Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Top 3 Online Backup Providers

In this article, we will have a review of 3 best online backup providers.
With growing technology; we have replaced photo albums with computer to save photos. We use computers more than file holders for our confidential documents and typical mp3 players for music collection.
Everything became more convenient and easier to manage. But with technology one basic flaw always comes and that is security issues. You never know when your hard disc will get damaged or corrupted or get lost, thus it is essential to always have proper backup for all your data.
Internet is forever and ever, hence a good decision is to save and backup all your data online using online backup providers.
Competition is increasing in every field and with that confusion and dilemma for novice users also increases. There are numerous online backup providers with their different security criteria.

Top 3 online backup providers

Here is the list of 3 best online backup providers.
  • MyPC Backup
  • JustCloud
  • CrashPlan
online backup storage providers

MyPC backup

MyPC backup is considered best among all options available out there in market for the online backup ability. Usually is any file deleted, user can restore it back from the recycle bin but if it is deleted from that also user is helpless.
But not anymore as by using this cloud or online backup provider facility one can secure their data and save it from any mishap.
MyPC Backup is known for its tremendous performance and some of the features which make it above all other options are
Automation MyPC backup gives you liberty to store your data without the limitation of physical devices. It takes no time to make a secure copy of your original data and safely store it in its unlimited storage in fully automation manner.
Unlimited capacity to store Usually physical external backup devices have certain memory limit up to which one can store their data but by using online backup provider service one cannot face such problem. MyPC backup provider gives you unlimited storage capacity, this way you can easily store your tons of music or photos.
Privacy and security of data MyPC backup’s unique feature is that it uses the same technology as used by many banks for encrypting their confidential matter and data. Encrypted data is always a better option for security purposes.
File type restrictions are not available Other online backup providers have certain guidelines for saving only particular types of files. But with MyPC backup user have liberty to save any file type even those with graphics and non-common executable extensions.
File restoration is simple MyPC backup gives easy and simple way out for restoring all those files which might get accidently deleted or moved somewhere accidently. From control panel one can easily restore those back to their original locations.
MyPC backup provider is also very reputed for its customer service. The official website of this provider has Help center where customer can ask for any sort of query regarding the working of this backup service. They provide simple steps for novice users how to use this service.
MyPC backup provider have some amazing video tutorials where a demo of how things work in that backup provider is explained properly. Thus, for those who are not computer wizard this seems like a very good option to start backing up with.

JustCloud

JustCloud is second best online backup provider which has all the qualities and potential to store and safely restore all your confidential data. It includes desktop application service where user can easily saves all the files on cloud with no problem of storage capacity what-so-ever.
The best quality of JustCloud is that it is platform independent that is one can store and use this application from any device whether blackberry, iPhone and Windows. Some of the features of this service are as follows:
Just like every other physical storage device, you don’t have to store each and every file one by one. JustCloud automatically saves all available data initially on computer and then on cloud in encrypted format which increases its security potential.
The best feature of this service is that user doesn’t have to click one by one step to get job done. JustCloud works in background and do all the tough work independently.
JustCloud use Google cloud platform for its processing, as security is the crucial step and feature of any service. Knowing that your data is in Google hands, this can be a plus point for selecting this provider among others.

CrashPlan

Next is a backup provider which already established itself in market above all other options due to its amazing features and options that are offered.
It is platform independent which gives user liberty to use it on any operating system including Windows, Linux and MAC. Many mobile operating systems can also take benefit out of this service.
Unlike other backup providers, CrashPlan have both free and paid versions.
Free version have fare amount of disadvantage and advantages. Free version doesn’t allow saving data online instead it gives a unique twist by letting user save its data on some other system (maybe a friend or workplace computer). It may help in backing up the data but also lets your data to be shared with different systems as well which may question its security.
On the other hand, the paid version of CrashPlan allows online servers with unlimited storage capacity in $50-60, which will help you to save ample amount of data safely. Limited plans are also available but with storage the money differs as well.
CrachPlan provides an attractive interface which is totally user-friendly where user can easily check their backup status, finds out which files are stored yet and which are in queue.
It also helps the user to give customized options where he can decide where he wants to store the files. Even if we don’t select the files one by one, it provides automatic backup facility where one can make backup of system files as well.
448-key encryption software is used in this backup provides which gives better security options by encoding the data. This way your data will never goes to wrong hands.

