About ClamTk

ClamTk is available for most of the popular distributions such as Ubuntu and Fedora, but is installable on all systems via compilation of the source code. In Ubuntu, you can install it by searching for “Clam” and installing the “Virus Scanner” or by running this in the terminal:

sudo apt-get install clamtk

In Fedora, you should be able to install it by searching for “clamtk” in the package manager or running in the terminal:

sudo yum install clamtk

Interface

Once it has been installed, go ahead and open it from your dash/menu/etc. You will now see the (very simple) main window of the application. There are a couple of different buttons to scan your home folder, a directory, or a file, or to exit the application. Below those buttons are a few checks made by the program to see if the latest version of the ClamAV engine, the latest GUI version, and the latest virus definitions are installed.

The virus definitions should be updated automatically through the scheduler (more on that later), while the engine version and GUI version are dependent on what is pushed to your distribution’s repositories. If any of the two are majorly out-of-date, you should notify the repository maintainers using the recommended method. Most distributions ask that you file a bug complaint or simply wait.

Menu Options

Aside from the very simplistic interface, some more advanced features are hidden within the menus. Under Scan, you’ll find a few more options for scanning, including quick and recursive scans. Under View, you can see the history of actions taken with the program, as well as clear that log. Under Quarantine, you can check the status of your quarantined items, restore or delete individual quarantined items, or simply empty the whole quarantine.

Under Advanced, you can schedule scans, run the antivirus wizard, submit a file for analysis, or tweak other preferences. The scheduler is an important feature as it makes staying virus-free easy and doesn’t require you to remember to run the scanner. It also makes up for the lack of real-time protection. With the scheduler, you can schedule scans of your home folder or entire computer, as well as virus definition updates.

The preferences include multiple scanning preferences, startup options, an option to whitelist directories so that they won’t be scanned, and proxy options so that you can get your virus definitions without any issues.

Finally, under Help, you can manually check for updates for the antivirus engine and the GUI, as well as look up information about the GUI itself.

Conclusion

ClamTk is an easy-to-use GUI for the ClamAV engine that should help you keep your Linux system virus free. However, more importantly, this easy tool will help you get rid of nasty viruses that may be on a separate hard drive or removable media. Don’t forget that as a rescue solution, you can boot up a Linux environment using a LiveCD and install ClamTk to combat the virus that may be plaguing your Windows machine.

What do you think of ClamTk? Is there any antivirus solution on Linux that is better? Let us know in the comments!

Who cares about those? They’re not thin, they don’t run apps (usually), and they’re made by companies like HP, which as a brand, is every bit as interesting as Tupperware.

Yet most people with a computer need to at least have a printer, and there have been advancements in printer technology over the past few years. You don’t need to put up with a lazy old printer that constantly jams. There are better options available.

Best Cheap InkJet Printer: HP Deskjet 3050

Looking for a basic InkJet printer that’s cheap, yet capable of printing text and photos at an adequate level of quality? You’ll probably want to pick up the HP Deskjet 3050, which can be had for as little as $35.

For that, you receive a printer that includes Wi-Fi support and a scanner. Make no mistake – this is not a particularly quick printer, nor is it capable of providing great quality. You are getting what you pay for. But if you only need a printer for occasional, simple printing tasks like a document or a family photo that will be posted on the refrigerator rather than framed, this is an inexpensive solution.

Best Cheap Laser Printer: Brother HL2270DW

Though most consumers prefer inkjets, laser has its place, particularly among home office users. They’re quicker and usually less expensive to operate, which translates to a printer ideal for churning out pages in mass quantities.

Enter the Brother HL2270DW. This $89.99 printer can churn out almost 20 pages per minute, which is much quicker than your average consumer inkjet. It also includes wireless connectivity and can print 1,000 pages on the default toner cartridge before needing replacement.

The downside? It’s monochrome. That’s not at all unusual among laser printers and it underlines what this printer is built for.

Best Overall All-In-One Printer (Print & Scan): Canon Pixma MG6120

This one was a bit of a tough call. Choices like the Epson Workforce 845 and more expensive Canon Pixma MG8120 are solid, but flooding in Thailand has cut off supply of some printers, causing rising prices and limited availability.

So we come to the Pixma MG6120. This all-in-one printer inkjet offers just about everything you could desire. It has duplex printing, a 3-inch LCD with touch input, a scan resolution of 4800×4800 dpi, and Wi-Fi connectivity with support for printing from mobile devices. Considering the price of about $115 on Amazon, this is an impressive array of features.

