Month: March 2013

By Saikat Basu, MakeUseOf – May 19, 2010 at 03:31PM

Archive software that compresses and password protects a bunch of files with just a right click can be called uncomplicated. BCArchive deserves that virtue. Its speedy no hassle way to password protect a compressed file is appealing.

We have started off with speed. But it also has very powerful encryption algorithms which make it iron clad.

BCArchive is an unheralded and relatively lesser known file security tool. When it comes to file archiver tools, there are plenty to pick from. WinRAR is top of the pile among sharewares while 7-Zip might be the freeware choice. Every program does its own bit.

BCArchive’s facet is that it makes it easy for a newbie to create password protected archives without getting into the whys and how’s of encryption protocols.

To start off, BCArchive (v.2.02.7) is a free 2.93MB download. It is supported on Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2008 Server, 2003 Server, 2000, NT, ME, 98. It installs in a jiffy and you can access it from the desktop or take one of its three functions via the right click menu.

Let’s Archive & Encrypt A Bunch Of Files

The quickest way to archive and password protect a single file or bunch of files is from the right click menu. You can also do it from the main program window. Drag and drop is also supported. Select the files you want to compress and right click to see three options –

Create A BCArchive

Create and store your files in a secure encrypted BCArchive file. While creating a new archive file, you need to put in your password twice. Advanced users can set other encryption parameters and also choose public key encryption.

BCArchive prompts you to make random movements by mouse to generate a unique encryption key (random seed buffer) to complete the archiving.

Once your archive is created, you can keep on adding files to it. BCArchive encrypts them on the fly. BCArchive dynamically compacts the files. In case, you are adding or modifying the files in a large archive, you can turn it off and choose manual compact when you are done.

You can send the archive to your email program as an attachment.

Create A Self Extracting Archive

Create a self-extracted program containing the encrypted archive. You can take this with you or mail it to someone. You don’t need the program to extract all the files, just the password to unlock the executable file.

Create An Archive Using Public/Secret Keys

A key is a piece of code that locks or unlocks using a specific rule i.e. the encryption algorithm. BCArchive allows the use of key pairs (a public key and a secret key) to securely transfer files between two or more people. A Public key is used to encrypt data so that only an owner of the corresponding private key can decrypt the data.

With your own public/secret key pair, others can send you data encrypted by your public key which only you can open with your secret key.

To better explain it, here’s an example – You want to send a file to Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith has a public key which he sends to you or you can also access it from an internet location where public keys are stored. Once you have the public key, you can encrypt the data with it and send it to Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith then proceeds to open it with his unique secret key.

Public/secret key pairs are an extremely secure way of transmitting files. In case this is the first time, BCArchive helps you to create your own public/private key pairs.

Among other key algorithms, BCArchive supports PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). It’s not a pun, but probably the best military grade privacy and data encryption method you can depend on.

You don’t need to go to public key servers to get the encryption keys everytime. BCArchive has a local database (BC Key Manager) which stores the public keys of your contacts.

The highlights of the freeware make this an appealing option for compressing and transferring files. BCArchive has a detailed Help file which you can fall back upon. BCArchive mentions that it is limited to compressing up to 2 terabytes of data. But I think it would be a rare need for everyday use.

BCArchive is not only for the paranoid but also for us, as data hacking is almost a side industry. Let us in on your opinion on this freeware.

Image Credit: Grant MacDonald

Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Do share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

• Securely Manage Your Passwords Online With Mitto (18 comments)
• How To Secure Your D-Link Wireless Router (22 comments)
• How To Hide Text In Microsoft Word 2007, Reveal It & Protect It (6 comments)
• How To Get A Layer Of Downloading Protection with PeerBlock (14 comments)
• How to Easily Protect & Encrypt Files with Conceal (Windows) (10 comments)
• How To Create A Good Password That You Will Not Forget (45 comments)
• Hide & Protect Your Files with Easy File Locker [Windows] (21 comments)
• Do You Know What The Internet Knows About You? (11 comments)
• 5 Ways to Protect & Hide Your Email to Stop Receiving Spam (24 comments)
• Your Computer, Your World – How to Keep Out the Mindless (51 comments)

By Ann Smarty, MakeUseOf – May 19, 2010 at 01:31PM

Sometimes you are totally sure which terms to use to search Google to find the information you need.

