Top 5 Free Cloud Storage Services

Cloud Storage is an online network where users upload data to specified servers upto a certain limit, then can access this data from anywhere with an internet connection. This can be used to transfer large files, backup important data or to just share data with others. Usually, you have to create an account then you can upload or download files over a desktop client or web interface. Now, there are paid as well as free cloud storage services. The paid ones usually offer very high or unlimited storage space. Free cloud services can offer upto 25 GB or so of storage space once you sign up and refer more people. So let’s have a look at the

Top 5 Free Cloud Storage Services:

Windows Live SkyDrive
The first cloud storage service on the list is Microsoft’s Windows Live SkyDrive. It offers 7 GB storage space for new users which can be extended via purchases. SkyDrive is simple and easy to use and looks very similar to the Windows Explorer so most users won’t have trouble adapting. Uploads and downloads can be done via a web interface or a desktop client. Users that signed up for SkyDrive prior to April 22, 2012 had an option to extend their storage space to 25 GB for free. Through the web interface, the maximum file size that can be uploaded is 300 MB and the maximum file size that can be uploaded through the desktop client for Windows and Mac OS X is 2 GB. SkyDrive is accessible from iOS and Windows Phone as well and it offers Windows Live integration too.


IDrive
IDrive is another fantastic online storage and backup service. In addtion to storage services, it offers great backup services such as continuous data monitoring, scheduled backups and easy restore among other things. When you start out, you get 2 GB of storage space. You can get an additional 10 GB for a total of 12 GB by referring 5 valid new users. 12 GB of online storage space plus backup features for free makes IDrive one of the best free cloud storage services. Desktop clients are available for Windows and Mac OS X.


Ubuntu One
Ubuntu One is an online cloud storage service mainly aimed at media enthusiasts. With the free account, you will get 5 GB of storage space that can be bumped up to 20 GB for 3.99$/month or 39.99$ a year. It supports file and contact sync as well. Ubuntu One is available on Windows, Linux, Android and iOS devices as well. All your files and contacts can be accessed on mobile devices as well and it employs both web-based and client-based interfaces. If you opt for the paid plan, you will be able to stream music to mobile devices as well as listen to them offline too!


SugarSync
One of the most versatile of all free cloud services, SugarSync offers 5 GB of storage space initially that can be increased to 10 GB via referrals where each referral adds 500 MB. The best part about SugarSync is the ease of use and availability on a wide range of platforms. After uploading any kind of file, your data can be accessed through Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Android, BlackBerry or Symbian devices.


Dropbox
The most popular and easy to use free cloud storage service is Dropbox. It offers 2 GB of storage space that can be extended to 8 GB via referrals of 250 MB each. Dropbox also uses a simple drag and drop interface and is compatible with a wide range of platforms including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Symbian. It also offers extra space for uploading media such as photos and videos directly from devices like cameras, tablets etc.

LCD vs LED screens – What’s the difference?

LCD vs LED screens – What’s the difference?

If you’ve ever bought a HDTV or are looking to buy one, it’s inevitable that you’ve come across the different types available. The main types are LCD and LED, and quite often, one is cheaper than the other but they look quite similar. So what’s the actual difference between them and what should you get? For the most part LED screens are the best, but they also command a premium. Make no mistake, if you’ve got the moolah, LED is the way to go. But then again, that doesn’t mean that LCD is completely useless, so read on to find out more about the differences in our LCD vs LED feature!

LCD vs LED – The technology:

LCD stands for “liquid crystal display”. Liquid crystals are a state that’s in between liquid and solid. This unique blend of properties is used in LCD screen technology to produce images. The screen is traditionally lit by CCFL’s (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps) that produce a white light that is then filtered selectively by LCD filters which result in tiny sub pixels of solid red, green or blue. Multiple sub pixels are collectively arranged appropriately to form a pixel of which multiples form an image. The liquid crystal state polymers align themselves according to a director to form the LCD filters that then produce images. All this alignment happens when a voltage is passed through these elements, and they arrange according to the direction and intensity of current. This is how uniformity is achieved. Again, there are different types like active matrix LCD screens and passive matrix screens. Active matrix screens employ transistors and capacitors to maintain the pixel state while passive does not. Most screens are now active matrix.