The only problem is one typical of inkjet printers – ink costs. If you print frequently, this will become an expensive printer quickly. But there’s no inkjet printer for which that isn’t true, and laser all-in-ones aren’t great solutions for many users because of lower image quality and higher pricing for similar features.

Best Overall Laser Printer: Dell 1355cn

It should be noted that the subtext of this recommendation is “for consumers”.  There are plenty of color laser printers available, but many of them are gigantic, expensive machines really intended for a business rather than a home office.

The Dell 1355cn is recommended because it’s an exception. Starting at $199.99, and small enough to fit on a (large) desk, this laser printer provides all the benefits of its kind. It is quick to print, offers relatively low cost-per-page, and can handle large projects with ease thanks to an expanse paper tray and recommended duty cycle of up to 30,000 pages per month.

There are some downsides. The $199.99 version doesn’t offer Wi-Fi printing, and while a scanner is included, it’s nothing special (equivalent to the much less expensive Pixma MG6120). Still, these aren’t bad sacrifices to make, as the alternative is to deal with the high cost of an inkjet or throw down $400-$800 for a high-end laser printer.

Best Stand-Alone Scanner: Epson Perfection V300

Yes, independent scanners still exist. The inclusion of scanners on most modern printers has nearly driven stand-alone scanners to extinction, but there are still some available.

Of these, the best is probably the Epson Perfection V300. This quick but simple scanner offers a resolution of 4800×9600 dpi and can easily turn documents into PDF files. It also includes the ability to scan 35mm negatives, which is a cool (albeit niche) feature.

For most consumers, the scanner on an all-in-one printer will work just as well, but the Epson Perfection V300 does provide a high optical resolution for just $75, which is much less than the typical all-in-one offering similar scanner quality.

Conclusion

When considering these recommendations, keep in mind that printer and scanner products often exist in families. For example, if you can’t find an Epson Perfection V300 at your local store, an Epson Perfection V330 is almost identical (a few meager extras are thrown in) and will probably cost only a little extra.

If I were to just pick one product out of all of these for your average home user, it’d be the Canon Pixma MG6120. Though ink costs can be high, it offers a lot of features at a low price and has excellent print quality.

Do you agree or disagree with the selections here? Let us know in the comments.

This is the exact reason why ShoeBox is available from the iTunes App Store. It allows users to easily take their old pictures and scan them with their iPhone camera and have all those pictures stored safely in the cloud. Even if you don’t use this as a way to replace the physical photos, it is at least nice to know that if something terrible happens to them, you will have a safe digital version stored away.

One thing I need to mention is that the pictures on their site are public, so they will feature them in the app. If you are concerned with other people seeing your pictures, this may not be the app for you. If you want to show your pictures off to the world, then this app is perfect.

Installation & Set Up

ShoeBox is available for free from the iTunes App Store. Simply search for “ShoeBox” or click here to download the free application.

Once you have the application installed, you have to make a ShoeBox account. Making an account couldn’t be easier. You can either make a new account with your name and email address, or sign up with your pre-existing Facebook account. Whichever way you choose, setting up your account is quick and painless.

Scanning Photos

Scanning photos in the application is very easy. Simply choose the scan option in the middle of the screen and set your photo down in a well lit area where there will not be any glare on the image. Hold your iPhone over the image and click the scan button. Make sure to have the image lined up properly before you take the shot.

After you have taken the picture, the program will open up the crop part of the scan. This is where you remove any background from the image to make it as clean as possible. To crop the image you simply need to drag the box around the image. When you click on one of the cropping corners, the application will automatically show that part slightly zoomed in so you can get the cropping precise.

After you finish cropping, you are given the option to rotate the image in increments of 45 degrees. This allows you keep the image wide if it was originally taken that way.

The last step is sharing and giving a description to your image. You can enter the people in the image and the time and place the image came from. You can also share the image on Facebook and Twitter. As I said before, they may feature your image, so no matter what, it will be somewhat public.

Viewing Photos

The application keeps all your images for easy access later. On the bottom of the screen there is a section called “My Shoebox”.  In here, you will see any images you have scanned. You can sort the pictures by the people in them or the tags you attached to them when you created them.

