Android: iTag is a free service and application that offers several tools for locating—and if necessary, remotely wiping the data on—your lost, stolen, or misplaced Android phone. More »

How Do You Keep Your Computer Patched and Up to Date? [Ask The Readers]

According to researchers behind a white paper on computer vulnerabilities the typical Windows user has to patch their computer an average of 75 times a year. Many simply ignore the task. We want to hear how you keep things current.

Photo by Sam Howzit.

Over at the computer-centric blog Computerworld they highlight a security white paper published by the Secunia company:

The typical home user running Windows faces the “unreasonable” task of patching software an average of every five days, a security and vulnerability research company said today.

“It’s completely unreasonable to expect users to master so many different patch mechanisms and spend so much time patching,” said Thomas Kristensen, the chief security officer of Secunia. The result is that few consumers devote the time and attention necessary to stay atop the patching job, which leaves them open to attack.

Secunia has a free tool called Personal Software Inspector that assists users in determining which portion of their operating system or installed software needs to be patched based on releases from the software vendors—it doesn’t, however, download or install the patches for you. They analyzed the data from millions of users and determined the average Windows user needs to patch software every 4.9 days to keep everything completely current. That isn’t Windows Updates mind you, but updating all the various applications on their PC.

In light of what a pain it would be to constantly keep on top of updates, we’d love to hear what solutions you’re using to make managing updates easier. Sound off in the comments below with your tips, tricks, software tools, and other patch-related wisdom to help your fellow readers stay on top of updates and patches. If you’ve never considered what a burden keeping your software updated is, nor thought about getting a program to do so, start your research by reading our Hive Five on the topic.

Taskbar Eliminator Ditches Your Windows Taskbar [Downloads]

Windows: If you use a 3rd-party application dock in place of the Windows taskbar, you may have noticed that you can’t completely get rid of the taskbar. Taskbar Eliminator helps you turn it off and keep it out of the way.

You can minimize the taskbar in Windows but you can’t full-out remove it. This can be a bit of a pain if you’re happily using a 3rd-party application dock and you don’t like the taskbar popping up or even taking up that tiny sliver of screen real estate to say “I’m here!”. Taskbar Eliminator is a single-purpose application that removes the taskbar from the screen and keeps it from popping up or getting in the way, letting you use your 3rd-party dock in peace.

Taskbar Eliminator is freeware, Windows only and works on Windows XP through Windows 7. Have a shell-tweaking application you find useful? Let’s hear about it in the comments.

Earth Tones and iMacs: A Cozy Home Office [Featured Workspace]

Nothing in today’s featured office is extraordinarily expensive or custom built, but the office looks like it was designed by a professional thanks to a unified color scheme and use of accessories.

Lifehacker reader Veronica Domeier made over her home office and since then she has been steadily tweaking the layout since. She writes:

So this year I decided I needed some inspiration in my home office. The new book shelf was a great start but nothing pops like a new coat of paint.

Last weekend we went down to HomeDepot and picked up some paint. I had already decided I wanted red before we got there. Looking through the swatches we came across one called “red, red wine” Perfect! One, it was a nice shade of red, dark but not too dark and, two, it had the word ‘wine’ in it – I love wine. Sold!

Here are the results…I must say I’m really enjoying the new look

The images here show her office immediately after the make over and with the addition of an nice spacious external monitor.

If you have a workspace of your own to show off, throw the pictures on your Flickr account and add it to the Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell Pool. Include some details about your setup and why it works for you, and you just might see it featured on the front page of Lifehacker.

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