How to Send a Free Fax to anywhere in the World

As the title suggests, this article is a step-by-step guide to send a free fax to anywhere in the world.
You all are aware of the fact that how costly the conventional way of sending a fax is. And when it comes to sending a document out of the country, it gets too hard on your pocket. So what can be another way of doing so and that too at a very low cost or almost free.
And it becomes even more important for you to know this method if you hold a business which makes you deal internationally. In this case, sending documents to other countries is an integral part of your business.
In earlier days, you didn’t have option other than using a normal hefty fax machine and pay huge prices of long distance calls and faxes. And also the fact that sometimes the faxes used to get lost in the way and didn’t get delivered.
But nowadays, thanks to internet, you have so many online fax services which send faxes to any part of the world and that too in least amount of money. Not only they do not have any disadvantages like fax machines, they are faster, cheaper and much more reliable.
send fax free

How is sending fax from computer better than from a fax machine?

It is better because it saves you a lot of money and is much easier to do. Also these services work for free so it also saves you a lot of money. And as long as you are connected to your internet, you can access your faxes from any part of the world. In addition to this, you will be able to see your incoming faxes on your emails.

How to Send Fax from Computer?

It is a very simple method and can be done in three simple steps which are as follows:
Step 1: Choose a good online fax service
There are so many different online programs and services available which provide you with a toll-free fax number which is linked to email address of yours. So whenever you receive any fax on that number, it will be sent to you by email in the form of an attachment. And if you want to send any fax, you can log in to any of these services and send your document to any part in the world.
Step 2: Upload Your Document Online
You need to upload your document which you wish to send and you can use various formats such as Microsoft Word, Excel, picture files, or any simple text file. You can also choose from any of their ready-made professional templates of a fax document and its cover page in order to add a remarkable layout to your document to be faxed.
Step 3: Click on Send Fax Button
Once you are ready with everything, just click the button to send your fax out to anywhere you want. But it is important here to choose a good online service, which can give you the best services and best rates. For that you will have to do some research and come up with the best service.

How to Publish your own Podcast on iTunes

Publishing a podcast on iTunes is never a tough task but it needs something more that you haven’t done before. There are lots of ways to digest the podcasts which use different methods to publish.
There are two main tasks in which the first is setting up storage for your podcast, and the other is letting iTunes understand about it. You are completely responsible for hosting, sustaining, and giving for bandwidth.
iTunes is merely a book or directions; a tool which makes it easier for users to find your podcast, subscribe and be notified when they are published. Publishing a podcast on iTunes is amazingly easy and will take very less time to submit and publish them.
Publish Podcast on iTunes
iTunes is not a podcast owner and they don’t shop any podcast files. They don’t pay for the bandwidth when several users download it.
Here is the detailed explanation on how to publish your own Podcast on iTunes.
1. Host the Podcast Files
The first step is to host the podcast files. This can be done by signing-up for an account is web-hosting website or Amazon S3. This signing-up requires some amount to be paid.
If you are looking for any free options, host the files on Google Drive. For encoding in QuickTime, the audio podcasts should be in MP3 format and video podcasts should be in MPEG-4 format for high compatibility.
2. Set a cover image
After hosting the podcast files, create a cover images in PNG or JPG format and this image will be the album cover images for the podcasts that you publish.
If you are wishing to place a text, make sure that it is readable to users. It is recommended to have 1400×1400 pixel image and 50×50 pixels image for text.
3. Write a tag or label
Choose a catchy label or tag to your podcast and this can be shared on your blogs. It is recommended to have a common tag so that users can easily access them.
4. Include the Podcasts in your Blog Posts
After setting up the podcast, the next step is to publish them. Include them in your blog posts and further settings depend on the type of blog site you use.
For WordPress websites, there is an in-built support to handle podcasts while in Blogger websites, you need to change some settings After this, create a new post and paste the URL in enclosure links of your Blogger blog. Also, expand the Labels to add a label named podcast.
5. Make an iTunes Feed
After you have supplemented all the podcasts to your blog and affiliated them with the “podcast” mark, your RSS feed is almost ready though we need to add some extra iTunes-specific data to this feed like your podcast category, location of cover image, and so on. This can be easily done with the help of FeedBurner. Proceed to feedburner.com and paste the URL of your podcast RSS feed.
6. Submit for Approval
After completion of your podcast, submit them to the iTunes Store. In order to submit them, install iTunes on your system and create an Apple ID. Use that link to submit your podcasts.
After approval of your podcasts, an approval email will be sent to your email directly stating that the podcast is published on the iTunes directory.
Follow the above mentioned steps to publish your podcasts on iTunes and get them approved by Apple.