You can also look at the featured images page to see some of the best scans from other users. There are some cool pictures on there, so it is an interesting place to look around.

Conclusion

If you have many old photos that are sitting around collecting dust, or you want an easy way to put all your photos in the cloud so if anything terrible happens to the physical copies, ShoeBox is a cool app that is worth checking out. If you do not want others to be able to see your photos, this may not be the app for you, but if you don’t care, or even prefer to show your photos off, I recommend downloading this app.

Other great photography articles:

• Three Useful Free Photography Apps For The iPad [Mac]
• 6 Digital Photography Websites With Free Tutorials
• 3 Easy Ways To Add Borders To Your Photos

Image Credit: Shutterstock

In addition to its other features, Lemon.com might be a useful online service and mobile application for small business owners or anyone who needs to keep track of receipts for accounting purposes. A similar type of scanning process can also be found in an iPhone app called JotNot Pro.

Features

Lemon has four main features, including the ability to collect receipts using your smartphone camera, or e-mailing them via your personal Lemon account address. Lemon can scan your receipts and turn them into information that is taggable and searchable to monitor how you’re spending your money.

The Lemon service manages receipts by month and label, such as personal or business. These free core features of Lemon allow for 100 receipts per month, including unlimited storage, access to multiple devices, and online accounting reports. Paid premium services include custom reports and the ability to export receipts from your account.

How It Works

You can import your receipt using your smartphone, or by emailing them to your @lemon account. In my experience I have found the iPhone camera to be a very powerful tool for scanning documents. In fact I have found it even better than dedicated scanners. The scans are pretty short and the resolution is high enough for printing purposes if necessary.

In the Lemon app, you tap the camera icon and take a photo of the receipt in what should be a well lit area and solid surface. You then tag and label the receipt as Personal, Business, Credit Card, Cash, Check, or any other custom label you want to add. You can apply more than one label to a particular receipt.

After confirming your receipt, it will be sent to Lemon’s database and turned into digitized, useful data. It captures the name of the merchant for the receipt, the date of purchase, and its amount.

The information for your purchases will be stored and managed on your account. This same process can be used for emailing receipts to your account.

What’s great about this service is that Lemon will keep and maintain all of your original scanned images. All of your receipt information can be easily viewed on your account Dashboard. You can also export and e-mail a report of all your receipts in either XLS, CSV, or PDF formats.

JotNot Pro

Before discovering Lemon.com, I used a similar receipt scanning app called JotNot Pro ($0.99). While this application doesn’t have an online account counterpart, its scanning features are very advanced for a smartphone app.

When you take a photo scan of receipts and documents using JotNot, you can actually crop out everything outside the edges of the receipt. It works ten times better than any scanner I’ve ever used.

Similar to Lemon, you can also tag your receipts, as well as export them via e-mail, iTunes, and Evernote. Scanned documents can also be converted to PDF.

Both Lemon.com and JotNot are great tools for paperless archiving of receipts and documents. With their smartphone apps, it takes very little time to record documents and keep them managed.

Let us know what you think of these applications.  What do you use to maintain a paperless lifestyle?

CamScanner is an exceptional application designed to make high quality document scanning easy for you using your smartphone. It’s really quite sophisticated, making it easy to scan multiple pages into one document or to auto-crop the image to exactly what you wish to keep.

Get The Application

The CamScanner application is available on Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile and Blackberry. It’s free to test an ad-supported, limited version and $4.99 to buy the fully functional Android application. Give it a go and see what you think!

Quickstart Guide

If you ever need a quick rundown through the various features of CamScanner, there is a handy Quickstart guide to talk you through it. All of the features are explained there with simple diagrams to ensure easy comprehension. You should have no problems scanning multiple pages into one document, adding or deleting pages, creating PDF files or uploading to the cloud. The quickstart guide can help you recall anything you’ve forgotten about.

Creating CamScanner Images

CamScanner allows you to take new photos for document scanning or to import images from photos already in your photo collection. When you take photos using CamScanner the anti-shake capture will assist in getting you the best possible image.

Later, the processed images you created with CamScanner can be saved back into your photo collection if you wish.

Use CamScanner to capture pages, book covers, receipts, whiteboards, billboards, posters and more.

Automatic Enhancements

CamScanner will automatically suggest cropping the image to the obvious edges of the document and will automatically enhance the image colour for you. At any time down the track you can re-process your images and make adjustments.

