Wordweb -A Dictionary - Thesaurus software with strange licensing terms...

I try to be the best writer , really. There are times where I'm tempted to use "I" several times because there seems to be nothing better to use. Instead of opening the browser and look up alternate words, I'm utliizing the power of a software called Word Web.

Word Web is a very simple program to operate which you just type the word and it shows you the meaning and alternate suggestions. The program sits nicely in the system tray - and it does not impact system performance at all. You need an internet connection to get online definitions and its unknown if it will function without one.

It should be noted that the developer of the software has some rather strange licensing agreements associated with this software. According to the software upon installation, if you make more then three flights in a year, then you must pay for a professional license. So what does flying and free software have to do with this software? Okay so I don't fly at all, that makes me safe. But what about those who do? How will the developer know who does and who does not? Are they tracking our movement around the country?

Setting paranoia aside, this program is a nice stand alone program with some concern of its licensing agreements. If you want to make it totally free, make the offline portion of the program free with a paid advantage of online features and other feature sets.

Cut the Rope - A game that is fun and showcases the power of HTML 5.

Okay. Call me stupid. I've heard of Angry Birds. But NOT Cut the Rope. Perhaps its popularity was big. But I only heard about it through some channel, and through Internet Explorer 9.

The object is simple - you have a little monster who is hungry for the candy, and you have coins to collect throughout the level. You have to strategically cut the ropes otherwise the level won't complete and you have to do it over again. The earlier levels might sound easy but in the later ones you have to pay attention to the way the ropes are, and the objects in the background.

This game reminds me of an old game by Sierra called Return of the Incredible Machine Crazy Contraptions.

This game will run no problem in all browsers from my tests, but this game is optimized for IE 9 and has extended levels if you play.

There are bonus behind the scenes material along with other fun related to the game clickable on the page.

Just go to http://www.cuttherope.ie with your browser and start playing.

The game is fun and just might have you playing through all the levels.

Malwarebytes Anti Malware - Because a second opinion counts.

Before I start this review, I should note I had trouble running the software. Normally on other computers it has worked for me in the past but in this instance, when attempting to do a quick scan, it kept sitting there on "Enumerating Registry Objects" and showed no sign of program progression.

Setting this aside, have you ever wondered how effective your security software can be? Different suites are built well differently :) They all claim to have a feature that the competition does not have. But did you know security software cannot catch everything. What may be safe for one scanner may come up as a threat on another. And then it gets tricky. Just like a doctor or dentist, you need a second opinion.

Malware Bytes Anti Malware is a scanner that picks up stuff that the other things leave behind. In the free version, scanning and removal is only available. The developer claims that a 14 day trial is embedded into the program for more features , but since this is Little Bear's Freebies and More, I disabled the trial and decided to review the free version. Taking a look at the tabs, there seems to be enough options for a user to get started and scan their computer for nasty spyware and other junk that can seriously affect your computer. The one thing that makes this program shine is its Chameleon like technology, it actually evades Malware that other programs try to prevent you from launching. This is the number one problem I have when it comes to removal of viruses, if you have that special case.. well you need that special program.

This is a really solid program to try if you feel the others have let you down when it comes to the scanning of malicious objects, but your experience will differ from mine, As for why my program decided to not proceed to the next step, it could be a various number of things. I may try to remove the program, and reinstall it again from scratch. Maybe I have too much to scan in my registry. I don't know.

Developers Website: http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

Download link : It's provided on the page.

Little Bear's Safe Browsing Series : Spyware Blaster 4.5 by Javacool Software

Anyone who uses the internet out there knows the dangers associated with browsing the internet. Hackers galore, personal information being compromised and so forth. While we heavily rely on our favorites bar to store a website, there are occasions we forget to store them. So we guess them and type them into the URL bar to see what comes up. OOPS! I did not mean for this illicit site to pop up, I'm not into these kinds of sites, or I did not expect this to happen at work! *EMBARRASING (Rolls Eyes)

It's happened to us all. Today I bring you a program that prevents bad illicit domains from loading on your computer. The software is called Spyware Blaster. Its brought to you by a company named JavaCool Software. The program is very simple to operate. You begin the installation process and then go through a couple of screens. When you explore the program, you are presented with the default bad sites / Active X list. In order to get the latest Spyware Blaster database, you have to use the manual update built into the program. There is an automatic update feature, but you only get this if you pay for its functionality. The actual program is FREE itself for personal use.

