Here’s the Best Antivirus Software for Windows 7, 8.1, and 10 PCs, According to Tests

 Reputed antivirus testing house AV-Test has released the latest results of the best antivirus software for Windows. Take a look at the complete list below.

You must have read our list of top 10 antivirus solutions for the PCs that suggests you the best free antivirus solutions. If you are keen to keep your computer safe from virus attacks and you care about the online security, here is a great piece of news for you.

AV-Test is one of the leading antivirus testing firms and it has released its antivirus ratings for the Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 PCs. The test has assessed about 27 anti-malware software suits on the basis of protection, usability, and performance.

The results of the tests aren’t surprising as Microsoft is once again at the bottom. So, if you’re using Microsoft’s built-in security solution, you need to reconsider your choices.

Best antivirus for Windows 7:

Bitdefender’s antivirus is the number one security solution available and it secured the maximum of 6 points on all fronts. McAfee is the runner-up, followed by Kaspersky at the third place.

Microsoft, QuickHeal, and Comodo are the worst reviewed antivirus solutions and Avira is the best rated free antivirus product.

Take a look at the complete list below:

Best antivirus for Windows 8.1:

Here, Bitdefender has topped the charts once again, followed by Kaspersky, Qihoo 360, and Avira.

Take a look at the complete list below:

Update: Best antivirus for Windows 10

Avira tops the chart of the best antivirus for Windows 10, whereas Bitdefenderholds the second position this time. Quickheal and Threattrack are ranked the worst in this list.

Which antivirus protection you are using? Tell us in the comments below.

the guy who invented USB is not getting a cent for it

The guy who invented USB is not getting a single cent for it

 

This guy is OK for not making a single dime for inventing the USB

Used in more than 10 billion devices throughout the world, the USB turned 20 years old last week. However, the man who discovered the technology has not made a single penny off it and he is fine with it.

Ajay Bhatt, Intel’s Chief Systems Technologist, who’s largely responsible for inventing the USB technology, told Business Insider, “I don’t do these things for money. I did this to bring about change, and it’s not very often that somebody gets a chance to bring about this big a change.”

As a matter of fact, the USB technology did not make money for anyone. This is because Intel, who was the first one to back Bhatt’s USB idea and who owns all patents to the technology had decided from the start to make it open and royalty free.

Bhatt believed that Intel had every right to do so.

The USB which is now regarded as the standard for connecting different devices, was once met with a lukewarm response from tech companies, including Apple and Microsoft, in the early ’90s when Bhatt had first proposed the idea to them.

Creating a single connector was a smart idea that basically bypassed the need for a separate driver or floppy disk to install each application. However, the basic fear of breaking the existing compatibility functions kept the companies from investing in his idea. But Intel was the only company that was bold enough to make the investment in his idea at the time.

“As an engineer, I’ve been handsomely rewarded by the company,” Bhatt added. “And I couldn’t do this kind of work anywhere else. I have nothing to complain.”

Even though Intel was the first to support the idea and has started building support for it into its chips, actually it was Apple who first shipped a USB compatible product – the iMac G3 – for end users in August 1998. Immediately, Microsoft followed suit when it provided USB support for Windows 98’s second edition.

So, does Bhatt believes that he may have missed out on a chance to make hundreds of millions of dollars? No. He believes that his contribution to the overall computer industry is what makes up for it. The basic purpose was to make the PC easier for regular users, and expand the overall PC market, and the USB undoubtedly helped the cause.

“If computers are seen to be easy, then we’ll sell more computers, and as part of that, we’ll sell more chips. It’s a much bigger picture that Intel saw,” Bhatt said. “As the pie gets bigger, we get a piece of the pie, and we’re happy with it.”

Whats Next

So will there ever be another technology that would be available everywhere as the USB? Bhatt thinks he found one: the stylus.

Currently, Bhatt is working with 35 companies to create a standard for stylus pens, so they could all work under one universal technology. If his vision comes true, then it would be mean that an Apple stylus pen could be used in a Microsoft Surface, and vice versa.

“We are defining a standard to make the stylus more ubiquitous, more responsive, and address the entire handwriting experience,” Bhatt said. “It’s the next frontier.”

