Welcome to IToxy.com

Hi, Welcome to IT Oxy. This blog is primarily aim to share our information on Information Technology. I really appreciate if you are willing to give any input to this blog. If you want to share something, email at: admin@IToxy.com If you found any post interesting and useful, then please leave a comment and share with your friends.

Welcome to IToxy.com

Hi, Welcome to IT Oxy. This blog is primarily aim to share our information on Information Technology. I really appreciate if you are willing to give any input to this blog. If you want to share something, email at: admin@IToxy.com If you found any post interesting and useful, then please leave a comment and share with your friends.

Welcome to IToxy.com

Hi, Welcome to IT Oxy. This blog is primarily aim to share our information on Information Technology. I really appreciate if you are willing to give any input to this blog. If you want to share something, email at: admin@IToxy.com If you found any post interesting and useful, then please leave a comment and share with your friends.

Welcome to IToxy.com

Hi, Welcome to IT Oxy. This blog is primarily aim to share our information on Information Technology. I really appreciate if you are willing to give any input to this blog. If you want to share something, email at: admin@IToxy.com If you found any post interesting and useful, then please leave a comment and share with your friends.

Welcome to IToxy.com

Hi, Welcome to IT Oxy. This blog is primarily aim to share our information on Information Technology. I really appreciate if you are willing to give any input to this blog. If you want to share something, email at: admin@IToxy.com If you found any post interesting and useful, then please leave a comment and share with your friends.

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool - v2.1.8

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool  will format any USB flash drive, with your choice of FAT, FAT32, or NTFS partition types.Additionally, the drive can be made bootable by using system files from Windows 98 startup-disks.

By default on USB flash file system of FAT32, because of what files measuring more than 2 Gb writing down is not possible. By the program HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool it is possible to change the file system of your flash on NTFS.It has a graphical interface very similar to that of the Windows format tool.

Features

  • Allows creation of a FAT32 volume larger than 32 GB.
  • Fixes installation issue where installation process stopped after the earlier version of software was uninstalled and the new software was not automatically installed. The installation process now restarts automatically to install the new software after uninstalling the older version

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool  Or http://www.mediafire.com/?trnhjngzwtz | 1.97MB | Freeware |OS:Windows 2K/XP

Tweak Your Internet Explorer with IE Tweaker

IE Tweaker is a freeware tool,which will help you to tweak  Internet Explorer.This  utility that can help you fix several Internet Explorer issues and  you  can optimize your browsing experience.It has  a great number of fixes/tweaks ( more than 90) that will help you to enable/disable any options with ease and without getting in to registry. IE Tweaker will be a great utility for those, who  don’t want to play with the Windows registry.


Features

  • Browsing Options:
    · Allows you to disable/ enable Smooth Scrolling, Clear type font, Animation, Sounds, Picture Display, Automatic Image resizing
  • Clear Junk Files:
    · This option will help you to quickly remove all the temporary IE files, cookies, history, passwords, and AutoComplete data.
  • Tweak IE:
    · The Basic Tweaks tab offers you the basic tweaks such as Turn off/on Menu bar, Favorite bar, Tabbed browsing, Full screen mode, Caret Browsing support etc.,                                                                                                                  · The Browser Menus window allows you to disable/enable the Browser Menus                                                                                                              · The Toolbars tab helps you hide/unhide the various options on the bars and also the bars itself such as Status bar, command bar etc                                                                                                                     · The Control Panel window helps you hide/unhide the various tabs in Tools –> Internet  Options.                                                                                                · The Advanced tab helps you to Turn off/on various options such as Compatibility view etc., and also allows you to change the IE Title, and Default download directory options.
  • Restrictions:
    · The Restrictions tab provides you various restriction options such as Changing default search provider, Add-ons management, Auto complete features etc.,                                                                                                                  · The Settings tab restricts the users to change various settings.                                                                                                             · The Security window allows you to enable/disable options such as InPrivate Browsing, Filtering etc.,
  • Repair:
    · The Repair menu option provides you various options to repair/fix various issues that you have with Internet Explorer.

