Filed under: Internet, Yahoo!

Ten years ago when Yahoo! launched Yahoo! Briefcase, the service provided users with a much-needed place to store their files and documents online. But time marched on, and while other companies offer gigabytes of free storage space, Yahoo! still offers a paltry 30MB of free disc space.

Rather than upgrade the service with a slick new interface or additional storage, Yahoo! has decided to close its Briefcase. The company has posted a message alerting users that Yahoo! Briefcase will close on March 30th.

Yahoo! has posted an information page with instructions for downloading files from the service, but with only 30MB of storage available, I'm guessing most users (all two of them) won't have too many problems retrieving their data.

[via CNet]

Yahoo! Briefcase is finally being put out of its misery originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Google, Search

Google has some built in tools that will warn you before you click a link that could take you to a website running code that could harm your computer. And usually that's a good thing. But this morning Google started returning warnings for virtually every single search result.

When you conduct a search, you may notice "This site may harm your computer" warnings under the headlines of each search result. And when you click a link to visit a site, there's a good chance you'll see a window warning you to go back to where you came from.

Google seems to be in the process of correcting the error. A few minutes ago we couldn't find a link that wasn't labeled as malware, but now a search for Download Squad fortunately comes up clean. But when a company as large and influential as Google indiscriminately labels sites as dangerous, even for just a few minutes, it's not pretty.

Update: And the crisis seems to be over. But it lasted long enough for Download Squad reader Kewal Shah to capture a funny image which you can see after the break.

Update 2: Google has issued an explanation. Basically Google maintains a list of dangerous sites, and that list gets updated from time to time. Today it was updated, and one of the values added to the list this morning was "/" which covers, you know, the whole internet.

Continue reading Google gets overprotective, flags whole internet as malware

Google gets overprotective, flags whole internet as malware originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft, Beta

This isn't the first time Microsoft officials have stated that there would be just a single beta. But I believe it is the first time it's been said since the beta was released to the public.

It's not clear at the moment when the release candidate will be available, or if it will be released to the public or just a group of private beta testers. But the step after that will be getting the final build of Windows 7 in the hands of manufacturers. Officially this all means Microsoft is on track to ship Windows 7 in early 2010, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened this year.

[via ZDnet]

Up next for Windows 7: A release candidate originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Google, Mozilla, Search, Browsers

If you like Chrome but miss your Google toolbar, you might just want to keep using Firefox (or switch back). The latest version of the Google Toolbar for Firefox adds features mimicking Chrome's start page to newly-opened tabs in Firefox.

In addition to your 9 most frequently visited sites, the page also displays recent bookmarks and recently closed tabs. The update also boasts an array of new buttons and the ability to add Gadgets as buttons.

Here's a shocker for you: the new version has been labeled a "second beta" by Google. We'll wait with bated breath to see if the label changes at some point in the next 8 years.

[ via Official Google Blog ]

Google toolbar adds Chrome's speed dial to Firefox originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft

If you're running Windows 7 beta, you probably know that when you first load operating system it asks if you want to upgrade an existing Windows installation or do a fresh install. But as Business Week's Stephen Wildstrom points out, that upgrade feature only works for Windows Vista users. If you want to upgrade from Windows XP you're out of luck.

Now, that doesn't mean that Microsoft won't offer a lower priced version of Windows 7 for Windows XP users who want to upgrade. What it does mean is that you probably won't be able to load Windows 7 on a computer running XP without losing your personal data, programs, and settings. But Windows 7 is enough like Windows Vista that Vista users will be able to install the newer operating system while leaving many files intact.

[via Eee PC.net]

No easy upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: OS Updates, Security, Windows, Microsoft, Windows x64

When Microsoft introduced UAC in Windows Vista, it was pretty much universally slammed for being annoying, intrusive, and unwanted.

So with Windows 7, Microsoft decided to respond to the complaints and ease up on the prompts. Now, there's an uproar because doing this has caused security problems.

The problem: by default, UAC in Windows 7 doesn't notify you if you make changes to Windows settings. Of course, that means that a script that can impersonate you and send keystrokes can make changes and you won't see notifications.

To make things worse, that includes disabling UAC completely. From there, a malicious script could perpetrate all kinds of badness.

