Useful FREE ONLINE APPLICATIONS [or Webapps]

ZOHOWIKI - I always found wikis very confusing even though I have created many websites and blogs. This makes WIKI simple. Can be used only as an easy website for yourself, your family or a group.

Airset  - FREE, Paid Upgrades 
Online 'Computer' for individuals, groups, organizations, A storehouse of freebies. Can also send info to your phone as a reminder. Free sites, blogs, calendars and much more. http://www.airset.com

www.Blogger.com, by Google is a free EASY blogging community. I have about 15 - 20 blogs there all on different topics. The goodies you can add are easy and tremendous. Plus it also allows connection to Google's other apps.

Webs.com [formerlyFreewebs] 

Another unbelievable free and upgradable-to-paid site to do a website in an easy way without coding. Too many freebies to mention. Can add PayPal ecommerce and sell and much more.


Yola.com bills itself as a site - where you'll find all the tools you need to build a website just the way you want. Point and click. Drag and drop. That's all you need to know. Amazingly enough, you can build and host your website for free. That's Yola.

Charles Pedley's EARTH-SHATTERING NEWS! My writings and recommendations.

Advanced Ministry Websites - This site is for churches and ministries. FREE sample site - Upgrades from $9.95 to $149.95 per month as desired for your church community. Not only gives you free hosting but many other resources to enable your church or ministry to inform, communicate, or send newsletters and announcements to its members. Also optionally includes a store to sell products which relate to studies you are doing. This is probably the most comprehensive site for churches since the range of costs can accomodate small, medium or large churches. 
AdvancedMinistry.com


Photo, Graphic and Video Freeware

Picasa - Free Photo App from Google

Organize Manage your photos in one place, and find photos you forgot you had edit Edit Eliminate scratches & blemishes, fix red-eye, crop and more create Create Turn photos into movies, collages, slideshows and more share Share Upload seamlessly to Picasa Web Albums to share with friends, family, & the world. I use it for the basic photo edits such as cropping, lightening, etc.

PicasaWeb - FREE - Can upgrade to paid if you need more space.

Store your photos online and share them as desired or not. Works great with Picasa software. Just click the "Upload to Web" link and wait. Together, Picasa & Picasa Web Albums make it easy for you to organize and edit your digital photos, then create online albums to share with friends, family & the world. Slideshows, downloads, prints and more.

Picasa - Picasaweb Video


Zoho - www.zoho.com
http://www.zoho.com - Unbelievably comprehensive
BEST SITE ON WEB that I have found for FREE APPLICATIONS! Free & Paid Online Applications: Best site I know on the web to coordinate estimating, invoicing, free easy-to-use wikis which can be YOUR website if you are not a coder, free mail & much much more. Check it out!

With Myfreecalendarmaker you can design and print FREE personalized photo calendars.

Use your own photos and special occasions! Easy-to-use online calendar creation system! Perfect gift for any occasion! Save as you go to finish later or reprint! FREE and Premium Memberships available! http://www.myfreecalendarmaker.com/


Sumopaint is an amazingly comprehensive online painter program. You can paint, edit, insert text, use layers. I believe that it is the fastest, most creative and powerful paint program on the web.

Go directly to Sumopaint

http://sumopaint.com/app/


Famundo is a more family-oriented social networking spot where you can connect with family, friends and organizations. It looks much classier than Facebook. Recommended by Family Circle, Canadian Family, Ladies Home Journal, Woman's Day, Geeksugar, Real Simple Life Hacker and more. Once it becomes known families may move here from Facebook for the family style networking [without, I assume, the sexy ads]. See it at http://www.famundo.com/


Another calendar maker at Calendars Net is a free interactive web calendar hosting service, where you and anyone you choose can post events visible and printable by whomever you choose, or everyone. You can post events that span more than one day (with text flowing across days or even weeks) or that recur every 1st or 4th Tuesday of each month, etc. You can copy the calendar data to your own computer and edit your calendar offline.
http://www.calendars.net/

Need to create FORMS? Then checkout Wufoo.com where you can What is Wufoo? Wufoo strives to be the easiest way to collect information over the Internet. Our HTML form builder helps you create contact forms, online surveys, and invitations so you can collect the data, registrations and online payments you need without writing a single line of code.
http://wufoo.com/

With BusinessItOnline.com

you have four modules, Calendar Online, Cashflow Online, Contacts Online, Documents Online and Marketing Online. The cashflow involves invoicing. There are many features here but I do not understand how they can compete with Google Docs or Zoho.com suite which have many more applications and all are free unless you need more than the stipulated maximum. But the maximums are quite high. For example I am using the Zoho Invoice module which allows me 5 estimates which can be converted to 5 invoices every month free for two users. If you need more invoices and estimates, then the $8 a month level gives you up to 25 invoices a month. They all give you unlimited customers and much much more.

http://www.businessitonline.com/pricing.aspx


Timebridge.com allows you shared schedules and calendaring along with syncing to Outlook and Google Calendar or iCal and handles participants being in different time zones. It claims to have introduced the first Personal Scheduling Assistant designed to help busy people find a time to meet — fast. This innovative, new web application works across calendaring systems, companies and time zones.

http://www.timebridge.com/lp/share.html

Econsultant.com has massive lists from places where retirees are wanted to work, Wordpress plugins, lists of freeware utilities, Web 2 logos, Web 2 directory, ultimate web developer lists, web developer lists, web design galleries, and many useful general sites links. It also has complete yearly calendars. See links below.

http://blog.econsultant.com/print-2009-calendar-twelve-pages-monthly

Webasyst.net

is an online collaboration software and services site which helps you to organize, manage, collaborate, share and sell on the Internet. webAsyst is an online collaboration solution available as a hosted service and downloadable PHP software. WebAsyst allows you to organize your business and private information, collaborate with your team and customers, create an online store to start selling on the Internet, and do many other things that you may not even have imagined doing online.