However more often than not, you have to try dozens of various search phrases to accidentally come across a good result.

Today’s short search tutorial will show some Google search tricks you can use to search when you actually don’t know what you are going to find.

The tips will turn useful in a number of cases:

• When you are looking for random inspiration and thus have no idea which words to use to search (actually what you really need to get inspired is to know those words);
• When your topic is broad and you are unsure which one of related words and synonyms best describes your question;
• When you have found a page, can’t define it properly but need more of the kind (especially, if you have landed on some wicked tool and want to know if there are more tools like this).

Now, let me share the Google search operators that will help you in any of the above cases:

1. Wildcard Search Operator

Search engines may treat a wildcard (*) differently. Google substitutes it for one or more words that would normally occur in the phrase. Thus, if you, for example, search [“reliable * provider”], search results will include: “reliable television provider”, “reliable webhosting provider”, “reliable VoiP provider”, etc.

Possible Usage

Thus two of the most obvious ways to take advantage of the search operator are:

1. Use it when you remember the phrase but can’t remember the word;
2. Use it to research various word combination with one or more base words (for keyword research or language learning);

Practical Example

Now, a more creative way to use it is to get some (content) inspiration. I described the method in my earlier post on finding linkbait inspiration: use a wildcard in between classic Digg headings to find which articles are being created to target social media sites. Examples include:

• [amazing * swimming pools] for more ideas on swimming pool designs;
• [“what kind * are you”] for more viral quiz ideas;
• [“top weird *”] just for something bizarre.

2. ~ Synonym Search Operator

The Google ~ operator allows you to broaden the scope of your search to related terms and synonyms.

Possible Usage

The operator may turn particularly handy when:

• Your search term is very broad and you are unsure which of the related words is used to describe the phenomenon.
• You want to research related terms excluding the one you use (e.g. [~search -search])

Practical Example

When searching for guest post opportunities, the synonym ~ operator lets you include all possible blog topics in one search:

3. Related: URL Search Operator

The Related: search operator allows to find more similar pages to the provided one. It used to be strictly based on co-citation: it looked for pages with the same set of backlinks to the above one. But since then it has been noticed that it also applied some thematic relevance.

Possible Usage

It is thus clear that the search operator should be used when you need to find more similar pages (especially when you can’t formulate the contents or define the concept of the current page).

Practical Example

The operator may turn very useful for bloggers who often create tool lists and overviews (for a website like MUO). As an example, here are the related results for a popular broken link checker: Xenu’s Link Sleuth.

Also, be sure to check out Tina’s overview of all Google search operators to get more creative search ideas.

Which advanced Google search tricks do you use on a daily basis?

Image credit: 21cif.com

Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out MakeUseOf fan page on Facebook. Over 20,000 fans already!

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

• 4 Ways To Ditch The New Google Search Sidebar (26 comments)
• How To Monitor What Is Being Said About You Online (9 comments)
• How To Check The Top 10 Search Keywords On Google (6 comments)
• Customize Your Internet Search Results with Google SearchWiki (4 comments)
• A Quick Guide To Google’s New Search Features (23 comments)
• 9 Cool Google Search Shortcuts You Should Know About (17 comments)
• 10 Tips to Have Fun Using Advanced Google Search for Images (15 comments)
• Why I Decided To Make Google My Home Page and Never Looked Back (56 comments)
• Utilizing Windows Search 4.0 (Part 1) (11 comments)
• UnGoogled: A Week of Discovering Alternatives For Google’s Services (34 comments)

By Justin Pot, MakeUseOf – May 19, 2010 at 12:31PM

Not backing up your files regularly? You really should. There’s nothing worse in the computer world than losing all of your hard work – like your documents and projects – or your collection of fun – like your music and movies. You can do a lot to protect these files of course, but sometimes hard drives do fail. In those moments having a backup is crucial.

PC owners have a wide variety of options when it comes to backup software. We’ve documented most of them in the past, but they’ve never been compiled in a single list. It’s always easier to figure out what you’re interested if everything’s in one place, so without further adieu I give you the top ten free PC backup solutions.

I’m a coward, as usual, so I will not be ranking the different solutions. You can instead read the summaries and figure out what will work best for you.

