We previously covered how to clean spyware from your computer with Spybot, but I have been able to remove some Trojans that Spybot would not detect. This is a relatively new tool, but I have found it to be extremely helpful.

Download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware from cnet.com

Once you have downloaded the application, go ahead and double click the installer to begin.

The Language setup window will appear.  Select your language and click “OK”.

When the welcome screen opens, click the “Next” button to continue.

Next, you must choose to “accept the agreement” and click the “Next” button to move on.

On the information screen, click the “Next” button.

Leave the destination location the default location and click the “Next” button.

And leave the Start Menu Folder name the default, and click the “Next” button.

Choose if you want a desktop icon or a quick launch icon, and click the “Next” button.

Click the “Install” button to begin the install.

Leave both boxes checked and click the “Finish” button.

Now, Anti-Malware will open and update itself and the welcome screen will appear.  You can choose to do a full scan or a quick scan. I recommend the full scan as it is the most thorough and really doesn’t take that long.

Choose your scan, click the scan button, and go grab a glass of sweet tea.

The scan will automatically remove any threats that it finds on your PC.

I hope you have great luck with this tool like I have.

If you are familiar with Windows, the terminal in Ubuntu is exactly like the command prompt in Windows.
Once you have the terminal open, type:

sudo apt-get update

The word ‘sudo’ means you are running the command as root user so you will need to enter in your password when prompted.

Once all sources have been scanned, you will then see a notification icon in your menu bar if updates are available for installation and you can then install what is available for your computer’s setup.

You can run update as many times as you want to with no harm to your computer.  Update away!

It’s as simple as downloading the executable and installing the package.  Once the install is complete you will have to perform the usual reboot of your computer. Once you reboot, you will notice an immediate change on your login screen (if you have a login screen setup).

And that’s all there is too it.  Enjoy feasting your eyes on the Windows 7 visual goodness.

I did notice after the install, that it placed two shortcut icons on the desktop pointing you to the NiwradSoft Web site (simply a little author credit).

Right click  on the Recycle Bin and click on the “Delete” option.  That’s all there is to it.

Method 2:

Right click anywhere in the free space on your desktop and select the “Personalize” option.

In the Personalization window, click on “Change desktop icons” on the left side of the window.

The Desktop Icons Settings window will open and you can manage all system icons.  Uncheck the box next to the Recycle Bin and click the “OK” button.  Stating the obvious here, but leaving the box checked adds the icon to your desktop.

TaDa! – No more Recycle Bin on your desktop.

On the left-hand navigation menu click the “Advanced” option and in the right-hand menu scroll down to the “General” section.  Check the “Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)” check box and click the “OK” button.

Now try to open mulitiple Excel 2007 workbooks and they should open in separate, individual windows.

• It’s free
• It’s open source
• You can customize it to your liking
• You can install just about any program you can think of
• It’s intuitive and easy to use

The Ubuntu operating system is a version of Linux commercially supported by Canonical.

Download the Ubuntu ISO from Ubuntu.com

Once you have downloaded the Live CD ISO, you can burn it to a CD with ImgBurn.  You can then boot your computer from the CD and install it to your hard drive or take it on a test drive and simply run the Live CD which allows you to try Ubuntu without making any changes to your computer.

For a more complete and comprehensive guide of install Ubuntu 8.10 on your computer check out this guide from How To Forge.

If you want even more Ubuntu tips and tricks, you can download the PDF version of the “Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference” for free.  The hard copy of their book typically runs about $10 on Amazon, but you can download it from their site absolutely free.

I will post some more helpful Ubuntu sites later, but this should be more than enough to get you started from freeing yourself from the bondage of expensively, overpriced software that can’t be customized.

• Applications that we use to perform our tasks.
• Utilities that we use to maintain our computer
• Device drivers and other such products that are required to use hardware devices and certain software programs.
• Applications that help in keeping our system safe from security threats.

In addition to this, there is the chance that you have some unwanted software that you don’t use and is just using up your disk space and system resources. These software programs affect the performance of your computer and may even open it up to various security threats. This is because we usually fail to update the programs we don’t use. So, if there is a virus or spyware that is built around a security vulnerability it may easily infiltrate your system. This is the reason why it is recommended that you regularly check your system for unwanted software programs and uninstall them using legitimate methods.

There are many ways in which you can remove programs from your computer. The most commonly used methods are discussed here.

Using Add or Remove Programs

The Add or Remove Programs utility that is shipped with your Windows operating system is the most popular method to remove programs. You can open this utility from the Control Panel or by running the appwiz.cpl command. After you open the Add or Remove Programs window, select the programs you want to remove (one-by-one) from the Currently installed programs list and then select the Change/Remove or the Remove button to launch the uninstall utility.

Using the Program Uninstall Option

Many software provide a shortcut to their uninstall program utility in their Start menu folder. You may also navigate to the programs folder and then double-click on it’s uninstall file to remove it.

Using Program Uninstaller Tool

Manufacturers of large software products, usually provide uninstaller tools for their products on their web site. These uninstaller tools ensure complete removal of these programs from your computer. For example, to completely remove Norton Internet Security tool, you may download its uninstaller from the Symantec web site.

Using Antispyware

Spyware programs may stealthily install on your computer and feed on your system resources. These programs also steal your personal and confidential information and transmit it to external sources to be used for undesired advertising and other malicious purposes. To get rid of these malicious and troublesome programs, you need to use a good and updated antispyware tool. When you scan your computer using antispyware, a thorough scan is performed on your hard disk volumes and registry entries to detect and remove any information related to spyware.

Making Registry Edits

There are some programs that do not have any specific uninstall program. For example, there is no specific uninstall tool to remove DirectX 9 from your computer. Many of these programs are removed by making registry edits. So, if you have been wondering how to uninstall DirectX 9, you need to open Registry Editor (regedit), delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\DirectX, and the restart your computer. When you restart, DirectX 8—the default DirectX version for Windows XP—will be installed automatically.

It is also recommended that after you have removed a software using any of the methods discussed above, you use an efficient registry tool to scan and clean up any left-over orphaned software entries. This not only helps you ensure complete software removal, but also helps you maintain a high-performance, compact registry.

Click the “Add to Firefox” button.

Next, click the “Accept and Install” button.

You will then need to install the theme so click the “Install” button.

Now click the “Restart Firefox” button to do just that.

When Firefox opens back up, you will see that familiar Zune look and feel.

Much thanks to Brett Bodine for creating this theme.  Thanks Brett for what you do even when times are hard!

Download OpenOffice from Portable Apps

And the best part is that you don’t have to spend a fortune on OpenOffice like you do with Microsoft Office.

Check out the new interface:

My favorite thing about the new version of VLC is that the volume control is much easier to adjust than it was in the past.  Also, when you play a video it is now split into two separate panels instead of just one with your control buttons stuck to the top or bottom of the video.

Download VLC media player from videolan.org

Take a test drive with the new version and let us know what you think!