How to Make Windows 8 Look Like Win 7 on Your PC

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as the old saying goes, and that's just as true for operating systems as it is elsewhere in life. Not thrilled with Windows 8's lack of a Start button, for example? Not to worry. You can take matters into your own hands and bring it back -- along with the Windows Desktop and a number of other comfortingly familiar features.

Windows 8's blah reception from many computer users may have been due at least in part to a peculiar trait that we humans have, and that's our obsession with improvement.

Improving our lot has been a fixation throughout virtually all of human history, so it shouldn't come as any great surprise that Microsoft couldn't help itself when it became time to update its OS -- an OS that we had all learned to use expertly over the last 20 years or so.

That obsession, along with a need to keep about 100,000 employees occupied, resulted in Windows 8's improvements over Windows 7 -- the strange omission of the Start button and the hiding of the Windows Desktop, that icon-studded screen we used to launch into.

Well, if you don't like improvement, are simply a Luddite or just fondly miss the Windows Desktop, you can take matters into your own hands. Here's how to start Windows 8.1 into Desktop mode -- bypassing the new, improved tile-based look -- plus a couple of other tricks.

Update Windows 8 to Free Windows 8.1 (If You Haven't Already)

Step 1: Make a backup of your personal files by swiping in from the right edge of the screen and choosing Search. Enter the term File History Settings and then click on the results and follow the instructions to perform the backup.

Tip: You'll need an external drive, like a USB memory drive.

Step 2: Touch or click on the Store tile on the Start page.

Step 3: Choose the free Windows 8.1 Update and select Download. Allow the update to proceed and complete. Then restart the PC and sign in.

Configure the Desktop Startup

Step 1: Launch the Desktop from the Start page by clicking on the tile labeled Desktop.

Step 2: Right-click on the Taskbar.

Tip: The Taskbar is the solid-colored strip below the wallpaper.

Step 3: Choose Properties and then the Navigation tab in the resulting box.

Step 4: Scroll down to the dialog, "When I sign in or close all apps on a screen, go to the Desktop instead of Start," and check the checkbox. Click on OK.

The next time you restart your computer, the Start tile-based page will be skipped, and you'll launch into a Windows 7-style desktop instead. Hooray for the Luddites.

Tip: While you're on the Desktop page, check out the new-in-Windows 8.1 Windows icon in the bottom-left corner. It's a Start button of sorts, and clicking on it alternates you between the tile-infested Start page and the lovable classic Desktop page.

Launching Into the App Page

Adding insult to injury in the Windows 8 environment, you may have noticed that the Start page -- the one with all of the newfangled tiles -- doesn't include all of the apps that you've painstakingly searched for and downloaded.

The full listing of apps are in a page called Apps, not Start. You can get to the Apps page by clicking on the new-in-Windows 8.1 Down arrow in the bottom-left corner of the Windows 8.1 Start page if you want to see that page.

Here's how to launch straight into Apps from Desktop, bypassing Start.

Step 1: Launch the Desktop from the Start page by clicking on the tile labeled Desktop.

Step 2: Right-click on the Taskbar.

Step 3: Choose Properties and then the Navigation tab in the resulting box.

Step 4: Scroll down to the dialog, "Show the Apps view automatically when I go to Start," and check the checkbox. Click on OK.

The next time you click on the Windows icon in the bottom left corner of the Desktop, you'll go to Apps instead of Start. Now that's an improvement.

How to Replace the Stock Android Keyboard

The stock Android keyboard, which is excellent in its own right, Android users have dozens of alternative options at their fingertips. There are keyboards that let you use gestures to type, several that let you swipe to type out words and even a few that’ll completely change the way you think about typing on a mobile phone. Android users can choose the keyboard that fits them, and this guide will show you how to get started with your keyboard of choice, which for us is SwiftKey ($3.99 for full version, try for free for one month).

1. Search for SwiftKey on Google Play. You’ll notice that there are two SwiftKey applications, a free and paid version. The free version gives you a one-month free trial to see if you like SwiftKey enough to purchase it.

2. Tap Install on the SwiftKey app of your choice.

3. Tap Open in Google Play once your app is installed. This will launch you into SwiftKey’s basic setup process.

4. Tap “Choose Language,” and select your primary language. The language pack will download and you’ll be taken into the next section. You can download additional language packs after you’ve completed the initial setup.

