I put out a new product a couple of weeks ago. This new product has so far won 16 different awards and recommendations from software download sites. Some of them even emailed me messages of encouragement such as “Great job, we’re really impressed!”. I should be delighted at this recognition of the quality of my software, except that the ‘software’ doesn’t even run. This is hardly surprising when you consider that it is just a text file with the words “this program does nothing at all” repeated a few times and then renamed as an .exe. The PAD file that described the software contains the description “This program does nothing at all”. Even the name of the software, “awardmestars”, was a bit of a giveaway. And yet it still won 16 ‘awards’.
Some of them look quite impressive, but none of them are worth the electrons it takes to display them.
The obvious explanation is that some download sites give an award to every piece of software submitted to them. In return they hope that the author will display the award with a link back to them. The back link then potentially increases traffic to their site directly (through clicks on the award link) and indirectly (through improved page rank from the incoming links). The author gets some awards to impress their potential clients and the download site gets additional traffic.
This practise is blatantly misleading and dishonest. It makes no distinction between high quality software and any old rubbish that someone was prepared to submit to a download site. The download sites that practise this deceit should be ashamed of themselves. Similarly, any author or company, that displays one of these ‘awards’ is either being naive (at best) or knowingly colluding in the scam (at worst).
My suspicions were first aroused by the number of five star awards I received for my PerfectTablePlan software. When I went to these sites all the other programs on them seemed to have five star awards as well. I also noticed that some of my weaker competitors were proudly displaying pages full of five star awards. I saw very few three or four star awards. Something smelled fishy. Being a scientist by original training, I decided to run a little experiment to see if a completely worthless piece of software would win any awards.
Having seen various recommendations for the rundenko.com submit-everywhere.com submission service on the ASP forums I emailed the owner, Mykola Rudenko, to ask if he could help with my little experiment. To my surprise, he generously agreed to help by submitting “awardmestars” to all 1033 sites on their database, free of charge.
According to the report I received 2 weeks after submissions began “awardmestars” is now listed on 218 sites, pending on 394 sites and has been rejected by 421 sites. Approximately 7% of the sites that listed the software emailed me that it had won an award (I don’t know how many have displayed it with an award, without informing me). With 394 pending sites it might win quite a few more awards yet. Many of the rejections were on the grounds of “The site does not accept products of this genre” (it was listed as a utility) rather than quality grounds.
The truth is that many download sites are just electronic dung heaps, using fake awards, dubious SEO and content misappropriated from PAD files in a pathetic attempt to make a few dollars from Google Adwords. Hopefully these bottom-feeders will be put out of business by the continually improving search engines, leaving only the better sites. I think there is still a role for good quality download sites. But there needs to be more emphasis on quality, classification, and additional content (e.g. reviews). Whether it is possible for such a business to be profitable, I don’t know. However, it seems to work in the MacOSX world where the download sites are much fewer in number, but with much higher quality and more user interaction.
Some download site owners did email me to say either “very funny” or “stop wasting my time”. Kudos to them for taking the time to check every submission. I recommend you put their sites high on your list next time you are looking for software:www.filecart.comwww.freshmeat.net www.download-tipp.de (German)This is the response I got from Lothar Jung of download-tipp.de when I showed him a draft of this article: “The other side for me as a website publisher is that if you do not give each software 5 stars, you don’t get so many back links and some authors are not very pleased with this and your website. When I started download-tipp.de, I wanted to create a site where users can find good software. So I decided the visitor is important, and not the number of backlinks. Only 10% of all programs submitted get the 5 Suns Award.”Another important issue for download sites is trust. I want to know that the software I am downloading doesn’t contain spyware, trojans or other malware. Some of the download sites have cunningly exploited this by awarding “100% clean” logos. I currently use the Softpedia one on the PerfectTablePlan download page. It shouldn’t be too difficult in principal to scan software for known malware. But now I am beginning to wonder if these 100% clean logos have any more substance than the “five star”awards. The only way to find out for sure would be to submit a download with malware, which would be unethical. If anyone has any information about whether these sites really check for malware, I would be interested to know.
My thanks to submit-everywhere.com for making this experiment possible. I was favourably impressed by the thoroughness of their service. At only $70 I think it is excellent value compared to the time and hassle of trying to do it yourself. I expect to be a paying customer in future.