Very soon cracked smartphone screen could repair by itself!

 0

UK researchers develop a novel self repairing material that can mend even cracked screen of a smartphone.

It is quite common to end up with a cracked smartphone screen; however in future this may cause no worries.

Thanks to researchers in the UK who have developed a novel technology due to which the broken screen of a smartphone is likely to self repair.

Researchers claim that besides smartphone the material has the capacity to integrate almost everything right from the broken smartphone screens to nail varnish. This amazing product would be available in the next five years.

The self healing technology was originally developed for aviation industry and it helps the airplane wings to self heal while in flight.

Mechanism of Self Repair: 

The novel material is a combination of different carbon based chemicals which produces a sheet of millions of microscopic spheres. Whenever there is a crack on the surface these microscopic spheres move apart and a liquid spreads into the newly formed gap. The chemicals present in the liquid undergo polymerization or hardening of the liquid which ultimately sticks the edges of the cracks and forms a hard filler which is almost invisible.

Researchers say they have been inspired by the blood clotting process in humans which is a sort of self healing wherein the blood turns into a hard protective scab to heal wounds in flesh. The novel healing agent also has the capacity to move into tiny cracks and then undergo catalyzed chemical reaction which helps in healing of the synthetic surface.

Developed by a team from England’s University of Bristol, led by chemistry professor Duncan Wass, the technology was presented at a Royal Society meeting that was held in London last month.

Professor Wass told Chris Green at the The Independent: “We took inspiration from the human body. We’ve not evolved to withstand any damage – if we were like that we’d have a skin as thick as a rhinoceros – but if we do get damaged, we bleed, and it scabs and heals. We just put that same sort of function into a synthetic material: let’s have something that can heal itself.”

It seems, in some cases the team was able to achieve 100 percent recovery of mechanical strength.

As per Leo King, Forbes reporter, this technology has the potential to revolutionize a range of industries including the beauty industry. It seems L’Oréal might use this technology and develop a self hearing nail varnish.

King adds: “While the Bristol researchers have focused on aviation, a hungry consumer tech industry is expected to take it on. In order to achieve success, manufacturers would need to add the formula to existing materials, potentially requiring only a small manufacturing change. But Wass adds: ‘The devil is in the detail and they would need to check that it doesn’t adversely affect other properties’.”

The technology could further also be applied on other products that are made up of carbon composite materials such as bicycle frames and wind turbines said Professor Wass.

He added: “Composite materials are increasingly used in modern airlines, military aircraft and wind turbines. They are very stiff and strong but very light. That’s perfect for aerospace… but the problem is if they are damaged, they are difficult to protect and repair. Our technology would enable you to maybe extend the maintenance schedule or use less material without compromising safety.”

Referring to the role of the “healing agent” in the field of aviation, Professor Wass added that the“healed” aircraft wings were often as strong as they had been originally.

He said: “We are talking about aeroplane wings here – the most demanding application because of the safety aspect. You have to over-engineer. We would literally break it, allow it to heal, break it again. In some cases we were getting 100% recovery.”

It is as simple as adding the substance to the existing product and giving them the power to self heal!

How To Control YouTube In PC With Your Smartphone Without Any App

Suppose you are chatting with your girlfriend and watching a movie or video on YouTube alongside, but you don’t want to touch your PC every time for pausing, reversing, forwarding, increasing or decreasing volume: what to do in that situation? You can obviously control your PC with your smartphone using apps, but wouldn’t it be great if you could just save some storage on your smartphone?

This tutorial I made is for Android device but the procedure is pretty much same on iPhone. Here are the steps:

First you need connect your smartphone and PC on a same network and then open the Leanback version of YouTube site i.e. YouTube.com/tv, and click on the three horizontal dots located at the left side.

Now scroll down and go to Settings then click on PAIR DEVICE and copy the 12 digit code.

Now open the YouTube app on your smartphone and click the three vertical dots in the upper right corner of the app and select Settings. You will see few options there, click on Connected TVs  and then Add a TV.

Enter the 12 digit code there and the click Add. After few seconds you will be notified that your device is connected.