5. Tap “Enable SwiftKey.” Clicking this button will take you into Android’s Keyboard Settings menu to enable SwiftKey as an available keyboard option.

6. Toggle the checkbox next to SwiftKey, then tap your device’s Back button to go back to the SwiftKey setup menu.

7. Set SwiftKey as your Default Input Method. Follow the on-screen prompts to set SwiftKey to be your default input method, then click the back button once more to go back to SwiftKey setup.

8. Sync your Device with SwiftKey Cloud to help the keyboard learn from your previous activity. This optional step allows SwiftKey to learn your typing preference over time, resulting in better text prediction. If you’d like to do this, sign in with your Google Account, and click the yes button that pops up. Finally, click okay in the Sign in box to complete the sign in process.

9. Enable SwiftKey Flow to get trace ability for your keyboard. One of the main advantages Android has over the competition is a trace keyboard, which allows you to swipe over letters to create words. SwiftKey Flow is the company’s trace keyboard, and it’s our favorite SwiftKey features.

After you’ve completed the primary setup process, you can choose to add language packs or change certain settings if you so desire. You can do these at any time by launching the SwiftKey application from your phone’s app drawer.

5 Deadly Marketing Mistakes Startups Make

Your business idea is solid, your product is top-notch, and you're on all the major social networks. So why aren't you seeing the sales growth you expected? According to serial entrepreneur Drew Williams, it all boils down to one major issue: poor marketing.

"Most entrepreneurs have great ideas for products and services, but don't know how to market them," said Williams, co-author of "Feed the Startup Beast " (McGraw-Hill, 2013). "By creating a proven, repeatable system of marketing, entrepreneurs will be able to achieve a high level of consistency, scalability, measurement and, finally, success."

Williams identified five marketing  mistakes that will keep your start-up from reaching its full potential, and how to fix them before it's too late:

1. Failing to ask customers what they think of your product.Not having a product or service that the market really wants is one of the biggest mistakes startups make. It's also one of the leading reasons that so few businesses ever achieve their growth targets. Most entrepreneurs set out with a very strong belief in what they’re doing, and some don't want to be told otherwise. Show your prospects and customers what you're doing and get their input. You will always come out ahead for having done so, and the best part is, you’ll be amazed at how many of them are willing to help. All you have to do is ask.
2. Not building a "den of seduction" into your website. Most startup websites are not built to sell. Your website has to be the center of your marketing universe. When a prospect finds you, they have to be presented with a very compelling path that leads them to a place where you can convert them from "anonymous visitor" to "known prospect," with whom a meaningful relationship can now be started. That means turning your website from a self-serve buffet into a den of seduction.
3. Being unfindable. Armed with Google, potential buyers can find out everything they need to know about what you sell. So when they're looking, you have to make sure you're found. That said, the range and scope of social media and inbound marketing tools is staggering and tends to overwhelm even the hardiest marketer, let alone the average entrepreneur who sees marketing as being just this side of a necessary evil. The secret is to focus on a few inbound tactics that really pay back, and safely setting aside the other 19,000 tactics that don't, at least for now.
4. Not pursuing prospects. Many start-ups convince themselves that their marketing is covered if they run a little SEO, a blog and social media accounts. That is, until someone notices that sales seem a little sluggish. Marketing that pays back is equal parts being found by best prospect sand actively finding best prospects. It isn’t hard to identify 50 prospects who, by all rights, should be buying your product, and then targeting them with an intriguing campaign that starts to build a relationship. As those initial 50 prospects move into various stages of engagement with you, you roll out the next 50 prospects, and so on. If you know who should be buying from you, introduce yourself to them.
5. Not measuring success and creating obtainable goals. The fastest path to growth is to double-down on what works. There are many marketing measures you can torture yourself with, but figure out the ones that most efficiently guide you toward your goals. Make sure your business is built around those metrics.

"Understand marketing and be hands-on in developing a system so you know how it works – your success almost certainly depends on it," Williams said. "It bears remembering that one of the greatest tech entrepreneurs of our time wasn't a technologist. Steve Jobs was a marketer."

