Hot Buttered IT

I am really tired of the Windows versus Mac commercials. You’ve likely seen the Mac marketing machine at work “Hi, I am a PC” and “Hi, I am a Mac”. The message ultimately is use a Mac and you are different, cooler, and more sophisticated. Microsoft is trying desperately to counter Apple’s success by implementing a $300 million ad campaign. In all honestly, Vista is actually a good operating system. Yes, it is not vastly different from XP, but it still a good operating system. I have my own issues with Microsoft beyond whether Vista is good or bad.

Likewise for Apple. I don’t buy into the “I’m different” if I use a Mac, nor do I believe it’s a vastly better piece of technology. In fact, I would argue the cost of ownership is higher when using a Mac. I see people all the time buy into the Apple marketing machine, which is mildly annoying. [Read more →]

Tags: Apple, Free Stuff, Linux, Windows by simon
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FileMon is a free Microsoft utility which monitors and displays file system activity on a system.  This includes when  a file is opened, read, write or deleted. Like it’s sister utility RegMon, FileMon can be used if you suspect some Malware is residing on your computer, so you can monitor what’s occurring at your Windows based computer. And, you are doing this at very level.

For those working in an enterprise environment, it comes in handy when attempting to discover what specific files are written to during certain actions. This came in handy when I used an ADP time sheet program in which ADP insisted we provide local Administrator privileges for each user. Talk about trying to to take the easy way out. Using FileMon, I was able to determine that the time sheet program, called Etimesheet, created temp files when started. So, instead of allowing local Admin permissions for every person on our domain, I simply provided write permissions on the files and individual folders required for the program.

To see how FileMon works, watch my VIDEO.

Tags: Free Stuff, Software, Utilities, Windows by simon
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RegMon is a superb real-time Registry monitoring tool which lists what applications are accessing the Windows Registry, in addition to which keys they are accessing, and what data is being read or written to.
Why is this important? Well, for starters, if you suspect some Malware is residing on your computer, this is one way to view what’s occurring at a granular level. [Read more →]

Tags: Free Stuff, Video Tutorial, Windows by simon
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AutoRuns is a great utility which packs a powerful punch! It shows you what programs are configured to run during system boot up or login. This is a nifty way to disable those annoying programs which start automatically – chat programs being notorious after installation. By disabling unwanted or unneeded programs at startup or login, Windows will start faster, and you’ll free up some memory. [Read more →]

Tags: Free Stuff, Software, Windows by simon
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Welcome to the final video of this 11 part video tutorial series on Inkscape.  Inkscape includes the ability to import bitmap images and photographs for modification. Learn how.

VIDEO - Part 11

Tags: Free Stuff, Inkscape, Open Source, Software by simon
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