Public tracker users often need to have their guard up when browsing through the vast selection of similar torrents at Mininova, TPB and others. Some torrents are password-protected; others contain malicious viruses, and there’s even fake torrents to lure in unsuspecting torrenters. Even a new torrent that contains an impressive seed-peer list may look ripe for the taking, but even these offer no security. Finally, for the first time ever, there’s a public tracker that actually checks & verifies their torrents before offering them for download. Introducing Vertor.com, a revolutionary next-gen BitTorrent site where every available torrent is checked for downloadability, viruses, DRM and passwords.

Everything Gets Downloaded — VerTor.com checks each and every torrent file, and tests them for "100% completion" ability. Stuck torrents or torrents that don’t connect or complete are not added their database of indexed torrents. Also, everything that contains archived files (i.e. RAR or ZIP) is extracted, scanned for passwords and viruses - and a filelist is created.

Screenshots of Video Torrents — Video/movie torrents are also extracted, tested and screenshots are made (from various points of runtime). While this isn’t a definitive solution to detect bad encodes or unsynced audio/video; however, DRM media screenshots will turn up blank.

Audio Samples — Audio, MP3 torrents are also tested, and a 20 second clip of sampled tracks are available for preview. Handy for checking music files for high bitrates before downloading them.

Text Files / NFO Files — By default, text descriptions and NFO files are included with each torrent. NFOs can be viewed without the need to download the torrent. Look for the "Read More…" link at the bottom right.

Torrent Uploading — Simple, just register with Vertor and start uploading! Be advised that there is currently a 2GB size limitation imposed on uploaded torrents, since anything larger cannot be scanned and properly indexed.

Check Torrents by Hash — We like this! Got some old torrents lying around, or torrents from other sites, such as Fenopy.com? You can hash check them to see if they’re listed in the database. If so, it’s a good torrent!

HTTP Downloading Through BitLet — If preferred, users can download torrents via HTTP through BitLet. Useful for computers that are torrent-blocked, or can’t install a BT client.

Currently, Vertor is about 90% completed, and still in beta. Some of the features may not work correctly for another week, we’ve been told. Definitely worth bookmarking! There’s already a very impressive list of 140,000 verified torrents, many of which are found at Mininova and ThePirateBay; with the exception that at Vertor, they’re certifiably clean.

Vista Services Optimizer is a free Windows Vista software program for computers running the Microsoft operating system. It can be used to diagnose and tune the Services configuration of the system to eliminate problems and increase overall system performance. Services Diagnostics is probably the first option that should be run after installation and start of Vista Services Optimizer. The user has check or uncheck several information about his computer system, among them if he is using a printer, a scanner, digital camera or if the computer is connected to a network or Internet connection. The eight choices will aid the diagnostic tool in determining if the current settings of the computer system can be optimized.

The test won’t take longer than a few seconds and a page with results will be displayed in the end. The services optimizer will display its findings and suggest possible fixes for problems that have been found. The diagnostic results can be saved and exported to various formats and there are also links to the automatic and manual TuneUp parts of the software.

Similar questions have to be answered before starting the automatic tuneup process. A few new options are added including the one to choose between standard and maximum service optimization. The optimization ends with the click on the Apply Changes button. The program requires a restart of the computer after applying the changes.

The differences between automatic and manual tweaking of the Windows Vista Services are the options that are presented to the user. The manual tuneup provides access to four tabs and dozens of options to check. The tabs divide the process in performance, network, security and tuneup entries. Another option is the creation of so called service profiles which can be used to run optimized profiles in certain situations. Cautious users will be delighted to note that it is possible to restore a previous state without difficulties from within the software program.

Softwarefabrikant Slysoft heeft een update van de blu-ray kopieerbeveiliging BD+ gekraakt. Hierdoor zijn alle bestaande blu-ray-titels nog steeds met de tool Anydvd HD te kopiëren, zo claimt het bedrijf.

De BD+-beveiliging, waarin een virtuele machine binnen een blu-ray-speler controleert of er met sleutels wordt gerommeld, kan door de fabrikanten van schijfjes worden ververst in de hoop zo bestaande hacks te omzeilen. In oktober 2007 kondigde Slysoft al aan dat het de eerste implementatie van BD+ had gekraakt, waarna het een kwestie van tijd was voordat een eerste update van de kopieerbeveiliging werd doorgevoerd. De eerste schijfjes met ververste BD+-technologie verschenen echter pas de laatste maanden, waarna Anydvd HD zijn tanden stuk beet op de beveiliging.

