If your hard drive goes bad on your computer, you simply just have to replace it with a new one.  Then, install the Windows or Mac operating system and possibly recover files from the bad drive.  What do you do if you have a tiny laptop that is hard to open up for replacement?  Well, you can bring it to a certified hard drive replacement specialist or you have another option:  boot to an external hard drive.

Instead of taking hours to open up your portable laptop, you may direct your laptop to boot to an external hard drive.  Most newer computers are able to handle this and you  may check to see if this option is available in the BIOS.  In the BIOS, there will be options in sequence what to boot first: CD-drive, hard drive, network, USB drive, etc.  If there is something that says USB, secondary or external drive, you’re in luck.  Just make sure you direct your BIOS to boot to your external drive first and then let your operating system disk do the rest.

We’ve put together a list of free software that you may use instead of paying big bucks for the typical software.  Why pay a thousand bucks for Photoshop when you can use a free software? 

Here is a list of free software along with their paid-for counterparts:

1. Gimp - The free version of Photoshop - it acts and looks just like the real thing.  You may use Plastic Bugs to make the interface look just like Photoshop.
2. Open Office - Forgo the big cost of Microsoft Office - use free versions of Word, Spreadsheet, Database, Presentations, and Equation Editor.
3. Ubuntu - Sick of Windows or Apple?  Go with the free version of Linux’ operating system.
4. AVG Free - Skip the annual renewals of regular anti-virus software by going with this free updated anti-virus software.
5. Zone Alarm - Set up this free firewall to block intruders.

You can save a lot of time and money by going with these free software packages.

It is not easy to get anything for free any more in terms of music downloads.  If you find a site offering free music, chances are it will also come with spyware, viruses, or pop-ups.  So, for legitimate free iTunes music downloads, where can you go?

Here are the top 3 sites you can go for iTunes free downloads:

1. About.com provides a list of free iTunes music, videos, and shows.
2. Emusic allows for 25 free songs after submitting your info.
3. Facebook provides free songs when you join the iTunes Discussion Board.

Enjoy your legitimate free music downloads and try to stay away from those pirate sites.

BitTorrent is a file sharing, peer-to-peer (P2P), website similar to Kazaa, Limewire, and Bearshare.  This site shares music, movies, TV shows, pictures, and video games.  Basically, anything you’d like to download is offered on BitTorrent.  Currently, all of the files are free.  The same folks who download files are usually those who also share the content for others thereby giving the site its peer-to-peer identification.  Many computer users are tapping into BitTorrent, in fact, the BitTorrent CTO, Eric Klinker, estimates that the site takes up more than half of the Internet traffic.

You can sign up to BitTorrent by logging in, downloading a BitTorrent client, and away you go.  You can share and download files.  Just about anything is available.  Old Superman movies, new movies that have been bootlegged from the theatres, new music DVDs, sometimes screenplays, and more.  The concern here is twofold: ethics and security.  The moral point here is by downloading free content, the folks who authored and created these works are being cheated.  Well, most people feel that if so many people are doing it, it must be okay.  That is implied as true because the Internet is still governed as a laissez-fare approach, expecting computer users to treat those as they would expect to be treated.  Does the golden rule work?  Not with the greed factor here! 

Is there anything to stop greedy computer users from downloading smurfloads of free files from BitTorrent?  Yes, spyware!  With free downloads, come spyware and possibly viruses.  Why?  Because when you start sharing and downloading files, your computer is an open portal to the website.  So, others may share files to you that contain malicious code or just merely look to infect your computer by finding you via the BitTorrent network.  Our advice is if you really want to be involved in the BitTorrent downloading, make sure your computer is heavily protected with anti-spyware and anti-virus software.  And make a good back up of your files before taking the leap.

It’s not easy to find software or drivers for your computer.  When you reinstall Windows on your   computer, there are usually hardware parts, such as the wireless card, internet port, or sound, that still need to be set up.  This means you need to find the exact software to install that will allow your computer to recognize these devices.  People typically refer to this software as drivers or software drivers.