The flexibility of WebAsyst online collaboration software makes it the ideal solution for personal use, project groups, small to medium businesses, and yet perfectly adaptable for huge organizations. It is your personal web site or intranet, where your information is accessible at any time, from anywhere, and always available for sharing and collaboration with others. Many services are free and others you pay for as necessary. http://www.webasyst.net/

Need a Resume?

Instantly Create a Professional Resume in Less than 10 Minutes

The Resume Builder allows you to instantly create a professional, easy to edit resume in minutes using our self guided resume wizard. No complicated software to learn or install - simply enter in your information, and in seconds, you'll have a perfect resume to find that perfect job!

COVER LETTER now available. We literally write it for you.

http://www.theresumebuilder.com/worknew.php


Another Resume Builder

At Pongo Resume, they claim that you will find "All the tools, templates, and support you need to write professional resumesand cover letters, ace tough interviews, and secure a great job

You may be the best candidate, but you won't get the job unless your resume, cover letter, and interview skills stand out and impress employers. With Pongo's Resume Builder, Cover Letter Builder, Interview Tips, and expert guidance, you have what it takes to sell yourself and negotiate your best job offer." There is a free trial which probably will not print unless you pay. The cost is $9.95 per month or a yearly subscription of $59.95. http://www.pongoresume.com/

ScheduleWorld

has a very impressive interface and claims to be ...

* An excellent alternative to Microsoft Exchange.
* A shining example of Web 2.0 cloud computing. Your events, todos, contacts and notes work 100% offline.
* Synchronizes and integrates with more devices and software than anyone else.
* The best IMAP web mail in the world.
* Quick access to restore from automated backups.
* The fantastic feature list.
* found at http://www.scheduleworld.com

I have used this and is very complete as a full-blown PIM and very compatible. It has several modules, TODAY, Calendar, Task List, Contact list in various formats, Notes manager, Instant Messenger which is compatible with all the main ones, IMAP email, auto backup and restore. Settings allow you to sync with various phones, gmail and other devices.

Slideroll allows you to make slideshows that you can use to create slide shows with your photos. Publish your slideshows on the internet, put them on MySpace or YouTube, and e-mail them to friends.

You can add music and various effects. You can publish to Video for DVD or YouTube with the Slideroll Videomaker, which can turn your slideshows into video that you can use for your DVDs, or upload to YouTube. You can even add your own MP3 Soundtrack. With Slideroll™, you can turn those static photos into wonderful stories! Best of all, basic membership is completely free! Join today! You can become a pro member for a price and download and keep your slideshows forever. This is a welcime product to many but Picasa now does much the same thing, so you may not need the Pro membership plus there are various other FREE products you can download that will do the same thing.

http://www.slideroll.com/free-slideshow-creator.php


At Webpasties you can have a 14 day FREE TRIAL to try out their creators which make Web Polls, Form Mails, Calendars, RSS tickers, Slideshows, Event Signups, Visit Trackers, IM Buttons and Podcast RSS. True many of these are available for free on some web hosting sites, but not all.
http://www.webpasties.com

Pictobrowser allows you to make fast and effortless photo galleries for your website or blog. Again many hosting companies have various galleries that you can install for free like Gallery, Coppermine and others. Also Picasaweb does most of the same stuff with some notable differences. However this may be very useful for those that have limited freebies on their hosting sites. http://www.pictobrowser.com/

Vstore allows you to have Free Shopping Carts & Ecommerce Website Solutions.
http://www.vstore.ca/free-sign-up.php

1FreeCart.com is a 100% Absolutely FREE shopping cart store. There are no gimmicks, no hidden fees, and no transaction fees. The costs of operating our free shopping cart software is supported by advertising from our sponsors and the only time you pay anything is when you order or subscribe to any of our additional shopping cart or hosting services.
http://www.1freecart.com/

Auctionlotwatch gives you free tools for auction users. It is basically what we call a portal site of various related links. But free is free. Just watch out for the gimmicky sites which create popups and do crazy stuff.

http://www.auctionlotwatch.com/free/


Free-Auctions.ca

allows you to list various items for sale for free. However there does not appear to be much traffic but free is free. Give it a try. Or use Kijiji.ca or Kijiji.com instead.
http://www.free-auctions.ca/members_area.php?page=store&section=categories&generate_subcategories=1

Forms can be created for free at CreateForms.com. "Without any html programming you can create custom web forms. This html form maker is free to use."