IE Tweaker  | 152KB | Req:IE 8 & IE 7 & 32/64 -bit Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Win 7 | .NET Framework 3

Enable/Disable Hibernation in Windows Vista

What is the difference between Vista's sleep and hibernate?   Sleep awakens quicker than hibernate.  In the event of complete power loss, sleep stores the information in RAM, thus loss of power means loss of unsaved data.  Hibernate on the other hand, saves the contents of memory to a file called hiberfil.sys, thus you would not lose unsaved data.

The space it takes up depends on your RAM. If you have 1 GB of RAM, Hibernation uses up to 1 GB of hard drive space.If you don't use the Hibernation feature Windows Vista offers, it's taking up a lot of unnecessary hard drive space.

Enable Hibernation in Vista

To enable hibernation, click on your Start menu, and type powercfg.exe /hibernate on in your search box. Then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter, which will run the command line you typed in as an administrator.

Disable Hibernation in Vista

To disable hibernation, click on your Start menu, and type powercfg.exe /hibernate off in your search box. Then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter, which will run the command line you typed in as an administrator.

Block Programs in Vista

If you have multiple users working on your computer ,using different  accounts ,then your PC is sure to be at risk.There are wide range of applications available in net, which can be downloaded and installed .To overcome this problem, you can use the parental control feature in Windows Vista.This can block the installation and access of such applications  on different user accounts.

To use this utility do the following.

  • Start>Control Panel.Click the ‘Setup Parental Controls for any User “link
  • Select a user account on the resulting screen
  • Click the ‘On,enforce current settings’ radio button.
  • Click the ‘Allow and block specific programs ‘ link
  • Select the ‘This account can only use the programs I allow’ radio button .A list of applications will now be displayed.
  • Select the applications that need to blocked  and click “OK”
  • If the program is not mentioned in the list,click “Browse’” and select the required program.
  • Once the program has appeared in the list ,select it and click “OK”

SoftPerfect Network Scanner 4.4

The Ping command is one of the most commonly used utilities on the Internet by people for conducting the most basic network test: can your computer reach another computer on the network, and if so how long does it take? It sends request to networked computer and waits for response. It’s easy to ping single PC but not so in the case  when you  ping dozens  or hundreds of them.Network scanners are the same ping command deep inside, which  are equipped with graphical interface made for targeting and displaying responses of multiply computers in one sweep.

SoftPerfect Network Scanner is a free multi-threaded IP, NetBIOS and SNMP scanner with a modern interface and several advanced features. It is intended for both system administrators and general users interested in computer security. The program pings computers, scans for listening TCP ports and displays which types of resources are shared on the network (including system and hidden).

In addition, it allows you to mount shared folders as network drives, browse them using Windows Explorer, filter the results list and more. SoftPerfect Network Scanner can also check for a user-defined port and report back if one is open. It can also resolve host names and auto-detect your local and external IP range. It supports remote shutdown and Wake-On-LAN

Features

  • Pings computers.
  • Does not require administrative privileges.
  • Detects hardware (MAC) addresses even across routers.
  • Detects hidden shared folders (normally invisible on the network) and write accessible shares.
  • Detects your internal and external IP addresses.
  • Scans for listening TCP ports and SNMP services.
  • Retrieves currently logged-on users.
  • You can mount and explore network resources.
  • Can launch external third party applications.
  • Exports results to HTML, XML, CSV and TXT
  • Supports Wake-On-LAN, remote shutdown and sending network messages.
  • Retrieves potentially any information via WMI.
  • Retrieves information from remote registry.
  • It is absolutely free, requires no installation, and does not contain any adware/spyware/malware.

      Download |Windows 98/ME, NT, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008|704KB|Freeware

  • How to Fix PC Problems Remotely ?

