Registry problems can occur for many reasons, including references left behind after uninstallation; incorrect removal of software; missing or corrupt hardware drivers; or orphaned start-up programs.

Registry Mechanic is an advanced registry cleaner for Windows that allows you to safely scan, clean, and repair registry problems with a few simple mouse clicks. Problems with the Windows Registry are a common cause of Windows crashes and error messages. By using PC tune-up utilities such as registry cleaners regularly, your system will be more stable, your software will run quicker, and your operating system will boot faster

With a few easy steps, Registry Mechanic will scan your entire registry for any invalid entries and provide a list of the errors found. You then can choose to clean each item or automatically repair them all after making a backup without the need for a registry editor such as Regedit.

Features

• World's most popular registry cleaner with over 60 million downloads.
• Recommended by experts and editors as the world's best registry cleaner.
• Clean the registry to fix Windows errors and crashes.
• Registry defrag to optimize your PC for better performance.
• FREE customer support for all users.
• Easy to use. Designed for both expert and novice users.

Steps to get free PC Tools Registry Mechanic License :

1. Visit this   Page  Registry mechanic free(click here),

   

2. Now Fill the form by entering your  Name,email address(make sure your email is valid ),country and Click Request free License Button as shown in the above image.
3. Now check the Email with subject “PC Tools” and note down the User Name and Serial Number enclosed in the email.
4. Now Download Registry Mechanic from,here don’t download from Pc tools website because License sent to your email doen’t work with that software.
5. Now Install and scan your system,after scanning click Register Button (in the place of smart update) and enter your license,then it will say thank you and replaces Register button with smart update button

Mozilla Firefox - faster, more secure, easier to use and sporting a new look, this latest Firefox release sets a new standard for web browser innovation. Mozilla Firefox project (formerly Firebird, which was formerly Phoenix) is a redesign of Mozilla's browser component, written using the XUL user interface language and designed to be cross-platform. It is small, fast and easy to use, and offers many advantages over other web browsers, such as the tabbed browsing and the ability to block pop-up windows.

Mozilla Firefox 3 is focused on improved memory handling, performance, and stability, improved XUL, and new core components such as application data stored in SQLite. Firefox 3 is based on the Gecko 1.9 Web rendering platform, which has been under development for the past 34 months. This new platform includes more than 15,000 changes to improve performance, stability, rendering correctness, and code simplification and sustainability. Firefox 3 is been built on top of this new platform resulting in a more secure, easier to use, more personal product with a lot more under the hood to offer website and Firefox add-on developers.

OS : Windows 2000 , XP , Server 2003 ,Vista | Download | Freeware | 7.16MB

Despite security analysts insisting that April 1 is only a red herring, the Conficker malware hype keeps growing as April Fools' Day approaches.The worm first appeared in late November, exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows to spread unhindered on local area networks.

Its goal is to install rogue software on infected computers. Microsoft issued a patch for the vulnerability, but users that haven't installed it are open for infection as the worm spreads through portable USB flash drives.Conficker could give a hacker unrestricted access to every infected machine on the planet.

Courtesy:ZdNet

Once installed, Conficker.C implements a variety of nasty behaviors. The worm will attempt to disable Windows Automatic Update and stop access to the Windows Security Center, can detect and kill SysInternals' Process Explorer program, and will interfere with the operation of a number of other search-and-destroy programs including WireShark and SysClean.

As the speculation grows around Conficker, also known as the Downadup worm, Symantec and its Conficker Working Group partners continue researching the possibilities of the April 1 fallout from a worm that wreaked havoc on millions of computers earlier this year. So far, Symantec has determined three facts that it is sharing.

1. Symantec has determined that on April 1, W32.Downadup.C, the most recent variant of the malware also known as Conficker, will begin to use a new algorithm to determine what domains to contact. No other actions have been identified to take place on April 1.
2. Symantec said it's possible that systems infected with W32.Downadup.C will be updated with a newer version of the malware on April 1 by contacting domains on the new domain list. However, the security company noted, these systems could be updated on any date before or after April 1, as well by using the peer-to-peer updating method found in W32.Downadup.C.
3. Symantec said, the public should not be alarmed. However, as always, computer users should exercise caution and implement security best practices into their daily computing routines.

