6 Best Apps To Use When You’ve Lost Your Android Phone

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It’s amazing how even the most organised individuals, that is those who regularly back up documents and always plan ahead for future engagements, can occasionally find themselves up that notorious creek without a paddle. Take for instance when someone loses their phone. Not enough people have prepared themselves for this. The best applications to help you find or wipe your phone need to be installed in advance. There is at least one notable exception, which could well save your phone.
Plan B is the application to install when your phone is already missing. However, if you’re really going to get prepared for that lost phone scenario you might like to install a few other great applications too.

Plan B

Plan B is the perfect application to use when your phone is already missing and you realise you never installed any of the nifty apps which would have helped you find your phone. You can install it remotely by going to the Android market and it will use GPS or an SMS to find your phone’s location and email that to you. If you need a location after this, you can send an SMS to your phone from a friend’s phone saying “Locate” and the application will send another email with the new location.

On this note, if you were to install Plan B and set up some filters in Gmail to forward to your partner or parents (or if you are a parent, do this to your child’s phone and email), they could potentially use this to find you if you go missing. It’s a little paranoid, but could easily be effective.

Lookout

Lookout Labs are the makers of Plan B. Obviously they realised that not everyone gets around to planning ahead. However, if you’re thinking ahead they have an Android application which gives you the tools to remotely wipe your phone and offer some security against malicious code.

Android Lost

Android Lost lets you find or wipe your Android phone remotely. It allows access to your phone via a web interface, which can also let you trigger your alarm, read your SMS and offers many other useful features.

Phone Found – Owner Info

The Phone Found application lets you leave your email address and phone number visible even when your phone is locked. This way, if someone friendly finds your phone they can email you and let you know they’ve found it.

Where’s My Droid

Where’s My Droid lets you trigger an alarm when you send your phone an SMS with a special code. It can also send you a Google Maps location of where your phone is.

Mobile Defense

Mobile Defense is only available in the US, but it’s a pretty useful application. Once installed it hides from view and does not look as if it’s installed, meaning whoever’s stolen your phone won’t realise it’s running. Meanwhile, you can use the Mobile Defense website to control your phone and find out where it is.

How to Install Mac OS X on a PC (Without Using a Mac)

There are many great tutorials on the web for using a Mac to install Mac OS X Snow Leopard on a PC. Unfortunately, you may be unable to follow such tutorials if you do not readily have access to a Mac to perform the preparation necessary for the installation.
Great progress has been made in hacking PCs to run OS X, and it is now possible to install Mac OS X without a Mac. Thanks to some great tools put together by some brilliant hackers, it is also much easier and does not involve nearly as much time and effort as was once required.

Step 1: Getting The Hardware Ready

I recently purchased the following set of hardware for the purposes of building a Hackintosh (often PCs running Mac OS X are referred to as such):

• Intel Core i3-530 Clarkdale 2.93GHz
• Gigabyte GA-H55M-USB3 Motherboard
• 4 GB DDR3 1333 RAM (2 x 2GB)
• DVD Burner
• MicroATX Computer Case
• 585 Watt Power Supply
• 4-pin to 8-pin Power Adapter

The motherboard has an 8-pin power connector on it, and although it is possible to connect a single 4-pin connector to it, you may encounter odd issues running with just a single 4-pin connector. To ensure that you provide sufficient power to the board, you should purchase the 4-pin to 8-pin power adapter. Alternatively, you could purchase a power supply with 3x 4-pin connectors (1 for the 20+4-pin main connector, and 2 for the 8-pin connection) or an 8-pin connector.

I did not purchase a hard drive or video card, as I used some I already had from another PC, but you will need those items as well. As of the time this article was written, you can get a 1TB drive shipped for $75 and an NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT video card for $65.
I also purchased v10.6.3 of OS X Snow Leopard retail DVD for a mere $29 (was about $35 with shipping & handling).
All-in-all, the full system (without monitor) will run you around $600 (you could also add a 22″ monitor for $170). You could certainly try doing it even cheaper with different hardware, but you’ll need to figure out the appropriate changes to make in the BIOS and boot loader installation.
I did my best to put together a fairly modern system for a very reasonable price. Having used this set of hardware, I can affirm that it runs OS X Snow Leopard very well. Without a doubt, $600 – $800 is a far cry from what you would spend on an equivalent Mac from Apple. Granted it won’t be as compact or pretty as an iMac, but it will be just as functional.

