How to Protect Against Spyware

Your computer could be one of the millions of those infected with some form of malware and you might not even realize it. If an internet program is tracking and sending information back to a third party — without the your permission — when it lands on your computer, you have spyware.

Spyware & Malware Symptoms

When spyware or malware is on your PC it will almost certainly cause your internet connection to dramatically slow down and you will get an excessive amount of annoying pop-up windows. Left untreated, spyware and malware could begin to crash your computer and even lead to identity theft.

Get Proactive

Proactive anti-spyware protection is essential in keeping your data private. Programs such as Webroot Spy Sweeper and eTrust Pest Patrol are offered for a small yearly subscription fee and they will help prevent, scan for and remove the bulk of unruly spyware and malware from your computer. Once installed, ensure that your software program is automatically downloading updates on a weekly basis and set to perform a full system scan every month.
There are also day-to-day tips for being proactive in avoiding spyware and malware.

• Be cautious of suspicious emails from unknown sources, as they can infect your computer with spyware
• Steer clear of websites of ill repute — these are a haven for malicious and annoying intruders

Information is the weapon against spyware and that is where Geek Squad Intelligence can help. We stay on top of the latest spyware, malware, and virus news so you don't have to. Check out Technogeek Intelligence Security Threat Alerts to learn more.

Firewalls Are Your Friend

Information travels between computers and networks through various data ports. In addition to other security measures, firewalls implement a "stateful inspection" of these data ports, preventing unrequested (which is to say — bad) data from coming into your computer or network. In essence, firewalls hide your PC from others trying to get in through the Internet. Various software companies offer firewall protection, but hardware-based firewalls, like those frequently built into network routers provide a better level of security.

Free Spyware Scan

Use the online Spyware Scan to check for spyware infestations. If spyware is found, you can Chat with an Agent to fix it remotely in your home. Or bring your computer into our workshop before it goes BOOM, realizing the worst may have just happened.

How to keep your Apple computer free from malicious programs and viruses

• Apple computers are not safe from viruses
• Fewer than half of Mac users run anti-virus software
• Mac users "will be targeted more and more easily"

APPLE users need to stop living in "fantasy land" and let go of the myth that its products are safe from malicious programs and viruses.

This is the advice of security experts at anti-virus company, Kaspersky.

Fewer than 50 per cent of Mac users run any kind of anti-virus security on their computers, even though more than 700,000 Mac computers were infected with a malicious virus called "Flashback" last year.

The infections occurred after a cyber criminal exploited a security flaw in a Java application, that tricked people into downloading a virus he had written by disguising it as an update for Adobe Flash software.

While 70 per cent of user computers have had the security flaw patched and the virus removed, about 30 per cent of users are still infected, product group manager Vartan Minasyan told news.com.au.

"If Mac users continue to be so carefree, I can really tell you that they will be targeted more and more easily."

"Five years ago part of Apple's marketing was that Macs got no viruses," Minasyan said.

"Right now they're saying the opposite. On Apple.com they have started to say it's better to have virus protection installed."

The security expert says people need to change their thinking, and says he expects it to happen naturally, but not quickly.

"It is just a part of human nature to be very slow in adapting," he said. "People should actually change their belief and change their approach".

To even further destroy the Apple safety myth, Vincente Diaz, Kaspersky's senior malware analyst said it took him just 15 minutes to create a piece of malware for a Mac.

"It took 15 minutes for the Mac to show a completely grey screen," he told journalists during a presentation in Monte Carlo. "The virus blocked every input on the computer from the keyboard to the mouse.

"You couldn't do anything. And this was using only Apple's default system functions. There was nothing extra."

Part of the problem is that users are continuing to buy into the myth that Apple devices are immune to viruses.

But Apple also needs to change its approach, Diaz says.

"Apple needs to be clear about what they are controlling and way they are not," he said.

He said Apple was not so good at disclosing when it was releasing security patches for flaws, what they do, and what they don't do.

"Apple works hard to try and make its users very secure and are doing what is best for you, but they don't explain what it is actually doing," he said.

"Apple is not very transparent about what was going on when the latch for the flashback virus was released.

