Rip Your Commercial DVDs With Free MakeMKV Beta

CDs and DVDs are not indestructible – they seem to attract scratches, cracks and sticky fingers – at least around here. As a result, I’ve developed the habit of backing-up my DVDs by ripping them to a Hard Drive – and often, to additional storage devices. This, despite the fact that it’s generally prohibited by laws that protect the “Greed Is Us”  entertainment industry. An industry which has been slow to react to changing technologies.

As I see it – it’s my Disc – I paid for it. If I buy something, it becomes mine. As for the law – I don’t give a rat’s ass what this particular law says. I will not be coerced by a government that holds a clumsy club over my head to protect an industry which continually shows little regard for the paying customer.

Since the majority of commercial DVDs are protected by a digital lock – CSS, CPRM, or AACS – should you decide, that it’s appropriate to safeguard your investment in commercial media – you’ll need a format converter capable of decrypting, and preserving, the media content.

MakeMKV is the best one-click free solution to convert owned video that I’ve found, to date. This is a very impressive application – straightforward, and easy to run –  even for a relatively new computer user.

A quick walkthrough:

For this post, I’ve chosen to backup one Disc from my collection of the HBO series – The Pacific – a 10 part series which cost me $90 – including tax. So yes, given the cost involved, I feel more than justified in protecting my investment.

Any of the following screen captures can be expanded to the original, by clicking.

On application launch, you’ll see the following. Be sure to expand the menu from which you’ll have an opportunity to select a variety of customizing options. Then click on “Make MKV” and……

sit back and relax.

Converting video is time intensive and your CPU will get a real workout. In this test, the job took approximately 30 minutes to complete.

The following screen shot shows the save location, and the relative sizes of the files. The first title – “00” represents the first episode. Similarly, the second title “01” represents the second episode from the DVD. Title “02” represents both episodes combined. Additional content from the DVD is also noted.

Finally, I’ve included the following screen captures in order to give you an idea of the just how perfectly MakeMKV has completed the task. BTW, VLC Media Player is my preferred application for running media on a PC. It is an outstanding application which offers a huge range of control functions. For example – if, I had forgotten to uncheck “Subtitles” while processing this test task – no big deal. VLC Media Player provides an option to “not show” subtitles while running.

Running in a Window.

Running in full screen

MKV File Format Fast Facts:

MKV is open and free. No one holds patents or licenses and anyone can implement it freely. As a result nearly every software player and many hardware devices support it. The best software players out there ( VLC, MPlayer ) have full MKV support and are absolutely free.

MKV files do not have evil features attached.

You can play them on any capable hardware. No need for HDCP-certified video card or any “trusted” environment.

You can copy them to your laptop and watch anytime, even if your laptop lacks DVD or Blu-ray drive, or any drive whatsoever.

One file is one title. If you don’t want to watch dozen trailers before the movie, you don’t have to. And fast forward button always works, too.

There are no restrictions where to play the file. There are no region-based restrictions. You have control over the content you’ve paid for.

MKV files are easy to change. Want to remove unneeded audio track from the file? Thought about converting MPEG-2 video into H264 to make the file 5 times smaller? All of it can be easily done with free software.

MKV files are compact. For exactly the same content MKV files are about 10% smaller than DVD files and roughly 40% smaller than Blu-ray files.

System requirements: Windows Vista, XP, Win 7 (tested here on Win 8), Intel-based Mac OS X 10.5 and above, and Linux.

Download at: MakeMKV

Restrictions you need to know:

Program is time-limited — it will stop functioning after 60 days. You can always download the latest version from makemkv.com that will reset the expiration date.

MakeMKV is currently still in beta and during the beta phase it will rip both DVD and Blu-ray for free. However, the DVD ripping functionality will always remain free.

After 30 days if you want to continue ripping Blu-ray discs, you’ll need to purchase a license.

HD-DVD support is limited – some discs may fail to open and not all audio and subtitle tracks will be preserved.

Blu-ray and DVD discs are fully supported.

Download Free Norton Identity Safe Beta – Simple, Secure, Password Management For Windows, iOS, And Android

Fair or not, I look upon weak password control – which leads to a catastrophe – as a self-inflicted injury. According to Norton research – 45 % of us re-use the same, easy to remember password, across multiple sites. Which, virtually assures, that should a hacker gain access to such a password – the door is now open for illegal access to all accounts. A catastrophe waiting in the wings.