That was all, now you can control YouTube in PC with your smartphone. If you found this post helpful, let us know in comments.

How To Self Destruct Email With Dmail

Admit it, you have wanted this for a long time. There must have been instances when you regretted sending an email with confidential information, or personal pictures, and hoped later that only if you could unsend it, or the message self-destructs itself. Gmail already comes with an in-built undo send option, but it has a time constraint of 30 seconds. So, you have only 30 seconds to assess if you did something regrettable.

Dmail is the one web browser extension that you should install. Dmail allows you to reverse your sent email at any time you want that means the Gmail would have a self-destruct email option inside it.

How Dmail “Self Destructs” Emails?

Well, Dmail is a Chrome extension so you just have to install and then leave the destruction process to it.

After you had installed the Dmail extension, you will notice your Gmail compose interface has an additional toggle button and you’ll have the option to send the mail with Dmail.

Now, just click to switch on Dmail and you can choose from the given options as in how much time would you want to set off the self-destruct email mode.

If your email seems harmless and you send it normally, but later you have a change of mind, do not worry. You will still have an option via Dmail with “Revoke Email” button that enables self-destruct email mode.

You can relax because the recipient need not to have Dmail for the process to work. If the receiver doesn’t have Dmail installed, then the message on their screen will state that “This secure message was sent using Dmail. To view this message, simply click the button below.” 

If the recipient has Dmail loaded, then they can simply see your message within Gmail.

But, if the message has been on self-destruct mode and it occurred before the recipient could read, then they will see a message on their screen stating “This message has been destroyed and is no longer available”.

This “Self-destruct email” process works through the encryption of the email on the user’s device that is sent via Dmail. The encrypted copy is then sent to the Dmail database. The recipient gets the email with a decryption key via Dmail and thus sees the protected message.

You need not to worry about the privacy of your email because neither Gmail, nor Dmail servers have the access to the decryption key.

The idea of self-destructing email, or may be in future self-destruction of any file, or data is being duly appreciated by the big companies. Any confidential report or an important file that is to be protected and needs one-time access, but is already sent via email could be now revoked.

How To Find Your Android Phone if Lost

Hello everyone! In my last blog post, I wrote about how to disable the auto-play videos on Facebook. After asking about the problems you people face in day-to-day lives, I received variety of messages from you asking different things. Today, I chose to write on how to find your android device which is lost.

I think we all agree that it becomes very difficult to find your phone when you’ve lost your phone somewhere around. Most of us start making calls although it doesn’t make any sense if vibration mode too is off. Here I am going to tell you a better way to find your android device if it is lost somewhere around.

You can use Google’s official Android Device Manager to locate your phone, here are the simple steps:

1. Go to Android Device Manager by Google in your desktop browser, follow the link HERE.
2. Login with the same Gmail account you used to activate your Android Device before and registered in Google Play.
3. Now you will see your device name and last login date. Also, you will be seeing three options i.e. Ring, Lock and Erase.
4. By clicking on Ring, your device starts ringing at high volume which help you find your phone in seconds. This function works even when your phone is in silent mode.
5. You can also Lock your device with a password in case device is lost. You have to input a message and a number to make sure whoever finds your phone, can call you back at that number.
6. If the Location services of the device are turned on, you can find the exact location of the device by clicking on locate service which is at the right side of the device name.

You can also wipe off the data by clicking on Erase. It’ll perform a factory reset on your device. Your apps, photos, music and settings will be deleted. After you erase the device, Android Device Manager will no longer work. Factory reset setting will start working automatically when your device is online.

Update: Now you can find your lost phone by just typing “Lost Phone” in Google.

Warning: Do not forget the password at the time of locking.

How to Find Your Lost or Stolen Laptop?

: Having your laptop stolen is the biggest nightmare anyone can face in the era of our gadget-centric lives. Here are some ways that can help you get back your valuable laptop in case of any theft.

Electronic devices, especially laptops, have become an essential part of our lives rather than a luxury product, that they were considered in the past. Only a mere thought of losing your precious device will give you goose bumps, but what if it really vanishes from your vicinity – thanks to the guy who has the courage to do that magical act.

