shell

Editors' note: This story was originally published on August 20, 2012. It has been updated several times since then to include additional programs and other details, most recently with Start Menu Reviver on May 15, 2013.

Still miss the classic Start menu in Windows 8? Never fear, alternatives are here.

Microsoft lopped off the Start menu in Windows 8 to force people to use the Start screen. And I'll admit it, the Start screen does offers several benefits.

Live Tiles can clue you in to the latest e-mails, appointments, news, and other information. You can easily search for any … Read more

Kaspersky labs and Alienvault have released a new analysis that outlines recent increases in targeted attacks against Uyghur groups in China, where an apparent ongoing politically motivated effort is using old vulnerabilities in Microsoft Word to infect their systems with malware.

The effort is using unpatched versions of Microsoft Word 2004 and 2008 for OS X, where maliciously crafted documents can exploit an old and patched vulnerability to execute code and install backdoor software without the user's consent. The malware in this case installs a common remote-access shell called "TinySHell" that in itself is not intended as … Read more

A group of hackers claims to have stolen thousands of personal records by breaching the servers of more than 50 universities around the world, including Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, and Princeton.

A group calling itself GhostShell posted to text-sharing site Pastebin more than 120,000 records from the breached servers, including thousands of names, usernames, passwords, addresses, and phone numbers of students and faculty. While most hacker activity is motivated by a desire to steal identities or pranksterism, GhostShell said the goal of its data dump was to focus public attention on the state of higher education:

A group of hackers has released a vast quantity of data from banks, government agencies, consulting firms and many others and promised more data leaks in the future.

"Team GhostShell's final form of protest this summer against the banks, politicians and for all the fallen hackers this year," the group, which calls itself -- you guessed it -- "Team GhostShell," wrote in a Pastebin post titled "Project HellFire" this weekend. "With the help of it's [sic] sub-divisions, MidasBank & the newest branch, OphiusLab. One million accounts/records leaked. We are also … Read more

Shell extensions add useful capabilities to context menus in Windows. For instance, when you right-click a file, you might see icons for your anti-virus program, or graphics app, or Zip tool on the context menu. Those are created by adding shell extensions to your system. As more and more programs take advantage of this useful capability in Windows, it becomes harder and harder to keep tabs on them. NirSoft's ShellExView displays the details of all the shell extensions installed in your computer. It also lets you enable and disable shell extensions. This free tool is available in specific downloads … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Everyone loves gathering around a campfire listening to someone strum an acoustic guitar, but lugging that delicate instrument through nature is cumbersome, and why should only one person get to choose the music?

Outdoor Technology suggests you democratize your next adventure with its new wireless Turtle Shell boom box, a Bluetooth-powered speaker with rock-star sound, IP5X durability, and a built-in tripod mount.

I swung by the Outdoor Technology booth here at CES, and the dudes took me into their camper setup to demonstrate the Turtle Shell's flexible features, like an integrated speakerphone and a threaded tripod mount on the bottom that lets you attach it to almost anything--they had it hooked up to a Joby GorillaPod.… Read more

There you go; there's no iPhone 5, at least not yet. For most of us, this is a typical case of much ado about nothing, a huge hype followed by a letdown. For Tim Hickman, the CEO of Hard Candy Cases, it's also a business gamble that didn't work out. The company sent out an embargoed press release to the press a couple of days ago about its new cases for the iPhone 5, information that was leaked earlier today by the Cult of Mac.

It turned out Hard Candy wasn't sure that there would be an iPhone 5, nor did it know the actual design of the product. Just a few minutes ago, like the rest of us, Hickman was watching the live event from his home, but with much greater trepidation...… Read more

Right-clicking a file or folder in Windows Explorer opens a context menu containing links to properties pages, documents, and other programs as well as commands like Copy, Save, and Send To. Both users and programs can add items to context menus. That's great, most of the time, since the ability to right-click a file and perform a wide range of operations right from the menu is one of the things we love about Windows. But it's possible to have too much of a good thing. NirSoft's ShellMenuView can help you bring order to context-menu chaos. It's … Read more

Otterbox remains king of the rugged smartphone case arena, but there are plenty of alternatives, including Speck's new ToughShell for iPhone 4.

Like other rugged cases, this one has multiple layers of protection (three to be exact) and it comes with the requisite detachable holster with rotating belt clip that doubles as a viewing stand.

Speck, which makes some of the best iPhone cases out there, says the $49.99 ToughShell is the company's toughest case yet (it also has the ToughSkin for iPhone 4).

If this model doesn't do it for you, here are some other … Read more