Step 2: Putting The Hardware Together

If you purchase the hardware I used, along with a hard drive and NVIDIA GeForce video card, you should be able to follow the instructions exactly as I’ve laid them out. If you’ve never built a PC before but are willing to give it a try, you’ll definitely want to check out The Idiot’s Ultimate Guide to Build Your Own PC. It is a step-by-step guide to building your own PC, with plenty of photos to help you out.
You can try following this tutorial with existing hardware you have as well, although you may need to make adjustments when configuring the BIOS and installing the boot loader. The more modern your hardware is, the better the chances are it will work for you. It would be best if you have a 64-bit Intel dual-core (or quad-core) processor, although an older CPU might still work as well. I would recommend NVIDIA GeForce video card, but ATI cards should work too.

Step 3: Prepare The Boot Disk

In addition to the hardware and a retail copy of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, you’ll also need a blank CD. You may want to use a rewritable CD if you’re using a different hardware configuration, just in case the first one I recommend doesn’t work for you. There are two boot disk images that will allow you to install OS X directly from the installation DVD:

• iBoot (by tonymacx86 and MacMan)
• Empire EFI (by Prasys)

I successfully used both of them with my hardware setup. However I recommend you try iBoot first, as it is a bit leaner and doesn’t take as long to boot. If you’re using my hardware configuration, be sure to download the iBoot Supported disk image. If you use Empire EFI, download the Empire EFI v1.085 R2 image.
You can use one of many free programs to burn CDs if you don’t have one. Be sure to use the disk image burning mode in your CD burning software. Do not just simply copy the disk image file to a blank CD. I like InfraRecorder, because it makes this very easy. All you have to do is click the Write Image button, select the image, and burn it. Once again, you may wish to use rewritable media if you’re using a different hardware configuration than mine.

Step 4: Bios Configuration

Fortunately, the Gigabyte GA-H55M-USB3 does not require a lot of configuration to run Mac OS X. When you first turn on or reboot the machine, press the delete key to enter the BIOS setup. You can just load the Optimized Defaults, and just make a few changes within three sections of the bios: Advanced BIOS Features, Integrated Peripherals, and Power Management Setup.

4.1 – First, go to Advanced BIOS Features and set the First Boot Device to CDROM. I have my USB drive as the second drive and then Hard Disk as third – you can configure yours the same way if you wish to ever boot from a USB drive. Just be sure that Hard Disk is the Second Boot Device or Third Boot Device.

4.2 – Next, configure SATA to run in AHCI mode in the Integrated Peripherals menu. You’ll need to set both PCH SATA Control Mode and Onboard SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode to AHCI.

4.3 – Finally, go to Power Management Setup and set the HPET Mode to 64-bit mode.

Step 5: Installing Mac OS X

5.1 – Insert the iBoot (or Empire EFI) boot disk.
5.2 – When you see screen below, eject the disk.

5.3 – Insert the Retail Mac OS X Snow Leopard DVD, wait a few seconds, and press F5.
5.4 – When you see the screen below, select Mac OS X Install DVD (it should already be selected) and press Enter.

5.5 – If all goes well, you should eventually see the language selection screen for the installer. If all did not go well and you do not make it to the language selection screen, try downloading a different version of iBoot or Empire EFI.
5.6 – Select your language and click the arrow to proceed.
5.7 – Next, you need to partition your drive. Click on Utilities > Disk Utility.
5.8 – Select your disk drive.
5.9 – Click Partition.
5.10 – Select 1 Partition for the partition scheme. Note: If you have a drive that is larger than 2 TB, do not create partitions larger than 1 TB. Split the drive into multiple partitions, and be sure the main installation partition is 1 TB or smaller.
5.11 – Enter a name for the partition (I used Hackintosh).
5.12 – Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the Format.

5.13 – Click Options…, select GUID Partition Table, and then click OK.

5.14 – Click Apply.
5.15 – Quit Disk Utility and proceed with the installation. Install on the Hackintosh partition.

