1. Website Blocker (Beta)

Website Blocker (Beta) allows users to block websites in Chrome with a few simple clicks. After you have installed it, go to the website that you want to block and click the Website Blocker icon. A window will pop up and you can specify the amount of time to block the website. Leaving the timing field blank means the current website will be blocked indefinitely.

When you attempt to open the blocked page, it will show you an error message as shown below.

To block multiple websites, go to its Options page and enter the URLs of websites you want to block. If you want to block them for a specific time period, just key in the URL of the website followed by the time you want to restrict the access.

Website Blocker

2. Nanny for Google Chrome

Compared to Website Blocker, Nanny comes with more options, such as creating a whitelist of websites, specifying the amount of time you can spend on any website, managing lock downs and more.

In its Options page, you will find a “Blocked URLs” tab where you can add the URLs of website you want to block. You can also specify the time you want the websites to remain blocked. You can even specify the days you want to block the specific websites and the max amount of time you can spend on each blocked website every day. Click on Save when you are done.

The next useful option is the Lock Down feature. This allows you to completely lock down access to any blocked set of websites.

If you want to track the amount of time you spend on any website, you can add the specific URL to Whitelist.

You can also customize the Mode of Blocking in Nanny for Chrome. It gives you three blocking options: close tab, show site blocked page or redirect to any other URL.

After configuring the options, click on the clock icon and it will show you the list of websites that you have entered. It will also show you the amount of time you have spent on the whitelisted website.

Visit any blocked URL now and you will be shown a confirmation message that the site is blocked. You will be able to access it after the block time is over.

Nanny for Google Chrome

3. Block Site

The best thing about Block Site is the authentication option. Once you have configured your list of blocked websites, you can add a password to the Settings page so your children won’t be able to access the Settings page and undo all that you have done.

After installing the extension, open extension settings and add the websites you want to block. Also check the “Enable Authentication” box and specify the password to block access to the settings.

When you try to access the blocked website, it will show you a warning message as shown below.

Block Site for Google Chrome

4. StayFocusd

StayFocusd is one of the best website blocking extensions for Google Chrome. We tend to waste a lot of time at work on Facebook and other time-wasting websites. StayFocusd boosts your productivity by limiting the amount of time you spend on those websites.

This extension provides users with a wide range of options to play with. You can specify the days StayFocusd will restrict your browsing activity along with the time you can spend per day on time-wasting websites. Apart from that, you can create a list of blocked/allowed websites as well. Another handy feature is The Nuclear Option. Enabling this feature will restrict access to any blocked website even if you have not crossed the time limit. You can specify the number of hours you want to block access.

StayFocusd

Conclusion

Blocking websites in Chrome is easy, as long as you have the right tool. However, staying focus is never easy, especially when there are tons of distraction coming at you at every second. With these extensions, it can help you to block off those distractions and enable you to focus on your work. Try them out and let us know which you prefer. If you have another method to stay focus on your work, let us know too.

The post How to Block Websites in Chrome appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Podcastomatic allows the users to convert any blog post into a podcast and listen to it in their browser. There is nothing much you need to do to get it working. All you have to do is provide the URL of the article you want to listen and it will convert them into podcasts. You can also download the podcast as well.

The Easiest Way to Convert A Blog to Podcasts

Visit Podcastomatic homepage and enter the URL of the blog you want to listen to. Click Go when you are done.

It doesn’t matter if you are specifying the homepage of the blog or a single post page as the URL, because Podcastomatic only uses the domain name and grab the posts from the homepage (using RSS feed). This is what you will see after entering the URL. All the posts are organized in episode and you can click on any link to listen to that particular post.

To listen to the podcast, you can either get it to play directly in your browser, or download it to your computer so that you can listen to it later.

During my testing, I tried converting different blogs to podcasts (including Make Tech Easier) and the result always turned out well. However, you don’t expect real human voice for the podcast. In fact, you will have to bear with the monotonous machine voice (and try not to fall asleep).

You can also subscribe to the podcast using iTunes or opens the podcast RSS feed and subscribe to it.

Some Drawbacks

As mentioned earlier, Podcastomatic doesn’t care whether the URL is the homepage of the blog or a single post page. This means that you can’t create podcast for just a single post. Some blogs have 50 items in their RSS feed, so if you want to listen to just one of the 50 posts in the blog, you still have to wait for it to download all the posts and convert them to podcasts.

In addition, the playback service doesn’t come with a seek bar. That means, you are not able to fast forward or rewind the podcast. An alternative is to subscribe the podcast feed in your favorite podcast player, or simply download the podcast to play with your audio player.

Conclusion

If you are a user who wants to convert your favorite blogs to podcasts, or a webmaster who wants to offer a podcast subscription option for your reader, Podcastomatic will work fine for you.. If you don’t mind the monotonous machine voice in the podcast and some of the drawbacks mentioned above, you will definitely want to check out this tool and keep it in your bookmarks. For active podcast listener who prefer “real” podcast (with real human voice), this is not for you.

Visit Podcastomatic

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Using Phrozensoft VirusTotal Uploader

To get started, go to the Phrozensoft homepage and download the installer. The installation process is simple and hardly takes a minute. Launch the application and you will find three different tabs: Upload Process, Awaiting Results and Available Results.

