WINDOWS SECRETS - EVERYTHING MICROSOFT FORGOT TO MENTION
Windows Secret website provides all the latest information to help you understand and tame your Windows OS. Windows Secrets is also distributed via an RSS feed, and the site delivers more than 1 million page views per month.

GOM Media Player - EXCELLENT - Works Better Than Media Player
GOM Media Player comes equipped with all of the most popular video codecs (XviD, DivX, FLV1, OGG, MP4, H263 and more) by default, so downloading and installing extras is rarely necessary. For those videos that do require a separate codec, GOM Media Player will find one and direct you to a place where you can download an open source version. That way, you won't get stuck with unnecessary codecs on your system.

FREEWARE TO CREATE ONLINE PHOTO ALBUMS
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/photopresentationswin/Create_Slide_Shows_and_Photo_Albums_for_Windows.htm
http://jalbum.net/en/
http://computersight.com/software/how-to-create-a-stunning-photo-gallery-online-the-easy-way/
http://explore.live.com/windows-live-photo-gallery
http://www.shutterfly.com/learn/online_photo_album.jsp
and in my opinion, best one :
http://picasa.google.com/features.html

LIST OF RECOMMENDED PHOTO SOFTWARE & WEBSITES
Free Shape Collage Maker
Picnik More fun than ants on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Picnik offers editing, one-click photo fixing, various fonts, custom designs, special effects, and more. It bills itself as working on OS X, Windows, and Linux, which is technically true, but pretty much any Web-based photo editor can claim this! Therefore, consider the rest of this list as being equally OS X, Windows, and Linux compatible.
Pixenate (photos from here can be uploaded to Flickr as well.)
MyTheme  helps you quickly spruce up the profile pictures that you use for your social media sites of choice. If you want jazzy special effects or an animation creation, MyTheme may be just the ticket.
Phixr - I don’t even know ‘er! (Har, har, har.) Aside from the usual special effects and editing tools, Phixr lets you tilt-shift your photos so that you can make street scenes look like tiny model railroad settings!
FotoFlexer - FotoFlexer tells us that it’s “the world’s most advanced online image editor.” With FotoFlexer, you’re able to edit photos from Flickr, Picasa, Facebook, MySpace, Photobucket, and “more places.” Like Guam? Switzerland? Behind the toolshed?
PixVue - is an image management application for windows
Picasa - free software  from Google that helps you with organizing, editing and sharing your photos.
JAlbum - Free web photo album software.
Flickr - the best online photo management and sharing application in the world.
Webshots (Note: Webshots is owned by CNET Networks)
Shutterbug - the latest camera reviews, tips and tricks
Photoshop.com to the list of top online photo editing sites. It’s free, has a familiar interface, gives you options to create projects and edit photos, and even allows you to email them to your friends and family when you’re finished. To get started using Photoshop.com, just go to the site and register for a free account (or sign in if you have an existing ID or Adobe account). When you sign in, you just choose a photo that you’d like to edit; Photoshop.com will let you crop and shrink, auto-prep, adjust sharpness and saturation, tweak the white balance, and more. When you’ve finished editing your photo, you can decorate it with text, colors, frames, or even “stickers” if you’re into that kind of thing (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

HOW TO BACK UP REGISTRY in Xp, Vista and Win7
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/registry.htm

A COMPLETE REGISTRY BACKUP USING ERUNT
ERUNT (The Emergency Recovery Utility for NT) helps you perform a complete Registry Backup and Restore in Windows NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista.
You can use this utility as a primary registry backup utility, apart from System Restore. ERUNT can be downloaded from Majorgeeks or from Lars' site.