5 Tips for Restoring Family Photos

Stumbling across an old box of photos can lead to laughter, tears and fond memories. While the generations before us did not have access to digital cameras, their love affair with taking pictures never slowed. And it's a good thing, too. Without pictures, most of us would never know what our grandparents and relatives looked like or how the world used to look 50 or 100 years ago, and our parents wouldn't have proof that they used to be young and attractive before we came along.

Unfortunately, older photos tend to fade; inks disappear and leave red or orange casts over the whole picture. The effects of time and nature, such as water damage or dust, can also wreak havoc on your beloved memories. That is where photo editing software can save the day. Here are five tips to help you be a better photo editor and achieve great results as you restore your beloved photos.

Import With a Good Scanner

Most scanners today are quite capable, scanning at high resolutions, and usually some low-end software is included to let you do the basic photo editing chores like crop, adjust contrast and color. 

If you are planning to scan on a regular basis, or have a large batch to restore, you may want to consider purchasing a dedicated flatbed scanner, as the end quality is usually a bit better than the all-in-one printer scanners. It is also important to note that there are scanners available with built-in hardware that holds negatives or slides in an optimal position. Before you place a photo onto your scanner, make sure the glass is clean and is dust- and smudge–free, and that your hands are clean and dry as well. Doing this will help reduce the need for extra editing and save you time.

Resolution

When you scan an image, you are given the choice of resolution, or dpi, you want to save at. Dpi means "dots per inch" and refers to the intensity a picture is printed at. The lower the resolution, the blurrier it will be if it is enlarged. When restoring photos, select a resolution of at least 300 dpi to save your photos in. You can go higher or lower if you choose, but be warned that lower-resolution photos may turn out blurry when printed.

Use the Clone Tool

If your photos are plagued with dust, scratches, creases or old boyfriends, then the clone tool is about to become your best friend. Most photo editing programs include a clone or rubber stamp tool that can be used to remove unwanted objects, like your ex, or to patch up ruined parts of a photo. Great advances have been made in object removal over the past few years, most notably in the content-aware functions. 

Content-aware means that the program takes into consideration the surrounding environment – the colors, tones and objects – and renders a repair as close as possible. This makes it very easy to fill in places and remove unwanted objects and people. It can take some time to get used to how these restoration tools work, so be sure to play around and get some experience.

Save Format

Always make a backup of your original picture scan as well as your restored one. While digital formats help your photo collection last longer, there are some file formats that decay faster than others. The ever-popular JPG or JPEG format is widely used across the digital landscape; unfortunately, this format decays each time the file is saved. This decaying problem is called lossiness, because you are losing data. Lossless formats such as TIFF are the better way to save your images. 

This format saves your pictures in the highest quality and we recommend saving a master file in TIFF format because all the data is retained, no matter how many times you use the file. There is one downside to saving in TIFF: Unfortunately, TIFF files require a lot of room due to their large file size, and you can quickly find your hard drive filling up as you edit. Make sure you have enough hard drive space to accommodate your growing collection.

Patience!

Learning how to restore photos is enjoyable, exciting and rewarding. It can also be a pain in the neck trying to get things just right. Take the time to learn how to use your photo editing software properly, and never underestimate the power of the undo button! If you find yourself growing frustrated while you edit, take a break, go feed the ducks, eat some chocolate or some other pleasant activity, and then try again. If you have patience with yourself and the photos you are working on, you'll achieve better results and figure out a workflow that is best suited for you.

Restoring family photos is a labor of love, and helps ensure that future generations will benefit from the history and information you helped to preserve. Using the tips above can help make the editing process easier and increase your enjoyment. Editing photos is highly rewarding and, while challenging, can be a lot of fun. Be sure to check out our reviews of the best photo editing software and get started on saving your heritage and memories today.

3 Ways to Become a Better Photo Editor

 Editing photos does not have to be stressful or overly time consuming. Editing should be a fun experience - a time to flex your creative muscles and enhance the vision you captured with your camera. If you are looking for ways to improve your editing workflow, these three tips can help you step up your game and become a better photo editor.

File Organization

If you are anything like most digital photographers, you probably have a collection of thousands of pictures that seems to grow larger every day. Unfortunately, taking the time to organize, label and rate every single picture is usually not on the top of a photographer's to-do list. Well, it should be! Having an organized photo file system is vital to streamlining your workflow, and it makes quickly finding your photos a much less frustrating experience.