The worm certainly is an issue of concern, but the probability of a major Downadup-related cyber event on April 1 is not likely, according to Vincent Weafer, vice president of Symantec Security Response

Not only at this point, you should be  always  vigilant   about protecting your PC: Patch Windows completely through Windows Update and update your anti-malware software as well. Make sure your antivirus software is actually running too, as Conficker may have disabled it.

Protecting PCs from Conficker

• Apply the security update associated with MS08-067.
• Make sure you are running up-to-date antivirus
• Disable the AutoPlay feature through the registry or using Group Policies.

  Microsoft released Security Advisory 967940 to notify users that the updates to allow users to disable AutoPlay/AutoRun capabilities have been deployed via automatic updating channels.

• Manually download the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) onto uninfected PCs and deploy to infected PCs to clean infected systems.
• BDTools.net: Visit BitDefender's download site
• Run Secunia's Software Inspector to catch missing application patches
• Conficker Working Group's  detection and repair Tools
• ESET
• Kaspersky
• F-Secure Malware Removal Tool
• McAfee AVERT W32/Conficker Stinger 10.0.1.537
• Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool
• Sophos Conficker Cleanup Tool 1.3
• Sunbelt Software
• Symantec FixDownadup.exe | Notes
• TrendMicro
• Conficker Removal Tool 1.0.0.16
• Win32/Conficker Worm Removal Tool

Read more:-

• Conficker Hype and Debate Build as April Fools' Day Nears
• Conficker Worm: April Fool's Joke or Unthinkable Disaster?
• Conficker on April 1st: Eve of destruction or big joke?

Also read this post from   SparksSpace

Protecting Against the Rampant Conficker Worm

You have downloaded  a  movie or a software  which have  many parts with Part1 + Part2 + ETC, .rar, zip, r01, 7zip, 001+002+etc.How to join those files?

Join Multi-Part Movies:
winRAR (use when files end in: Part1.RAR Part2.RAR Part3.RAR ETC... alternatively can also be .rar + .r00 + .r01 + .r02 ETC) --- Not freeware.

7-Zip (free alternate to winRAR and winzip, makes a .7z file)  - Also works with WINRAR Freeware
HJ-Split (use when files end in: *.001, *.002, *.003, etc.) Freeware
WinZip (Use when .ZIP or Part1.Zip Part2.ZIP ETC) -  Better use  WINRAR instead, it can handle .rar+.zip+.7z+almost anything but HJSplit Files .Not freeware

In any case of joining files it is pretty easy...

WinRar (.RAR or .PartX.rar or .rXX)

if it's .Part1.Rar , .Part2.Rar , ETC:

1. Simply right click on Part1.RAR and select Extract Here (or to a folder whichever)
2. It will automatically go through all parts (beware, sometimes there will be a filename.cd1.part*.rar and a cd2, make sure to extract both!)

If it's .rar and .r00 and .r01 ETC:

1. Right click the .RAR file and extract that, it will go through all the .rXX files
2. once again beware of cd1 + cd2 style downloads!

• Right click and Extract using winrar or 7zip

1. First open HJSplit
2. Select Join
3. Hit browse and navigate to the files
4. Select the .001 file and click JOIN
5. DONE

1. Simply right click on Part1.RAR and select Extract Here (or to a folder whichever)
2. It will automatically go through all parts (beware, sometimes there will be a filename.cd1.part*.rar and a cd2, make sure to extract both!)

When you've got the BIN/CUE, burn it using Nero /MagicISO or something like that and you're done!

Screen Capture and Image Sharing Toolkit Solid Capture version 3 contains everything you need to capture and collaborate with ease! CAPTURE ANYTHING ON YOUR SCREEN. Using our intuitive interface or a keyboard shortcut, you can capture full screens on multiple monitors, windows (fixed or scrolling), or just selected screen areas. Unique Rectangle Frame also lets you specify dimensions and save multiple captures of an identical size. EDIT, FORMAT, SHARE. Version 3 provides many ways to edit, format, and share your captures. Solid Capture saves images in your favorite graphics file format, including BMP, JPG, TIF, GIF, or PNG, which you can open in your favorite graphics program.

Digital Cameras   allow the users  to snap high quality pictures,but it may not easy to upload online or share through mails .PhotoRazor solves this by making high quality copies of your photos at a smaller size - ideal for on-screen viewing. This reduces the file size making them much easier to e-mail and perfect for showing on Web sites. PhotoRazor resizes individual photos and batches of photos using a high quality bi cubic resampler, and includes an advanced black & white conversion filter with color tinting.