Under the “Upload Process” tab, it will show you the upload progress of the files. In “Awaiting Results” tab, it will show the files that have been uploaded to VirusTotal. After the file is scanned by VirusTotal, the results will be shown in the last tab.

When you double click on the files in the “Available Results” tab, a new window will open showing you the list of antivirus programs that were used to scan the files along with other basic information such as program version and the date when the virus definitions were updated.

Phrozensoft VirusTotal Uploader also comes with a widget where you can drag and drop files onto it. If you need to scan files regularly, you will find the widget to be a handy tool.

Another really useful feature of the program is that you can scan all the running processes using VirusTotal as well. Click on the “Process” option from the main screen, and it will show you all the processes that are running in the background. To scan any process, just check it and click on Submit. It will scan the process, and the results will be shown in the Results tab.

Apart from the running process, you can also scan startup programs, services and active network connections.

Conclusion

If you are an active user of VirusTotal, this Phrozensoft VirusTotal Uploader app will definitely be a handy tool for you. Not only does it save you the trouble to upload the files manually, you can also use it to upload multiple files at once, and save you tons of time in the process. Check it out and I am sure you won’t regret it.

Phrozensoft VirusTotal Uploader

The post Scan Files for Viruses Directly From The Desktop appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

If you are a Firefox user and are experiencing the same problem, you should try the Easy Access add-on for Mozilla Firefox. What this add-on does is that it adds a quick menu to open applications without leaving Firefox. These programs can include My Computer, Pain, Notepad, etc. If you want, you can even customize the quick access menu and add any application you want to your Firefox taskbar.

How to Launch Programs from Within Firefox

First of all, go to Mozilla Add-on repository and install Easy Access for Firefox. Once installed, you will notice a small wheel icon in the add-on bar (lower right corner of Firefox). Click on it, and it will show you the default apps that come with the add-on. If you want to add any other program to the list of shortcuts, you can do so by going to the add-on settings. Click on the wheel icon and go to ”Manage Your Easy Access”.

When you open “Manage Your Easy Access”, it will show you two tabs: “Add to Add on Bar” and “Customize Your Quick Launch’. Add To Add on Bar contains shortcuts to some of the most commonly used programs in Windows such as Calculator, Notepad, Paint, My Computer, etc. If you want to add any of these programs, just check the box right next to the program and click Ok.

If you want to customize the easy access menu and add some other program, open Customize your Quick Launch and click on Add EasyAccess.

All you have to do is browse the location of the program you want to open. It will automatically add the name of the app, but you can edit it if you want. After adding the required information, click Ok and you are done. Now, the selected shortcut will appear on the add-on bar.

Conclusion

EasyAccess for Firefox is a very handy add-on that can make it easy to open applications without closing Firefox. It’s simple and one click away. The add-on does exactly what it says, and during my testing, I didn’t come across any issues or problems with the add-on.

If you tried EasyAccess for Firefox, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

The post Open Applications Without Leaving Firefox appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Facebook now allows users to select three to five people as Trusted Contacts who can help the user get access to his/her Facebook account through a set of security codes. All they have to do is visit a secure link after logging in to their account and they will be asked if it’s really you who is trying to access the account.

After confirmation, the contact will be shown a security code to be shared with you. Simply enter the codes from all the contacts you added to your Trusted Contacts list and add them into the recovery page option.

How to Enable Trusted Contacts on Facebook

To enable the Trusted Contacts feature, click on the privacy icon and select “See More Settings”.

From the sidebar, click on Security Settings and you will be able to find an option to enable Trusted Contacts from there.

Click on “Choose Trusted Contacts”, and it will ask you add at least three people to the list. The reason why you are required to select three contacts is because there are chances of one of them getting their accounts compromised. Make sure you add those people to the list who can be contacted via phone, and more importantly, that you trust them with this kind of information. After adding all the names, click Confirm.

You will be asked to enter your password as confirmation.

The people you will add to the Trusted Contacts list will be sent an email as well as a notification on Facebook that you have added them as a trusted contact. There is no option for the recipient to accept or reject this.

Later, if you decide to change the list of people you added to the Trusted Contacts, you can do so from the same security settings mentioned above.

It should be noted that this feature is not yet available for every Facebook user and is still new. Hopefully, you will be able one of the users to receive the Trusted Contacts recovery option in case your account becomes compromised.

Is it Really Useful?

There are a lot of arguments both for and against this feature. Most importantly, how can you be one-hundred percent sure that the person you added to your Trusted Contacts list will not try to access your account? This may not be the most convenient method to recover your account. But personally, I think if you have Two-Factor Authentication on your Facebook account, it will be safe. In the end it’s up to you to decide whether it can be helpful to you or not.

What are your thoughts about this new feature? Feel free to share your views using the comments section below.

The post How to Enable Trusted Contacts Feature on Facebook appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

If you are looking for some tools to help you generate invoices online for free and without having to sign up for an account, check out the following websites:

1. MinuteBill

In the past, I have used a lot of invoicing tools, both free and paid. Most of them require the users to sign up for an account and spend some time to setup their accounts, company logo, client information etc.

Minutebill is a free tool that allows you to generate invoices online without having to sign up for any account. To get started, all you have to do is visit MinuteBill homepage and it will load up a template of an invoice. You can add all the details such as the client name, your company name, date, invoice number, item and product details, product pricing and contact details.