Taking the time to organize, label and add keywords to your photos now will save you a lot of time in the future. Don't put it off today, only to be overwhelmed by your ever-increasing collection tomorrow.

Master the Heal Tool

This essential tool is the key to your success as a photo editor. While most Mac photo editing software has some form of healing and touch-up tool set, they can vary in strength and ability. Get to know your healing tools by practicing on some non-essential photos. If you don't have any of your own, then download an image from the internet. Try out the settings for each mode and make note of the results you get. 

Some programs allow you to select the size of the affected area, or the size of the tool. Figure out where the tool is sampling from in your image as well as how it reacts to healing large and small areas. As you learn exactly how your program's healing and touch up tools work, you'll find that you will be able to spot blemishes and know exactly which tool to use, thereby increasing your productivity.

Utilize Batch Processing

Batch processing is an incredible way to save time, and learning how to best utilize it is well worth the effort. This feature allows you to apply edits such as resizing, adjust brightness or adding a creative filter to a group of photos without having to open each individual picture, make the change and save. Batch processing is a great way to save your sanity as well as your valuable time.

These are just a few ways that you can increase your ability to edit photos faster and more efficiently. Another important aspect of photo editing having the right tools for the job. Taking the photograph is only the beginning of the creative process. Using photo editing software lets you take your pictures to the next level. Above all, have fun with your photos!

Latest nine new web address suffixes.

Nine new web address suffixes, including .bike, .clothing, .singles and .guru, have been made available as the net names system undergoes a radical shake-up.

The new names, formally known as generic top level domains (gTLDs) are currently open only to those with registered trademarks.

They will be open to the general public at the end of January 2014.

New names are expected to be released at a rate of about 10 a week.

Last month four new domains were launched: شبكة, the Arabic word for "web"; 游戏, the Chinese word for "game"; and the Russian words for "online" and "web site", онлайн and сайт.

Approximately 1,400 new gTLDs are expected to come online in the next few years.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) believes that the new set of names will transform the way business is done online.

From fashion brands and dating agencies, to spiritual healers and cycle advocates, the launch of these new domains mean consumers can easily find specific content within each extension, while businesses will benefit from a stronger and more relevant online proposition.

Icann has invited companies to submit applications for names they would like to register.

Firms have come forward to request almost 2,000 new names including the likes of .porn, .ninja, and .ferrari.

As well as domain names set aside for brands there will be around 700 more generic names, such as .shop, .hotel and .site.

But not everyone thinks that the shake-up is necessary. The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse estimates that companies will need to spend thousands of pounds to ensure their brands are not hijacked by others.

The new domain names:

• .guru
• .ventures
• .camera
• .clothing
• .lighting
• .singles
• .voyage
• .holdings
• .equipment

5 Easy Step For Securing the Internet

Purpose-built devices have security-critical vulnerabilities to the same degree that everything else does. A few things are different: First, manufacturers may not have the same kind of vulnerability reporting and response channels as, say, an operating system or application vendor would. Second, these devices are often closed architecture with a nontransparent and often proprietary code base.

The Internet of Things has been receiving quite a bit of attention. Definitions vary, but at its core the concept is a simple one: Extend computing and data-processing capability to the physical world around us. The earliest manifestations of this are starting to be seen already in the growth of smart devices: televisions, automobiles, appliances, electric meters, etc.

Certainly, one can imagine numerous scenarios in which our businesses can be streamlined through strategic application of this concept: dynamic inventory management; self-diagnostic capability for appliances (e.g., refrigerators); better logistics; increased efficiencies resulting from better telemetry; and so forth. These advantages promise rapid and prolific adoption as implementation comes to fruition.

Still, there have been IP-connected, closed architecture, specialized devices in the scope of many security programs for quite a long time. Consider the role of point-of-sale devices in retail, diagnostic modalities in healthcare (MRI machines and the like), and industrial control systems in energy and manufacturing. While wildly different in functionality and implementation, these devices have common aspects that can help shed light on the security challenges ahead as more and IP-connected, purpose-built devices come online.

These historical challenges can serve as a touchstone to prepare for the emergence of the Internet of Things. We can't solve all of them now -- there are too many unknown unknowns -- but anticipating now what capabilities we might need as smart devices become more prevalent has a few advantages. It can give us a leg up if enterprise use amps up quickly, as it is likely to, and also help insulate organizations against risks during early adoption, when guidance and standards are still emerging.