http://www.createforms.com/


https://www.invoice.com/user/invoice_menu.asp

http://corlive.com/

http://sharetabs.com/

http://www.websnapr.com/

Collabtrak is a free, flexible, easy to use web-based project tracker for web designers and their clients.

http://www.collabtrak.com/

Springloops bills itself as Springloops is a unique source code management tool focused on web development teams. It allows you to code in parallel and share your code safely concentrated on results, not on lost changes or overwritten files. You get rapid collaboration in protected space. Thanks to the project management perspective it serves the getting things done attitude. Moreover, Springloops reduces repeatable activities in your day-to-day work.
It makes great things simple. What our clients say about us >>
http://springloops.com/


https://www.dexrex.com/

SmashingApps.com has free and useful online apps for web designers and developers.

http://www.smashingapps.com/2008/07/25/23-free-and-online-web-based-applications-specially-if-you-are-designer-or-developer.html


http://www.qipit.com/

Ning allows you to create or discover already-created social networks.

http://www.ning.com/


http://jott.com/


http://www.imeem.com/

Doodle. How does Doodle work?

1. Create a poll.
2. Forward the link to the poll to the participants.
3. Follow online what the participants vote for.

Free. No registration required.

http://doodle.com/main.html


http://www.meebo.com/

http://www.rememberthemilk.com/home/cpedley/#section.overview


https://www.photoshop.com/


http://skydrive.live.com/

Screentoaster is a free online screen recorder. It can be used to capture videos of onscreen action in one click. Record screencasts, tutorials, demos, training, lectures and more. You can share and stream videos online in Flash, Embed them on blogs and webpages or send them by email. Educational and personal uses.
http://www.screentoaster.com/

Posterous is the dead simple place to post anything by email. Great for first time bloggers.
http://www.posterous.com/


http://www.truveo.com/

Joongel allows you to search 10 search engines at once.
http://www.joongel.com/

Rescuetime offers you personal time management software. If you are a business it may cost you a little but so does WASTED time.
http://www.rescuetime.com/


http://ping.fm/

Animoto was created by TV and film producers. It analyzes your images, feels your music, and then customizes a video. I have not used it but the demo is very professional and I am eager to try it. I own Photodex Proshow which is excellent. But this is certainly worth a try for those not wanting to purchase and install software. Looks very simple. If you try it, please comment below. http://animoto.com/


http://instacalc.com/

Mesh Your work computer. Your home laptop. Your Mac. Your mobile phone. Devices live in multiple places. But the files you need—and the programs that open them—often don’t. Live Mesh changes all that. It syncs them and puts shared folders on the web so you can access them from anywhere.
https://www.mesh.com/Welcome/default.aspx

http://www.palaestratraining.com/blog/2008/07/29-web-apps-for-students-and-white-collar-workers/

http://website.grader.com/#ReportTop

http://en.web-graphics-maker.com/

http://www.anyclient.com/applet.html

http://www.whoishostingthis.com/

http://www.phpform.org/

http://pingability.com/

http://www.surveygizmo.com/

http://www.mikogo.com/Welcome.aspx

http://psd2cssonline.com/

http://writer.bighugelabs.com/

http://mashable.com/2007/08/09/online-business/

http://www.freebusinessforms.com/invoicepackage/purchaseorderproducts.htm

Picasa 3 Collage







Photo-Video-Worship Resources
http://worship-photos.blogspot.com
Resources in the area of photos, videos and other like resources for your church or ministry. Video tutorials and overviews of select products.

Church-Software-Store.com
http://www.church-software-store.com
Church Software, Hardware, Bibles, Multimedia, Projectors, Internet Security, Resource Links, Wordsearch Bible products and more.

Free Magazines for Churches

Christian Computing Magazine - FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS
http://ccmag.com/ccmag_issues/view_issue2.php?recordID=1
Our Vision The first issue of Christian Computing Magazine (CCMag) was published January 1989. CCMag has helped to keep its readers informed on software, services and other areas of technology, pertaining to how it relates to the Christian community, the church and ministry.

Christian Media Resources
http://christian-media-resources.blogspot.com
 
JUBAL MAGAZINE - Church Music & Worship -FREE
http://www.jubalmagazine.com/
This publication is 100% digital and is received in PDF format. Jubal Music and Worship Magazine is completely FREE of charge. All we need is your e-mail address for you to being receiving the magazine. Send this to your friends and encourage them to sign up for a free subscription.

Grandcentral becomes Google Voice

Hi

I always sign up for Google free stuff because if it looks the least bit interesting, Google will be changing it, modifying it and improving it. And sometimes combine it with something else to make it very powerful. That is what is just happening at Grandcental. It is becoming Google Voice.


So why would you care? Look at the features below. That may help you decide.


I signed up for gmail way way back. It is getting more and more useful all the time. It looks like it is about the merge soon with Google Voice. You can NOW email from Grandcentral, er excuse me Google Voice.

Here is the description when you go to www.grandcentral.com

Google Voice: Coming soon

Print

Google Voice is a service that gives you one number for all your phones, voicemail that is as easy as email, and many enhanced calling features like call blocking and screening, voicemail transcripts, call conferencing, international calls,and more.