In his post, Long Zheng states that the solution could be as simple as forcing a prompt whenever attempts are made to change UAC settings. Also, if you crank up the notifications to always notify, that will solve the problem as well.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that makes sense, right? I'm not prepared to slam Microsoft over this just yet. Windows 7 is still in Beta, and the changes to UAC were made as a response to outcry from their user base. If you're responsible and keep your machine properly protected, this shouldn't pose a significant risk.

Don't get me wrong - I completely understand the implications and the potential for this to cause trouble. It's just that I don't see this as that big a deal considering the huge number of people still beating the Windows XP drum, and it's even less secure than Windows 7 - even with a "flaw" like this.

Windows 7 's quieter UAC a security risk? Of course it is. originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

The Master Boot Record (or MBR) of a hard drive contains the information your computer needs in order to know how to boot any operating systems installed on your system. In other words, if something happens to your MBR or BootSector, you could be left with an unbootable computer.

HDHacker is a Windows utility that lets you backup or restore your boot record in a snap. The standalone program can be run from your hard drive or a USB flash drive. The one thing it does require is a working Windows installation. So if you've accidentally locked yourself out of Windows, you'll need to find a way back in before you can restore your MBR.

Fortunately if you have a Windows XP or Vista installation disc handy you can probably boot into recovery mode and try to fix or rebuild your MBR. But that's not to say HDHacker is useless. For example, if you have a triple boot system running Windows XP, OpenSUSE Linux, and Ubuntu Linux, one of the Linux distributions probably wrote over your MBR with its own GRUB bootloader. If you try to uninstall Ubuntu and keep the other operating systems you might wind up with an unbootable system. The Windows XP installation disc can help you boot into Windows, but you might find yourself without a way to boot into OpenSUSE unless you use a program like HDHacker to restore the boot record.

At least that's one example off the top of my head. If you can think of other uses for this program, let us know in the comments.

[via gHacks]

HDHacker backs up and restores Master Boot Records originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Microsoft, Search, Browsers

It may be several years late, but Microsoft has finally decided to acknowledge two things.

First, that Firefox does, in fact, exist.

Second, that not having an official Live Search plugin for it was just plain stupid.

Just days ago, the addon appeared on the Mozilla repository. With all the talk recently about the strained relationship between between Mozilla and Google since Chrome's release, the move by Microsoft certainly isn't an unexpected one.

With about 260 installs since its release, Firefox users don't appear in a hurry to install Live Search.

Surprising? No, not really.

I think It's safe to say that most Firefox users either prefer Google, strongly dislike Microsoft, or a combination of the two.

Microsoft smartens up, releases Live Search addon for Firefox originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fugly Friday

According to a statistic I just made up, almost half of all interfaces for software (web or download) look like garbage. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. With that subjectivity in mind we want to ask you: what are the ugliest, most cumbersome, least effective interfaces out there? Mind you, we're talking GUI here -- command line interfaces are a kind of beauty you simply can't assail. Let's not devolve into a ClearType battle, OK?

Submit your nominees in the comments and we'll take a look at the fugliness. Web apps, downloadable stuff, on any platform you wish, we'll open it up and peek at the steaming guts. Starting next week and running for every Friday (until we wipe out bad taste from the internet, naturally) we'll highlight one special ugly duckling. We'll try to be constructive in our criticism.

Despite the harsh moniker, we're not looking to take cheap shots. The ultimate goal is for developers to learn a little something about user interface design. While we'll keep it tongue-in-cheek, there's always a lesson to be learned in doing things wrong. Considering the specialized nature of design (and UI design in particular), it's completely understandable that indie devs will do what they can. If you take a look on the iTunes App Store, you'll see dozens of atrocious designs, but those are devs who likely have no training in this area. Again, totally understandable. Hopefully we can all learn a little something from these mistakes. Keep it constructive, but don't be afraid to point out foibles, that's what I say.

Fugly Friday, a new Download Squad series originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters, Web

Most of you have probably played around with Line Rider before, and with good reason. It's simple, thoughtful (or mindless, depending on your mood) fun.

But why just draw courses for one lonely schlub on a sled when you can scribble roller coaster runs for 8 unlucky guinea pigs?

There is a "goal" to the levels in Roller Coaster Creator. At your disposal are a freehand track pencil and special pieces like chain lifts and loops.Use them to design your track in such a way that you collect enough coins to reach the target on your meter.

It's also fun to draw totally impractical tracks and watch the little guys bounce hopelessly around as the cars topple over each other. As a bonus, there's a speedometer so you'll know just how quickly your train is hurtling toward the ground.

Linerider style rollercoaster building anyone? - Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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