Step 6: Installing the Boot Loader

Do not fret when you reboot after the installation and get a boot error, as you will need to first boot the machine with iBoot (or Empire EFI). Eject the Mac OS X Snow Leopard install DVD, put your boot CD back into the drive, and reboot the machine. Now when you boot up, you should see a second choice for your installation partition (Hackintosh if you named it that way). Select the Hackintosh partition and press Enter to boot into OS X.
Once you’ve completed the first-run setup, open up Safari and download Multibeast. Multibeast is another superb tool by tonymacx86 and MacMan that makes it stupid easy to install the boot loader, along with all the drivers necessary for your Hackintosh to function properly.
In addition to downloading Multibeast, you will need to download the DSDT for the Gigabyte GA-H55M-USB3 and copy it to the desktop. Be sure to save it as

DSDT.aml

. Launch Multibeast and make the following selections (your choices will differ if you have a different motherboard/hardware configuration):

• UserDSDT
• System Utilities
• Advanced Options > Kexts > Audio > LegacyHDA > ALC889
• Advanced Options > Kexts > Graphics > NVEnabler
• Advanced Options > Kexts > Network > RealtekR1000SL
• Advanced Options > Patched Kernels > 10.3.1 Supported Kernel

After MultiBeast finishes installing, eject the iBoot CD and reboot the system. You should be able to boot right up from the hard drive, and all your devices should work just fine.

Step 7: Getting Started with Your New Mac

So what now? Most certainly you’ll want to check out 5 apps to get more out of your new Mac as well as 15 must-have apps for your Mac. In fact, you should probably just go ahead and browse the entire Mac section on MakeUseOf, as you’ll find a wealth of great free stuff for your new Mac in there. And most importantly make sure to download MakeUseOf’s getting started manual for Mac. Highly recommended for switchers.
If ever you encounter into problems with your new Mac, you can always seek help from MakeUseOf Answers.
If you have any problems installing Mac OS X on your PC, just post a comment right here and we’ll do what we can to help. Just be sure to provide as much information about the hardware you’re using:

• Motherboard make and model (i.e. Gigabyte GA-H55M-USB3)
• CPU model (i.e. Intel Core i3-530 )
• GPU model (i.e. NVIDIA GeForce 9900 GT)

I never managed to get sleep to work. When I try to put the computer to sleep, it sort of goes into a coma. The fans never shut down and the machine doesn’t wake up when you press the power button. If you manage to get sleep to work with my hardware configuration, please do feel free to share your solution in the comments on this article.
There are also many great forums and sites out there that provide a lot of information and assistance with running Mac OS X on PC. Here are just a few you may want to check out:

• tonymacx86 Forum
• InsanelyMac Forum
• Hackint0sh
• Prasys’ Blog
• OSx86 Project

If you do seek assistance from any of these or similar resources, be sure to search for your problem before posting it. You will be flamed to no end if you ask a question that has already been answered. Another tip for posting in these forums: never call it a MAC (in all caps) instead of a Mac, or you will solicit many abusive responses. Mac is an abbreviation not an acronym.
Here are a few more links that provide tools and files to help you set up a Hackintosh on hardware other than what I’ve mentioned here:

• myHack – Another bootloader/kext installer, similar to Multibeast
• Kexts.com – A good resource for downloading Kexts (device drivers)
• Kext Helper – A tool that makes it easy to install new Kexts
• Kext Utility – A tool to ensure proper kext installation
• Chamelon Boot Loader – The boot loader that pretty much all the boot disks out there use (including iBoot and Empire EFI).
• netkas PC EFI – Used in combination with Chameleon to provide maximum compatibility for booting OS X. Most boot disks use this as well.
• BootCDMaker (French) – Utility (for Mac) to create your own custom boot disks

A million thanks to tonymacx86 and MacMan for developing iBoot and Multibeast to make installing Mac OS X Snow Leopard on PC a piece of cake. Enjoy your new Hackintosh and let us know what you think of it!
Disclosure Statement: Please note that the links to the hardware in this article are affiliate links. MakeUseOf will earn a small commission on any purchases you make. Commissions earned will support the staff of MakeUseOf and allow us to continue to bringing you more great articles.
Disclaimer: Please note that running Mac OS X Snow Leopard on hardware other than a Macintosh is against the Mac OS X End User License Agreement (EULA). If you have concerns about this, you may wish to read Is Making Your Own Hackintosh Legal? By installing Mac OS X you are in breach of a contract (breaking a contract is not the same as breaking the law). As long as you own a legal copy of the software, you are not in violation of copyright law.

The 5 Most Common Tactics Used To Hack Passwords

When you think of a serious security threat, you may think of some clever malicious program that steals your data or takes over computer. In reality, you’re just as (if not more) likely to be hit by a much simpler breach – a hacked password.
Once someone has your password for an online account, they can use it however they like. There are a number of methods commonly used to obtain a password, and knowing them can help you protect yourself.