I understand the dilemma. Complicated, in other words, safe passwords are often hard to remember, whereas easy passwords, in other words, unsafe passwords, are generally easy to remember. And, a single password is surely easier to remember than a series of passwords, simple or not.

What a troublesome problem!

Good news:

Today, Norton will release Norton Identity Safe Beta – the free public beta of a service which will allow you to secure and synchronize logins, passwords, credit cards, and other web form information across PCs, iOS and Android devices – using the cloud.

As an added bonus, Norton Safe Search is included.  Safe Search bumps up a user’s confidence level since a user can easily see (from search results), if a website is safe before visiting the site.

Norton Identity Safe setup walkthrough.

Consider very carefully as to whether “Remember Password” is appropriate in your situation.

Pay close attention to the password requirements.

Almost finished.

On completion, a web page will open with the following. From what I can see in this early test – since the application seems to rely on the Toolbar for access – you must accept. In Firefox, for example the Toolbar can be controlled through Tools – Add-ons.

Not quite finished. It’s time to check your inbox – confirm your email address. Click on the link………

and – finished!

Norton Identity Safe Home:

Norton Identity Safe Fast facts:

Simplified password management – Eliminates the hassle of remembering multiple logins and passwords, as users only need to remember one master password for quick, secure access to their favorite sites.

Streamlined user experience – Shows users their logins with thumbnail images, allowing them to log in to a desired site by clicking on the image, or for mobile and tablet users, by simply touching the screen.

Share Via – Allows users to safely share online content by sending URLs through email and social networking plugins, directly from Norton Identity Safe beta.

Automatic login synchronization across devices – Enables users to store a password on one device, and easily log in from another device – wherever they go.

Supported browsers:

Download at: Norton Identity Safe

Note: Norton Identity Safe Mobile Edition beta application, must be installed on mobile devices to access Norton Identity Safe.  The mobile applications complement the PC client, which must be downloaded and installed prior to installing the mobile applications.

Note:  If you have Norton Internet Security or Norton 360, you already have Norton Identity Safe installed.

Norton let me know of the pending release of Identity Safe Beta, yesterday. So, you’ll understand, this is not a review – but rather, a heads-up.

If you choose to download Identity Safe, I would be most interested in your personal observations as to functionality and value.

Helpful hints – here are some guidelines on choosing a strong password:

Make sure your password contains a minimum of 8 characters.

Use upper and lower case, punctuation marks and numbers.

Use a pass phrase (a sentence), if possible. For example, I use an 18 alpha character pass phrase (upper and lower case), supplemented with 4 numeric characters on this site. And, only on this site.

Since brute force dictionary attacks are common, do not use single word passwords that are words in a dictionary.

Use a different password for each sign-in site.

If you have difficulty in devising a strong password/s, take a look at Random.org’s – Random Password Generator – a very cool free password tool.

More Freebies From Microsoft Research Labs

“We are excited to be developing technologies that weave software, hardware, and services into every aspect of our lives, thereby advancing toward the goal of making computers genuinely useful — We see a future in which computers interact with people the way we interact with each other, think ahead to anticipate and meet our needs, and support us as we make the most of our ideas, efforts, and intellect.”

Joulemeter

Joulemeter is a software tool that estimates the power consumption of your computer. It tracks computer resources, such as CPU utilization and screen brightness, and estimates power usage.

System Requirements: Windows 7

HD View 3.3

With HD View, you can view and interact with very large images on the Web. HD View supports smooth panning and zooming, as well as appropriate viewing perspectives as you zoom in and out. HD View also makes creating and hosting your own HD View images easy. HD View is available as a plug-in for Windows-based browsers, including Internet Explorer and Firefox.

System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 (32-bit version).

Image Composite Editor (32 bit)

Microsoft Image Composite Editor is an advanced panoramic image stitcher. Given a set of overlapping photographs of a scene shot from a single camera location, the application creates a high-resolution panorama that seamlessly combines the original images.

The stitched panorama can be shared with friends and viewed in 3D by uploading it to the Photosynth web site. Or the panorama can be saved in a wide variety of image formats, from common formats like JPEG and TIFF to the multiresolution tiled format used by Silverlight’s Deep Zoom and by the HD View and HD View SL panorama viewers.

System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7

Download 64 bit version here.

StickySorter

Ever found yourself lost in the eye of a brainstorm? Lots of great information, but it’s all over the place! Sticky Sorter is a Grassroots Project, developed by two Microsoft Employees, that you can use today to manage such challenges.

The inventors, Julie and Sumit, were looking for an easier way to capture, sift through, and organize hundreds of research observations traditionally done on physical sticky notes in an affinity diagramming exercise with researchers from around the world.