Comodo/Time Machine

Comodo’s got a pretty sweet collection of free software out there, from antivirus to firewalls to backup software. In the backup space they have two main offerings: Comodo Backup, a sync based solution to the problem, and Comodo Time Machine, which offers an all-encompassing solution similar to Time Machine on a Mac.

Which of these solutions you want depends largely on whether you want a single backup of your files – in which case you should go with Comodo Backup, or an all-encompassing backup of your system including software, in which case Time Machine would be the better fit for you.

Read more about Comodo Time Machine in Varun’s article Create Snapshot Backups of Data and Files with Comodo Time Machine or read about Comodo Backup in Aibek’s piece The Best Free Backup Software for Your PC.

Dropbox

While not strictly intended to be a piece of backup software, Dropbox does a pretty good job at making sure all your current projects are safe. Here’s how: keep all the projects you are currently working on in your Dropbox. These files will not only be synced to every computer you’ve installed Dropbox on, it will also be synced to the Dropbox servers. This means your current work is instantly backed up to all your machines as well as to the cloud the second you save it.

So while Dropbox may not be a complete backup solution, it can make a great supplement to an old-fashioned hard-drive backup. Check it out at Dropbox or read more about Dropbox right here at MakeUseOf.

Clonezilla

If you want to back up everything – and I mean everything – on your hard drive, consider Clonezilla your go-to tool. This exceptional live CD can make a complete clone of your hard drive, operating system and all. This is perfect for preserving not only your documents but everything about your computer in terms of software.

True, it’s obviously not an automated thing – you’ll need to boot the CD every time you want to use it. But if you’ve spent hours setting up your computer exactly the way you like it, having a fail-safe to fall back on is always a good thing. Read more about Clonezilla in Benjamin’s article Clonezilla — Free Advanced Hard Drive Cloneing Software.

FreeFileSync

If you’re looking for a dead-easy way to synchronize two folders, I highly suggest you check out FreeFileSync. This free program will scan two folders and make up the difference for you; a great way to update your external hard drive backup without re-copying everything. It will even inform you of the amount of data it needs to transfer before doing so.

This solution may not be automated but it’s pretty solid. Find out more in Jim’s article How to Keep your Backups Current with FreeFileSync.

FBackup

If you’re looking to backup not only your documents but also the settings and plugins you use for a few specific programs (ie Firefox) you should checkout FBackup. This solution allows you to utilize plugins capable of locating the settings of a variety of different programs in addition to backing up your documents, and is worth considering for this reason.

Check it out in Varun’s article “Backup Program Data & Personal Settings with FBackup”

Crashplan

Most of the solutions listed here assume you have an external hard drive to backup your files to. This solution can save you from hard drive failure but it isn’t perfect. If your house burns down, for example, it’s likely your computer’s hard drive as well as your external hard drive will be destroyed. For this reason many people prefer their backups be offsite. Dropbox can do a little of this for free, but for the most part there’s no free cloud-based backup solution.

With Crashplan, however, you can make use of your friend’s computer for your backup. This gives you an off-site backup for free (assuming you can find a trustworthy friend).  Best of all, this software works on Mac, Linux and Windows.

Check out Crashplan in Tim’s article How To Auto Backup Computer Files with CrashPlan.

PureSync

This is another synchronization option, and it’s always good to have options. PureSync can, as the name suggests, sync any two folders. These folders can be local, external or networked – even cloud-based folders can be utilized. It’s fairly easy to use and free, so you might as well check it out.

Read more about PureSync in Stefan’s article “Pure Sync: Free Backup and File Synchronization Tool.”

Hinx

Hinx is a another great backup service. Like most of the programs here you can automate your backup, unlike most of the options listed here, however, Hinx is a Java program. This means you can run it on just about any computer on planet earth, but it also means it won’t necessarily be the fastest piece of software you’ve ever used.

Still, it’s worth checking out if you want the same backup program on Windows as you use in OSX and Linux. Check it out in Aibek’s piece The Best free Backup Software for your PC.

Syncback

Yep, it’s another tool for local synchronization, though this one also supports backing up to an FTP server. Another feature that sets Syncback apart is the ability to leave out certain filetypes (ie MP3) or folders (ie C:/Documents/pron). It can be automated to backup in the background or you can use it manually.

Interested? Find out more in Mark’s article Backup your Hard Drive with SyncBack.

