Tom's Guide: 25 Free and Useful Windows Desktop Gadgets

[JMcEntegart]

Check out Tom's Guide's latest story on gadgets.

Tom's Guide: 25 Free and Useful Windows Desktop Gadgets : Read more

 

[rebel1280]

um.... i believe there was a big security flaw that caused MS to shut down gadgets?
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Microsoft-Disables-Windows-Sidebar-Gadgets-Due-to-Security-Risk-643712/
and even on your own website:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Windows-8-Sidebar-Gadgets-Security-Advisory-Black-Hat,news-39059.html

shame on you toms lol

 

[inerax]

I was like WTF did M$ bring them back?

 

[CaedenV]

weather and the EVE gadget is all you ever need

 

[Guest]

Really Tom's does the left hand know what the right hand is up to?

 

[somebodyspecial]

Gadgets are evil. MS said themselves if you install these you're retarded. They did it at their own conference to make sure ALL people knew to TURN THEM OFF FOREVER. Nuff said. Google it before you turn them on. I'm thinking "microsoft gadgets security" should be all that's needed

Never mind...Had to do it myself:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/advisory/2719662
Wow, they'll even disable them all for you with MS FIXIT...ROFL. Toms should be ashamed as noted above. You can google the above for tons more. While a cool idea, it's a security risk big time according to the company themselves. Can't believe Tom's pushed this.

 

[mavikt]

I was very disheartened when I got back after vacation this summer and found that the IT department had poked in my registry.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Windows\Sidebar]
"TurnOffSidebar"=dword:00000000

 

[Guest]

Toms Hardware is merely posting the top 25 in their opinion and hopefully they did the research to make sure they can be "trusted". The only one they suggested that should even transmit data over the internet in my opinion is the weather bug one the others shouldn't transmit or recieve anything but what is already on my PC.

If you read the article thoroughly you will have read the portion "when running insecure Gadgets," Microsoft reports. "In addition, Gadgets installed from untrusted sources can harm your computer and can access your computer's files, show you objectionable content, or change their behavior at any time."

Hopefully someone from Toms will reply to this. Personally I don't trust anything from the weather bug but maybe they have changed some of their tactics in the past have led me to wonder about them but even a big name like Kodak has done some nasty things in the past.

 

[Guest]

why would you run with Admin rights anyway? That's the real n00b move, if the exploit only applies with admin rights then I'm not worried.

 

[dustinsherrill]

I tried to run the Outlook Appointments & Vista Calculator but my anti-virus, Vipre, marked both of them as bad & promptly quarantined them.

 

[xyster]

haha. i was looking for some good widgets and this was the first article to come up on google for me. apparently its the best one too. thanks jane!