While it has been some time since Microsoft’s latest OS version has come out, not everyone is willing to upgrade. So if you’re one of those who’ve decided to stick with your XP machine but still want to get the look of Windows 7, here’s how to do it.

SevenVG RTM is a free transformation pack that will give your XP machine the look and feel of Windows 7.

Click on the image to view the full-sized sample.

Make sure you follow the instructions to get this to work. Set a restore point before you install anything just to be safe. You’ll need a patched uxtheme.dll for getting third party themes to work.

Extras like the Windows 7 icons, wallpaper, boot screen, etc., can be found on the same site at this link. Instructions on getting all the extras to work are provided as well. It’s quite easy to install and set up as long as you follow the instructions.

Those of you looking to take a European vacation but lack the funds to do it can now go on your much-awaited jaunt all for free. How does Paris sound? Paris 26 Gigapixels provides you with a virtual tour of famous locations right from your desktop.

The site has stitched together 2,346 high resolution photos giving visitors a panoramic view of the French capital.

The capital scrolls gently by with indicators at key points that provide more information when clicked. Scrolling with your mouse wheel zooms in and out. Visitors can click on desired locations and view specific areas up close. Fullscreen viewing is available.

So what are you waiting for? Go and take the tour now.You won’t even have to pack.

Those of you who have been using the Energizer DUO might want to uninstall the included software. A blog post from Symantec has confirmed that the software that comes with the DUO USB battery charger contains a Trojan that can infect Windows computers. Once installed, the Trojan remains active even when the charger is not connected to the pc.

The software installs Arucer.dll which is a backdoor designed to accept connections via port 7777 and is capable of sending and receiving files, listing directories, and executing programs on the infected computer.

If your computer has been infected, uninstall the software and delete Arucer.dll located in the Windows system32 directory. Reboot your computer. If you can’t delete the file, try rebooting before attempting to delete the .dll. For added technical information, take a look at US-CERT’s advisory.

[Energizer Bunny Image Courtesy of DragoArt]

It was bound to happen. Microsoft’s long suffering browser, Internet Explorer 6, was finally laid to rest. The funeral, facilitated by Aten Design, was an open casket affair. Check out pictures of the ceremony on Flickr. The obituary on the official page was short and sweet:

“Internet Explorer Six, resident of the interwebs for over 8 years, died the morning of March 1, 2010 in Mountain View, California, as a result of a workplace injury sustained at the headquarters of Google, Inc. Internet Explorer Six, known to friends and family as “IE6,” is survived by son Internet Explorer Seven, and grand-daughter Internet Explorer Eight.”

I wish we could put a few other apps to rest as well.

When your computer starts acting weird and you suspect that it’s a hardware problem what do you do? Download different programs to check the various parts of your rig? Call the resident tech to take a look? If you think your computer has hardware problems, you only need one app to confirm your suspicion.

Open Hardware Monitor is a free Windows utility that shows you the current state of your hardware. The app displays fan speeds, load and clock speeds, voltages, temperature sensors, mainboard status, hard drive status, video card status, and CPU status. Users can choose what they want displayed and have the application minimized to the system tray. No installation needed.

The program is still in beta so there are bound to be bugs from time to time but definitely worth using.

Open Hardware Monitor runs on 32 and 64-bit Windows and requires .Net Framework.

Those of you who have been too lazy to change the default password of your router might want to change it before Chuck Norris hits it. According to Czech researchers, the Chuck Norris botnet has been hitting DSL modems and routers that are not secure. This botnet behaves differently as it goes for modems and routers instead of attacking the PCs themselves. Infected routers go after other systems on the Web in a DDOS attack.

Why the name? Well, part of the malware’s commented code contains the phrase “in nome di Chuck Norris” or “in the name of Chuck Norris”, and we all know that Chuck can break anything right?

The botnet resides in the router’s RAM so a restart should get rid of it. To prevent infection, just make sure you have a good password preferably something different than the default one. Finally, what’s an article about Chuck without a picture right? Here you go.

[High Five to Robert McMillan]