Five Great Games Made Possible by HTML 5
Angry Birds
One prime example of this which has created quite a buzz around the tech community is Angry Birds. Now, instead of having to play the game on an iPad, iPod Touch, or through a special app, you can play it using Chrome or another HTML 5 capable browser.
Torus by Ben Joffe
Another game featuring HTML 5 support is Torus by Ben Joffe. Torus is a 3D tetris-like game set on a cylindrical stage rather than a flat surface. This makes things a bit tricky as you have to be aware of what’s on the other side while pieces are falling at an accelerated rate
Z-Type
Practicing typing skills has never really been something most people would consider to be very entertaining. Z-Type combines speed typing with a fixed shooter such as Galaga or Space Invaders. Your ship doesn’t move at all, but you can fire on enemies in all directions by typing the word associated with the enemy ship. There are no themes to the words, and enemies become increasingly more difficult to keep up with. It does, however, help with typing speed and to some degree spelling.
FrozenDEFENCE
Tower defense games are incredibly popular right now on mobile platforms, and with the help of some clever javascript, FrozenDEFENCE delivers on its promise of a simple tower defense game without all the bells and whistles.
Google Pacman
To celebrate Pacman’s 30th anniversary, Google turned their iconic logo in to a playable Pacman game thanks to the help of web developer Paul Macek. Millions of users worldwide played the popular game and demand for it was so high that Google decided to keep it alive as an alternative Google homepage for people to continue to enjoy.
SIX WIN 7 NIGHTMARES (and How to Fix Them) From PCWORLD
IMPORTANT INFORMATION on how to fix a PC that won't boot, retrieve files from an inaccessible hard drive, stop frequent Blue Screens of Death, restore a forgotten administrator password, remove malware, and find a missing file.

PREVENTION DETECTION & CURE
Why pay when you can get excellent protection for free?
From - Dotteck.org - 12 excellent programs that will provide the best all-around security for you and your computer.

What is BookLending.com?
is a website that matches lenders and borrowers of Kindle ebooks.  To participate in lending and borrowing Kindle books, you must first register as a user on the site or connect with Facebook Connect.

How to Hide Important Files inside a Picture
The file you want to save inside a picture can be of any extension e.g. exe, txt, mp3, avi or any other. This is probably the most secure way of hiding your private files in case you share your computer with your family members and you don’t want them to get a peek of your hidden files.

Free File Recovery for 2011
http://www.avnmedia.com/free_file_recovery.html
Free File Recovery is a freeware Windows utility to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer. This includes files emptied from the Recycle bin as well as images and other files that have been deleted by user error from digital camera memory cards or MP3 players. It will even bring back files that have been deleted from your iPod, or by bugs, crashes and viruses!

Anvir Task Manager Free is freeware utility software that gives users a comprehensive set of tools to put YOU in full control of your computer. It gives you detailed information about every process that is running and about applications running automatically on Windows startup including all hidden applications.

How to Re-Partition a Hard Drive - Vista and Win7 users only.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5rl-5iIwN4&feature=youtube_gdata

Create a Windows XP and 7 dual-boot system staged for an easy migration
Resize your existing Windows XP partition and then install Windows 7 in a dual-boot configuration on the same hard disk. Disk partitioning software for free, such as Easeus Partition Master Home Edition 4.0.1. And best of all, Easeus Partition Master will safely adjust partitions while keeping data intact.

Top 5 Tips For Building A Gaming PC On A Budget
Recommended 5 tips to building a gaming PC without spending a year’s salary.

Advanced System Care Free V3 - TOP MARKS
With more than 10,000 improvements, Advanced SystemCare Free v3 scans more, repairs more, cleans more, and optimizes more for your computer than ever before. Advanced SystemCare Free (formerly Advanced WindowsCare Personal) has a one-click approach to helping protect, repair, clean, and optimize your PC. With over 20,000,000 downloads since 2006, this fantastic, award-winning program is free.

How do I Restore files from a damaged hard drive using ZAR?
Zero Assumption Recovery (ZAR) is a shareware-based utility that can scan your hard drive for files, even if it has been re-formatted or is damaged, and recover them.

