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I have blogged about how to install Windows 7 as a virtual machine for a risk-free trial, Similarly, if you are willing to try one of the best Linux desktop distro "Ubuntu" without risking your existing Windows install here's a short, simple and easy to use GUI utility to create Ubuntu Live USB with ease.

uSbuntu Live Creator is a free software for Windows allowing users to create bootable USB key with Ubuntu 8.10 on it, and the best part is that the software also offers an exclusive option of automatic virtualization using portable VirtualBox for launching Ubuntu directly in Windows without any configuration or installation.

Acronis True Image is without doubt one of the best disk cloning and data backup solution available today, the multiple award-winning disk-imaging, disaster recovery application allows users to recover data corruption caused due to various reasons using a simple yet professional easy to use interface, the software costs approx. $50 to purchase but under a special promotion you can grab an 100% free lifetime license for Acronis True Image 10 Personal Edition by simply filling a form as per following instructions.

Microsoft Windows 7 is still in preview stages but has already gained quite a substantial amount of users trying its first beta, if you are willing to try the new beta without taking any risk with your existing computer configuration, installing it on a virtual machine is the best option, the whole process is very safe and takes around 40 minutes to get completed on a decently powered P4 computer.

A virtual machine installation lets you try Windows 7 inside your existing OS as a guest operating-system, Both Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 and Sun VirtualBox can be used for this purpose, I will be using Sun VirtualBox for this demonstration.

1. Download and install Sun VirtualBox if not already done.
2. Download and obtain a license key for Microsoft Windows 7 Beta using instructions provided in the earlier post here.
3. Now launch VirtualBox and click the New button to start setting up our Windows 7 virtual machine.

Every computer user has some data that needs to be secured against unauthorized use, for example your saved password list, accounting data or some other secret stuff, I have shared free folder locking utility MyLockBox earlier on this blog which can be handy in such situations, but if you are looking for something more professional yet free CryptoExpert 2009 LITE is the answer, CryptoExpert allows you to create password protected encrypted virtual disks which works as usual disks having their own drive letters, the best part is that the data stored on a CryptoExpert disk is actually stored in a pre-configured container file making it possible to move or copy the container to easily backup your sensitive data, when used with automated online data backup and synchronization services this can be a great solution to secure and backup the data automatically.

CryptoExpert volumes works similar to any other disk-partition on your computer the only difference being that it requires password authentication before the disk becomes accessible, the utility works on Windows Vista/XP/2000 (both 32 Bit and 64 Bit) and allows users to choose from various encryption algorithms to secure the data.