Cloudeight Information Avenue

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Issue #440 of InfoAve Free Edition! Thanks for subscribing!

This week is a holiday weekend here in the United States. It's Independence Day weekend - a time when we celebrate America's birthday. This issue of Information Avenue a holiday edition featuring the best from past issues. Publishing a review edition gives us a chance to spend some time away from our computer and spend time with our families and friends. We hope that all of you who celebrate with us this weekend will take time to share your time with your family and friends. And to our Canadian friends, we wish all of you a happy, be it belated, Canada Day!

If you have a question, comment, or suggestion, please let us know.

We both want to thank you very much for your continued support, we appreciate it very much!

Come visit our Start Page this weekend!

It's been a while since we've reminded you of our Start Page. Every day (except Sunday) our Start Page is updated with new tips and tricks, new Trivia, Vocabulary, and Cryptogram contests, and more. It would help us a lot if you would make our Start Page your browser's start page. It's easy to do and we'd appreciate it very much.

Come visit our Start Page, use its features, get some Windows tips and tricks, and have fun playing Trivia, Vocabulary Scramble, and unscrambling our daily Cryptogram. World and technical news is updated throughout the day, so you can tell what's going on in the world at a glance. It costs you nothing, there's nothing to sign up for, and you'll have a lot of fun too.

You can visit our Start Page by clicking here. Come on! It won't bite!

Charlotte Wants To Know What's Up With Digital Signatures
When I went to Registry Mechanic to use the "try it" version, I got a message that this software did not have a valid digital signature and should not be run. As a result, I did not use it.

Our answer
Can you think of anything in your personal experience that sounded like a good idea on paper but in reality it turned out somewhat different than the original idea. That's what happened to the once "glorious" idea of digital signatures.

Read the rest of our answer here.

Never Reinstall Windows Again!
Now Works with Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 (32bit versions only)

Looking for a permanent solution for your annoying computer problems? Slow startup? Slow reboots? Constant Windows error messages? Waiting forever for programs to start?

Reimage is an online PC repair tool that repairs Windows and makes your PC run like new again, for a fraction of the cost that places like Best Buy, Staples, and other computer repair services charge. And Reimage guarantees it will work for you or you get your money back!

Reimage Features and Benefits

Requires no setup
Reimage is the ultimate professional repair tool
Rebuilds the entire Windows system - without damaging your programs or files
Repairs damaged operating system
Refreshes native operating system drivers
Works with Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 (32bit versions only)

"It works like Magic." - eWeek Magazine

Don't spend hundreds of dollars on computer repair. Repair Windows quickly and easily at fraction of the cost of computer repair services like "Geek Squad". Repair your Windows system in minutes!

Make your computer run like new again! Visit Reimage right now!

A comment from Sandy
Wanted to tell you how impressed I am with Reimage. The main problem I had was with videos freezing, then it graduated to freezing while I was working in my bank site. That was the last straw. At any rate after my report - a very patient Reimage tech went through this pc with a fine tooth comb. That person spent a total of 5 hours to fix my problem and I am so impressed (I'm not easily impressed) I just had to tell you. Happy 4th. Sandy T.

Sandra wants to know about USB hubs
I had rec'd a gift from my sister and it is Philips PC Gear that you connect to your computer's USB port USB port and it gives you an extra 4 USB ports. Are they a good thing or a bad thing, I know I'm always looking for extra ports. But I wanted to ask you first before I even opened it. If you give the go ahead I will use it, if not I will return the item to where she purchased it at.

Our answer
Are USB hubs a good thing or a bad thing?

Visit this page to find out.

Save 20% right now on Spyware Doctor!
Spyware Doctor is one of the most popular Spyware removal and real-time protection tools on the market It's our #1 rated anti-spyware program and we use it on all of our computers. We trust all our computers to Spyware Doctor for one good reason: It's the best commercial anti-spyware you can install on your computer. Get the latest, greatest Spyware Doctor and save 20%. You'll be helping us and you'll be helping yourself by ridding your computer of spyware, adware, malware, and other nasties. Get more information and your 20% off coupon code here.