How to Secure Your Facebook Account from Hackers

Since Facebook is the most popular social networking site used by millions of users all over the world, hackers see this as an opportunity to hack as many accounts they can to extract some personal or professional content. They keep trying to get to the account of those whose profile are not secured and hack into their accounts.
But as a user you have certain privilege that enables you to prevent such action on your account by keeping it secured and safe from third party access.

Tips to secure your Facebook account

Follow below steps to secure your Facebook account and make it harder for the bad guys to get access to your account.

1. Use Facebook in https mode

Users get an option of secure browsing in their Facebook account by altering the http mode to https mode.
To make this change you must visit account setting option from the drop down list and then click on the security section present on the left side of your window. There enable the secure browsing option so as to make your account secured from other access or hacking.

2. Use strong passwords

While creating an account, users are asked to specify a strong password as to keep their accounts safe. The reason behind is that more the password is strong, less are the chances of hackers getting into your account. It leads to a secured base.
However, users generally being lazy and difficulty of remembering long passwords get them to use weak level passwords which get them to face the consequences later.
So it is recommended to provide strong passwords which includes a mix of numerals, characters, special symbols etc so that you can avoid the future harm into your accounts.
Another important thing to know regarding password security is not to use same passwords for two different online accounts. It increases the chances of hacking.

3. Enable Login Notifications

The next step to keep in mind while securing your account is enabling text and email notification whenever a login is made into your account. Through enabling this, the user who is the owner of the account is notified about the logs in to his/her account made from any other PC or mobile which hasn’t been used earlier.
This is possible by sending an SMS over the registered mobile or email-id that the user has added into the Facebook account.
You must have seen this while logging in to your account. Facebook makes a confirmation of the device and then you can authorize that device or PC by just saving it by the name as that of home computer or mobile. In such cases if the hackers hack into your account you will be notified immediately.
This is done just by enabling both text and email option present in the secure browsing option in the security tab.

4. Get rid of Unnecessary Applications

There are various SPAM applications prevailing on your Facebook sites. People have gone crazy behind those but the reality is these apps are not authenticates applications. Facebook has no concern with those and if Facebook launches its own app it makes it authenticated for the users.
The other apps are spam application that steals your private data or details and then use that in certain kind of survey programs etc. hackers in this way can easily hack your personal info or email id by over the request through apps.
So it recommended to get rid of all the unnecessary applications by going to the account settings>Apps tabs. There click on ‘X’ button and remove the apps that is not at all needed.
secure facebook

5. Facebook Privacy

Facebook provides the privacy guidelines to make sure that your accounts are secured. So users must read the guidelines and on the basis of that reading, adjust the privacy setting of your account. This not only provides you a secured Facebook account but also prevents from online thefts.
Here the users can view and check how their profile will be visible to public or their friends. This enables them to know any omissions that they made during adjusting the privacy setting and can make the changes accordingly.