"It is not being very useful to consumers about updating security. That is my opinion. It needs to increase user awareness."

How to keep your Apple computer secure

1) For goodness sake, purchase and install an anti-virus security program.

2) Ensure you keep your security software up-to-date.

3) Keychain. Use it. Keychain is an Apple program which stores all of your passwords, whether it be for your bank account or your computer. Keychain unlocks as soon as you login to your computer, meaning anyone with access to your Mac can access areas of your life that are password protected like your bank, PayPal, email or eBay accounts. Prevent this by creating a password for the program which stores all your passwords. And for the love of everything that is holy, DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT MAKE THIS PASSWORD THE SAME AS ONE OF THE STORED PASSWORDS. Get original.  Invent a brand new password that has never been used on any of your other accounts. Do this by going to Utilities in Applications, hit Open Keychain Access and click Edit: Change Password for Keychain [username / login]. It will ask you for the password you use to log in to your computer (leave this blank if you do not have a password. We'll get into that later), type your new password into the New Password field and Verify field. The key icon next to the New Password field will tell you how secure your password is. News.com.au recommends using a combination of random letters and numbers. Hit OK. Also, always ensure to lock your Keychain when you are not using it.

4) Always double check that the updates for security are legitimate.  One way to do this is to check the URL it is directing you to. First, hover your mouse over the link it is directing you to, a URL should appear along the bottom of your web browser. If the URL is not directing you to the official websites of the various software programs you are running, DO NOT CLICK ON IT.

5) If you need to update your computer but you are concerned about clicking malicious or deceptive links, just type the official website URL in your web browser and download the updates straight from Apple's website, or the website of the software you are running.

6) Turn off your automatic login. There is no need for your computer to store your username and password. Make sure you enter them manually upon start-up to minimise the chance of your credentials being stolen.

7) Lock your computer when you are not using it. Even if you are only stepping away from your computer for a minute, prevent people from accessing your device by using a password to turn off the screen saver or to wake up your Mac from sleep mode.

8) Be cautious about what information you store in the cloud. It might be a hand backup for that manuscript you work on in your spare time. But keep any personal information relating to bank account, passports, credit cards, bills, etc out of the cloud. There is always a danger storing information in remote servers as cloud security is almost completely out of your control. Needless to say having a unique, strong password helps too.

9) Remove your payment information from iTunes. Sure, it might be handy to pay for music with a single click, but storing your credit card information in your iTunes account comes with real risk. Scammers could access your details and use it to purchase all sorts of dodgy stuff for themselves, or worse, use it to gain enough personal information to access your bank account. And then you are in real trouble.

10) Encrypt important files. An encryption is a code which basically locks your files, making them unreadable without a secret key. Needless to say, sharing the key with anyone would be an act of stupidity. There are a number of good encryption programs including AutoKrypt, TorBundle, Hotspot Shield.

Remove FBI virus (Removal Guide)

(Does NOT always work)

Please note this is really long and most people find it easier to bring it into us to fix as it takes us 4-6 hrs to do
If your computer is locked, and you are seeing an “ATTENTION! Your computer has been locked” notification from Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), then your computer is infected with a piece of malware known as Trojan Reveton.

The FBI trojan is distributed through several means. Malicious websites, or legitimate websites that have been compromised, may drop this trojan onto a compromised computer.
This drive-by-download often happens surreptitiously.
Another method used to propagate this type of malware is spam email containing infected attachments or links to malicious websites.
The threat may also be downloaded manually by tricking the user into thinking they are installing a useful piece of software.
The FBI virus is also prevalent on peer-to-peer file sharing websites and is often packaged with pirated or illegally acquired software.
Once installed on your computer, the FBI virus will display a bogus notification that pretends to be from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and states that your computer has been blocked due to it being involved with the distribution of pornographic material, SPAM and copyrighted content.

The FBI virus will lock you out of your computer and applications, so whenever you’ll try to log on into your Windows operating system or Safe Mode with Networking, it will display instead a lock screen asking you to pay a non-existing fine in the form of a MoneyPak code.