Google Voice is currently available for GrandCentral users only, but will be open to new users soon. In the meantime, please leave us your email address and we'll notify you as soon as Google Voice becomes available. To learn more about Google Voice, check out our feature videos.

When can I sign up?
We expect to have the service ready for new users in a matter of weeks, and are focused on opening it as soon as possible.

What if I reserved a number on the GrandCentral site before?
We will be emailing you when Google Voice is open to the public to sign up for the service.

How much does it cost?
The service is free.

What do I do if I am already a GrandCentral user? Over the next few days, instructions will appear at the top of your inbox on how to upgrade your GrandCentral account to Google Voice. Thanks for your patience.

I think it would be very good to leave your email address with Google so they can let you know when the transition is complete.

Google is famous for its vast array of freebies. However the freebies can often be upgraded to Premium Quality by paying a small fee. If you don't need the premium support, then you just keep using the FREE version. Life is good.



Google Voice is by invitation only for now unless you were a previous GrandCentral user.


Put your name on the invitation list so that you are one of the first to get access as soon as it is opened.



Watch a video about Google Voice





Charles

Earth-Shattering News

Checkout Digsby

Freeware is what it says entirely free software. Contrary to popular opinion, you DO NOT get what you pay for, you get FAR MORE in most cases. No one can say that OpenOffice, Thunderbird email and Firefox browser are inferior to commercial products. If anyone does, it just shows they do not know those programs. Ever heard of Digsby?
Communication:
The latest program I have discovered which overlaps email, IM [instant messengers], and social websites. It can keep you in touch with all three at once!
This program is called Digsby. Check it out. It not only is an instant messenger but it is compatible with AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Google Talk, and Jabber all at one time with only one buddy list! Amazing how far we have come.

The only thing I think would make Digsby better would be to allow it to shrink to tasbar and not just hide at the edge of the screen which is sometimes annoying. But the program is definitely worth a try.

ZDNET Articles, Freeware and Issues - September 21, 2009

Featured TalkBack

Do you really need Office? Really? If the Feds don't, do we?

Christopher Dawson: For 95% of what we do, Google Apps does the trick quite nicely and allows people to work together. For a wide swath of users, however, getting them to jump into the cloud and leave their biases in favor of Office behind is remarkably difficult.

READ FULL BLOG

Microsoft workaround for critical SMB2 fl
Bahama' botnet linked to click-fraud surge
PBS.org hacked, serving malware cocktail
Sun patches 'critical' StarOffice/StarSuite flaw
Phishers introduce 'Chat-in-the-Middle' fraud tactic Why is it that people believe they need Office to write a letter home to parents? Post Your Thoughts in TalkBack ZDNet Blogs A close-up look at the new Office Web Apps The art of blog: credibility is in the eye of the beholder Linux and open source are not enough The democratization of IT Palm's growth plan: Can it work in a changing mobile market? Most Rated Posts Microsoft's newest Windows 7 promotion: $30 price tag for students Microsoft Office Web Apps go to testers: Ten things to know Google calls Apple on their lies 20 hours to upgrade Windows 7 ... maybe, but it's a fringe case Zune HD review roundup: excellent hardware and UI, apps lacking TechRepublic Hot Topics Save the PC: A petition to Microsoft and Apple Cloud apps are quietly winning over CIOs, but security still spooks many Lay the groundwork for a smooth Snow Leopard upgrade The 10 biggest moments in IT history Micromanagers going too far Latest from SmartPlanet Cheaper, better, eyeglasses, thanks to nanotechnology Hate business meetings? Read this post The number one key to sales mastery From rust to resolve: can Michigan regain the 'upper hand'? Photo Galleries Office Web Apps Technical Preview In September 2009, Microsoft made a partial technical preview of its new Office Web Apps suite available for a select group of testers and partners. What can you do with these "streamlined" Office programs, and which features are missing? VIEW THE GALLERY Concept cars at the Frankfurt auto show From robo-pills to cyber-surgeons More Photo Galleries ZDNet Videocasts What makes IBM's 'green' data center tick CNET News' Martin LaMonica gets a tour of IBM's lab for green IT where the data center uses networked sensors and liquid cooling to lower energy use. WATCH THE VIDEO Urban Hopper bot leaps over 25-foot fence Sony PSP Go preview event Zune HD (32GB - platinum) The Zune HD delivers one of the best portable music and video experiences money can buy. At a time when many people have shifted their focus to games and applications, providing a killer media experience may not be enough for potential Zune buyers.  Sony STR-DN1000 The Sony STR-DN1000 offers solid sound and basic AV receiver features at a bargain price, but it's not nearly as good as last year's STR-DG920.

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Are Those Deleted Files Really Gone?

