Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

safe

Replug saves your audio devices from dreaded cord stumbles

It's not too hard to remember a time when it required two hands to get a simple plug out. Things have since changed, and many manufacturers, especially in the gaming industry, are moving toward wireless peripherals, or including breakaways to remedy consumers stumbling over cords and taking the entire machine with them. The coolest one in recent memory is Apple's MagSafe power adapter, which not only makes your Mac laptop easier to plug-in, but keeps flying laptops at a minimum.

Replug is a handy product that's done the same thing for audio jacks. It's a two-part … Read more

Haute Secure pledges safe-surfing toolbar for IE

A new security company, Haute Secure, is offering a free beta version of its safe surfing toolbar for Internet Explorer that blocks malware from downloading onto your desktop. Firefox support is expected soon. Entering an already crowded field, the Haute Secure toolbar hopes to distinguish itself by taking the best of Exploit Prevention Labs Linkscanner Pro and McAfee SiteAdvisor, and then adds additional layers of protection. If they can pull it off with the final release, Haute Secure could be a must-have add-on for both Internet Explorer and Firefox.

The Haute Secure toolbar hooks into 70 processes running on your … Read more

Google finds malware on 1 in 10 Web sites

In a paper (PDF) presented at last month's HotBots 2007 conference, researchers from Google say they've found malware downloads lurking on 1 out of every 10 Web sites visited. For this study Google analyzed 4.5 million URLs. The researchers determined that 450,000 of these contained some form of malicious code. The researchers identified four methods used to infect the unsuspecting Internet surfer. One is site-based, such as compromises in Web server security, but the others involve common user activity such as downloading user-contributed content, clicking Web advertising, and installing third-party widgets.

Attacking Web servers can be … Read more

Gadget keeps kids out of hot water

If you don't have small kids, skip this item because it'll probably seem like a waste of money. But if you do, you'll totally understand why it's a good idea. How many times have you or your rug rats ended up with scalded fingers after checking the bath faucet? Same here.

The "Digital Bath Spout Cover" is designed to keep you and your family out of the burn ward by automatically monitoring the water temperature as it rises. Even better, its digital display uses a simple color code ("red means too hot") … Read more

Wine vault: No screw caps allowed

We're not terribly big on wine, preferring single-malt scotch for our imbibing pleasures, but we couldn't resist beating Caroline McCarthy to the punch on her favorite subject. (Well, one of her favorites, anyway.)

GE's "Monogram Walk-in Wine Vault" is the ultimate oenophile gadget, combining the convenience of a home cellar with security for a vintage collection, according to Gearfuse. From a tech standpoint, one of the most impressive features is its digital inventory system, which the vault's Web site describes this way: "In just seconds, you can locate wines and determine whether bottles … Read more

'Fingerprint Safe' can take the heat

We never did think much of personal safes that respond to voice commands or come in froufrou colors. When it comes to protecting our personal belongings, we're traditionalists--as in, we don't need anything too fancy, just something that won't get us ripped off.

So even though the "Fingerprint Safe" isn't the old-fashioned dial variety from the Bonnie and Clyde era, we appreciate its combination of old and new with formidable hardware and biometric access. The new part, of course, is the technology that can recognize up to 10 fingerprints (as well as a key … Read more

How to deter theft with a head of lettuce

Remember in Jurassic Park when that nerdy bad guy played by Wayne Knight hid those stolen dinosaur embryos by stashing them in a shaving cream can? Well, this is kind of the same idea, except we hope you won't hide stolen dinosaur embryos in this. Gizmodo has alerted us to an innovative anti-theft solution that allows you to hide your valuables in what appears to be a head of lettuce. You then would presumably stash the "lettuce" in your refrigerator where it would look like just another veggie, and hope that if a burglar comes to your … Read more

Protect your valuables in living color

Why should safes always be the same boring, battleship-gray fixtures seen in the movies? After all, we've seen color applied with abandon to appliances ranging from stoves and refrigerators to red and flowered washing machines.

You can't unlock these home models with voice commands as with others we've seen recently, but they sure look a lot nicer. Japan's Nakabayashi sells these simply designed personal safes in your choice of primary colors, operated electronically with your personal numeric code.

At first we thought the bright hues might attract would-be thieves, but Tokyomango suggests the perfect place for … Read more

Talk your safe into opening

This almost sounds like a gadget from Maxwell Smart's repertoire, but it seems to be legit. This mini-safe opens not from the usual cumbersome combination of numbers but from your own voice commands.

If you forget the secret word, the safe tells you to try again in four preset phrases. (It sounds like a bad sitcom already.)

On the other hand, you could set up a hidden camera and have fun watching others trying to guess the code. Booby-traps might be in order as well. Maybe this isn't such a bad idea after all.