This week we learned how to keep IM conversations private, get started with OneNote 2010, find missing USB drives in Windows 7 & Vista, create customized Ubuntu Live CDs, test drive Google Android on your PC without buying a phone, and more. Now it is time to sit back and enjoy this week’s roundup of geeky goodness.

Photo by M-A-V.

Weekly Feature

If you love Mass Effect 2 then you will certainly want to get your hands on this theme. The theme pack includes 30+ HD wallpapers, custom Mass Effect icons, and select game sounds for a complete Mass Effect 2 experience.

Photo by VikiTech.

Windows 7 Game Themes: Mass Effect 2 Theme for Windows

Random Geek Links

Photo by Don Hankins.

• Scareware: now with live support
  Fake anti-virus software Security Master AV is offering live support in order to trick people into believing the software is genuine.
• First-generation firewalls fail in Web 2.0
  Web 2.0 applications are rendering first-generation enterprise firewalls “useless” as users are able to easily bypass these legacy technologies.
• Mozilla disables login-stealing Firefox add-on
  Mozilla has disabled an add-on that intercepted user login data and sent it to a remote location.
• Mozilla ups bounty for reporting vulnerabilities to $3,000
  Mozilla has increased the bounty for discovering new security vulnerabilities in Firefox from $500 to $3,000.
• XP fans get reprieve in form of downgrade rights extension
  Downgrade rights for Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate have been extended beyond October 2010.
• Windows 7 SP1 Final Drops in 2011
  The final version of Windows 7 SP1 will become available in the first half of 2011.
• Adobe Moves All of Its Open Source Projects to Sourceforge
  All of Adobe’s open-source and standards efforts will be hosted and managed on Sourceforge using the site’s new developer platform.
• New Zealand software to be ‘unpatentable’
  Commerce Minister Simon Power will make no further amendments to New Zealand’s new Patents Bill, which will make software “unpatentable”.
• How to Hack Your Nintendo DS for Easy Backups and Single-Cartridge Playback
  See how to back up all of your Nintendo DS games a single and inexpensive game cartridge with this handy guide.
• Why China won and Google lost
  A look at how China won in the fight over uncensored search.

Geek Video of the Week

Enjoy watching a fun video that demonstrates the perfect solution for those hard to win video games.

Photo by CollegeHumor.

If Games Had Super-Easy Mode

Sysadmin Geek Tips

• Using SrvStart to Run Any Application as a Windows Service
  Learn how to run any application as a background service with SrvStart.
• How to Mount and Access Files in an ISO image on Linux
  See how easy it is to mount an ISO image in Linux from the command line in this quick tutorial.
• Serve Up Files Easily With the Python SimpleHTTPServer
  Quickly share a folder with another machine by running a simple command instead.
• Keep rsync From Using All Your Bandwidth
  Prevent the rsync utility script from using too much bandwidth.
• Easily Extract Images, Text and Embedded Files from an Office 2007/2010 Document
  Learn how to dig into the inner contents of a Word 2007 file using 7-Zip to extract images, text and embedded files.

Random TinyHacker Links

• How to Manage Partitions in Windows 7/Vista
  This useful tutorial shows how to work with the Disk Management utility so that you can do whatever you want to your partitions on Windows 7 and Vista.
• How to Fix the Windows 7/Vista Startup
  If you are having startup problems with your Windows 7 or Vista systems, then you might want to use the Startup Repair tool. This tutorials shows how and when to use this tool to fix your problems.
• Add “Up to Parent Folder” button in Windows Explorer
  See how to add the “Up to Parent Folder” button from Windows XP to Windows Explorer on Windows 7 and Vista.
• Enhance Windows 7 with Preme
  Preme enhances different aspects of Windows 7 such as: double ESC to close the active window, docking of windows on either side of the screen, adding a window switching corner to the top-left side of the screen, etc.
• Automate Downloads from Rapidshare, MegaUpload, etc with MDownloader
  MDownloader is a free tool that can automate downloads and uploads to different file hosting services.

Super User Questions

This week we have more hot questions from Super User for you.

• Is there a “restore point” in Linux (Debian/Ubuntu) like Windows?
• Why is it so hard to connect with a cable modem and router?
• How do LiveCD’s know which drivers to use?
• Why do you need a valid driver to charge a device via USB?
• What is the safest and least expensive way to store 10 terabytes of data?

One Year Ago on How-To Geek

Here is our latest group of great articles from one year ago.

• Backup Different Browsers Easily with FavBackup
• Burn Almost Anything to Disc with ImgBurn
• Install Guest Additions to Windows and Linux VMs in VirtualBox
• Find Out a Website’s Actual Location with Flagfox
• Friday Fun: Relieve Workweek Frustration Playing Mad Monday

The Geek Note

That is it for our latest round of geeky goodness. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and we will see you back here next week! Remember to keep sending those great tips to tips@howtogeek.com.

Photo by libertyandvigilance.