** Addendum **This little experiment has been featured on reddit.com, digg.com, slashdot.com, stumbleupon.com and a number of other popular sites and blogs. Consequently there have been hundreds of comments on this blog and on other sites. I am very flattered by the interest. But I also feel like Dr Frankenstein, looking on as my experiment gains a life of its own. If I had known the article was going to be read by so many people I would have taken a bit more time to clarify the following points:I have no commercial interest in, or prior relationship with, the three download sites mentioned. I singled them out because I infer from emails received that they have a human-in-the-loop, checking all submissions (or a script that passes the Turing test, which is even more praiseworthy). I offered all three a chance to be quoted in the article. Today I received a similar email from tucows.com, but they were too late to make the article. I don’t know if they read the article before they emailed me.
I have no commercial interest in, or prior relationship with, the automatic submission service mentioned. I approached them for help, which they generously provided, free of charge.
The only business mentioned in which I have a commercial interest is my own table planning software, PerfectTablePlan.

Microsoft Powerpoint is what I consider the most powerful presentation tool available on the market and whilst there are competitors, it is pretty obvious that Microsoft Powerpoint ranks as the number one presentation tool in the world. Just look at the number of seminars, lectures or presentations you go to and how many people are using Microsoft PowerPoint, in my experience, about 95% of them. Let me ask you a question though. How many times have you seen the same template, presentation after presentation?Way too many and there is no excuse …I wanted to set about teaching you in this article the secrets to customising your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations and how to change those common Microsoft Powerpoint Templates. See whether you realise it or not, all of the powerpoint template presentations that Microsoft provides are in fact customisable. In fact, most of the presentation templates you find in Microsoft Powerpoint 2000, XP or 2003 are simply built on individual drawing objects or shapes that can be found on the Drawing toolbar under the AutoShapes menu.
Lets look at how you customise Microsoft supplied templates …First off we have to create a new presentation, which I strongly encourage you to do at this stage by opening Microsoft Powerpoint and using the shortcut keystroke, [Ctrl] + [N]. Next we want to apply one of those common Microsoft templates, seeing I am working in Microsoft Powerpoint 2003 as I am writing this article, I am going to describe changing the Digital Dots template. So you need to apply this template by choosing the Format menu and then choosing Slide Design from the drop down menu. On the right hand side of the screen the Task pane open. Move your mouse pointer over each of the slide designs till you see the one called Digital Dots and click on it once. You should notice this design now applied to your slide.

When you first see this template, you may probably think it looks pretty complex, something too difficult to modify. Well do not be fooled. This template is simply made up of a series of lines and circles from your Drawing toolbar. Not a single thing more. I know when I am running my instructor led courses, many of my students say to me “It’s a picture and way too difficult to modify”. Ahh, but its not, it is simply a series of drawing objects that are skillfully coloured to look like a picture. So how do we modify it…Very good question, the secret to modifying these templates, is to modify the master slide. The master slide controls the look and feel of your presentation so to do that you must first activate the master slide. To do this simply goto the View menu, choose Master from the drop down menu and then choose Slide Master. In the left hand pane you should see two pictures towards the top of your screen just before the toolbars. These two pictures represent your Title Slide Master and the Slide Master used by the main body of your presentation. The Title Slide Master should be open in front of you and this is the one we will modify. Keep in mind that the rules we do for the Title Slide Master also apply to the other slide masters in your presentation. What you need to do is to modify the drawing objects in this slide so just click on one of the buttons in the slide that is away from the placeholders. What you should notice is that a square object select marker appears. This tells you that all of the elements you see are a group. So to ungroup these objects, right mouse click and from the shortcut menu choose Grouping and then Ungroup. You will then see all the individual objects selected in the slide. Simply click away from the select objects and then click on any one object, actually lets change one of the buttons. Once you have selected the button, right mouse click and choose Format Autoshape. You should notice that the Format Autoshape dialog box is similar to the Autoshape dialog box you use for standard drawing object. Let us change the colour of the object to green by choosing green from the Fill Colour drop down box. To complete your change simply choose the OK button. Now what you should notice is that you have one green button. You could now go through and change every single button and customise the slide master to look the way you require.
You can even go through and customise the background of the Slide master by going to the Format menu and choosing Background from the drop-down menu. When you change the background on the Title Slide Master and the Slide Master, it will be reflected in all the slides in your presentation. Just a short side bar …If you want to copy the formatting from one object to another, the simplest way is to first choose the object you want to copy the formatting from. Go upto the Standard toolbar and double click on the Format Painter button and then click on each of the objects you want to copy this formatting to. This tool is really useful especially in this case as you have lots of small objects to be modified. Once you have finished customising your Title Slide Master and Slide Master simply click once on the Close Master View button on the Slide Master View toolbar. This will take you back to your main presentation. What you should now notice is that your whole presentation has been modified to suit the changes you made to the Slide Masters.
The bottom line is that there is no excuse for you to be using the same powerpoint template as everyone else who has purchased Microsoft Powerpoint. You can now ensure when you do your next presentation, or give your speech at your next seminar that you will have your own customised and unique looking presentation. No longer do we have to see the same boring old templates. Let the Microsoft Powerpoint Template revolution begin.