Although securing the Internet of Things is a work in progress, there are a few security capabilities to develop -- or hone, if they're already in place -- in order to prepare. These are things you can do today that have benefits right away but that also will be critical as IoT develops and smart devices proliferate.

Capability No. 1: Threat Awareness/Intelligence

Purpose-built devices, no matter what they are, have security-critical vulnerabilities to the same degree that everything else does. A few things are different: First, manufacturers may not have the same kind of vulnerability reporting and response channels as, say, an operating system or application vendor would. Second, these devices are often closed architecture with a nontransparent and often proprietary code base.

Thus, there will be varying degrees of transparency when it comes to vulnerability reporting. For example, some manufacturers may initially downplay the impact of vulnerabilities or be slow to report them. Having internal analysts with their ear to the ground for vulnerabilities in these devices --- and a process for rapidly reporting what they find -- can help expose vulnerabilities earlier than if the sole alerting mechanism is manufacturer notification. Likewise, tracking the tactics of attackers will help expose attempts to actively exploit these devices.

Capability No. 2: Inventory Management

As most security pros know from cloud and virtualization efforts, retroactively creating inventories of a rapidly expanding technology footprint is challenging. As previously unconnected dumb devices start to come with built-in network and computing capability, knowing what and where those devices are will be important.

Put those two things together, and it's probably a good idea to start tracking what they are, where they live (to the extent they're non-portable), and who's responsible for them. It's easier to start now while the problem is small than it is to wait and retroactively attempt discovery once usage proliferates.

Capability No. 3: Application Security

If you're a manufacturer producing a smart device, it behooves you to minimize the number of issues you have to fix once its in customers' hands. Likewise, if you're a consumer, it's helpful to understand the underlying protocols these devices use to interact.

Both require expertise in understanding how applications operate and interact: how the protocols operate; how security defects or misconfigurations arise; how other components are likely to impact the applications running on these devices; etc. These skills are forged in the subdiscipline of application -- that is, software -- security.

If, like many shops, you've underinvested in this arena in the past, starting to build some strength here might be a smart move.

Capability No. 4: Vendor Governance

Though it might not seem immediately apparent, securing the supply chain can be particularly critical when it comes to securing purpose-built devices. There are a few reasons. First, the practices of manufacturers (for example, their ability to build a hardened product) play a role. Second, implementers and VARs can leave configuration or other errors in deployment.

Lastly, maintenance and support may require granting access to external parties so they can troubleshoot and provide that support. Building a capability to assess these external parties in the supply chain can give you some transparency and help you assess the level of risk these situations might introduce.

Capability No. 5: Business Integration

All of the above capabilities require, at their core, one central thing to be effective: namely, knowledge of how an organization is employing the Internet of Things as part of its broader strategy. To get this, you need some knowledge about what the business is doing -- ideally, as rapidly as possible.

Being out of touch with business efforts has never been a good way to operate, but it's particularly risky now. Business stakeholders might not think to come to IT when making purchasing decisions about previously unconnected devices that now host both networking and computing capability. 

How to improve your eyesight naturally

Modern lifestyles require many of us to spend long periods of time focusing on objects right in front of us, such as computer screens, books, and televisions. Over time, this can cause vision to become weaker.

If your eyesight isn’t as clear as it used to be, it may simply need a little help. There are many ways you can help to improve your eyesight naturally by making simple changes to your diet, adding nutritional supplements into your daily regime, and by protecting your eyes from sun damage. There are also daily vision-strengthening exercises that can help to maintain the muscles around the eyes.

Vision problems

It is natural for vision to deteriorate with age. This usually begins to occur around the age of 40 and is believed to be due to a gradual loss of flexibility in the lens of the eyes, and in the muscles and fibres that surround them. If you spend long periods of time focusing on objects close to you then your eyes may lose the ability to focus on distant objects. You may find yourself holdings books and magazines at arms length to focus properly.

If you suffer from more serious eye conditions such as glaucoma or cataracts, you may experience significant loss of vision which can make even routine activities tricky. When severe, these eye conditions can make a home environment potentially dangerous. It is important to consider changes to lighting and to clear walkways in order to make the home as safe as possible.

