Lifehacker posted a list of software commonly found on PC’s that slow things down, use too much space, and often don’t offer full-use rights resulting in nagging “purchase now” reminders.  For each of these  “crappy” pieces of software, Lifehacker provides alternative software options, most of which are free and that can do the job better. The list of “crapware” includes Adobe Reader, iTunes, AOL and MSN Messenger services, and McAffe, Norton, and Symantec Anti Virus among others.

Check out Crapware: Superior Alternatives to Crappy Windows Software to learn more.

It’s happened to everyone. You’re typing information into a web form, you hit submit, but something goes wrong. Hitting the back button takes you to the submission page, but all your information is gone. Firefox users can now avoid this annoying disaster through Lazarus. Lazarus saves information as you type. If something goes wrong, you can recover the data simply by returning to the submission page, right clicking your mouse, and selecting the option to recover the information.

Lazarus 2.1 works with Firefox. Lazarus 3.0 is in beta (meaning there are a few bugs) and includes Chrome and Safari browsers.

To learn more or add it to your browser, visit Lazarus

If you run a small business, keeping your receipts organized and accessible helps make tax time easier. If you run a business or freelance in which you need to pay estimated tax payments four times a year, you may want to check out Shoeboxed.com, where you can mail-in or upload your receipts to organize them and get rid of clutter. The information can then be transferred to programs such as Excel, Quickbooks, Freshbooks, Evernote, Quicken, and CSV formats. If you scan and upload your receipts yourself, the service is free. Or you can mail your receipts and Shoeboxed will scan them for you. You can even scan and upload using your phone. Fees for expanded services depend on how many receipts a month you upload. There is even an option to upload business cards.

To learn more or get started for free, visit ShoeBoxed.com. Also check out ShoeBoxed’s blog for great articles on personal finance, taxes and more.

Sometimes the hardest part of research is figuring out where to look. Patricia Pmerleau created CEO Express

…to be the executive’s interface to the Internet. The site’s peer editor recognizes that executives have precious little time to obtain all the information they require to conduct business. At the same time, much of the information that executives need is available on the Internet. CEOExpress takes all that information, and by employing expert human editors and “mind ergonomics,” pares it down to the 20% that is most critical and useful.

At CEO Express you can get up-to-date information from top news organizations, business and government organizations, and more. You get information on current events, statistics, health news, travel and weather updates, business tools, leisure information and more. Its like the Readers Digest of Internet information.

CEO Express offers a default (free) and membership services. The default offers only limited services such as Daily Polls, search capabilities, and daily editor notes. The upgraded services ($29/yr) offers extensive customization, RSS feeds and mobile access.

Visit CEO Express to learn more.

Here are some great tips and news on digital tools and resources.

• Include the Word "Solved" In Your Searches to Troubleshoot Tech Issues [Search Techniques]
  Source Lifehacker
  It happens to all of us: we run into a bug in a program, a feature you want that isn't there, or something other software issue. Reader protiki offers some tips on finding a solution using Google....
• RD Mute Mutes Your Phone When Face Down and When You're Driving [Downloads]
  Source Lifehacker
  Android only: I like to mute my phone when I'm buried in work, sleeping, or driving my car, but turning on my phone and fiddling with the sound isn't ideal. RD Mute will mute your phone whenever you...
• Flightlite Tracks Airline Flights on a Map, in Real Time [Travel]
  Source Lifehacker
  Flying comes with all kinds of unexpected delays—and of course the occasional early arrival—that can throw off your plans to pick someone up . Coordinate your next airport pickup, to near perfect...
• Cookmate Suggests Meals Based on What's in Your Pantry [Video]
  Source Lifehacker
  iOS: Cookmate helps you come up with meal ideas based on what you've got in your pantry, and when you need one or two extra ingredients, it creates a shopping list you can pull out at the store....
• Plugin by C. Murray Consulting

Here are some great tips and news on digital tools and resources.