When I first started designing web pages back in 1997, it was necessary for me to learn the HTML markup language. At that particular time, there were some what you see is what you get editors, but almost everyone that design web pages used raw HTML and understood how it worked. Now, seven or eight years later, we find that be market is flooded with editors such as Dreamweaver that allow anybody to design web pages as easily as they can create a Microsoft Word document.
Whenever I take someone under my wing, and start teach them about Internet marketing, and designing web pages, the first thing that I tell them is that they should learn the basics of HTML. While I recommend that they use Dreamweaver for most of their web page designs, it’s always helpful to be able to go into the code view and understand what they are looking at. It also helps whenever viewing the source code of other people’s web pages, to see how they did one thing or another with their code. This would be nearly impossible if you did not understand at least the basics of HTML.
Another benefit of knowing HTML is that you can go in and clean up your code. After you design a page in a program like Dreamweaver. A lot of times, there is weird formatting that goes on behind the scenes in it what you see is what you get editor. It makes it difficult, sometimes even for those of us that know HTML to go into the document, and know where we are at inside the code. However, if you understand HTML, it’s easier to go in, make your code neater and more manageable, and then save it in that format so that it’s easier to go in and edit in the code view in the future.
While there’s no doubt that using programs such as Dreamweaver can make beautiful web pages that function fully without even going into messing with the HTML at all, I still think that it’s a good practice to understand the basics of the HTML markup language and to make sure that you use it on a regular basis so that you keep this skill. Not only does it help you when you’re in a code pinch, but he keeps you from being what I like to call a lazy web designer.

Everyday we get calls from staffing companies asking about web based systems. My response is always “Why web based?” Most often, the caller does not have a firm answer. Typical responses are “Isn’t that what everybody’s doing?” or “I don’t want to make a large investment” or “I don’t want to be responsible for my own network.” This underscores the general misunderstanding of the platform, and what its relative strengths and weaknesses happen to be. When choosing a staffing software system it’s important to understand how the system is going to be used and to select a platform that will deliver the best and most cost efficient results. The following is a discussion of some of the main benefits that web based systems tout, some of the compromises one has to live with in order to use them and a review of the principal alternative. Web based systems can be run from anywhere that has access to the internet.This is true, but it is not the exclusive domain of web based systems. Pretty much any system can be run using the internet as a connection conduit. Microsoft has included a capability in their Windows operating system called Terminal Services that enables users to access applications on the Windows network via the internet. Conclusion: No clear cut advantage.
I won’t have to maintain my own network. This is only true if every user has a personal internet connection. In most offices, many users connect to the same line. In order for everyone to access the shared resource, a network must exist. Most likely they will need file sharing, e-mail and print services locally. Therefore, some network administration will be required. Firewalls, virus protection and some kind of local expertise are crucial. Most importantly, a back-up routine is still required. Conclusion: No advantage. You still have to do all the network admin stuff anyway. In addition, there’s someone between you and your most valuable asset (your data). Should a dispute ever arise, someone would be in position to cut your company off from its life’s blood.
The user interface is easier to learn since it’s like a web page. With any system the designer has to create the methods and workflows. They will be forced to use conventions, abbreviations, icons and other devices as they attempt to get the most functionality per inch of screen space possible. The user will still have to learn how the system works and get used to its specific rhythms. And while it is true that many people are familiar with how to navigate web pages, the same can be said of Windows applications. In fact, Windows programs generally adhere more rigorously to a set of standards than web based programs tend to. Conclusion: No advantage. There will still be a learning curve and a training requirement to effectively use these softwares. What they’re not telling you:
1. Web based systems run through a web browser. This means that the user interface is constrained by the limits of the browser itself. The browser will limit the number of records that can be open at a time, will force more data integrity responsibility on the user and often experience long repainting delays.