ANTIVIRUS PROGRAMS-FREE
AVG ver 7.5: http://free.grisoft.com/ww.download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition#tba2
AVAST: http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
AVIRA AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic - http://www.free-av.com/
Other free antivirus tools: ClamWin, Comodo, Antidote Lite

Nova Scotia Food Establishment Inspection Reports
There are approximately 5000 food establishments in Nova Scotia, including restaurants, takeouts, grocery stores and other food-service facilities. Based on a risk assessment, Food Safety Specialists visit each establishment one to three times a year. After each visit, the operator is provided with an inspection report that confirms they are in compliance with food safety regulations or requires them to take corrective action to address violations and food safety issues. The inspection report disclosure web site provides information to the public concerning the results of these inspections.

 SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Is 100% Free and will detect and remove thousands of Spyware, Adware, Malware, Trojans, KeyLoggers, Dialers, Hi-Jackers, and Worms. SUPERAntiSpyware features many unique and powerful technologies and removes spyware threats that other applications fail to remove.

 ProjectWoman - How Tos and Tips
Find handy hints for using software such as Microsoft Office 2007 and other office applications. Elsewhere on projectwoman.com you'll find tutorials, articles, how tos and tips on photography and Photoshop CS3.

Top 5 Tips for Buying a Hard Drive
If you’re buying a hard drive, make sure your computer supports that kind of hard drive.

How fast are your download speeds?
Speedtest.net is a free broadband speed test with servers located all over the world. Compare your results with others and easily share them.

PHOTOGRAPHERS - Tips
Here are some tips to cleaning your LCD screen:
* Use clean water, such as distilled water.
DO NOT use tap water as it contains a lot of nasty stuff that could harm your display.
* Use a soft fiber cloth, such as micro-fiber cloth that you use to clean your glasses, or a soft cloth towel.
* DO NOT use anything abrasive, such as paper towels, napkins, or tissue paper.
* DO NOT use anything corrosive, such as alcohol or acid.

(UPDATED) KeyLogger-Scrambler Personal is a free plug-in for your Web (IE & Firefox etc) browser that protects your username and password from keyloggers. It defeats keyloggers by encrypting your keystrokes at the keyboard driver level, deep within the operating system. When the encrypted keystrokes reach your browser, KeyScrambler then decrypts them so you see exactly the keys you’ve typed. Keyloggers can only record the encrypted keys, which are completely indecipherable.
[1.114M] [Win2k/XP/Vista] [FREE]

KANTARIS MEDIA PLAYER - FREE Play almost anything. Excellent Program.
Kantaris Media Player can play almost anything you can throw at it - AVI, MPEG, MGEG-AVC, WMV, MOV, MKV, quicktime, matroska, divx, xvid, H264, MP3, WMA, OGG files and more. It can also play DVD's and audio cd's. The player also displays some of the most beautiful music visualizations ever seen. All this is completely free.
It is based on code from Videolan client (VLC) and Bass audio library. The graphical user interface is similar to that of Windows Media Player.

FREE MUSIC - 10 Top Sites
If you love to download music for free... legally... check out these sites.

KeepVid Downloading videos from YouTube
(and similar websites) is very easy. Hundreds of tools and browser plugins exist that can do it. But there is a simpler solution that doesn't require you to install anything. KeepVid is a website where you can simply fill in the URL of the webpage that contains the video that you wish to download, and it will give you a download link for the video. It sometimes even allows you to get a higher quality version of the video. The downloaded videos (FLV/MP4) can be played with your favorite player if you have got the K-Lite Codec Pack installed.

FILEMAIL - FREE SERVICE - Send up to 2GB without registering
Sending large files up to 2Gs FREE has never been easier!
First, the files you want to send are uploaded to one of several www.filemail.com   servers located in Oslo (Norway) and San Diego. Files are encrypted on our servers using a 128bit AES algorithm to ensure security and privacy. A small e-mail is delivered to the recipients, containing a short message from you and a hyperlink where the files can be downloaded. The recipients click the hyperlink in the e-mail, and are taken to the download page. After the specified number of days/number of downloads, the files are removed completely from our servers.