	FORUMS | BLOG | RSS | MY PROFILE | PRIVACY

Vol. 9, #89 - Sep 22, 2009 - Issue #397  Are Those Deleted Files Really Gone? Editor's Corner Are Those Deleted Files Really Gone? Follow-up: AutoComplete Oopsies Quotes of the Week Cool Tools Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without News, Hints, Tips and Tricks Microsoft launches Office Web Apps technical preview XP on your Phone: now it's a reality Microsoft sues malicious advertisers How To: Using XP Features How to change the Control Panel category for an application XP Security News End of support for XP SP2 is less than a year away XP Question Corner Startup problem: "can't find logon.exe" XP Configuration and Troubleshooting Keep RAS connections active after logging off Screensaver timeout value is not restored after you use RDC Fav Links This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff Product of the Week New DownloadStudio 5.1. - More Features, More Downloads, More Speed. Kiss Your Antivirus Bloatware Goodbye We asked users of antivirus products what they didn't like about their AV software. They told us they are resource hogs and slowed their computer down. They told us that scan times took way too long, and that the AV software nagged them. In short, old-style AV software takes too much Memory and CPU. Time to switch to VIPRE! It gives you malware protection that combines antivirus, antispyware, anti-rootkit and other technologies into a seamless, tightly-integrated product. Even if you run "free" antivirus software, it hijacks 20% of your PC, so it's really not free at all! Get VIPRE now and see how fast your PC can really be: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-VIPRE  Editor's Corner Are Those Deleted Files Really Gone? Electronic data is a funny thing. Seems as if it's always disappearing when you don't want it to, and when you do want to get rid of it for good, it may just hang around to haunt you. Which is worse: losing a 25 page document you spent the week perfecting, or having someone find incriminating "evidence" on your computer that you thought you'd deleted? I guess it depends on who you are and just how incriminating that evidence is. Either way, you're probably not going to be a happy camper. Fixing the first problem is relatively easy and can be summed up in three little words: "Back it up." Save often, and if it's really important, save to different locations. When I'm working on a document or slide deck that's very complex, has a tight deadline for completion and/or is a high dollar project, I take multiple precautions. In addition to frequently saving copies on both the server and my local computer, after every couple of hours of work I'll email a copy to my Hotmail or Gmail account and/or upload it to my SkyDrive, to ensure that even if a tornado swoops down and destroys every computer in my house, there will still be a backup of my work "out there" somewhere. Some people just can't get into the habit of hitting CTRL+S, and for them, the Autosave function can be a lifesaver. By default, Word 2007 saves information every 10 minutes but you can set it to an even shorter interval if you like (Word Options, Save). I love the autorecovery feature in modern versions of Office. I still remember when a computer crash could result in losing everything you'd typed since the last time you manually saved the document. We've come a long way, baby. You can also automate the backup of your files to another location. There are a number of programs that will create a copy of designated files to an external hard drive or another computer on the network, running in the background and needing no interaction with the user. Businesses use full fledged disaster recovery programs such as Sunbelt's Double-Take to back up entire systems and applications, as well as data. Home users on a budget can get less expensive tools to clone systems or just back up data. If you're running XP Pro, you can use the built-in backup utility to copy your documents and settings (which includes your email and address books). Although the backup tool wasn't installed by default on XP Home computers, you can manually install it from the installation CD. There are numerous commercial programs that will create a system image. The second issue is more complicated. Some people might think that when you hit "Delete," that document, email message or photo is "erased," but that's not usually the case. The first place it might still be is in the Recycle Bin. Microsoft introduced this feature in Windows 95 and most (but not all) files that you delete via Windows Explorer to this "file purgatory." Files that you delete using the command line or other applications won't necessarily go into the Recycle Bin. Even though you see a single Recycle Bin icon on your desktop, Windows creates a Recycle Bin folder for each drive. Files that are stored on removable drives, such as USB drives, may or may not go to the Bin when deleted; it depends on whether Windows recognizes the drive as a permanent one (as it does with many large USB drives) or as a removable drive (as it does with most small USB flash drives). Technically, how Windows see a drive depends on whether the Removable Media bit is set in the drive's device descriptor. In addition, if a file is too large, it won't go into the Recycle Bin. In XP, the default size for the Recycle Bin folder is 10% of the total drive space. This is also the maximum. You can change the size to make it smaller or even set it to zero so files on that drive can't go to the Recycle Bin at all. To change the settings, right click the Bin icon and select Properties. You can use the Global setting to change the size of the Bin on all drives at once, or you can change settings for each drive separately. Obviously, the Recycle Bin can be security risk. However, you might be relieved to know that if your drives are formatted with NTFS, other users won't be able to see the files in your user account's Recycle Bin (unless, of course, they're logged on with your account). If you've accidentally deleted a file and it's in the Bin, you can easily restore it to its original location. Just because a file isn't in the Bin, that doesn't mean it's gone. First, you should check the application you used to delete it. For example, when you delete an email message in Outlook, it goes into the "Deleted Items" folder. It's still there until you empty that folder. You might have Outlook set up to empty it when you close the program, but if not, it will stay there until you manually empty it (or click the item in the Deleted Items folder and "delete" it again). Deleted Outlook messages don't go into the Recycle Bin. You might think, then, that if you delete an Outlook message from the Deleted Items folder, or if you empty the Recycle Bin, those files are finally gone forever. Not so fast! All that happens is that the space that file is using on the disk is marked as "free" so other data