CompuClever Blog

More on the difference between Flash and Shockwave Flash

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You may have heard of “Flash” and “Shockwave Flash”. If you think they are the same thing, you might be wrong!

First of all, Flash (or, more correctly “Adobe Flash”, and in the past “Macromedia Flash” before Adobe acquired the company) is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. In a nutshell, Flash usually need to play YouTube video on your computer, and the way to do this is to install the Adobe Flash Player.

Your browser uses the Adobe Flash Player to watch movies, stream audio, play games, and even interact with some web pages. Flash Player is freely available as a plugin for recent versions of web browsers (such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Safari) on selected platforms. Google Chrome even integrates the player into its distribution, which means you never have to worry about updating it.

So what’s Shockwave Flash?

Shockwave Flash is actually an “authoring tool” that is used to create content for websites, such as games. You can use more types of files with Shockwave. You could, for example, import a Flash file into a Shockwave movie, but it doesn’t work the other way around – you can’t play Shockwave file in a Flash Player.

Flash is more universal. More than 90 percent of Web users have the Flash plugin installed, while a little less than 60 percent have the Shockwave plug-in.

Security risks of Flash Player

Flash Player often contains security vulnerabilities. It’s possible with some browsers to block Flash entirely, but with other browsers such as Internet Explorer it is not. So it’s important to make sure your Flash Player is kept up to date. Here’s Adobe’s Flash Player updates page.

 

PC Clean Maestro Achieves Windows 7 Logo Certification

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Victoria, British Columbia – CompuClever Systems Inc announced today that PC Clean Maestro has achieved Windows 7 logo certification. This certification recognizes that PC Clean Maestro, a PC utility software engineered to safeguard private information and prevent online identity theft by removing junk files and uninstalling programs cleanly, has passed Microsoft Corp.-designed tests for compatibility and reliability with Windows 7.

“PC Clean Maestro has successfully passed the high standards of compatibility, reliability and performance of Windows 7 logo certification,” said Larry Yang, CompuClever Director of Product Development. “By working with Microsoft Corp., CompuClever’s engineering team has been able to focus on incorporating industry-leading best practices and the latest technology to make PC Clean Maestro a stable, worry-free software tool that is compatible with Windows 7.”

Designed for computer users of any level of expertise and experience, PC Clean Maestro is simple to use and yet incredibly effective. The Scan & Clean process locates any traces of personal identity information that are not needed and it finds unwanted junk files and data. Afterwards users are presented with a Scan report where findings can be reviewed at both a summary and detail level, to make PC cleaning easy and fast. An Uninstall Tool also cleanly removes old applications that are rarely used.

As software that is compatible with Windows 7, PC Clean Maestro has been tested for compatibility and reliability on Windows 7, and has passed Microsoft-designed tests to minimize the possibility of crashes, hangs, and reboots, and ensures compatibility with Windows 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit editions.

About CompuClever
CompuClever’s mission is to provide PC users with a more enjoyable computing experience by offering products and services, powered by our knowledge, know-how and expertise, aimed at enhancing computer performance and stability. Our products are designed from the ground up to provide powerful optimization and management tools that can be used quickly and effectively, even by novice computer users. CompuClever was founded in 2010, and has offices in Canada and China.

Contact:

Media@CompuClever.com
209 – 3375 Whittier Ave
Victoria, BC, Canada, V8Z 3R1

FindMysoft.com - Fast and free software download directory

http://www.findmysoft.com

 

How to fix Flash on your computer

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If you have ever heard of Flash, you’ve probably asked yourself the question: “How do I fix Flash on my computer?” Flash is a finicky program that often crashes. And it’s not only buggy – Flash can also be dangerous for your computer if it’s not updated regularly.

First of all, what is Flash? Flash is a “multimedia platform” created and maintained by Adobe, and is used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash typically helps your computer play streaming media such as radio broadcast, or, most regularly, YouTube videos.

Without Flash, most computer browsers would not be able to play YouTube (although that may change as new technologies are introduced).

So, if Flash is out of date and refuses to work, it can be extremely annoying because you won’t be able to watch videos or listen to music. Flash also sometimes powers webpages as well.

Why Flash can be dangerous for your computer

Flash is also used to display things like banner ads on webpages. Almost every website we visit has some sort of banner ad. However if your browser’s Flash plugin is not up to date, it can be a serious security issue. Hackers can find vulnerabilities, and can find ways to transmit viruses to your computer via Flash (often this risk is paired with the failure of the website owner to either make sure their own site is updated, or they may have chosen a really inept and risky way to build their website, making it easy for hackers to find a foothold).