The result is StickySorter which met their complex needs, supports virtual collaboration, and is now available for you to use in managing your next brainstorm.

System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 with .Net Framework 2.0.

Touchless

Touchless is an Office Labs Grassroots Project that started from an idea Mike Wasserman, a Microsoft Office Graphics developer, started during his college days to create multi-touch experience using a webcam. Through Office Labs sponsorship, Mike’s weekend hobby turned into an open-source prototype, currently available for download.

With just a webcam and color markers, you can get a taste of Touchless through the multi-touch demos provided. Play a pong-like game, rotate maps, control a snake, and draw with markers. If you’re someone technical, the Software Development Kit (SDK) is available for you to view, contribute to the code, or create your own multi-touch applications to help explore the possibilities.

System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Webcam

Bonus – Not free, but free trials:

Songsmith

Songsmith generates musical accompaniment to match a singer’s voice. Just choose a musical style, sing into your PC’s microphone, and Songsmith will create backing music for you. Then share your songs with your friends and family, post your songs online, or create your own music videos.

System Requirements: Windows XP (SP2), Vista, Windows 7

AutoCollage 2008

Researchers from all disciplines and the Cambridge Innovation Development team worked together, building Digital Tapestry and AutoCollage research into a new product. Face detection, saliency filters, and other Microsoft research identifies interesting parts of pictures. Advanced object selection and blending technologies seamlessly combine these pieces into a beautiful new AutoCollage.

System Requirements: Windows XP (SP3), Vista, Windows 7

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

PhotoDirector 2011 – Special Offer – Save $99.95

Sometime back, I reported on Adobe Lightroom Release Candidate 3.4, which had just been cleared by Adobe for download. In a bit of a twist on this tried and true method in product development – CyberLink, has recently released their PhotoDirector 2011 beta.

Here’s the twist – if you provide feedback on the beta version (takes 2/3 minutes), to the developer’s by June 20, 2011, you will receive the official release version (when available), for free (US $99.95 value).

Don’t be put off by the fact that this is a beta version. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating – In the last year or two, I’ve found that beta software can often be as stable as the final release. It may well be, that Microsoft raised the bar for both beta, and release candidates, with reasonably flawless releases of Windows 7 in both these formats.

My understanding is – on or about June 30, 2011, an e-mail from the developer will provide you with download details for the full version of the final release.

Here are the conditions.

Limitations: Participants will receive a 90 day trial version of the software by providing a valid email address.

Feedback:  To receive the full version of the software after it is released, participants must be over 18 years of age and provide feedback to a designated CyberLink email address related  directly to how the participants experienced PhotoDirector by June 20th, 2011.

I have downloaded and installed this application but, have not yet had an opportunity to put it through its paces. Still, based on the following screen shots from my test system, the application seems to be fully featured. What’s with the dark GUI though?

Click on graphic to expand to original.

Click on graphic to expand to original.

Click on graphic to expand to original.

Fast facts: some of the main features.

• Import and organize all your photos in the library for easy browsing and editing.
• View each individual photo’s metadata information.
• Add and embed keyword tags and copyright information in photos.
• Crop and rotate photos, or apply touch-ups such as red-eye and spot removal.
• Modify photo color and white balance with easy to use adjustment controls.
• Sharpen photos and correct photos that contain unwanted vignetting or image noise.
• Create dazzling photo slideshows and output them as video files.
• Share photos on Facebook and Flickr, and upload created photo slideshows directly to YouTube.

You can learn much more here (PDF format).

System Requirements (from the developer):

CPU Processor

• Intel Pentium D 3.0 GHz CPU with hyper-threading or equivalent AMD CPU is minimal.

Screen Resolution

• 1024 X 768, 16-bit color or above.

Operating System

• Microsoft Windows 7 (32 bit and 64 bit).

• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise (32 bit and 64 bit).

• Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 3.

Memory

• 2 GB is required.

Graphics Card

• Intel 945 GM and above (Independent graphics card recommended).

Hard Disk Space

• 1 GB of disk space for application and documentation.

To download this special offer, go here.

If you’re looking for a free professional level photo application, you might want to consider this offer.

Update: June 12, 2011 – here’s what real world user, and regular reader John B., thinks about this application.

Hi Bill,

I’ve now had a chance to work with PhotoDirector 2011 Beta.

After checking the download with VirusTotal, the software installed easily with Revo Uninstaller; none of the problems I’ve experienced in the past with some other paid-for programs. I did not have to disable or adjust my firewall or other security applications such as WinPatrol.