Furthermore, to make this alert seem more authentic, this virus also has the ability to access your installed webcam, so that the bogus FBI notification shows what is happening in the room.
The FBI virus locks the computer and, depending on the user’s current location, displays a localized webpage that covers the entire desktop of the infected computer and demands payment for the supposed possession of illicit material.

t the Federal Bureau of Investigation will never lock down your computer or monitor your online activities.
The message displayed by the threat can be localized depending on the user’s location, with text written in the appropriate language.
The FBI virus is a scam, and you should ignore any alerts that this malicious software might generate.
Under no circumstance should you send any MoneyPak code to these cyber criminals, and if you have, you can  should request a refund, stating that you are the victim of a computer virus and scam.

FBI lock screen – Virus Removal Guide

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove the FBI infection from your your computer. Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubt at any point STOP and ask for our assistance.
The FBI will start automatically when you login to your computer and display its screen locker so that you are unable to access your computer, therefore we will need to remove this infection by using one of the below methods:
OPTION 1: Remove FBI lock screen virus with System Restore
OPTION 2: Remove FBI virus with with HitmanPro Kickstart
OPTION 3: Remove FBI virus with Kaspersky Rescue Disk

OPTION 1: Remove FBI lock screen virus with System Restore

System Restore helps you restore your computer’s system files to an earlier point in time. It’s a way to undo system changes to your computer without affecting your personal files, such as e‑mail, documents, or photos.
Because the FBI virus will not allow you to start the computer in Windows regular mode, we will need to start System Restore from the Safe Mode with Command Prompt mode.

STEP 1: Restore Windows to a previous state using System Restore

Reboot your computer into Safe Mode with Command Prompt. To do this, turn your computer off and then back on and immediately when you see anything on the screen, start tapping the F8 key on your keyboard.

If you are using Windows 8, the trick is to hold the Shift button and gently tap the F8 key repeatedly, this will sometimes boot you into the new advanced “recovery mode”, where you can choose to see advanced repair options. On the next screen, you will need to click on the Troubleshoot option, then select Advanced Options and select Windows Startup Settings. Click on the Restart button, and you should now be able to see the Advanced Boot Options screen. Using the arrow keys on your keyboard, select Safe Mode with Command Prompt and press Enter on your keyboard.

At the command prompt, type rstrui.exe, and then press ENTER.

Alternatively, if you are using Windows Vista, 7 and 8, you can type: C:\windows\system32\rstrui.exe , and press Enter. And if you are a Windows XP user, type C:\windows\system32\restore\rstrui.exe, then press Enter.
System Restore should start, and you will display also a list of restore points. Try using a restore point created just before the date and time the FBI lock screen virus has infected your computer.

When System Restore has completed its task, start your computer in Windows regular mode, and perform a scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro, as seen in the next step.

STEP 2: Remove FBI malicious files with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free

Even after using System Restore,

You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link, then double-click on the icon named mbam-setup.exe to install this program.
MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK(This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free)
When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the setup process, then at the last screen click on the Finish button.

1. On the Scanner tab, select Perform quick scan, and then click on the Scan button to start searching for the FBI malicious files.
   
2. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for FBI virus as shown below.
   
3. When the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware scan has finished, click on the Show Results button.
   
4. You will now be presented with a screen showing you the computer infections that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected. Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked), then click on the Remove Selected button.
   

STEP 3: Double-check for the FBI virus with HitmanPro

1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link:
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a web page from where you can download HitmanPro)
Double-click on the file named HitmanPro.exe (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or HitmanPro_x64.exe (for 64-bit versions of Windows). When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below.

Click on the Next button, to install HitmanPro on your computer.

HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for FBI malicious files.

When it has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found as shown in the image below. Click on the Next button, to remove FBI virus.

2. Click on the Activate free license button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   

OPTION 2: Remove FBI virus with with HitmanPro Kickstart

If you cannot start your computer into Safe Mode with Command Prompt mode, we can use the HitmanPro Kickstart program to bypass FBI lock screen.
As the FBI ransomware infection locks you out of your computer, you will need to create a bootable USB drive that contains the HitmanPro Kickstart program.
We will then boot your computer using this bootable USB drive and use it to clean the infection so that you are able to access Windows normally again.
You will also need a USB drive, which will have all of its data erased and will then be formatted. Therefore, only use a USB drive that does not contain any important data.

