Professional

Review: Protect your data with Kruptos 2 Professional's strong encryption

If you need a robust security tool, shareware such as Kruptos 2 Professional can handle the job. In addition to strong 256-bit encryption, Kruptos creates encrypted ZIP files and self-extracting files, and it automatically re-encrypts files when you close them so you never have to worry about forgetting to re-secure your protected files. Kruptos 2 Professional does it for under $25; affordable to individuals and a bargain for businesses. You can try the fully-functional Kruptos 2 Professional for free for 30 uses. When the trial expires, you can still decrypt your files with Kruptos. Recent updates include Windows 8 compatibility … Read more

The 404 1,268: Where we buy beats behind bars (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- The future of television lies in the greasy, gaming hands of the "lost boy generation."

- "Pinterest stress" is a real problem for moms who worry they're not crafty or creative enough.

- The source of Pinterest stress is probably sites like Lunchbox Awesome, a year-long project from an overachieving mom.

- The digital music business in America's prisons.

- NSA's secret Google tricks revealed in declassified guidebook.… Read more

Bang With Professionals goes out with a whimper

There is a sudden trend for casually obtained sex.

By "casually," I mean effortlessly, entirely without trying or even seeming to try.

The New York Times noticed it, describing how contemporary dating in New York is little more than the booking of an appointment.

Then along came "Bang with Friends," a site that, as a famous British ad campaign once held it, does exactly what it says on the tin. Or at least claims to.

Hot on its stilettos, there appeared Bang With Professionals, a site that decided to refine the casual sexual urges of the … Read more

Sex app claims to help you mix business with pleasure

I have had several messages from people as far away as Venezuela this week wanting to know whether I've seen "this thing."

The thing is question turns out to be a charmingly named Facebook app called Bang With Friends. At its root, this is a dating app that eschews the "dating" part and rushes you headlong to the denouement.

There is a clear need for it. The New York Times reported only the other day that the poor and starving men of New York couldn't afford to take women on nice dates, so they resorted to asking them for a hangout. Not the Google Plus kind.

Bang With Friends merely removes the "h" from hangout and replaces it with a "b." Both parties are only notified when there is mutual interest. So there's no deep, direct rejection. … Read more

Convert video formats with Any Video Converter Professional

Any Video Converter Professional makes it very easy to convert video files one by one or in batches, to and from just about any video format you can play. With one of the largest and most diverse Profiles menus we've seen, chances are good that this premium video conversion utility has a profile just for your device. It's a simple matter of choosing the files you want to convert, selecting the device you want to play them on, and letting Any Video Converter do the rest. Any Video Converter also extracts audio from video files, which is something … Read more

LinkedIn expanding on 'followers' feature

Letting users tap industry leaders for original content must be working out for LinkedIn. The professional network is getting more social today, adding a leaderboard for its subscription service and recommendations on who to follow based on member interests.

The company launched the ability for its 175 million members to subscribe to industry leaders, dubbed "influencers" by LinkedIn, and their industry-focused posts last month. The model is similar to Twitter's, in which a person can follow someone without needing them to follow back.

Since LinkedIn's launch of the subscriptions, the elite industry leaders, hand-picked by LinkedIn, … Read more

Follow the leaders: LinkedIn puts own spin on 'followers'

LinkedIn knows there's value in industry-focused content, so it has organized a network of professionals who have agreed to blog for the social network at no charge.

LinkedIn rolled out the new feature today, which enables people to follow selected industry leaders who will post original content to the site.

It may sound like LinkedIn is taking a page from Facebook, which (taking a page from Twitter) allowed subscriptions a year ago, but LinkedIn is doing it in the measured, grown-up way it's known for.

The social network has limited the number of people who can have followers … Read more

Browse safe and anonymously with Mask Surf Pro

Tor stands for The Onion Router. Imagine each layer of an onion is a server. That's essentially how Tor lets you surf the Web safely and anonymously, and with no creepy Web ads that have obviously been tracking you. The trouble with Tor is the trouble with onions: they can be overwhelming. ThankSoft's Mask Surf Pro makes it easy to use the Tor network yet offers advanced features like the capability to choose which host country to emulate. Developers can use it to test how their tools or Web pages perform in specific regions or under certain browser … Read more

Simple DVD ripping software

Acala DVD Ripper Professional Free Copy is a free DVD ripper. It's an easy-to-use program for ripping some DVD videos and converting them into a number of video formats, as well as ripping the audio into popular audio formats.

The interface is good, though very simple in appearance. We were able to understand the layout and navigate it easily, but getting started was a little difficult without the tutorial video. The tutorial video doesn't completely match the free version we downloaded, but the steps are pretty much the same. Without it, we probably wouldn't have known how … Read more

LinkedIn adds Facebook-like alerts

LinkedIn hums along on its promised site redesign, rolling out a notifications stream today that may strike a familiar cord with Facebook users.

The professional networking site adds icons to the top left corner of a user homepage, including a little flag that will feature a red circle if you have any new activity, according to a blog post written by LinkedIn Associate Product Manager Angela Yang.

"Launching today is our new notifications feature, which will keep you notified in real-time when someone likes what you've shared on LinkedIn, views your profile, accepts your invitation, and much more,&… Read more