PC Mechanic, New Article

Untiny Makes Shortened URLs Safe Again
Easy Firefox On/Off Toggle With QuickJava
Convert Any Application To A Portable Application

Posted: 28 Dec 2010 03:30 AM PST

It’s popular to shorten URLs for posting to Facebook, Twitter, email, instant messengers and so on. Whether it’s ow.ly, TinyURL, bit.ly, goo.gl or whatever the shortened link is, you know one when you see it.

The problem with shortened URLs is that some of them point to places where you don’t want to go, including sites that install "drive-by" malware.

If you ever encounter a shortened URL that you’re unsure whether to click or not, paste the link into Untiny to see where the URL actually goes to. If it looks OK, you can click through to the destination. If not, no harm done.

Want easier ways to use Untiny?

Untiny answers the call by offering extras for extended use. Untiny can be used just about anywhere. It can be added as a Firefox search engine, GreaseMonkey script, Google Talk bot, Windows Live Messenger Bot, Internet Explorer 8 Accelerator, Opera Widget and more. Untiny definitely has usability where it counts.

Should you distrust all shortened URLs?

No. As with anything, it depends on the source. Some places post 100% friendly links (such as PCMech’s Twitter page), while other places try to trick you into going to web sites with drive-by malware. In basic terms you have to use common sense when it comes to shortened URLs. If the source gives you pause where you’re unsure whether to click through a shortened URL or not, check it with Untiny first.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Untiny Makes Shortened URLs Safe Again

Easy Firefox On/Off Toggle With QuickJava

Posted: 28 Dec 2010 02:00 AM PST

Firefox add-ons like NoScript are good but at times suffer from having too many options when all you want is a simple on/off toggle for JavaScript, Flash, images and so on. QuickJava, a Firefox extension, makes it very easy to do this with simple on/off buttons you can place anywhere in the top toolbar area.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Easy Firefox On/Off Toggle With QuickJava

Convert Any Application To A Portable Application

Posted: 27 Dec 2010 02:00 PM PST

Is there any application you wish was portable, but is not available a the "zero footprint" package? If so, give Cameyo a try.

Cameyo essentially allows you to convert any application to a portable one. It works by monitoring an installation and capturing system changes performed and then packing these changes into a standalone executable. This executable can then be used to run the respective application on another system without installation.

While it is not guaranteed to work for every program out there, this is definitely a cool tool to play with.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Convert Any Application To A Portable Application