    Every year social Networking sites are growing by double digits .  Many of us are  members of   these sites. And such sites offer a great opportunity for Helpers to let their friends, family, and customers know about the technical services they provide. CrossLoop is a must-have tool for anyone who serves as the go-to tech support guru for friends and family.This  free program can be used to fix computer problems remotely.

    imageJust install the  CrossLoop application  on your PC, then have the person on the other PC do the same. Interface is simple , that allows you to start a sharing session with a friend who also has Crossloop installed.After installation, your PC will be assigned a 12-digit access code each time you start the program.The program uses 128-bit encryption .You must transmit  this access code to the person by email, phone, instant message or similar means.Once connected, that user will have full access to your machine. Once you have started the server and your friend has entered the key, you will receive a request, allowing you to share your screen and control your desktop.

      Download |Freeware | 2.46 MB | Home page Homepage

    How to encrypt your USB flash drive

    USB flash drives are great because they are really cheap and you can conveniently move data between computers. The only problem is when you store sensitive data on a USB drive and it gets lost or stolen!

    Most people are intimidated by the words “encryption” because it involves fancy algorithms and names like “WPA, EFS, SHA1, etc”. However, there’s a very easy way to encrypt a USB drive in Windows.

    We will use Windows Encrypting File System to create an encrypted folder on a thumb drive that only one user account on one computer can read.

    Step 1 – Format USB drive in NTFS format

    Firstly, you have to make sure the USB drive is formatted in NTFS format. Most USB drives are formatted in FAT16 or FAT32 format, which does not support encryption at all.

    format usb ntfs

    Step 3 – Create an Encrypted Folder

    Ok, now that your USB drive is in NTFS format and all the data has been erased, we can setup a folder that will contain all the encrypted data.

    What I like about this method is that you can store all the sensitive files in the encrypted folder, but store other files normally outside the folder. That way, you can still pop the USB drive into someone else’s computer and they can view all the files not in the encrypted folder.

    Go to My Computer, open the flash drive, right-click and choose New Folder. Name the folder anything you want, but try not to make it obvious that it has sensitive data otherwise people might be more inclined to try and get in.

    Now right-click on the new folder and choose Properties. Click on the Advanced button in the Attributes section.

    encrypt usb drive

    Now check the Encrypt contents to secure data box. Click OK and click OK again to close out the dialogs.

    encrypt content usb drive

    Now you’ll see the folder is in green, which means the data is encrypted. That’s it! Now you have a folder on your USB drive that is fully encrypted and viewable only by your user account on that one computer.

    Check username availability in multiple Sites

    Sometimes it is quite troublesome especially when you are trying to search for an available username across various social networking websites . Instead of launching the particular websites one by one and keying in the particular username to check for its availability, now there is a website known as NameChk that simplifies the username searching process by consolidating all the results gathered from different social networking websites in single place.

    NameChk

    simply key in the desired username followed by click on “chk” button and it will go through all the searches across multiple websites and display the results in seconds. The results will be highlighted in different colors such as green or red indicating the username is still available or being taken respectively. Once it is available, clicking on the icon will bring users to the respective websites for signing up.

    Hopefully NameChk could help you save some times and it is especially useful for those that would like promote own branding by having consistent username across different famous websites in simple way.

    Add Colorful HTML Signatures In Your Gmail

    Blank Canvas Gmail Signatures is a Firefox add-on that automatically inserts HTML signatures into your Gmail messages letting you select which signature you want to use, thanks to a tag system, from four presets that you can freely edit.

    All you need to use is a minimal preparation with HTML, and if you don’t have this, Blank Canvas Gmail Signatures provides you a simple and basic introduction to HTML coding language

    Let me show you how to use it:

    • First of all you need to be registered to Firefox Add-ons. Once you are registered, just install the add-on and restart Firefox.
    • Now the only thing to do is to open Gmail and compose a new message.
    • Just below the “send” button you will see three other buttons. Good, this is the add-on!!

    • The first button allows you to choose which signature set to include in the message. You can create four signatures, so that you can have a signature for work, one for your friends and use the others as best as you think.

    • The second button allows you to create a new signature, or to modify an existing one.

    • The third and last button shows you a list of options, where you can rename the four tags that match the different signatures for you to easily recognize them.

    • When you click the button to start making a new signature you will see two boxes over the email message field: the first box is where you have to write your signature in HTML language, and the second box is where you can see the real-time preview of what your creation will look like.