Trying Common Passwords

Any hacker trying to break through a password will first try the most common passwords in the book. Silly though it may seem, a disturbingly large number of people rely on passwords that consist of just a few common numbers of letters. Even the word “password” is commonly used as a password.
Hackers know this, and can reference common passwords to try and gain entry. Though it won’t work on most passwords, it works frequently enough to be worth a try. If successful, the hacker can lean back and sip his Mountain Dew.
How to Protect Yourself: This one is simple. Don’t use common passwords. This includes single words, popular phrases, and simple combinations of a particular character type (like numbers). Even passwords like “superman” and “dragon” are common enough to earn mention in some studies of commonly used passwords.

Social Engineering

If commonly used passwords don’t work, and a hacker knows the owner of the password they’re trying to bypass, social networking can be used to try and figure out what the password might be.
Hackers know that people who don’t use common passwords are still likely to use passwords that have some personal significance. The password might be the name of a pet or a favorite TV show. Such information is often included on social networking profile.
Should trying this tactic still not work, the information available on a social network can be used to construct phishing attacks. Perhaps the target lists that they play a popular online game. A fake email could then be sent asking for password information or linking to a site where password information must be entered.
How to Protect Yourself: There are two steps you can take here. One is to make your social network private to people who are not your friends, and the second is to make sure that you don’t use information about your personal life to form a password.

The Weakest Link

Should a hacker still fail to guess a password, they’ll have to start breaking out some true hacking skill – but perhaps not much. Most people use the same password on multiple sites, and many use just one password for everything. Hackers know this, and they also know that many sites have weak security.
Using the information found while reviewing your social networking profiles, a hacker may be able to identify sites you visit. Some are sure to be heavily guarded. Others, however, probably aren’t. They may be vulnerable to simple exploits that allow for the retrieval of stored passwords, and the owners may never even realize they were hacked. Alternatively, a brute force attack might be used.
How to Protect Yourself: Don’t use a single password for every website. Ideally you should use a different password for every site, but that can be difficult. A compromise you might find effective is to use the same password for low security risks, like a blog you visit and comment on, but use unique passwords to protect more important accounts, like your web mail. Yet another option is to use a password manager.

Sniffing Wi-Fi Packets

Open wireless networks can be a nasty security issue because they are – well – open. Information transmitted on them can be picked up by anyone within range of the network, and that includes passwords.
Wi-Fi sniffing can be utilized either personally or impersonally. If someone is trying to hack your passwords specifically, they might see if you frequently visit a place with open Wi-Fi, like a coffee shop. Or a hacker might just set up an operation in such a location and pick up as many passwords as possible.
How to Protect Yourself: One answer is to just not use open Wi-Fi, but that’s not a realistic expectation for everyone. If you do use open Wi-Fi, make sure that you do not log in to sensitive accounts. If you have varied your passwords, you’ll be safe if a hacker obtains your less sensitive passwords. Also use HTTPS whenever possible. Many sites can use it, but some offer it only as an option.

Keylogging

Like sniffing Wi-Fi, keylogging can be used personally or impersonally. Using information gained about you while attempting to guess your password, a hacker might find a way to send you a file that you think is legitimate but actually contains a keylogger. Once installed, it can detect your passwords as you enter them.
A keylogger can also be installed as a part of any piece of malware to hack passwords. The information can then be transmitted to a location where it is compiled and passwords found. Such wide-scale keylogging attacks don’t focus on any particular person, but can be just as damaging.
How to Protect Yourself: Security software can help detect keyloggers and prevent them from being installed on your system. You can find effective solutions for free, so there’s no reason to skip it.

Conclusion

Do you have any tips that can help beef up password security? Let us know in the comments. Makeuseof readers are likely to be a bit more security-aware than the average, but nobody is perfect. Sharing information can help us keep our passwords as strong as possible.

12 Interesting Google Suggest Results & What They Reveal

Google Search is the modern world’s confessional. Whatever it is that we need help with, we just type it into the patient white search box and hope for relevant results. Google even helps us complete our searches by suggesting phrases based on the search activities of other users, a feature known as autocomplete. Not surprisingly, the results are often revealing and occasionally entertaining. For this article I have selected a few Google Suggest highlights.
Note that your results will differ depending on what Google location you are using and whether or not you are logged into Google. Moreover, results will change over time, as they represent the presently most used search queries. The results below were found using Google.ca and Google.se, while not being logged into Google.