Mozy

This cloud-based backup service typically costs money, although there is a free trial version with 2 gigabytes of storage space (plus an additional gig for every friend you refer). You choose what files are backed up, and the program is good about telling you how much quota you have left.

Like Dropbox, the free version of Mozy probably isn’t good if it’s your only backup; it is however, a great instant supplement to a regularly scheduled full backup. Read more about Mozy in our directory. Jessica also reviewed Mozy for a previous giveaway.

Bonus: Windows Built In Backup (Vista and Windows 7)

Of course, if you have Vista or Windows 7, you’ve already got fairly decent backup software – both of these operating systems come with a built-in solution. If you’d rather not download a piece of software this is always something to keep in mind, although realize you can only use it to sync to an external or local network drive. We’ve not written it up here at MakeUseOf, but you can always read Microsoft’s propaganda about the feature over at Microsoft.com.

Note that while XP has a built-in backup utility as well, it’s best to avoid using it. The program is based on an old proprietary standard originally used to backup data to tapes (yes, tapes). Such backups are difficult, although not impossible, to recover on Vista and Windows 7 systems and practically impossible to recover on Linux and OSX machines.

Conclusion

There you have it: ten different backup solutions for you to choose from for your PC. Sure, many of these programs have overlapping features, but what works best for you will differ from person to person.

As such I’m certain many of you are making use of something not listed here. If that’s the case go ahead and share it in the comments below. Also feel free to share your thoughts on the software mentioned here, because I know you guys have a lot to say.

NEW: Download MakeUseOf iPhone App. FREE!

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

• Windows Live Mesh: Get your Data on any PC from any Device (22 comments)
• Use FTP Synchronize To Keep An Up-To-Date Copy Of Your Website Locally (3 comments)
• Sync Yourself with Syncplicity… With a Gift For MakeUseOf Readers! (8 comments)
• Sugarsync vs Dropbox: The Battle Of The Cloud Storage Titans (73 comments)
• Reviewing Dropbox For iPhone – Is It Up To Expectations? (16 comments)
• Pure Sync: Free Backup and File Synchronization Tool (16 comments)
• Macnifying OS X: Backup your Mobile Contacts & More with Address Book (3 comments)
• IdleBackup – Use Your Idle Time to Backup Data (Windows) (7 comments)
• How To Sync Your Mac With Windows Mobile Devices & More (0 comments)
• How to Sync Files between PC and USB Thumb Drive? (31 comments)

By Sean Hollister, Engadget RSS Feed – May 19, 2010 at 07:37AM

DIY weaponry gets more lethal with each passing year; where once we were content with a simple foam missile launcher, technology has progressed such that our automated turrets now spew screwdriver bits, airsoft and paintballs. As progress forges ahead, two engineering students at the University of Arkansas have added injury to insult with this four-stage DIY coilgun. Using an Arduino microcontroller to actuate the firing mechanism and steer the monstrous wooden frame, they nimbly control the badass kit with an iDevice over WiFi, and line up targets using a repurposed PlayStation Eye webcam. While we’d of course prefer to have our phone SSH into the gun over 3G, we’re not going to argue with success. We’d like to keep our lungs un-perforated, thank you very much. See it in action after the break.

Continue reading Students accelerate cubicle arms race with PlayStation Eye-tracked, iPhone-guided coilgun (video)

Students accelerate cubicle arms race with PlayStation Eye-tracked, iPhone-guided coilgun (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 07:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PC World  |  Hack A Day  | Email this | Comments

By Rosa Golijan, Gizmodo – May 19, 2010 at 01:00AM

Is it a surprise that horror stories like this keep someone who wishes she could code everything in life awake in the wee hours of the night? [XKCD] More »





Art – Horror – Image Cache – Movies – United States

By Whitson Gordon, Lifehacker – May 18, 2010 at 08:00PM

Solid-state drives (SSDs) come with all kinds of perks over your standard hard drive, not the least of which involves serious speed boosts for your computing. Here’s how I installed an SSD in my MacBook Pro.

One downside to using a laptop is that you only have one hard drive slot, so upgrading to a super-fast SSD is often either expensive or space limiting. Luckily you can bypass that by replacing your optical drive with a second hard disk.