How do you find drivers?  The easiest way is from the CDs that come with your computer.  But, as you can probably attest, either the CDs didn’t come with your computer or you lost them.  Then, the only ways to retrieve them is by calling up your manufacturer (i.e. Dell, Toshiba) and asking for them or downloading the drivers from the Internet.  It makes sense to call up your manufacturer for your drivers if you are in warranty since they’ll ship it to you for free.  If you are out of warranty, you might as well get them off the Internet.

You may find the appropriate drivers by going to your manufacturer link below:

• Acer
• Compaq
• Dell
• eMachines
• Fujitsu
• Gateway
• HP
• IBM
• Lenovo
• Sony
• Toshiba

What is open source software?  It is free software made available for using as is or to amend and use as needed.  In essence, it is code that is made available to anyone who wants to copy, modify, and use it.  Besides open source being free, it is a cool way to have software evolve by users changing the code over time to watch collaboration turn simple code into a highly useful software.   It is software for the people by the people!  Okay, that was a tad dramatic - but for those who are able to support software or are technology efficient, this is a great way to configure software to your exact preferences.

Even if you’re not a coder or technical specialist, you may just use the open source software for free.  Here are a few great links to useful software:

• Open Office - the free alternative to Microsoft Office.  It works well, and may even read Microsoft Office files by performing some importing/exporting steps.
• ClamWin - Need antivirus support for your computer?  Remove viruses fast with this free virus removal software.
• Gimp - Don’t let the name fool you!  This is a very efficient image editing software.  Try Gimp first before spending hundreds of dollars on Photoshop.  You might be pleasantly surprised with its features.
• 7-Zip - Not happy with the low compression from WinZip or Windows XP?  Try 7-Zip for its high compression rate.  Your e-mail attachments will have a better chance of being sent.
• Firefox - This Internet browser has become a household name lately.  This alternative to Internet Explorer is free and fast when browsing web sites.
• FileZilla - Need an FTP client and/or server.  Try FileZilla for good technical support of your website.

Is emailing back and forth on your Blackberry with your colleagues and friends not real-time enough for you?  How about instant messaging or IM’ing on your Blackberry?  That’s right.  You can type messages back and forth with someone by using Google Talk, aka G-Talk.

I’m a big G-Talk fan myself on the computer and I think having G-Talk on a Blackberry is great.  Why?  Many times, when you e-mail from a handheld device, there is a delay from when your recipient receives your e-mail.  With G-Talk, you can have a chat with someone in real-time so when you type “Hello” and hit return, they see your message instantaneously.

Can your blackberry use G-Talk?  Yes, if your device meets the below requirements:

-Blackberry 7100, 7200, 7500, 7700, and 8700 series

-Operating system for blackberry has to be version 4.0 or higher

-at least 200KB of free memory

If you meet the G-talk requirements, then what are you waiting for?!  Get a Gmail user ID if you don’t already have one and download G-talk for your blackberry.  You may download and install the software either through your Blackberry Internet browser or by connecting your Blackberry to your computer and using your computer’s Internet.

How about dressing up your computer for Halloween this year?

Here is some free software you can have a scream with during your Halloween fun.

Halloween Desktop:  Create a ghoulish desktop theme.

Halloween Cartoon Wallpaper:  Choose between Snow White, Superman, Elvis, and more.

Monsters Screen Saver:  Watch as scary monsters take over your monitor.

Haunting Screen Saver:  After your fingers rest, the skulls and jack-o-lanterns fly around.

Spyware can slow down your computer, prevent Internet access, and cause pop-ups and shutdowns. Below is free software that the experts use to remove spyware for good.

1. SpyBot Search & Destroy - updates and removes latest spyware

2. Windows Defender - automated to update and run scans nightly

3. Ad-Aware - Performs thorough registry and folder scan for pop-ups & adware

4. CWShredder - Remove annoying Internet browser hijackers and redirectors

Which software should you use? Well, they all contain different ways to remove malicious content, and some programs remove spyware that others do not. Typically, using Spybot and Windows Defender in combination seem to perform an exhaustive removal of spyware.