Slysoft, een firma die opereert vanaf het Caribische eiland Antigua, stelt echter dat het ook de vernieuwde BD+-drm heeft gekraakt. Versie 6.5.0.3 van Anydvd HD zou daarmee alle bestaande commerciële titels die op blu-ray zijn verschenen, kunnen kopiëren. Hierdoor kunnen gebruikers een backup maken van de hd-content en deze bekijken op een monitor die niet aan de hdcp-standaard voldoet. Ondanks de claims van Slysoft is er inmiddels een lijstje verschenen met enkele 'probleemtitels'. Slysoft laat verder weten dat het vanaf 1 januari aan nieuwe Anydvd HD-gebruikers niet langer meer levenslange updates zal verschaffen. In plaats daarvan wil het bedrijf updates gaan verstrekken op basis van jaarabonnementen.

There are all sorts of reasons you would want to rip your DVD’s to AVI files. In my case it is getting rid of my space killing DVD collection. But that shouldn’t mean I can’t have access to any movie I own at any given time… Right?

Well for a long while, if you wanted to rip DVD’s that meant you needed to know how to decrypt your DVD’s and then you needed a little geeky know-how to convert those “vob” files and other crap to something playable.

Times they are a’ changing because this little free application called bitRipper includes a de-crypter and a converter in one package. That means throw the DVD into your DVD drive and click START RIPPING!

If you don’t believe me, go check it out for your self. Grab the installer direct from here or visit the author’s homepage here. If your download requires entering username and regcode, please use the following ones:
User name: Free version
Registration code: 2FU02u642Dd9T56J9Fb4

bitRipper also has advanced configuration modes available where you can get at some settings but the two best features are the included DVD decrypting and On The Fly DVD Writing. It doesn't require almost 5 gigabytes to rip your dvd before burning the AVI. That’s right: it converts video on-the-fly, copying data and writing it to your PC memory at the same time. The program was originally commercial software (retail price: $29.95) but it is free now and occasionally updated. The author points out that he has added these features in the recent past:

• Ability to control the ripping process system priority
• Internal video bitrate calculator to fine-tune the compression level
• Authorization support for protected discs
• Episodical discs support (multiple DVD tracks containing multiple parts)
• Support of the most of video export formats including AVI, MPEG, DivX
• Reduced installation package, maximized stability and reliability

Wilt u tijdens het werken of surfen naar uw favoriete muziek luisteren? Dan moet u zeker de smartradio Grooveshark eens proberen. Net als bij Deezer, Last.fm en Pandora kunt u hier terecht om duizenden nummers te beluisteren, afspeellijsten aan te maken of nieuwe nummers en artiesten te ontdekken. Grooveshark gaat zelfs nog een stapje verder… U kunt uw eigen mp3’s online opslaan, zodat u ze op elke computer kunt beluisteren.

Als u naar de Grooveshark-website surft, kunt u direct naar uw favoriete muziek luisteren. U hoeft geen account aan te maken, het volstaat om de naam van uw favoriete artiest in te voeren en vervolgens een nummer te kiezen. U kunt een nummer onmiddellijk afspelen of met één druk op de knop toevoegen aan een tracklist. Extra informatie opvragen over het nummer of de artiest kan ook. Bovendien krijgt u bij elk nummer dat u opvraagt een lijst te zien met liedjes van verschillende artiesten in hetzelfde genre. Zo brengt een nummer van Coldplay u bijvoorbeeld ook bij songs van R.E.M., Keane, Snow Patrol en The Fray. Dankzij deze functie kunt u nieuwe artiesten leren kennen. De database is ontzettend uitgebreid en beschikt over artiesten uit uiteenlopende genres.

Omdat u niet hoeft in te loggen om naar een nummer te luisteren, heeft Grooveshark een erg lage instapdrempel. Om persoonlijke afspeellijsten aan te maken én te bewaren – zodat u ze op elke moment en op elke computer kunt opvragen - hebt u wel een (gratis) account nodig. Naast het bewaren van uw favoriete nummers en het opslaan van afspeellijsten, kunt u als geregistreerd gebruiker ook uw muziek uploaden. Hierdoor wordt de database van Grooveshark niet alleen groter, u kunt uw eigen muziek ook op eender welke computer met internetverbinding beluisteren. Het enige wat u moet doen is de Grooveshark Music Uploader downloaden en installeren. Vervolgens kunt u één of meerdere mappen met mp3-bestanden selecteren en uploaden. Enkele ogenblikken later kunt u uw bestanden op de Grooveshark-website vinden, onder de knop My Music.

