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WeTransfer.com is a free, quick, easy, registration-free way to transfer big files to up to 20 other people.  Here is how to use the service:

1. Visit wetransfer.com
2. Upload your files by clicking the (+) and selecting them.
3. Enter the recipient(s) email address(es)
4. Enter your email address.
5. Type a quick message
6. Then click ‘Transfer’

Some more reasons why we recommended wetransfer.com:

• You can send up to 2GB’s worth of files.
• The data transferred can be downloaded for up to 2 weeks after the email is sent.
• A confirmation email is sent to the sender.
• Both the files and email data are kept private

We like it, let us know what you think!

Our recently expired poll, Free or Subscription based Anti-Virus?, unsurprisingly resulted in subscription based anti-virus coming top.

However, we were worried to see that 41% of voters have either free anti-virus or no anti-virus whatsoever!  Whilst free virus protection is better than none it doesn’t provide your computer with the full protection that it requires to run successfully and safely.

Here at PCToolbox we recommend AVG Internet security.  Around June-July last year we ran an investigation, testing all the big name anti-virus protection programs against each other and concluded that in our opinion AVG Internet Security is by far the best.  Click to read the summary – ‘Antivirus Comparison – The Final Ratings and Rankings‘.

To find out more about AVG Internet Security watch the video in our recent post ‘Learn about AVG Internet Security 9.0 – Video‘.

Don’t forget to vote on our current poll…Do you get emails on your phone?

Picnik is a brilliant free online photo editing tool and ideal for all users (from novices to pros).  The website has a wide variety of features which can help you make ‘average’ photos look ‘amazing’.

Free features include rotate, crop, flip, re-size, exposure options (including exposure, contrast, highlight, shadow and brightness adjustments), colour options (including saturation and temperature adjustments), sharpening options (including sharpness, radius and strength options) and red-eye adjustments for humans and animals.  All you need to do is register with the site and then you’re ready to start editing!

If you want to use more features you can sign up to their premium package from just $2.08 (£1.30 at time of writing).

A feature explained…

Rotate

1. Select rotate from the features panel (click image to enlarge)
   
2. You can then press left or right to rotate the image anti-clockwise or clockwise respectively (click image to enlarge)
   
3. The image can also be angled by moving the ‘Straighten’ slider adjustment (click image to enlarge)
   
4. Finally, the image can be ‘flipped’ by clicking either of the two buttons to the right of ‘flip’ (click image to enlarge)
   

Want to find out more? Check out picnik.com

Microsoft SharedView is one of those quality pieces of free software which is fantastic but not very well-known.  So here’s a bit about it and what it has to offer…

As described on their website…Microsoft SharedView is a fast, easy way to share documents and screen views with small groups of friends or coworkers; anytime, anywhere. Use SharedView to put your heads together and collaborate – create, convey and communicate…across physical boundaries, through firewalls, and down to the smallest details.

The program can be used by any individual who has a Windows Live ID which are free to obtain. Click to get yourself an ID.

The software however is only compatible with some of Microsoft’s latest operating

• Windows Vista – 32-bit Versions
• Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (32bit)
• Windows 2003 Server SP1 (32bit)
• Windows 7

You can use the software to have discussions (see above/click to enlarge) and share documents/handouts between friends and colleagues.

Want to find out more and download about this program? Check out the Microsoft SharedView website.

Here is a table comparing the latest AVG packages.  They are all currently available from Brandstar with a 15% Discount!

Free Anti-Virus software doesn’t protect you, your files or your identity while:

• Shopping online
• Banking online
• Chatting to friends
• Downloading music, files and films

Feature	AVG Free	AVG Anti-Virus	AVG Internet Security
RRP – 1 Year	Free*	£27.99	£39.99
RRP – 2 Years	Free*	£38.99	£59.99
Anti-Virus – Makes sure you can get or spread a virus, worm or Trojan horse
Anti-Spyware – Prevents unauthorized information access by spyware and adware
LinkScanner ® – Ensures every page you visit is safe – before you go there
Web Shield – Lets you download and exchange files without risking virus infections
Advanced Anti-Rootkit Protection – Ensures even the toughest and most sophisticated hidden threats are kept out
Game Mode – Keeps you safe without interrupting you while you’re playing
AVG Identity Protection – Keeps your private information safe from known and unknown threats.
Anti-Spam – Blocks spammers and scammers from clogging your system
Enhanced Firewall – Prevents hackers from seeing inside your computer
System Tools – Optionally customize how AVG Protection works with your system
Free Support – Free 24/7 support from AVG
Download	Free	30 Day Trial	30 Day Trial
Buy at Brandstar	N/A	Buy at Brandstar	Buy at Brandstar

We recently wrote a post about performing a ‘Disk Cleanup’ on XP and we thought it would be a good idea to do one for Vista too! Disk Cleanup is a computer maintenance application included in Microsoft Windows operating systems. It’s designed to free up disk space on your computers hard drive. Therefore, it’s worth performing a cleanup every so often. The feature searches and reviews your hard drive for files which are no longer necessary. It will then, after you’ve made some selections, remove any files that are not needed on your machine.