2. Web based systems, or just about any system delivered through an ASP are significantly more expensive. This is a classic rent vs. buy decision. If your company has 10 system users and you have to pay $199 per month per user, that’s a $1,990 per month outlay. This is the equivalent of purchasing a $60,000 system (based on a 36 month, $1 buyout lease). There aren’t many systems that charge $6,000 per user. This is exorbitantly expensive.
The best alternative: This is easy. Windows based (client/server) systems answer all of the questions raised above. These systems can be delivered to diverse and remote users via the web; run on the same basic network (with the addition of SQL Server) that satisfies the rest of our needs; have exceeding rich user interfaces – generally offering many more features; are easy to learn and usually out perform systems running through a web browser. They also provide a much more bang for the buck. Having your database in your office isn’t necessarily bad, as it remains under your control. What’s more, these systems are generally more mature and therefore offer a far greater range of features and are typically more stable. All this translates into a better, more cost effective computing experience for your company. After all, you’re not in this to support the technology; you expect the technology to support you.

Besides their trusty camera digital photographers need a full cache of arsenal. All digital photographers must have a complete range of adequate photo database software, this includes digital camera import and downloader software to automate the image import process, a picture organizer, or a image gallery/ album software with detailed photo database capabilities and editing software for taking care of simple but necessary photo enhancements or for the more adventurous, complete digital manipulation. Below are the top software programs no serious digital photographer should be without.

- RoboImport – A very affordable digital camera downloader that automates the workflow required when transferring your photographs from your digital camera or memory card reader. RoboImport will Import your photographs and rename your photos with appropriate descriptive names into a specially designated folder to be easily located when needing to access them latter. RoboImport will do much more than less respected photo management program by performing some of the more tedious but necessary digital image editing tasks without the usual fuss. It is not expected that digital image downloader software should rename your photos, RoboImport does this and more. Roboimport fills in IPTC data required for professional photographers in a language that is recognized by appropriate archiving or editing programs. RoboImport will auto correct resolution issues, incredibly it will set your images to 300 DPI (dots per inch) for expected printing quality, as many less advanced cameras only shoot in a poor 72 DPI, 300 DPI is absolutely necessary for any photographer who will be wanting to print their photographic treasures to share away from their computer. RoboImport will also protect your photos from accidental deletion by allowing you to set your photos to read only.

- Photoshop – This digital photo editing program is certainly not cheap, but is considered to be the awesome editing tool of professional digital photographers. Unfortunately Photoshop is also not so easy to learn completely to benefit from the high cost for most photographers. The good news is that due to the popularity of the program, and the real benefits Photoshop offers serious digital photographers there are many ways one can comfortably learn Photoshop techniques either in your own time on the internet or off line though regular classes offered by certified professionals.
Photoshop is in reality the desk top darkroom for digital photographers.
Photoshop takes digital photography to new levels by going beyond necessary image editing requirements. Photoshop users are able to take their not so successful photographs to become the base of new digital art by allowing the user to apply extreme manipulations and effects turning a useless image into an artistic creations.
- PicaJet – A powerful but still affordable picture management and image database program, recommended for easily cataloging and searching your digital image catalogue. PicaJet automatically imports the metadata of your photographs and indexes your photos accordingly. The real attraction of PicaJet for digital photographers is its genuine ease of use. Picajet will assign each photo to each appropriate available tag, making locating your digital photos from a hue data bank of thousands of photographs possible and without fuss.
PicaJet is an ideal program for ease of printing as it automatically arranges on the assigned paper and selects the most appropriate printing options. Incredibly PicaJet also reads and plays back various video formats. Unlike most other digital photograph organizers PicaJet even allows for privacy of those personal photos or pictures you would rather not share. Like Photoshop Picajet is so rich in functions it is impossible to mention every incredible feature in just these few words.
PicaJet is perhaps the best value for money of available digital photo management program.

