How to crop audio files online?

You have a mobile phone, where you want install customized ringtones. You want to share a fragment of the song with your friends. You need to prepare an audio mix for your presentation. In these, and many other instances, you need to perform a seemingly simple task – you need to crop your audio file in the preset locations to get a particular music fragment.

If you do such operation frequently, you have already the software utility on your desktop for cutting and splitting audio files. But, what if you need that occasionally, and you prefer not to clog your computer with rarely used software? What if you far away from your computer, or simply need to upload the particular fragment to your smartphone as ringtone?

With a free service of the mp3cut.net website the mp3 cutting can be performed fast and simple, with no user experience or related expertise. You will face no complexities. At first, press the “Upload mp3” button, choose the needed file and wait till it is uploaded and ready for procession. As soon as the file is available for editing – it depends on the speed of your connection to the Internet – slightly below the mentioned button the track will become pink, and the play button will become red. Now you can crop mp3. You have two sliders, which indicate the beginning and the end of the needed fragment of the song. Then, press the “Cut mp3 and Download” button. The download will start immediately.

Simple concept - fast and reliable processing… What may be better?

No registration or sign-up is necessary. Interface in English and Russian.

Website: http://mp3cut.net/

Free Download Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (Volume 10)

The Security Intelligence Report (SIR) is an investigation of the current threat landscape.
It analyzes exploits, vulnerabilities, and malware based on data from over 600 million systems worldwide, as well as internet services, and three Microsoft Security Centers. Data is collected by a number of different Microsoft teams partly compromised of those who work on MS Security Essentials products, Internet Explorer’s Smartscreen filter and the Malicious Software Removal Tool. This year the 10th edition of this semi-annual SIR report expands on information gathered on an international level including data specific to 117 countries. This type of reports is published by Microsoft twice a year, and data collection time for the latest report is from July 2010 to December 2010.

A fresh security report pointed out that with the way online fraud is becoming more diverse, social networks have become a breeding ground breeding ground for cyber criminals. Safety reported that in 2010 social network “phishing” attacks grew by 1200%. Phishing attacks typically posing as legitimate messages to attract Internet users to click on malicious links, buy rogue software, or disclose personal information.

According to Microsoft statistics, the use of social networking phishing attacks accounted for in December 2010 84.5% of the total number of phishing attacks compared in terms of early 2010 this figure was only 8.3%.

The Report outlines the emergence of two distinct types of cybercriminal. The first is a highly sophisticated, well-informed individual who pursues high-value opportunities with large payoffs. The second is an individual skilled at exploiting social relationships to con a small amount of money from a large amount of people.

At present the most prevalent methods include the use of rogue security software, phishing using social networking as the lure and adware (software that automatically plays, displays or downloads advertisements). The majority (six out of ten) of these methods use malware – corrupt software disguised as a marketing campaign or product promotion that appears legitimate. Criminals use this malware to make money through tricking users with pay-per-click schemes, false advertisements or fake security software for sale.

Additionally, rogue security software, or scareware, has quickly become one of the most common ways for cybercriminals across the globe to acquire money and private information from unassuming computer users. This software, such as Win32/FakeSpypro, appears similar to legitimate security software giving a false sense of protection, and, if trusted and clicked by the user, downloads itself and compromises systems. In 2010, Microsoft protected nearly 19 million systems from rogue security software. The top five types of rogue security software were responsible for 70 percent, or approximately 13 million, of those detections.

“While criminals work to evolve their attack methods, Microsoft and the industry will continue to collaborate with partners and customers to improve security and privacy and increase awareness. A combined effort helps to protect the broader online community from these threats and develop more secure software solutions to prevent criminals from reaping the benefits,” says Graham Titterington, Principal Analyst for Ovum.

Security have suggested that computer users should update the software, the use of reliable security software, do not click or open the link not sure whether or document security.

The complete SIR v10 can be downloaded from the following link: http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/0/5/605BE103-9429-4493-898B-E3D50AB68236/Microsoft_Security_Intelligence_Report_volume_10_July-Dec2010_English.pdf

Sources and Additional Information:

http://www.zimbio.com/Spyware/articles/KebwPe5bUCn/Microsoft+Security+Intelligence+Report+2010

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=9234

Dropbox – Best online service to store, sync and share your files

Computerworld – one if the most reputable sites for the technological reviews – evaluated top online services allowing users to store, synchronize, and share with other their data. Dropbox service is on the top of their list.

Dropbox review by Computerworld

When trying to describe to neophytes what "syncing to the cloud" means, people often cite Dropbox as a prime example. Launched in early 2008, Dropbox has garnered a large following -- the San Francisco-based company announced it had 4 million users as of January 2010.

How it works: The Dropbox software installs itself in the form of a desktop folder. To sync files, you drag and drop files into the Dropbox folder or into one of its subfolders, and the files will immediately be uploaded to Dropbox's servers.

The Dropbox folder can be treated like any other folder on your local drive. For example, if you create or save a document directly to the Dropbox folder, the document file is automatically uploaded to your account on the Dropbox servers. This file will then be instantly downloaded to any of your other computers on which the Dropbox client program is installed.

To share your subfolders with others, you right-click on one of your Dropbox subfolders and select "Share This Folder." This brings up a Web form in your browser where you enter the e-mail addresses of the people you want to share the folder with. They are sent a link that will allow them to access your shared folder through the Dropbox site. (Non-users of Dropbox will be required to register for a free account.)

If the people you've selected have the Dropbox software installed on their computers or mobile devices, then your shared subfolder will appear under their Dropbox folder and its contents will be downloaded to their local hard drives.

What's good: File syncing was fast and instantaneous, and it happened as soon as I logged my remote notebook into a Wi-Fi service.

Dropbox provides client programs for a variety of operating systems, making it an attractive choice if you own a number of devices that run on different platforms.

What needs to be fixed: The client software has a bare-bones set of features. You have to log into your account through the Dropbox Web site for extras, such as the ability to read a log that lists the files that have been updated, uploaded or deleted from your Dropbox folders.

Bottom line: Despite its minimalist desktop software, Dropbox is a very direct and easy-to-use service, abiding by the "it just works" mantra. It's obvious to see why it has become the most popular choice among cloud-based, store-and-sync services.

Product Specs

Website: http://www.dropbox.com/

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7, OS X 10.4 or later, Ubuntu Linux 7.10+ and Fedora Core Linux 9+

Mobile apps: Android, iPad, iPhone

Free Storage size: 2GB

Maximum file size: Unlimited using client software; under 300MB when using Web site

Daily data-transfer limit: None

Paid plans: $9.99/month (or $99/year) for 50GB; $19.99/month (or $199/year) for 100GB

Additional Notes

While there are many competitive free services online offering the similar options to manage your files, popularity of DropBox makes it preferable for use, since people you want to share your files, might already have their own accounts, so no additional actions are required from their side to accept the invitation.

Developed mobile applications for the most popular platforms make it easy and painless to share the data among your own personal gadgets.

Service is highly recommended!