Weblog Digital Inspiration offers some counterintuitive advice for users who don't protect their Windows XP computers with passwords more difficult than simplistic passwords like abc123: Don't use a password at all. In fact, in this article from Microsoft, the blank password option is described as more secure than a weak password provided 1) you only have one computer or you don't need to network your computers and 2) you trust everyone who has physical access to the computer. Granted, I can't imagine many Lifehacker readers hit both of those categories, but if you serve as your friends' and family's default IT support and they can't seem to remember a secure password, the blank password might be the best option (especially when simple passwords are so easy to crack). Sound like an awful idea? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments.

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Windows only: Freeware application Libra, like previously mentioned shareware Delicious Library, is a collection-management software designed to help you keep track of your DVDs, CDs, books, or video games. Just enter in or use your computer's webcam to scan the barcode of anything in your collection, and Libra automatically retrieves the information for that product, including a nice picture to display on your virtual shelf. You can use Libra to manage your collection, track items you've loaned out, or print catalogs of your stuff. Currently in beta (and possibly a touch unstable), Libra is a free download, Windows only.

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Windows only: Never email another Microsoft Office document from Outlook that includes private hidden data again with the SendShield Outlook plug-in. We've all heard the horror stories of revisions, comments and author notes revealing more than the document sender intended, like when a Google employee inadvertently published internal secrets in the notes of a PowerPoint slideshow. The SendShield Outlook plug-in scans office documents you attach to new messages for hidden data and alerts you if there's potentially sensitive info included, listing each item within Outlook's interface. You can even delete the hidden data right within SendShield's list, without modifying the original file, and scan documents attached to incoming messages as well. SendShield is a free download and works with Outlook 2003 and 2007—Windows only, of course.

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Financial blogger J.D. Roth was recently the victim of mail theft, including some tax documents. After reporting the theft to the postal service, Roth received a flyer from the Federal Trade Commission with techniques for fighting identity theft. Instead of giving the thieves the opportunity to cash in on any sensitive information they may have obtained, Roth followed every step of the FTC's flier, which takes a three-pronged approach to identity theft prevention: Deter, Detect, and Defend. For each step, the FTC provides smart steps you can take to keep yourself secure (deter), methods for staying alert in the event someone does steal your personal information (detect), and tips for dealing with a theft that has already occurred (defend). For more, check out the FTC's official identity theft site.

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iPhone/iPod touch only: The MXTube application searches and saves YouTube videos directly to your iPhone or iPod touch so you can play them back at any time, whether you've got an active internet connection or not. I gave it a try this morning and it works exactly as advertised and looks great. The only drawback is that it doesn't integrate with your iPod videos, but given time, I suppose anything's possible. And now that we know you'll have to wait another three months before you see any official third-party application support from Apple, we'll just have to keep enjoying killer third-party apps the old-fashioned way—through a jailbroken iPhone via Installer.app.

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Last week we kicked off our Coolest Cubicle Contest with a bang, but we had no idea what kind of cubicles would come pouring in after you saw the first batch. This week, we're looking at everything from wood-paneled cabins to dungeons and castles and beyond. So hit the jump to see how your fellow Lifehackers are making the most of their company-issued cube-shaped corner of the world.

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Here's a silly but fun download to kill some time on a Friday - by writing in burning letters on your desktop. Napalm (Windows XP or Vista only) is a little program inspired by the Linux-based Compiz window manager. Once you've downloaded it, Napalm has a pretty simple user interface which lets you write in big scary, fiery writing, all over your desktop. That's about all it does - although if you go to the Files tab and hit "Load" you'll see a few different variations on the fiery theme for you to play with. I reckon it's fiery wrath of god effect might be good for putting reminders on your desktop too (see left). :)
Napalm - Your desktop on Fire [via Download Squad]

It's been a while since we had a giveaway on Lifehacker AU, and our friends at the Google Open Source team have kindly donated some Google swag for prizes so here's some advance notice so you can work on your best tips over the weekend.
Starting on Monday we'll be asking for your best tips on resumes and job hunting. So keep an eye out for the competition announcement on Monday for the details on how to enter.

"I'm looking for an application that runs on startup, detects any applications that have been added to the startup menu, then shuts itself down (to preserve memory). Is such an app possible?

 

Or, is there a way to run such a startup restorer just before shutting down to achieve the same results?

 

I know there are programs that stay resident and monitor changes, but this takes up memory and processor time."

I threw the question to the readers, who've helpfully come up with a few suggestions. AussieRodney suggested r2 Studio's Startup Delayer, saying while it wasn't exactly what Edward had requested, " it will certainly give you a very good heads up on what is starting in the background."

Three readers also voted for Startup Monitor. Citizen D said, "The small memory footprint is more than worth it for the job it's done for me for the past few years."

Djurbino also suggested Startup Monitor and also commented "Spybot S&D also has a similar real-time startup protection feature (though I don't think it's enabled by default)."

Thanks for the suggestions, guys!

Here's a tip to help you avoid a parking fine if you're a Sydney driver - moving your car just a  few spots (or even around the corner) before the expiry of a timed parking restriction may not be enough to avoid getting a parking ticket.
The SMH reported yesterday that a woman lost her appeal against a $79 parking fine she was given even though she moved her car before the 2-hour parking limit expired, into a spot around the corner.
To avoid a parking fine, you need to leave the "parking sector" - and it looks like that's a bit of a grey area:

"A parking sector... is usually an area between two [sign-posted] one-directional arrows, unless indicated otherwise. Generally a zone would not extend beyond one street, but we'd have to check with [the] council if this is the case here."

