removing

It turns out that in the Age of Sharing, a picture is worth a thousand data points--but you can strip out some or all of those identifying bits before posting or otherwise sharing your pics online. Maybe you don't want strangers to know the GPS coordinates of your home pics, or maybe you'd rather the boss not know that you used that sick day to prepare for (or recover from) a big pub crawl. In any case, it's almost absurdly easy to remove that info using Windows Explorer. Here's how: 

The bottom line: One of the first applications built to find and remove malware and spyware, Ad-Aware 9 Pro's reputation is well-justified. The latest version continues the publisher's tradition of adroitly addressing user concerns, yet some annoyances remain.

Review:

Editors' note: Portions of this review are based on CNET's review for Ad-Aware 9 Free.

Ad-Aware 9 Pro continues the development progress that publisher Lavasoft began in the previous version. No longer content with offering only malware protection, Ad-Aware now includes antivirus protections licensed from Sunbelt, the makers of Vipre, as well as interesting in-house improvements.

Lavasoft first … Read more

Data brokers, data harvesters, people finders: whatever you call them, they roll up a huge amount of real and deduced information about you to create a dossier on your life that anyone can buy or even browse for free. While the nuggets of information about you are already out there, the way these sites aggregate it makes a lot of people feel very invaded. Watch this video to see how you can opt out, to a degree, then use the links below to start taking back your privacy.

Opt-out tools:

Spokeo PeopleSmart Pipl Peek You (e-mail link): Include the PeekYou.… Read more

With a multiday, multiregion storm impacting 100 million people over the next couple of days, solar roads that melt snow and ice seem less like a far-fetched pipe dream and more like an obvious investment. Engineers on opposite sides of the country are working to make that happen.

Solar Roadways in Boise, Idaho, received a contract from the Federal Highway Administration to build a solar road panel prototype, which was completed early last year. The 12x12-square-foot road designed by engineer and CEO Scott Brusaw is made out of panels encased in strong and durable glass with the traction of asphalt and that won't cause glare.

Each encased panel generates 7.6 kilowatt hours of electricity per day, and can be connected to smart grids to power homes and business. Wireless LED lights embedded in the glass create road signs and weight-sensitive crosswalks. They also contain heating elements that can melt snow and ice.

The technology to make snow plowing obsolete is similar to what's already used in automobile windshields. Heating elements in the glass melt existing snow or ice and prevent accumulation from developing. By preventing snow-related auto accidents and improving road access for emergency responders, the technology would save a lot of lives.

It could also save cities a lot of money. … Read more

Mz StartUp Manager makes it easy enough for beginners to tell Windows which programs to load on boot, which isn't quite the same thing as pinning and unpinning programs to the Start Menu. These are programs that the system loads when booting up, sometimes unnecessarily. This free tool not only removes unneeded startup entries but also adds new ones, such as apps you use every day and are just plain tired of launching. It also helps users learn about their programs.

Mz StartUp Manager's simple, efficient interface offers numerous optional skins. The program's left-hand Tasks panel replicates … Read more

Time management software has exploded in popularity over the last few years, and some people may argue that it's become too complex for its own good; you end up spending more time managing your tasks than actually completing them. My Checklist is an extremely simple task manager that has only slightly more features than a pen-and-paper to-do list. For some people, that might be a welcome change.

The program's interface is plain and intuitive, with buttons for adding and removing items, checking off items that are complete, reordering items, and printing the list of tasks. That is the … Read more

Uninstallation comes to every app, sooner or later. But like certain horror movie stalwarts, some software just doesn't want to say goodbye. Antivirus tools are among the most reluctant to be removed, and Avast! is no exception. While we've installed and uninstalled Avast! many times through the built-in Add/Remove Programs utility on the Control Panel with no problems, we sympathize with those who do experience issues. Avast! developer Alwil has provided a solution in the form of a free uninstaller, the Alwil Software Uninstall Utility, aka AswClear, which works in Safe Mode. Some folks will stop reading … Read more

When you import data in Excel, you also import any blank spaces that come with it, which isn't a problem in day-to-day use. If you try to process the data, though, extra spaces can lead to problems, such as masking duplicate files from tools designed to find and remove them. Trim Spaces for Excel from Add-in Express is a free Excel add-in that can locate and remove leading and trailing spaces in cells in Excel documents.

We installed Trim Spaces in Excel 2010 and opened a spreadsheet. The Trim Spaces Help file opened automatically, while an AbleBits.com tab … Read more

The bottom line: One of the first applications built to find and remove malware and spyware, Ad-Aware's reputation is well-justified. The latest version continues the publisher's tradition of adroitly addressing user concerns, yet some annoyances remain.

Review:

Ad-Aware 9 continues the development progress that publisher Lavasoft began in the previous version. No longer content with offering only malware protection, Ad-Aware now includes antivirus protections licensed from Sunbelt, the makers of Vipre, as well as interesting in-house improvements.

Lavasoft first started changing Ad-Aware's protection engine more than a year ago in version 8.1, when it introduced Genotype. … Read more