LogMeIn
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

This tip stems from a TV commercial. The commercial was "Go To My PC". If you live anywhere in the USA you've probably seen it. It looks too good to be true: Sitting at a computer in New Delhi and remotely controlling your computer back in icy Sheboygan. So we tested Go To My PC - amazing. It actually works. Unfortunately, it's also not acutally free - after 30 days you have to pay for it.

If you're like us you might not want to pay for or subscribe to a service you may only use occasionally. This sent us on yet another mission to find a free alternate to GoToMyPC -- and we're nothing if not tenacious.

Read the entire article here.

Save 20% Instantly on Registry Mechanic
Registry Mechanic is Cloudeight approved and endorsed - we use it on our personal and business computers. When you buy Registry Mechanic you'll be helping Cloudeight and yourself too!

Read our review of one of the best programs you can install on your computer - Registry Mechanic. You'll learn why your Windows registry is like the engine of your car and why you need to take care of it. Registry Mechanic automates the task of optimizing, cleaning, and removing errors from your Windows registry. This makes your computer run faster, last longer, and gets rid of a lot of the aggravations you experience - program crashes, error messages and slow startups and shutdowns. If you're tired of your computer running like a tortoise through quicksand - take a moment to learn why - and how Registry Mechanic can make your computer run better, run faster, and last longer - all automatically. All you have to do is click a button - really. Save 20% on Registry Mechanic, help yourself, and help us too! Get your 20%-off coupon code and order or try Registry Mechanic right now!

Turn off DEP (Data Execution Protection) to prevent program crashes
Windows Vista and Windows 7

If you have a program you use and the program will not run or keeps crashing because Windows DEP (Data Execution Protection) keeps closing the program, we're going to show you how you can prevent DEP from closing it so you can continue to use the program.

Read the rest of this article here.

Products we use and recommend:

Spyware Doctor - A great choice for spyware protection. Things aren't getting any better out there on the web. Choosing the right antispyware is as important as choosing the right antivirus. Our choice is Spyware Doctor. When you buy Spyware Doctor using our coupon code, you save 20! Get your coupon code and save 20% here.
Registry Mechanic - We trust it and we've used it for years. It helps keep all of our computers running at top performance. It's a registry cleaner - but it's a whole lot more too. You'll save 20% on Registry Mechanic with our special Cloudeight coupon code. Get your coupon code and more information about Registry Mechanic here.
Reimage - Before you call a computer repair tech or spend several hundred dollars - consider Reimage! In an era when big companies like Best Buy's Geek Squad spend millions and millions of dollars extolling the virtues(?) of its sundry services, many folks with broken computers will simply pick up the phone and call Geek Squad or another heavily-advertised computer repair service. It's not until the repair is finished that the computer owner realizes how Geek Squad can afford all those cute(?) Volkswagens and that multi-gazillion-dollar ad budget. The shock is the bill - if you have your computer repaired in your home it will cost $299.95 - if you lug it into a Best Buy near you, you'll pay $199.95. And what do you get for that much money? If your computer isn't running well and is in need of repair - READ THIS before you call Geek Squad or someone else!
Roboform - What can we say other than this is the first thing we install on all our new computers? We couldn't live without it and we wouldn't either. We bought multiple copies of this program - long before we ever started recommending it. It's the best password manager you can buy. And if you have 10 or less passwords to say, you can even use the free version. We don't offer a discount on this product - but if you decide to buy and you buy through our link, we'll make a commission and you won't pay a penny more than you would if you bought it directly from Roboform. So, if you try it and you like it, buy it from us and help us help you! Roboform is one of our favorite programs. Get more information here.
Oops! Backup - 10% off for all Cloudeight subscribers. Oops! Backup is more than a backup program - it's piece of mind! Read our review of this unique and excellent backup program.
Get our 4.0 GB Security Flash Drive and get a coupon for 30% off Oops! Backup!

We've made it easier for you to submit your questions, comments and suggestions!