6. External links

Never click on the external links that are sent to you through any source. It may be in the form of attractive offers, links etc that may require you to login through your id to continue surfing over the site.
These are the suspicious links that gets in your Facebook account and are considered to be spam, so it is recommended to ignore such links and never click on for further surfing.

7. Friend requests

Users must think before adding someone to their friend list. The reason behind is that, may be they are interested to know the personal details which is actually hidden from public but visible to your friends. Hence make the privacy setting adjustments accordingly and also don’t add any person whose profile seems to be suspicious or odd.

8. Spam links

Users must remove the spam links as soon as possible from the Facebook profile. There are some times when your friend keep posting spammed links on your profile, but actually the reality is that they never post those links manually but its gets posted automatically, as they must be a victim by clicking over spam kinks. So make sure that you remove those links as soon as possible from your and other profiles too.

9. Make sure that you are logging in to the correct site

Always users must make sure that they are logging into a correct Facebook site with the Facebook.com domain and also that it starts from https mode. Many times it happens that the hackers create site same as that of Facebook in order to grab the info.

10. Don’t show your email id on your profile

Don’t show your Facebook email id on your profile which you use to login because it can be easily hacked and spammers then can easily send spam mails to your id. So it is better to not to show your id on the Facebook account, at least never make it public so that everyone can see it.

11. Sign out properly when you are done

There are times when due to some reason or mistake you forget to sign out from your account. In such cases go to account setting > security tab > recognized device > remove the device from where you forgot to sign out. This actually helps in automatic sign out from the account on that device.

12. Update your PC

Always keep updating your system along with the antivirus. Drivers, browser etc need to be update from time to time. You can make these update manually once a week as it reduces the bandwidth of internet and keeps checking the updates.

13. Security questions

Users must know to never share their security question with anyone as Facebook allows to update them only once during sign up process. These are needed when an account gets hacked just to verify the ownership of the account. So it is better recommended to not to share such info with anyone.

14. Updating security information

Update your security info which serves to helpful at times when you lose access to your account. Hence users must visit the update security information, continue with the password, and enter two email id and a mobile no. if you haven’t done it yet. In case you have done it review the info is correct or not and whether the mail id is accessible or not. If not then user must update a different email id.
So these were some cool tips that are very useful to keep your facebook profile safe and secured from unauthorized access. If you have anything to add, feel free to tell us in comments.

How to Share Directions from Google Maps in Android

Version 9.3 of Google Maps allows you to share point to point driving directions with others. Find out below how you can share your Google Maps driving directions using Android.
This is a great new feature that lets you share your Google Maps driving directions with anyone – regardless of if they are using Android or not or even if they don’t have Google Maps.

Guide to Share Driving Directions from Google Maps

In order to share the driving directions, follow this simple process.
First of all, open Google Maps and put the start point and end point as you usually do in Maps. Choose the transportation mode and select the route.
Next, you don’t have to touch the navigation button. Instead, go to the menu button which is located on top right corner. In that menu, you will find “Share Directions” option. Press that.
Share driving directions Google maps
Once you hit the Share Directions button, you will see that Google Maps is allowing you to share the directions in text form. So you can use any app on your Smartphone. For example, if you would like to send it as email, then choose your email app. If you want to share it on Whatsapp, then you can do that as well. Sending as text sms is also an option for you.
So, by choosing the desired app, you will be able to easily share the directions with anyone. The driving directions will be sent to your desired recipient in text form. It’s basically a list of directions right from the start point to end point.
It also includes the distance and the expected time it will take to cover that distance. After that, the individual steps of driving directions are mentioned. At the end, there will be a short link of the directions that one can open as a webpage to see.
That’s all! This was the simple process how to share driving directions with others using Google Maps in Android.

How to Fix Blue Screen Memory Dump Error in Windows?