The program opened with a splash screen pointing out that this is a 90 day trial version. Once inside, I was presented with a familiar-looking GUI in thumbnail view. This comprised a work window for the selected file, with a horizontal scrollable strip of thumbnails beneath. To get pictures into the thumbnail strip is simplicity itself. You click “Import” and navigate to the required folder, either from the generic folders displayed by default or, in my case to one on my desktop. Then select the desired files and they appear in the thumbnail strip, with the first one in the work window ready for editing.

The import took a little time but I had selected 300 photos, each of about 18mb. I usually shoot in Sony RAW (.arw) and was delighted to see that this format was recognised without needing any plugins. In fact there is support for a very wide range of camera RAW versions.

The editing itself was very easy, with a good range of adjustments available under the “Adjustment” tab. The only thing missing from my personal point of view was “curves”, which I find gives excellent results quickly. However its absence made me check out the other available options in some detail. I found them to be very easy and intuitive to use.

As each picture is worked on, its thumbnail is tagged as “adjusted”. Once editing is complete, a click on “Select by Adjusted” under the “Edit” tab allows those photos to be exported to a folder of choice. By default the photos are converted to jpeg files, in my case of about 4mb each.

Unfortunately, after about an hour or so of work, the program suddenly crashed without warning. I had not exported any of the photos I had edited and was concerned that all my work would be lost. However, on reopening the software, I was pleased to see all my pictures present with those I had worked on still tagged. Needless to say I exported them without delay and continued to work on the remainder. The second crash came after about another 90 minutes. This time I was not so lucky as, when I restarted the program, all my pictures were gone, including the tagged ones.

I cannot say whether these crashes were the fault of the software, or because of some conflict in my laptop. What I can say is that I will happily continue with the Beta version and will equally happily accept a free licence after 20 June. Further, I would say that, if others can run the program without crashes, it is well worth the full licence cost.

In conclusion, this program has nearly everything that a high level photographer / editor requires. In addition I understand that a wide range of presets is available on line for those who need less fine control over the results.

Thank you John – as always I very much appreciate your input.

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

Soluto Latest Release – Fixes Crashes And Speeds Up Your Boot Time

Soluto describes itself as being in the “anti-frustration software” game, and they couldn’t be more right.

The latest Soluto release (May 25, 2011), not only continues to analyze and offer recommendations to speed up your boot time, but through increased functionality, remedies are available to deal with system crashes. On top of that, the application can guide through the process of determining which Browser add-ons you should consider removing

According to the developer –

Soluto employs innovative low-level Windows kernel technologies to identify what users are asking their PC to do, and what their PCs do in return. Soluto is able to pinpoint and analyze what resource obstacles stand in the way of users’ desired actions. These can be I/O issues, network issues, resource locking, and so on.

Having run Soluto since the first public Beta and, having been part of the closed Beta testing group for this new release – I can safely say, that this is an application that lives up to it’s promises. The term “must have application” is used so often that it’s lost it’s luster but, Soluto really is a must have application – particularly for a typical user.

Installation is straightforward, but in the event of a bad install the application automatically creates a restore point. Given the complexity of the application, you may find the install time slightly longer than normal. Not to worry – the installer is chugging away at the background work.

Click on any of the following graphics to expand to original size.

As the following screen shot indicates, on re-boot, you will have the opportunity to make adjustments in your boot configuration.

On system startup, you’ll notice that the application is auditing your current boot sequence.

Since the application places a control icon in the system tray, launching the program is a breeze.

The user interface is crafted in a simple no nonsense style.

Here, I’ve taken a look at Soluto’s recommendations to reduce my boot time. Potentially, I could reduce my boot time by a further 10 seconds, or so.

While Soluto will suggest Browser add-ons which you might consider removing, you should use caution here. After all, if you installed these add-ons, you must have considered their relative value when you did so.

As the following graphic indicates, there are no crashes, yet!

But, should unexplained system crashes become an issue, Soluto promises to jump in and help out. Now that’s very cool!

In the following graphic (supplied by the developer), the applications crash analytics function, and solution recommendations, are illustrated.

Fast facts:

Chop Boot – allows you to understand your boot, discover which applications are slowing it down (and keep running later in the background, affecting your ongoing experience), and allows you to significantly improve it.

Lighten Web Browser – Shows you which toolbars, add-ons and plug-ins are ‘riding’ on your browser, what they do, and what they look like. Helps you easily remove unneeded ones, making your browser faster and more stable, and shows you whether other users chose to keep them or disable them. It also lets you revert back to your search provider of choice in case it was ‘hijacked’ by other software.