How To vs. How Not To

This is one of many searches revealing how a single word makes all the difference in the world. While the ‘how not to’ crowd seems to struggle with jealousy, sadness, and laziness (How Not to Live Your Life is a British sitcom), the ‘how to’ folks are ready to take the corporate world by storm, while cooking healthy food (How to Make It in America is an American TV series).
I’m actually surprised that there aren’t more tech-related suggestions for the ‘how to’ search query.

Is It Safe vs. Is It Dangerous

Apparently, lots of people are interested in traveling to Mexico and wonder about its safety. While the average person beginning their search with ‘is it safe’ appears to be either pregnant or interested in traveling, there seems to be a lot more variation among people searching for ‘is it dangerous’.

Is It Right vs. Is It Wrong

Interestingly, ‘is it wrong to’ is most popular when searched all by itself, closely followed by concerns around sexual orientation and activities. People searching for ‘is it right’ on the other hand, seem to wonder about less trivial questions.

Can I vs. Can You

What I found interesting about this search is how the results correlate. In case you wonder, Can You Run It is a website that tells you whether or not your computer meets the system requirements of a given game.
After these fun comparisons, let’s have a closer look at some solo searches.

America Is…

Google Suggest covers the whole spectrum of what America is thought to be, from the greatest country in the world to some less enthusiastic results. Overall, people using Google in Canada seem to be in a split mind over what America is. Try this search in your own Google location.

Work Is…

Google suggests that work is the curse of the drinking class. This of course is a famous quote by Oscar Wilde. Work is love made visible is another quote, this one from The Prophet Kahlil Gibran.
After clearing those up, I’m left wondering why so many people would search for work is not a job.

Where Is…

I like this one because of the Easter Egg hidden in this list. Try to search for where is Chuck Norris, but instead of actually searching Google, click the I’m Feeling Lucky button. Your result should look like this:

Stop Finishing…

This one speaks for itself I think.
Got curious about searching Google? Also have a look at these articles:

Have you come up with more interesting Google Suggest search queries or did you discover some wild Google Easter Eggs?

ROUNDUP: 5 Must-Know Critical Facebook Privacy Tips

MakeUseOf has published countless articles on Facebook privacy and security settings. Facebook continuously updates and changes privacy settings and options. For this post I have revisited previous stories to collect the best tips and update instructions to reflect current options. If you have lost track, this is your chance to catch up and bring your Facebook privacy settings up to speed.

1. Control The Privacy Settings Of Your Profile

Your profile contains information about yourself, your friends and family, your education and work and much more. Facebook allows you to assign privacy levels to a lot of this profile information. Let me demonstrate how to change the settings for Basic Information.

• Either click this link while logged into Facebook or…
• …click the Edit Profile button in the top right on your Facebook profile.
• Click the little icons to the right of items in your profile to select who can see the respective information.
• Repeat this for all items and sections within your profile.

Tip: Want to test how your profile looks to the public or your friends? Test it using the View As button on your profile. This tip was inspired by Angela’s 2011 post on How To Control Your Privacy With The Facebook Timeline.

2. Organize Your Friends In Lists

Creating lists of friends is the best way to maintain your privacy, if extended family members or work colleagues insist on being friends on Facebook. The ways in which you can leverage lists for selective privacy are explained in the following steps. For now let’s focus on how to set them up.

• Either use this link while logged into Facebook or…
• …click where it says Friends in your Facebook sidebar, while viewing your profile.
• In the list view, click the Friends button next to a name, scroll to the end of the menu and select New List…
• Create as many lists as you need. Note that friends cannot see your lists.
• Then assign your friends to lists.

This point was inspired by an article written by Mahendra in 2009: 10 Solid Tips to Safeguard Your Facebook Privacy.

3. Control How You Allow People To Connect With You

The How You Connect privacy settings let you control who can find your profile, connect with you, post on your wall, or view your public posts. If your Facebook password is the equivalent of your front door, these settings represent your windows and curtains.

• Either follow this link while logged into Facebook or…
• …click the little arrow in the top right of your Facebook profile and click Privacy Settings.
• Click Edit Settings next to How You Connect.
• Open the drop-down menus next to each item and pick the desired group of people. You can select default options or your custom lists.

The screenshot below shows my preferences. Personally, I don’t like it when people post on my wall. Alternatively, you can make wall posts from others visible only to you.

