Data Back-up: Mozy and ADrive

Many people have no plan for dealing with lost or corrupted data on their computers. We keep more and more vital information on our computers, but we often don’t think about how easily that information can be lost. Bank records, family photos, and work or school documents can all be lost in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, there are plenty of services out there that can help prevent such data loss, and some of them are free. I currently suggest one or both of two free services that help you back up your important data: Mozy and ADrive. Both services offer free home versions, with a paid expanded service for unlimited storage or enhanced services.

Comodo Firewall

Windows users are familiar with the vulnerabilities inherent in a widely-used operating system. A couple years ago I did a round-up of security programs for Windows PC’s, including virus scan software, adware software, and firewalls. My recommendation then was ZoneAlarm, but that was before I tried Comodo Firewall Pro. After reading a lot of reviews and tests, I now recommend Comodo Firewall Pro 2.4 as the best free firewall I’ve seen.

Mint

Mint is one of the best new services I have seen in a long time. It’s a money management service that combines all your bank and credit card accounts and gives you the big picture on your financial situation. I’ve been using it for almost two months now, and I keep discovering new ways it helps me manage my finances.

Screencast-o-Matic

I think screencasts are a great way to show people how things work on the Internet. I try out a lot of web products and services, and a screencast is always helpful to show how something works. But until recently, I had never actually made a screencast because I didn’t have a program that would do it. Now I don’t need one, because Screencast-o-Matic does it all for me from my browser.

Media-Convert

Last year I endorsed Zamzar as my pick for best free online media converter. Zamzar converts almost any type of document, audio, video, or image file into the format of your choice. I still think Zamzar is a good choice for most people because it is very easy to use. However, I want to mention Media-Convert as a more robust alternative for people who wants more control over their file conversion. Just like Zamzar, Media-Convert is a free service that requires no software or installation.

LibraryThing

What do you get when you combine a library catalog with the book recommendations from Amazon.com and add in a little bit of social networking? The answer is LibraryThing, a fantastic site that lets you catalog your books, tag them, join groups of other bookworms, and find other books you might like.

Democracy Player (Miro)

It has been more than a year since I covered the fledgling Internet TV movement, and I promise to do an update soon. First, however, I have to take a look at Democracy Player, an innovative media player that promises to change the way we think about television. So far, Democracy Player has lived up to that promise; after using it for more than 6 months, I can definitely see how television and the Internet are starting to blend together. Democracy Player is about to go through a revamp and become Miro, so now is the time to check it out.

Caedes

Caedes.net is the best website I have ever seen for desktops and wallpapers. Back when I first discovered it in 2002 it was an emerging site with dozens of great wallpapers. It now boasts thousands of wallpapers for multiple screen resolutions and more than 200,000 members. Here’s just one of thousands of great images available:

Caedes is like YouTube for computer backgrounds, but Caedes came first. It has well-organized categories and subcategories, and active members often submit and critique each other’s work. You don’t have to register to browse and download wallpapers, but you should anyway because the community is fantastic. If you register, you can even submit your own photography or computer graphic design. No matter what you’re looking for, Caedes.net has it.

Snippy

There are a few things I look for in picking a Best of the Web product or service: functionality, simplicity, usefulness, and ease of use. This little gem is all of the above. Snippy is a tiny little program (it’s only 84 k!) that lets you grab images from your screen and copying them to the clipboard. This comes in handy sometimes, especially when the print screen function doesn’t work on a web page. Snippy is a free download that you can immediately use — no installation necessary.

Contactify

Like most people, I hate spam. No one wants a bunch of junk email cluttering up their inbox. I also appreciate my privacy online. I don’t want everyone knowing my real name. But I also want my friends and family to be able to contact me from my blog. Until now, I had no real good way of letting people get a hold of me without exposing my email to the bots that crawl the net, looking for email addresses to sell to spammers. But a new service called Contactify just made keeping my email address secure a snap.