    Thanks to Blank Canvas Gmail Signatures you can now have a very cool HTML Signature for your Gmail account. And it’s very simple to use, so everyone can use html signature in his e-mal.

    For more information, or to discuss this add-on, please see the forums here

    The extension is obviously free to download and install.

    Link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7757

    How to Start a Specific Program as an Administrator

    Due to security reasons, working with a user account with restricted rights is advisable. However  sometimes  it is essential to carry out some tasks as an administrator.You can  have high rights by using the command “runas”  or with the context  command “runas” in XP or “runas administrator” in Vista.

    For that ,open the “Run” command in XP in the start menu and type  in the next “runas” dialog followed by the required parameters .What is decisive here is the specification of the desired user.For that use the option “/user:” and followed by the user name in the format “Domains\users”.

    As long as if it is a standalone PC (without a domain connection) specifying the details of the respective user account is sufficient .Finally enter the name of desired program with complete path, like this

    Runas /user:Administrator cmd.exe

    Then enter the password in the command prompt.Alternatively ,right click on an executable file in Windows Explorer.You can start the context command “Runas” in XP and “Runas administrator” in Vista.

    Remote Shutdown

    You will need to have admin access to the PC to perform these actions. That being said, here is the first way to do it:

    Right click my computer, choose manage.
    Highlight the Computer Management (Local) then click on Action, choose connect to another computer.
    In the window that opens fill in the machine name of the PC you want to connect to and click ok.
    Once connected right click on Computer Management (Remote machine name) and choose properties.
    Go to the “Advanced” tab and click the Settings button under Start up and recovery.
    Click on the Shutdown button.
    Under action choose what you want to do (you can log off current user, shut down, restart, or power down. you can also choose if you want to force all applications to close, close hung apps, or wait for all apps to close by themselves).

    The second way… Remember dos… that good old thing. Open up a command prompt and enter in the following:

    %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -r -m \\Machinename. The command prompt has more switches and options. I highly suggest using shutdown.exe /?  to see all the possibilities.

    Enable show hidden files and folders after Virus infected

    Some virus or Trojans can hide themselves into a corner of the system, and sometimes it effectively force disable the “show all hidden files and folders” or “show all hidden files, folders and drives” option under the “folder options”. When it happens, hidden files, folders and drives on the PC do not been shown or displayed even though user has attempted to apply the settings to show the hidden files. The virus implements a policy such as “Shockwave.dll” that’s forcing system to keep hidden files forever not visible or hidden.

    If your anti-virus or anti-malware solution is unable to get rid of the malware, and you’re very much needed to view the hidden files, here’s the workaround to enable system to show hidden files and folders again. There are many viruses that may cause the hidden files cannot be visible error, thus the following solution may not work on some system.

    • Go to Start Menu and click on Run (vista and Windows 7 uses Start Search instead).
    • Type regedit and press Enter to run
    • Navigate to the following registry key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
    CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL

    • In the right pane, verify that the CheckedValue value data is REG_DWORD type. If it’s not (such as belongs to REG_SZ), then delete the CheckedValue value data.
    • If CheckedValue has been delete, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it as CheckedValue.
    • Double click on CheckedValue and change its value data to 1 (virus may change it to 0 or 2).
    • Within the same registry key, verify that the Type value data is of REG_SZ type, and has the value data radio. If not, set it to radio. Virus may change it to blank.
    • Set the system to reveal or show all hidden files, folder and drives, and then check if hidden files and folders are show.

    Connecting Two PCs Using a USB-USB Cable

    A very easy way to connect two PCs is using a USB-USB cable. Connecting two PCs with a cable like this you can transfer files from one PC to another, and even build a small network and share your Internet connection with a second PC. In this tutorial we will explain you how to connect two PCs using a cable like this.

    The first thing you should be aware of is that there are several different kinds of USB-USB cables on the market. The one used to connect two PCs is called “bridged” (or “USB networking cable”), because it has a small electronic circuit in the middle allowing the two PCs to talk to each other. There are the so-called A/A USB cables that, in spite of having two standard USB connectors at each end, don’t have a bridge chip and cannot be used to connect two PCs. In fact, if you use an A/A USB cable you can burn the USB ports of your computers or even their power supplies. So, these A/A USB cables are completely useless. A/B USB cables are used to connect your computer to peripherals such as printers and scanners, so they also won’t fit your needs.

