restoration

Password viewer

Passwords are perhaps the weakest links in the cyber-security chain; if they're complex enough to be secure, you probably won't be able to remember them. Add the fact that every other site seems to require a password, and it's easy to see why far too many people end up using one or two simple passwords that are easy to remember, and easy to crack, too. You can write your passwords down on a piece of paper that you can look for and fail to find when you need it, or you can download and install G&… Read more

Acronis True Image Home Edition backs up your system with confidence

Freeware's cool, but some programs are worth paying for. Antivirus, graphics, and accounting tools justify their cost if they outperform their free competitors, but for our money, nothing beats top-quality backup software. And for our system, nothing provides the level of security, total restoration capability, and confidence like Acronis True Image Home Edition. Acronis automatically creates full, incremental, and custom backups; remote backups; and even optional Internet-based backups with file synchronization features. It also includes a variety of tools for cleaning disks and shredding files, creating bootable media and secure partitions, backing up settings, adding and cloning disks, sandboxing … Read more

How to erase an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch

For most people, the idea of having their iPad erased sounds like a nightmare. There are times, however, when it can be handy to wipe all your personal data from an iPad and restore it back to its factory settings.

I know my situation is unique, but as a CNET reviewer, I've had to erase my personal data from our shared test iPad on a weekly basis. It's not to say I don't trust my coworkers, but I feel a little funny having a device floating around the office with my personal e-mail account and Twitter login--not … Read more

iPhone 4 proximity sensor may be causing issues during calls

While Apple cruises to new sales records with its latest iPhone family member, some users are finding iPhone 4 to be more like the drunk uncle than the cool aunt, citing proximity sensor issues when attempting to make phone calls.… Read more

Users: iPhone 4 proximity sensor causes issues

While Apple cruises to new sales records with its latest iPhone family member, some users are finding the iPhone 4 to be more like the drunk uncle than the cool aunt, citing, among other glitches, proximity sensor issues when attempting to make calls.

How deep is the issue? On the Apple support discussion forums, it's 20 pages deep. And counting. Details of the issue vary throughout the forum posts, but essentially, the proximity sensor (the one that shuts down the screen functionality when your iPhone is close to your face or in your pocket) seems to be malfunctioning.

Some … Read more

Green Samsung Restore on sale

Samsung announced today that its latest green phone, the Restore SPH-M750, is now available to Sprint customers for $49.99 with a two-year service agreement, after a $50 mail-in rebate. The handset features a slider design with a full keyboard for easy messaging. To reflect its Earth-friendly image, the Restore sports a bright green (aka, limeade) casing, but you can also get it in a dark hue called midnight.

The Restore, which was introduced in April, is made of 27 percent recycled material and includes low levels of environmentally hazardous materials. What's more, it has a low-power charger, its … Read more

Recover files from Time Machine after a failed transfer to your new Mac

When transferring the data from your older Mac onto a new one using Migration Assistant, it is possible that all the files may not transfer correctly. If you have a Time Machine backup, all is not lost! This situation happened with a client of mine and we found a quick workaround to recover the files that did not transfer.… Read more

Precautions to take when restoring from Time Machine

The Time Machine feature in OS X has been a life-saver for numerous users, from those who want to find individual lost files or folders to those who wish to restore their systems to a previous version or state following a problematic system update or application installation. While convenient, there are some precautions to take when using Time Machine to do full system restores.… Read more

Capable image editor

We've tested a lot of image editors lately, and most have been pretty disappointing, so we weren't expecting much from AKVIS MultiBrush. But we're happy to report that this program exceeded our expectations on a variety of levels.

AKVIS MultiBrush has a sleek user interface that is extremely straightforward and seems perfect for novice users. Five navigational commands run across the top of the window; these allow you to open new images, save, print, and undo and redo actions. A simple toolbox resides on the left side of the window, and hovering your mouse over each tool … Read more

Sprint picks Samsung Restore for green thumbs

Earth Day is just a couple of days away, but Sprint and Samsung are getting a head start by introducing their latest eco-friendly cell phone, the Samsung Restore.

Due out this summer, the Restore is a messaging-centric handset with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a midlevel feature set that includes a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, stereo Bluetooth, an MP3 player, and support for various Sprint services (Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV, Sprint Family Locator, and Sprint Football Live).

Joining the Samsung Reclaim, the Restore is Sprint's third green phone and has an outer casing that is made up of 27-percent post-consumer … Read more