LED (light emitting diode) screens are not actually much different from LCD’s, due to the fact that they’re not true LED screens, but just LED backlit LCD screens. Even though the screen is advertised as LED, it’s actually an LCD screen with LED backlight. The role of CCFL’s in traditional LCD screens is taken up by an array of LED’s instead. The color reproduction is better in this case. Again, there are different types here as well. Full array LED’s are ones in which the entire panel is lit by an array of LED’s, this type is generally more expensive and harder to find. Edge-lit LED’s are the most common technology used and in it, the array of LED’s are arranged only on the edges for illumination. There’s also a feature called local dimming. Screens that use it have the ability to dim or brighten only certain areas of the screen which allows for much more diversity. There are local dimming versions of both full array and edge lite LED screens. However, most of this applies to large TV screens where different techniques produce a difference that can be actually gauged.

LCD vs LED – Advantages and disadvantages:

Most of the advantages that LCD screens had, were one-upped by LED screens. It improved on some of the problems Plasma screens had and got rid of problems like high power consumption, burnt in images and of course improved on image quality. However, since it’s a completely different technology, Plasma screens still have the slight edge in terms of contrast ratio and black levels. LED backlit LCD screens meanwhile do pretty much everything better, here are the advantages:

• Low power consumption
• Allows for extremely thin screens
• High brightness output
• Wide color gamut output
• Greater dynamic contrast
• Faster response times

But then, LED screens tend to be more expensive, and if you buy a really cheap LED screen that’s edge lit, you’re sure to notice uneven blacks, whites and general non-uniformity. Also, they are less resistant to voltage fluctuations and tend to operate optimally in a lower range of temperatures. In general though, because of constant improvements, LED screens are considered the best.

LCD vs LED – 3D content:

Plasma screens trump both LCD and LED screens due to their extremely high refresh rate of around 600 Hz. Most LCD and LED screens are capable of 120 Hz while the higher end ones go upto 240 Hz. Due to this, Plasma screens tend to have less image trailing. However, due to the overall advantage of picture quality of LED screens, the 3D is almost as good. Quite a lot depends on the image engine, and even though LCD and LED screens can display 3D content only upto 900P or so instead of full 1080P, there’s not much you can notice. But make sure to actually test out the 3D to see if it suits your tastes. Most screens allow for adjustment of 3D depth too.

Active and passive 3D technologies are also factors to consider. While passive 3D technology uses simple polarized glasses that are inexpensive, active 3D technology uses battery powered glasses that sync images to each eye individually. Active 3D technology has better image quality than passive, but in the end it’s not much to write home about since 3D hasn’t been perfected for home cinema as of yet.

LCD vs LED – Final words:

Bottom line is, LED screens get almost everything right. They’re thin, consume very less power and have great picture quality. But that doesn’t mean that LCD screens are bad in any way. Prices have dropped as well, and you should be able to find LED screens that are quite close to LCD ones. But if you’re on a really strict budget, you won’t regret buying an LCD either. For example, you might actually get a top end LCD TV for the price of a mid range LED TV and that’s a good deal on the whole. Finally, everything actually depends on what you like. Before choosing one, make sure to look at the screens side by side, decisions can’t be made without actually seeing for yourself. Do let us know if you have any queries and let us know what you think of the feature on LCD vs LED!

Memory card corrupted? – Easy fixes and solutions

Memory card corrupted? Don’t panic just yet! Often, while transferring data if the memory card is taken out or if the power is shut off, it tends to get corrupted and unusable. We’re going to tell you how to fix corrupted memory cards, using a few common solutions that could solve your problem. But keep in mind that completely destroyed or physically damaged memory cards cannot be fixed easily, neither can data recovery be done from them other than using professional data recovery solutions which can be really expensive. For situations where the memory card is not recognized or cannot be used due to incorrect formatting, here’s what you need to do!

Memory Card Corrupted - The Problems

Problem 1 – Memory card can be read but not accessed

When you take out a memory card during data transfer, the file structure can get scrambled and ultimately, your device or PC might not be able to read any data from it. However, the actual data is still present in it. This memory card corrupted can be fixed by the doing the following:

• Step 1 – Plug in the memory card via an adapter, card reader or any way you can to your computer.
• Step 2 – Check if the memory card shows up in File Explorer, it most probably won’t be accessible but will have the right file system and everything. Note the drive letter path.
• Step 3 – Open command prompt, preferably as Administrator and typed “chkdsk x: /r” without the quotes. Here, X is the drive letter of your memory card.
• Step 4 – Let the process complete. If it asks to “convert lost chains to files”, type “y” for yes.

