'Windows On Speed': A comprehensive guide on speeding up your OS

MakeUseOf has just published yet another excellent guide, this time on the topic of keeping your Windows installation lean, mean and fighting fit. It's available as a free download (PDF), or online (Scribd).

The guide is impressively comprehensive -- it covers everything from partitioning your hard drive to installing more RAM -- but some Download Squad readers will probably find it a bit too simplistic. Having said that, it managed to teach us a couple of new things about Windows 7, so it can't be that simple.

We should also note that the guide offers a few bits of advice that we don't agree with: 20GB really isn't enough for a Windows 7 partition; something like 40GB would be more sensible -- with 1TB drives costing just a fistful of dollars, it's much better to overestimate your OS's requirements. The guide also suggests moving My Documents to a separate partition -- which is fine enough -- but it then goes on to suggest moving "all folders within your user profile" to a separate partition, which can cause issues with applying patches, service packs, and updating installed software.

In conclusion, the guide is a great resource but we're simply not sure of its target audience. It may be a bit overly-technical to send to your friends and family, and most geeks will already have their own preferred methods for keeping a Windows installation running smoothly.

Download Windows On Speed by MakeUseOf (PDF)

'Windows On Speed': A comprehensive guide on speeding up your OS originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/17/windows-on-speed-a-comprehensive-guide-on-speeding-up-your-os/

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This Amazing Sculpture of Muhammad Ali Was Made with Punching Bags [Art]

This sculpture of The Greatest was made with 1,300 punching bags. Each speed bag was treated as a pixel and when put all together, formed the face, and classic snarl, of Muhammad Ali. The rest of the 22-foot high installation uses 6.5 miles of stainless steel cable, 2,500 pounds of aluminum piping and took three years to complete. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/pSZ99-Z5Upk/

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Mac OS X Lion features multi-user remoting, offers inexpensive Windows Server alternative

Right down at the bottom of the Mac OS X Lion page on the Apple website is a tidbit that we should probably pay more attention to: OS X Lion will come with Lion Server built-in. It will be included on the same disc -- it will come pre-installed with every Mac that Apple sells. You will get all of the juicy Server features for free.

Now, this isn't to say that Lion Server has an overwhelming feature set, but it's more than enough to run a home or small business network -- and when you compare it to the cost of a preconfigured Windows Home Server box or Small Business Server 2008, which can be hundreds of dollars, it becomes a very good deal indeed.

If we haven't sold you yet, check out a feature that 9to5 Mac has just discovered in Lion Server: multi-user remoting. Multi-user remoting means that someone can be sitting at a Mac with OS X Lion installed, and someone else can log in remotely without interrupting the current user. If you prefer Windows terminology, it's like running concurrent RDP sessions.

9to5 Mac goes on to mention that if you have MobileMe and combine it with Back to my Mac you should be able to have concurrent users logging in from all over the world. There might be some potential tie-ins with future versions of iOS, too!

Mac OS X Lion features multi-user remoting, offers inexpensive Windows Server alternative originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/27/mac-os-x-lion-includes-multi-user-remoting-viable-low-cost-wind/

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LastPass XSS vulnerability found, website and browser add-ons affected (updated)

Mike Cardwell, the Stallmanite who recently discovered a fantastically covert way of working out which Web services you're currently logged in to, has found a nasty XSS vulnerability in the LastPass password manager. The cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability not only allows nefarious types to see which sites you've recently logged in to, but it also provides access your email address and password reminder.

First off: don't worry. Cardwell reported the vulnerability to LastPass before writing it up, and it has since been fixed. We're not sure if the fix has propagated out to the Chrome and Firefox add-ons -- but we have to assume that Cardwell wouldn't have written his blog post if the vulnerability still existed.

With that said, you should still be more than a little concerned about the fundamental architecture of LastPass as an in-the-cloud password manager. While this cross-site scripting attack was fixed quickly, Cardwell thinks a similar attack "could easily happen again in future."

Beyond being susceptible to XSS attacks, LastPass doesn't even use HSTS, which means that man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks are also rather easy to pull off.

It's very hard for us to recommend LastPass as a password manager when further vulnerabilities will almost certainly be found. For the time being, you should check out KeePass, an offline password manager that, for now, is a lot more secure than LastPass.

Update: LastPass has now implemented HSTS and a few other features to make their website and browser add-ons a lot harder to attack in the future. Hooray!

[Thanks to Brad for the tip!]

LastPass XSS vulnerability found, website and browser add-ons affected (updated) originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/27/lastpass-xss-vulnerability-found-website-and-browser-add-ons-af/

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Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100 Portable Color Scanner Review

The ScanSnap Color Scanner from Fujitsu is one of those products that surprised me when I first used it. It surprised me because it works so well. The scanning was surprisingly fast and the scanned images were a perfect copy.� I had to stop myself from scanning any picture and document I could get my [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/02/23/fujitsu-scansnap-s1100-portable-color-scanner-review/

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Norwegian airplane drifting is awesome, unintentional [Video]

A pilot for Scandinavian Airlines found a slippery surface upon landing in Sweden Norway, causing him to unintentionally drift the plane. At least, "unintentionally" is the story he's telling. Gymkhana with a plane, anyone? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/bJth2x8ESdo/swedish-airplane-drifting-is-awesome-unintentional

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The Story of the Lonely Whale Will Break Your Heart [Video]

Once upon a time, there was a whale called June. Or maybe her name is Margaret. Or Kate. We don't really know. A few nitrogen-hearted scientists call her 52 Hertz just because she sings at a 51.75Hz frequency, but I will call her Alice. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/WNRO67sU9o4/the-story-of-the-lonely-whale-will-break-your-heart

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