After adding all the required details, click on Create PDF, and it will open the invoice in a PDF format which you can save on your computer and send to your clients. You can even save the details so that you don’t have to enter the same info again and again. The tool saves all the settings in your browser cache and loads them every time you open MinuteBill. One thing to note here is that it adds a link to their  website in the footer of each invoice.

You can change some basic settings such as PDF file name, date format and currency as well. Just click on Settings from the taskbar and change the required settings. Currently, the service supports all the basic currencies including USD and those from UK, Australia, Canada, Turkey, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

2. Invoicd

Invoicd is another handy utility that allows users to create invoices on the go. Just like MinuteBill, you don’t have to go through any registration process. After opening Invoicd homepage, you will be presented with a template of an invoice. The service is a simple interface and allows users to upload their company logo along with other details such as client information, date, invoice number, etc.

Unlike MinuteBill, Invoicd allows users to email the invoices without downloading them to their computer. If you want to save a copy of the invoice on your computer, just click on “Generate PDF” and it will automatically download the file to your computer.

The service doesn’t support as many common currencies as MinuteBill. Currently it only supports USD, UK Pound, Indian Rupees, Euro and Japanese Yen.

Conclusion

Both of these services are great, and I hope they keep on introducing new features as they become popular. One of the annoying thing that comes with both of these services is the site URL appended at the footer of the invoice. It sure makes your invoice looks unprofessional and there doesn’t seem to have an option to remove it. Apart from that, both of these services are simple and easy to use, allowing you to generate invoices online. Personally, I like MinuteBill more as the layout it offers is minimal and very simple.

How do you create invoices? Feel free to share your thoughts using the comments section below.

Image credit: Free invoicing for everyone

The post 2 Websites To Generate Invoices Online for Free appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

The following are some tips and tools that can help you generate and remember strong passwords online.

Tips To Protect Your Online Privacy

The Internet is not a safe place anymore. Online services like Gmail and other websites offers extra layers of protection to its users to protect their accounts. One of the most important things I recommend to every reader is to enable Two-Factor authentication for all the accounts they operate. Google, Dropbox, Outlook, WordPress, Facebook all come with support for two-factor authentication.

In case the service you are using does not offer Two Factor Authentication, you should make sure that the password you are using is totally random, long and has a combination of letters and special characters.

Also make sure to never use any name or your location or other identifying words or phrases as your password because these are the most easy to guess. Even if you plan on using your relative’s name or your favourite place, make sure you include numbers or punctuation marks in it.

Tools to Help Your Create Strong Passwords

Lastpass

Lastpass is one of the best password management applications available right now. I am using it personally for my accounts with two-factor and grid authentication. Lastpass not only allows you to save and manage your passwords, it also allows you to generate hard-to-crack, strong passwords as well.

Sign up for an account on Lastpass and install the extension for your browser. After logging in to your account, just click on the Lastpass icon in your browser and click on Generate New Password. The password it generates is a mixture of random letters, numbers, etc., which can be automatically used in the password field. Later you can save that password in your Lastpass account so that you don’t have to remember it.

Password Bird

Password Bird is another handy online utility that allows users to create strong passwords. To get started, just enter the required fields with your favorite date, special word and special name, and it will automatically generate a strong password for you.

You can save it anywhere you want or save it using your browser’s password manager. If you don’t like the generated password, just click on the Make New Password button and it will generate a new password based on the same selection.

Password Savvy

Password Savvy is yet another handy online utility that can help users generate really strong passwords. Compared to PasswordBird, this service is better and generates stronger passwords. To generate passwords, point your browser to the Password Savvy homepage, enter the words you want to use in your passwords, change their order and it will automatically generate a strong password that you can remember and copy to your clipboard.

PassPlex

Unlike Password Savvy and PasswordBird, PassPlex is a very handy online tool to generate strong passwords. Rather than choosing your favorites names and words of interest, it asks you to select the length of the word and its complexity. Based on these two, it will generate a password. Always make sure that the password is long if you want to create a strong password.

Strong Password Generator

With Strong Password Generator, users can generate hard-to-crack passwords in a few simple clicks. Unlike the other tools mentioned above, all you have to do is select the number of letters you want to use in your password, and it will generate a strong password. You can even choose to include punctuation marks in your passwords.

After selecting the number of letters, just click on Generate New Password, and it will create it in seconds. The website even has tips to generate strong passwords, and as I said earlier in the post, make sure you never use your date of birth or similar info as your password.

Conclusion

While we cannot say that we can create a password that is impossible to crack, we should take all the extra precautions to make sure that it is difficult to crack. If you have any other suggestions for creating hard-to-crack, strong passwords online, let us know in the comments below.

Image credit: login password by BigStockPhoto

The post How to Generate Hard-to-Crack, Strong Passwords Online appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

However, most of the apps you will come across will cost you or may not work properly. If you want to use the webcam of your computer as a surveillance camera with the aide of your smartphone, try AtHome Video Streamer.