Scanning Multiple Pages Into One Document

Any time you start a new document and move to adding a page from camera view you’ll see that there’s a sliding option to take just one photograph or a collection of photographs for the one document. Once your page images are captured you can easily re-order the pages and delete or add pages.

Tagging Documents

CamScanner lets you tag your documents in order to keep track of them easily.

Viewing Documents

Documents created with CamScanner can be viewed in detail via the CamScanner application, which makes it easier to read text on the scanned pages than if you were to use the camera application to view them.

Creating PDF Documents

With a touch of a button any image or collection of images in CamScanner can be converted into a PDF.

Email Or Upload To Cloud

From viewing any CamScanner document, the file can be emailed or uploaded to the cloud. Cloud options include Dropbox, Box.net and Google Docs, so it’s easy to make use of these CamScanner files elsewhere.

More Great Android Apps

If you’re looking for more great Android applications, here’s some more articles you should check out:

• The 100 Best Android Apps
• 5 Awesome Android Applications That Could Make Life Easier
• Top 5 Sites to Help You Find Apps for Your Android Phone

Does CamScanner solve your scanning needs? If not, what else do you need a scanning application to do?

The application is in beta and is being offered as a free product at least for the time being as a promotion. They hope that beta users will help them to improve the service for everyone.

“Until now, there has been no way of knowing whether a Facebook link takes you to a legitimate website – or to something that has been set up by the criminals.” – F-Secure.

ShareSafe also offers an aspect of social gaming in that it rewards users for scanning and sharing links via ShareSafe. Users collect badges and points for usage, but most importantly they are offered premium products when their friends like or click on links users have shared with ShareSafe. Extra points are earned when friends accept a user’s invitation to start using ShareSafe. Points can be exchanged for copies of F-Secure Internet Security, F-Secure Online Backup, and F-Secure Mobile Security at the moment, with more products planned for the future.

Check out F-Secure’s full promotional video on ShareSafe via YouTube.

Source: ZDNet

If it was me, it would be my iPad. As for the documents I had to scan, well, that’s all been taken care of, because I used an iPad app that allowed me to take pictures of each of my documents and turn them into shiny new digital PDFs that I can organize and share with my colleagues at the click of a button. Sound convenient? Prepare to never need to keep a piece of paper ever again.

What Is OfficeDrop?

OfficeDrop (directory app) converts paper and digital files into text-searchable documents. You can safely share and access documents from anywhere, organize your documents using folders and labels, eliminate the need for paper by converting everything to digital, and find and share documents instantly with this app.

You can digitize receipts, invoices, contracts, or anything else with your iPad/iPhone’s built-in camera, and you’ll always have your paper and digital documents with you when you’re on the move. If you know how to use a search engine then you can easily organize your documents with OfficeDrop.

Scanning documents on your iPad just became available on OfficeDrop recently. Prior to this update, you would have had to mail in your physical documents if you wanted them scanned into digital form, or you would have had to use a scanner or upload the digital copy yourself. Now, you can create multi-page PDFs from your iPad.

And with OfficeDrop, all of your converted paper and uploaded digital documents will be available for text searching, sharing, and organization on your device and on the web at the Officedrop website. You can also snap a picture, crop & rotate, and then send it directly from your phone in OfficeDrop, which is perfect if you’re at work or taking notes, etc.

To view OfficeDrop in action, check out this video demo:

Using OfficeDrop

Once you download and install the OfficeDrop app for iOS, you can begin digitizing your documents. The process is fairly simple. Just snap a picture with your iPhone/iPad camera and upload it to OfficeDrop. OfficeDrop will then convert your paper into text searchable PDFs.

Once you’ve added a bunch of files, you can begin labeling and organizing them into folders so you can quickly find them later. You will also be able to search for them from within the app.

OfficeDrop also supports over 25 file types, so if you’re uploading digital files from your computer they too will be turned into searchable PDFs within the app.

You do need an account to use OfficeDrop, which is a simple process as well. The app will ask you to create one. There are multiple plans, but the free account grants you 1GB of searchable storage (more than enough for documents), the top 3 search results displayed (title and label your documents properly and this shouldn’t be an issue), web, mobile, and tablet access included.