Using a “clean” (non-infected) computer, please download HitmanPro Kickstart from the below link.
HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a download page in a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro Kickstart)

Once HitmanPro has been downloaded, please insert the USB flash drive that you would like to erase and use for the installation of HitmanPro Kickstart. Then double-click on the file named HitmanPro.exe (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or HitmanPro_x64.exe (for 64-bit versions of Windows).
To create a bootable HitmanPro USB drive, please follow the instructions from this video:
Now, remove the HitmanPro Kickstart USB drive and insert it into the FBI infected computer.

Once you have inserted the HitmanPro Kickstart USB drive, turn off the infected computer and then turn it on. As soon as you power it on, look for text on the screen that tells you how to access the boot menu.

The keys that are commonly associated with enabling the boot menu are F10, F11 or F12.

1. HitmanPro will now reboot your computer and Windows should start normally. Then please install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro, and scan your computer for any left over infections.

OPTION 3: Remove FBI virus with Kaspersky Rescue Disk

If any of the above methods did not clean your infected computer, we can use a Kaspersky Rescue Disk Bootable to clean the Windows registry and to perform a system scan to remove the FBI virus.
To create a bootable Kaspersky Rescue Disk, we will need the following items:

• A clean (non-infected) computer with Internet access
• A blank DVD or CD
• A computer with a DVD or CD burner

STEP 1: Download and create a bootable Kaspersky Rescue Disk CD

1. You can download Kaspersky Rescue Disk utility from link below:
   KASPERSKY RESCUE DISK DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download Kaspersky Rescue Disk (kav_rescue_10.iso) on your computer.)
2. To create the bootable rescue disk, we will need to use the ImgBurn program. You can download ImgBurn from the below link, then install this program.
   IMGBURN DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new page from where you can download the ImgBurn program)
3. Insert your blank DVD or CD in your burner, then start ImgBurn and click on the Write image file to disc button.
4. Under Source click on the Browse for file button, then navigate to the location where you previously saved the Kaspersky Rescue Disk utility (kav_rescue_10.iso), then click on the Write button.
   
   That’s it, ImgBurn will now begin writing your bootable Kaspersky Rescue Disk.

STEP 2: Start your computer using the Kaspersky Rescue Disk

1. Once you’ve got the Kasperky Rescue Disk in hand, insert it into the infected computer, and turn off and then turn it on again.
2. As soon as you power it on, you will see a screen that tells you to press any key to enter the menu, so please tap any key to boot your machine from the Kaspersky Rescue Disk.
   
3. In the next screen, you will need to chose a language, then you click on Kaspersky Rescue Disk. Graphic Mode and press ENTER, to start the Kaspersky Rescue Disk.
   

STEP 3: Scan your system with Kaspersky Rescue Disk

1. Within a few short seconds you should see the full working environment, with the Kaspersky Rescue Disk screen front and center as shown below.
   
2. Switch tabs over to the My Update Center, and then click the Start update button to load the latest anti-virus definitions. Please be patience while this process its completed.
   
3. Switch back over to the Objects Scan tab, select the drives you want to scan, and then click the Start Objects Scan button.
   
4. When Kaspersky Antivirus will detect the FBI virus, you’ll be prompted to select an action. When this happens, please select Quarantine or Delete to remove this infection from your computer.
   
5. When the antivirus scan has completed, you can restart back into Windows regular mode, by clicking on the Kaspersky Start button (lower left corner), and selecting Restart.
   Once your computer will start in Windows regular more, download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro, and scan your computer for any left over infections.

Your computer should now be free of the FBI infection. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future, and perform regular computer scans with HitmanPro.
If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove FBI Moneypak virus from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance

Phone Scams and Computer Repair: Know Your Facts to Protect Your Computer

Phone Scams and Computer Repair: Know Your Facts to Protect Your Computer

presented by technogeek.net.au

 

Imagine this – you are sitting at home minding your own business when you receive a phone call from an official sounding person telling you that your computer is seriously infected with viruses. They say they will help you out and eliminate the viruses if you will provide a credit card number.

