How to Enable the E-Mail Shield in Avast Free Antivirus

One of the many features offered to all users of the Avast Free Antivirus software is a fully functional e-mail shield. When enabled, the program will scan all incoming messages and outgoing messages for viruses and other types of malware that may be hiding as attachments. You can both enable and configure this feature at any time using tools already available to you in the main Avast Free Antivirus program window. No additional software downloads are required to get this feature off the ground.

Step 1

Open the Avast Free Antivirus software on your computer using the exact same steps you would if you were changing program settings or scanning your hard drive for threats.

Step 2

Click one time on the button on the left side of the Avast window labeled “Real-Time Shields.” A series of options, all related to the real-time protection capabilities of the software, will expand and fill the area of the screen beneath this button.

Step 3

Click the button labeled “Mail Shield” to view the settings related to the e-mail scanning functionality of Avast Free Antivirus.

Step 4

Locate the section of the screen labeled “Settings.” Check two boxes in this section of the screen. The boxes will be labeled “Scan inbound messages” and “Scan outbound messages.” Avast will immediately start scanning all messages both sent and received through your mail client. The status listed in the “Protection Status” section of the window at the top of the screen will now read “Running.”

Step 5

Click the button labeled “Expert Status” to change more preferences related to the Avast e-mail shield. You can choose what specific types of e-mail accounts to scan (like POP3, IMAP4 and more) and all specify the exact behavior of the scanner. Make any changes that you’d like and click the “OK” button at the bottom of the window so that those changes can go into effect immediately.

How to Manage Automatic Downloads on Your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad

Automatic downloads make transferring data between all of your Apple devices easier than ever before. If you download an application onto your iPad, for example, that application will then automatically download right to your iPhone. Likewise, downloading an application using your computer will cause that app to automatically appear on your iPod Touch. You don’t have to manually download the same app on both your Apple iOS devices and your computer. All you have to do is enable automatic downloads on each of your devices, which you can do in just a few easy steps.

Step 1

Turn on the first Apple device that you want to use with the “Automatic Downloads” function. Tap the “Settings” icon on the device’s “Home” screen to continue.

Step 2

Scroll through the “Settings” application on your device until you find the listing reading “Store.” Tap this listing one time to continue.

Step 3

Tap the button labeled “Off” next to “Music” to automatically download purchased music to this device. The word “Off” will immediately change to “On.” With this option enabled, any songs or albums that you download on any other Apple devices (including via your computer with the iTunes software) will automatically download to this device.

Step 4

Tap the button labeled “Off” next to “Apps” to automatically download purchased applications to the device you are using. As with the “Music” section, the word “Off” will change to read “On.” Downloading an application using the “Store” application on the device you are using will cause that application to automatically download to both your computer and all other Apple devices with “Automatic Downloads” enabled. The reverse of this process is also true.

Step 5

Go through the list of installed applications at the bottom of the screen and enable automatic downloading for any app that you desire. Certain applications like the New York Times support automatic downloads from one device to another. If new stories become available on the New York Times application, for example, you can download them on one device to have them automatically appear on all other devices in your home.

Step 6

Repeat these steps on any other Apple device that you own.

Five Best iPad Apps for Movie Lovers

One of the best parts about Apple’s iPad tablet device is its ability to let you enjoy multimedia content with you wherever you go. Whether you just want to watch a few movies or want to learn more about one of your favorite hobbies, there are a wide variety of different applications available in the iTunes App Store that are designed specifically for both movie lovers and cinema aficionados. No movie lover’s iPad is complete without the following applications. These applications can be downloaded and added to your device in a matter of seconds.

iTunes Trailers

Many movie trailers are released exclusively online through Apple’s iTunes Trailers service. One recent example is for the film “The Avengers.” The trailer for that film was available through iTunes Trailers exclusively for an extended period of time. Instead of trying to find a computer when you want to watch the latest previews, download the iTunes Trailers app and watch them all on your iPad.

Amazon Instant Video

Amazon Instant Video is Amazon’s answer to the Netflix service. If you’re an Amazon Prime member you can have access to hundreds of thousands of films and television show episodes free of charge. The Amazon Instant Video app allows you to watch this content right from your iPad whenever you’d like. You can also rent and purchase content through the application.

Crackle – Movies & TV

Crackle is a service similar to Hulu that is owned and operated by Sony Pictures. Crackle gives you access to countless full movies and entire seasons of certain popular television shows. Once you sign up for your free Crackle account you can watch all of this content any time you’d like through the main Crackle application.

DVD Profiler for iOS

DVD Profiler is an application specifically designed to allow you to catalog your home video disc collection. You can use the camera present on the iPad 2 and 3 to scan the barcode of each disc you own. Your collection is them compiled as a list that you can browse anytime and take with you wherever you go. For people with large collections this is a great way to prevent accidentally purchasing something you already own.

Backstory

Backstory is a digital magazine owned and operated by film journalist Jeff Goldsmith. It is considered to be the successor to the now defunct Creative Screenwriting Magazine. Issues are released on a bi-monthly basis and are available for purchase through the application itself. Issues take full advantage of the multimedia abilities of the iPad as well as the device’s touch screen interface. Each issue is a mixture of text-based pieces, video and audio interviews, film clips and even full film screenplays. No film lover’s iPad is complete without a subscription to the wonderful Backstory.

Five Apps for Your iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad That Can Help you Run Your Website or Blog

Apple’s iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad devices aren’t just for checking your e-mail, making phone calls and listening to music on the go. Each device also has the ability to let you maintain and update your own personal website from wherever you happen to be. You no longer need to be near your desktop computer or always take your laptop with you wherever you go to update your site. By downloading one of a few key applications you can update your blog or website from anywhere on the planet as long as you have your Apple device with you.

WordPress

If your site is hosted on WordPress, this is the application you need to have. Everything that can be done in your Internet browser can be accomplished using the official WordPress app. The standard WordPress interface has been completely redesigned to take advantage of smaller screens on devices like the iPhone and iPad, allowing you to constantly update your site on the go.

BlogPress

BlogPress allows you to access blogs from a variety of different services, like Blogger or WordPress, directly from your Apple iOS device. One of the main selling points of the application is that an advanced knowledge of HTML is not required. You can create new posts for your site directly from the app similar to the way you would create a new document in something like Microsoft Word.

Blogsy

Blogsy is a multi-purpose application that allows you to interface with a variety of different Web hosting services. The service takes full advantage of the touch screen capabilities of an Apple device by allowing you to drag and drop multimedia elements like photos directly into blog posts as you compose them. You can then upload these posts right to your blog or site directly from the Blogsy application.

Good Docs

Good Docs combines the features of Google Docs with a fully functional mobile HTML editor. There is simply no better application for editing HTML-rich documents as you travel. The application also allows you to access files saved on Google Docs and save files from your device to the Docs service.

Blogger

Blogger’s official application is similar in concept to the official WordPress app. It takes the interface of Blogger and optimizes it for smaller touch screen devices. The only downside is that it isn’t a universal app. The resolution of the app is designed specifically for the iPod Touch and iPhone. While the Blogger app will work on an iPad, you have to use the “zoom” feature to enlarge the interface to take advantage of the device’s larger screen.