1. Adjust these performance options to speed up Windows XP

If you have some Microsoft Windows XP clients that run slower than others, it could be due to some of the default settings located in the Performance Options dialog box. You can change the options in this dialog box to boost the performance of a Windows XP client.

2. Change the product key on Windows XP

For most Microsoft Windows XP installs, you’ll never need to worry about the validity of the product key assigned to your copy of the OS. However, software does tend to get installed without authorization, even in the most carefully managed shops, and so from time to time you may need to reset the Windows XP product key.

3. How do I … use BootVis to improve XP boot performance?

Microsoft Windows XP was designed to optimize the boot process so that users can boot their machines and access the operating system as quickly as possible. For the most part, XP is successful. There is, however, almost always room for improvement, and BootVis.exe, a free Microsoft utility, can help you get the best boot performance possible from an XP system.

4. Creating a Windows Vista Recovery CD

If you purchased a new computer with Windows Vista preinstalled on it, you may have received an actual Windows Vista DVD with your purchase or a Recovery Disk created by the computer’s manufacturer, or maybe your new computer came with a Recovery Partition on the hard disk in lieu of a Recovery Disk. While a Recovery Disk or a Recovery Partition will allow you to restore your computer to the original settings from the manufacturer, chances are you will not be able to use it to repair your Windows Vista installation. For that, you will need an actual Windows Vista DVD that contains the Windows Recovery Environment; without the tools contained in the Windows Recovery Environment, you cannot repair your current installation.

5. Reset lost Windows passwords with Offline Registry Editor

Misplaced passwords can render Windows systems useless. Minus a valid username and password, Windows boxes and the data they contain are essentially off limits. The situation arises frequently. Users leave. Past consultants fail to document deployments. IT professionals quit. A free open source program often makes quick work of cracking Windows passwords. The Offline NT Password & Registry Editor presents a potential option for obtaining access to locked-out Windows NT-based systems. Here’s how you can use it to recover lost passwords on your Windows systems.

Earlier this week, the open-source music player built on Mozilla technology, Songbird, finally made its 1.0 release. After being in development for two years, this version feels like the kind of solid media player we've been expecting and hoping for all along. Although nothing is entirely bug-free, this release worked smoothly, with both performance and stability seeming greatly improved. Combine that with its extendibility through the the use of add-ons, and you'll find Songbird has a lot of promise as a worthwhile iTunes replacement.

When we looked at Songbird in the past, many readers were quick to point out the player's sluggish experience, tendency to crash, and bugs. Whatever negative experiences you had before that drove you away from the software, now is the time to get it another shot. This time around, the player felt fast, lightweight, and stable. It imported our iTunes library without a hitch, even the DRM-protected purchases and the accompanying metadata.

As we played tracks, an add-on called mashTape, one of the six default add-ons, let us delve into artist info, discography, links, news, and scroll through flickr photos and YouTube videos. Others that ship with the player out of the box include Last.fm, Concerts, and SHOUTcast radio.  With these installed, you can sync your tracks to Last.fm's online service, check out upcoming concerts in the area, and stream music over the internet using the player.

In addition, there are over 70 add-ons available for download from the Songbird site, including the recommended add-ons like LyricMaster, which puts the lyrics to your favorite tunes in the Songbird sidebar and MediaFlow which introduces a visually appealing cover flow view of your music. Songbird is based on Mozilla's Gecko engine, the same engine that powers Firefox. And like Firefox, Songbird also allows for tabbed browsing and themes, as well as the above-mentioned add-ons. The customization and extendibility Songbird provides are really what make the software so compelling.

What Songbird delivers is something Apple can't: a more open version of iTunes that runs on PC, Mac, and Linux machines. Apple's locked-down and closed iTunes player lets Songbird comfortably find its niche as the open, alternative music player, much as Firefox became the alternative web browser.  If the company ever reaches the point where it can match every one of iTunes features and provide the customization aspect, the decision to switch will become a no-brainer. Why have less when you can have more?