Macular degeneration

Aged-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common type of vision disorder in the UK. This causes a gradual loss of central vision, which causes objects in front of you to become blurred. Known risk factors for AMD include the ageing process, smoking, and genetics. AMD is often accelerated by the damaged caused by free-radical particles in the body.

There are two different types of AMD. The most common form is Dry AMD. This causes vision to reduce gradually over a period of years. The second type is Wet AMD, which is more severe and can cause deterioration of vision over a period of days. There is no cure for AMD, but there are exercises and nutrients that can help to prevent further damage and care for the remaining vision.

Tips to improve eyesight

• Try simple eye exercises – your eyes contain muscles that require regular exercise to stay in peak condition. Every 30 minutes focus on an object in the distance for 10 to 30 seconds. This will help to strengthen the eyes ability to focus on distant objects.

• Move the computer screen away – focussing on a computer screen for long periods of time without a break can cause eye strain, blurry vision, and eye muscle weakness. Make sure the computer screen is at least 20 inches away from you and just below eye level. Take short breaks every 30 minutes.
• Reduce sugar intake – a diet high in sugar causes high insulin levels in the blood. This can lead to an inflammatory response in the body, which damages cells over time.
• Diet – eat a diet rich in antioxidant fruits and vegetables. These include tomatoes, carrots and leafy greens. Eggs contain small amounts of Lutein and zeaxanthin, which can help to improve the health of the eye. Try to eat fish twice a week as omega 3 fatty acids can help to reduce dry eyes.
• Drink plenty of water – if your eyes feel tired and strained, it may be that they are dehydrated. Try to drink at least 6 glasses of water each day.
• Don’t smoke – the chemicals in cigarettes cause blood vessels to constrict which reduces blood flow to the eyes. This means that the eyes do not receive adequate levels of nutrients.
• Protect your eyes – sunlight can damage the retina and lens of the eye. Always wear protective glasses when out in the sun.
• Use a magnifier – if you suffer from severe eye conditions, such as glaucoma, you may find it easier to use a magnifier when completing common tasks. You could also try reading large-print books or e-readers.

Natural supplements to support eye health

Lutein – Lutein is a cartenoid found naturally in the eye. In supplement form it is often taken to support eye health. 

Bilberry – this antioxidant extract helps to improve blood circulation and may help to protect the eye from free-radical damage.

5 steps to recovery and detox the morning

There is no cure for a hangover, but taking certain steps, such as rehydrating your body and replenishing its lost nutrients, can help to relieve the symptoms. Certain supplements, particularly B vitamins, may also be beneficial. 

1) Rehydrate

Alcohol is a diuretic (removes fluid from the body), which means that when you drink too much, you become dehydrated. It is therefore important to consume plenty of water after drinking, as this can replace the lost stores from your cells and allow the body to start functioning properly.

The fabled ‘hair of the dog’ routine of easing symptoms by drinking more alcohol is simply a myth; it only delays the suffering.

2) Eat healthy foods

If you have a hangover, it can be tempting to order a takeaway or reach for some junk food, but these usually offer little nutritional value and can cause an energy crash. Instead, try and force yourself to eat something healthy, with plenty of fruit and vegetables to provide your body with energy. A vegetable-rich soup can be a good way to provide your body with these nutrients.

Alcohol also lowers blood sugar levels, so try to eat some pasta, potatoes, or bread to provide the body with much needed glucose.

3) Rest

You may feel tired and groggy, so going back to sleep can be an appealing prospect. And some experts suggest that this is perfectly fine, and can help by allowing your body more time to recover while you are asleep.

4) Exercise

It may be the last thing on your mind, but there is a school of thought that suggests exercise may be beneficial. Exercise improves energy levels and also stimulates the release of feel-good endorphins, so it could help to make you feel much better.

If you do exercise, take it steady and remember to take plenty of water on board as you may still be dehydrated from the night before.

5) Replenish lost vitamins

Drinking alcohol depletes the body’s stores of nutrients, and the B vitamins are lost the quickest.

B vitamins are some of the most important for the functioning of the human body, playing a role in energy metabolism, heart function, and mental performance. They may also help with the removal of toxins caused by alcohol. It is therefore important that B vitamins are replaced as soon as possible.

Drinking too much, too often is never a good idea, but if you do occasionally overdo it, follow these steps to aid your recovery and detox your body.

