Microsoft put out a series of patches today for all versions of Internet Explorer from 5 to 8 for every operating system from Windows 2000 to Windows 7 to address a huge security vulnerability .

The vulnerability was used in the cyber attacks against Google, yahoo and others over the last couple weeks. If you’re running any versions of Internet Explorer please install any updates from Windows Update that are pending on your system or grab the update manually from Microsoft’s site.

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-002 – Critical

I love having multiple monitors. It makes working in multiple application so much easier. Most of the time I’ll have several browser windows, email, a couple servers, some windows explorer windows and other various things open and dual monitors makes switching between the programs much more fluid. What do you do if you don’t have the room (or budget) for a second monitor? Adding virtual desktops gives you almost the same functionality, for free!

What is the benefit of multiple virtual desktops?  For me, when I’m working on several projects at once virtual desktops allow me to segment the windows into groups and makes it so that I only see the windows that I don’t get lost in the shuffle of open apps.

I’m a big fan of a program called Dexpot.  It’s compatible with all modern verisons of Windows (XP, Vista, and 7) and allows you to have up to 20 virtual monitors (the default is 4) with alpha transparency, fast screen switching options and the ability to move windows back and forth between different virtual desktops.

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If you’re like me you have a ton of icons on your desktop, but they’re all over the place and sometimes difficult to keep track of. There’s a great free application that you can use on any version of Windows XP and up (XP, Vista and 7) called Fences by Stardock.

Fences allows you to group your icons within individual…well…fences. Each fence is re-sizable, movable as a group of icons and has it’s own label. All you need to do to create a fence is right click and hold and drag a box around the icons you wish to group together, like in the video below.

The free version allows for an unlimited number of fences, quick hide abilities, auto scaling of fences for when you change resolutions and the ability to save configurations before you makes changes and revert if you don’t like your new setup.  They offer a paid version that gives you the ability to automatically grab files by extension, date, name, etc, set different opacity levels for different fences.

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Have you gone numb responding to the request pictured above?  This security feature built into Vista and Windows 7 is meant to keep your PC “safe”, but it is more likely to drive you insane.  You can make it stop!

Yes, you will get a foreboding message about putting your PC at risk.  The UAC is built to prevent low level executables from running; say you go to a website that is infected and it tries to auto launch a file in the background of your processes, the UAC would give you a chance to catch and block it.  It is likely you have an anti-virus running, whose primary job is to do this anyway.  UAC gives you a second chance; it offers redundancy.  It is a personal choice to disable the UAC.

I posted how to disable the UAC feature on Vista in an earlier post, but for those of you running the vast improved Windows 7, I offer you this detail description of how to keep these pop-ups from constantly interrupting your work flow.

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One thing that drives me nuts about mobile computing is when I don’t notice my battery is running low until my computer is forcing itself into hibernation.  Sometimes having a little battery icon next to the system clock isn’t enough, for those times BattCursor is a lifesaver.

BattCursor uses Windows Aero Glass (the component built into windows that makes the boarder around applications in Vista/7 transparent) and your cursor as a visual reference for your battery life.  You can set the colors for full charge, half charge and low battery, use your mouse as a visual guide to battery life and even have BattCursor control your power profiles and change your CPU or backlight brightness depending on battery status.

Check it out at BattCursor.net [via downloadsquad]

If you are a Windows Vista user you are aware that a pop up window asks you almost every time you move the cursor if it’s okay to move the cursor (I’m exaggerating, but only a little).  This “security” notification is called UAC or User Account Control.

At NYC Tech Guys, we most often disable the UAC for our customers because our customers operate within solid network security; however, for home users or home spun office users who might want to leave the UAC engaged, I just found a great article about a tool called UACController which allows you to easily manage the UAC.  This  tool is useful because it is maze-like getting to where the UAC lives inside the Vista operating system.  With UACController you can engage or disable the UAC very simply depending on how you want to work.

Read more or download UACController here:

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