Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on May 01, 2007 by CyberNet.

I don’t think that anyone likes to hear about security-related bugs because they can get you all worked up. This new bug, however, is the very critical one found by Dino Dai Zovi at the recent Mac Hacking contest. It affects almost anyone that has QuickTime installed, on both Mac OS X and Windows, which is just about everyone with an iPod.

Secunia tracks vulnerabilities very closely, and according to them the bug affects both Firefox and Safari on Macs. Another researcher said that this also affects Windows Vista through IE7, and probably any Java-enabled browser that also has the QuickTime Java extension installed.

The bug can compromise a user’s computer by simply visiting a malicious website. The temporary work around for this is simple…disable Java. I’m sure Apple is scrambling to get an update issued for QuickTime due to the bug’s widespread and cross-platform nature, but disabling Java is the best way to keep yourself safe at this time.

Dino, the person who found the flaw, also said in an interview by MacWorld that Vista is more secure than the Mac OS X operating system:

I have found the code quality, at least in terms of security, to be much better overall in Vista than Mac OS X 10.4. It is obvious from observing affected components in security patches that Microsoft’s Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) has resulted in fewer vulnerabilities in newly-written code. I hope that more software vendors follow their lead in developing proactive software security development methodologies.

Thanks for the tip CoryC!

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This article was written on December 30, 2010 by CyberNet.

One of my favorite applications on my computer is definitely Evernote, but there are a lot of people I talk with that don’t like the complexity it has to offer. They just want something simple that they can use to jot down a phone number or other basic information. For them I typically recommend Simplenote since so many different apps have been created to sync with this free online service.

If you use Simplenote you may want to check out an equally simple desktop application called Notes that syncs with the Simplenote service. As you can see from the screenshot above there isn’t a lot of features packed into this portable program, but that’s intentional. Here are some of the features the developer points out:

• Plain text database
• On the fly note saving, no need to remember filenames or locations
• A portable app with no external DLLs or other installation hell. Copy the directory to your flash drive and take it with you
• Database export function that will save each note as a single plain text file for archiving
• A UI that is simple by default (if you press F9 you can even hide the toolbar) and keyboard driven. You can leave your mouse home.

One thing they don’t mention is that this also works great with a service such as Dropbox since it’s portable. Everything is stored in one directory (including the data file) which makes it easy to sync across multiple computers. So if you’ve been looking for a simple note taking app this is definitely a worthwhile contender.

Notes Homepage (Windows only; Freeware)

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This week the folks at Microsoft responsible for keeping Office at the head of every office’s mind have made clear their intent to move forward with signatures. In this case, … Continue reading

This article was written on December 27, 2006 by CyberNet.

Every once in a while I think about what it might be like to make the change from a Windows operating system to a Mac. If you’ve ever thought about it, or you’re just wanting a change, you can very simply make XP look like OS X. Giving you a complete Mac makeover, FlyakiteOSX is one heck of a transformation pack for XP. Even their website is impressive, giving you the look and feel of a Mac.

Installing Flyakite OS X gives you everything from the icons and cursors to the fonts and sounds. This isn’t just a skin, it’s a complete transformation pack. It replaces system files, tweaks the registry, installs 3rd part software, and makes use of skins to give it the complete look and feel. The screenshot above gives you a good idea of what your desktop will look like with this transformation.

Flyakite OS X makes use of a variety of software to make it a more realistic experience.  Below is a list of the software and a brief description, along with a link.

• ObjectDock 1.2 – Enables users to organize their programs and running tasks into a dock.
• RK Launcher 0.4 Beta – Allows users to have a visually pleasing bar at the side of the screen that is used to quickly launch shortcuts.
• Alt+Q Hotkey Tool – Simulates the features that lets you use the Apple key +Q to close a window or application
• iColorFolder 1.2 – Customize the color of your folders.
• iTunes Multi-Plugin 2.2 – Adds skinning and other features to iTunes
• SearchSpy 1.0 – Emulates Spotlight in OS X.
• Tiger System Preferences v2 –  Program designed to look like System Preferences in OS X and can be used instead of the control panel.
• WinRoll 2.0 –  Allows you to roll up a window so that just the title bar shows (Collapse Your Programs Like Google Talk).
• Y’z Shadow 1.0 – Adds a drop shadow to open windows, programs, and the task bar.

Also included are skins for popular programs like MSN messenger, Trillian, WinDVD, and WinRAR 3.x. To get the mac “theme”, it uses Window Blinds which is like a windows skinning software. In case you don’t like Flyakite OS X, uninstalling is pretty simple with no hassles by running the uninstaller. The latest version is 3.5 which can be downloaded here by clicking on the ‘FlyakiteOSX’ menu at the top and selecting ‘Download.’ When you visit the site, it will ask you for your name.  This is simply for looks, because when the website loads, your name will be up at the top.

Flyakite OS X is one of the best transformation packs that I’ve seen with the complete look and feel of a Mac.  It can automatically create a Windows Restore Point in case you need to go back to a previous state. They also offer a tutorial that will teach you about all of the features included. It’s broken down into chapters so you can easily get to what interests you most.

Flyakite OS X

Thanks for the tip Tito!

Copyright © 2014 CyberNetNews.com

This article was written on December 12, 2012 by CyberNet.

Starting in Windows 7 Microsoft introduced a new feature they called libraries. The libraries are designed to give multiple folders a single unified view that can be used to manage your media and documents. This is especially useful for anyone with files spread out across multiple hard drives and network locations because it will all appear as a single folder on your machine.

The downside to this awesome feature is that Microsoft never provided a great way for managing the libraries, but third-party developers stepped in to fill the gap. The same goes for Windows 8. An app called Librarian supports creating, updating, and removing libraries on both Windows 7 and also on Windows 8.

As you can see in the screenshot above this particular app gives you full control over how the libraries behave. One thing I really like is that it lets you choose the default location to save files, which I know is something I’ve had many people ask me about before. If you don’t use an app like this to change the default save location Windows will decide where it should put files when you do things like save files to the library. Now you’ll be able to choose where you want the files to go.

If you’re looking for a way to simplify folder management on your computer this app may be the key to doing that.

Librarian Homepage (Windows only; Freeware)

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