If only the file structure was damaged but not the files themselves, you will be able to get back all your files and use the memory card like normal again. Yep, the usually annoying CheckDisk tool can fix one memory card corrupted problem!

Problem 2 – Memory card shows invalid file system (RAW)

A corrupted memory card can also lose its file system and cannot be used because it’s not in a file system that Windows recognizes. The simplest solution for this memory card corrupted problem is a format. Here’s how you go about it:

• Step 1 – Connect your memory card to PC via adapter/card reader.
• Step 2 – Locate the removable storage media in file explorer, right click it and click “Format”.
• Step 3 – Set the file system to “FAT”, not FAT32, NTFS, exFAT or anything else as most portable devices are compatible only with the FAT file system. Leave the allocation unit size as it is and uncheck “Quick format”.
• Step 4 – Click format, let it finish and your memory card should be good as new!

Of course, formatting a memory card erases all data so make sure that you have a backup or you have recovered the data.

Problem 3 – Memory card cannot be read by PC

Even a problem like this one can be fixed quite easily by simply downloading updated drivers from your PC manufacturer. Always make sure you have the latest drivers and updates and if you’re running an assembled PC, grab the latest motherboard drivers.
There could be another problem as well. Newer cards are SDHC (high capacity) and are not readable on regular SD card readers. Make sure to get a SDHC card reader and updated drivers for it installed in your PC if you want to access the memory card on your PC. It’s the same case with the really high capacity SDXC (Extra capacity) cards.
If none of these are the cases, and even after the obligatory plugging in all ports doesn’t work, then do the following:

• Step 1 – Insert the memory card into the card reader/adapter and plug it in to your PC.
• Step 2 – Go to Device Manager via Control Panel and look for any devices that show up with a yellow exclamation mark (!).
• Step 3 (a) – Right click the faulty device and try to automatically update drivers. If you are unable to, uninstall it, remove your device and restart computer. Alternatively, you could also right click and click “Scan for hardware changes” once it’s uninstalled.
• Step 3 (b) – If your device still doesn’t show up, go to the “View” tab and click “Show hidden devices”. Now you might be able to see more faulty or greyed out devices. Right click, uninstall them and restart your computer with the device unplugged.
• Step 4 – Once it’s booted up, plug it in again and it should be recognized.

Oh also, make sure that the little lock on the side of your memory card is not engaged.
The above steps will most probably get your memory card fixed, unless it’s completely damaged. Finally, if nothing works, the only solution is to buy a new memory card. Although, it would be a good idea to try and recover your data using a tool like Recuva. Leave us a comment and lets us know if you have any queries about fixing your corrupted memory card.

Less Friends in Facebook? – Protect Your Facebook Account from Ban

If you don’t have enough friends on Facebook, you might surely lose your Facebook account. Its now time to protect your Facebook account from ban. This epic decision was taken the social networking giant Facebook itself. Recently a day before, Facebook mentioned their huge effort to weed out fake profiles. Facebook now will prevent misuse of such identities, who create a fake pages to get someones attention. Facebook India Business Manager Mr. Pavan Varma said that Facebook will ask any user to identify themselves when they doubt the ownership of an account.





This doubt about the authenticity of a Facebook account, will  rise if any account has generic name instead of a proper name. People cannot use images of celebrities/cartoon characters as display pictures. Even if people who have very less friends are asked to prove their original identity. Facebook might ask any user to prove their identity with a proper authentication. The message might be some what like this, 
“Could you help us identify yourself if you don’t have enough friends, because we don’t want fake identities,”

Protect Your Facebook Account from Ban: 

So to protect your Facebook account from ban, you have to keep few things in mind.
1) Don’t use a universal name or a popular name in your profile name. Just use your real name in your Facebook account.
2) Maintain more friends in Facebook. Because less friends might block you from Facebook, considering you as a fake account.
3) Don’t use a celebrity or a cartoon picture as you Facebook display (profile) picture.
4) Don’t support Spam, Bots or any kind of programmable files in your profile.
 
