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Get Hooked Up Sweepstakes

Editor's note: This contest is now closed.

Been staying up nights pining for a BlackBerry® Z10 of your very own? Here is your chance. Cast your vote below and be entered to win* one of five brand-new BlackBerry Z10 Smartphones! To celebrate the launch of CNET's newest show, Hooked Up, we've partnered with BlackBerry to bring CNET users a chance to win the latest BlackBerry smartphone. The slick-looking BlackBerry Z10 is so packed with new features, it may be hard to select just one that you like the best!

Interested in winning? Here are the rules:… Read more

Review: Organize your Mac's files and folders with CleanUp for Mac

Keeping track and organizing all files and folders on your Mac may become quite time-intensive and complicated, especially if you let them pile up. If you get stuck trying to organize your computer, Cleanup for Mac may be able to assist you. Even though its interface could use some improvement, this app is quick and efficient, making it an adequate option for users looking for an easy way to organize their files and folders.

Despite the lack of a native installer, CleanUp for Mac downloaded and installed quickly. The app is very easy to use and straightforward when it comes … Read more

Review: Save and secure your passwords with the free Android app Iron Dome Password Manager

The Iron Dome Password Manager is a free Android app that protects your passwords with secure 256-bit AES encryption--the same strength used by banks. Your data is secured on your device instead of being transmitted or hosted somewhere else. Iron Dome Password Manager doesn't require special permissions, but it does display ads. You might encounter Password Manager under the One Money name; and there's an unrelated game with the same name, too. We tried Iron Dome Password Manager in Android 4.1.1.

We installed Iron Dome and tapped the Start button. Step 1 is creating a master … Read more

Review: Effectors add photo effects and captions to your new or existing photos

Effectos is a very familiar app, because it resembles many other photo augmenting apps on the App Store. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as long as this particular app provides an experience that is unique and engaging enough to warrant a download. In some ways it does, but in a handful of others it could use some additional work.

As its name implies, Effectos is an app allowing you to add different effects to photos. These effects range from sepia wash to a framed background or reverse negative. Each of the effects is shown in a rudimentary menu … Read more

Review: Generate secure passwords with specific criteria using Amuck Password Generator

More than ever before it is critical that the passwords you use online are secure. With more advanced and sophisticated technologies trying to access accounts ranging from Facebook to bank accounts, a secure password is the best line of defense you can put up. That's why apps like Amuck Password Generator are so useful; they provide a rudimentary and yet very effective tool for creating customized, highly-secure passwords for your online accounts.

Amuck Password Generator is a very basic app. It has a single screen with a handful of options that allow you to customize how your password will … Read more

Nine tips to help you manage the BlackBerry Hub

The BlackBerry Hub holds a lot of information and provides a unique way of managing all of your communication needs from a central place. But, with so much information being presented to you at all times, you're bound to want to tailor it to meet your needs. Below you'll find some great tips aimed to help you make the Hub work for you, instead of you working for the Hub.

View messages as a conversation

One way to help eliminate clutter from your Hub is to organize e-mail messages into a conversation view. Doing so will group related … Read more

Photoplay App 1.0 Review

Due to the success of companies like Instagram, the iPhone is overrun each week with a dozen copycats that offer roughly the same experience with a few small tweaks. So at first glance, it's easy to ignore Photoplay App as another attempt to capitalize on the success of other, better-established apps. But despite the many similarities, Photoplay is still an engaging, unique-enough experience. If you're looking for a tool that doesn't integrate directly with Facebook, this may be it.

The concepts are simple. After registering your account, connect it to any social networks you want to share … Read more

Review: Add more operations to Excel with Solver for Excel 2011 for Mac

Mac users with Excel may want add-on applications for more functionality. Solver for Excel 2011 for Mac integrates well into the existing Excel program and performs additional operations on spreadsheet data.

The program is available for free and is actually included in later versions of Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet program for Mac. Solver for Excel 2011 for Mac downloads and installs directly onto the Excel program without any problems or user input required. After opening Excel, the user must go to the add-in area and select the Solver program. It then imports and installs a button in Excel's Data … Read more

Review: TCPBlock for Mac performs OK as a firewall, but its advanced options lag

There's no question that you need to protect your computer from incoming network threats, and there are plenty of options available. One option, TCPBlock for Mac, functions adequately as a firewall; but its options lag behind other, more popular programs.

TCPBlock for Mac downloaded quickly, but installing it required a computer system restart, which was a disappointment. A readme file contained some basic instructions, but a detailed manual would have been helpful, especially for longtime Mac users not familiar with firewall software. It was also disappointing to see that there were no indications of direct technical support availability, although … Read more