4. Customize Your Privacy Settings

You can set a default privacy setting for all your wall posts. This way you won’t accidentally post something available to the world that was only meant for your friends’ eyes. Here is how you do it:

• Go to your Facebook Privacy Settings.
• Under Control your Default Privacy select Friends or Custom.

For full control over your privacy, select Custom! This option allows you to select specific people or lists, to which your updates will be visible or invisible per default. For increased privacy, be sure to deselect Friends of those tagged.

5. Edit Your Ads Privacy Settings

Ever noticed that Facebook shows you what your friends have liked on other pages? This is called social ads and the chances are that your friends also see the products and services you have liked. The best way to avoid this of course is not to like anything. The second best way is to disabled social ads:

• Click here while logged into Facebook or…
• …go to your Account Settings and select Facebook Ads in the sidebar.
• Click Edit third party ad settings and/or Edit social ads setting.
• Select No one from the drop-down menu and click Save Changes.

For more tips and tricks that will help you protect your Facebook privacy, have a look at these:
What do you do to protect your Facebook privacy? We would love to hear your tips!

The 5 Cheapest High-Quality Laptops For Students On A Tight Budget

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Walk into any college classroom and you’re likely to see a row of MacBook Pros. Apple’s laptop is a staple of college life because it’s particularly well suited for it. It is equally useful for productivity and entertainment, making it perfect for anyone who owns a single computer.
The only problem is price. I never owned a MacBook in college because I could never afford one. If you’re in the same bind, I have good news – there are Windows alternatives that work well for student life and cost less than $600.

The Critera

Students demand a lot from their laptops. They need it to be portable enough to take to class or to a study session, but they also need adequate performance. Selecting a laptop is made even more complex by the fact that students also use laptops as gaming machines, portable boom-boxes and televisions.
The laptops listed here meet these needs. They all have powerful dual-core or quad-core processors, they can all last at least four hours on a charge and they’re all capable of handling basic 3D games, HD video and other entertainment needs. And, as mentioned, they’re all available for $600 or less.

Dell Inspiron 14z

If you are looking for a thin, light and attractive laptop that doesn’t need to be a gaming wonder, the Dell Inspiron 14z is an excellent choice. It is built to be a 14-inch ultraportable, which means it doesn’t weigh much over four pounds and has battery life of well over six hours in its stock configuration.

The Inspiron 14z also benefits from solid build quality and attractive design. Both the bright Fire Red and more subdued Mocha Black are excellent choices. Pricing starts at $549, but you really wouldn’t know it from handling the laptop.
Performance is excellent thanks to a Core i3 processor. Core i5 processors are available, but you won’t be able to limbo under our price limit of $600 if you pick that option. I do recommend choosing the backlit keyboard, as it’s only a $25 upgrade and makes this laptop easier to use when you’re pulling an after-hours study session.

HP Pavilion dv6z Quad Edition

The AMD Fusion powered Pavilion dv6z quad edition is a fairly large 15.6” laptop built with entertainment use in mind. It’s one of the least portable laptops here and doesn’t offer amazing battery life, though it does easily meet our minimum of four hours.
The upshot of this laptop’s so-so portability is the relatively good graphics performance provided by its AMD Fusion processor. This is not a gaming powerhouse, but it at least supports DirectX 11 and is capable of providing a better experience than the Intel integrated graphics found in most entry-level laptops.
Hardcore student gamers should pick the optional Radeon HD7690M GPU, which is $75. Because the base price is $549, choosing the discrete graphics option puts this laptop $25 bucks beyond our price limit. If you game on a daily basis I suggest you live off ramen for a week to save up the extra dough. It will be money well spent.

HP Pavilion dm1z

The small dm1z is one of my favorite laptops on the market. It is what a netbook was supposed to be when it originally hit the market – a small, inexpensive laptop with excellent portability that can easily handle most software.
Weighing in at 3.52” pounds and featuring a 12.1” display, the dm1z can easily fit into any bag large enough to handle textbooks. Endurance is up to eight hours under light loads, and even moderate to heavy use should result in six hours of life. You can take this laptop anywhere without it becoming a burden. Nor will it be a burden on your wallet – pricing starts at $399.
The inevitable downside is performance, but the dm1z doesn’t make as many sacrifices as the netbooks sold just a couple years ago. Programs like web browsers and word processors will easily run on the AMD dual-core processor and the Radeon integrated graphics can handle some recent 3D games. If you don’t use software that requires serious number-crunching the dm1z is will never feel slow.