• 65% of Web Users Buy Digital Content: More Music, Fewer E-Books
  Source GigaOMTech
  Nearly two-thirds of Internet users are paying for some form of digital content as more information, services and media continue moving to the web. The numbers, resulting from a Pew Internet survey of Internet users, skew towards dollars spent on dig...
• Turn a Projector into an Interactive Whiteboard with a Wiimote [Video]
  Source Lifehacker
  If you teach or have to make a lot of presentations, you can make your life a lot easier with an interactive whiteboard like a Smartboard. Instead of an expensive piece of technology, though, you ca...
• RoboForm 7 Expands Password Management to Chrome and Opera [Updates]
  Source Lifehacker
  Windows/Mac: RoboForm, a fairly popular all-in-one password manager, has updated to a version 7 that includes support for Chrome and Opera (10) browsers, adds bookmark syncing, improves and clarifies...
• Resolved: How to Keep Your Computer Safe, Clean, and Backed Up in 2011 [Resolutions 2011]
  Source Lifehacker
  Those important computer tasks—like securing, cleaning, and backing up—are like any other resolution: we all say we're going to do them but rarely keep up with them all year. Here's our simple g...
• Plugin by C. Murray Consulting

I recently read an article that indicated technology was giving attention deficit disorder. I have to agree that while it has made communication faster and easier, it definitely creates interruptions that make the flow of work difficult. Part of the problem is that there are so many places one needs to check… email, Twitter, Facebook, news feeds etc. But now there is Gist, which not only manages all your social contacts in one place, but you can choose the place you’d like to manage them.

With Gist you can manage everything from the Gist dashboard online, or through your email (Gmail, Outlook, Lotus Notes), Salesforce or your iphone or android phone. It offers a one-stop shop to find out your latest news as well as to update your own status. You can learn more and sign up for free at Gist.

Most planners and productivity tools are geared towards work, but running a household requires many of the same tools CEO’s need to manage a company.  Cozi offers such a resource for families. With Cozi, families can:

• Manage the family calendar
• Create customizable lists (shopping, chores, etc)
• Send reminders and messages (text message to phones) to keep everyone in the loop.
• Access the calendar, to-dos and other tools from a cell phone.
• Keep a family journal.
• Create a photo collage
• And even sync with MS Outlook

Cozi is a web-based organizational tool for families. It offers a desktop feature as well as the ability to access Cozi tools through a cell phone. What’s really helpful about Cozi is that its not just for mom but for the whole family so they can keep insync with activities and events.

Cozi is free and easy to use. You can learn more or sign up by visiting Cozi.

The most difficult task in working in the digital world is managing passwords. The easiest way is to have one password for everything. But it leaves you vulnerable. If someone gets it, they have access to EVERYTHING. So you have to have different passwords for all your log ins. But how do you remember them all?

One trick is to have a base keyword that is part of all your logins and is tweaked slightly for each program. For example, your base keyword could be mypassword (no don’t use that. This is just an example). Your eBay password could then be something like mypasswordeb or ebmypassword. This creates a separate password for everything that’s based in a single root word. The trick of course is remembering how you choose the specific variant for each program. Again you want to be creative. If you use the initials for all of them, if someone figures out your base word, they’ll be able to figure out your specific logins as well.

Perhaps the best option is to store all your passwords. The problem with that is if someone gets your PC information, they will have your password information as well. Unless you use a program like KeePass. KeePass is a software that stores all your passwords in a safe, secure, encrypted file that is accessed with a single password. You can store all your login information including username, password, URL and details about the login. You can even group them by categories you designate.

KeePass is free and easy to use. The trick of course will be to remember the login information you create for the program.

Download KeePass for Windows

Download KeePass for Mac

Have you ever been sent a link to an article only to discover that you have register to read it? At BugMeNot you can access shared logins for thousands of web sites so that you can read the materials without divulging your personal information. The most popular sites include the NY Times, NY Post, Washington Post, and Youtube.

There are two ways to use BugMeNot. The first is:

1) When you get to a site requiring a registration, open another tab or browser and visit www.bugmenot.com

2) Copy and paste the URL of site you want to access into the URL box on the BugMeNot website.

3) Use one of the usernames and passwords provided to access the page you want to read.

The second option is the use the BugMeNot bookmarklet.

1) Drag the bookmarklet found on the BugMeNot FAQ page to your toolbar.

2) When you visit a site requiring a log in, click on the bookmarklet for login information.

BugMeNot is only for websites that offer free materials. Don’t try it on sites that require a fee.

Visit BugMeNot to learn more.