The web used to be a bunch of pages about particular subjects.  Once a web page was published, it often didn't change for months or even years.  One thing that makes the web so interesting now is that it changes fast.  Some sites are updated several times a day.

A web feed makes it easy keep up with rapidly changing pages.  A special program called a "news reader" or "feed reader" or "RSS reader" checks the site on a schedule.  When new information is posted, your reader informs you.  Changes are highlighted, making them easy to identify.  With a good reader it's easy to keep up even with fast-updating sites.

What kind of web page uses feeds?  You're reading one.  Blogs are probably the best-known type of feed.  You can subscribe to this one using the link at the right of this page.  Other kinds of feeds include news sites like Google News,  product feeds like New Products at FindApp, downloadable audio shows (podcasts) and video shows (video podcasts) and many more.  It's the ideal way to update people regularly.

You'll see feeds described using the terms "RSS" and "ATOM".  Unless you're a seriously technical person, you don't have to worry about the difference.  Both work well and good feed readers understand them both.  You can ignore all that and just enjoy reading your news feeds.

There are a lot of ways to read feeds.  Web services like Google and Yahoo have online readers.  The big advantage of a web-based reader is that you can use it from any web browser.  On the other hand, feed reading will be slower than using an application installed on your computer.  Many people find the web interfaces difficult or awkward to use.

It's hard to beat the value of Active Web Reader.  This award-winning program lets you organize your feeds in folders, checks sites for updates at lightning speeds, and automatically detects any feeds on pages you open in your browser.  It also monitors any web pages and notifies you about changes.  Best of all, Active Web Reader is completely free!

RSS Captor has all the standard feed-reading features, plus a special filtering system to locate postings you are especially interested in.  Advanced pattern-matching technology helps you zero in on exactly the things you want to know.

Newsgroup Commander combines an excellent RSS reader with a powerful Usenet newsgroup reader.  You can search both feeds and newsgroups with a single command. If you read both blogs and groups, Newsgroup Commander can simplify your life by combining both into a single window.

Once you start using RSS feeds, you'll never go back.  The information and entertainment you want is right there waiting for you.  It's always up to date, and easy to read.  These programs can make reading your feeds easier and more fun.  Give them a try!

Regards,
John M.

In a previous entry, I discussed how to speed up your PC.  One of the commonest causes of slowdowns, and one of the worst, is spyware.  This article is about how to detect and remove spyware from your system. 

What the heck is spyware, anyway?  Spyware is software installed on your computer which reports on you, usually to a company that wants to target you with ads.  For instance, if you visit a lot of sports-related web sites you might get ads for discounted baseball tickets. Most spyware has also been adware, a program that displays ads on your screen, either in a separate pop-up window, or replacing advertising on the web pages you visit.  If a new window containing a commercial message regularly opens on your screen, there's a good chance your system has spyware/adware.  Spyware/adware slows your computer down by stealing time on your processor and space in your memory to run itself, by opening windows you didn't ask for (like multiple ads appearing whenever you click on a link), and by using up your Internet bandwidth reporting back to the maker about what you're doing.   I've seen computers that took as long as 4 minutes to open a word processor window because of spyware problems.  After a spyware cleaning, the time was 5 seconds.

People ask about the difference between spyware and viruses.  A virus generally infects the computer without the user knowing, and does directly harmful things like erasing data or using your computer to send spam.  Spyware often asks permission before installing, and most spyware doesn't intentionally harm your system, it just tries to sell you something using advertising.  However, there is overlap--some spyware is spread like a virus, and some spyware will report personal information that can be used for identity theft. 

Yes, spyware usually asks permission to install, but it is not always very honest about it.  A typical method would be to have the software automatically download when you visit a particular web page.  A window appears on your screen asking, "YOUR BROWSER IS OUT OF DATE.  THIS CAN LEAD TO VIRUS INFECTION. DO YOU WANT TO UPDATE YOUR BROWSER?"  Click "Yes" and you have just installed spyware.  Some adware does honestly state that it is software which will show advertising on your screen.  Very few of these programs inform you that they will be reporting on your activities to the maker of the program.

One thing almost all spyware does do: it makes itself hard to remove.  To get rid of adware and spyware, you'll probably need special tools.  That's what FindApp is here for: to give you the software tools you need.

There are two basic ways to detect spyware (and viruses).   Protector Plus 2009 uses the "signature-based" technique.  Every time a file is opened, Protector Plus scans it and compares it to a list of known spyware and virus files.  If a malicious program is detected, the program offers to quarantine it or delete it.

The other type of spyware detection is behavior based.  Mamutu watches for particular things that spyware and viruses often do, such as modifying certain Windows system files.  This type of protection is particularly useful for what experts call "zero day" problems.  If a particular spyware program is brand new, its "signature" is not yet known and signature based programs can't detect it, but it still acts like spyware and so Mamutu can still block it.

Of course, if you'd like to be protected by both methods, you should investigate a-squared Anti-Malware.  a-squared combines a signature-based system with behavioral testing in one package.

Every anti-virus and anti-spyware programs has its own unique combination of features.  You can test leading packages free of charge by downloading them from FindApp.  Please evaluate the software in our Antivirus category.

Regards,
John M.

As I write this, it's February.  Lots of people took hundreds of digital pictures in December, and millions of others got new digital cameras for the holiday and now they have even more pictures on their memory cards and hard drives.