Heal Crashes – Changes the way you experience application crashes (that is, when applications unexpectedly ‘die’ and prompt Windows to send ‘Crash Report’ dialogs), analyzes application crashes against tens of millions of crashes already collected, and provides solutions to prevent them from recurring.

System requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Win 7 (32bit & 64bit).

Download at: Developers site – Soluto.com

While the application is still at the Beta stage, I should point out – I have yet to experience any stability issues with either this version, or any of the prior versions.

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

Breadcrumbs Privacy Software 1.1.3.1 (Beta) Updated – Now With 64 Bit Support

Earlier this month, I ran a short test on Breadcrumbs Privacy Software (Beta) – Free Breadcrumbs Beta – Slaps Down Data Miners – which, according to the developer “……. automatically creates a Bogus Identity for you, thus preventing trackers from analyzing your real browsing information, leaving them with useless data.”

So, is this fair – is it OK to screw with so called “data miners”? Undoubtedly, you’ll make up your own mind on this – but, I won’t hesitate to state my opinion – “You’re damn right it is!”

Data miners, in an attempt to camouflage broad scale privacy intrusions, conveniently refer to their activities as predictive analytics, customer profiling, customer segmentation, predictive modeling, lifestyle clustering – yeah, right.

While predictive analytics, predictive modeling, etc. (you have to love how these guys paint privacy intrusions), may well be allowed under existing legislation – from a moral and ethical perspective, it’s reprehensible in my view.

Consider this – you’re cruising the Net and a tracker, or trackers, records every action you take, every motion you make –recording the type of sites you visit and revisit, time spent on sites, your shopping and spending habits, your political views, your marital status, and much more. All of this builds a profile of your browsing habits so that the data (your personal data), can be sold, bartered, and traded.

But don’t look for any sweeping legislative changes which will rein in these parasites any time soon. By and large, regulatory authorities have neither the moral courage, or the technical acumen (they simple fail to grasp the essence of the technology) necessary to enact appropriate consumer protection laws.

If you object to this type of intrusion into your privacy, then consider installing Breadcrumbs Privacy Software, and give these intrusive jerks the heave-ho. It may not be a perfect solution but, it’s a definite step in the right direction.

Fast facts:

Create your bogus identity – Breadcrumbs bogus Identity feature automatically creates a Bogus Identity for you, thus preventing trackers from analyzing your real browsing information, leaving them with useless data. Read more

The Do Not Track Me stamp – Once enabled, the Do Not Track Me stamp identifies you as a Breadcrumbs Protected User. It tells trackers that you do not wish to be tracked, and also lets them know that they will be fooled by your Bogus Identity in case they decide to track you anyway. Read more

Watchers Analytics – Breadcrumbs Watchers Analytics feature enables you to see who is watching you online. It’s an easy way to block ads and prevent trackers from tracking you across the Internet. Read more

Installation is simple and the application settings are limited, but effective. Click on the graphic to expand to original.

The dashboard will give you the opportunity to “watch the watchers” and block selectively. Click on the graphic to expand to original.

The most interesting feature of Breadcrumbs is the promise that it will build a “‘bogus identity” which will mislead watchers. Click on the graphic to expand to original.

According to the developer –

“In order for the feature to work it first needs to “learn the user” then it will synthesize what bogus data should be added in order to mask your real data and identity (so give it a few more hours/days). All of the learning process is encrypted and is done on the client-side, hence no one can see or use it but the software (and in the future you).”

In the following screen capture the expandable “Page Watcher” panel is shown – (shown expanded). This feature is selectable under “settings”. Click on the graphic to expand to original.

Current Version: 1.1.3.1 (Beta) – release date: May 24, 2011.

Changes in this version:

Bug fixes.

Better performance (CPU + RAM)

64 bit support.

Enhanced security to the automated Bogus browser.

Tray notifier which notifies when privacy protection analysis ended, and when a new software version is available.

Added the option to turn watchers blocking on and off through the Watchers Analytics Panel in your browser, this feature is very helpful in cases you are not sure if the page is not loaded correctly because a watcher is blocked (so you can just turn blocking off and see if that is the problem) – the panel appears in red in case blocking is turned off.

System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista and Win 7. Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 or above. (Breadcrumbs installer will alert you in case .NET Framework installation is needed)

Supported Web Browsers: Internet Explorer 7 or above. (including IE9). Firefox 3.6 or above. (including FF4). Google Chrome.