Jokes apart, in this article we have added some ways that can be used to find your stolen laptop in case of any theft.

Trace your Laptop’s IP address:

The magician who vanished your precious laptop might have the courage to peek into your business. There are great chances, that the person who took your laptop may check your mail account or other services. These services do provide tracking feature that can help you, trace the location and IP address of your device. You can get the device location of your stolen laptop if you use these services:

Gmail:

Just open your Gmail account and move to the bottom of the page. Here you will find “Last Account Activity” written in the bottom left corner of the page. Click “Details” link right below it. A new window will open containing a list of all the recent Gmail sessions of your account, providing IP address and location of the sessions. You can click “Sign Out Of All Other Web Sessions” to protect your Gmail account from further trespassing.

Facebook:

The social networking giant has also provided a feature to track your account activity.

Open “Settings” in your Facebook account and then click “Security” option. You’ll find an option called “Where You’re Logged In”, just click that, and you’ll be presented with details of your Facebook sessions. To know the IP address of any session, just hover on the location name, and it will display the IP address of that session. You can click “End Activity” to log out that particular session or you can click “End All Activity” to log out of all your active Facebook session on any other device.

Dropbox:

Dropbox also provides a session tracking feature. Just sign-in to you Dropbox account and click your name, a drop down menu will appear. Then click on “Settings” option. Click on Security tab, here you’ll find the list of all your active and past sessions. Just hover on the “i” right next to the country name to know the approximate location and similarly, click the “i” next to time (under Most Recent Activity) to know the IP address and time of the session.

Just note down the IP address and location from any of the above sources and contact the police for further assistance.

Prevention is better than cure:

It would be wise enough to be well prepared for such mishaps well in advance. Prey Inc. has come up with an efficient tool that can help you track your device very easily in case of any theft or lost. Though this platform is available for various operating systems like Windows, Mac, Android, and Linux, but we have tested Prey only for the Widows OS.

Here are the steps you need to follow in order to setup Prey:

1. Go to https://preyproject.com
2. Click Sign-in and setup your Prey account.
3. After that, Sign-in to your Prey account and look for a green plus button right next to Your Devices.
4. Choose your preferred operating system and Prey will start downloading the appropriate application to your device.
   
5. Install the application by clicking the usual next, next, next. It’ll take few minutes to install.
6. At the end of installation, keep the Set-up Prey check box ticked and click Finish.
7. A new window will open. Click Existing User option, as you have already created your Prey account.
8. Enter your login credentials and click Connect, a popup will appear, ”Sweet! Your Computer is now protected by Prey. Try it out or protect an additional device, please visit preyproject.com”.
9. Click OK and you’re done.
10. You can track your device online by simply logging into your Prey account in any web browser.
11. If you lose your device, just log-in to your account and click your lost device in Your Devices section. Then click Set Device To Missing.
12. A box will appear, set the Report Frequency as per your convenience. ClickAdvanced Options to find more options. Here you can select, if you want to take snapshots of the person using the device via webcam. Using the snapshot feature may alert the person using the laptop as the webcam LED will blink after regular intervals, creating a suspicious environment for that person.
13. Click Yes, my device is missing. In the next box, you can set whether the device is LOST or STOLEN. You can also share the lost information with Prey Inc. in the next option.
14. Whenever you need to know the current status of your device just click theMaps and Action option in the device section.
15. When you find your device, just Set Device To Recovered and prey will stop the live tracking of your device.

Prey allows you to lock the device remotely, play alarm, send message in case any humble person may return your laptop, if you have forgotten it somewhere. The only disadvantage of this service is that your laptop must be connected to the internet, and for that, “May the Force be with You”. You can add up to three devices in the free option. To add more devices, you’ll have to purchase their plans.

In case of any theft, it is highly recommended to change your passwords for all the online services that you use to protect your valuable data and privacy.

Keeping your laptop safe is a must in this technology driven world. You can protect your laptop by using these simple methods and it will save your valuable memories that you have collected all over your life. Apart from using these methods, you should always set a password to all of your devices, this will protect your data in case of any theft or if you might forget it somewhere.