Sarasota PC Monitor

Review Chairmans Industry Comments (9/06)

The Computer Buffet

by Herb Goldstein, Review Editor

E-mail comments, suggestions, etc. to Herb Goldstein at: revieweditor@spcug.org

BAD HYPERLINK?? Occasionally for reasons beyond our control, a hyperlink provided here will not work. After carefully checking your typing (needs to be 100% accurate), the only suggestion we can offer is that you go to Google and enter the name of the software. If a more current hyperlink is available, this is the best place to look for it.

Please also note: Most of the software mentioned below is freeware. It is gathered through researching usually reliable sources. I do not personally try most references, time being the obvious factor.

AUSLOGICS DISK DEFRAG. Disk fragmentation leads to system slowdowns, PC crashes, slow startup and shutdown and sometimes to system failures. Auslogics Disk Defrag is designed for fast optimization of today's modern hard disks. Get the maximum performance out of your expensive hardware investments. And it's absolutely FREE. This one is a winner. I have tried it myself and it's the fastest defragger I have seen! www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag/

BAD NEWS ON FIREWALLS. Firewalls are basic protection that everyone needs and should be using. Good firewalls are two-way. They protect you against both what is leaving and entering your computer. The Windows firewall is NOT acceptable. It offers only one-way (inbound) protection. Dr. Brian Lewis is currently beta testing the new VISTA operating system and informs me that it continues (at least currently) only one-way protection as well.

My advice? Do not use the Windows firewall, Use the free one provided by Zone Alarm (www.zonelabs.com), or if you are a cable subscriber, use its free McAfee which contains a 2-way firewall. There are numerous other free firewalls as well that you can find by googling.

SNAPFOLDERS 2005. Of course you know how to make shortcuts to folders, but the shortcut function has changed little since the days of Windows 95. SnapFolders helps you create faster, more powerful shortcuts. Instead of forcing all shortcuts to open the target folder in a folder window, SnapFolders gives you the choice of having shortcuts open Explorer windows with the target folder either selected or as the root folder. SnapFolders' shortcuts automatically appear on the Start Menu; from there, you can copy, move, rename, or delete them. www.proffs.nu/snap.htm

ERUNT (Emergency Recovery Utility NT) allows you to keep a complete backup of your registry and restore it when needed. The standard registry backup options that come with Windows back up most of the registry but not all of it. ERUNT however creates a complete backup set, including the Security hive and user related sections. ERUNT is easy to use and since it creates a full backup, there are no options or choices other than to select the location of the backup files. The backup set includes a small executable that will launch the registry and restore if needed. www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/

FABULOUS FREE PHOTOS! Here's a good tip from Kim Komando. Maybe you need photos for a Web site you're building. Or maybe you're working on another project that requires photographs. Well, you don't need to be an expert photographer to get stunning graphics. There are stock photo sites where you can download photos.

I know what you're thinking. You want great photos, but you're on a budget. No worries! Everystockphoto has more than a quarter million photos from which you can choose. And they're all free! I'm amazed by the quality of the photographs. Most of them are simply stunning. Even if you're not working on a project, you might want to use one for your desktop. www.everystockphoto.com

RAMBOOSTER is a free utility that optimizes how your computer uses its RAM, working to keep as much free as possible. Much like FreeRAM XP Pro, it can also try and free up a specified amount if you have a program that needs more free RAM than you have available. It's a simple-to-use program, and seems to do a good job of managing the RAM to keep more available. The author does not provide any support beyond the rather meager help file that comes with the program, though, so you're on your own if you have problems. www.sci.fi/~borg/rambooster/index.htm

FREERAM XP PRO. Your PC's memory is a little bit like a plate of cookies at a party: You turn your back and it's all been nibbled away. FreeRAM XP Pro is a free utility that tries to keep your memory from being consumed by a system full of hungry programs. The program optimizes how apps use memory, forcing them to use the minimum required and leaving as much as possible free for other programs. This should (in theory) make your computer faster and more responsive. Although it's tough to tell how good a job it does, it seemed to be more intelligent than Windows in keeping memory free. In addition, the ability to free up large chunks of memory is useful if you are going to be running a program that needs it (a feature FreeRAM XP Pro calls AutoFree).