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420

The ThinkPad Edge E420 is a good alternative to the Dell Inspiron 14z. Internally, it’s a very similar laptop. You’ll find a Core i3 processor paired with 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. The basic 14z is virtually identical, and even the base price of $549 is the same.
All of the differences are external, and they matter. Like other ThinkPads, the Edge E420 includes an excellent keyboard and a unique trackpointer which allows for easy mouse navigation without moving your fingers away from your keyboard. If you sometimes brag about how quickly you can type you’ll undoubtedly appreciate these features.
These advantages are counter-balanced by battery life performance which is significantly inferior to the 14z. The Edge is also just a tad heavier and does not include a backlit keyboard even as an option. Choosing between them will come down to personal preference.

ASUS U31

The ASUS U31 is the company’s entry-level ultraportable. It features a 13.3” display, a Core i3 processor and GeForce GT 520M graphics with Optimus switchable graphics. Though the 520M is one of Nvidia’s slowest products, it remains quick enough to provide acceptable performance in many 3D games.
Another benefit of the U31 is battery life. ASUS quotes over 8 hours of life, and real-world use comes surprisingly close to that number. This is thanks to a large stock battery and the customized power profiles ASUS ships with its laptops. Despite being larger and having a faster processor, this laptop can almost match the longevity of the HP dm1z.
So far, this laptop sounds perfect, but there are a few flaws. Build quality is not as good as most of the other laptops here. The keyboard isn’t the best and the display is sub-par even among budget laptops. However, if you want excellent portability and the ability to play most 3D games, this laptop is your best option.

Conclusion

Though none of these laptops are competition to a MacBook Pro, they offer everything a student needs without costing a fortune.
My opinion is that the Inspiron 14z and Edge E420 are the laptops most students should look at first. They offer an excellent compromise between portability, performance and usability at impressively low prices. Unlike many budget laptops, these models don’t feel cheap. They are sturdy and enjoyable to use.
Students who need excellent portability should consider the HP dm1z, while those who want adequate gaming performance should look at the HP dv6z Quad Edition – and the ASUS U31 offers a little bit of both.
Do you own one of these laptops? Or did you pick up a different model that you think is excellent for student life? Let us know in the comments.

3 Reasons Why You Should Be Running The Latest Windows Security Patches & Updates

The code that makes up the Windows operating system contains security loop holes, errors, incompatibilities, or outdated software elements. In short, Windows isn’t perfect, we all know that. The latest Windows security patches fix the vulnerabilities and errors in Windows and associated software, and they occasionally add new features. This essentially summarizes why you should regularly run a Windows Update.
In case you are still not convinced, let me elaborate a little more on the three main reasons why you should install the latest Windows security patches and updates.

1. Protect Your System From Malicious Software

Hardly any code is perfect and sooner or later weaknesses will be identified. Security issues are the worst possible errors, as they may be exploited by malware to access and potentially damage your system. Here is a description of a cumulative security update published in December 2011:

Security issues have been identified in ActiveX controls that could allow an attacker to compromise a system running Microsoft Internet Explorer and gain control over it. You can help protect your system by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you ay have to restart your computer.

Security issues are regularly identified in various parts of the Windows operating system, including ActiveX, Internet Explorer, .NET Framework, or the main platform. Even if you do not run the respective software, it is a risk not to patch it, simply because it is installed on your system. Note that these updates are required, even if you are running anti-malware or anti-virus software, as that software may not sufficiently protect you from Windows security issues.

Potential consequences of not installing security updates are damaged software, loss of data, or identity theft. Every year, malware causes damage of millions of dollars worldwide. The main reason is that users don’t install critical software or Windows updates, allowing malware to exploit loopholes that have long been patched. Vulnerabilities can potentially be exploited within hours of them becoming publicly known. So once a security update is available, you should immediately install the fix to protect your system from malware attacks.

2. Resolve General Windows Issues and Bugs

The second type of update addresses more general bugs and issues of the Windows operating system. These updates typically contain several fixes in one go. Below is the generic description of an update published in February 2012:

Install this update to resolve issues in Windows. For a complete listing of the issues that are included in this update, see the associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article for more information. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

While these non critical errors are not responsible for security-relevant vulnerabilities, they may still be very annoying as they potentially impact the performance and stability of Windows. So the main reason for installing general updates is to avoid or resolve Windows issues and hopefully have a smooth and pleasant Windows user experience.