You  can choose any photos that you would like to resize followed by the Size & Quality selection. You can also restrict the maximum Width/Height pixels so that the resized photos stay within the limit of pixel counts as well as the picture quality  depending on own preference. This  can also be used to resize photos in bulk to conserve time needed for other more important activities.

Features

• Very easy to use - resize whole folders of photos at the click of a button
• Ideal for creating small high quality copies of your large photos for email or showing on your website
• Real time preview - adjust the size & quality and see the result before processing, a real time saver
• Non-destructive - saves the small photos to a separate folder so your originals remain untouched

  Download |   XP Vista 2000 98 |Freeware | 934 KB | Homepage

Burning data to optical discs, for instance a CD, is the most popular method of backing up data, due to its low cost and easy portability. If you do use them regularly they tend to become scratches and it happens that sectors on the disk fail and can’t be read anymore.

IsoPuzzle  will help you just incase the computer refuses to read the documents, pictures or films on the CD or DVD. The tool takes a snapshot of all the data which it can still retrieve, and writes it to a new ISO file. Burn this image onto a blank CD, and the data can be read again.

For more Info about IsoPuzzle click here

The Unstoppable Copier  another tool is somewhat faster, but its downside is that it is not very thorough It can even copy files from a scratched CD if Windows deletes or aborts the process. Moreover, the interface is intuitive. Select the drive as the source, click on the target folder, then ‘Copy’ and keep your fingers crossed, so that the software retrieves all your data.

Download

CD Recovery Toolbox - CD Recovery Toolbox was developed for recovering damaged files from different disk types: CD, DVD, HD DVD, Blu-Ray, etc. Use it to restore and recover information lost as a consequence of some mechanical damage of the disk such as surface scratches, chips, different spots on the surface or as a result of incorrect recording on the boot sector. Thus, the program can recover data from CD and DVD that was considered lost or unreadable by the DVD drive. This is another good damaged DVD data recovery tool

Features

Download

CD Check - Yet another DVD data recovery, CDCheck is a utility for the prevention, detection and recovery of damaged files on CD-ROMs with an emphasis on error detection. With CDCheck you can check your CDs and discover which files are corrupted that might affect the readability of the disk. Prevention is better than cure.

Download

Recover Disc is an easy-to-use program(Commercial Software) that helps you extract data from scratched, damaged, defective or incorrectly burned CD and DVD discs when regular software can't read them fully or partially. This tool extracts the intact portion of your data and tries to recover problem areas. You can either choose to recover selected files, or save an image of the whole disc.

Download the 30-day trial version

IsoBuster is another commercial  software highly specialized and easy to use CD, DVD and blu-ray (BD, HD DVD) data recovery tool.It supports all CD / DVD / BD / HD DVD formats and all common file-systems . Rescue lost files from a bad or trashed CD or DVD disc, save important documents, precious pictures, video from the family.

Download your trail version

Power CD DVD Recovery is an easy-to-use, windows based application designed specifically to recover lost and deleted files from damaged, scratched or defective CD and DVD discs. This program can recover files recorded by common CD/DVD writing software. It supports data recovery from all CD and DVD disc types (CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, and DVD-RW), and from quick formatted RW discs. It also supports disc recorded with UDF packet writing software: DirectCD, InCD, packetCD. The recovery wizard allows you to easily scan and recover files

Download your trail version

General Tips:
* Always wipe the CD from the center outward with stratight spoke-like strokes. Wiping CDs in circles will create more scratches.
* Do not scratch the graphics layer as you cannot repair the disc.
HINT: Hold the disc up to a light with the graphics layer facing the light source. If you can see light thru the scratches at any point then the disc may be irreparable and or exhibit loading or playing errors.
* Clean your Disc players lens regularly with a suitable product to ensure optimal viewing pleasure.
* Make sure to use a soft, lint-free cloth to clean both sides of the disc. Wipe in a straight line from the centre of the disc to the outer edge.
* If wiping with a cloth does not remove a fingerprint or smudge, use a specialized DVD disc polishing spray to clean the disc.
* Only handle the disc by its outer edge and the empty hole in the middle. This will help prevent fingerprints, smudges or scratches

Some PDF to Word Converter can help you to convert pdf to word doc and pdf to rtf, so you can edit and reuse your PDF content. Using Some PDF to Word Converter you can preserve original layout, text, images, vector drawings of your pdf file. Easily convert pdf to word doc, pdf to rtf with Some PDF to Word Converter