Since the drives inside your MacBook are standard SATA, there’s actually quite a bit of tweaking you can do if you’re brave enough to venture on in there. Conveniently, a company called MCE Technologies makes a SuperDrive-shaped bay that fits a standard 2.5″ notebook hard drive, which means you can use this kit to replace your optical drive with another fully-functional-and-bootable hard drive. This is perfect if you want the awesomely fast boot and launch times an SSD provides, but don’t want to store all your documents and music on an external drive (the whole point of a laptop, after all, is portability). MCE also packages an external enclosure for connecting your optical drive via USB, so you can still rip CDs and install software without having to buy anything separately.

This mod isn’t for everyone. If you use your optical drive often (or at least often while on-the-go), removing it may be inconvenient. Additionally, if you’re not comfortable digging around in your Mac and voiding your warranty, then you definitely don’t want to do this. You will void your warranty. However, if you feel that the benefits of an SSD outweigh these inconveniences and risks, then read on, because this will be the best upgrade you’ve ever made to your Mac. (Or at least it’s the best upgrade I’ve performed on mine.)

What You’ll Need

• A MacBook or MacBook Pro (any generation), Powerbook G4, or Mac Mini. This particular guide was written using a late 2009 15″ Unibody MacBook Pro as the guinea pig, but most Unibody MacBook owners should have very similar, if not the same, internals, and I’ve noted a few differences that I’m aware of on some earlier models. White MacBook, Powerbook G4, and Mac Mini owners, your mileage may vary (though some slightly outdated instructions do come with the kit that can at least help point you in the right direction).
• An MCE OptiBay, in which to put your new hard drive, available for $99.
• A solid state hard drive. I used the Intel X-25M, which has worked wonderfully. Any SSD should work as long as it’s compatible with and bootable on a Mac.
• Previously mentioned Carbon Copy Cloner to move your data, available as a free download.
• Evel Knievel-caliber guts. You’re about to defy Steve Jobs’ intentions for your computer, void your warranty, and (if you aren’t careful) possibly break something. Be sure you want to do this before proceeding.

Opening up Your Computer

Make sure your computer has cooled down for at least 10 minutes before you rush in, as MacBooks can get pretty darn hot. If you have a removable battery on your computer, you’ll want to open up the battery compartment first and take out the battery. If you have a newer unibody model, you won’t have to do this. Next, unscrew the ten or so screws on the bottom of your computer, pictured above. A few of them will be longer screws, which in my model are the ones circled in pink. Note where these go and set them all aside. Lift off the bottom case and marvel at the internals of your computer because it’s pretty cool.

(Click the images below for a closer look.)

A note on screws and screwdrivers: while this doesn’t involve as much screwing as some projects, you’ll still want to have a few things handy to make your life easier. The kit comes with a little double-headed screwdriver, which is awfully nice of MCE, but honestly, it’s not of very high quality. I ended up using it anyways, because I left my screwdrivers at school, but while I got through the project just fine, I really wished I’d had my small, magnetic screwdrivers. If you don’t have some, I highly recommend you invest in some, especially if you ever see yourself opening up a computer again. Additionally, you may want something in which to hold your screws to make sure you don’t lose any of them, because those suckers are small. I used an empty ice cube tray, and it worked out quite nicely. You probably won’t need any fancy method to keep track of which ones are which, though, as we’ll only be dealing with two or three types of screws. Just don’t lose them.

Take Out the Optical Drive

Touch a piece of metal inside your computer to ground yourself. Pictured above are the internals of my Unibody MacBook, labeled for convenience. Your optical drive may be somewhere else (especially if you’re looking at it upside down), but it should look about the same—it’s just a big, flat silver thing. Some 17″ models will have a Bluetooth board lying on top of your optical drive, in which case you’ll need to unscrew it and disconnect the attached wires. My computer did not have this, though it did have a cord stuck to the top that I just needed to peel away before proceeding.

Your optical drive should be connected to the motherboard by a small black or red ribbon near the corner, circled in pink. You’ll want to pull this out of its socket before continuing. On older unibody models, you’ll also want to disconnect the two other connectors next to it that lead to the drive, one of which is a black ribbon and the other of which is a black and red wire (at least on the older 13 and 15 inch models).