Facebook India said they are not worried to protect their brand name, but infact they are worried about the experience which they deliver. Recently, there were a lot of reports regarding the fake accounts being created by computer programs. These computer programmed Facebook accounts are used for inflating certain number of likes on Facebook pages for branding.
Facebook has announced saying, We will take out even the fake likes generated by spammers, malware and black marketers. Pavan Varma said, “How does and advertiser today is treating a Facebook page? It is treated as a place where they just come with a number of people who are seen there. This is not the correct way of doing it” . He said, stressing that the conversations around a brand should assume importance, rather than the number of fans seen there. Mere Likes on a page will not help a brand to grow online. Usually companies pay Facebook for a dedicated page on its platform. This will allow Facebook to connect them to a target audience.

I hope everyone will keep their Facebook profiles safe and secure. You never knew when Facebook might delete your account all of the sudden. So do check the guidelines we gave above, and keep your Facebook profile updated with correct info. Doing this will surely keep your account safe and long going. If you want to protect your Facebook account from ban, feel free to share with us.

Best Antivirus 2013 for Windows 8 – Top 5

It’s that time of the year, almost all companies have released the 2013 editions of security software and the race for best antivirus 2013 is on! With Windows 8 looming on the horizon, companies have been working overtime to make their software work with Microsoft’s new OS. If you observe, a lot of the products have had a complete makeover to keep in line with Microsoft’s new modern interface as well. Most of the older 2012 editions don’t work with Windows 8, and it’s pretty much mandatory to get a new 2013 edition of security software for people who buy new PC’s or decide to upgrade to Windows 8. So without further ado, here’s our best antivirus 2013 for Windows 8!

The 5 best antivirus 2013 for Windows 8:

AVG Anti-Virus 2013
Long time AVG users will see that there’s a big change in the 2013 edition of AVG Anti-Virus. With a new Metro based look, AVG remains a great solution at blocking malware and has a pretty good firewall as well. Heuristics suffers a bit though, and it lets some malware go unnoticed. The other downside is that AVG Anti-Virus 2013 is difficult to install and run on already malware infested computers, it’s better at keeping threats at bay than actually fighting them. Malware cleanup is also good, on par with BitDefender. If you’re an AVG fan and are mostly looking at keeping the nasties away, AVG Anti-Virus 2013 is a good choice. The interface of AVG’s free and paid antivirus is the same.



Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
The Russian giant hasn’t changed much from the 2012 edition visually, but Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013 remains attractive and has a few new tricks up it’s sleeve. With excellent malware detection and cleanup rates, Kaspersky makes a bold statement for the best antivirus 2013 for Windows 8. The Kaspersky Network constantly updates the program about threats, so you can rest easy knowing that even the newest threats will be accounted for. Installation is easy even on infected systems and the anti-phishing works well too. The ability to block programs from exploiting a vulnerability and fix common problems like a disabled task manager, registry editor etc. due to malware is great. But Kaspersky can be a bit too intrusive with some files and deleted them without asking. Furthermore, scans are rather long and most disinfection procedures will require a restart which will be done without asking, so better not do any work during that time. Overall great protection, but slightly heavy on the resources.



BitDefender Antivirus Plus 2013
BitDefender products continue to be excellent at malware detection and removal but have started becoming bloated of late. Amongst the five best antivirus 2013 for Windows 8 listed here, it’s the heaviest on resources, weighing in at almost 850 MB! Nevertheless, it provides great protection and the Rescue Mode is a fantastic addition which lets you boot into an alternate OS and perform a cleanup. Speaking of which, cleanup is thorough but takes quite a long time and it can cause problems with missing Windows files and such. It still remains a bit too intrusive and often flags safe programs and services as malicious. The bonus features are good, the vulnerability checker looks for any weak passwords, browser and program vulneratbilities and offers fixes. Anti-phishing works well too. If you’re okay with a slightly heavy but feature rich program protecting you, BitDefender Antivirus 2013 is for you!



Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus 2013
Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus 2013 isn’t as well known as the other names here, but it has the distinction of being a really unique product. What’s so great you ask? How less resources it consumes and yet how much protection it offers. The installer clocks in at less than 3 MB and the total space used is around 15 MB! It still doesn’t skimp on the protection though, malware detection and cleanup are still top notch. It uses a unique system in which most of the files are stored on a remote server and thus there’s hardly anything actually on your computer. Scans are blazingly fast, and even complete hard drive scans which take 40 minutes on other programs are done in under a minute. While it omits some features like anti-phishing and parental control, we can’t really complain due to the tiny size it and protection it offers. Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus 2013 does a great job of the core protection but doesn’t have many bonus features. So if you have an old computer bogged down by resource intensive programs, and just for the new technology it uses, we can’t recommend Webroot’s offering more.