We've updated our Web form! We've made it much nicer and easier to use. Now you can use one form to submit your questions, comments, or suggestions. You can use the same form to submit your tips, and your freeware and site of the week suggestions too! Those of you with long email addresses will be happy to know we've fixed the issue that prevented you from entering the last few characters of your email address.

We'd love to hear from you - even if you just want to make a comment about our new web form. Tell us what you think!

This week's Rant

This week's essay is from our upcoming "Nitrogen Blue Skies" paperback book, which we hope to release very soon.

Jelly Donut Trollop

There is nothing like a pleasure delayed.

For the past several weeks I have had an overwhelming, almost prurient yearning for a jelly donut. Why? I don't know. But these yearnings are seated, no doubt, deep in the part of the brain's least understood by scientists. This is the part of the brain that causes people to eat Big Macs, cream sticks, cake, cookies, and yes, jelly donuts. It's the "sweet-fat-salty lobe" and it's located really close to the procreation lobe. Desires that are born in the sweet-fat-salty lobe flare up from time to time and they are almost impossible to ignore. Yes some of the more depraved among us can try to ignore these primal urges. Others, like me, delay or deny these urges until they become so intense we can no longer ignore them. The more overtly obese folks do the right thing from the start - they throw caution to the wind, laugh in the face of mortality and instantly give in to any and all food cravings with lusty delight.

As usual, I tried to trick myself by taking the circuitous route to instant gratification.

You're welcome to read the rest of this "rant" here...

Our Premium readers received over three times the information than is contained this free edition.

This week's Premium edition contained 15 full pages of computer information: information that you can really use. We spend hours and hours every week preparing it and we know once you subscribe, you'll agree you get far more than your money's worth - we guarantee it. Won't you help us by becoming a Premium subscriber today?

We hope to welcome you to our growing family of Premium subscribers today.

You can learn more about our Premium edition and/or signup here!

Sometimes you need or want to change antivirus programs - and sometimes you get tired of that security suite eating up your computer resources - and you want to change security programs. But wait! You have to remove the old one first before you can install the new one. Uninstalling security software isn't always easy - especially if you want to get rid of all of its tentacles. We have a freeware pick that will make it easy for you to remove your old security software....

See what our freeware pick of the week is!

OOPS! Backup
Oops!Backup is a backup program unlike any other we've ever seen. By now you know that we never recommend piecemeal backups - we urge all our readers to do comprehensive drive clone (or image) backups, because it's the only way to totally recover from a major computer disaster without losing any data. But you don't want to run an image backup restoration just to recover a few missing or inadvertently changed photos, documents, or other files. It's like using a fire hose to fill your dog's water dish. I'm so wonderful at examples :)

Oops!Backup is not a drive image backup program. It's not a piecemeal backup program. It's not a system restore program. It's ..it's...it's different. Oops!Backup monitors whatever folders and files you choose for any changes that are made. It allows you to go back in time to any version of a file you're working on whether it be a photo, document, or any other type of file.

What impressed us was the unique, sensible. totally easy-to-use interface. I mean, how hard is it figure out what "Go back in time and restore" means? It's so easy to use, even those who are software-challenged can figure it out -- without ever needing "Help". No help needed -- but there is help available should you ever need it. And if our experience with this company is any indication, their customer support will be superb.

Save 10% now on a program you'll really love and you really need!

Get our Security USB and get a special 30% off discount coupon code for Oops! Backup.

Read what Premium Subscriber Anne says about Oops! Backup:

On your recommendation, I downloaded Oops!Backup trial, as I usually do liked what it was, so bought 2 versions, installed one on 1st computer, couldn't understand how to install the 2nd computer, so emailed the company, with in approx 1 hour, I had a reply, and problem solved, great company and great help line, thank you so much, for your wonderful advice, always spot on, you guys are the best, can't remember how long I have had your newsletter, years, just great.

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Thanks again for subscribing to Information Avenue Free Edition.

Have a great 4th of July weekend!

Best wishes,

Eightball & Thundercloud
Cloudeight Information Avenue Free Edition - Issue #440
July 03, 2010

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