So lets say you want to go to Yahoo! But you type in something similar, but misspell it. Chances are you may get redirected to a bad site that can harm your computer. Here is where Spyware Blaster comes to play. It prevents the site from loading, if its on the bad sites list. You can actually utilize advanced functions for the power computer user such as backing up the hosts file, editing the search engines for the user loaded into memory, and much more.

And Spyware Blaster allows you to make a snapshot of your system, in case a change Spyware Blaster made breaks something on your PC.

Sure an Antivirus program is a must for computer protection. But...... This is an added layer that can be used side by side along with your virus protection for even more support. Its not "another virus protection program" It just adds an invisible filter to protect you from bad sites before they load.


Program description page : http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
Download Page: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbdownload_free.html

This is a must have program for everyone, even if you have very little knowledge of computers.

Screenshots:

Dude don't steal my images! (Software review of Batch Photo Watermarker 3)

Fair use? What's that? It seems that there may be some websites I don't know about who try to pass off someones images as their own. I always give credit where credit is due, however if you don't trademark them, or copyright them, you run the risk of someone stealing your image and using it on their website, passing it off as their own work.

Today's Giveaway is being hosted on GiveAwayOfTheDay.com and is being offered by a company called Easy Sector. I never have heard of the company and don't know if they are new or an every day known household brand. To be honest, I see a lot of companies offer "Similar Features" with almost identical interfaces, So I don't know.

The interface of this program seems to be simplistic, and even on the programs interface it kind of guides you in the right direction suggesting its use , or how to use it. 

Some examples of use can be seen on the developers website : http://www.easysector.com/

CAUTION related to the developers site : The website itself should not be viewed by younger audiences, it appears the developer is using "Adult oriented logo images"  as examples which pass off as sexually explicit content. If I was a developer, I would not use these examples for a worldwide target audience, I would watch the content of the site overall. 

CAUTION 2 : On the GiveAway site, I read a comment from #10 who suggests the program may have some back door malicious like virus behavior. This file was checked on Virus Total and there does not seem to be any warnings. If you get a false positive , bring it up with the developer of the security software installed on your computer / laptop. 

Alternative programs suggested : On the GiveAway Site, quite a few users have suggested Fast Stone image viewer and resizer, both excellent programs. 

OVERALL: This program does what it says, and its not really much more then this. Watermarking is a must to protect intellectual property, however I would not pay $29.95 for such a program. , 

Give away site: http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/batch-photo-watermarker35/

Offered until : Midnight PST 1/31.

Life Commentary : Because newer is not always better.

While I work on more items to review, I'd like to take this time out from the norm on my blog to quickly shine upon the new things we want in life to replace the old.  Take my 1989 RCA ColorTrak 2000 TV I bought from a friend this year for $10. It was worth every penny at the time, however, the coaxial cable connector  went out on it. I was forced then to use the A/V inputs which I'm not going to complain, they are great. Then along the way I come across this nice entertainment center a neighbor sat on the curb for free. I remember hauling the damn thing home myself thinking like a caveman and a square wheel. OH YES! I rolled that thing all the way home, it was a 10 minute ordeal but i got it home. It looked great for awhile, but then I came to realize I wanted a new TV today, WHY? I made so many excuses on why I needed a new TV yet I did not feel right about them at all. I figured out what was holding this TV's potential back. The TV has wonderful speakers for its age, and sound and picture. However... The enclosed situation the TV was in the entertainment center kind of made the audio seem flat. So I brought the TV back in thinking I could do something else with it. Within minutes of setting it up in this new configuration, it feels like a whole new TV, they way it was meant to be watched. So maybe its not a secret that was unlocked, it was COMMON SENSE on my part which failed to click the first few times. Here is a before and after.

So in short, its not the new things in life, its how you utilize the current ones in life and bringing them to their full potential.