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DownThemAll! is a must have extension for anyone who downloads file from the internet. Some reports have said that it increases the download speed of your computer by up to 400%. I downloaded the near 700mb Ubuntu 7.10 .ISO with it in under an hour, whereas it probably would have taken over 2 hours with the extension.  Awsome as this extension is, it doesn’t work on some sites.  Sites such as Megaupload, Rapidshare, and any other site that redirect you to a page when you click download will most likely not work with DownThemAll!.  That being said, DTA! is still a great addition to any downloader’s arsenal.

If you use Mozilla’s Thunderbird, then I bet you said “finally…” when you read this title. It gets really annoying when you get an RSS feed in your mailbox and click on it only to see it open in IE. If you want it to open in Firefox, you would need to right-click -> “copy link location -> switch to Firefox -> open a new tab -> paste the URL into the address bar and hit enter. Haven’t you thought, “There must be an easier way, some geek has gotta figure this out…” Well some geek has figured it out. All you do is:

1. Open Thunderbird.
2. Go to Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> General -> Config editor
3. Make a new string network.protocol-handler.app.http with /opt/mozilla/bin/firefox
4. Same for network.protocol-handler.app.http - /opt/mozilla/bin/firefox

Now, Firefox should open all those RSS feeds that you’ve been getting in your inbox.

Windows has always had a “Recent Items” list.  So this Vista feature is nothing new, and many people have always thought of it as a security risk.  Some people work on materials they don’t want other people seeing.  Especially those dad’s at home who don’t want their kids screwing up important documents for work.  For whatever reason, people have always been after how to clear this list.  Here is the Vista version of it:

1. Click the Start button and type gpedit.msc in the Search field. Press Enter.
2. Navigate to the following container: User Configuration / Administrative Templates / Start Menu and Taskbar.
3. Right click the Clear history of recently opened document on exit and click Properties.
4. Click Enabled and click OK.

AllPeers is a Firefox add-on that enables private sharing with groups and individuals. The add-on is available for every OS that Firefox is available for, and is installed like every other add-on is installed. After installing AllPeers, and restarting Firefox, a side-bat on the left appears showing your friends and family sort of like an instant messaging client. You can’t add new groups, though, like in MSN Messenger. You are stuck with the groups that AllPeers gives you, which is fine by me. It’s very unlikely to be sharing private files with a tons of people anyways. AllPeer’s has many customizable features which are easily explored, but my favorite feature of all is the fact that it is also a BitTorrent client. As an avid user of BitTorrent, I enjoy having “My Torrents” in a tab inside of Firefox. AllPeers hasn’t given me any memory problems either, as some BitTorrent clients have in the past. Overall, its a great add-on, especially for those Firefox addicts such as myself.

After about 5 minutes of using Vista, I, along with countless others, realized that Window’s new security feature was really really annoying.  Even though I was logged in as the admin, I would keep having to click “yes” and “ok” to run things as the admin.  Talk about annoying.

Here is a simple four step solution to this very irritating problem:

1. Launch Control Panel
2. Type “UAC” in the search box at the upper-right hand corner of the window
3. The option to disable UAC is the first search result.
4. Log off and back in.

Now, you shouldn’t be getting all those pop-up message asking you to run as adimn.  If this didn’t work, you might have to restart.