Utilities

News

• 10 utilities to secure your data

  Very few people (certainly not the smart, savvy, people who read PCWorld articles) run their computers without up-to-date firewall and antivirus software. Most users know better than to click a message from "Bank of Amerika" that tells them "Your acc...

• Scaling and provisioning virtual servers

  While virtual servers have proven a boon in the data center, they don't address the challenge of incrementally adding server capacity and automatically distributing load across them. As a result, the responsiveness and availability of a highly utiliz...

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  Erase data permanently with SecureClean

  It's well-known that "deleting" a file from Windows doesn't fully remove it, but you may not understand just how much data can remain on your disk after a file is gone. Even fragments of a file such as a crucial e-mail or spreadsheet can contain valu...

• Google Gmail snafu lesson: Backup, backup, backup

  Gmail is hard at work restoring service to about 40,000 Gmail users after a software bug deleted their e-mail messages, folders, labels and filters. So, while things are looking good for those users affected by the bug, this episode proves, once agai...

• Using more than one backup program

  Ata Amiri asked if using two separate backup program will interfere with incremental backups.

• Building a better business backup system

  As with buying insurance or taking vitamins, committing to data backup is a hard sell. Everyone knows that storing records safely in more than one place protects the health of a business, but many companies fail to establish backup systems that will ...

• Oracle offers file management package for cloud

  Hoping to service the growing market for cloud computing systems, Oracle has packaged two file management software programs into a single integrated offering, called the Oracle Cloud File System, the company announced Monday.

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  Car gadgets threaten drivers' privacy

  For many drivers, the cockpit of their car is a sanctum sanctorum, a place where privacy is sacrosanct. That's becoming less so, however, as high-tech gadgets are introduced to find out what you're doing behind the wheel.

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  Back up your Android phone with MyBackup Pro

  As Android phones become more powerful and more useful, they also store more of your important personal data. Losing that data can be more than a minor inconvenience, and given the fragility of electronic devices, it's something that's likely to happ...

• Protect your backup data from Murphy's Law

  Have you ever noticed that insurance seems to operate on the Murphy's Law principle? If you have it, you never need it, but as soon as the insurance is gone a catastrophe strikes. That is pretty much how backing up data often works.

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  Protect your laptop

  Laptops can be stolen. Neoflyer asked the PCWorld.com Answer Line forum for tips on protecting them.

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  Top 15 free tools for every Windows desktop

  If you haven't looked at the Windows utilities landscape lately, you're in for a big surprise. Many of the old favorites have changed, bringing new features to Windows 7, as well as XP. Others have fallen by the wayside, replaced by upstarts that del...

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  Restore a Windows XP Backup in Windows 7

  Reader Tom is dealing with this major hassle:

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  PayPal partners with Appcelerator for mobile commerce

  At the PayPal X Developer Conference keynote today, PayPal revealed a new partnership which could fundamentally change mobile commerce. PayPal -- arguably the most recognized name in online finance -- is teaming up with Appcelerator -- the second lar...

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  Move your iPhone media files freely

  Apple's iTunes software offers a great way to manage the media content you'd like to get on and off of your iPhone, most of the time. But there are times when you may not want to use iTunes to transfer files to and from your iPhone -- like when you'r...