In our earlier articles we discussed about a free alternative to Symantec Ghost. Today we are going to show how you can use the built in tool included with Windows Seven to create a System Image just like Ghosting your C: drive. You do not need any third party applications to image or restore a machine, the built in scheduler will also let you schedule the imaging process. Unlike Norton Ghost, you can run the tool from within Windows Seven and can do hot backups of files that are in use, Windows Seven's built in Volume Shadow Copy service lets you backup files that are in use. If you are performing a full restore operation, then yes you will have to shutdown Windows. The robust tool gives you the option to backup to a Network share, removable USB sticks or even to write it to a DVD if you have a DVD writer built in

In a surprise announcement, Microsoft announced that it is extending "downgrade rights" for Windows XP til the year 2020. This shows that Windows XP still remains the power house powering the corporate workstations. According to Microsoft, this rock solid operating system still constitutes 75% of the workstations in the industry. By extending downgrading rights, Microsoft is allowing consumers who buy new machines with OEM licenses of Windows Vista or Windows Seven,  to install Windows XP instead, without purchasing a separate license for Windows XP.

In a previous article we had discussed how Pirate Bay's iPreadtor service had offered a secure VPN service that allowed users to hide their real IP addresses while downloading torrents (You can read the complete iPreadtor article here) . However new reports have indicated that due to a serious flaw in Bittorrent technology, the users who might be using the VPN services, might not be able to stay "hidden" and anonymous anymore. At a Telecomix Cipher conference, it was revealed how it was possible for third parties to find the "Real" IP addresses of connected users, even if they were behind a secure encrypted VPN connection. You can read the full report at the TorrentFreak website at http://torrentfreak.com/huge-security-flaw-makes-vpns-useless-for-bittorrent-100617/

Have you ever wanted to do something in Windows and found out that the software required to do it costs a fortune or maybe is not up to the mark ? Now you can have Open Source software to do a variety of things in Windows. Open Source software is free of cost for personal and commercial usage. The OSSWIN website has a great listing of a lot of good Open Source Software available for Windows. The list is quiet big, most of the software thats listed is critically acclaimed and rivals its paid alternative for Windows. I have also listed some of my personal favorites in here, including the ones I have had a chance to install and use myself.

If you have offered computer help to remote users, be it be your corporate colleagues, business clients, family members or friends then you know that the first and foremost problem is to obtain details and information about the remote computer so you can connect to it. Sometimes, the process is very easy, however sometimes it can be complex due to the involvement of routers, firewalls and non tech savy users. In our article today, we will review a very simple and free utility that provides all the details you will need to connect to a remote computer