An increasing number of computer users are receiving similar phone calls and some — afraid of potential data loss and device damage — are surrendering their bank account information in the hope this will protect their tech.

If you get such a call, we’re here to tell you — hang up. It’s a scam!

Technogeek are seeing a rise in phone scams targeting PC and Mac owners. Cybercriminals pretending to work for Microsoft, Geek Squad, or any other nationally-recognized tech company call their intended victims, claim they’ve scanned their computers remotely and found viruses on them. Relying on computer users’ fear of viruses, data loss and identity theft, they trick people into giving them actual access to the computer.

Once the scammer has access to the victim’s system, they will often show the user scary looking error messages on the machine, require immediate payment to cleanup the “dangerously infected” computer and install more “protection” software onto the system. Chances are they’ll take the opportunity to install other bits of malware to capture the victim’s online shopping or banking information.

 If your first instinct is not to trust cold calls about fixing your computer, you’re absolutely right. Scammers often use publicly available information (like your name and telephone number) to make initial contact, and can often make an educated guess about your PC’s operating system. They can sound very convincing (they are good at this), but don’t be taken in.

It’s important to understand that reputable tech companies (like Microsoft, Technogeek and other tech leaders) will not scan computers remotely without permission from the owner. They will not call computer users unless they are already working with them on a support issue.

Should you receive one of these telephone calls, here are a few tips to help protect yourself:

• When in doubt, hang up the phone and call the company back at their publicly listed telephone number. You can usually find contact information on their web site.
• Never provide a credit card or banking account information to someone on a cold call — even if they claim to be from a computer support company.
• Never give remote access to your computer to any technician unless they can confirm they are a legitimate member of a computer support company with which you have an existing support agreement.

 If you’ve been a victimized by a phone scammer:

• Contact your credit card or bank and speak with the fraud prevention team to have the charges reversed and the account protected from future charges.
• Change your computer password, along with the password of any online accounts that may have been provided to the cybercriminal.
• Update your security software and run a full scan on your computer, or use one of our tools.  You may also want to contact Technogeek Support to have the PC checked for malware.

Phone scams are successful because cybercriminals rely on computer users trusting an unknown person with access to their computers. Together, we can defeat these scams by simply hanging up when you receive an unrequested support call, regardless of who they say they are.

