Since I am a great user of my USB drive and a huge lover of portable applications that I carry around I have been looking for some launchers that I can add to my USB drive so that I can boot my portable applications more easily. And since it took me quite a while before I found the right launcher I thought I would write up a review for all you portable geeks out there that are looking for a portable launcher. My favorite is PStart, and that is what I will be writing about.

I will be judging PStart on a few factors which I deem very important for a launcher for all my portable apps. A few of those are an easy to understand User Interface, Simplicity (Who would want a launcher that is more complicated than looking up the app on your USB drive?) and most importantly (in my opinion) Customization.

A quick quote from the PStart Website;

PStart is a simple tray tool to start user defined applications. Designed to run portable applications (like portable Firefox & Thunderbird), you can start anything runnable from USB key devices or removable disks.

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Geeks to Go admin

Have you ever wondered who is behind this site? What our Head Geek (as we like to call him) likes to do in his spare time? What drives him? Today is the day to find out! Because we did an interview with the man behind this amazing site full of great and free advice!

This is the first part of a two part interview. In this first part I will ask him some questions regarding age, employment, what he likes to do in his ‘free time’, and his ‘most memorable moment’ from the site. Be sure to watch for part two… Coming soon.

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Would you like to learn more about the cool new features in Office 2010 and Windows 7? Still not sure what has changed since previous versions? Do you use Microsoft Office but would like to learn tips and tricks to be more productive at home, school or at work? Perhaps you are a new user who has questions on how to get started with Windows 7 or using the Office ribbon? Or would like to learn how to protect your computer from malware and viruses. Or perhaps you are just stuck and need answers.

The Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) are here to help!

The MVPs are the same people you see in the technical community as authors, trainers, user groups leaders and answerers in the Microsoft forums. For the first time ever Microsoft has brought these experts together as a collective group to answer your questions live. MVPs will be on hand to take questions about Microsoft Office 2010 or Office 2007 products such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Project, OneNote and more. As well as Windows 7 and earlier versions such as Windows Vista. In addition to Microsoft Office, the chat will cover Windows related topics such as upgrading, setup and installation, securing your PC, Internet Explorer, personalizing your computer desktop or having fun with Windows Live Essentials to share photos, make movies and more. All levels of experience are welcome from beginners and students to intermediate power users. Please join Microsoft and the MVPs for this informative Q&A style chat and bring on your basic and your tough questions!

Join the Chat!

When: October 14, 2010 – 10:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M. Pacific Time

Additional Time Zones

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You can follow this on Twitter at #msmvpchat

Join the event on Facebook: Chat about Microsoft Office & Windows with MVP Experts!

What is a Windows 7 Family Pack? It’s a discounted 3-user pack of Windows 7 Home Premium (upgrade versions). Available for $150 from Microsoft (or $140 from Amazon), you’ll save $200+ if you’re upgrading 3 PCs!

Already running Windows XP or Vista? Then you’re eligible for this upgrade offer (Vista can be upgraded using Windows 7, but XP will require a clean install).

Is Home Premium the right version for you? Unless you need to join a domain (mostly corporate networks), or require XP mode, then yes it probably is. Do you need 32-bit or 64-bit? Don’t worry, they are both included.

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On September 15 2010, Microsoft announced a public beta version of their web browser Internet Explorer (IE). Microsoft claims that this new version, IE9, is going to be a more secure, stable and faster browsing experience. Being a little skeptical toward Internet Explorer, I wanted to see this for myself, so I set out to get my copy of IE9 over at The Beauty of the Web.

Quoting The Beauty of the Web;

“As amazing as the web is, its potential is immeasurably greater. Internet Explorer 9 was designed to let that potential shine through. Click below to see how developers and designers are creating a more beautiful web using HTML5 and advancements in Internet Explorer 9.”

I myself am a big fan of Google Chrome. I love the speed it offers and the minimalistic UI it offers, therefore I won’t only be comparing IE9 to IE8, but I will also write about my experience in the difference between the two different browsers. Now I am just hoping that Internet Explorer can live up to the expectations I have as a frequent web user.

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A recent Prevx blogpost details information on the new TDL3 rootkit, which they have deemed, “the first x64 compatible kernel mode rootkit infection in the wild.” Followed with more information in a post today.

While much of the information presented by Prevx is highly technical, there are some takeaways for the average user. Most importantly, this 64-bit infection requires administrator privileges. The best option is to run as a standard user, but it also won’t run if User Account Control (or UAC) is activated. I run as standard user, and there is really no reason for your account to run as administrator.

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Chances are you know the rules for creating a secure password. Don’t use a dictionary word. Use upper and lowercase letters. Use at least one special character. Unfortunately, most people don’t follow even these basic rules. Recently, advances in computational power have made them as obsolete as your AOL account. Say goodbye to the old rules, and the concept of a password. Hello passphrase.

How does an attacker crack a password? Two common methods are dictionary attack, and “brute force” attack. A dictionary attack uses a database of common words and likely character sequences to guess the password. A “brute force” attack tries every possible combination of the 95 characters on a keyboard until they find the right one. Obviously, a one character password would be easy to brute force attack, as it would require a maximum of 95 attempts. Adding a character makes it exponentially more difficult (by 95 times). For example, a two character password has 95 x 95, or 9,025 possible combinations. A 3 character password 9,025 x 95 (95^3), or  857,375 combinations. Read the rest of this entry »

Two years ago Spanair flight JK-5022 crashed, killing 154 of 172 on board. According to El Paris (via Google Translate), this was at least in part due to a PC located on the ground in the headquarters of the airline. That computer was supposed to sound an alarm signal when three similar technical problems registered on the same device. While the plane that crashed had accumulated three incidents, they were not registered in time because the system was infected by malware (trojans).

Investigators believe this may be the cause of the crash. The judge said that if these three incidents had been identified earlier, the plane never would have taken off.

The big box store where you bought your HDTV might have made more on the sale of the HDMI cable than the TV. While the margins on big ticket items like HDTVs are small, the margins on smaller ticket accessories can be very fat. How do you sell a $229 HDMI cable when a $29 would work just as well? I guess you mislead consumers by mislabeling them.

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Today Intel announced plans to buy McAfee for $7.7 billion dollars. Most people are asking, “Why?”. Why would a chip maker acquire a security company?

The answer may lie within Moore’s Law. Simply stated Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors on a chip will double every 2 years. Intel seems to have difficulty figuring out what to do with all those transistors. Most computer users don’t need a quad core CPU. Yet Intel continues to roll out more cores.

However, as anyone who has installed an antivirus program knows, it’s probably the single biggest resource hog on your system. Slowing everything from email and the Internet, to startup and shutdown. What if the major components of an antivirus program could be placed in a special section of the CPU, or even its own core? Whether you’re a gamer, enthusiast, or just an average user you’d enjoy the benefits of being able to run an AV without the associated system slowdown.

Have you ever removed an antivirus, or run a system without an antivirus because of performance issues? Need a free antivirus program, check out our recommendations.