repair

Mozilla reported more vulnerabilities in its Firefox Web browser last year than Internet Explorer, Safari, and Opera combined, but Mozilla dealt with those flaws quicker than Microsoft, according to a new a report by vulnerability-testing company Secunia.

Firefox had 115 reported flaws in 2008, nearly four times as many as every other popular browser, and nearly twice as many as Microsoft and Apple combined, according to browser vulnerability research (PDF) released this week. In comparison, Microsoft reported 31 flaws in IE, Apple reported 32 in Safari, and Opera reported 30.

However, the report found that Mozilla was quicker to patch … Read more

I'll catch some hell for saying it, but Apple's fifth-generation iPod (aka the iPod Video) is one of the best hard-drive MP3 players of all time.

Say what you will about sound quality or the easily scratched screen, compared with today's iPod models the 5G iPod has a lot of advantages: it's compatible with just about every iPod accessory ever made; video output is built right in; you can use it with older computers and old versions of iTunes; and there are countless ways to hack and modify it. Unfortunately, the old guy just doesn't … Read more

This Registry cleaning, diagnostic, and backup utility benefits greatly from a well-designed interface and simple program operation. Registry Help Pro's flexible, option-laden interface speaks to the professional nature of this app. In no way does it use wizards and hand-holding to help novices. The well-written Help manual will gracefully answer any questions, but experienced users probably will never call for it.

Seven large buttons line the top of Registry Help Pro. Each opens the options and display for the program's seven primary functions. The best aspects of this application are the ever present option and properties buttons that … Read more

Several iPhone users have experienced problems wherein their phones will display an error claiming repair is needed on the device, disallowing use.

Apple Discussions poster Xraycovert writes:

"Abruptly, my new iPhone began, and continues to flash, a REPAIR NEEDED message on the screen. I can only access an SOS."

While for the most part this error does indicate a problem with the phone will need to be fixed, in some instances this error message is being shown erroneously. There are several things users can do to try to fix the problem before contacting Apple support or taking the … Read more

Editor's note: CNET editor and Crave contributor Dong Ngo is spending part of December in his homeland of Vietnam. This is the last in his series of dispatches chronicling his impressions of how technology has permeated the culture there. Click here for more of Dong's stories from abroad.

HANOI, Vietnam--Prior to my trip to Vietnam, I bought a Dell Inspiron 530s desktop computer as a special American gift for my 11-year-old niece in Hanoi.

Despite the relatively light weight and small form factor of the PC, at San Francisco International Airport, I ended up having to pay a $60 overweight fee. This was mostly because the airline significantly lowered the allowed weight for checked-in luggage, and I wasn't aware of that.

Upon arriving in Hanoi, I personally delivered the gift and set it up for the little girl. Everybody gathered around with excitement as they waited for the moment of truth. As I plugged the power cord into the wall socket, we heard a "pop" sound and smoke came out of the tower. I was dumbfounded. "So much for American-standard quality!" I thought to myself.

But it was not America's fault, it was me. As it turned out, Vietnam uses a 220-voltage power standard, while America uses a 110-voltage one. Out of excitement and ignorance, I plugged the computer in without switching the power supply unit (PSU) of the computer to support 220 volts and, of course, it burned! It was pure physics.

What was hard to quantify was my niece's level of frustration and my own disappointment. I personally picked the specs and rebuilt the machine to run Windows XP (from its manufacturer-installed Windows Vista). Just one moment of negligence, and everything seemed ruined.… Read more

To call TuneUp Utilities 2009 useful would drastically understate the situation. The app provides users with a powerful, well-designed utility that accesses the entire Windows maintenance tool set and more in a fast, organized, and easy-to-use series of connected modules.

Temp file management, registry cleaners and start-up program controls are the bread-and-butter of these utilities, and these basics work in TuneUp more quickly and easily than most. However, the app also sports great add-on tools you don't usually see in a utility program. It offers a variety of Internet and program-acceleration tweaks as well as Windows performance enhancers. The … Read more

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Iyaz sent a video about stuttering problems in OS X Leopard. Brian Tong noted that many other users reported this problem … Read more

Most of the time our Macs run smoothly due to the well-designed Mac OS X (choose your big cat) operating system. But over time, as you download more applications, visit more Web sites, and begin to use up space on your hard drive, your Mac won't run as quickly and smoothly as it did out of the box. Some users reason that it must be a RAM or hard-drive issue, but more often than not it's a question of maintenance rather than inadequate hardware.

I've talked about programs for uninstalling old or unused apps in an earlier post, … Read more

Let's hope Yahoo has finally learned that the maxim "If you build it, they will come" simply does not apply to a social network.

The Silicon Valley mainstay and onetime Microsoft shopping-spree target is quietly shutting down Yahoo Mash, its latest foray into creating a general-interest social network like a Facebook or MySpace.

It's the latest social-networking failure for Yahoo, which was unable to get its earlier "Yahoo 360" network off the ground, and once attempted to purchase Facebook, only to have its billion-dollar offer turned down.

Mash was cute, with a slick interface, … Read more