LINKSCANNER Lite - Protect Yourself from Malicious Website.
Evaluate sites before you visit them is with the free LinkScanner Lite application. Rather than rely on second-hand reports, LinkScanner analyzes the code of a given site to check for stealth downloads and other malicious behavior.

FREE "OPEN OFFICE" - Rival to Microsoft Office MSWORD & Excel
OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

FREE Microsoft Office Templates
Lots of Free templates for work, home, and play

FREE LABEL TEMPLATES
autofillPDF-Labels 1.0 is a site that’s got tons of free, fillable PDF label templates for U.S. letter-size label sheets. Fill your information in one field and watch as your information automatically fills all label fields within that sheet! All you need to do is download and open up a template, fill a label field, and hit the Tab button on your keyboard! Print your labels in an instant. Find more information on the How To page.

Top Five Tips for Installing Windows XP
Even with the advent of Vista, many people are still installing (and even re-installing) Windows XP. Normally, it’s a relatively easy and painless process. But, as with anything, something could always go wrong.

 "BEST FREE SOFTWARE Reviews"
Security, Internet and Networking, Photography, Audio, & Video, Productivity Applications, Disk Management, Utilities, Programming.

Canadian Consumer Information Gateway
*Bookmark This Site. Everything from warranties to financing, as are the types of fraud and deception we must be wary of.

 http://www.snopes.com/ - UBAN LEGEND - Reference Pages

*10 things you MUST know before you register a domain name with anyone.

Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites
"Rogue/Suspect" means that these products are of unknown, questionable, or dubious value as anti-spyware protection. If you have any of the programs listed on this site remove them immediately.

ADD BLOCKERS
Adblock Plus This is one of the most popular Firefox add-ons, and for good reason.
Ad Muncher Not happy with your ad-blocker? Try this one, a favorite of columnist Steve Bass.
Quero Toolbar This navigation bar replacement blocks some advertisements and gives you plenty of other useful options.
Super Ad Blocker Tackles even the most annoying ads, including pop-ups, banners, and the distracting fly-in and slide-in types.
Ad Annihilator Blocks many pop-up ads, cookies, and other distractions, but it's a geeky tool and you'll need spare time to configure it perfectly.

ULTIMATE BOOT CD FOR WIN
http://www.ubcd4win.com/
After you download and install the big 180 Meg program, UBCD4Win - will help you to create a bootable CD which contains software that allows you to repair, restore, or diagnose almost any computer problem. Please note, this is only for the more savvy computer users.

A GOLDMINE OF PROGRAMS TO PUT ON A USB STICK.
http://www.snapfiles.com/features/ed_usb_software.html
These FREE programs do not require any installation and can be run directly from a USB drive. Keep some useful apps handy while on-the-go!

AUTOMATICALLY  Synchronize Your PC's Clock to the World Time Standard
http://www.thinkman.com/dimension4/index.htm

VIRUS TREATS
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/default.aspx
Each week, CA Security Advisory Team tabulates the top 5 virus/malware threats based on reports received from around the world by CA's VIRTUE ™ virus sample processing system. This current list represents the top 5 reported threats. They also provide free cleaning utilities.

CNET
An Award winning IT website. Full of the latest tips, tricks and advice for all levels of PC users as well as providing a "Consumer's Report" on Hi-tech items such as cameras, video, audio...ext.
http://www.cnet.com/

High Quality Password Generator
https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm

BETTER than Google for Image Searching -
Search the web for images. The most accurate and fresh image search on the web.
http://www.picsearch.com/

What is zSHARE? - It's FREE (an excellent website)
In few words, zSHARE is a free image, video, audio, flash and file hosting provider, and it's mainly used to share files that are too big to be sent via e-mail. With zSHARE you can host files, images, videos, audio and flash on the same place and as long as they remain active they can be downloaded unlimited times. There is no time limit, but files not downloaded for more than 10 days are automatically deleted. After uploading you'll be given a link to your file that can be shared via e-mail.