- Neat Image – this is a very handy little tool for digital photographers. Neat Image is a filter software program designed to reduce noise and grain produced by digital cameras. Shooting in low light environments does seriously affect the quality of digital photographs; Neat Image greatly enhances a photos quality that may have been compromised by an inadequate camera or poor lighting.
Neat image is available as a standalone program, or for photographers with Photoshop it may be added to work as a noise reduction plug-in.

Macromedia Flash is a software product suite which features technology for designing and delivering animations, presentations, and websites. The ‘Flashers’, as the community often refers to Flash users, find this product extremely user friendly. Armed with Flash, designers can create compelling 2D animations, presenters can make interactive and alive presentations and web designers can experiment with movies, animations and just about any thing that makes the website become alive. What also goes in its favor is the fact that over 95% of the desktops across the globe already have installed a Flash player with which the viewer can view the animation or movie with ease. Add to this the ability of Flash to deliver streaming audio as well as video at the same time definitely makes it a platform of choice. And one can not afford to miss the fact that the product also supports vectors, raster graphics, and ActionScript thereby making it extremely versatile in operations. It’s enhanced scripting capabilities and server-side connectivity help in creating a more interactive and engaging web experience. Many users vouch that in this aspect it is better than HTML too. Therefore it is not surprising that Flash is today being used wherever technology has percolated. Whether it is Rich Internet Applications, or Web Publishing; Web Conferencing or E-Learning and Training, the product has been able to create tremendous value. It also delivers rich experiences across consumer devices and mobile handsets. All in all it is an excellent creative tool that can be adapted according to specific needs and requirements.
But then there are some not so positive aspects of the software when their use in Web publishing is concerned. Unlike HTML, Flash authoring software has to be purchased and as such there is not a community owned standard. Users who want to make animations or Flash banners however would be advised to look into alternative programs that can make these (and can often be had for a much cheaper price than Flash itself).

Getting Organized in the Computer AgeA database is a collection of information, a sort of electronic filing system. Database software provides a way to enter the information, or data, organize it and view it when needed. Databases are effective programs for organizing and manipulating large amounts of data.
Databases are normally organized into fields, records and files. A field is a single piece of data, a record is a set of fields, and a file is a set of records. For example, if you were to create a database of the names and addresses of everyone who lives on your street, your last name would be a field. Taken together, your name and address fields would be a record. The collection of the records of all the people on the street would be a file.
Large databases contain quite a bit of data and it would be too difficult to search through each record for the one you seek. Database software allows users to run a search or query to select records. Users simply type in the data they wish to see, and the database returns the records containing that data. Database software also allows users to manipulate the information by sorting it. Say in the above example you wish to see a list of everyone in the neighborhood in alphabetical order. You could accomplish this through a sort. Another day you might want to see the same data listed in order of house numbers. You could sort the database information in this way as well.
Reports can be created in database software to view data in easy to read formats. You can choose to have all the fields included in the report, or just a few.
There are many wonderful database software programs available. Here are a few of the top products.
Alpha Five Version 6 Database SoftwareThe Alpha Five Version 6 is an award winning database software created by Alpha Software, a company that has been developing database solutions for over 20 years. The Alpha Five Version 6 allows users to make web databases without having to write code. IT professionals are able to produce databases quicker, resulting in lower costs. People who couldn’t make databases before because they did not know how to write code can now produce professional looking databases.
Filemaker Pro 8 Database SoftwareFilemaker’s newest offering, Filemaker Pro 8, comes in two versions – a standard version for new users, and Filemaker Pro 8 Advanced for professional developers. The standard version now allows users to find records with identical data in a certain field by using the Find Matching Records command. The newest version contains commands that allow users export information to Excel and to save files as pdf. The spell check function is also improved, with mispelled words being underlined. Microsoft Access Database SoftwareMicrosoft Access is simple, easy to use database software. Both professionals and new database designers can use it. One benefit of Access is that it is integrated well with other Microsoft products, such as Windows. Access is easy to use with small databases but can be more difficult when used for larger databases.