What is blue screen memory dump error and how to fix it?
The blue screen memory dump is an error that pops up on screen before system trying to reboot, changing its color to blue because of multiple reasons due to which operating system stops working properly.
Due to this all the content of the RAM is automatically dumped in a file containing data. This error screen mainly arises in Windows operating system randomly as system restarts and starts dumping physical memory and for those entire familiar with it call it as Blue Screen of Death.
Identifying this error is quite easy, as the name depicts it changing screen color to blue and your system restarts again and again. There are various reasons due to which the operating system stops functioning the way it should be:
The most common reason for physical memory dump error is the lack of compatibility between software and hardware components.
Usually Windows operating system is capable of performing multitasking at the same time but sometimes when many processes are running with similar priority level, this error arises.
The major reason due to which this error occurs is Windows registry problem. The other two above mentioned error may be easy to tackle but this must be handled properly with step by step procedure in order to let system start working normal again. Genuine version of Windows to be function properly, these registry files are very prominent and if found missing can cause blue screen error.
Blue Screen Memory Dump Error

How to fix Blue Screen Memory Dump Error?

There are various ways through which one can resolve this dump memory issue in no time. Sometimes there is only one error that is the reason for blue screen which must be prompted or pops up on your screen with the blue screen but if not error can be found by sorting these following issues:

1. Check device manager

There is a huge chance that due to compatibility issues between new hardware or software drivers and already installed drivers, blue screen error occurs.
In such cases, there is only one solution is to uninstall the previous version of the hardware or software which is the reason of error and replace it with the new version by installing it.
While installing the new version always make sure that these drivers are compatible with the operating system you are using in your computer to avoid further error. Various third-party software are available online which help track all those drivers which are recently installed and they check if they are still making any problem or not.
Apart from the drivers’ issue, there are also chances that the device driver you are using have problem in itself which is causing operating system not to work properly. Hence, blue screen of death.

2. Windows registry repairing

For any operating system to work normally, it is essential to have all the files properly installed and verified. Registry file of the operating system is very important file that must be present in your system files.
There are times when registry file of the operating system includes various invalid entries that are not even present in the system or the registry file is corrupted period. This results in the memory dump error that cause blue screen.
For those who have fine knowledge about the operating system and have proper internet connection can update it themselves which can be risky as well. For better chance of perfection, always buy genuine software that takes care of all the registry issues.
It automatically scans the problems and fixes any issue regarding registry of the operating system.

3. Verify all the memory modules

Sometimes with blue screen some error message also pops up which usually reads “UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP”, such error usually means that the error is caused mainly due to memory issue.
For resolving memory issue of your computer, two main modules must be checked SIMMs and CMOS. SIMMs stands for Single Inline Memory Modules that handles the speed compatibility of the operating system and CMOS stands for Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor that must be set properly according to the RAM configurations.
Most of the times, by checking these two modules do the wonders and blue screen error are fixed but if not then there is only one solution left and that is replacing the whole memory setup of your operating system.

4. Repair a hard drive which is damaged

A damaged hard drive can also be the reason for blue screen memory dump error in your computer. Windows operating system is designed in a way that it have a diagnostic scanning functionality that checks whether hard drive is running properly or not and if not it checks for the error that is causing problems.
But due to some reason these diagnostic functionalities stop working and do not scan or read any hard drive. In such situations in order to tackle the error SCSI terminator which is an interface must be checked.

5. Virus check

If all the above reasons for fixing the blue screen error fail, then there must be a reason which is blocking all the possibilities and causing this memory dump error.
This reason can be virus or any other malicious program whose presence stops the operating system to function properly. There is an essential flow of data between operating system and hard drive and once the virus or any other malicious program corrupted the hard drive that flow also interrupted.
This can result in Blue screen of death that eventually starts dumping the physical memory and let your system restart again and again.
This kind of error can be tackled by downloading genuine version of antivirus into your computer but if you already have an antivirus installed, then there is only one solution left; that is to uninstall that version and download a new version of antivirus.
Once the file which is corrupts is scanned and properly removed from your system, user must check the presence of blue screen once again by restarting the computer.