How to Use Social Media Dashboards to Market your Business Online

Social media are becoming an ever-increasing part of marketing. If you've been finding one-user, consumer-oriented clients for Twitter and Facebook cumbersome for your business, it may well be time to move over to a social media management tool like Hootsuite.

These kinds of tools allow you to manage more than one social network; schedule posts like messages and tweets; track conversations and analytics, such as product mentions and traffic; assign tasks to team members; and so on.

For the purposes of this article, I'm using leader Hootsuite's free version for examples. However, there are other, conceptually similar dashboards worth checking out, including Seesmic, Tweetdeck, MediaFunnel and TodayLaunch.

Prerequisite: You should already own a Twitter and Facebook account before trying these.

Here's how to get up to speed quickly on scheduling messages, connecting existing blogs, monitoring analytics and more.

Step 1: Set up the account.

Open a browser tab and sign up for a Hootsuite account by completing the form on the sign-up page and then verifying the account by checking your email account. Or, you can sign in using a social network account.

Then authorize Hootsuite to use your Twitter and Facebook accounts using the Add Social Network and Add Stream buttons at the top of the browser-like tabbed dashboard that will have appeared.

Step 2: Send a message.

Send a message by entering message text in the Compose Message box at the top of the page. Use the options there to schedule or add a location.

Tip: Hootsuite has an auto-schedule function too, for queuing messages. Use it to maintain a constant message flow.

Step 3: Connect any existing RSS feeds from blogs.

Click on the Settings icon and select RSS/Atom. Then press the plus sign and Add Feed URL, choose Facebook as the network to send to, and how many posts you want to send at any one time.

Your existing blog's new posts will post to your Facebook account automatically.

Step 4: Create a report.

Scroll down to the third item in the left column, labeled Analytics. Then choose Twitter Profile Overview and the report will be created.

Some more elaborate reports require a subscription upgrade to US$9.99 per month, and some a purchase of analytics credits.

Useful reports include Facebook Insights, which shows Likes by demographic, for example; and Twitter Engagement, which shows Twitter mentions and retweets.

Step 5: Add other networks.

Choose the App Directory listing to view apps that you can install. They include other network plug-ins such as Instagram, for example.

The Instagram app lets you view and add comments, among other things.

Step 6: Plan a social strategy.

Define your organization's strategy, which can include objectives like gaining leads or publicity. Then develop content and execute. You may already have blog in production that can be used.

Tip: You should consider that social networks require a certain amount of live involvement and that users are savvy and may disregard obvious marketing messages. It's not like TV or radio.

Step 7: Peruse your contacts.

Select Contacts and then the People I Follow or People Following Me tabs to see data on profiles, including numbers of followers and a Klout score.

Klout is a third-party organization that measures social influence.

Step 8: Set up search streams.

Click on the Add Stream button and then the Search tab. Enter terms relevant to your business. You should attempt to follow people who are using these terms. Then listen and engage by adding opinions and so on.

Antivirus Software vs. Internet Security Software Review: A Case Study between Bitdefender and Kaspersky Antivirus

What is the difference between antivirus software and an internet security suite? Well, antivirus software is more basic than internet security. But rather than make general statements about the differences between antivirus software and internet security suites, it might be instructive to compare the two best internet security suites in our review with their lower-priced antivirus counterparts.

Bitdefender Internet Security has every feature that Bitdefender Antivirus Plus contains and a few more. Both products are fast, unintrusive and Windows 8 compatible. Both of them block and remove viruses and spyware. Either of them checks any portable storage devices that you may attach to your PC to see if they are safe. You can use either one to conduct safe online transactions and secure social networking sessions. With either product, you can surf the internet without disclosing private information. And either one will let you give it the reins to make security-related decisions for you without popups that ask you to decide what to do.

Bitdefender Internet Security, however, adds parental control, cloud anti-spam, a two-way firewall and a file shredder. If you would like the ability to block inappropriate content when your children go online, control when they can be online and monitor their online activity from a remote location, you might prefer Bitdefender Internet Security to Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. And if you’d like the ability to delete a file in such a way that nobody (not even the CIA) could resurrect it, you will prefer Bitdefender Internet Security to Bitdefender Antivirus Plus.

Furthermore, the Internet Security version contains a Bitdefender firewall that works independently from the firewall in Microsoft Windows. The Kaspersky counterparts to these Bitdefender products and many other competitors show similar differences.

