Ask the Geek

I reported on Panda Cloud Antivirus back in June and July in my Security Corner posts, Panda’s Cloud Antivirus (Beta) is a Winner! and Panda’s CloudAntivirus Update.

I tested Panda Cloud Antivirus extensively on my systems while it was in beta and only recently switched to Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) for evaluation. Today, I’ll switch back to Panda on my older, slower system to compare performance of each one. I have noticed a slight performance degradation with MSE that was all but non-existent with Panda. Now that Panda Cloud Antivirus is out of beta, I can make a fair comparison which I will report on later. Check out the full report in this Security Corner post.

I want to let everyone know of some new features you’ll be seeing here at Ask the Geek. First off, you’ll notice that there are more pages being posted. These are permanent pages that will always show up on the site, unlike the posts that usually wind up in the archives. I’ll be updating these frequently. The latest page is “Safe Computing Tips” and I suggest you check it out.

You’ll also notice a sign-up pop-up on some pages when you go to them. Please sign up so I can keep you up to date on new content and special offers from select vendors. I promise I won’t spam you with a bunch of useless junk; I will pass on any special offers that I become aware of from reputable hardware and software sellers.

For now, check out the “Safe Computing Tips” and sign up for my list. And be on the lookout for a new page that reviews top freeware, Open Source, and commercial software offerings.

As always, I’m glad to be of service and I look forward to keeping you as a loyal reader. If you ever need anything at all, feel free to hit the “Ask a Question” or “Leave Feedback” links over at the right.

Cheers!
The Geek

In response to my article, “Don’t bookmark it–Furl it!”, Wally wrote to say I should try Clipmarks. So, I went to the site and watched the demo. Unlike Furl and Spurl, which store entire web pages that you have bookmarked, Clipmarks lets you select and save snippets of text, photos or other graphics off a web page; you clip and save just the stuff you want from any web page. I’ve been saving clips and quotes into notes for years, but it’s cumbersome to manually copy-and-paste the stuff and I still have to either type in or copy-and-paste a link to the source. Clipmarks automatically stores the source URL with your clipping.

Like the other services, Clipmarks lets you add tags (keywords), comments and share your clipmarks with friends. Your clipmarks are private unless you choose to share them. There’s a Public Clipmarks section where you can search and see what others are clipping and who the clippers are. You might soon find some of the stuff I’m clipping because I’m off to sign up. See ya on Clipmarks!…K