Here is how to perform Disk Cleanup on Vista:

1. Firstly click on the start Orb and type ‘Disk Cleanup’ in the box.  Then click on the ‘Disk Cleanup’ option under programs (Click on image to enlarge)
   
2. Secondly, select whether you’d like to perform the task for just your account or every account on the system.
   
3. Next choose which drive you would like the cleanup to be performed on.  For this example we’ll use option (C:).  You can choose the drive from the drop down list.  Once you’ve chosen click ‘OK’
   
4. The computer will then scan your selected drive
   
5. Next you should make selections regarding which files you would like to be removed.  Simply click on the option, read the description and if you’d like this to be removed click in the box next to the option so it has a tick in it. (Click on image to enlarge)
   
6. To confirm your selections click ‘delete files’
   
7. Your computer will now perform a Disk Cleanup
   

We hope this has been helpful. Running Disk Cleanup can be a great way to increase the performance of your computer.  If you have any questions comment below!

Disk Cleanup is a computer maintenance application included in Microsoft Windows operating systems.  It’s designed to free up disk space on your computers hard drive.  Therefore, it’s worth performing a cleanup every so often.  The feature searches and reviews your hard drive for files which are no longer necessary.  It will then, after you’ve made some selections, remove any files that are not needed on your machine.

Here is how to run a Disk Cleanup on XP:

1. Firstly click ‘Start’ and select ‘All Programs’
   
2. Then Select ‘Accessories’, followed by ‘System Tools’ and finally ‘Disk Cleanup’ (Click on image to enlarge)
   
3. Your computer will now run a scan to locate files that could be removed or compressed.
   
4. Next you should make selections regarding which files you would like to be removed.  Simply click on the option, read the description and if you’d like this to be removed click in the box next to the option so it has a tick in it.   We recommend that you don’t select to compress files as it will slow down your computer considerably (Click on image to enlarge)
   
5. Your computer will now perform the Disk Cleanup.
   

Hopefully this tutorial has been helpful and will encourage you to run a Disk Cleanup.  It’s a free way to improve the speed of your computer!

We will post about Disk Cleanup on Vista next week!

See Also:
Defrag for XP
ScanDisk for XP

Have you ever had a problem sending large emails to other people?  Many web-based email accounts have a limit to how many bytes worth of attachments you can send at any one time.  Filemail.com is an online large email sender which resolves this problem.

The service can be used for free (up to 2GB) or can be subscribed to for $4 per month (£2.41 at time of writing) or $45 per month (£27.12 at time of writing).  Obviously the more you pay, the more features you get.  For example, in the $4 Premium Package you can send up to 10 GB, have password protection and keep track of uploads/downloads.  The features are even more extensive for the $45 Corporate package, including giving your email a real brand image.

Filemail.com is really easy to use.  Simply type the recipients email address, your email address, a message, upload the file(s) and then click send!  It couldn’t be much easier!

We think Filemail.com is a great website and will most definitely resolve the forever occurring issue of how to send big files via email!

Have you ever used Filemail.com?  What do you think of it?

We have been testing the Beta version of Windows 7 since that was released and downloaded the RC as soon as we could get our hands on it. In short we still think it is brilliant and are really looking forward to the final release.

Without writing pages and pages on this the best way to sum up Windows 7 is this  -  “Windows 7 is in short a refined version of Windows Vista”

If you have a spare machine then download the Release Candidate for free here: Microsot Windows 7 RC Download. And see what you think.

Have a read of our other Windows 7 posts and we will post back soon with of first impressions of Windows 7 RC !

Free, legal and music streaming are words which you don’t often hear together…until now.  Spotify is a free program that you can download.  It lets you stream (listen to) millions of songs for free!!  You could type in loads of current bands and find all their albums ready to listen to.  You’ve also got all the golden oldies there for your pleasure if that floats your boat.  The only catch is that you have an advertisement every 30 minutes or so.  But for what you’re getting it is well worth it!

Its really simple to use too!  Just download the software, register and then you’re ready to start listening.  When you want to listen to music just log in, search a song/album/artist and click play!

Spotify has many great features available:

• Searches – it remembers your recent searches and compiles them in a list on the left-hand side (see image for example).
• Top Lists – Check out what songs everyone else is listening to in Top Lists.  It shows you a list of the most popular songs and albums in your country and the entire world.
• Radio – Select the decade and genre then Spotify generates a playlist of great songs from that era for your listening pleasure.
• Playlists – Make your own playlist from your favourite songs on Spotify
• Play Queue – Add albums and songs to your Play Queue to save searching for a new song every time one finishes!

If you really like Spotify you can buy their ‘Day Pass’ or ‘Premium’ Package.  The Day Pass allows you to 24 hour access with no ad’s for just 99p!!  The Premium Package will set you back £9.99 per month but gets you unlimited access with Spotify invites and no Ad’s!

Like the idea of Spotify?  Want to find out more?  In which case check out their Website, their Video or post us a comment!