Of course, this utility won't make your system as fast as adding more memory to your motherboard, but it's a useful tool if you find yourself running low on memory and want to try and make more efficient use of what you have. FreeRAM XP Pro is a little easier to use than RAMBooster, and the AutoFree mode is easier to use than the equivalent mode in RAMBooster. www.yourwaresolutions.com

WINDOWS ON YOUR DONATED COMPUTER. Microsoft has always licensed the Windows operating system for exactly one PC. Starting with Windows XP, the company has put teeth into that policy. An activation process links the licensed copy of the OS to the specific PC, and if you don't activate it within a month or so, it stops working.

Installing the same OS and license on a different PC and activating it there will deactivate it on the original PC.

If you want to give away a computer and still keep your copy of the operating system, that should not be a problem. But you can do both yourself and the people you are giving the machine to a favor by wiping all data from the hard drive before donating it. You'll avoid giving away personal information that may be buried in different places on the computer. And the recipients will be spared the disappointment of thinking they have a working operating system only to lose it when you activate the OS on your new machine.

WINPATROL. Every house needs a watchdog to warn you when something nasty is at the front door. And your PC is no different: It needs something that is ever-vigilant, keeping an eye on the programs running on your PC and making plenty of noise when something seems out of place. WinPatrol performs this guard job, keeping tabs on programs running on your PC (including the hidden ones) and alerting you if a program tries to install something unexpected, sets itself to run on startup, changes your home page, or installs something it shouldn't. You can delete the offending programs, block their automatic startup, or just monitor them to see what they do. www.winpatrol.com

AVG ANTI-VIRUS V7.1. Everyone knows you need antivirus software to combat known threats, but what about those viruses that sneak under the radar before code is written to counteract them? AVG Anti-Virus System spots programs that behave like viruses, locks them up, and puts them in isolation-even if no one has issued an all-points bulletin and corrective code. You can manually run a virus scan on your files and e-mail, or schedule scans at predetermined times and in predesignated folders. This free program can run its quarantine operations in the background, so you don't have to be disturbed. www.grisoft.com/doc/289/lng/us/tpl/tpl01

HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE USB 2.0? When you look at a USB 1.1 and 2.0 connection, they look EXACTLY the same!

LEPLAYER is today's most comprehensive free video search tool. Previously internet users were restricted by locating videos from a web site and watching them while remaining on that site, till now. LePlayer gives you the freedom to watch millions of videos from around the world while you surf, email, chat or word process by clicking a button (Float Video). Select from over 1.6 million videos and almost 2000 categories. www.leplayer.com/player/index.php

SCHMAP PLAYER. Free Schmap Player integrates maps, photos, reviews and online content about cities. Search a city, a neighborhood, or near your hotel for landmarks and restaurants. Play through suggested virtual tours.

Bookmark places of interest in tours. Create your own custom city guidebook by printing bookmarked places, includinging maps, photos and reviews. Go online from the guide for driving directions, user reviews and web search to find even more places. www.schmap.com

BUYING A CAR? NADA Guides has all the information you need to know about your next car, new or used. Whether you're looking for a family car or a sporty ride, it's all here. www.Edmunds.com is another good resource.

FAST DIGITAL PHOTO FIXES. We all take some bad digital photos. But rather than delete our photo mistakes, we can fix them. From taking the perfect picture to enhancing your images, here are four quick tips that will turn your bad shots into digital masterpieces. www.microsoft.com/athome/morefun/fastfixes.mspx

FREE ONLINE RADIO. Need a little rhythm to perk up your workday? Tune into Radio Tuner at WindowsMedia.com, where we are streaming all your old favorites plus new sounds from more than 1,000 radio stations in every genre. Best of all, it's free! www.windowsmedia.com/mediaguide/radio/?locale=409&

INTERNET EXPLORER USERS can profit from a few good tips from Microsoft on using the browser. You'll find them at www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/personalize.mspx

CELL PHONE USERS BEWARE! Doctors are warning people not to use cell phones outdoors during storms. A cell phone increases the odds of internal injuries in lightning strikes. Several fatal cases have been reported.

ANCESTRY.COM has boosted its genealogical records to 5 billion names. The site has added complete census records from 1790 to 1930. The archive reportedly is the most comprehensive genealogical database ever.

RESTORATION IS A FREE PROGRAM that can scan your hard drive, floppy diskette or USB thumb drive and find files that have been deleted (Windows doesn't actually destroy files that you delete: it just marks the space they occupy as being available). It can then recover any recently deleted files it finds with a single mouse click.

You can filter the results if you know the name of the file you are looking for, which is much easier than wading through the list of the hundreds of deleted files it usually finds (including temporary files, cached Web files, etc).