Next, unscrew the drive from the case. There are two screws in the corners on the case edge and one in the middle of the side connected to the motherboard, circled above in orange (older unibody models will also have a screw in the top right corner). This is where you’ll really want those magnetic screwdrivers. The two screws on the left side are set in a crevasse between the drive and the case, so once you unscrew them they’re very susceptible to falling off their ledge and being lost forever inside your computer. So unscrew them very carefully, and pull them out with your magnetic screwdriver. If you don’t have one (which, again, you really should), you’ll need to use some tweezers or something to get them out after unscrewing them, because no matter how small your hands are, you really risk losing them by trying to pick them up. Put those three screws in your ice cube tray (or other screw receptacle) and carefully remove the drive from its bay. Check around for any protrusions or other obstacles that you may have to gently maneuver around to get it out. Once you’ve freed it from the case, remove the SATA plug attached to that black ribbon and put it aside.

Connect Your SSD

Grab your SSD and load it into the Optibay before screwing it into the computer. All you need to do is slide it into the Optibay and connect it to the SATA plug on the edge. It may not slide in as easily as you might be used to with SATA drives; I really had to shove mine in there for it to connect. Plug the SATA ribbon you removed from the SuperDrive into the slot on the side of the Optibay and then place the whole thing in the empty space left by the SuperDrive in your computer.

Take the screws that held the SuperDrive down and screw them into the same places you got them to secure the Optibay into place. Again, take care not to drop them into the abyss of the MacBook’s internals. Once it’s secure, reattach the Black Ribbon to its socket on the logic board and put the bottom case back on your MacBook, making sure to put the long screws back in the right holes (it’ll be pretty clear which ones they are, since the screws won’t fit anywhere else). Flip your computer over, cross your fingers, and fire it up.

Check to See If the Drive Is Recognized

Once you start up your computer, your new SSD should pop up on your desktop and the Finder sidebar. Don’t freak out just yet if the drive doesn’t show up; there could be any number of reasons. First, open up Disk Utility (under Applications > Utilities) and see if the drive shows up in the sidebar there. If it does, you just need to format the drive by clicking on it, going to the “Erase” tab, and erasing the drive. If it doesn’t show up in Disk Utility, open your computer back up and check all the connections, especially the SATA connection to your Optibay and the connection between the black ribbon and the motherboard (this was a problem for me; it can come lose easily). If those are fine, make sure your drive is securely connected within the Optibay as well. If everything looks okay but it’s still not showing up, you may have a bum drive (or an incompatible one, if you didn’t check before buying it). Contact the manufacturer of the drive, explain your issue, and proceed from there. Alternatively, you can contact MCE as the problem could be with your Optibay. If everything works as expected, format the drive as Mac OS Journaled (as described above) and continue to the next step.

Transfer Your OS X to the SSD

If your SSD is up and running properly, there’s only one step left before you get to experience those blazing-fast boot times everyone’s talking about. Download Carbon Copy Cloner if you haven’t already and start it up. Set your source disk to your current boot volume (most likely named Macintosh HD) and set your target disk to your new SSD.

Generally, since SSDs are small and expensive, the way this works is that you store your operating system on the SSD for fast boots and application launches, while storing the rest of your data (such as documents, movies and music) on your second, magnetic drive. So, under Source Disk, you’ll want to scroll down and uncheck the box for your home folder (and any other home folders on your system, if you have multiple users) to exclude it from the cloning process. Hit the clone button and wait for it to finish. Once it does, go ahead and restart your computer, holding the option key at startup so you can select your SSD as the boot volume. Your OS will be up and running in record time.

Once you’ve wiped the drool from your face (I’m not going to lie, I restarted it three times just to watch it boot that quickly), you’ll notice a lot of your settings are missing in your apps. This is because a lot of those preferences are stored in your home folder, which we didn’t copy over. To fix this, head into System preferences and open up the Accounts pane. Click the lock in the bottom left corner and type in your password to make changes, and then right click on your user account. Click Advanced Options and look for the “Home Directory” box on the pane that pops up. Simply hit the “Choose” button and navigate to the home folder on your old drive. Log out and then log back in.

If you did everything correctly, you should see your preferences restored (except for a few things, like your wallpaper, which you’ll need to re-add). Do this for each user account on your computer. You can now go into your old drive and delete all the folders on it except for “Users”. This will not only free up the rest of the space on that drive, but make the drive unbootable, so your computer will default to your new SSD when booting. You don’t need to do anything else differently—saving files to your “Documents” or “Downloads” folder will automatically store them on your second drive, since you relocated your home folder.