How to Restore Deleted Files

If you accidentally deleted an important file, you would want know how to restore deleted files on your computer. Try to restore the deleted files as soon as possible. The more it’s delayed, harder it becomes to restore the files back.
Generally, people think that once data is deleted permanently, it can never be restored. However, that’s not the complete truth. The key here is to act quickly.

How to Restore Deleted Files – The Complete Guide

Following guide will walk you through step by step instructions to restore deleted files on your computer.
Here are the steps you should follow in order to restore the deleted files back on your Windows based PC.
Check the Recycle Bin
First and basic step is to check for the file in recycle bin. If it’s present there, you can easily restore it. All you need is to right click on the file icon and select “Restore”. The file will move back to it’s original location on hard drive where it was present before deletion.
However, if the file was big, it may not be present in recycle bin. There could be other possibilities wherein the file may not be present in recycle bin. For example, if you pressed shift+delete while deleting the file, it won’t hit the recycle bin.
Stop Using Your Hard Drive
What happens when you delete a file is the operating system marks the space allocated to the file as available for use and it deletes the pointer to file. So physically the file is still present on hard drive until some new data is stored on same location.
So, the chances of restoring the deleted files is higher if you don’t use your PC after deletion of the file.
Download a Data Recovery Utility
Get an effective data recovery software. Try downloading it on a different drive, if you have one. There are some recovery software that offer a portable version. You can download the portable version on your pen drive / thumb drive and run the program directly from the USB device. However, not all software provide the portable version.
Some of the most effective software to restore deleted files are listed below:

Recuva

One of the best software for data recovery. It is very simple and easy to use. Recuva has some advanced features to recover the data. Once you download and install this software, it will ask you what type of data you are searching for and the location of that data, then it will scan your PC at speed.
Recuva can recover data from hard disk, memory card, and USB device as well. You can download and install Recuva software for free and use it whenever your data or any important file is lost. However, avoid downloading on the same drive from which your file was deleted.
How to Restore Deleted Files
Restore Deleted Files Using Recuva

PC Inspector File Recovery

PC Inspector File Recovery is another recovery tool which will help you to restore deleted files. The interface is not as simple as Recuva and while searching for deleted files, you need some patience.
To use this tool, there is a simple folder view and dialog box. In that dialog box you have to locate file by name and it will attempt to restore it on your drive.
The download size of this is 3.3MB.

Glary Undelete

Glary Undelete is another effective recovery tool which will help you to restore deleted files. It is very simple and easy to use.
It has a nice interface as compared to other tools. To restore a deleted file, you have to scan the drive, then click search and wait until it’s finished.
It recovers data on both FAT and NTFS drives. The files that are found after scan are presented in a single list and in folder view option. You can search files by file type and name. It works well for data recovery.
The disadvantage of this tool is before using this tool you have to install it. However, you should download and install this on a different drive / partition.
Like other tools, Glary Undelete helps you restore files from hard disk, memory card, USB drives etc.

Restoration

Restoration is another effective software to restore deleted files. You don’t need to install this software. You can download and use it from a thumb drive or external hard drive.

Puran File Recovery

This is also a great and simple software to quickly scan your hard drive and restore deleted files. It has 3 modes to scan: Quick Scan, Deep Scan and Full Scan. The size of this tool is just 2.2 MB.

Scan Your Hard Drive Using Any of the Tools

Once you have got the data recovery software mentioned above, run it. Every software is different but the basic functionality is same. You need to run a scan to find out the list of deleted files still present on your hard drive. You can then try to restore them back to their original location on hard drive.
If you had deleted your data from a USB device, then you can scan that as well. Just specify the drive in your software before running the scan.
Most of the software tell you upfront after running the scan if the files can be restored or not. Please be informed that not all files can be restored.