Athome Video Streamer is a very handy tool that is available for all popular platforms, including Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. After installing the app on both your computer and smartphone, you can use your computer as a surveillance camera. In the free version, you can record up to 15 minutes of recording per day, and it’s limited to one connection ID. If you want to make use of more CIDs and unlimited recording, you have to purchase the Pro version. The Pro version is currently available for iOS devices only, but the developer plans on releasing it for other platforms as well.

Setting Up Athome Video Streamer on Your Computer

Point your web browser to the download page of Athome Video Streamer and download the software. Installing the software is pretty simple and straightforward; just launch the setup and follow on screen instructions.

When you launch it for the first time, it will ask you to give the computer a name and set up a username and password.

After registration it will take you to the main Athome Video Streamer page and will give you a Connection ID (CID) that will be used later.

Using your Smartphone to View the Surveillance

Install Athome Video Streamer Free on your device (I will be using my iPhone to view the surveillance video). After installing, it will show you a welcome screen from where you can add the camera. Tap the Add button.

Enter the CID from the application and login with the credentials you created in step 1.

It will show you the list of cameras. In the free version, you can only add one CID. Tap on it and you will have access to your computer’s camera to view live streaming of your webcam.

If you want, you can even schedule recording for a certain time period. Additionally, it can work via the motion detector. When the motion exceeds the specified sensitivity level, it automatically start the recording and will stop thirty seconds after the motion falls below the specified level.

From the settings, you can change the name of the camera, change frame rate and other basic settings as well.

Conclusion

Athome Video Streamer is a very handy app that can help you use your computer as a surveillance camera instead of having to purchase other costly equipment. Additionally, you have the option of remaining totally free with that version, or you can purchase the Pro version for $7.99.

Feel free to share your thoughts if you tried AtHome Video Streamer or a similar app setup.

Image credit: Webcam

The post Use the Webcam of Your Computer as a Surveillance Camera appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

If you search the Internet, you will even come across many apps that allow remote access to your device. SnapPea Photos is yet another application that allows you to transfer photos from your Android phone to your computer in Google Chrome.

With SnapPea Photos, you can connect your Android phone with your computer and manage your photos without a USB cable. You only need to install SnapPea on your computer as well as your phone, and you are good to go. The best thing about SnapPea is that you don’t have to sign up for any account. Just enter the passcode, and it will automatically connect your device with Google Chrome.

How to Manage Android Photos Remotely from Google Chrome

1. First, install the SnapPea application on your Android device.

2. Next, head over to the Chrome Web Store and install the SnapPea extension for Google Chrome. Once installed, a small icon will appear in your Google Chrome taskbar.

Launch the application on your Android device, and it will show you a web address as well as a passcode phrase which will be used once you launch the app in Google Chrome. (Note that your phone and your computer must be connected to the same WiFi network).

Open Google Chrome and click on the SnapPea icon from the taskbar. it will ask you to enter the passcode generated on the phone. Just enter the passcode phrase and click on Sign In.

After signing in, it will show you all the pictures that are saved in your phone gallery. Do note that it might take some time for the extension to load all the images on your phone.

Clicking on the thumbnail will redirect you to SnapPea’s web interface. Clicking on the thumbnail from the web interface will open the photo. From there, you can download the photo to your computer, delete them or rotate them if the orientation of the photo is not correct.

You can transfer photos from phone to computer, but you can even transfer any image from your computer to your mobile phone as well. From the web interface, just click on the Add Photos button at the top right corner of the screen and browse the photo you want to add.

Conclusion

SnapPea is a very handy extension for Google Chrome that allows users to seamlessly access photos from an Android phone remotely. Which application do you use to transfer photos from your Android phone? We’d love to hear about it in the comments section below.

Download SnapPea for Google Chrome, Android

The post Remotely Transfer Photos From An Android Phone to Computer appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

If you are a WordPress user and don’t want to go through the hassle of watermarking images on your computer and then uploading them on WordPress, we have gathered a list of some of the best plugins that allows users to automatically watermark images in WordPress.

1. Easy Watermark

Easy Watermark is a very handy WordPress plugin that allows users to automatically add watermarks to their uploaded images. Watermarks can either be images or text. In case of an image watermark, all you have to do is upload the image and customize its placement and opacity. The plugin supports multiple image formats including PNG, JPEG and GIF.

For the text watermark, just type the text you want to use and customize its appearance by changing the font, font size, opacity, text offset, etc.

2. Watermark Reloaded

With Watermark Reloaded, users can automatically add text watermarks on the uploaded images with different fonts, sizes, and opacity and position them anywhere on the image.

The plugin also offers a pro version with many advanced features such as using an image as a watermark, setting the watermark color and opacity, using text watermarks with outlines and variables, and much more.

3. Signature Watermark

Signature Watermark is another handy plugin that allows users to automatically add watermarks, text or image, to their uploaded images. The plugin offers users a wide range of options to add and customize the appearance of the watermark.

From the plugin settings page, you can add the URL of the watermark you want to use in your images, set the placement and width of the watermark, set opacity and much more.

The plugin also has an Ultra version that offers users a wide range of advanced features, including watermark position, adding watermarks to previously uploaded images, using high quality watermarks, and much more.

4. Watermark My Image

Unlike other watermarking plugins, Watermark My Image adds a text watermark underneath the image. You can customize the height, background color of the watermark, and text alignment, as well as adjust the quality of the JPEG images.

