of files, for instance). Delete any you don't need. But you may also find that other applications have added files of their own. When testing Norton Internet Security 2011, for example, the program asked us if we wanted to save the setup files it had downloaded. We said yes for the betas and finished versions, then forgot about it, and as a result had a C:\Users\Public\Downloads\Norton folder that was taking up 307MB of hard drive space. And our Public Documents folder similarly had a bunch of folders relating to apps that were no longer installed. Again, if you don't recognise something, leave it. But if you see files that you know relate to an application you've uninstalled, then delete them and recover the space. 9. Check Your File System File system corruption can lead to a little disk space being tied up unnecessarily. To look for this, right-click your drive in Explorer, select Properties > Tools > Check Now, and allow Explorer to scan for file system errors and fix them automatically. 10. Find & Erase Duplicate Files If you know what you're doing then a tool like Duplicate Cleaner can be invaluable, helping you to uncover duplicate files on your PC that are wasting hard drive space. Be careful, though. Every PC has some duplicate files, and if you remove the wrong ones - a few DLLs, say - then you could cripple your PC. 11. Analyse Drive Use Disk Space Fan is a clever tool that will analyse your hard drive, then display which folders are consuming the most hard drive space. If you've a library of unnecessary JPGs hiding away somewhere then this will quickly reveal and allow you to delete them. 12. Manage System Restore System Restore is often one of the biggest space hogs, by default consuming 12 to 15 percent of a drive's capacity. It's also an essential safeguard that's saved our lives many times, so we wouldn't recommend turning System Restore off, but if you can't spare that amount then reducing its demands will save valuable drive real estate. In XP this is straightforward: the System Control Panel applet has a System Restore tab with a Settings box that lets you choose how much space you want to allocate. This disappeared in Windows Vista, though. Run REGEDIT instead, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore\cfg, double-click the DiskPercent key, select Decimal and reduce it just a little: 10%, say. You can use the same Registry key in Windows 7, or click Start, right-click Computer, and select Properties > System Protection to again allocate System Restore's maximum disk space usage via a slider. And when you're finally done, don't forget that for the best benefit you should properly defragment your hard drive, optimising your file layout for the best possible performance. If you don't have a dedicated defragger than the free Auslogics Disk Defrag is a great place to start - it's faster, more powerful than Windows own tool, delivers much better results, and will quickly have your hard drive running at its best possible speeds.

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