Microsoft isn’t known for giving away its products, but if you know where to look you can find a handful of pretty cool, free applications. During this episode of TR Dojo, I’ll show you five free Microsoft programs that can be useful and fun, such as:

1. Paint.NET
2. Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition
3. WorldWide Telescope
4. SyncToy
5. ServerQuest II

This last step may seem like an unnecessary added expense to some, but in this age of viruses, worms, and other nasty Internet infections, a router standing between you and the outside world coming at you at broadband speeds offers another significant layer of protection. Connecting a PC directly to the Internet means that PC gets its own IP address, which means it can be seen by every sleazebag with malicious intent. By adding a router to your broadband setup, the router gets the visible IP address and gives your new PC an internal address. In addition, routers have hardware firewalls and other features that help block the bad guys before they get to your new PC.

This is especially helpful because the first thing you should do when you do actually connect to the Internet is head directly for Windows Update. This is the most important tip in this guide—the only place you should be heading on the Web when you first connect your PC to the Internet is the Windows Update page. You will not have time to check movie times or football scores. The 12 minute countdown to possible infection starts as soon as connect.

xcopy is useful program that is included with Windows. Some of the things it can do include: copy directories recursively, copy just the folder structure, copy files changed on or after a given date, exclude files, only copy files that already exist in the destination, overwrite read only files, etc.

Now that you have performed the first eight steps you should take a moment to establish a system restore point. To manually create a Restore Point, you launch the System Restore utility by clicking Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | System Restore and then follow the steps in the wizard. This step will establish a fall back point if something happens to go haywire later.

Microsoft has been doing a better job of this with the release of SP2, but there are still numerous unnecessary Windows services and processes running by default on most PCs. If you'd like to see how many there are just perform the three finger salute (CTRL-ALT-Delete) click Task Manager and then the Processes tab. All of those applications, services, processes, etc. are operating in the background on your PC. The problem is that many can actually open access to your PC to the outside world without your knowledge or active consent. That access is usually justified for what the process is supposed to be doing, it is just that many times your PC doesn't need that process at all—Web servers, network messengers, debuggers—are all processes you probably don't need on your personal PC. (Check out this TechRepublic download for an in-depth examination of these services and for some suggestions for which can be deactivated.)

This is almost as equally important as password protecting your administrator account. For general day-to-day activities, you do not want to be using your admin account. Instead, you should be using a user account that is also password protected (a password that is different than the one you are using for the admin account, please). This adds another layer of protection for your new PC because a user account does not have the same all-access permissions as an admin account. In some cases, malicious software will be thwarted by this level of permissions restriction alone.

Before you connect to the Internet it is a good idea to install your other peripherals to your new PC. Performing this step means that when you do connect to the Windows update page, it will see your devices and make suggestions for new Microsoft-tested (WHQL) drivers if they are available.

Windows XP SP2 comes with a modest but still useful software firewall. Before you start surfing the Internet you should turn it on—or you can install an alternative third-party software firewall like Zone Alarm. Any alternative firewalls should have been included on the startup CD-ROM you made in Step 1.

Before you connect to the Internet it is a good idea to install your other peripherals to your new PC. Performing this step means that when you do connect to the Windows update page, it will see your devices and make suggestions for new Microsoft-tested (WHQL) drivers if they are available.

Install the antivirus software that you burned onto a CD-ROM in step 1. The assumption is that any PC purchased after this document is published will have Windows XP SP2 installed, but if SP2 is not installed, you could have that update ready on your disk too. In fact, if you know how, you could have some of the more important Windows patches and updates on your disk also. This would be a good time to install anti-spyware software too.

After going through the initial setup process where Windows identifies devices you may be asked to register and/or activate your copy of the Windows operating system—hold off on that for now, you can always do that later. This first thing to do is to clean up the mess that shipped in your PC. You should remove all of the promotional and trial software that you do not intend to use from your new PC. This is usually the first thing I do, because invariably one of those apps will ask if I want to activate it or register it—a process that usually involves accessing the Internet. (Some times they don't ask—they just assume I want them on my pristine PC). At this point you should have no connection to the Internet at all, wireless or not.

The applications to be deleted are usually ISPs advertisements like AOL and Earthlink, an antivirus app from a competitor of your current application (something you should already have ready on your CD-ROM), trial versions of Money or Quickbooks, etc. If you are not going to use these, go to the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel and remove them completely.