To use image files, you often have to convert them into the proper format.  Most image editors will let you open a picture, then save it in a different format.  However, if you have many files to convert, you should consider using a dedicated conversion program to save yourself hours of boring work.

Probably the single most commonly used image file format is JPEG, the standard defined by the Joint Photographic Experts Group.  Both most cameras and most web pages use JPEG images.  AnyToJpeg from PhotoActions converts dozens of photos in a single operation.  While converting, you can also rotate, stretch, crop, and perform other operations.  Process all your photos with only a few minutes of effort!

If you are comfortable typing commands, or if you would like to include image conversion and manipulation in a script, you should download and evaluate Neomesh Image Console.  Image Console can convert between many different image formats including GIF, JPEG, TIFF, and TGA, and also adjust brightness, create thumbnail images, and much more, all from the command line.  If you need to automate image processing it can be a lifesaver.

If you use CAD or drawing software, you know that photos and other bitmap graphics must be converted into vector format or traced before you can use them.  Vextractor can trace image files in almost any possible format, including BMP, GIF, JPEG, and TIF, and turn them into easily resized vector graphics in an amazing variety of different file formats, including Adobe Illustrator, EPS, AutoCAD DXF, EMF, WMF, and many others. Anyone who has ever struggled to hand-trace a face, building, or flower understands what a huge advantage it is to have excellent software like this do the work for you.

There are dozens of programs in the Converters and Optimizers section of FindApp.  If you work with images at all, take a moment to look around, and you'll probably find something that will save you time and effort while making your work more fun.

The most commonly spoken language in the world is said to be Mandarin Chinese, but I think it's HTML.  For a web developer, there is no tool more important than a good HTML editor.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) takes the text of a web page and adds "tags" that tell a web browser how to display it.  For instance, this word is bold.  To make that word stand out, I added the tag <em> before it, which means "Everything after this is in boldface", and after it put the tag </em>, which means "Stop boldface here." ("em" comes from "emphasis".)

It's possible to create web pages by manually typing tags into a file, but most people prefer to use a graphical editor that lets you see the formatting (like a word in boldface), instead of having to remember and interpret hundreds of different tags.  A good graphical HTML editor will display the page exactly the way it would look in a web browser.  Most also include additional features, like uploading to your web server when you are finished working.

CoffeeCup VisualSite Designer is a very good visual editor for web pages.  It's simple to position things on the screen and format everything the way you want it.  The included templates let you get started right away creating your own web pages.  An image editor is also included, so you don't need to buy any additional software to add pictures to your site.

MoreMotion Application Studio 's unique strength is its support for the new AJAX system.  AJAX lets you create interactive applications that run in a web browser.

WeBuilder is much more than an HTML layout program.  You can use it to create your page design in HTML, and also to add and edit scripts using VBScript, PHP, ASP, ASP.Net, SSI, Perl, Ruby, and WML.  There is also built-in support for SQL databases, allowing you to easily interface your page with business systems.  Anyone working on a site that uses scripting and/or databases should evaluate WeBulder.

There are dozens of other web site editors available in the WYSIWYG HTML Editor and Text-based HTML Editor categories.  I'm sure you can find the exact one that fits your needs.

Regards,
John M. 

If you've used computers for a while, you've had that terrible sinking feeling.  The one you get when you flick the switch to "On" and your computer does nothing, just sits there. 

Whether through your error or a computer failure, iimportant things can be stored on your computer, then gone the next moment.  There's a way to avoid this.  We've all been told to do it, but according to one poll, 1/3 of computer owners have never backed up, and 3/4 don't do it often enough.  Today I'm going to encourage you to back up more often, by showing you some software that makes it easy, maybe even fun. 

There are different types of backup programs.   Active Backup Expert Pro backs up your entire hard disk, or any section of it that you specify.  The backup files can be stored either on your hard disk, on a different hard disk (perhaps over a network) or on a removable medium like recordable DVDs.  If you use smaller discs like DVDs, ABE Pro will automatically split the backup to fit.  You can restore individual files if they are accidentally deleted or you need an older version, or use the backups to restore the entire disc.  You can set it to back up automatically on a schedule.  That's a big advantage for me, because otherwise I tend to forget.

ABF Outlook Backup does one specific job very well: it backs up Microsoft Outlook data.  Use Outlook Backup to save all mail, contacts, calendar entries, accounts, rules, and RSS feeds.  This information can be tricky to retrieve using a general-purpose backup program.  You can also use Outlook Backup to move or copy your Outlook information from one PC to another.

Have you ever had to reinstall software after you got a new hard drive, and you had to search through dusty files to locate the activation codes for your software?  And if you couldn't find your original packaging, the company wanted to charge you full price to get a new activation number?  Never have that problem again: use Recover Keys Single.  Recover Keys scans your hard disk and creates a file listing the activation keys for all your software.  Print a copy of this, or keep it on your USB drive, and you can easily reinstall any of your programs without wasting time, or spending more money. 

You can find many more backup programs, both general-purpose and specialized, in our PC Utilities > Data Backup Software area.

So the next time you get that sinking feeling, when the wrong file got deleted, or your computer is making funny grinding noises, don't panic!  You have a life preserver: a complete set of backups.

Regards,