3. Access New Windows & Software Features

Finally, Windows updates often introduce new features, while also fixing some known issues. A good example is Internet Explorer. Even if you don’t plan on using the respective software, you should still run these updates, considering they often come with significant improvements and you may end up being forced to use the software after all. Moreover, Microsoft will eventually cease support for outdated software, e.g. old versions of Internet Explorer. This means that if new vulnerabilities are discovered, they will not be patched, as users are expected to run the latest version of the program.

Conclusion

It is critical to install security updates to protect your computer from malicious attacks. In the long run, it is also important to install software updates, not only to access new features, but also to be on the safe side in terms of security loop holes being discovered in outdated programs. And it is in your own best interest to install all other updates, which may potentially cause your system to be buggy.
I recommend to download Windows updates automatically, but choose whether and when to install them. Do, however, make an effort to install them as soon as possible. Rebooting really isn’t that bad!

How do you handle Windows updates? Have you ever had to roll back an update or did you ever suffer the consequences of not installing an update? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments.

General Use

Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu/Lubuntu/etc One of the most popular general-use distributions with one of the largest selections of software. Based on: Debian Download |	Fedora The most cutting-edge general-use distribution on a 6-month release cycle. It’s cutting edge in two ways: new versions of software, and it uses new software before other distributions use them. Based on: Itself; Originated from: Red Hat Download |
openSUSE A stable, general-use distribution for everyone that excels in enterprise environments. openSUSE includes a few different defaults such as it’s package manager and the KDE desktop environment Based on: Itself; Originated from: Slackware Download |	Debian One of the most stable distributions in existence, with a large selection of software. It is often used as the base of many other distributions. Based on: Itself Download
Linux Mint A highly-customized distribution that includes many features out-of-the-box that other distributions do not, including codecs. Linux Mint has such a large following that it’s starting to look toward going in its own direction. Based on: Ubuntu, Debian Download |	Mandriva Linux Back in the day, one of the most popular distributions when it was known as “Mandrake Linux”. A great general-use distribution which uses custom themes and system tools. Originated from: Red Hat Download |
PCLinuxOS Another general-use distribution that combines technologies from different distributions to present an overall great experience. Originated from: Mandrake Linux Download	Linpus Linus A general-use distribution that has specialized themes and apps for an easier overall user experience. Originated from: Red Hat Download
PinGuy OS A general-use distribution that comes with a number of customizations to make an easier out-of-the-box experience. Based on: Ubuntu Download |

Minimal

Arch Linux A minimal rolling-release general-use distribution where you install only what you want or need. It’s highly cutting-edge and there are no default installations. Most customizations are done manually in text files. Based on: Itself; Originated from: Itself Download

Puppy Linux A very small distribution that uses an extremely low amount of resources. Great for older systems or those that need every drop of power for their tasks. Based on: Itself; Originated from: Itself; Compatible with: Slackware, Ubuntu, others with Woof tool Download |

Commercial

Red Hat Enterprise Linux A commercial solution from Red Hat for a great enterprise system, both desktop and server. Costs of the distribution come from support packages. Based on: Fedora; Originated from: Itself Download

Enterprise

CentOS A great, free clone of Red Hat Enterprise Linux for a pure, stable enterprise system. Based on: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Download

Specialised Purpose

Joli OS A distribution aimed for use on netbooks and working with different cloud services. Who needs ChromeOS? Based on: Ubuntu Download |	ArtistX A specialized distribution that includes virtually every single multimedia application for Linux that you can think of. Great for work on images, sounds, and videos. Based on: Ubuntu Download
GParted A distribution made especially for partitioning hard drives. The distribution comes as a LiveCD only and contains only the GParted partitioning software and a console. Based on: Debian Download |	Parted Magic A distribution aimed specifically at partitioning your hard drives, but includes plenty of other features that make it more of a rescue disc than a lone partitioning tool. Download
Backtrack Linux A fantastic distribution that is specialized for network penetration testing and security auditing. It includes all kinds of software and needed patches to do the job. Based on: Ubuntu; Originated from: Whoppix Download

For Mac & Windows Users

PearOS A very beautiful general-use distribution that mimics the look, feel, and functionality of Apple’s Mac OS X. Based on: Ubuntu, Debian (soon) Download

ZorinOS A general-use distribution that mimics the look, feel, and functionality of Windows. This is geared for those who prefer the Windows interface or need an easier way to transition from Windows to Linux. Based on: Ubuntu Download

Disclaimer: All distributions listed were thoroughly reviewed. I Am not responsible for any damage and/or data loss