A strong competitor to Bitdefender Internet Security is Kaspersky Internet Security. Kaspersky Internet Security and Kaspersky Anti-Virus have more things in common than not. But the few additional features in Kaspersky Internet Security are quite attractive. Of course, both versions of Kaspersky detect, block and remove viruses, but you need Internet Security to take care of spam.

Both versions warn you about dangerous websites, but you need Internet Security to actually block dangerous URLs. Both of them provide a rescue disk, privacy cleaner and task manager, but Internet Security is the one you need if you want parental controls over when and how your children go online. Both products include a virtual keyboard so that you can enter passwords while online shopping or banking in such a way that keyloggers cannot detect your personal identity. However, only the Internet Security product includes its own firewall to protect your internet connection. Are you starting to detect a pattern?

If you examine every similar pair of products from the majority of competitors, you will find that the internet security versions and the antivirus versions perform exactly the same when it comes to detecting, blocking and removing malware. The internet security versions, however, often include parental controls as well as better antiphishing features and more security related to online shopping and banking. The differences in price are so negligible that it usually makes sense to step up to the internet security version rather than make do with the basic antivirus product.

How to Back Up Data on Your Android Smartphone

Some phone manufacturers and carriers provide secure cloud storage for wireless backing up and syncing device content. Open the app and then follow the prompts to sync the data to the cloud. When you want to access the data in the future, open the app and then choose the content type, such as picture or music. Find the file in the list and touch and hold the file-name label to select and download it.

We all back up our PCs, right? Okay, well, we should back up our PCs, right?

Well, smartphones and tablets have become so ubiquitous that we need to back them up now too. It's time.

Important photos, videos, contacts and music are now strewn across small, easy-to-lose, easy-to-break, highly pilferable devices. Fail to back up this stuff at your peril.

Conveniently, there are a number of ways to approach this possibly overwhelming task. They include some free methods -- like allowing Google to take care of settings backups -- and using your wireless carrier's cloud options. Or, simply using a device-included cable to make copies of multimedia.

For the more adventurous, there are apps that can be purchased to handle the task.

Option 1: Google

Let Google manage some of your user-data backups. Google backs up application data, WiFi, passwords and other settings if you allow it to.

• Step 1: Open the Settings menu by touching the Settings icon in the device's app drawer.

• Step 2: Look for a Backup & Reset option, or a Privacy option, depending on your version of Android.

• Step 3: Check Backup My Data to allow Google to collect settings and other data over time. Then check Automatic Restore, which will allow automatic settings to be restored when you reinstall an app.

Now, when you migrate to a new device, your Google-retained settings will load to the new device when you sign in on setup.

Option 2: Phone network

Let your carrier back up documents, images, videos, music and contacts.

• Step 1: Look for a "Cloud" or "Backup" adjective in any of your preinstalled apps in the app drawer on your device.

Some phone manufacturers and carriers, provide secure cloud storage for wirelessly backing up and syncing device content.

• Step 2: Open the app.

• Step 3: Follow the prompts to sync the data to the cloud. When you want to access the data in the future, open the app and then choose the content type, such as picture or music. Find the file in the list and touch and hold the file-name label to select and download it.

Option 3: Cables

Perform a manual backup of media like documents, images, videos and music if your carrier or phone manufacturer doesn't provide any obvious cloud options. Google can handle the settings backups (see Option 1).

• Step 1: Remove the included smartphone USB charging cable from its included wall transformer plug.

• Step 2: Connect your smartphone to a PC with the cable. The smartphone will mount as a drive -- a bit like an SD card does.

• Step 3: Copy and paste files from the smartphone to Windows using the Windows Explorer interface.

Option 4: Google Play store apps

My Backup Pro, priced at US$2.99, lets you back up files to a local SD card within the phone or the cloud and then migrate data to a new device. Backups can include applications, photos, music, videos, contacts and so on.

Titanium Backup Pro Key Root, at $6.58, is similar, but geared towards rooted users. Rooting is a form of phone unlocking that allows access to the phone's ROM file system.

• Step 1: Browse to the Google Play store on your device by selecting Play in the app drawer.

• Step 2: Choose a backup app by searching for My Backup Pro or Titanium Backup.

• Step 3: Allow the app to install and then follow the prompts to configure it.