TOP 10 MOST RECENT VIRUS ALERTS
http://www.sophos.com/security/top-10/

Microsoft Technet Sysinternals Utilities
Download over 60 Microsoft utility programs to help you diagnose/improve your OS.


Get Some Office Training For Free From Microsoft

(*Excellent)  SITE ADVISOR
A special browser plug-in for IE or Firefox which tags Malicious Websites.
They test Websites to help keep you safe from spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.

HOUSECALL- FREE Virus Scan
Scan your hard drive for viruses and spyware with this FREE online tool. You simply choose the drives you want to scan and click on the "Scan" button. For a high speed connection, allow approximately 1min/1Gig of files per harddrive. Example, it will take 30 minutes to scan 30 Gigs of files.

WWW.WinXPTutor.com
This site contains tips and HOW TOs for most of the common tasks in Windows XP, and should help any audience with skill level Basic to Advanced.

Top Registry Repair Tools
http://free-registry-downloads.com/

EXCELLENT OLDER VERSION PROGRAMS - because new is not always better
http://www.oldversion.com/

The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm

Top-100 essential downloads of free software & freeware for Windows XP
This site even beats out Microsoft and Google as the most visited website.
http://100-downloads.com/

The Internet is full of surprises.
If you only use it to check your e-mail and look at the weather forecast, then you're definitely missing out. Many bright minds have developed services that make the Internet more than just "that thing I use to keep in touch with my relatives." PC World has a roundup of the 30 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do on the Internet. Take some time out of your busy schedule to browse through the fun and useful tools that are referenced here.
30 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do on the Internet

Check your PC's vulnerability - go to
http://www.grc.com/default.htm
and run "Shields-UP"

Recommendations for Anti-Virus software, Spyware and Malware checkers, Firewalls, Pop-up blockers and more.
http://ask-leo.com/recommendations.html

PHISHING/PHARMING
Protect your savings from Phishing attacks.  See the hosting location and Risk Rating of every site you visit.
Help defends against all kinds of online fraud, including phishing, pharming, and DNS exploits. with Netcraft or Fraudeliminator.
1. NETCRAFT
http://toolbar.netcraft.com/
2. FRAUDELIMINATOR
http://download.lockergnome.com/download/104192

ANTIMALWARE
MS Antispyware: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx ,
SpywareBlaster: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html ,
StartUpMonitor: http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml ,
WinPatrol: http://www.winpatrol.com/,
Adaware: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/,
Spybot S&D: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

TOP TEN ROGUE ANY-SPYWARE
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Spyware/?p=727

PRACTICING SAFE WEB
After installing a new hard drive or reformatting your old drive and re-installing your OS and other favour programs., following these steps before going on line to download the latest windows, antivirus and spyware updates.
1. Install one (only one) of the Firewalls listed above.
2. Install one (only one) of the Antivirus programs
3. Install at least two or more of the Antimalware programs.
4. Connect on-line and download/install the latest windows, antivirus and spyware updates.
5. Scan you system for viruses and spyware. if you run a virus scan and find something, you're well-advised to keep at it until you get at least one scan with no results. This may take 4 or more scans.
6. Do a complete scan of your system at least once a month.

SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
Defrag your hard drive at least once a month, more is better. Everyday is a bit much because it does cause wear and tear on the hard drive. If you feel your system is slowing down it could also be due to spyware. Scan often and keep your antivirus and spyware up to date.

Windows XP Shortcut Keys
http://techrepublic.com.com/i/tr/downloads/home/windows_keyboard_shortcuts.pdf

WinXP - Printing Multiple Photo's Information
http://www.meryl.net/articles/archives/003000.php#003000