150 Best Windows Apps Of Year 2012

150 Best Windows Apps Of Year 2012 by AddictiveTips Team on January 01, 2013 2012 was a great year for tech as a whole, but there was something extra special for us Windows aficionados. That’s right, the long awaited Windows 8 launch, which resulted in a huge influx of applications for the platform. We covered a plethora of Windows applications in 2012, but if you didn’t get the time to go through them all, let us present you with a list of the top 150 free applications that we have cherry-picked from the countless we covered through the entire year, just like we did at the end of 2011. Read on! 1. Spotflux (Cross-platform VPN client that lets you encrypt internet traffic, access blocked websites and remove ads) 2. Google Drive (The official Windows client of Google’s cloud storage and document management service) 3. Asus Multiframe Utility (Arrange and snap windows to 9 screen regions per monitor) 4. OnlineVNC (Connect to a remote PC via TCP/IP protocol and control it using virtual network computing) 5. Blacksmith (Get Mac desktop spaces, launchpad and mission control in Windows) 6. Moborobo (One of the most comprehensive Android and iOS device management tools yet) 7. Clover (Get Google Chrome-like tabbed interface in Windows’ native File Explorer) 8. Freemore Audio Video Suite (An awesome audio and video suite that amalgamates several handy editing and conversion utilities) 9. CrashPlan (Create scheduled data backups to local and remote PCs) 10. Multiplicity (Control up to 9 different computers with a single keyboard and mouse) 11. Mission Control / Expose Clone W7 (Control opened windows the Mac OS X way) 12. Desktop Slider (Create multiple workspaces and slide windows across the screen) 13. KeyRocket (Suggests keyboard shortcuts that you can use for certain actions while you are working) 14. Cloudfogger (Drag and drop files to auto-encrypt & upload to Dropbox, SkyDrive, Google Drive and others) 15. Stoffi (If Windows Media Player and Windows Explorer were to marry, you’d probably get Stoffi) 16. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition (Fast, robust, beautiful and reliable, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition was the best antivirus app that came across our way in 2012) 17. Microsoft Research Cliplets (Create half-image, half-video animations called ‘cinegraphs’ and save them as GIF, MP4 and WMV) 18. Clickberry Interactive Creator (Add clickable/interactive elements to your videos and share them over Facebook) 19. Cubby (Multi-platform cloud storage with a Windows client that lets you drag and drop folders to sync them between devices) 20. BufferZone Pro (A Sandboxie-like software that lets you launch your favorite applications in a virtual environment) 21. Dropboxifier (Use your Dropbox account to sync game data between different PCs) 22. DDownloads (Looking for an alternative to the ever-popular Ninite? Try DDownloads!) 23. Save.Me (Probably the best clipboard manager for Windows this year) 24. OPSWAT’s Security Score (A great Windows app that analyzes your system against security loopholes) 25. RecImgManager (Lets you backup and restore user applications and settings in Windows 8) 26. GOM Audio (An app for audiophiles from the team behind one of the most popular media players out there) 27. Paragon Go Virtual (Convert your PC into a guest virtual machine configured to run with VMware, Virtual Box, or Virtual PC) 28. Reboot-To (A free alternative to iReboot; lets you select what Windows installation your system will boot into next) 29. KuaiZip (An file archiver and compressor that has the potential to dethrone 7-Zip) 30. Norton Zone Cloud Sharing (Backup, share & sync data securely across Windows, Mac, Android, iOS & the web) 31. 7Conifier (Apply custom application icon packs with a single click) 32. Free Viewer (A file editor and viewer that works with about 100 different file formats) 33. CloudDeck (Fully functional, unofficial desktop client for SoundCloud) 34. Wondershare vDownloader (Download Full HD 1080p videos from all the popular video streaming websites) 35. InstallGuard (Not sure who’s filling up your precious HD space with unwanted apps? It’s time to block unauthorized software installations with InstallGuard.) 36. Ribbon Disabler (Disable the new Ribbon UI in Windows 8′s File Explorer and get the old interface back) 37. NetSpeedMonitor (Monitor upstream and downstream rate from the taskbar and maintain data transfer reports) 38. Bitcasa (Offers 10GB free cloud storage space, and an unlimited plan for $10 a month) 39. Amazon Cloud Drive (The Official Amazon desktop client for Windows & Mac) 40. Espera (A beautiful Modern UI-inspired music player with a ‘Party Mode’) 41. Sys Information (Don’t like Speccy all that much? Here’s another great system information tool that you can try.) 42. WiFi Protector (Protect your wireless internet connection with 256-bit encryption and hide your real IP address) 43. Syncbox (Host your own personal cloud storage space using your local hard drive) 44. EaseUS CleanGeniu (Elegant system optimizer from EaseUS that analyzes your PC’s health, finds duplicate files, cleans the registry and more) 45. Fake Antivirus (Beware of cheap and fake antiviruses. Quickly detect them with this tool before you hurt your wallet.) 