Set Up Your External SuperDrive

The last thing you need to do is get your old SuperDrive back up and running. The enclosure that comes with the Optibay is pretty barebones, and certainly not pretty, but it will do the trick quite nicely—all you need to do is take the two halves of the black plastic case apart, connect the chip on the inside to your SuperDrive’s SATA port (you may need to unscrew a small bracket on the back of the SuperDrive to do so), and then put it in the case and close it up. There are a few screws that come with it that you can screw in the back for extra stability. Only one of mine fit; so if the center one doesn’t screw in, that’s fine. There’s no front panel to the enclosure or anything; you just slide your CD in the slot (carefully) and it will suck it in. The enclosure connects via USB, and while it comes with an extra cord and A/C socket, it seems to run fine on USB bus power (at least for my computer), so you can just plug it in and go.

---

That’s it! From now on, your computer will automatically boot from the SSD and save all your data to your old, magnetic drive. Your computer will boot insanely fast, apps will launch instantly, and everything will just feel a bit snappier. If you have Windows and/or Linux on your computer, you can also transfer the system files for those over once booted from the corresponding drive, using the cloning software The How-To Geek recommended in his hard drive upgrading feature. Enjoy your new, super fast laptop, and share your modding experiences in the comments.

By Whitson Gordon, Lifehacker – May 18, 2010 at 08:00PM

Facebook’s new Instant Personalization Program allows other sites to access your Facebook data and connect you with people on those sites. Not only can you turn this feature off, but you can keep sites from retrieving your Facebook information with Adblock filters.

Not only does Facebook have an agreement with sites like Yelp and Pandora, but we’ve already seen that Facebook bugs can cause other, non-compliant sites to add applications to your profile, as long as you’re logged into Facebook while you browse. Reader Saudrapsmann shows us how to keep this from happening in the future:

These four separate filters for AdBlock+ made it so not even the Facebook Privacy Scanner could see that I was logged into Facebook:

||facebook.com/*$domain=~facebook.com|~facebook.net|~fbcdn.com|~fbcdn.net
||facebook.net/*$domain=~facebook.com|~facebook.net|~fbcdn.com|~fbc
||fbcdn.com/*$domain=~facebook.com|~facebook.net|~fbcdn.com|~fbcdn.netdn.net
||fbcdn.net/*$domain=~facebook.com|~facebook.net|~fbcdn.com|~fbcdn.net

Just go into Adblock Plus’ preferences, click add filter, and copy and paste each of the above as a separate filter. Now, even if you’re logged into Facebook, outside sites will not be able to tell, so your accounts won’t automatically link with one another.

You should also turn off Facebook’s Instant Personalization Program in your Facebook privacy settings. Note that doing this without adding the filters doesn’t block you from future bugs in the system, and if your Facebook has already connected to a site, you’ll have to go into your Facebook settings and delete the added application. You’ll also have to go to your Yelp, Pandora, or Microsoft Docs.com account and delete the friends that Facebook added for you.

By Whitson Gordon, Lifehacker – May 18, 2010 at 06:00PM

We’ve shown you one way to turn your wifi router into a repeater, but if your router doesn’t have the firmware or your walls aren’t wireless-friendly, you can get similar results with the addition of a device called a powerline adapter.

Photo by Andy Butkaj.

While we definitely love hacking our routers with new firmware, it does have a few downsides, most notably the fact that it’s a pain to install. Furthermore, you may not be comfortable installing third-party firmware that hacks your device, if your router doesn’t have the required firmware available. Technology blog Tested points out that a couple powerline adapters can help give you the same results by connecting your old router to your network through the power lines already installed in your home.

Essentially, instead of wirelessly “extending” your network, you’ll be turning your old router into an access point and putting it in the dead zone of your house. It’ll still need to be connected to the network, though, which is where the powerline adapters come in. Powerline adapters plug into your A/C outlets and connect to your network. You don’t need any kind of electrical experience to get them working. You could, of course wire it up via Ethernet, but you probably don’t want Ethernet cables running all through your house—so powerline adapters are a pretty awesome way to go.