Download at: Developer’s site (Breadcrumb Solutions)

Breadcrumbs Usage and Demo: Video 2:26

I often hear from people who feel that since the information being mined is anonymous, no real invasion of privacy is taking place. While that may have been the case previously, that’s not the case currently.

Consider reading – Privacy: reidentification a growing risk.

Browser fingerprinting (a method used to identify you specifically) – Consider taking the Panopticlick test which analyses  your browser to see how unique it is based on the information it will share with sites it visits.

My test results:

Your browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 1,546,722 tested so far. Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that conveys at least 20.56 bits of identifying information.

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

Free Breadcrumbs Beta – Slaps Down Data Miners

It’s illusionary to believe that information and services on the Internet are free – there’s a strict tradeoff involved. Here’s the deal:

You get access to “free” information and services, and in return – you buy into the condition that each site you visit has the right to spy on you, and build a profile on your browsing habits – the type of sites you visit and revisit, time spent on sites, your shopping and spending habits, your political views, your marital status, and much more.

For example, when I read my local newspaper, ten behavior trackers come into play. The personal data mined by these trackers will be analyzed, on the fly, with the objective being to target me with highly specific advertising – based on my current and previous Internet behavior.

That’s the immediate outcome. But long term, the personal information gathered will be sold, bartered and traded (to bypass the disclaimer – “we will not sell your information”), so that it can be used in multiple ways that generate profit.

And, that’s the upside. If there’s one thing the Internet has taught us, it’s – if information can be abused – it will be abused.

Companies that defend this intrusion into my privacy love to throw around a ton of sexy words – predictive analytics, customer profiling, customer segmentation, predictive modeling, lifestyle clustering – that they’ve managed to infuse into an activity that is ethically questionable. Painted allusions, all.

Time Magazine’s Joel Stein’s recent article – Data Mining: How Companies Now Know Everything About You is an eye opener, and definitely worth a read.

A couple of outtakes:

“Three hours after I gave my name and e-mail address to Michael Fertik, the CEO of Reputation.com, he called me back and read my Social Security number to me. “We had it a couple of hours ago,” he said. “I was just too busy to call.”

“Right after I e-mailed a friend in Texas that I might be coming to town, a suggestion for a restaurant in Houston popped up as a one-line all-text ad above my Gmail inbox.”

There are limited methods that can be employed to protect privacy on the Internet – some more effective than others. I recently came across a beta application that may well be a “better” solution. Breadcrumbs Privacy Software is based on one guiding principal – disseminating disinformation.

According to the developer – “Breadcrumbs bogus Identity feature automatically creates a Bogus Identity for you, thus preventing trackers from analyzing your real browsing information, leaving them with useless data.”

I’m in the process of testing Breadcrumbs so this review is very preliminary but, it’s worth bringing to your attention, nevertheless.

Installation is simple and the application settings are limited, but effective. Click on the graphic to expand to original.

The dashboard will give you the opportunity to “watch the watchers” and block selectively. Click on the graphic to expand to original.

The most interesting feature of Breadcrumbs is the promise that it will build a “‘bogus identity” which will mislead watchers. After running the application for several days, I have yet to see any evidence of this bogus identity.

The developer spoke to this issue in a follow up email –

“In order for the feature to work it first needs to “learn the user” then it will synthesize what bogus data should be added in order to mask your real data and identity (so give it a few more hours/days). All of the learning process is encrypted and is done on the client-side, hence no one can see or use it but the software (and in the future you).”

Fast facts:

Create your bogus identity – Breadcrumbs bogus Identity feature automatically creates a Bogus Identity for you, thus preventing trackers from analyzing your real browsing information, leaving them with useless data.

The Do Not Track Me stamp – Once enabled, the Do Not Track Me stamp identifies you as a Breadcrumbs Protected User. It tells trackers that you do not wish to be tracked, and also lets them know that they will be fooled by your Bogus Identity in case they decide to track you anyway.

Watchers Analytics – Breadcrumbs Watchers Analytics feature enables you to see who is watching you online. It’s an easy way to block ads and prevent trackers from tracking you across the Internet.

System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista and 7. (32-bit versions only) Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 or above. (Breadcrumbs installer will alert you in case .NET Framework installation is needed)

Supported Web Browsers: Internet Explorer 7 or above. (including IE9). Firefox 3.6 or above. (including FF4). Google Chrome.