can be written to it. But until it's overwritten, the data itself is still there. However, it's a bit more difficult to recover at this point; it requires special file recovery software such as Undelete Plus, File Scavenger, or one of dozens of other programs that are available for this purpose. Even after the data has been overwritten, it may still be possible to recover some or all of it. Expensive commercial data forensics services can use very sophisticated programs to reconstruct the underlying data in some cases. At the physical level, if drive heads are not in perfect alignment, for example, the subsequent write operation may not completely cover the original data. Additionally, the operating system may have made copies of the data that remain in the page file (swap file), temporary files, or even remapped bad disk blocks. Overwriting the data numerous times has a better chance of obliterating it. There are a number of programs available that do just that. Simple disk-wiping programs just write zeros over all the data on a single pass. Medium security programs overwrite the data two or three times, first using a 1 or 0, then using the opposite character, and finally using a random character. The so-called Guttman method overwrites the data thirty-five times! It can take a long time to overwrite data this way. A faster method for wiping a drive is to use a magnetic device that's designed for that purpose (called a degausser). They create a magnetic field that erases the magnetic bits on the media. The devices are relatively expensive and are usually used when a company has many drives they need to erase quickly. They also destroy the drive's formatting information and thus render the drives usable, so they're only used when you want to dispose of the drive. Of course, if you have only a few drives that need to be disposed of, you can save money by simply physically destroying them. A sledge hammer works well; be sure to break all the platters. According to some sources, the NSA grinds old drives into powder, and the military has powerful magnets that can destroy a drive in five seconds: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Destroy-a-Hard-Drive If you really want to get extreme, other methods - which we don't recommend trying at home) include immersing the drive in muriatic acid or burning it with thermite: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Destroy-Hard-Drive Tell us about the experiences you've had with files that get deleted when you still want them, or those that didn't go away when you thought they had. What programs have worked best for you to recover accidentally deleted data? What extra precautions do you take when you have sensitive data and need to ensure that it's really been deleted? We invite you to join in the discussion on the forum at http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Forum-Discussion Follow-up: AutoComplete Oopsies Last week, I wrote about the AutoComplete and AutoCorrect features in software that can save you time - or cause you great embarrassment. Quite a few of our readers note that they turn off AutoCorrect in their word processing programs. Others pointed out that you can use AutoCorrect as a shortcut by creating your own entries; that is, if you use a certain long word or phrase a lot, you can create an association with a short letter combination. For example, let's say you need to write an article about the hill named Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu in New Zealand and don't want to have to type its name every time. You can create an AutoCorrect entry so that whenever you type "tahu," it will insert the full 85-character name. I wanted to respond to this comment from DavidW: "The only thing I leave AutoComplete turned on is my cell/mobile phone for texting/text messaging (anything to make that faster and easier is welcomed). When on the computer, I find it easier to just type in words than take my hand off the keyboard, move it to the mouse, and then back again." I, too, dislike having to move my hand from the keyboard to the mouse, but there's no need to do that with most AutoComplete implementations. When the list of suggested completions pops up, just scroll through them with the arrow keys and then hit "Enter" when you get to the one you want. Jbinbi wrote that, "The best feature MS had in Outlook 2000, they took away in future versions. This was the ability to add an email address to your address book automatically. There was a check book to enable this feature that all REPLY TOs would automatically get added to the address book. This meant that you did not have to manually add them." I hated to lose that feature, too. The good news is that the functionality can be added to later versions of Outlook with a third party application called Add Contacts, from Office-Addins.com. It will automatically add the addresses when you reply to a message or send a new message, and it checks your Contacts first to avoid creating duplicates. It costs $15 but you can try it out for 30 days at no cost. When you install the program, it adds a tab to the Options dialog box (under Tools) where you can configure how you want it to work, the Contacts folder location where you want it to store added contacts, and whether to try to find the contact's name in the body of the message if it doesn't appear as part of the address, as well as whether to assign a category. You can even process messages that you've previously sent to add those addresses to your Contacts list. Find out more about it here: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Add-Contacts Dr. Ryan J. asked how to save the custom dictionaries in Word so he can use it in a new installation. In Word 2007, the dictionary is saved with the .dic extension. Search for *.dic to find these files and then copy them to a backup location if you just want to save the dictionaries. Gskarbek notes that if you've created a customized AutoCorrect list, you can copy it to a new computer, too. In this case, look for the .acl files. And as DavidW pointed out, you can also use the "Save My Settings" wizard in Microsoft Office tools to export your settings from Office programs and import them to a fresh installation. And several of you picked up on an example of something that AutoCorrect doesn't correct: words that are spelled correctly but misspelled in context (in the "How To" section, two letters were transposed so that what should have been "Use" was turned into "Sue"). Great catch! And Coffeeturtle (love that nickname) had a good tip: use Office Sounds so you get an audible cue when words are changed automatically. Finally, for those who of you who don't read the forums, Bruce B. shared this useful little article on the heartbreak of relying on the AutoComplete list instead of properly populating your Contacts folder. Read it here: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Auto-Complete Thanks to all of you who participated in the discussion on this topic. 