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Passware Inc. is a forensics security company that develops investigation software kits to reveal passwords on seized computers. Last year it released a version of its kit that allows an investigator to reveal the passwords of Apple's FileVault encryption technology, along with those for similar technologies such as TrueCrypt, PGP Disk, and BitLocker. Recently the kit has gained more features and now has the ability to snoop through a system's hibernation file for Google and Facebook account passwords.

The Passware snooping technology works by accessing a system's memory either through a port that has direct memory access (… Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- How a movie changed one man's vision forever.

- Google's stock breaks $800 for the first time.

- Report: OfficeMax, Office Depot discussing merger.

- Microsoft moves Outlook.com out of preview.

- Dow 14,000: Stocks near new crest.

- Middle class remains stuck.

- Free File: Do your Federal taxes for free!… Read more

Larger hard drives have led to mass amounts of saved and hard-to-catalogue files. A Better Finder Rename for Mac can help rename your files into whatever cataloging system you wish. This is definitely useful when going through old files, but it's also useful to keep new files searchable.

A Better Finder Rename for Mac allows for quick renaming of files using a wide selection of customizable options. The program uses an easy drag-and-drop feature to select files. The user selects which criteria to apply for the suggested new names and then is given the option to modify the names … Read more

Bump is a popular app for sharing photos and contact info between smartphones. Several months ago, they added the ability to share photos with a computer as well, but you could only share photos in one direction (phone to computer). Bump's announcement yesterday revealed that you can now use the app to share any file type between devices in both directions. Here's how to use Bump to share files between your smartphone and computer:

Step 1: Install the latest version of Bump (iOS | Android) on your smartphone and enable location services.

Step 2: On your … Read more

PDFs are critical to businesses and just as important to many individuals, yet big-box PDF programs are often priced beyond reach. Fortunately, most of what you need to do with PDFs can be done just as well by individual applications, many of them freeware. For example, there's SkySof's PDF Bookmarks. It can create, edit, and delete bookmarks in PDF files. Its wizard-based operation is simple enough for the most tech-averse user. And, yes, it's free.

PDF Bookmarks opens with a simple, tabbed dialog box that basically walks new users through each step. There's nothing to memorize; … Read more

Apple's Spotlight offers a quick way to find user files and resources like applications or system preferences. However, it does not locate items in the system folder or in hidden folders, though at times you might need to access them. This limitation may be especially cumbersome to deal with if you are troubleshooting a problem in OS X or helping someone do so, meaning you may need to ask them to locate a specific hidden file and remove it or modify its contents.

For some system resources you can simply navigate through the Finder; however, in its default view … Read more

Recently, cloud-storage service Box was offering free 25GB accounts to new customers.

I meant to write it up, but other things got in the way. Good thing, too, because now Box is offering free 50GB accounts to new customers. My foot-dragging is your gain.

Before I go any further, take note that the signup page says "Dell Exclusive Offer." There's no indication you need to actually be a Dell customer or employee or anything like that, but there's always the chance Box will get flooded with unintended/unwanted sign-ups and decide to end or even rescind … Read more

For some projects, a couple of folders on your desktop is all you need to stay organized. For others, however, organization is a more complicated task that requires sophisticated tools. Tolon NoteKeeper seeks to provide users with a better way to keep multiple files and folders organized. It's not perfect, but it is an interesting option for users who need a way to keep track of text, images, and more.

Tolon NoteKeeper has a plain and fairly intuitive interface, and a Quick Start guide gave us an overview of the important features. In short, the program lets users create … Read more

Running out of space on your hard drive? Hey, even in these days of seemingly endless gigabytes, it happens.

Bitcasa is a new service that aims to supplant your hard drive with unlimited cloud storage. And by supplant I mean replace -- kind of.

I'll circle back on that in a minute. For now, consider this: a year of Bitcasa no-limit storage normally runs $99, but right now you can get a year of Bitcasa Infinite for $69. If that doesn't immediately butter your bacon, how about a 10GB Bitcasa account absolutely free?

Update: As eagle-eyed reader brotherj2k … Read more