In a suite at the Tampa Bay Lightning vs Atl game.
19
Jan
Avast Free Antivirus 5.0 Adds Behavior Monitor, Heuristics Engine, and Impro…
via Lifehacker by Whitson Gordon on 1/19/10
Windows only: The newest version of the popular Avast Antivirus is finally available for download. It’s lighter, faster, and more feature-filled than ever, bringing a new behavior shield, heuristics engine, and code emulator to keep you protected at all times.
Apart from its far easier-to-navigate interface, Avast has a few new features that make it hard to turn down. Its new code emulator can emulate a suspicious executable's code, isolated, for use in its new heuristics engine, designed to detect malware that would otherwise be undetectable with normal definitions—in other words, spotting malware by learning what the code does. If you use the pro version, you also get their new sandboxing feature for even further protection.
Apart from the new features, Avast has also lowered scanning times as well as the resources necessary to scan and update—a common issue with antivirus programs that are always running in the background. If you're already an Avast lover (and many of you are), you can either wait for the program to update itself in the near future or go download 5.0 straight from Avast. If you've tried Avast and turned it down before, it may be worth another look—you may find that its former cons (such as the difficult-to-use GUI and resource use) are now more up to your standards.
Avast Antivirus is a free download, Windows only.
via Download Squad by Jay Hathaway on 12/29/09
Filed under: Features, Macintosh
After Lee posted his excellent list of 10 favorite free Windows apps, I figured I’d jump in on the Mac side of things. 2009 has brought a lot of great new software to the Mac, especially with the introduction of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. We’ve seen everything from hot new browsers to productivity apps to essential system utilities, and they’re all well worth a download. Since Lee included some old standby apps on his list, I’m going to take the same liberty: most of these are new for 2009, but a couple are old workhorses I used more than ever this year.
Without further ado, let’s get to the apps!
Tweetie
This simple, elegant Twitter client from Atebits Software blows everything else in the Twitter arena out of the water. Not only is it attractive, it’s also got the most intuitive UI out there, and includes easy URL shortening and Growl support. Tweetie deserves all the good reviews it’s received. No wonder the iPhone version won an Apple Design Award!
This excellent video player has really come into its own this year, with updates to version 2 and then version 2.5. Not only can you use it to subscribe to web video channels and podcasts, you can also use it as a BitTorrent client. Using RSS feeds, you can set Miro to download new episodes of a TV show as they come out, and use it to play them, too. One app for all your video needs? Sounds like top 10 material to me.
Namebench
Another cross-platform gem, Namebench speeds up your Internet connection by finding you the fastest DNS server in your area. You can optimize it for your particular browser, and it’ll give you a results page with a comparison of all servers, and how much faster the best one is, as a percentage. Namebench came out of Google’s “Twenty Percent Time,” where employees work on side-projects one day a week.
Love Firefox, but wish it performed a lot better on your Mac? Snag an Intel-optimized version of the latest (non-beta) Firefox release for all the stability (and add-on compatibility) you expect from regular Firefox, but with a little extra speed in the tank. I think you’ll really notice the difference.
I couldn’t finish any of my Download Squad posts without Skitch, because I use it for all my screengrabs and resizing. Skitch is the slickest, quickest screen capture tool you can get for free. Just snap, add some text, arrows or drawing if you want, resize, and then drag your new image anywhere you need it. Google Chrome
Although it’s still only in beta, Google Chrome made a huge splash as the fastest browser you can get on your Mac. Once extension support and bookmark syncing are enabled in the final version, it’ll give Firefox and Safari both a serious run for their money.
Ommwriter creates a minimal writing environment, free of distractions. It has very few controls or formatting options, which means a lot less to fiddle with instead of writing. It also has a few different backgrounds, and even a selection of soothing music by which to write. Another full-screen writing app I love, although it didn’t come out in 2009, is Writeroom. Dropbox
For online file storage and syncing, it’s tough to beat Dropbox. It integrates with the OS X Finder, so you can drag files to and from your Dropbox as if they were stored on your hard drive. Dropbox folders are easy to manage and share, and – as if the desktop app weren’t cool enough by itself – there’s also a Dropbox iPhone app. Fluid
This pick almost isn’t fair, because Fluid is more than one app: it lets you turn any web app into a standalone browser. The power of Fluid might not be immediately obvious, but once you start pulling Google Reader or Gmail down to your desktop, it becomes clear how useful Fluid really is. To get a good idea of some of the sites you can Fluid-ize, check out my list of 10 web apps you should be running on your Mac with Fluid.
Sequential
Sequential is one of the best image viewers I’ve used on the Mac. It can see inside folders and ZIP or RAR archives, and it shows the EXIF data for your photos. It’s fairly light and snappy, especially compared to bulky apps like iPhoto. The real reason I love Sequential, though, is that it’s my favorite comics viewer on the Mac, supporting CBR and CBZ files and making it easy to navigate the pages and view them at any size.
Jay’s 10 favorite free Mac apps of 2009 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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via Lifehacker by Kevin Purdy on 12/10/09
Every weekend, we comb our memories and archives to compile 10 useful items addressing a specific topic you may have forgotten about, or just happen to be excellent. Here are the 20 list(icle) posts that proved the most popular in 2009.