In the computer world today it is important to remember that at every second your computer is at risk of being contaminated with an ugly virus. There are many ways your computer may become infected from e-mail viruses to Trojans. These infections can cause damage to your hard drive, attach themselves to your programs, or can even spread to other peoples computers from your e-mail. It is essential to protect your computer from these invasions by using a good anti-virus software program. There are many different types of infections that can invade your computer some of which include viruses, worms, e-mail viruses, and Trojans. A virus can be transmitted from computer to computer by attaching itself to another program. When the program is running the virus is able to infect other programs or documents. Worms are a computer program that copies itself from computer to computer through the use of computer networks. They are often used to invade security holes in software programs. The latest computer invaders are e-mail viruses. An e-mail virus moves around in your e-mail messages and duplicates as it automatically sends itself to people in your address book, which in turn infects their computers in the same way. A Trojan horse invades your computer by pretending to be a program it’s not. When you open the program, the Trojan wreaks havoc on your computer that can cause irreversible damage.
In order to protect yourself from such invasion it is very important to make sure your computer is safe. One thing you can do is to run a more secure operating system like UNIX that can protect your computer from traditional viruses. Another option is to buy virus protection software if you are using an unsecured computer. Avoiding programs from unknown sources, disabling floppy disk booting, and making sure that Macro virus protection is enabled, are also things that can further protect you from invasion. The best option for protecting your computer though, is to invest in an anti-virus program. There are many anti-virus programs like Norton antivirus, McAfee, and PcCillin, and some are even free like Avast and AVG. Anti virus programs work by keeping patterns of virus infected files and compares them to the files stored on your computer. If it finds any viruses you are immediately prompted to delete the contaminated file. Make sure to up-date your anti virus software consistently, which can be done through the Internet and most up-dates are free of cost. If you are going to use the computer it is always best to protect yourself and your precious memories from all the dangerous computer infections. When you invest in a good computer and store your information on it, you are setting yourself up for a potential disaster that many viruses can cause. It is essential that you make sure that your computer is always protected by investing in a good anti virus program.

The world online can be a scary place and sometimes it can get downright nasty. From viruses and spyware to internet identity theft, the information stored on your computer is under constant assault and should be protected at all costs. Why? Unscrupulous hackers will stop at nothing to get your precious personal information, and you have to stay one step ahead of them to ensure that they don’t. Let’s begin our search for the reason why we should protect our PCs with the proper security by looking at the ways that they can be assaulted online. Here are just a few of the nasty things waiting for an unprotected PC online: · Computer viruses are PC software programs that you accidentally download to your computer through an email attachment or other type of download. Once installed on your computer, a virus can interfere with your PC’s operation; record, corrupt or delete data; and spread itself to other computers through your network or the internet. · Identity theft occurs when some unscrupulous internet hacker, thief or otherwise bad guy gets a hold of your personal information such as your social security number, date of birth or other sensitive information and uses it to commit fraud or other crimes. Once obtained, this information is used to commit a wide variety of crimes. Those crimes include: credit card fraud, utilities fraud, banking and loan fraud, employment fraud, social security fraud, tax return fraud, medical fraud, securities and investment fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and immigration and government documentation fraud.
· Spyware are software programs that you download onto your computer along with many other software applications. This software is then used to track your online browsing habits so that you can be “hit” with pop ups that you will be more likely to respond to. Not only is this software an invasion of your privacy, it also can compromise your data and affect your PCs performance.
How to Protect Your PCThe number one thing that you can do to protect your PC is to have an operable firewall. A firewall can help protect your computer against security attacks. While most operating systems come with a firewall already in operation, you can update your firewall or get one for free if you don’t have one from most PC security software companies. In order to get the best PC security that software can provide, it is recommended that you use anti-spyware and anti-virus software in addition to a firewall. All of these anti-software and filters prevent hackers from accessing our personal information stored on our computers. They also protect against programs and viruses that we can unknowingly download. Once installed on our computer, these programs can direct us or our information to sites set on thievery. More Protection for Your PCEven though all of the above mentioned software applications go a long way in protecting your PC from harm, you may want additional protection to ensure that your PC’s vulnerable spots are impenetrable. Here are just a few examples of the security software that you may want for your PC:· Privacy Protector – As mentioned earlier, spyware can track everything that you do on your computer. This is because everything that you do on your computer leaves a trace or electronic trail that is stored on your computer. With the right software, prying eyes can see and access any sites you have visited and files you have accessed or shared while online by exposing this electronic trail. Privacy protection software helps reduce this risk by erasing the electronic trail that you have left behind. · Secure Delete – When you delete files on your computer, you may think that they are trashed and inaccessible, but with the right recovery utilities, your deleted data can be recovered easily. Secure deletion software makes sure that your deleted data is gone forever and safe from sticky fingers. · Spyware Detective – Added spyware detection software will help you spot spyware programs immediately and have them removed from your computer at the click of a button. As you can see, there are many dangers lurking on the internet including spyware, viruses and hackers. Just one unprotected computer can be a highly lucrative capture for the right thieves and provide them with countless data that reveals everything from your browsing habits to credit card numbers. Make sure that your PC does not fall into their grasp. Protect it with the proper PC security programs.

