Windows Tools, Help & Guides

Windows Guides’ Rating	User Rating	Compatible with	System
4 out of 5	(7 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

PROS: This free tool helps you identify “cold” spots in your home/office. Easy to use and does not require a location-aware PC setup.CONS: You have to sign up with your email address to get to the download but you can unsubscribe any time. You’ll need to use a laptop to take readings throughout your home. VERDICT: If you’re a geek and you want a map of wi-fi signal strength in your home, this application will do exactly that. PRICE: Free VERSION REVIEWED: 1.1.2 DOWNLOAD: HeatMapper

HeatMapper Installation

To download HeatMapper, go here, enter an email address (that works), and open your email to download HeatMapper:

Double click the installer and follow the instructions:

When prompted, click Install:

HeatMapper Features

When you start HeatMapper, you’ll be asked if you have a map. I got a map from the survey of our home that we had done prior to purchase. If you don’t have access to a map, I recommend you make one (it doesn’t have to be completely accurate) so you know where to click when you walk around your home.

Here’s the map I used for my first level. It’s very simple and something that you can create in Paint in a  minute or two:

Once you’ve loaded your map, you’ll be asked to walk around your home and to click the map in your current location. This will draw the path you take and record the signal at each checkpoint. Here’s my first level (click to enlarge):

Here’s my second level (good coverage):

Once you’ve completed your walk around the home, you’ll have a map of the signal strength throughout your home (plus a list of all dominant hotspots in your home.)

Download HeatMapper

Download HeatMapper

Note: You’ll need to enter a valid email address and can unsubscribe after you receive the first email.

These days with the Internet being all around us, using a secure browser is essential. We all have that one browser we love to use, and often in disregard to its security or lack there of.

The lack of security may lay in an outdated browser version, but also in the plugins, add ons and what not installed. The over eager use of plugins (as done in MSIE and Firefox) is why I personally dread most browsers. Mostly because these plugins tend to clutter my “browsing space” but also due to the lack of security.

How do you know how safe your browser experience really is ?

The short answer is: BrowserCheck By Qualys

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Windows Guides’ Rating	User Rating	Compatible with	System
5 out of 5	(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)

PROS: Easy installation, in-browser, free, open-source, cross-platform, detailed history reports, built-in RSS feed, transfer calculator, plug-ins. CONS: None VERDICT:  BitMeter OS from Codebox Software is an exceptional way to keep tabs on your bandwidth consumption. Its built in tools which allow you to query the data it collects, send alerts if you reach a certain amount of data, calculate a transfer and build an hourly or daily RSS report (and more) coupled with a sophisticated web interface are a god-send to anyone who requires to keep an eye on their bandwidth. PRICE: Free VERSION REVIEWED: v0.7.2

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One of the first things to do on a machine running IE 8 is turn off the Suggested Sites feature.
This feature looks at the sites you visit and then attempts to guess what other sites you might like and suggest them to you.
Awe, the thought is nice, but … no thanks.

Here’s how to turn it off

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Microsoft Research have released an Internet Explorer Add-On that lets you play “Spot the difference” with websites.

Diff-IE is a prototype Internet Explorer Add-on that:

• Highlights the changes to a page since the last time you visited it
• Allows you to view – and compare – previously cached versions of a page

When changes are made obvious, especially the subtle and unexpected ones, you get a whole lot more out of the web pages you visit.

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I’ve stopped buying music.

Now hold on, before you jump to any wrong conclusions – I don’t illegally download it either. I rent it … sort of.

These day it seems, the music industry are doing what they can to make it harder for honest people to get the music they want (and according to some, encouraging them to “steal”). Some smart people have come up with a great solution: Legal Streaming. Almost with the industry’s blessing.

There are several online solutions for streaming music legally – but in my book there are only two worth checking out: Spotify and Grooveshark. Both of which give you all the music you can ever listen too, free (ad-supported) and legal. Both also provides a paid service without ads and commercial breaks.

Mini Review.

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