Internet Security is one aspect I stress on very much as you can never be too careful with it. And the best way to strengthen your security is to identify how vulnerable you are. Today's featured site ShieldsUP! does exactly that through a series of tests and tells you how much secure you are.

The site's main page starts with a detailed article explaining IP addresses and the hazards it may cause. After you click on the Proceed button, it takes you to the 'test area' where you can begin testing various aspects of your connection. The page also provides some background reading before the commencement of tests so that you understand better what will be the benefits of it.

So, when you think you are ready, go ahead and take the tests. The results will be shown in forms of Passed or Failed so there is not much difficulty in understanding them. What is more difficult is to cover up those vulnerabilities so that they are not exploited. Unfortunately, there are not many provisions for this on the site and therefore, you will have to put in some time and effort to achieve it. The site does link to various tutorials but they are scattered and confusing, so you will most probably need the experts to sort them out.

If you need assistance covering your vulnerabilities, then please post a comment below and I will try my best to help you out or at least lead you to tech forums where you may get the best possible support.

-- Mohit

We often need to manage our video files by burning them to DVDs. Unfortunately, most programs don't have the provision to create a custom compilation of video files and those that do are not available freely. However, there are some companies that break the norm, and DVD Flick is one such exception.

DVD Flick can compile a set of user defined videos to burn on a DVD but besides that, it can also add tracks, subtitles, as well as a menu to play an individual video. In short, it is the most perfect DVD authoring tool a user can ask for.

Some of its features are as follows:

* Burn near any video file to DVD
* Support for over 45 file formats
* Support for over 60 video codecs
* Support for over 40 audio codecs
* Easily add a menu
* Add your own subtitles
* Easy to use interface
* Burn your project to disc after encoding
* Completely free without any adware, spyware or limitations
* Burn near any video file to DVD
* Support for over 45 file formats
* Support for over 60 video codecs
* Support for over 40 audio codecs
* Easily add a menu
* Add your own subtitles
* Easy to use interface
* Burn your project to disc after encoding
* Completely free without any adware, spyware or limitations

A more extensive list of its features is available here. And its not all. The company goes to great lengths by creating a Basic Usage Guide and user Forums so that users don't have to face any problems. Truly commendable! In my opinion, the software is definitely worth a place in your list of freewares. An invaluable tool for the experts and home users indeed.

-- Mohit

As we all know, every time we browse through a web site, we leave traces behind. These traces are stored in the form of offline and online data. The offline data consists of cookies, cache, temporary internet files and the sort whereas the online data covers your IP (Internet Protocol) address and other crucial details that may give away your location and identity easily. Now, the offline data is very easy to remove and can be easily achieved by using the Disk Cleanup utility. The more worrying and objectionable sort of data is stored online in the form of a log for whatever site you visit.

Most sites we visit are clean and secure and therefore require no masking of our true details. However, some sites that provide some needed information might be unstable. Thus, giving away your details to such "unreliable" sites is a breach of your privacy. So, how to overcome it? The easiest way to avoid this is by using an online proxy service that will mask your real IP address with one of its proxy servers. Thus, whatever details the site logs will be false and will not link back to you satisfactorily.

For the record, there are hundreds of sites that provide you with the service for your needs but the best I have used so far is ShadowSurf. Most proxy sites that are free offer limited bandwidth, annoying ads and other restrictions but ShadowSurf is an exception. It provides you security, contentment and experience, all for free. All you have to do is visit ShadowSurf and type in the URL you want to visit in the provided space. Press the Surf anonymously... button and you are all set!

The service is the very best from my experience and surely deserves a mention here. Try it and I am sure you will be impressed by its simplicity and effectiveness.

Please post your comments, queries, suggestions and feedback as comments to the post. I will be glad to assist you in any way I can.

-- Mohit

Malware is a term used to describe malicious software that is intended to cause damage or harm to a computer without the owner's knowledge or consent. It is a fusion of two words namely Malicious and Software. The average user might call it a "virus" in everyday use but Malware is much more sophisticated than that. For one, Malware packs itself in a way that is both, intelligent and terrible, than a virus. A virus usually consists of an executable that when run, executes the code in which it is written and damages various aspects of the Operating System. The virus can be stopped by deleting its executable and then undoing the damage it has done.

But Malware is more dangerous than that. Malware actually come in form of installers that install themselves like programs. The most recent forms of these threats are so advanced that they may install themselves when you are simply viewing a site! They install the malicious plug-ins through the browsers and then force the browser to download the entire program. After the download is complete, they automatically install themselves and ruin your computer. They corrupt the Operating System files and may interefere with your security programs. They might also load you with pop-ups saying that your computer is infected and that you need their program to remove the problem. Some of the names of these newer generation of infections are Platte Media, XP Antivirus 2009, WinAntivirus 2008, etc. Remember, the most common symptoms of Malware infections are, strange and undefined executions and sudden lag in performance. Unfortunately, Malware cannot be removed completely by most scanners. Instead, it takes a host of scanners, analyzers and cleaners to remove just one variant of Malware!

But the good thing is that there are people who take out the time to help others. Some experts have formed online universities where they train computer users to fight against these new hybrid forms of infestations. Such a collection of Malware fighters and teachers have formed an organization called UNITE (Unified Network of Instructors and Trained Eliminators). More information about UNITE and its members is available here.

An extensive list of Forums that provide assistance regarding removal of infections can be found here. Remember, such universities are to put computer users such as us on our guard. Please make the best of these services and support them by joining and training with them. It is a matter of pride to fight for such noble causes and is often rewarded with a simple but sincere thanks.

I am trying my best to become adept at Malware removal and I hope you will take heart too. Comments, suggestions, criticisms and feedback are always appreciated.

-- Mohit

Windows users face many errors and problems with their operating system but one of the most annoying ones is when Windows Installer runs automatically at startup and fails to install the program. The error not only wastes some precious seconds but also slows down your computer as Windows actually takes the trouble to load the installer on every boot.

The question arises; why do you get it in the first place? Usually, the error surfaces after some failed installation of software or driver but it is also reported to be caused by failed installation of updates, though the latter is very rarely observed.

That is all fine, we understand how it works and all, but how do we get rid of it? Fortunately, Microsoft has released a lesser-known utility to fix this problem. It is called the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility and can be downloaded from here. The article also provides details about its working and instructions on how to use it. Armed with that utility, you should be able to get rid of that error in a jiffy.

Note: Though, the program and its usage is simple, it is not meant to be an uninstaller of any sort. The Windows CleanUp utility will simply remove the installer entries from the startup and thus prevent the installer from running at startup. Thus, it is often advisable to use it as a last resort when nothing else is able to resolve your problem.

So, now when you will run the program, it will prevent you with an extensive list of items known to it. It will list every component that it can identify on your computer. Before you proceed with the removal of an entry, backup. In this case, a registry backup accompanied with a full data backup should suffice.

The tougher part of the job is to identify the invalid entry. For that, you will need to observe carefully, what program the Windows Installer try to install at startup. If it is something related to Microsoft Office, then you will need to remove an entry that is relevant to the same. After you have identified the offending entry, highlight it and press the Remove button and then press Exit. Restart the computer. If the error is gone, then rejoice as you have finally fixed that annoyance, if not, then you have most likely removed the wrong entry!

If you are unsure about the entry or your problem remains unresolved even after the usage of the utility, please ask the question on any of the tech forums or post them below as a comment. I will always be glad to help you in any way I can.

-- Mohit