Download at: Developer’s site (Breadcrumb Solutions)

Breadcrumbs Usage and Demo: Video 2:26

I often hear from people who feel that since the information being mined is anonymous, no real invasion of privacy is taking place. While that may have been the case previously, that’s not the case currently.

Consider reading – Privacy: reidentification a growing risk.

I think this application is heading in the right direction. If Data Miners won’t play by the rules, or continue to be ethically challenge, then we need to consider the benefits of providing them we information that is essentially worthless. This application may offer a solution in that direction.

Note: The developer has advised me, that a new beta version with bug fixes and some improvements, will be released in the next few weeks.

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

BufferZone Pro 64 Bit Beta Released

Following the review of BufferZone Pro here earlier this year, a fair number of readers were disappointed to see that a 64 bit version of this free virtualization application from Trustware, was not yet available.

Well here’s some good news – those readers who have been waiting for a 64 bit version of  BufferZone Pro need wait no longer. Trustwareis opening the registration for the BufferZone Pro 4 beta version, which includes support for 64-bit Windows installations, on March 28,2011 (9:00 am PST).

To register for the beta program, or for more information, go here.

From “Free BufferZone Pro – Maybe The Best Surfing Virtualization Application At Any Price”, posted here February 22, 2011 –

Controlling malware intrusion, while surfing the Net, through the use of a ‘”virtual” environment rather than operating in a “real” environment, makes sense given the escalating level of cyber criminal activity on the Internet.

From the developer’s site:

BufferZone Pro keeps you surfing, downloading, e-banking, sharing, chatting, and e-mailing to your heart’s content – basically, using the Internet as it should be used. The Virtual Zone gives you total freedom, peace and security on the Web. With BufferZone Pro, you can do absolutely anything on the Internet threat free.

With BufferZone, all programs or files that enter your computer through downloading, browsing, or uploading with external media devices, are redirected to a Virtual Zone (C:\Virtual). And, since any intrusion attempt occurs within this virtual environment, there’s nothing in that summary that I can disagree with. BufferZone’s Virtual Zone does protect a PC from all forms of known, or unknown, attacks originating from the Internet, or external devices.

It does so in a non intrusive way, and after initial setup, requires a minimum of user intervention – perfect for the average user. Installation is hassle free – it’s just a matter of  following the on-screen instructions.

BufferZone sits in the Taskbar and can be fully controlled from there.

System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Win 7 (32-bit). 64 bit users now have access to BufferZone 4 Beta available here.

Note: 32 bit users can download stable version 3 here.

As with all beta, or release candidates, take sensible precautions prior to installation. This should include setting a new restore point.

Update: April 25, 2011 – Regular reader Charlie  reports the following:

“When I uninstall it or surf outside of it, I lose all my firefox bookmarks.  Installing returns the bookmarks.  Also, won’t let me keep Chrome bookmarks.I checked the support form, and others had the same problems.  No answers were provided, however.”

If you have experienced these conditions, and you have developed a solution – please let us know.

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

Run Splashtop, A Free Web Centric OS To Reduce Your Exposure To Malware

Current statistics indicate that over 95 percent of viruses, spyware, and other types of malware, are designed and targeted to attack Microsoft Windows. And, the route by which the majority of malware spreads, and intrusion attempts take place is the Internet Browser.

It seems reasonable to make the point then, that if you’re not running Windows while surfing the Net, but instead, you’re running an alternative operating system, you shouldn’t have to unnecessarily worry about malware, viruses, and spyware.

Regular readers might recall that I do most of my surfing using Linux; specifically Ubuntu. And yes, I’m aware of of all the counter arguments that surround this choice – “security through obscurity”, “Linux is built from the ground up with security in mind”, and on and on.

None of the various contentious points of view really make much difference to me. The reality is straightforward – all statistics indicate that surfing with a non-Windows system can reduce the malware risks Windows users have to contend with.

If you are leaning towards running an alternative to Windows, while interacting with the Net, then Splashtop OS, a Linux driven Web centric, (Chrome focused), specialty operating system (which coexists with Windows),  and is close to “instant on”, – about 10 seconds to boot and reach the Net in my tests, is worth taking for a spin.

Splashtop, (in beta currently), was initially designed to run on specific HP systems only, but it can now run on virtually any Windows system. Following installation, (from within Windows), on subsequent boots you will have the opportunity to boot into Splashtop, or Windows, through a boot menu.

Booting back into Windows once you’re in Splashtop, is “one click” simple.

You won’t get lost during the install which is very straightforward.

On completion of the install process, you will have an opportunity to gather additional information.

and perform a number of setup tasks.