Restoration doesn't need to be installed to work. Just keep the program on a floppy or an optical disc and pop it into the drive and run it when you need it (This approach also prevents your accidentally overwriting the deleted file). www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html

SURE DELETE. If you delete a file, it isn't really gone-Windows just marks the space it occupied as being available. And anyone with a program such as Restoration could probably recover the file, meaning that personal data could get into the wrong hands.

This free program deletes the file, then wipes and removes the data left over. The author has stopped updating or supporting the program, but it appeared to work fine in my informal tests. I was unable to recover several test files that I deleted with it. The program has three deletion methods: a quick wipe (which overwrites the file 4 times, a Department of Defense method (which overwrites the file 7 times with random data), and a Super Secure mode which overwrites it an impressive 24 times. www.wizard-industries.com/index.php

SYNCTOY is a simple free program from Microsoft that can help you synchronize folders. Synchronization ensures that two folders in different locations, even on different computers, each hold the newest versions of your documents. It can be a lifesaver to people who bring work to and from the office on a laptop. You can set SyncToy to keep two folders up-to-date, or keep old and new versions of documents. You can also set SyncToy to synchronize only specific types of files such as .JPG pictures or .DOC documents. Works with Windows XP only. www.microsoft.com

INSTANT MEDIA has an integrated directory with hundreds of Channels, Videocasts, and Audiocasts. Just click to subscribe. I'M uses patent pending media caching technology to provide high-quality, full screen video to your desktop. Instant Media is Internet TV software delivering shows direct to your PC. Browse through an integrated directory of hundreds of channels. Channel guide is updated automatically. Just click to watch. www.im.com/main.aspx?redir=1

SYNCBACKSE. Here's one of my favorite programs. I use it to keep my backup hard drive up to date with my boot drive. It will set you back $25, but it's worth every penny. Easily backup, synchronize, or restore your files to another drive, FTP server, ZIP file, networked drive, or removable media. Highly configurable, SyncBackSE includes: open/locked file copying; fast backup; true synchronization; SSL, TLS, MODEZ, UTF8 support; email results; simulated backups; file filters; copy verification; background backups; auto-close of programs; easy and expert modes; profile groups; and extensive context sensitive help. Free trial downloads and more info are available at their website. www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/sbse.html

SHUTDOWNPRO. Many tools let you shut down, log off, hibernate, or reboot your PC with a single (or double) click. The free ShutDownPro, from Kurt Zimmerman, does all that and more. Right-click its tray icon to check system resources; change screen resolution; minimize, maximize, or close all windows; rebuild the icon cache; disconnect from or reboot the network; and access a range of system info. You can automate shutdowns at a specified time or date, or after Windows has run a set time. The program even lets you empty your Internet cache on shutdown. Go to Zimmerman's site for your copy. http://home.tiscali.de/zdata/shutdownpro_e.htm

HSSVSS HOME SECURITY VIDEO SYSTEM. HSSVSS turns your web cam or cameras into a video and motion detecting surveillance system. HSSVSS is a handy video surveillance tool, use motion detection or time-lapse photography to create a surveillance system. HSSVSS is the very first system of its type and had been in development for the last 4 or 5 years. Why pay for what you can get for free? www.hssvss.com

SILENCING A LOUD COMPUTER. Here's a handy tip from Kim Komando. Computers' complexity is already frightening enough. Why should we be scared by loud noises as well? Here are some pointers to keep your computer from shortening your life:

* Change your volume settings in Windows. Double-click the volume icon. It's the speaker icon next to your clock in the taskbar. You can lower the main volume under "Volume Control." If you don't see the volume icon in the taskbar, you can put it there. Click Start>>Control Panel. Double-click Sounds and Audio Devices. Select the Volume tab. Mark the checkbox labeled "Place volume icon in the taskbar."

* On the Sounds and Audio Devices window, set Device Volume to low. Under Speaker Settings, click Speaker Volume. Set each speaker to Low. Click OK>>OK.

* Check your computer's external speakers. Most have knobs that you can use to turn the volume up or, in your case, down.

* Most computers have an audio program. Check yours. It could be overriding Windows' volume controls. Some players borrow Windows' volume controls as their own. Changes made in these players may change your Windows settings. If the default in this program is set too high, it may be resetting Windows' volume controls when you reboot.

* Update your drivers. Visit your sound card manufacturer's Web site. Makers usually offer free updates for their audio drivers. The name probably is on the Sounds and Audio Devices window. You can probably find the company's Web site by searching in a site such as Google.