Norton AntiVirus 2013
Norton has been facing a lot of flak over bloated and non performing software, but since 2011 editions it has really improved. The 2013 edition is a complete refresh and now features will be rolled out any time during the year instead of just with new editions. The interface has been changed keeping the Metro UI in mind. Norton AntiVirus 2013 installs easily on malware infested systems and even comes with a bootable utility to fix particularly troublesome malware. With almost 100% detection and removal rates of all kinds of malware including trojans, rootkits and excellent behavorial analysis, Norton rarely flags safe programs as suspicious. Blocking rates are very slightly behind competitors like Kaspersky and BitDefender, but the vulnerability detector built in is really very strong. The Norton toolbar also comes with Identity Safe which provides anti-phising features and keeps passwords safe. Norton AntiVirus 2013 is amongst the best antivirus 2013 for Windows 8, and offers great protection from threats old and new without being a resource hog. The only downsides are slow scan times and slightly less malware removal abilities compared to the top competitors. Overall, Norton AntiVirus 2013 is great security software that you can trust!


So there you have it, our list of the 5 best antivirus 2013 for Windows 8! Do drop us a line telling us what you think or feel free to ask any questions.

Best universal IM clients – Top 3 for Windows

 

Almost every person on the internet uses some or the other instant messaging protocol. But since pretty much every email service has its own IM service and everyone uses different ones, it can get difficult to stay in touch with everyone. Installing different clients for Google Talk, Windows Live, Yahoo! and so many more can get really annoying. Nobody wants their PC cluttered up with a hundred different IM clients but still wants to stay in touch with all their contacts. The best way to do this is get a universal IM client. These nifty little programs connect to all communication protocols at once and let you simultaneously talk with anyone over any network. So check out the 3 best universal IM clients, there’s mobiles versions as well and they’re free!

The 3 best universal IM clients:

Pidgin




Pidgin is the oldest and most customizable amongst the best universal IM clients listed here. Although it doesn’t support all social networks like the other two listed here, purely as an IM client, Pidgin is fantastic. It’s light, open source and has a simple interface. Pidgin’s strength lies in its ability to be customized. The many plugins available can boost the already formidable list of supported messaging protocols and there’s language packs for a ton of local languages. Also, there’s no need to make a separate account. The downsides, however are that it lacks video conferencing for Windows and is not available for mobiles. Supported protocols are Google Talk, AIM, IRC, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ, Novell GroupWise Messenger, Lotus Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE, MXit, MySpaceIM, and Zephyr.
Download Pidgin


Digsby



The interestingly named Digsby is cements its place as one of the best universal IM clients with a host of features sure to please most. Multi-protocol messaging aside, it also supports social network updates from Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn in real-time and email syncing from Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail, GMail and other IMAP/POP based accounts. You can also rename aliases so you don’t have to wonder who that cryptically named friend is, and all communications from a single person can be grouped together to avoid confusion and duplicate contacts. Furthermore, there’s SMS and video conferencing support included! Everything’s not great though, Digsby comes bundled with a lot of unnecessary software, so make sure to uncheck those options while installing. There’s also no mobile version and you have to create a separate Digsby account. Also, you will notice that there’s ads in messaging windows.
Download Digsby


Trillian

 

Trillian is the most full featured client and is our pick for the top spot in the best universal IM clients. Combining a simple, easy to use interface with a myriad of options, Trillian is your one stop shop for communications. Named after a character in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Trillian features multi-protocol messaging, email syncing and social networking in one handy client. You can setup your account to update all social networks at the same time, group multiple protocol using contacts into a single contact, video conference, share files and much more! A separate Trillian account is necessary, but it will be used to sign into all versions, which include Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Linux and there’s also a web based version. Some premium features are available on a trial basis and there’s a few issues with email syncing, but otherwise Trillian is the client of choice for us.
Download Trillian


Drop us a comment and let us know what you thought of our list of the best universal IM clients! Is there any other client you think deserves a mention?