If you want, you can even upload your own fonts in the plugin’s font directory and use them as watermarks.

5. Scissors and Watermark WordPress Plugin

With Scissors and Watermark WordPress Plugin, users can also crop, resize or rotate the images in addition to adding watermark.

Additionally, the images that are edited in the post editor are automatically resampled using bilinear filtering that improves the quality of the image.

Conclusion

These are some of the most useful plugins available in the WordPress plugin directory that allow users to watermark images. It’s hard to say which one from the list is the best, as every user has certain needs. Some prefer to use a simple text watermark, while others may prefer image watermarks.

Do you use any plugins mentioned in the list? If you think we missed any, feel free to share it with us using the comments section below.

The post Best Plugins to Automatically Watermark Images In WordPress appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

The following are a list of a few online utilities that allow users to record screencasts online without installing any third party applications on their computer.

1. Screenr

Screenr is a very useful online tool that allows users to create screencasts online in a few simple clicks. Make sure you have installed Java on your computer, otherwise it will not work. After creating the screencasts, you have the option to publish it on Screenr or the connected social network.

To publish the screencast, you must log in to Screenr. The service allows users to log in using Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, LinkedIn or Windows Live ID. By logging in to Screenr, you can manage all your screencasts from the Screenr dashboard. After publishing the screencast, the service gives users a link to share the video. You can even download the video in .mp4 format or share it on YouTube.

The only drawback I found with this service is that it allows users to create screencasts of up to five minutes. It shouldn’t bother most of you as most screencasts are five minutes or less. One thing to bypass this limitation is to create multiple screencasts and merge them later using a video editor.

2. Screencast-O-Matic

Screencast-O-Matic is a very popular online screen recording tool that allows users to create recordings of up to fifteen minutes and publish them on YouTube or save them online on Screencast-O-Matic. If you want, you can easily convert and download the video to your computer as well. You can also sign up for an account on Screencast-O-Matic, create channels and custom links to your screencasts and share items with anyone you want.

Just like Screenr, make sure you have the latest version of Java to make it work. After that, all you have to do is visit the Screencast-O-Matic homepage and click on the Start Recording button. It will bring up a small screen which can be customized according to your needs. After recording your screencast, you can easily save it online or embed it on your website or blog or share it with anyone using a direct URL.

Screencast-O-Matic also offers Pro accounts for $15 per year that offer many advanced features including cloud uploads, publish screenshots, password protect videos, edit videos and much more.

3. Screenbird

Screenbird is yet another online tool that allows users to create screencasts online. With Screenbird, you can record a screencast of your entire screen or a selected region on your screen. In a free account, you can record up to 150 minutes of screen time, but the video will expire after six months.

The recorded videos can be played on any device along with the option to upload the video to YouTube. One thing I like about the service is that before finalizing the screencast, you can edit your recording and select your desired region from where you want to start the recording.

Conclusion

All the tools mentioned above are great and offer a variety of features to record screencasts online. It all depends on your own preference which one suits your needs. Personally, I really like Screenr, despite the drawback that it only allows the recording of screencasts up to five minutes.

Do you use any of the above mentioned tools to record screencasts online? If you think we missed any tool from the list, please share with us using the comments section below.

Image credit: Macro Of Digital Dictaphone by BigStockPhoto

The post Record Screencasts Online With These Tools appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

OneTab is a very useful extension that allows users to manage opened tabs in Google Chrome efficiently. What OneTab does is convert all your tabs into a list and open the list in a new tab. Clicking on any URL in the list will open it in a new tab. You can also remove items from the list, restore all tabs, import/export all the URLs from OneTab and share them as a web page with anyone you want.

How to Use OneTab

Using OneTab is fairly simple and straightforward. Download and install OneTab extension from Chrome Web Store. Once installed, it will add a small OneTab icon in the extensions area in the Google Chrome taskbar.

Clicking on the OneTab icon will minimize all the opened tabs and show them as lists in a new tab. Note that if you are using any pinned tabs in Google Chrome, they will not be minimized. Even if you don’t open all the links, it keeps a history of all the tabs that you saved in OneTab so that you can access it anytime in the future as well.

If you want, you can import or export all the URLs that are in a Onetab list so that they can be shared or emailed to anyone you want.

You can even share the lists as a web page using a direct URL as well. The service also generates a QR code for the list that can be opened using any QR Code reader app on your mobile phone or tablet.

Depending on how many tabs are opened and the number of scripts running in the background, minimizing the tabs using OneTab can improve your PC’s performance by reducing the memory consumption of Google Chrome.

Conclusion

If you work with a lot of opened tabs, I definitely recommend you to give OneTab a try. It will not only help you manage tabs in Google Chrome efficiently but also help in freeing up system resources to boost its performance. If you tried OneTab extension for Google Chrome, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

The post Reduce Memory Usage And Tab Clutter With OneTab [Google Chrome] appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

At times, it becomes really difficult to keep up with all the online services. This is where JoliDrive comes to the rescue. With Jolidrive, users can manage all their cloud services from one dashboard, view their files and access them from any device, anywhere.