The desktop is rather plain, but given that Splashtop has been designed as a Web centric OS, it’s still very functional.

Fast facts:

FAST:  Starts in seconds — way before Windows

EASY:  Featuring Instant Search, powered by Bing

SAFE:  A Linux-based platform running Chromium

READY:  Includes Adobe Flash Player pre-installed

PERSONAL:  Choose from thousands of Web Apps, extensions, and themes at the Chrome Web Store, and install the ones you want

SIMPLE:  Your existing Windows bookmarks and Wi-Fi Settings profile can be imported from Windows into Splashtop OS

CONVENIENT:  Visual Bookmarks show thumbnails of recently visited web pages (or can be hidden if desired)

CUSTOMIZABLE:  From the Status Bar, check the status of network connections, volume, power supply; or open the Configuration Panel and then set your preferences

FLEXIBLE:  If desired, you can exit Splashtop OS and boot to the Windows OS at any time

Running Splashtop will allow you to surf, and interact with the Internet as you normally would – including interacting with instant messaging, email, music, photos, documents, gaming, etc. And, it really is virtually “instant on”.

Additional details available at the developer’s site:

Using features of the Web Browser

Using the Splashtop OS Configuration Utility in Windows

Using the Boot Menu (unsupported computers only)

Announcements and Frequently Asked Questions

More information at the Splashtop OS web page

Download at: Splashtop

What’s Really Running On Your PC? Find Out With Free What’s Running 3.0

Regular readers are going to start thinking that along with my addiction to wine, women, and song, I must be addicted to writing reviews on Windows Task Manager replacements and the like.

This review is a little different though, since I’ve written it with the casual computer users’ needs in mind, rather than the more experienced user I usually focus on.

If you are a new or a casual computer user, What’s Running is a free application that can help you easily find what’s actually running on your computer. It presents a number of views, in a tabbed format, and each one relates to what’s really running on your machine.

Helpful definitions:

Let’s start with processes; the most basic concept – every program you start, or is started by the operating system, is a process. In the process view you can see all the processes easily.

Services are background tasks – keep in mind that a process can contain many services.

The modules are actual files with code and other data, that a process needs. Each process contains at least one loaded module.

Drivers are small programs loaded by the system, to handle hardware and specific system tasks.

IP connections are connections that your computer needs to make in order to send and receive data from the Internet.

Click on a graphic to expand to original.

Process View:

In the expanded view of this screen capture, you can readily see what’s running on the test machine. 52 Processes; 164 Services; 653 Modules; 48 IP Connections; 288 Drivers; and 6 Startups.

I’ve chosen to seek out more information on FWservice.exe by clicking on “Check info online, which returned the following from the developer’s site.

Each class of running component can be viewed in detail, by accessing the tabbed interface. Control functions are built-in by accessing the “right click” context menu.

Services View:

Modules View:

Internet Connections View:

Startup View:

Drivers View:

Snapshot View:

Fast facts:

Processes – Inspect your processes and find all the relevant details that you need. Get performance and resource usage data such as memory usage, processor usage and handles. As well, you get details about what dll:s are loaded, what services are running within the process, and what IP connections each process has.

IP Connections – Find out information about all active IP connections in the system. Get a list of what remote connections each program has, and find out what applications are listening for connections.

Services – Inspect what services are running or stopped and  find the process for your services and inspect its properties easily.

Modules – Find information about all dll:s and exe:s in use in your system. For each module you can find all processes that have loaded the module. Also you can find the full path and immediately open the folder where the file is located.

Drivers – Find information about all drivers. For running drivers you can inspect the file version to find the supplier of the driver.

Startup – Manage all your startup programs. Disable, edit, delete, etc. Manage startup programs regardless of source (registry or Startup folder).

If you are a new or casual computer user, What’s Running is a terrific application that will help you become familiar with your computer; what drives it, and in an overall sense – how it works.

Once you become familiar with your machine, you can then start taking action, including stopping and starting processes and services, and preventing unwanted programs from running on startup.

Experienced users know, that applications such as What’s Running can be used as an aid in tracking down malware infections. As a new, or casual user, it won’t take long before you have the ability to do the same thing (if you become infected) – once you learn to harness the power of What’s Running.

System requirements: Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7.

USB compatible: During the install process, you have the option of a minimum install to a Flash Drive.

Download at: Developer’s site (whatsrunning.net)

Note: This application is classified as a Beta, but I’ve been running it for years (in one version or another – including this version), with no difficulties.

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.