    USB-USB bridged cable

    As for speed, the bridge chip can be USB 1.1 (12 Mbps) or USB 2.0 (480 Mbps). Of course we suggest you to buy a USB 2.0 bridged cable, because of its very high-speed. Just to remember, the standard Ethernet network works at 100 Mps, so the USB 2.0 cable will provide you a transfer rate almost five times higher than a standard network connection.

    We decided to open the bridge located on the middle of our cable just to show you that this kind of cable really has a bridge chip, and that’s why it is more expensive than a simple A/A USB cable that doesn’t have any circuit at all.

    Bridge chip used in our cable

    Now that you know the kind of cable that you should buy, let’s talk about its installation.

    Here I will give a brief installation method and also a explained one.

    So lets start with the brief :-

    Step 1>Turn on both of the computers. Log in to Windows using an account with administrator privileges.

    Step 2>Insert one end of the USB bridge cable into a USB slot on one computer, and the other end of the bridge into the second computer.

    Step 3>Install the driver software for the USB bridge cable when the computers prompt you to do so. If you do not have driver software for the USB bridge cable, you may be able to download it from the cable manufacturer.

    Step 4>Choose to install the USB bridge cable either as a link adapter or a network adapter. If you install it as a link adapter, you will only be able to transfer files back and forth. If you install it as a network adapter, you will have full network functionality.

    Step 5>Complete the software installation. Your two computers should now be connected.

    That’s it in brief!

    ——————–

    Ok, Here we start with more details:-

    Those cable can work in two modes: link mode and network mode. On link mode, it will work just like the very old “lap link” cables, i.e. it comes with a software where you can select files and simply drag and drop them to where you want to move or copy them to or from the remote computer. If you just want to copy files, that’s the mode we recommend you to use, because it is easier and quicker to install and use.

    On network mode, you will create a small network between two computers. After creating this network you can share folders, printers and Internet access. This mode is recommended if besides copying files you want to have access to a printer located on the other computer (or any other computer on the network, if this computer is connected to a network) or want to have Internet access.

    The cable installation process will depend on the cable manufacturer. You will have to install the programs and drivers that come with the cable on a CD-ROM. This procedure must be performed on both computers, with the cable not installed.

    So, don’t install the cable yet, leave it away from the computers.

    Some manufacturers ship two different setup files, one for the link mode and another for the network mode. Other manufacturers ship just one setup file valid for both modes. Then you need to select the mode you want to use during the installation or inside the transfer program that will be installed.

    Choosing the mode during installation

    Choosing the mode inside the transfer program

    After you have installed the corresponding drivers (link mode or network mode), you should install the cable on the computer. Windows will recognize it and install the correct drivers.

    If you installed the program and drivers with the cable attached to the computer, you should remove it from your computer and install it again. This will make Windows to recognized it and install its drivers.

    You should repeat this process for the other computer now.

    If you want to change the mode your cable is working under, you should run the setup program for the other mode or selecting the mode change on the transfer program, depending on the cable model. This should be without your cable attached to your computer. After changing the mode, reinstall the cable and the system will recognize it automatically. If you run the setup program or changed the mode with the cable attached, simply remove the cable from your computer and install it again to force Windows to install the correct drivers (the drivers used on link mode and network mode are different). You should repeat this process for the other computer.

    Now that you cable is installed, let’s see how to use it on both modes.

    Link Mode

    As we mentioned, the link mode is the easiest and fastest way to connect two PCs using your USB cable for transferring files. If you want to have Internet access and/or have printer access, you should go to network mode.

    After installing the cable as describe on the previous page, you should check if the cable is correctly installed on Device Manager (right click My Computer, Properties, Hardware, Device Manager). It should be listed under “Universal Serial Bus controllers”, see Figure 6 (our cable is listed as “Hi-Speed USB Bridge Cable”, but your cable can use a slight different name, depending on the manufacturer).