46. Pokki For Windows 8 (Our favorite web apps aggregator comes to Windows 8; also restores the Start Orb.) 47. SnapPea (An Airdroid-like Android management application boasting an attractive design) 48. Voxeet (Conference calling app with a unique natural 3D perception feature that makes you feel like you’re sitting next to your contacts) 49. Smart PC Locker Pro (Automatically powers off your PC after invalid login attempts) 50. Kuvva (Automatically changes desktop and Twitter backgrounds on a daily basis) 51. Folder Lock (Easily password-protect or hide files and folders through drag & drop) 52. Feewhee (Use mouse scroll to resize windows and adjust their transparency) 53. DestroyFlickr (Manage your Flickr account from your PC with this Adobe AIR-based desktop app) 54. Network Sorcerer (Comprehensive client control utility for small networks) 55. Perfect Effects 3 (Apply Instagram-like photo filters in layers on an entire image or specific parts of it) 56. WinPlusX (Get Windows 8 Win+X menu in Windows 7 and Vista) 57. QuickPlay (Borderless HD video player with support for up to 4K resolution) 58. AntiScreensaver (Automatically disables the screensaver while specific programs are running) 59. Juicebox (Create HTML-based photo galleries and share them with your friends) 60. SearchMyFiles (Search files and folders using an extremely comprehensive set of filters) 61. MetroTextual (Minimalistic, Modern UI-inspired text editor with syntax highlighting) 62. Send to Kindle (Send documents to Kindle from Windows context menu) 63. FavBackup (Create user-style backups for Firefox, Chrome, Safari, IE and other browsers) 64. Visions (3D image viewer with customizable layouts and a built-in editor) 65. Familiar (Real-time photo sharing and syncing across PC, Mac, Android & iOS) 66. VarieDrop (Create resolution and size-based profiles for quickly resizing images; lets you resize a single image by all profiles at once) 67. SubtitleDownloader (Auto-fetch subtitles on video file name basis) 68. SmoothDraw (Digital painter with Adobe Photoshop-like layer support) 69. Quick PDF Tools (Merge, extract, convert & encrypt PDF files from Windows context menu) 70. Icon Generator Pro (Create HTML5/CS5 icons, logos and star badges) 71. myManga (Automatically downloads episodes for your favorite Manga series) 72. O&O AutoBackup (Automatically backup files to a USB drive when it is plugged in) 73. Elpis (Desktop client for Pandora radio) 74. PDFzen (Edit and manage PDF documents in a collaborative manner) 75. Name My TV Series (Cross-Platform tool to easily rename TV series episodes) 76. USB-AV (Offers malware protection for all connected USB drives) 77. WinMend Folder Hidden (Set password to hide files and folders completely from the Explorer) 78. PlayClaw (Free alternative to Fraps; lets you take screenshots and record in-game video in user-specified frames per second) 79. Midi Sheet Music (Convert music samples to sheet music) 80. SFunKey (Map Function keys to perform additional operations) 81. Lost Photos (Find images saved in your email inbox and directly share them with your friends over Facebook and Twitter) 82. cacheCopy (Copy images based on their age, size and resolution) 83. Autodelete (Delete files and folders by name and date filters) 84. Care4Teen (Parental control tool that creates screencasts upon detection of inappropriate content) 85. Shadow Explorer (Access and export Windows shadow copies according to time filters) 86. Z-VSSCopy (Create, access, delete and mount shadow copies on any Windows versions) 87. ShiftN (Automatically adjust vertical line distortion in photographs of landscapes and buildings) 88. Free Screenshot Capture (Screenshot tool jam-packed with several handy extra features) 89. Mp3 Rename (Powerful, file renaming and rule-based music collection organization) 90. gExplorer (A Google Docs management client for Windows) 91. MediaPortal (HTPC app to play music, stream radio and record live TV) 92. HotKey Resolution Changer (Change monitor resolution using hotkeys) 93. ClipboardZanager (Retain clipboard items even after system reboot) 94. Hulbee Desktop (Hard drive and internet search with word cloud support) 95. Sunrise Seven (Comprehensive Windows 7 tweaking and customization tool) 96. Holdkey (Quickly type accented characters in any text field or program using a hotkey) 97. SymMover (Move installed programs to other folders and disks without having to reinstall) 98. Order In My Folder (Auto-sort files into folders using 8 different criteria) 99. TweakNow PowerPack 2012 (An all-in-one PC maintenance suite that is definitely worth checking out) 100. Image Resize