Op het Google Chrome Releases-blog hebben de ontwikkelaars van Googles webbrowser een nieuwe dev-versie vrijgegeven. De nieuwe versie kan door te klikken op deze link worden gedownload en heeft versienummer 1.0.154.42 meegekregen. Chrome is zodanig ingesteld dat elke tab in een eigen proces wordt gedraaid en als desktopapplicatie kan worden gebruikt. Verder is de webbrowser voorzien van een eigen Javascript-engine. Veel veranderingen hebben de developers niet doorgevoerd, gezien het kleinere changelog ten opzichte van de vorige release. In Chrome is onder meer een spelfout uit het Chinese taalpakket gehaald en is Gears voorzien van een update naar versie 0.5.8.0. Het volledige changelog ziet er als volgt uit: Bugs Fixed

• [r7193] Fixes the translation of 'Text Zoom' in Chinese (traditional). (Issue 5364)
• [r7238] Fixes a back/forward navigation problem on some pages with frames. (Issue 5585)
• [r7290] Fixes the issue where the prototype.js library does not work if the JavaScript console is open.
• [r7291] Fixes junk characters in multiple messages/menu items in Portuguese (Portugal). (Issue 5099)
• [r7332] Updates Gears to version 0.5.8.0 to fix an occasional crash on sites that have an offline application enabled.
• [r7334] Updates libpng to version 1.2.33.

Google recently introduced a new feature in Gmail that lets you easily convert an email conversation into a Word document without having to use copy-paste. Simply click the "Create a Document" link next to any Gmail thread and the entire message gets uploaded as new document in Google Docs.

The good news is that you can enjoy this email-to-doc facility even outside Gmail. Go to "Upload a File" page and grab that secret email address assigned to you by Google Docs. Now open any email message in Yahoo!, Outlook or some other mail program and forward that thread to your "secret" Google Docs email address. Your email message will become available as an editable Word Document in Google Docs within seconds.

The above trick could be useful for Gmail users as well who access mail on mobile devices where it is not always possible to add the "create document" gadget from Gmail labs due to browser limitations.

Related: Add Google Documents to Gmail [Screencast], Gmail gets email document creation feature [Geek.com]

If you like to import all existing email messages and contacts from Microsoft Outlook (or Thunderbird) into your online Gmail account, Google has a free utility for you. The Google Email Uploader will upload all your emails from Outlook or other desktop programs into Gmail. It preserves information such as sent dates and sender/recipient data, as well as the folder structure. You need a Google Apps account which is associated with a separate Gmail account (not your regular). For that you may want to check out this guide - Export Outlook Mails to Gmail [Digital Inspiration].

Get the Google Email Uploader from Google Code - available for Windows XP and Vista. This utility was earlier for Google Apps Premier customers only but Google recently pushed it for the free Google Apps accounts as well.

Related: How to Backup Your Hotmail Account to Gmail [Digital Inspiration]

If you need a state-of-the-art solution: go to Cemaphore Systems. They have just introduced MailShadow for Google Apps, that backs up all your Outlook mails and contacts to Gmail. Once you've installed their plugin, everything gets copied over to the Google account, and even better, any Gmail messages also appear back in Outlook. This is a really useful tool for anyone who needs the rich functionality and integration of the Outlook and Exchange world, but would like the easy access, searching and reliability advantages of a modern cloud-based service.

I love tweaking. The only problem is, I haven’t really been able to find a one stop program for all my tweaking needs on Vista. That’s where Ultimate Windows Tweaker comes in. It claims to be the Tweak UI for Windows Vista, and I feel that it lives up to that. It works on both 32 and 64 bit Vista systems and is portable, which means there’s no need to install anything. You can download it here.

After you have it downloaded, extract the file from the .zip file and run it. You should see a Window like the one above. If you want to play it safe, click Create System Restore Point to make it easy to go back if anything messes up. The program has over 130 tweaks, most of which are self explanatory. The only problem I had with this was on my 64 bit system. The shortcut icons would not disappear. Luckily, there are other ways to do this. Overall I find it to be a very handy (and small) application.

In last week’s edition of the Windows Vista Report, “Stop Unfairly Comparing Vista to Its Predecessor and Its Successor,” the resulting discussion thread quickly filled up with all sorts of chatter about the topic at hand. While respondents weighed in on both sides of the issue, along with the usual interpersonal sniping, an overall analysis of the discussions seems to indicate that there are a whole lot of disgruntled Vista users out there.

Those of you who are using Vista and are adapting to it, seem to be doing OK. However, those in the disgruntled camp, well, you appear to be absolutely miserable. While some have opted to abandon Vista and go back to XP, it would seem that many don’t have that option and as such are being forced, against their will, to use Vista when all they want is XP.

Well, I gave it some thought and figured that I would throw those poor folks a bone. In this edition of the Windows Vista Report, I’m going to show those of you who hate Vista but are stuck with it how to convert Windows Vista into Windows XP by stripping out as many of Vista’s components as possible, thereby making the OS both look and operate more like XP.

We can even come up with a fancy name for the transformed OS. Let’s call it Windows VXP! That way, you can have your cake and eat it too! This blog post is also available in PDF format in a TechRepublic download. Free Registration is required.