Overview

Jolidrive is a very handy online tool that allows users to manage multiple cloud storage services from one dashboard. All you have to do is sign up for an account on Jolidrive and add the services you want to manage. Currently, the service supports the following services:

• Box
• Google Drive
• SkyDrive
• Dropbox
• Flickr
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Soundcloud
• YouTube
• Instapaper
• Pocket
• Vimeo
• Readability
• Tumblr
• Google+

However, there is one catch here. To unlock a few of the services from the list, you must share Jolidrive on Google+, Twitter or Facebook. Some of these services include Vimeo, Tumblr, Google+ and Pocket.

How to Set Up Jolidrive

To get started, visit the Jolidrive homepage and sign up for a free account. The registration process is simple and requires users to fill a few fields.

After the registration process is complete, you will be redirected to your Jolidrive dashboard. It will show you all the services that you can add to your account.

Just click on the account you want to add to your dashboard and it will ask you to authorize Jolidrive to access your data from the selected service.

After the authentication is complete, you will be able to see all the files and folders saved on your cloud storage services. The sidebar will list all the services that are connected/not connected.

With Jolidrive, you can access all the files and open them in the cloud (without redirecting to the cloud service). Just select the file you want to view, and you will be shown a “Preview” and “Open” button at the bottom right corner of the screen. The Preview button will show you the preview of the image inside the Jolidrive dashboard, while clicking on the Open button will redirect you to the cloud storage dashboard.

Jolidrive is compatible with different mobile devices as well. You can access it on any mobile browser and access your files.

If you want to disconnect any service from Jolidrive, you can either disconnect the app from the specific social network or click on Add New Service on the Jolidrive dashboard. It will show you all the services. Click on any connected service, and it will show you the disconnect option. Currently you cannot disconnect Facebook from the Jolidrive dashbard, but you can remove the app from the account settings from Facebook.

Wrap Up

There is no doubt that Jolidrive is a very handy online utility, but the fact that using all the services requires you to promote it can be annoying for some users. Apart from that, it’s a very handy and useful online tool with an excellent interface. It’s simple and allows you to control all the services from one place.

If you have tried Jolidrive to access multiple cloud storage services, feel free to share your views in the comments section below.

The post Jolidrive: Access Multiple Cloud Storage Services From One Dashboard appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Let’s take a look at how you can export Google Reader feeds and data using Google Takeout.

How to Export Google Reader Subscriptions

Head over to the Google Takeout homepage and login with your credentials. After logging in, you will be redirected to the Google Takeout dashboard where it will show you all the Google services. First we want to make a backup of our Google Reader subscriptions, so go to the “Choose Services” tab and select Google Reader.

After you click on Google Reader, it will show you the estimated number of files in Google Reader along with the size of the backup file. Just click on the “Create Archive” button.

It will start to create your backup file and that may take some time depending on the number of feeds you have in Google Reader. After the backup file is created, click on the “Download” button.

Import Google Reader Subscriptions to The Old Reader

Earlier this week, we shared with our users some great alternatives to Google Reader. You can select any service from the list but we will be looking at The Old Reader and Netvibes, as they are simple and easy to use. Personally, I prefer The Old Reader over other RSS Readers, as it has a simple interface and looks more like Google Reader.

Before we proceed, extract the zipped Google Reader backup file. Visit The Old Reader homepage and login with your Facebook or Google ID. After logging in, click on the “Import” button in the top right corner of the screen.

Browse the file name “Subscriptions.xml” from the folder we extracted earlier and click on “Import”.

The import process will start and might take some time depending on the number of feeds you have as well as the number of users in queue. After the news of Google Reader shutting down, many people switched from Google Reader to The Old Reader, so it might take some time to import your feeds.

Verdict

Many people are shocked to hear the news about Google Reader closing down, but I don’t think there is anything to worry about. There are so many good alternatives available. If you prefer RSS feeds over social networks, just check out some of the Google Reader alternatives we mentioned and use the info here to export Google Reader feeds and data.

If you already imported your Google Reader feeds and data, please share with us which reader you switched to in the comments section below.

The post How to Export Google Reader Feeds And Data appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

About:Addons-memory is a very handy addon for Mozilla Firefox that allows users to find out which particular addon is causing problem for the browser.

After the installation (no restart required), all you have to do is to open a new tab and type “about:addons-memory” (without the quote) in the address bar. It will show you the summary of all the installed addons and their memory consumption.

The Memory column shows the memory consumption of the specific addons (in MBs) followed by the addons column that shows the memory consumption in percentage.

The list is organized in descending order, starting with the addon that consumes the most resources. It is a pity that the list is not updated real-time, so you have to refresh the page to get the latest information. However, if you are constantly seeing a particular addon at the top of the list (other than the Firefox, which will always be the first in the list), you might want to remove it from the browser.

About:Addons-Memory is probably not an addon that you will use it everyday or every moment, but if you are troubleshooting your Firefox and wondering what is slowing it down, this addon will be very handy.

About:Addons-Memory for Firefox

The post How to Check Your Firefox Addons Memory Consumption [Quick Tips] appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

1. Burn Note

Burn Note is a very handy online utility that allows users to create self-destructing messages online and send them to anyone they want. You can even encrypt the notes as well so that only the person who knows the password can read the note. The great thing about this service is that you can even talk to your friends and have a private conversation, which is also deleted right after you read the message.

