ST Proxy Switcher: Switch Between Proxies From Several Countries

ST Proxy Switcher is a free application that provides a wide range of free proxy servers and allows switching between them in a click. This enables surfing the web anonymously by switching between servers of different proxy services from around the world, thereby disguising your real IP address and location. ST Proxy Switcher comes with an integrated download tool, which helps you obtain proxy servers from all over the world. You can mark selected servers as favorites for instant access from the system tray, and customize the list by adding or removing proxy servers from numerous countries around the world. Read More

Super Flexible File Synchronizer: Backup Linux Files With FTP, Amazon S3, Google Docs etc

Super Flexible File Synchronizer is a cloud based backup and synchronization service, capable of supporting FTP, Amazon S3, SSH, WebDAV and Google Docs. Super Flexible File Synchronizer allows setting up different jobs to run manually, or to schedule them for syncing data between local directories or cloud based servers. It provides many synchronization modes, including Standard Copying, Mirror and SmartTracking. While Super Flexible File Synchronizer works on a number of platforms, only the Linux version of it’s (client) application is available for free. Read More

XXCLONE: Backup System Volumes While Retaining Self Boot Functionality

Backup for system volumes can be performed with a number of applications. However, retaining the self-booting functionality of a volume can be difficult to achieve using conventional tools. XXCLONE is an application for copying your system volume to another, while retaining self-booting functionality. Using this application, you can even boot your system from the clone volume by swapping the disks. This can be particularly useful for disaster recovery, when the primary volume may have become redundant. XXCLONE is capable of copying data to and from FAT and NTFS volumes. It even supports USB drives, PATA and SATA. You can perform periodic backups with XXCLONE, or opt for a one-time disk upgrade/migration. Since XXCLOE copies files and folders, therefore, you can remain logged into Windows during the cloning process and also perform other usual tasks on your PC. XXCLONE also provides additional tools for duplicating the Volume ID, to repair non-bootable disk, creating batch files, etc. Read More

Create Videos From Memorable Pictures & Clips With ffDiaporama

Home videos and memorable pictures are organized by many people in the form of videos that can be played back on media devices and shared with loved ones. For this purpose, pictures and videos are sent to editing professionals, for processing them according to the customer’s requirement. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the fact, that the same tasks can be done with the help of some easy-to-use applications. ffDiaporama is a cross-platform application for assembling photos and videos and transform them into videos. It can read images and videos in many formats, including from a large number of cameras and camcorders. The program also comes with 140 transitions and a device database for generating videos for more than 50 different models of video viewing devices, including home cinema systems, smart phones and tablets. Read More

O&O AutoBackup: Automatically Backup Files To USB Drive When Plugged In

O&O AutoBackup is an application to automatically synchronize files and folders from a source folder to a removable media device such as a USB or external hard drive. For example, you can create a backup copy of your important office documents, so that they are automatically saved to a USB when changes are made to them. The data copying process immediately starts after you connect the removable device, and updates made to the original data are synced periodically. This enables creating backup copies of data on external media devices, so that you can keep the data available in portable format for later use. Read More

Boost Game And Internet Performance With Toolwiz GameBoost

When playing games on your PC, system resources can get easily strained, resulting in lags during gameplay. Many users either do not know the precise settings to switch off unwanted system services (for better gaming performance), or find it annoying to continually switch between numerous systems settings. Toolwiz GameBoost is a Windows tweak for optimizing system settings, and for increasing your gaming and internet performance. Unlike other tweaks of its kind, it does not require complex configurations. Read More

RemoteRebootX: Shutdown, Wake & Perform Other System Actions Remotely

There are a number of application (e.g., WakeMeOn LAN), which are meant to remotely wake up computers via command sent out through the Local Area Network (LAN). Being able to remotely wakeup, shutdown or reboot computers can allow easy management of data center servers, as well as other LAN computers that may be located all over the office. RemoteRebootX is a portable application that not only provides remote wake on LAN functionality, but also enables users to remotely reboot, shutdown, ping, retrieve the last boot time and MAC address, and obtain the list of services that are set to “Automatic” on remote computers. Read More

Lion UX Pack Transforms Windows 7 To Mac OS X Lion User Interface

Those of you who have been regularly following AddictiveTips, would know that we have covered a number of elegant skin packs for our readers in the past, including the Android , Windows Phone 7 Mango, iOS, Windows 8 and the Ubuntu Skin Pack. Most of these skin packs were developed by Hamed, and required following a simple setup wizard for getting the job done, instead of going through any complex theme patching methods. Recently, we cam across a Mac OS X Lion skin pack that was even easier to install than the previously reviewed Lion Skin Pack. The Lion UX Pack has been designed to instantly transform your Windows 7 system into a Mac OS X Lion style desktop. Read More

Subtitle Mechanic: Adjust Synchronization For SUB, SRT & TXT Subtitles

When loading subtitles for videos, there can often be synchronization issues. While there are a number of advanced subtitle editing applications to correct such issues, or to write subtitles from scratch (such as Gaupol), these applications are often too complicated to use. Subtitle Mechanic is a portable application that simplifies resolving subtitle synchronization issues, and allows changing the display timing for their SUB or SRT files. This application has been developed by the same developer who previously brought us the automatic screen locking application called ScreenBlur. Read More