You’ll need to tweak quite a few settings on your router to make this work, and powerline extenders aren’t super cheap—you could probably pick a few up for the same price of a regular wireless network extender—but if you have a house that isn’t wireless extender-friendly (due to thick walls or a strangely shaped house), this is a great way to get wireless everywhere you need it. Hit the link for the full guide, and let us know your experience with powerline extenders in the comments.

By Tim Lenahan, MakeUseOf – May 18, 2010 at 05:31PM

Did you know that Word documents can hold information that is not visible from within the document?  It is true.  Microsoft tags hidden data to your documents that can give information such as revision logs, identifying information (author, etc.), comments, keywords, hyperlinks, saved dates, edit dates, and much more.  This is called metadata.

Why should we care about the metadata in our Word documents?  Well, there have been news stories about metadata getting people into precarious situations, such as letters supposedly being written by one person but the metadata saying something different. However, even if you are not doing anything wrong, you may want to just be careful with your private information.  There’s nothing wrong with that.

The process you can use to scrub that personal metadata from Word documents is quite simple.  It involves downloading and installing a free program called “Doc Scrubber.”

Just download, install and open Doc Scrubber just like you would any other Windows program.  Once you have it open, I think you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to run.

As you can see you can also analyze the document’s metadata to see what can be seen.  To do this, just select the “Analyze” button.

Then you will be prompted to browse for the document you want analyzed.

Let’s take a look and see what we can find out about one of my old documents I’ve had lying around.

Well, we know my initials (I hardly ever enter my name for program setups) and apparently I work for Toshiba!  Actually, I never changed that when I bought my laptop a few years back.  You can also see some other interesting things like when the document was created and last saved, edited and printed.

The interesting thing is that I now use Open Office as my Office suite of choice and my documents still end up with some metadata attached.  All the more reason to hit the “Main Menu” button and start some scrubbing.

When you hit the “scrub” button, you are given a few options.

You can save some real time by scrubbing more than one document at a time.  In other words, if you have just learned about this metadata thing, you can catch up and scrub everything you need to in a relatively short amount of time.

Next you’ll be given some more specific options as to what you want scrubbed.

Basically you can choose what information you find sensitive.  You can even reset the revision count and the author/company.  When you hit “next,” the magic begins.

Once the scrubbing is done, run an analysis of the scrubbed document(s) just to see what can still be seen.

As you can see, the document now reads that John Doe who works for Any Company Inc. created the document and the other settings were either reset or cleared, according to what I selected during the scrubbing process.

Like I mentioned earlier, you don’t have to be up to no good (like those showing up in the news) to make use of a tool like Doc Scrubber.  As you can see, the process of scrubbing that sensitive data is a simple one. Check out Karl’s article about scrubbing metadata from photos.

Do you scrub the metadata from your Word documents?  If so, what program(s) do you use?

Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

• How To Open, Edit and Print any Text Document File (5 comments)
• How To Open Microsoft Word 2007 docx Files (26 comments)
• Use Microsoft Office As An Offline Google Docs Editor with Offisync [Windows] (18 comments)
• ReadPal Reader – A Tool That Helps You Focus While Reading [Windows] (7 comments)
• Online Word Processor: A Closer Look at Adobe’s Buzzword (10 comments)
• How To Use Drop Caps To Enhance Your Text In Microsoft Word (8 comments)
• How To Hide Text In Microsoft Word 2007, Reveal It & Protect It (6 comments)
• How to Freeze a Part of a Word Document for Easy Reference (13 comments)
• How To Easily Make An Attractive Cover Page In MS Word 2007 (4 comments)
• How To Do Simple Calculations In Microsoft Word 2003 & 2007 (4 comments)

By Erica Ho, Lifehacker – May 18, 2010 at 05:00PM

Windows: Jalapeno Keyfinder retrieves serial numbers for a variety of programs on your PC—and even for most versions of Windows—so it’s not such a big deal next time you misplace your serial number and need to reinstall.

With so many different serial numbers to keep track of, Jalapeno Keyfinder will find your Windows’ operating system serial number for you in a pinch. In addition, the program retrieves serial numbers from a multitude of programs, from the likes of Microsoft Office, CorelDRAW, WinZip, and more. The application recognizes and extracts license keys from up to 170 different pieces of software, and even has built-in command line support.

Jalapeno Keyfinder is available for Windows at $6.95, but the older, demo version is a free download (and works just fine).