Conclusion

OfficeDrop is a really handy app for when you’re on the go and want to scan notes to PDF so you’re not weighed down with paper to keep track of. I prefer to use it in conjunction with the iPad, but if you own both an iPhone and an iPad they can form a nice tandem. At any rate, this is a useful app that makes document scanning, organizing, and sharing both easy and practical.

What would your primary use for this app be?  Can you think of any apps which are worthy alternatives?

But why let the big multinationals have all the fun? It’s easy and completely free to generate your very own codes, and these can be used in a myriad of useful or entertaining ways. Of course you’ll need a smartphone with a QR reader to enjoy your own creations.

Creating & Reading Your Own

There are plenty of good, free QR generators out there with some offering more advanced options than others. Between them, the following four manage to cover most bases, including contact cards, URLs, text messages and even access to wireless networks (including security codes):

• Kaywa.com QR Generator
• GoQR.me
• ZXing Project QR Generator
• Delivr.com QR Codes

In order to read them back you’ll need an app for your chosen device. There’s plenty out there, but at the moment I’m using RedLaser for my iPhone which works a treat (and is fully Android compatible too).

• Download Red Laser for iOS (4.0 required, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad 2)
• Download Red Laser for Android (1.6 + required)

Business Cards

Not exactly original, but important nonetheless. Whilst you should always provide adequate contact information on your business card (email address, website, phone number and so on) a QR code might also be a good idea.

Your QR code could be used to store all of your contact information in vCard format, so that when it is scanned on a compatible device the option to add a new contact appears. With a scan all of the information stored on your paper business card is transferred to a digital device – effortlessly.

This could also work for posters, and is certainly not limited to just vCard uses.

Classified Ads (Offline)

Selling something locally? Too big for snail mail? For weighty electrical items, cars, hardware and so on QR codes could be used to help sell your item. If you are using an online merchant for the sale (such as eBay or AutoTrader) the QR code could be used to link directly to the item’s point of sale.

If you’re simply selling offline and advertising locally a QR code can be used to provide a web link to the manufacturer’s description, which will provide a lot more information than you can fit on a classified advertising card. Simply print out your code and glue it on!

Clothing & Jewellery

QR codes are on everything from rings to scarves to t-shirts these days, and getting your own t-shirt from somewhere like Cafe Press or Spreadshirt is easy. Why not advertise your brand on your back? If you’re a photographer, events organiser or musician (to name but a few) who doesn’t mind being scanned regularly then QR might be an effective tool.

You don’t actually need a valid use for QR codes in order to get some clothing or alternative jewellery made up though, and a t-shirt or bracelet that scans might make the perfect gift for the geeky girl or guy in your life.

Forum Avatars

Depending on the forum, a QR code as your avatar can act as a quick way of identifying you. Of course you won’t necessary want this for all forums, but it might help drive traffic to your site or increase your social media outreach with a simple scan.

Award yourself additional points if you can actually get it to look like something.

Starting A Revolution

Okay, so starting a revolution might require more than a scan of your mobile phone, but the ability to embed text, email addresses, URLs and so on within a code mustn’t be overlooked. If you’ve got something to say why not place codes around town and get your message out there? Many who know what QR codes are for will probably scan them out of pure curiosity (I know I would).

Bus stops, the subway, lamp-posts and even urinals (sorry, but it’s true) are all opportunities for this.

CV/Resume

Will adding a QR code to your next job application land you that dream position? Possibly not, but it might set you apart from the rest of the crowd who simply didn’t think that far ahead. Employers love initiative and the ability to demonstrate understanding, so why not show off your forethought and get a cheeky link to your website in the process?

A must for social media types, programmers and techies alike.

Share This!

This could work pretty well on the street, especially if you’re an artist, street performer or (dare I say it) a graffiti writer. Simply stick a QR code next to your artwork/pitch/throw-up and link to a URL that tweets the scene. For example: “I’m currently in St. James Park, London watching The MakeUseOf Jazz Quartet” with a Google Maps link.

Add your own hashtag to monitor the success of your QR bombing. We could call it QRaffiti!

Conclusion

Remember there’s an endless number of applications for QR codes, especially considering it’s so quick and easy to generate your own! As more people switch on to the smartphone revolution, more people have access to these innovations. If you come up with any great unique uses then be sure to let us know!

Have you tried any of these? Do you scan QR codes on your phone? Any favourite scanners or generators? Add your thoughts below.

Images: Business Card, QR Code Ring, Street QR Code, QR Wall Code