Thinking about uninstalling that bloated virus scanning application but don’t because you still want to scan an occasional file for viruses? Virus Total, an online virus scanning service, might just be what you’re looking for. This online service allows you to upload a file for automatic virus scanning. It’s not as quick as just scanning it with a locally installed virus scanner, but I believe time required is well worth it. Rather than commit to one virus scanning applications, you now have access to 34 of the most popular scanners out there. Who is the best at scanning? Which one has the best feature set? Which one consumes the least amount of system resources? Who cares! No longer do you have to research all the options and pick one. Just upload your file and let Virus Total do the rest. This web site is well worth a visit.

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I was trying to get some directions the other day from Google Maps and discovered that the map wouldn’t load. I recently upgraded to Firefox 3, but thought for certain that I had successfully used Google Maps since the upgrade. I did a little digging around and found that I wasn’t the only person experiencing this problem. Question was, “How do I fix this problem?”

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I apologize for this usual TechTraction post, but I wanted to get some MP3 recommendations my readers. Seems that over the weekend my brother’s Creative Zen Micro MP3 player died. It appears that using while he exercised was more than it’s little internal hard drive could handle. He’s now in the market for a new [...]

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You’ve heard the warning so many times you can probably recite it like a mantra - back up your hard drive data, back up your hard drive data. Despite the repeated warnings, many of us simply don’t take action. Some of us procrastinate while others of us foolishly believe that a disaster could never happen to us. Whatever the reason, the end result is the same: we’re simply not backing up our data like we should.

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WebCamMax is an application that can take your ordinary webcam to the next level. Cool screen effects, video source switching, and cam recording are just a few of the features packed into this affordable piece of software. And while most webcams sold today come with some sort of extra control software, WebCamMax has richer and more extensive features than a standard webcam software bundle. I was so impressed with the trial version of WebCamMax that I bought a copy and it was through that purchase that I learned a few things about the product worth mentioning to other perspective WebCamMax customers.

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School is finally out for summer vacation in my town. My kids are thrilled, and actually, so am I. Finally, nearly 3 months away from the weekly grind of getting them to and from school, coordinating extracurricular activities, and policing homework. While the break is welcomed, however, I now have a new challenge: 3 kids with a lot of free time on their hands.

Fortunately, I’ve got a list of ideas to keep my kids moderately busy and mildly productive. Unfortunately my list is boring and reads like a Polly Anna authored article for Parenting magazine; however, if you really just want to keep your kids out of your hair this summer, and don’t give a damn what Parenting magazine might say, then here is my alternate list of 5 fun “techie” activities for kids this summer.

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Exactly what is “net neutrality?” You probably know, but have you ever tried to explain it to a non-technical person? They might “get it”; however, sometimes they won’t. In those cases, just refer your friends to this post at Webmaster Source. The article contains a fantastic collection of videos that explain the details of net [...]

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On Monday I wrote a quick article discussing how you could use SyncToy, a free application from Microsoft, as a simple hard drive back up utility. While I think the application is fantastic, it does lack one critical feature: scheduled execution. Fortunately, both Windows XP and Vista have a built in scheduling application that you can use to add this missing functionality to SyncToy. In this article I’ll review the steps required for installing SyncToy, how to configure a sync, and how to schedule it with the built in application for automated execution.

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Not too long ago the hard drive in my primary computer died. Fortunately, the death was progressive so I was able to make a quick backup before the inevitable complete failure occurred. My approach to the backup was a basic drag-n-drop of files and folders to an external hard drive. The process took longer than necessary and I wasted a lot of time trying to determine what was and was not critical. In the end, while drag-n-drop did the job, I wished there was a way to automate the process and convert this basic computer task into a reasonable backup solution. I started to look around, and here is what I found.

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Do you carry around a USB thumb drive for easy file transportation? If so, you should check out this list of 5 USB applications. The list is short and the applications simple, but you can certainly get more out of your thumb with any of these applications. The post from MakeUseOf.com is well worth checking out. I highly recommend SyncToy from the list, I routinely use it for simple backups and love it.

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