So, update Flash! It will save you aggravation, and will help make your web surfing safer. Here’s a link to the Adobe Flash download page.

Computer fixes: tips for avoiding malware on your computer

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Over the past month or so you may have heard about a threat to your computer called “DNSChanger”. As a result of this malware, millions of computers around the world could have potentially lost all connection to the Internet on Monday, July 11th. This is because the DNSChanger malware infected computers by modifying a computer’s DNS to point toward “rogue servers”.

In a nutshell, DNS is an extremely important service that is used to convert a website’s name (eg, www.compuclever.com) into a distinct IP address that is easily found by your computer.

In this case, DNSChanger malware infected computers to send web surfers to its own fake web pages, ideally to generate profit from ads and upload even more malware and viruses onto visiting computers.

The FBI discovered what was happening and actually hosted fake web pages of its own to analyze the traffic being sent to DNSChanger bogus websites. The crooks were captured (they were from Estonia, birthplace of Skype and Kazaa), and the FBI decided to pull the plug on its fake web pages on July 11, 2012.

As a result, owners of computers infected with DNSChanger have to figure out some way to reconfigure their DNS, because it will be impossible to surf the internet without it.

Thankfully, after July 11, most Internet companies in North America reported the total number of affected computers was relatively low (whenever the Internet isn’t working, people tend to phone up their Internet company), but that’s cold comfort for the poor folks who are affected by DNSChanger.

So, how to protect yourself from malware like this?

1. Be careful where you browse on the Internet
Most of us have used the Internet to know that, just like any town, there are safe place to visit, and places to avoid. Use your “Internet street smarts” and stay away from websites that seem suspicious.

2. Make sure your browser and your OS are up to date
Hackers are always searching for new vulnerabilities in your web browser and Windows. As a result, it’s very important to keep both up to date. Microsoft offers automatic updates for both Windows and Internet Explorer, and it may be wise to upgrade to the latest version of IE to remain perfectly safe.

Also, updating Java and Flash will help protect your computer considerably.

3. Don’t just download any software because it’s free
It’s really tempting to download free software such as games, useful tools, or even fun smiley icons. However, you have no way of knowing who made it, or what’s inside the software that can harm your computer.

The best thing to do is to read software reviews on a website like CNet. A lot of positive reviews means that generally the software is safe to use.

4. Make sure software has a proper digital signature
A digital signature demonstrates the authenticity of a software program; digital signatures are commonly used for software distribution, financial transactions, and in other cases where it is important to detect forgery or tampering. All CompuClever products feature a digital signature.

5. Download from an accredited source
It really reassuring to know that a particular piece of software has been accredited by a trusted third party organization. For example, CompuClever is a Microsoft Partner and Intel Partner and our Windows 7 Logo automatically assume the certified software is free of malware (both virus and adware).

Go the extra mile and get truly protected

If you really want to get protected, try installing a robust anti-virus and anti-malware tool. Two of the best products out there today are avast! and AVG Free.

Used by more than 150 million people, avast! is accessible and robust, with an impressive list of free features and strong performance benchmarks. It helps block malware and viruses from your computer, and also provides scans to make sure there’s nothing lurking in your hard drive consuming resources or worse.

AVG Free also provides the same real-time antivirus protection. If you have the time, compare how each works for you, and pay attention how each affects your computer’s performance, notably boot times. But they’re both great tools that will help with your peace of mind while surfing on the Internet.

Keep your computer clean

Finally, clean your computer of cookies and sensitive information. It’s possible for hackers to learn a lot about your web surfing and even banking habits by analyzing your cookies, so using PC cleaner products like PC Clean Maestro can provide you with some feelings of safety.

Speed up Internet Explorer

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There’s a couple of tips and tricks for both Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer that should speed things up.

If you use the IE browser and want instant access to your favorite websites, add a sub-menu from the Windows 7 Start Menu to get instant access to your Favorites. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Right-click an empty area of the Taskbar and choose “Properties”
  2. The “Taskbar and Start Menu Properties” multi-tabbed dialog box should appears
  3. Click the “Start Menu” tab
  4. Click the “Customize” button
  5. The “Customize Start Menu” dialog box appears
  6. Check “Favorites menu”
  7. Click “OK” on the dialog boxes to close them

You now have instant access to your favorites!

A cool shortcut for Windows Explorer – use check boxes!

You can select non-adjacent files in Explorer using Ctrl-click, but there is an easier way using check boxes. In Windows Explorer, click Organize, then select Folder and search options.

On the View tab, under Advanced Settings, scroll down to select Use check boxes to select items. Now you can easily select multiple items using only the mouse.