Features

• Convert PDF files into Microsoft Word documents.
• Do not need Adobe software support.
• Accurately preserves Text, Tables, Graphics & Layout.
• Supports PDF1.6 protocol.
• Convert PDF file to flowing MS Word document without text boxes.
• Supports batch conversion.
• Automatically resize PDF page to fit your required Word page size.
• Batch PDF to Word conversion - convert multiple documents at once.
• Convert outer fonts into text and embedded fonts into images.
• Automatically links page numbers to all generated pages.
• Support page range conversion (all, from-to, individual pages).
• Support deletion of graphics and pictures from the generated Word document.
• Support encrypted PDF file

SysReq: Windows NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista | Freeware |690KB |  Download

Windows Task Manager  shows what process are currently running in your computer.If you want to  end a process , that can be done  in Task Manager, but you can not delete the file directly  from the system from there.Especially when you suspect  your computer is affected by some malware or spyware.Task Manager has limitation to show detailed information of a process running in a PC.Here  Ultimate Process Killer , a small utility  help you.

Ultimate Process Killer shows detailed information such as the path of the process, thread, priority, processor time, page file size ,creation date,caption,description etc.UPK is a lightweight utility (only 212 KB).There is no need  to install program.Just run it and you can select any process and kill it by clicking on the kill process button.This tool  is very useful  when  you  want to delete a  virus process with Parent virus file which is running the process

  Ultimate Process Killer  | Freeware |212KB

Have you done a data backup promptly?. Imagine your agony, if your data lose due to hard disk crashes, accidental deletion, power failure , virus ,theft, fire  etc.So don’t wait for disaster to strike.Backup your important files safely.You should back up all of your data at least once a week. Critical data, especially important files that change regularly, should be backed up daily.

To backup (and restore) files, a good software package is required, and there are many to choose from.

DriveImage XML

DriveImage XML enables you create a complete backup image of any logical drive or partition, allowing to to restore your entire operating system along with installed programs, user settings, registry and all. You can restore the image later to the same or a different drive, and also choose to copy the drive directly to another one.A command-line interface lets you control the utility through an old-style batch file to fine-tune backup procedures and delete or rename existing backups.

Features

If you bought a previously owned computer, there is a good chance that Windows still says it is registered to its former owner.To remove that name and insert your own, you must edit the Windows Registry:

1. Click the Start button in the lower-left corner of Windows.
2. Click Run.
3. A window will appear.Type regedit in the blank, and then click the OK button or press the Enter key.
4. The Windows Registry Editor opens. In the left window pane, double click the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry key. If you can’t find it, do the following

a. In the left window pane of the Registry Editor, scroll to the top.
b. If any of the HKEY registry keys are open—as indicated by a minus sign (-) on their left side—then close them by clicking that minus sign. When a registry key has been properly closed, it will have a plus sign (+) next to it.
c. Repeat this process for the remaining HKEY registry keys until the only things visible in the left window pane are the five HKEY keys
d. Double-click the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry key.

5. A new column of registry keys appears. Double-click Software.
6. A long column of registry keys will appear. Scroll down until you find Microsoft, and then double-click it.
7. Another long list of registry keys appears. Scroll down and double click Windows NT.
8. Click the CurrentVersion registry key.
9. In the right window pane, double-click the RegisteredOwner registry value

10. A window opens. Under the Value Data heading is the name of the previous owner. Delete it, and then type your name in the blank.
11. Click the OK button.
12. Above RegisteredOwner, double-click the registry value named RegisteredOrganization

13. Under the Value Data heading is the name of the previous owner’s employer or organization. Delete it, and then type the name of your organization (or you can just leave it blank if you want).
14. Click the OK button.
15. Exit the Registry Editor by clicking the X button in the upper-right corner.

GMail

1.Login to your GMail  Account. Gmail > Settings > Labs > Canned Responses

2.Make it enable and save changes

3.Compose your mail, you can save the message as canned message by using the link below the subject line.

4.Using Gmail's filters, you can set a filter to grab one of your saved responses, create an automated reply, and hit the Send button for you.You can set up different automated messages for different keywords.

Yahoo

1.Select Options on the Yahoo! Mail navigation bar.

3.Enter the start & end date of the auto responder.
4.Create message in the "Generic Response" that will be sent out as a reply to all incoming mail.

5.Turn Auto Response On