To get started, just sign up for an account on Burn Note, and you will be redirected to Burn Note dashboard. From there, you can check your old conversations and add contacts to your account so that you don’t have to manually enter them again when you want to send a message to the same person. By managing your conversations, it doesn’t mean that it will contain all the messages; it will just show you the email address or username of the person with whom you had the conversation.

After signing up, all you have to do is write your message and select the recipient to whom you want to send the message. They can either be other Burn Note users or an email address you specified. You can even get the direct link of the note and send it to anyone you want.

2. NoteDIP

NoteDIP is another useful tool that allows users to create and send self-destructing messages online. This service also allows users to encrypt their notes, and you will receive a notification after the note has been read by the recipient.

To get started, just go to the NoteDIP homepage and write the message you want to share. After writing the message, the service will ask you to provide your email address if you want to receive a notification after the message has been read. Also, you can password-protect your notes as well. Click “Next” and it will create a private link which can be shared with the recipient. Unlike Burn Note, NoteDIP doesn’t allow users to send the private link directly to the recipient’s email address.

Conclusion

These are two very useful online tools that allow users to send encrypted messages online that are deleted after they have been read by the recipient. My personal preference is Burn Note, as it allows users to create an account and manage a list of contacts online. However, if you prefer a simpler solution with a clean interface, NoteDIP will probably be more suitable for you.

Feel free to share your thoughts and let us know which one you like the most. If you know about any other tool that can create self-destructing messages online, please share them using the comments section below.

Image credit: businessman hands preparing bomb in office by BigStockPhoto

The post How to Create Self-Destructing Messages Online appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

While we have shown you a few ways to compress images and reduce the file size from your desktop, you might prefer to do it online so you don’t have to install any software on your PC. If you are looking for a simple and effective way to reduce PNG file size without affecting their quality, try TinyPNG.

Depending on the size of the image, it can automatically reduce file size by decreasing the number of colors in the image. It reduces a 24 Bit PNG file to 8 Bit PNG file without losing transparency or really affecting the quality of the image.

Using TinyPNG

Using TinyPNG is simple and straight forward. You do not have to sign up for an account or fill out lengthy registration forms. Go to the TinyPNG home page and upload the file you want to optimize. You can either browse the file from within the online tool or drag-and-drop it into TinyPNG to start the conversion process. Currently the tool supports files up to 3MB, and you can easily select up to 20 images.

After completing the conversion, it will show you the original as well as the optimized file size of the image. You can then download the converted image and use it wherever you want.

Here is a side by side comparison of the image that was converted using TinyPNG. There don’t seem to be any visible differences in it.

Conclusion

If you are using PNG images on your website, it is best to optimize them first before you upload to the server. TinyPNG is great for those who don’t want to install additional apps on their systems.

One thing I would like to see in the service is the ability to create accounts so that you can manage your converted files online. Other than that, this is a useful nifty app that you probably want to keep in your bookmarks.

If you tried TinyPNG, we’d love to hear about your views in the comments section below.

The post How to Reduce PNG Image File Size Online appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

How it works

Swapps works by adding an invisible app drawer on the side of the screen. By swiping from right to left or left to right, the app drawer will show up and you can access your favorite app. With Swapps, you can add up to 15 applications to your favorites list. If you want, you can even customize the height and width of the app drawer as well.

Using Swapps

1. install Swapps from the Google Play Store. Make sure you are running Android 2.3+ for the application to work properly.

2. Once installed, all you have to do is swipe from left to right or vice versa and it will bring the App Drawer. By default, the sidebar contains 3 sections:

• Recently Used
• Starred
• All apps

The “Starred Apps” section contains the list of your favorite apps that you access regularly. The “All Apps” section contains the list of all the installed apps and lastly, the “Recently Used Apps” section contains list of last used apps.

The best thing about the drawer is that you can access it anywhere, even if you are playing game on your phone.



The best thing about Swapps is that it is customizable as well. You can change the number of apps you want to display in your Starred list as well as the option to remove the “Recently Used Apps” and “All Apps” section so only your favorite apps appear in the drawer. There is also options for you to customize the size and width of the drawer, as well as its location on the screen.



Conclusion

If you are looking to expand the multitasking capability in your Android phone, Swapps is one of the more handy apps around. Personally, I prefer to use Swapps over the native “Recent Apps” button as it allows me to access my favorite apps quickly. What about you? Which apps do you use to improve the multitasking feature in Android?

The post Swapps: An Alternative Multitasking App For Android appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

]]> http://www.maketecheasier.com/swapps-alternative-multitasking-app-for-android/2013/02/28/feed 0 Swapps F Swapps F Swapps Sidebar Swapps Sidebar Swapps Settings Swapps Settings http://www.maketecheasier.com/extend-android-battery-life/2013/02/26 http://www.maketecheasier.com/extend-android-battery-life/2013/02/26#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:25:27 +0000 Hammad http://maketecheasier.com/?p=65513 You have probably realized that your Android phone doesn't last long before the battery runs flat, but what can you do about it other keeping it constantly in charge? In this article, we will show you a way to find out more about the battery consumption rate and how you can better manage it to extend its life.

The post Extend Your Android Battery Life With Battery Doctor appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

]]> Smartphones are more than a phone nowadays. You can make calls, browse the Internet, chat with friends, play games and much more. However, the most common problem with them is their battery life. Managing your battery life on your smartphone can be a challenging task. You can’t tell which features are running and which are consuming more battery. If you are looking for a simple and easy-to-use tool to manage Android battery life, give Battery Doctor for Android a try.