Guide Lite (Lets you resize images without distorting the main subject with its unique Smart Resize Technology) 101. Seam Carving GUI (Content-aware image resizing with removal of unwanted areas) 102. Close All (Quickly shutdown all running Windows applications with a hotkey) 103. Snappy (Capture screenshots on time, mouse and keyboard events) 104. ProxySwap (Quickly switch between proxy servers) 105. IntelliAdmin (Enable Windows 7 Auto Login feature or bypass password entry at Login screen for a user-specified number of times) 106. MComix (Drag & drop to read comics and view plain images with MComix) 107. Jester (Text editor for comparing documents and creating songs parodies; suggests rhyming words) 108. Free Video to GIF Converter (Create GIFs from frames of videos) 109. PasteBin (Create, sort and manage text snippets) 110. Photo Basic 3 (Comprehensive image editing & archiving tool) 111. Textaizer Pro (Convert images into text mosaic and ASCII art) 112. Tiggit (Open-source indie game downloader and launcher) 113. Geek Uninstaller (Portable uninstaller to completely wipe off all traces of an application from the computer) 114. Windows Tweaker (100+ tweaks for system utilities and UI components) 115. Panorama Perfect (A simple but efficient panoramic photo creator) 116. Media Preview (Enable thumbnail previews of unsupported video formats) 117. SyncWrite (Portable syntax editor with support for tree structure) 118. Rumshot (Take screenshots and create themed previews with them) 119. AutoUP (Scans for and downloads Windows system and application updates) 120. Eassos Recovery (A powerful file recovery software that can recover even lost partitions) 121. Firewall App Blocker (Lets you easily add applications to the Windows Firewall block list via drag and drop) 122. WinLock (Lock any application window and minimize it to system tray) 123. RawTherapee (A powerful and feature-rich RAW image processing software) 124. MultiWall (Set different wallpapers on your multi monitor luxury, or span one across all of them) 125. sRemote (Allows you to remotely execute commands and control your PC via Gmail account) 126. DXPurge (Auto-Removes those .DS_Store files while transferring data from OS X to Windows) 127. WinMend File Splitter (A powerful file splitter that lets you merge files without requiring the application itself) 128. WinOwnership (An extremely easy way to gain full control of system files) 129. Inesoft Cash Organizer (A superb financial management software with cloud support) 130. File Secure Free (A handsome security tool with an extra topping of file backup, shredding and encryption features) 131. Advanced PDF Utilities (A huge collection of PDF tools within one package) 132. Toolwiz BSafe (Powerful data encryption tool that lets you create encrypted file containers and mount them as virtual drives) 133. John’s Background Switcher (Arguably one of the most comprehensive wallpaper customization tools for Windows) 134. PicBackMan (One of the best software to backup images from multiple social networks to a number of cloud services including Dropbox and SkyDrive) 135. Desktop Modify (Rearrange desktop icons into a wide-array of presets and shapes) 136. Taskbar Thumbnails Tuner (Tweak taskbar thumbnail previews in Windows 8) 137. AnyMenu (Add custom shortcuts for files and applications, and access them with the middle mouse button) 138. Mosaizer Pro (Photo-to-mosaic converting application with several customization options and patterns to choose from) 139. Windows + R Alias Manager (Create custom Run aliases for frequently used applications and files) 140.Crystal Anti-Exploit Protection (Protect your system against unintended downloads) 141. DesktopSaver (An open source application that allows users to save the location of desktop icons) 142. SyncLib (Easily synchronize and share photos, music and videos across different platforms) 143. Instagrille (An app for Pokki that lets you browse and download Instagram photos on your desktop) 144. NexusFont (The best font manager we’ve come across this year) 145. Wise Program Uninstaller (Robust application uninstaller that’s several times better than Windows’ native Add/Remove program) 146. CarotDAV (Manage multiple cloud services from one window) 147. RunAlyzer (System startup manager designed to collect all the programs and their registry keys under one hood) 148. Rainlendar (A light, well-designed to-do list manager and calendar app for Windows) 149. Toolbar Cleaner (Remove unwanted toolbars from Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome) 150. NexusFile (Dual pane file manager with FTP & archive extraction support) That’s it for our 2012 compilation of best Windows applications. Did you find any new apps here that you liked? We’d love it if you mentioned your favorite ones in the comments section below. Don’t forget to share this post with your friends, and do stick around; we have compilations for other platforms coming up next. Happy New Year!