The woman who was fined was parked in One Island Drive, Pyrmont. It sounds like enforcement is at the discretion of the council involved - so you may want to check with your local council about how they define "parking sectors" or play it safe and drive a decent distance away if you have to move your car.

Google has just souped up its ability to 'teleport' you to the exact website you want, even if you just type in its generic name without the appropriate .com or .net ending. Now it has added a supplementary search box which will crop up in the search results for the site you're looking for.

The writeup on the Official Google Blog gives the example of searching for "NASA" when you're looking for information about the Hubble telescope. The search result for NASA pops up a few NASA specific links, followed by the "search within the site" search box (as pictured above).

This secondary search box won't appear for every search, however. Google hasn't said which sites will get the 'search withiin the site' box - it's down to Google's secret algorithymic sauce, apparently.  "This feature will now occur when we detect a high probability that a user wants more refined search results within a specific site," reads the blog post.

Search within a site - a tale of teleportation [Official Google Blog]

If you've been following along with the long-running Hacker vs. iPhone saga that's been dragging out since the iPhone's release late last June, your days of jailbreaking may finally be coming to an end. Today, Steve Jobs and the folks at Apple have announced their official support for third-party applications along with Enterprise support for push email and calendars, Activesync and Exchange support. Hit the jump for more details and what this means for your and your iPhone or iPod touch.

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We've got IMAP for email, iCal and other syncing options for calendars, but what about our address books? Most likely you use a combination of proprietary services like Facebook and other social networks, desktop address books, cell phone and webmail contact lists to keep track of who's who in your life, but there's still no easy way to maintain and sync your digital Rolodex wherever you need it.

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• What the blazes is making my hard drive work so hard?
• How can I transfer lots of files from Windows to my Mac?
• What Windows software should I use to write a ~70k word thesis?
• If my computer can connect to multiple networks, is it possible to specify connections by application?

Dear Lifehacker,

I've found myself many times en route to the airport to pick up someone wanting to check if the flight is on time. I typically have to call a friend to check this online. Are there any services that offer flight arrival info by phone?

Signed,
Airport Pickup

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Firefox with Greasemonkey only: The YouTube H.264 user script adds a link to view and download the higher-quality version of YouTube videos in page. You already know how to hack YouTube URLs to access a higher resolution and audio quality version of a clip, and this script makes downloading the HQ version easy. (See the difference between regular and HQ videos.) Be warned: This script can take time to render the links (sometimes it hangs indefinitely), and the HQ version isn't available for all videos. Once the kinks get ironed out, I'll add it to the Better YouTube extension. The YouTube H.264 user script is a free download that works with Firefox and the Greasemonkey extension.

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Most of our readers, savvy searchers that they are, likely know all about Google's "site:whatever.com" function, which lets you search for a term inside a specific web site. Now the search engine has made it possible to do this-site-only searches from a search box underneath certain top results (based on, the company says, "metrics that measure how useful the search box is to users"). It might be convenient if you stumble upon a site you didn't know about in your own searching, but it's also an easy way to help your less web-savvy Uncle Bif and Aunt Marge find what they're looking for, rather than explaining the semantics of search to them.

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A slow or error-prone Outlook might mean your Personal Folders—the place where all your appointments, messages, and other data are kept—are corrupt and in need of some fixin'. The How-To Geek shows you the ins and outs of using a built-in Outlook tool to back up and repair your data, and hopefully get Outlook moving a little swifter once again. The Geek's tutorial should work for most any running version of Outlook. For a backup-only solution, try another free Microsoft tool.

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Want to keep an ever-present eye on an item you just know is going to go discount at any moment? Price!pinx offers a price-watching service that doesn't require searching (like PriceAmbush) or limit itself only to Amazon, eBay, or any other big-name site. You provide your email address to Price!pinx, then add their bookmarklet to your browser's links bar. When you see a price you think/hope will go lower, highlight it and then hit the "!pinx" link. The site will then email you when it notices a drop in the digits. Looks like pretty handy stuff, although I haven't had the good fortune to see an item go on sale in the last 30 minutes. Let us know if you've used this service, or prefer another, in the comments.

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Wired's How-To Wiki takes a look at the most common suggestions for speeding up your Mac OS X desktop and picks out a few that really can help scale back memory use—and also highlights the perennial suggestions that don't do a thing and waste your time. For example: Cleaning up an icon-laden desktop = small but real memory savings. Repairing file permissions = Not at all necessary. Hit the link below for more tips and a chance to throw your own $.02 in. For another angle on system speed, try software tuneups to speed up your Mac.

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The Ubuntu Geek blog gives us the skinny on how to install the web-app-focused gOS operating system, star of Wal-Mart's $200 PC, on an Ubuntu system (or most any distro ending in -buntu, for that matter). While gOS is still available as a free download/live CD, placing it on your actual hard drive gives you a chance to see if it runs a little faster and smoother than your current *buntu system, and might make a convert out of you. To see what's worth checking out, head over to Adam's guide to turning an old PC into a webapp monster.

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