All digital photographers need to download their photographs from their camera or memory card to their computers at some stage. Here we will discuss the best way to perform this process.
The safest and easiest way to transfer your pictures is by removing your cameras memory card from your camera and taking advantage of a memory card reader. I refer to this option as the safest way meaning that this is the safest option for your camera. Ideally we would have a clean tidy computer desk with no note papers, disks, or books lying about. I only wish that my computer desk looked like that, no matter how hard I try my computer work space is the image of disorganized chaos. Placing my camera anywhere near my computer desk is putting it in the direct line of danger of being accidently dropped, even If I was to take care of where in the mess I put my digital camera it will eventually become unstable as I search among the papers for that “thing” I am looking for, without fail it will eventually find its way dangerously resting on the edge of the desk, if it could speak it would be calling out “help mummy I scared, save me”.
Let’s just imagine for a moment that by some miracle my work desk was picture perfect clean and tidy, so there I sit with my coffee in one hand and my trusty camera on the other. I could bet my bottom dollar that at some stage as I am distracted or tired that my coffee and my camera will meet in some unfortunate accident.
Even if I was some wicked person who did not cherish my beautiful camera I might consider that it could be replaceable. Sadly my photographs are never replaceable. For goodness sake please save yourself heartache and put your camera away. Download your images to your PC by removing your flash card your camera and using a card reader.
Digital photo card readers are very inexpensive to buy if your PC does not have one already installed. Card readers are available as USB external hardware or internal hardware. You may decide on a multi card reader or choose a card reader specifically made for your memory card. I recommend a multi card reader for versatility. If choosing to install an internal card reader you may very easily do this yourself by simply removing your unused “A” drive and replacing your photo card reader in this position. If you are uncomfortable with opening your PC your local computer technician will do this for you, usually at a minimum fee and with no fuss.
Once you have your digital camera connected to your PC, or preferably your camera safely put away and your memory card in the card reader the next step in best image download practice is to transfer your digital photographs with the aid of respected and trusted professional image downloader software such as RoboImport .
Without professional downloading software you are faced with a tedious and time consuming task. RoboImport will automate the transfer process but also offers many other advantages and features necessary for professional digital photographers. Without professional software downloading your photos to your PC is nothing short of 14 steps including opening your camera or card reader, creating and naming the destination folder, renaming individual images, (this is no quick task with hundreds or thousands of images to process), rotating images, correcting resolution problems, adding necessary IPTPC information, tagging GPS coordinates when desired, double checking, backing up, clearing the cards images and starting your preferred photo organizer. Using professional photo downloader and image renaming software like Roboimport that will even open your image manager turns these 14 steps into 1.
Using a professional digital picture import software also ensures that your photographs metadata and EXIF information is transferred completely and safely with your images.
RoboImport Home Page: http://www.roboimport.com