29/06/2009 by swordfish.

Many people add to the functionality of their Internet browsers by installing various add-on toolbars. Over time, you can easily end up with multiple toolbars on your Internet browser.

This situation is likely to muddle the browser window and can sometimes even reduce your Internet browsing speed.

To reduce the clutter you will have to remove one or more of your browser toolbars, so how do you go about doing this if you use either Internet Explorer or Firefox as your primary browser? And what’s the easiest way of removing muliple toolbars from Windows XP or Vista?

To find out more please see our latest article - Web Browser Toolbar Removal Made Easy.

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Posted in PC tips, Software, XP, Vista, Web Browsers | Print | No Comments »

24/06/2009 by swordfish.

Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is one of the best and fastest ways of targeting prospective customers to your website, whether you sell a product or offer a service of some sort.

One of the most widely used PPC advertising models is Google AdWords, although Yahoo Search Marketing and MSN Adcenter are similar PPC products.

When you sign up to your preferred PPC provider you select targeted keywords or phrases that your potential customers will use when searching for your product or service.

These Pay Per Click advertisements are usually called ‘Sponsored links’ or ‘Sponsored ads’ and generally appear next to or above the natural or ‘organic’ search results.

PPC advertising is not always easy to do, especially if you have not had any previous experience.

To help with this somewhat difficult subject our latest article explains some of the key steps you need to take when setting up a Pay Per Click advertising campaign - www.qbs-pchelp.co.uk/seo_ppc.html

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Posted in Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, Technology News | Print | No Comments »

23/06/2009 by swordfish.

Across the planet, there are literally hundreds of web hosting companies so how do you choose the right one?

As with trying out any new product or service, you won’t really know how good a web hosting company is until you try it. Therefore, ask around and see whether you can get any good recommendations from those who already use a web hosting company.

Another good idea is to search the Internet for reviews of hosting companies. When you finally narrow down your list of prospective hosting companies you should consider how long each company has been in business, how reliable it is known to be, and how expensive it would be if you wanted to upgrade your plan at sometime in the future.

To find out about the key areas you need to consider when choosing a hosting company see our latest article: www.qbs-pchelp.co.uk/sitehostingtips.html.

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Posted in Website Hosting, Servers, Technology News | Print | 5 Comments »

17/06/2009 by swordfish.

Mozilla plans to issue a release candidate for Firefox 3.5 on Friday and the final version by the end of the month, Firefox director Mike Beltzner said Tuesday.

The browser, code-named Shiretoko, began its life as a modest 3.1 upgrade. But as Mozilla’s ambitions expanded and other browsers such as Google Chrome exerted competitive pressure, the new Firefox was promoted to version 3.5 and its planned ship date slid back several months.

Firefox 3.5 comes with a spate of new features - 5,000 total, according to Mozilla. Among the major ones: built-in video; local storage to enable richer Web applications that can work even with no network connection; a private browsing mode; geolocation to aid Web pages that can benefit from knowing a user’s location; and faster performance loading pages and executing Web-based JavaScript programs.

“We’ve added technology we think upgrades the Web itself,” Beltzner said.

Source: cnet news

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Posted in Mozilla, Software, Web Browsers | Print | 1 Comment »

15/06/2009 by swordfish.

The company is reportedly trialling free anti-virus software internally and said the beta version would be released “soon”.

Called Morro, the software will tackle viruses but lack the broader range of utilities, such as parental locks, found in paid-for security suites.

Morro will be Microsoft’s second venture in the highly competitive security market.

Microsoft’s first attempt revolved around the Windows Live OneCare service that did not succeed in turning many customers away from rivals such as Symantec and McAfee.

Microsoft plans to discontinue Live OneCare once the Morro software is ready.

No specific date has been given for when Morro will be released, but in the past Microsoft has said it would be out by the end of 2009 at the latest.

Microsoft said Morro would tackle viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans.

Source: BBC Technology

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Posted in Virus Attacks, Software, Microsoft, Security | Print | No Comments »

12/06/2009 by swordfish.

Reacting to antitrust concerns expressed by European regulators, Microsoft plans to offer a version of Windows 7 in Europe that has the browser removed. Computer makers would then have the option to add the browser back in, ship another browser or ship multiple browsers, according to a confidential memo that was sent to PC makers and seen by CNET News.com.

European regulators had said in January that the inclusion of a browser in Windows - something Microsoft has done for more than a decade - was a likely violation of European antitrust law. Microsoft disclosed in an SEC filing earlier this year that it believed the EU might seek to force Microsoft to distribute rival browsers or take other action.

Microsoft’s decision to offer Windows 7 in Europe without IE appears to be an effort to head off such action as well as to ensure that it can ship Windows 7 in Europe at the same time it does so elsewhere. It comes at an interesting time, though, as Microsoft faces its strongest browser competition in years, with Mozilla, Apple and Google all gaining ground.”The whole thing is pretty silly,” said Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder. “Since Microsoft first took on Netscape years ago there has never been more competition in the browser market.”

Firefox is particularly strong in Europe. According to AT Internet Institute (formerly XitiMonitor), IE had a 59.5 percent share in Europe as of November, compared with 31.1 percent for Firefox. Opera had about five percent, and Safari half of that. Microsoft lost a full five percentage points of market share from April to November 2008!

Source: ZDNet

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Posted in Windows 7, Microsoft | Print | No Comments »