    Transfer program

    Network Mode

    As we mentioned, under network mode the computers will be linked in a small network, and the connection will work just like a network. This mode allows you to share the Internet connection, if available on one of the computers.

    After installing the cable as describe before, you should check if the cable is correctly installed as a network adapter on Device Manager (right click My Computer, Properties, Hardware, Device Manager). It should be listed under “Network adapters”, see Figure 8 (our cable is listed as “Hi-Speed USB-USB Network Adapter”, but your cable can use a slight different name, depending on the manufacturer).

    USB-USB cable correctly installed using network mode

    The next step is to configure both computers to use the USB cable as a network adapter.

    First you have to configure the computer that has access to the Internet. On this computer, open Network Connections (Start, Settings, Network Connections). You will see there the network adapters located on your computer. In our case, “Local Area Connection” was the network adapter that connected our PC to the Internet (to our broadband router) and “Local Area Connection 2” was the USB-USB cable.

    Network connections

    Right click on the network card that is connecting your PC to the Internet (“Local Area Connection”, in our case), choose Properties and, on the window that will show up, click on Advanced tab. There, check the box “Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection”. Depending on your Windows XP version, there will be a drop-down menu called “Home networking connection”, where you should select the USB cable connection (“Local Area Connection 2”, in our case).

    Enabling Internet sharing

    After you have done this configuration, you must restart your computer. After restarting it, everything should be working just fine. Try browsing the net from the other computer to see if everything is running fine.

    To share files and printers, you should read our tutorial How to Share Folders and Printers on Your Network to see how this can be done. If you are not using a broadband router on the computer that has the Internet connection, you should be very careful, because sharing its folders can allow anyone on the Internet to have access to your files. Read more about this on our tutorial Protecting Your Computer Against Invasions. In this tutorial you will find some tips for preventing a hacker to have access to your files.

    If the remote computer cannot access the Internet, check if the USB cable is configured to get an IP address automatically from the network. Go to Start menu, Settings, Network Connections, right click the cable connection (“Local Area Connection 2”, in our case), select Properties and then, on the window that will appear, double click on “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)”. Both two options available on the screen that will show up must be set on “automatically”, as shown on Figure 11. Both computers should be configured this way.

    TCP/IP configuration must be set to automatic on both computers

    Using the Camera Tool in Excel 2007

    Sometimes you need to collate important fragments of data lying in different parts of your Excel sheet.You can use collate the data and cell referencing , but it  create a  lot of confusion and data redundancy. However, creating dynamic screenshots of particular patches of data can be a very viable option.You can create such screen grabs with the help of the camera tool provided with Excel 2007. The camera takes a picture of a  selected area, and you can then paste that picture wherever you want it. It updates automatically, and because it is a picture rather than a set of links to the original cells, any formatting of the source is automatically reflected in the picture. The picture will also adjust to include any rows or columns inserted within the source area.

    To enable the Camera Tool in Excel  do  the following steps:

    • Right click the Office Button and enable “Show Quick Access Toolbar Below the Ribbon”

    • Click the arrow appearing near the “Quick Access Toolbar”.

    • In the drop-down menu, click the “More Commands…” option.
    • The “Customize” option is selected by default in the left-side panel.
    • In the “Choose commands from:”drop-down menu, select “Commands Not in the Ribbon”.
    • Select the “Camera” option, and click the “Add>>” button.

    • Click “OK” to close the “Excel Options” dialog box.
    • The “Camera” icon appears on the “Quick Access Toolbar”.

    • To take a snapshot of a cell range,select the cells.

    NOTE: The camera tool does not work with charts.

    • Click on the “Camera” icon.
    • Go to the destination sheet and use the left-click of your mouse to draw the object.
    • You can go to the source data by double-clicking on the image.
    • You can create as multiple images in succession after selecting a cell range.

    7 VoIP Apps For Your Cell Phone

    If you already own an iPhone or any other mobile handset that connects to the Internet, it is also possible to VoIP applications to make free or cheap calls.

    Here is a list of 7 VoIP applications that can be used with your cell phone…

    Skype Mobile

    If your phone is supported, Skype Mobile is a great way to add Skype chatting and calls to it.