It’s finally ready! Now users who are wary of Beta versions can download the Google Chrome browser in version 1.0. Quite a lot has happened since the first Beta version was launched in September. 14 updates have been released, and new functions have been added making the browser faster and more stabile. Chrome is still only available for Windows systems however – work is still being done on the Mac and Linux versions.

One recurring problem with the Google browser was the plug-in support, especially for videos. The majority of errors which occurred during the Beta phase were in this part of the program. In the official Google blog two Google employees explained exactly what has been improved in the new download. One of the web’s biggest breaking block, Java Script, has been reduced in Google Chrome. The current version of Chrome is also up to 1.5x faster than the first Beta version too.

Bookmark features, such as managing and importing and exporting have also been considerable improved. The comfort, stability and speed of this final version of Google Chrome is also better. This doesn’t mean that the Google team can put their feet up now though – there is still a lot to be done. Amongst other things, the Mac and Linux version feature on the developers’ to-do-list. Other additions should include automatic form-filling, newsfeed support and a platform for expansions, as already seen in the competition – Firefox. Chrome can be downloaded from the official website.

McAfee VirusScan Plus is a popular anti-virus software that also provides firewall and anti-spyware capabilities.

A single license of McAfee VirusScan Plus 2009 costs around ~$40 but you may have it for free via this link. Enter coupon code VSPPROMOCF and click Submit Code. You will be directed to the account page where you can register. Click the download button and install the software.

The code is valid through December 31, 2008. You will also receive free upgrades to McAfee software for the next one year. This release of VirusScan Plus is available for download on Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista systems only. [via]

You probably know about the define: operator in Google that helps you find the definition of a word or an entire phrase from various online sources - see example. Well, that’s one way to lookup definitions on Google. They also maintain a multilingual dictionary search page at google.com/dictionary where you can not only look for word meaning but also hear the audio pronunciation of a word or translate it into different languages.

The service initially launched as part of Google Translate but is now a separate service with an easy to remember address. Definitely worth bookmarking. And it may not be long before Google delinks the answers.com links from their search page and start linking to their own dictionary pages since the two have a lot in common.

If you like Google's translate service but want something that can do the same phrase in multiple languages at once and in real time, the Nice Translator is worth checking out. This simple application uses Google Translate to do the heavy lifting. It lets users type in any phrase, in any language, then translates it into one of the other 34 available languages as they type. The site works fairly well on mobile devices, including the iPhone, though not as well as Google's own mobile-translation page despite its one-language-at-a-time limitation.

Google Translate's coverage has been expanded dramatically. It now supports the translation between any of the following languages: English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish (the new languages are shown in bold). From 26 language pairs, Google Translate now supports 506 language pairs and becomes the most comprehensive online translation tool available for free.

Now that Google Translate supports so many languages, it's not hard to imagine that you'll be able to read almost any web page in your language and maybe any application will be able to use Google Translate's APIs to speak your language. There are very interesting developments coming up for enhanced automatic translation. Cross-Language Search, which can be downloaded here, is the latest of 10 features to roll out from Google Enterprise Labs. Read also this quick tutorial to add language translation to your own blog. Check also the Google Translate's FAQ.

Need to clean out all the junk from Windows and your PC? Here's my favorite free utility of all time for keeping your PC clean and fast-running --- and that also keeps a lot of your computer and Internet activity safe from prying eyes.

Anyone who uses Windows needs this free utility, CCleaner. For a start, it gets rid of all the traces left behind by your browser, including temporary files, your browsing history, your URL list, Autocomplete information, and more. It handles Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera.

It does similar work for Windows itself, including getting rid of temporary files and log files. And it cleans junk and gunk from many applications as well, including Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, Nero, Google Earth, Spybot, Windows Media Player, and plenty others.

Finally, it degunks your Registry and speeds up your PC, by finding unused and old Registry keys, values, and entries. To make sure it doesn't do any harm, there's also a Registry backup and restore feature. You can choose which parts of the database to scan and which to ignore. The Tools section includes a handy uninstaller and a startup manager for configuring which programs and services start with Windows.

The major v2 release of CCleaner incorporates a number of new enhancements. For instance, the new version is completely re-written and is much faster and analysing and cleansing your system. It ships with a brand new user-interface and is available in a compact version, so you could take it with you on a portable USB stick and use it to cleanse a PC that you've used in a web cafe or other location. Of course, there are also a number of other tweaks and improvements. The v2.14 release contains support for Windows 7, improved Google Chrome support, better Opera cookie management and more.