EasyScreenshot: Offline Webpage Capture & Twitter Credential Management

A few weeks back, we covered a screenshot taking tool called EasyScreenshot, which not only provides conventional screen capture options (e.g., Full Screen and Window capture), but also allows taking a scrollable screenshot of a complete webpage. Recently, EasyScreenshot underwent some major changes, including support for drawing a rectangle for taking a screenshot, faster application performance, an updated user interface, offline webpage shot compatibility, credentials management for Twitter, notifications for uploaded images and more. Details after the break. Read More

WinUSB: Create Bootable Windows Installer USB In Ubuntu Linux

WinUSB is an Ubuntu application for creating a Windows USB installer for Windows Vista and Windows 7. Like other applications that enable creating installer USBs, you can create a bootable (installation) USB from an ISO disc image or a DVD. While other tools like Unetbootin can perform similar tasks, however, WinUSB is much simpler than other competitors, and delivers a two-click solution for creating a Windows installer USB. This may be a blessing for users who may require creating a USB installer for Windows for dual booting it with Ubuntu or other Linux distributions. Similarly, you might require installing Windows on another system, but do not have Windows installed on a computer to utilize tools such as the Windows 7 USB DVD Tool. Read More

Windows 8 Start Screen Editor: Change Background Image & Color Of Windows 8 Metro UI

Windows 8 Start Screen Editor is a Windows 8 tweak that allows users to change the background image and color of the Windows 8 Metro UI. It provides simple options to change the Windows 8 Metro color (including color for the logon screen and other Metro elements), and/or to add an image for the Metro start screen. After this portable application is launched, it shows the default green background color with green shade texture of Windows 8 start menu (on the main interface of the app). You can either change only the background image, background color or both. Read More

Tabular Text Editor Is A Free CSV File Editor With Template Support

The comma-separated values, or CSV file format, is often used for saving data in tabular (numbers and text) form.  For example, data in the form of logs may have to be processed to and from the CSV format. Perhaps the most famous CSV format editor is MS Excel, as it comes with a wide range of options for viewing, creating, organizing and editing CSV files. However, not everyone is willing to, or able to, buy the MS Office suite for using Excel. If you often require working with CSV files, and need an alternative editor for MS Excel, try Tabular Text Editor. It is a CSV file editor that provides many useful CSV file editing, sorting, filtering, searching and exporting options. Read More

SecurityKiss: Browse Anonymously With 300MB Of Free Daily Bandwith

We have previously reviewed a number of anonymous browsing and VPN services/applications. We even provided a comprehensive VPN (Virtual Private Network) guide for our readers, to explain the in-depth concept and procedure of creating a VPN. Recently, we came across a very handy VPN application, known as SecurityKiss. Unlike other applications of its kind, such as TunnelBear, it does not require logging in with an account, and provides 300MB of free bandwidth on a daily basis. This is much more than what most services offer, as even TunnelBear provides merely 500MB of free bandwidth per month (and an additional 1GB bandwidth on request via Twitter). Read More

How To Adjust Session Control Options In Ubuntu

Session control options in Ubuntu are perhaps one of the least likely features that someone might tweak. However, this is not because the options do not require tweaking, but rather the fact that one seldom considers looking for convenience at such a micro level. The session control options include everything from the log out, restart, shutdown options, to the User Menu. Some of these options can often result in confusion, and one can end up repeatedly clicking on an incorrect option when performing session related tasks. In such a case, it is best to simply remove the options that you may not require, or might be better off disabling confirmation prompts for an option (e.g., log out). Furthermore, removing the user menu can also help save some real estate, and make it easier to identify app-indicator menu applets. In this post, we will provide you with a method of performing these simple session control configurations. Read More

Auto Hide Cinnamon Panel & Adjust Other Settings

Cinnamon is a Gnome Shell fork, created with the aim of providing a Gnome 2 like layout with a bottom panel (with launchers). Recently, we reviewed Cinnamon, and provided you with a walkthrough of its installation (in Ubuntu). Unfortunately, configuring Cinnamon features at the moment is not as easy as one might prefer. For example, some users may wish to auto-hide the panel launcher. In this post, we will tell you how to auto hide the Cinnamon launcher, and to edit related settings. Read More

Anuran: Record & Archive Custom Logs In Chronological Order

Anuran is productivity app that is meant to record and archive text based logs that can be scheduled as a timed pop-up window. You can enter your logs within this (pop-up) window, after which the log will be archived into simple, time stamped, plain-text log files. Anuran's pop-ups are designed to be non-intrusive, and record log files in an organized format for later use. These chronological logs resolve the issue of creating and saving custom logs for recording important events (e.g., during software development or when resolving system issues). Read More

Split, Join And Encrypt Files With Khayalan File Splitter and Joiner

Khayalan File Splitter and Joiner (KFSJ), as the name suggests, is an application for splitting and joining files. Other than providing file splitting and joining features, it comes with additional options that are not found in conventional applications of its kind, e.g., it  enables comparing two different files by their checksum or size. KFSJ can assist and facilitate file separation, merging, checksum calculation and comparison.  It also provides a number of encryption types to encrypt files that are to split, including Blowfish, Twofish, Des, Ice, etc. Read More