    Platform/Network: Java-based application that works on 50 popular phones from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung. Can be used on numerous cellular data networks.
    Cost: Free
    Features: One-to-one and Group Chat, presence settings (offline, online, do not disturb).

    3 Skypephone

    The 3 Skypephone is best suited for those who need a few monthly mobile minutes and wish to talk/IM to their Skype friends along the way. The pre-paid feature makes it an attractive and inexpensive option for Skype chatters in the geographies it serves.

    Platform/Network: Uses a specialized handset. Currently available in the UK, Italy, Austria, Hong Kong, Australia, Ireland, Denmark and Sweden.
    Cost: Around £49.99 (about $98) and can be used on a pre-paid basis. Calls cost nothing if they’re made from Skype.
    Features: Free Skype-to-Skype mobile calls and the ability to conduct Skype IM conversations, all without touching your computer.

    iSkoot

     

    iSkoot is a good option for keeping in touch with your Skype contacts.

    Platform/Network: Mobile handsets such as BlackBerry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and Palm OS models. Also works on GSM networks.
    Cost: Based on usage. Because iSkoot is a hybrid VoIP/GSM service, it uses SMS and mobile minutes when making and receiving calls or Skype IM messages.
    Features: SkypeIn and Skype-to-Skype calls, Skype IM messages.

    Truphone

     

    With its smart forwarding options, Truphone is particularly useful for international travelers. Whether you’re on Wi-Fi or just your normal GSM network, you can be reached via your Truphone number no matter where you are. For times when Wi-Fi is not available, Truphone just released Truphone Anywhere, which utilizes local gateways for outgoing calls at low per-minute charges.

    Platform/Network: Nokia handsets
    Cost: Incoming free calls while on the Truphone network, low per-minute rates while on a GSM network. Outgoing calls are billed at very low per minute rates.
    Features: Truphone offers free calls, SMS and voice mail while logged into the Truphone network via Wi-Fi. Otherwise, Truphone forwards calls to your mobile handset and you pay a low per-minute charge.

    Fring

     

    Almost comparable to normal cell phone when using Wi-Fi connection.

    Platform/Network: Nokia/Symbian handsets, Widows Mobile, iPhone (pre-release beta)
    Cost: Free
    Features: Allows you to make VoIP calls on any SIP network, Skype or to other Fring users. Additionally, Fring is a multi-protocol IM client that will allow you to chat with your buddies on Skype, MSN, ICQ, Google Talk, Twitter, AIM and Yahoo.

    Talkonaut

     

    Great features but this new software is still unstable.

    Platform/Network: Available for Java-based phones, Symbian and Windows Mobile
    Cost: Free
    Features: Talkonaut offers free VoIP and IM chatting. For instant messaging, the application supports Google Talk, ICQ, AIM, and Yahoo. Talkonaut can also use SIP for VoIP calling.

    Nimbuzz

     

    Responsive and easy to use. Good quality when using VoIP from Facebook to Nimbuzz over a Wi-Fi connection.

    Platform/Network: Java program, Symbian - iPhone version coming soon.
    Cost: Free
    Features: Allows you to engage in IM conversations and conduct VoIP calls, as well as to share media such as photos and video. Nimbuzz also allows for client-to-client calls and has widgets enabling calls to originate from Facebok and MySpace. Compatible with Skype, Google Talk, AOL Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo, MySpace, Facebook and Jabber IM networks.
    Our Opinion: The Symbian application is very responsive and easy to use. A VoIP call originating from my Facebook page to Nimbuzz over a Wi-Fi connection sounded good — just as good as any call over a GSM network.

    Gizmo5

     

    Great competitor to Skype supports by many platforms including iPhone. Good VoIP call quality.

    Platform/Network: Nokia Symbian handsets, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Nokia Tablets
    Cost: Free for VoIP calls, low per-minute charge to call landlines and to SMS to mobiles.
    Features: Gizmo5 allows you to conduct voice calls to other Gizmo5 users and grants IM conversations with friends on Gizmo5, MSN, AIM, Yahoo and Jabber.

     
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