Introduction

Battery Doctor is a great utility for Android users who want to better manage their smartphone’s battery life. It shows which features and operations are using the most battery and tells you how much time your Android battery life will last with certain features enabled as well as how much the battery life will be extended if you disable those features. It also tells you the health of your battery along with the charge cycle, i.e. how many times you charge your phone (partial or full).

Using Battery Doctor

When you launch Battery Doctor for the first time, it will show you the basic welcome screen and will redirect you to the main Saver tab. This will show you the time your battery can last and the percentage of battery left. One thing I really like about this app is that it shows the battery usage of the currently active apps (or functions like WiFi, GPS, Sync, Data, etc.) and how much your Android battery life would be extended if you disabled those features. Tapping on any feature will toggle it off and on.



The “Charge” tab shows you the health of your battery and how much time you have until you need to charge your phone. Tap on the calendar icon on the top right corner to view the charge cycle. It will show you how many times you completely charged your phone and more.





The application also offers many different modes which you can enable at night or in case your battery is low. You can even create a custom mode as well.



An interesting feature of the application is that from the “Consume” tab, you can check which applications and features are using the most battery, like your OS, maps and other services. Tapping on any process will show you its details, how much cache it has and other storage details.



The application will show the battery percentage in the Android notification bar as well. You can even use Battery Doctor from your Android homescreen. Just open the drop-down menu and tap on the Battery Doctor icon. It will show you all the features that you can enable/disable on your selected mode. If you want, you can disable the display option from Battery Doctor settings as well.



From here, you can even change the battery mode as well so that you do not have to open the application every time you want to change the mode. Just tap on Go To Mode and select your desired mode.



Conclusion

For any Android user who wants to better manage their smartphone’s battery, Battery Doctor is a great app that you should install. It’s simple and easy to use and allows you to maximize your Android battery life. The application shows you every single thing you need to know about maximizing and improving your smartphone’s battery.

Note: Battery Doctor is available for iOS as well.

The post Extend Your Android Battery Life With Battery Doctor appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

]]> http://www.maketecheasier.com/extend-android-battery-life/2013/02/26/feed 4 Battery Doctor F Battery Doctor F Battery Doctor Saver Tab Battery Doctor Saver Tab Battery Doctor Charge Battery Doctor Charge Battery Doctor Charge Cycle Battery Doctor Charge Cycle Battery Doctor Modes Battery Doctor Modes Battery Doctor Consumption List Battery Doctor Consumption List Battery Doctor Custom Mode Battery Doctor Custom Mode Battery Doctor Homescreen Mode Battery Doctor Homescreen Mode http://www.maketecheasier.com/view-recover-deleted-files-in-dropbox/2013/02/22 http://www.maketecheasier.com/view-recover-deleted-files-in-dropbox/2013/02/22#comments Sat, 23 Feb 2013 00:25:10 +0000 Hammad http://maketecheasier.com/?p=65985 If you accidentally delete any file from your Dropbox account, do you know that there is a handy feature in Dropbox that allows you to view and recover the deleted files? If you made changes to any file or folder, you can restore them to an earlier version too. Here is how you can do so.

The post How to View And Recover Deleted Files in Dropbox appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

]]> If you accidentally delete any file from your Dropbox account, do you know that there is a handy feature in Dropbox that allows you to view and recover the deleted files? When you delete file from your Dropbox account, the file is moved to the trash folder in Dropbox (which is not counted in your storage quota). If you made changes to any file or folder, you can restore them to an earlier version too.


Recover Deleted Files/Folders from Dropbox

1. Login to your Dropbox account and click the “Trash” icon in the top right corner of the screen.



2. All your deleted files and folders will show up in the list. You can now click on any of the file and restore it to its original location.



If for some reason, you are unable to find the file you want to recover, you can upgrade your account and get premium file recovery feature that allows you to recover any deleted file in your Dropbox account.

For Windows user

If you are using Windows Explorer, just open Windows Explorer and paste the following path in the address field.

%HOMEPATH%\Dropbox\.dropbox.cache

This will redirect you to Dropbox Cache folder and will show you all the folders/files. You can simply check the files, copy them and paste it in your computer.



How to View File Revisions and Restore Them

If you overwrite a file in your Dropbox account and later found out that the previous version of the file was the one you want, just click on the file you want to recover, right click on it and select “Previous Versions”.



This will redirect you to a new page where you can find all the file revisions. From here, select the version you want to restore and you are done.

If you are using Dropbox on Windows, simply right click on the file and go to “Dropbox -> View Previous Versions”. This will open the web interface of Dropbox and show you file revisions which you can restore.



That’s it.

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]]> http://www.maketecheasier.com/view-recover-deleted-files-in-dropbox/2013/02/22/feed 1 Dropbox-recover-files-main Dropbox-recover-files-main Recover Deleted Files Dropbox Recover Deleted Files Dropbox Dropbox DeletedFolder Dropbox DeletedFolder Dropbox Cache Dropbox Cache Dropbox Previous Version Dropbox Previous Version Dropbox Context Menu Dropbox Context Menu