Ideal for quick design work, Project Cooper sketching software enables you to draw accurate, detailed plans and layouts to scale using simple 2D drawing tools, predrawn symbols, and sample drawings. Because the software produces files in one of the most widely used design formats, it’s easy to share your drawings with clients, architects, and other project partners.

Please contact the sales department for more information.

email: sales@cabs-cad.com

Ideal for quick design work, Project Cooper sketching software enables you to draw accurate, detailed plans and layouts to scale using simple 2D drawing tools, predrawn symbols, and sample drawings. Because the software produces files in one of the most widely used design formats, it’s easy to share your drawings with clients, architects, and other project partners.

It is only natural, when you get a brand new PC, especially one with broadband capabilities built-in, you want to connect to the Internet and see it action. For many, the browser and the World Wide Web are the "killer-apps" of the modern PC—the Internet is what you have a PC for, everything else is just extra fluff.

However, connecting to the Internet with a new unprotected and unpatched PC is practically inviting the nefarious and malicious to infect your PC. According to research published by Sophos in July 2005, there is about a 50 percent chance that an unpatched PC will be infected with malicious software within 12 minutes of connecting to the Internet. Once infected, it is almost impossible to get a PC clean again without completely re-installing the operating system.

Tip 1/10 - Check back for the rest of the useful tips

1. Make a starter CD-ROM

Before you disconnect your old computer, take a few minutes to burn a starter CD-ROM that contains the latest version of your favorite anti-virus software. I prefer to keep this simple and inexpensive by using AVG from Grisoft, but if you like Norton or McAfee those will work just as well.

To save time later, you should put other security applications on this disk like Spybot Search & Destroy, AdAware, etc. It would also be a good idea to include any updated drivers you might need—drivers for your video card for example. Just like Windows, your video card drivers are likely to be a little old also. You should also put drivers on this disk for peripherals that you will be connecting to your new PC, like cameras, scanners, printers, and game interface devices. Having all of these device drivers residing on a single CD-ROM means you will not have to go to the Internet to retrieve them as you set up your new PC.

Are you thinking about installing Windows 7?

Please contact our support department to discuss the compatability of your existing hardware and software to ensure that the changeover is as smoothe as possible.

We have now expanded the support options available to all of our customers that will try to cater for their individual needs. Please find below a table that shows how a different level of support may suit your individual requirements.

The Software Support Agreement provided by Computer Aided Business Systems Limited satisfies the operator's demand for comprehensive technical support on your software programs using telephone, email and remote assistance to resolve any issues or queries that you have efficiently and effectively.

A software support contract is essential to ensure full utilisation of your computer system, thereby guaranteeing minimal interruptions to the working day. With a Support Contract you will gain direct access our support team who are available to answer your queries. All incoming fault calls are logged and a solution will be provided, or, if necessary, an appointment made to come on-site to help resolve the problem.

All queries are managed to conclusion and an annual report will be provided regarding the number and type of requests that have been made.

While there is so much debate about the introduction of the Ribbon interface in the 2010 versions of the Autodesk applications, I thought that I'd highlight the fact that there is a useful new item in each of the 'Help' menus that should ease the transitional headache somewhat.



It is titled simply, 'Where is my command?' and is available in each of the AutoCAD and Revit platform-based solutions.

This actually lets you navigate to the required function in the help navigation bar using the same route that you would have taken in the old user interface. In the list you will see the menu and Design Bar headings from the previous versions and when you select these you will receive a handy reference to where these are now located.



Although I don't use this a lot now, as I've persevered to adapt to the new interface and am now getting used to it; I must admit that I found it a great help on a number of occasions when I just couldn't find some of the less commonly used tools (especially those on the Ribbon flyouts that you can't see). It will certainly come in handy for those of you who are making the transition and want to avoid a lot of unnecessary exploration!

Although this is the first attempt at changing the Revit interface since it's inception, I for one am fairly happy with this effort; and although there are some notable frustrations with certain aspects of the way it works, I'd safely say that the benefits easily outweigh the annoyances. I know that there has been a lot of debate over the lack of a 'classic' mode but I have to say that I am somewhat relieved that this has been left alone and that they can concentrate on developing a single interface that can meet the demands of both existing and new users effectively.

With the AutoCAD solutions, most of the old methods are still available but I would recommend that the Ribbon be used wherever possible as there are a number of benefits to be had.