1. Top 10 Tiny & Awesome Windows Utilities
The best boxing doesn’t always happen at the heavyweight level. Likewise, some of the best things you can load onto your Windows system are tiny little guys that just make day-to-day writing, working, and surfing better.
2. Top 10 Must-Have Firefox Extensions, 2009 Edition
We didn’t change everything from our original 2006 list, but we did mix up our favorite add-ons for our favorite browser with a few essentials that Lifehacker editors, and readers, have found indispensable.
3. Top 10 Windows 7 Boosters
Just before Windows 7 dropped, we put together the apps that developers had updated or released new to integrate with Windows 7. Some add in things missing from Microsoft’s latest OS, while others improve on what’s already there.
4. Top 10 Firefox 3.5 Features
To think that Firefox 3.5 was almost labeled 3.1, a small iteration. The latest release included a lot to crow about, including much-needed performance improvements, but also many subtle refinements.
5. Top 10 Underhyped Webapps, 2009 Edition
Gina had only compiled her list less than two years ago, but the web’s become an even bigger playground for developers since then. The truly helpful and useful ones, without gigantic advertising budgets, were worth highlighting. Photo by thievingjoker.
6. Top 10 Tricks MacGyver Would Be Proud Of
This was Adam’s favorite Top 10 of at least the year, if not possibly all time. Either he’s really into short, goofy fan fiction, or just appreciates a number of 1980s pop-culture references sprinkled into his listicles. Either way, it’s fun to make like everyone’s favorite duct tape enthusiast with these clever hacks. Image by PoweredByLarios™.
7. Top 10 Ubuntu Downloads
Free software rocks, and free software running on a free platform is heavenly stuff. Check out the apps that make Ubuntu a better place to work, play, and explore. Image by Andrew Mason.
8. Top 10 Battery Hacks, Tips, And Tricks
Modern batteries help us feel like we're living in the future, with cellphones that can do anything and laptops that can work anywhere—when they're fully charged. Otherwise, getting the most out of them requires some old-fashioned cleverness and energy frugality, detailed in these tips. Photo by conskeptical.
9. Top 10 Cheap or Free Home Theater Upgrades
Once everything’s hooked up, it’s easy to just point your HD TV in the right direction and call it a day on your home theater setup. Take on a few of these projects and pointers, though, and you’ll get a nicer-looking, better-performing system. Photo by chunkysalsa.
10. Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill
Why was this so popular? Because almost everybody loves an excuse to be outside, and nearly everyone loves an excuse to obsess over tasty food. That’s just our guess, anyways, and these 10 skills testify to how geeky this excuse can really get. Photo by adactio.
Those 10 may have been the most popular, but if you’re still eager for some more listicle goodies, here’s a quick overview of the next ten most popular.
- 11. Top 10 Tools for a Free Online Education
“It’s easy to forget these days that the internet started out as a place for academics and researchers to trade data and knowledge. Recapture the web’s brain-expanding potential with these free resources for educating yourself online.” - 12. Top 10 Apps that Boost Your Media Center
“Streaming video, digital DVD backups, DVR recording-it’s all possible from your TV-connected media center, and you don’t need a system administrator to pull it off. These 10 apps make filling and controlling your media center PC even easier.” - 13. Top 10 Home Office Hacks
“Whatever kind of work you do at home, your office is one place you want to spend the time to make comfortable and convenient. Take 10 of our tips on organizing, fixing, and streamlining that space.” - 14. Top 10 Tricks for Creatively Hiding Your Stuff – Security – Lifehacker
“Every kid has a creative stash for secret stuff, but that useful enthusiasm doesn’t have to die off just because we’ve traded treehouses for desks. See how you can hide money, files, workspaces, and more in today’s Top 10.” - 15. Top 10 Computer Hardware Fixes and Upgrades – Hardware – Lifehacker
“If your desktop or laptop parts have died or seen better days, you’ve got a friend. All of your Lifehacker editors-and many helpful net denizens-have upgraded or repaired faulty systems, and we’ve rounded up some of their most helpful tutorials.” - 16. Top 10 Productivity Basics Explained
“There’s a core set of habits and techniques that filter and color a lot of what we write about at Lifehacker, but we rarely step back to explain them for newcomers. Let’s get back to basics with 10 productivity tactics.” - 17. Top 10 Tools for Your Blog or Web Site
“Having your own hosted web domain has never been cheaper, or easier, with the vast array of free resources out there. Here are our ten favorite tools to help anyone launch and maintain their internet presence.” - 18. Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Better Coffee
Coffee doesn’t always make work better, but you can definitely work to get better coffee. From four-cup hotel machines to French presses, from home-roasted beans to decorative foam-we’ve got a wealth of tips for enjoying a better cup. - 19. Top 10 Tricks for Making Your Playlists Rock
“If music is part of your everyday work routine, workout, or commute, stuffing your player full of tunes and hitting shuffle just won’t cut it. Scan these 10 tips for improving and expanding your music playlists.” - 20. Top 10 Outlook Boosters
“Outlook is such a fixture of office and computer life, its potential as a central life-organizing inbox is easily taken for granted. Empower your Outlook with these add-ons, link-ups, and data management techniques.”
Want a quick blast from the past? Our most popular top 10s of 2008 and 2007 are just a click away.