'Til next week, Deb Shinder, Editor feedback@wxpnews.com PS: Did you know this newsletter has a sister publication called Win7News? You can subscribe here, and tell your friends: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Win7News And for IT pros, there's our "big sister," WServer News, at http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-WServerNews Look up the WXPnews Fan Page and join us on Facebook! Quotes of the Week There are some that only employ words for the purpose of disguising their thoughts. - Voltaire (1694 - 1778) If the people who make the decisions are the people who will also bear the consequences of those decisions, perhaps better decisions will result. - John Abrams A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation. - Saki/Hector Hugh Munro (1870 - 1916) Keep The Bad Guys Out With The Sunbelt Personal Firewall Why do I need a firewall? Together with antivirus and antispyware, a firewall is a "must" to protect your computer. PC Magazine gave the Sunbelt Personal Firewall a "Very Good" rating with 4 Stars and a conclusion of "good protection". Check out the Reviews on the site and it will be clear why you need the Sunbelt Personal Firewall to protect your PC. One good example: Unlike the Windows XP and Vista Firewall, you can tell the Sunbelt Personal Firewall to look carefully at the data leaving your browser, so that sensitive information like your credit card numbers, email address, bank account, social security number and PIN code do not get stolen by hackers! http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-SPF  Cool Tools Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without ADVERTISEMENT Search for a driver and you get a ton of Driver Software offers instead. But how do you know which one is good? Try Driver Genious 9.0. Free scan. Driver Genius Professional 9.0 Replace the horrendous Word 2007 ribbon with familar Office 2003 functionality. Try Classic Menu For Word 2007. Classic Menu For Word 2007 Backups? Why back up when you can sync? Simply replicate every piece of data to another drive in real-time. Set it and forget it. GoodSync Spotmau PowerSuite Professional 2008: Fantastic! All the tools necessary to fix most common computer problems. Clone and backup too! Spotmau PowerSuite Professional 2009 PC Tune-Up: 4 Easy Steps That Eliminate Frustrating Slow Computer Problems: PC Tune-Up Registry First Aid 7.0 - New Release Is Faster, Safer and Even More Effective Registry First Aid Improve your English writing skills with WhiteSmoke a smarter solution for high quality writing. Download the free trial version here. WhiteSmoke Rip DVDs for your iPod/iPhone or Apple TV. Bundle includes video converter too! Try it free! Cucusoft iPod Video Converter + DVD to iPod Suite Unclog Vista! Advanced Vista Optimizer will tweak Vista for Max performance. Easy to use: AccountLogon  News, Hints, Tips and Tricks Microsoft launches Office Web Apps technical preview GoogleApps, look out. Microsoft is coming at you with Office Web Apps, which is a web-based version of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for those who prefer the familiar Microsoft Office interface and functionality. Office Web Apps was just released in a private technical preview (OneNote will also be part of the suite but is not included in this release), and will be made available in public beta within the next few months and then as a free Windows Live service next year. It will be integrated with Office 2010. Find out more here: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Office-Web-Apps XP on your Phone: now it's a reality When you think about cell phones running Windows, you usually think about Windows Mobile. It's a good OS for the little devices, but it's a far cry from a full fledged computer operating system. Now it appears you're going to be able to get a phone that comes with a real desktop OS - Windows XP - installed on a real hard disk. Great idea, but it really looks more like a UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) than the typical phone. It weighs just a little less than a pound, which is light for a computer but heavy for a phone. Still, it's interesting. Take a look: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-XP-Cellphone Microsoft sues malicious advertisers "Malvertising" - online ads that spread malicious code - is a growing threat to the computer using public and Microsoft has filed lawsuits against five entities that have been behind it, as well as the associated individuals. The company filed suit because the advertisers are using its AdManager service to launch their attacks. This is nothing new; in the past Microsoft has filed suit against spammers, spimmers (who distribute spam through instant messaging), and others who engage in similar activities. Read more here: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Malicious-Advertising  How To: Using XP Features How to change the Control Panel category for an application Many of us prefer the Classic view for Control Panel, but others like XP's Categories view. Some readers have asked me, though, if they can move items from one category to another - this especially applies to programs that put their own applets in the Control Panel, sometimes not in the category where you'd expect it to be. Turns out you can do that, if you're comfortable with editing the registry. Here's how: First back up the registry, just in case. Open the registry editor and navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Control Panel \ Extended Properties \ {305CA226-D286-468e-B848-2B2E8E697B74} 2 In the right pane, each DWORD value is named after the full path to its Control Panel file. Find the one you want to move and double click it. In the Value Data field, enter the value associated with the Category where you want to place it, from the list below. Accessibility Options 0x00000007 Add or Remove Programs 0x00000008 Appearance and Themes 0x00000001 Date, Time & Language 0x00000006 Network & Internet 0x00000003 Other Control Panel Options 0x00000000 Performance & Maintenance 0x00000005 Printers & Other Hardware 0x00000002 Security Center 0x00000010 Sounds, Speech & Audio 0x00000004 User Accounts 0x00000009  XP Security News End of support for XP SP2 is less than a year away If you're still running Windows XP with Service Pack 2, here's a heads-up: Microsoft will end support for that configuration in July 2010, so you'd best start thinking about installing SP3. It may seem as if that date is a long way off, but time does fly when you're having fun, so mark your calendars or just bite the bullet and go ahead and update now. XP SP3 will be supported until April 2014. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Product-Lifecycle  XP Question Corner Startup problem: "can't find logon.exe" QUESTION: Okay, here's a puzzler. I have an old Windows XP computer that I hadn't used in a while. It's just been sitting in the guest room for several months, since I got a new computer. My daughter came to visit and I was going to let her use it. Fired it up and got a message saying "Windows cannot find logon.exe." That sounds like a pretty important thing to get lost, and I don't have a clue how it got lost. The computer still booted but it's acting a little weird, like copy and paste not working right. Is this something I can copy from another computer or download somewhere or ...? Thanks for your help. - Jack E. ANSWER: Sometimes you can fix this problem with a simple registry edit. As always, be sure to back up the registry first. Then perform these steps: Open your registry editor and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ Winlogon In the right pane, double click Shell. In the values box, if you see "Explorer.exe" and then "Logon.exe," delete the "Logon.exe" part only. Click OK. Close the registry editor. Reboot the computer. You can see screenshots of the steps here: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Logon-Error  XP Configuration and Troubleshooting Keep RAS connections active after logging off By default, when you log off your XP computer that's acting as a Remote Access Services (RAS) client, your connections will be automatically disconnected. However, if you don't want that to happen, you can stay connected after logging off by enabling the KeepRasConnections key in the registry. Yes, it requires a registry edit. For step by step instructions on how to do it, see KB article 158909 at http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-RAS-Connections Screensaver timeout value is not restored after you use RDC If you have a screensaver timeout value configured on your Windows XP Pro computer, and then you log onto it via a Remote Desktop Connection with a different user account, when you log back on locally you might find that the screensaver timeout reverts to the value in the default profile rather than using the one in your profile. To find out how to fix this, see KB article 811329 at http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Screensaver-Time-Out  Fav Links This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff Disclaimer: WXPNews does not assume and cannot be responsible for any liability related to you clicking any of these linked Web sites. Strange things that fell from the sky http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Falling-From-the-Sky Hotel made from key cards http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Cards Is this the future of driving? http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Drive-by-Wire Ten worst job interview questions http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Interview-Questions Cute pugs http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Pugs Five worst computer designs of all time? http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Awful-Computers Fishing boat in stormy seas off the coast of Iceland at a wind speed of 76 mph. See those rocks nearby? Not a place where I'd dare to risk my life: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Stormy-Seas The most amazing tennis shot I have ever seen: Roger Federer plays an outrageous passing shot through his legs in the US Open Semi-Final. 16-th sec: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Tennis-Shot Last but not least: The 100 greatest YouTube hits in less than 4 minutes: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-YouTube-Hits I found a website with a treasure trove of gorgeous posters of all kinds, and they have free shipping for domestic U.S. Check them out: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-Art  Product of the Week New DownloadStudio 5.1. - More Features, More Downloads, More Speed. DownloadStudio is the most powerful download manager available today and new version 5.1 is even better yet! It has over 12 specialized downloading tools that let you download programs, games, flash video, music, movies, photos, streaming audio & video, web sites, RSS feeds, podcasts and more. Speed up your downloads by up to 500%. Resume broken downloads. Schedule downloads for later or at regular intervals. Download flash video from You Tube, Google Video and more. Download files from RapidShare, Megaupload and more. Download and capture streaming audio & video. Find hard-to-get URLs by sniffing your internet connection. Find links on web sites with a site explorer. Download and read RSS feeds and podcasts. Quickly view and organize all your downloaded files. Over 30 new features and improvements in this version. WXPNews readers get an exclusive immediate10.00 discount with coupon. Download the free trial or buy it now. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/090922-DownloadStudio  About WXPnews What Our Lawyers Make Us Say These documents are provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this document represents the current view of Sunbelt Software on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Sunbelt must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Sunbelt and Sunbelt cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT. This newsletter and website and may contain links to other websites with whom we have a business relationship. Sunbelt Software does not review or screen these sites, and we are not responsible or liable for their privacy or data security practices, or the content of these sites. Additionally, if you register with any of these sites, any information that you provide in the process of registration, such as your email address, credit card number or other personally identifiable information, will be transferred to these sites. For these reasons, you should be careful to review any privacy and data security policies posted on any of these sites before providing information to them. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. This document may be copied and distributed subject to the following conditions: 1) All text must be copied without modification and all pages must be included; 2) All copies must contain Sunbelt's copyright notice and any other notices provided therein; and 3) This document may not be distributed for profit. All trademarks acknowledged. Copyright Sunbelt Software, Inc. 1996-2009. WXPnews Archives Looking for a past issue? Missing an issue? Accidently deleted an issue? Trying to find that article that pointed you to that cool site? All our newsletters are archived and are searchable: http://www.wxpnews.com/archives.cfm About Your Subscription to WXPnews This is a posting from WXPnews. You are subscribed as charles@cpedley.com. To manage your profile, please visit our site by clicking on the following link: http://www.wxpnews.com/profile.cfm?wxp=3UDXV2 If you have feedback or wish to write to the editor, write to us at feedback@wxpnews.com Sunbelt Software 33 North Garden Avenue Clearwater, Florida USA 33755