SERIF PHOTOPLUS. For a long time, Serif has given away previous versions of their software to entice users to purchase the current version. Currently you can download a completely free, fully-functional version of PhotoPlus 6. PhotoPlus 6 features an export optimizer, editable text, image slicing and image maps, selection tools, smart shapes, third-party plug-in support, red-eye removal tool, and photo enhancement tools. PhotoPlus 6 works on Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, 2000, NT4, and XP. www.serifsoftware.com

LOOKOUT. Need a way to drill deeply into Outlook to find messages you know are around-somewhere? Use Lookout, a freebie from Microsoft. Unlike search tools such as Google Desktop, Lookout offers quicker access because it becomes part of Outlook's toolbar. Besides e-mail, the tool can index attachments and PDF contents.

Lookout also searches inside appointments and contacts. It works with all current versions of Outlook. www.lookoutsoft.com/Lookout/download.html

UTICASOFT IMAGE BROWSER is an image viewer with several additional features. It comes with a built in slideshow creator, that allows you to create standalone EXE slideshows from your images, with optional image effects, image titles and more. Image Browser also includes an icon extractor and a handy image file organizer, that allows you to compare folders side by side and move or copy images. Additional features include different viewing modes, batch conversions, set as wallpaper and more. The program supports all major image file types. www.uticasoft.com/

ACTIVE SECURITY MONITOR scans your computer and provides you with a consolidated overview of your PC security based on the existence of common security products such as an up-to-date anti-virus scanner, a firewall and a spyware scanner, as well as various

Windows and Internet Explorer security settings. Based on it's findings, the program will assign an overall security score (0-100) to your PC and provide you with suggestions (and product recommendations) on how to improve your score. If you have multiple computers connected to a network, you can also view the security status for all other PCs that have Active Security Monitor installed, and with free registration you can even monitor the security status for your entire network remotely from a web browser. The program will continuously monitor your PC(s) and alert you of any changes. Active Security Monitor is limited to security assessment based on (non-)existence of specific security products, and designed to create awareness of these potential risks - it does not test the actual effectiveness of your firewall or other security products. With a slick and easy to use interface, we found it mostly useful for novice users that are unfamiliar with the potential risks and available solutions. http://free.aol.com/tryaolfree/index3.adp?promo=808522&service=as

AUTORUNS shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Services, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You can highlight an entry and click the "jump to" button to launch Regedit with the selected entry. In addition to startup programs, Autoruns also displays a list of Services, Scheduled Tasks, Winsock Providers, Internet Explorer BHOs and more - each of them can also be enabled/disabled. http://sysinternals.com/

MYSQL is the most popular Open Source SQL database on the internet. MySQL is a relational database management system. A relational database stores data in separate tables rather than putting all the data in one big storeroom. This adds speed and flexibility. The tables are linked by defined relations making it possible to combine data from several tables on request. The SQL part of MySQL stands for "Structured Query Language" - the most common standardized language used to access databases. MySQL is very fast, reliable, and easy to use. If that is what you are looking for, you should give it a try. www.mysql.com/

EXTRACTNOW is a tool that lets you extract multiple compressed files with ease. It supports ZIP, RAR, ACE, SIT and other compressed files and offers shell integration as well as an easy to use, compact interface. You can simply drag and drop files onto the interface or browse for them in your folders. ExtractNow also offers a search function that lets you find supported files quickly. When extracting files, you can choose to select a folder or automatically extract them to a newly created folder with the same name. www.extractnow.com

ALFACLOCK is a system clock enhancement that adds a fully customizable clock display, alarms, time synchronization, pop-up calendar, time announcements and more. You can format the time display many different ways, include the full date, day of the week, use 24 or 12 hour format and so on. You can also display CPU and memory information along with the time, set a background and font color - or if you do not want to change your clock display, you can just use your standard clock and take advantage of the other features. The optional time announcement feature uses a very natural sounding voice (not the old Merlin MS agent) and can be suspended during certain times of the day. http://www.alfasoftweb.com

MAKEITONE MP3 ALBUM MAKER allows you to join selected MP3 files into a single file that is compatible with any MP3 player and tag editor. The resulting file is basically a single, large MP3 file that contains the copy-merged tracks. The program can also unpack any album that was created with the software. www.makeitone.net

FASTSTONE CAPTURE is a screen capture utility with integrated image viewer. It enables you to capture Windows, objects, selections or the entire desktop, and apply additional editing tools like resizing, sharpening, and more. The capture can be sent to the image viewer, clipboard, or directly saved to file. You can also use the program as a full screen image viewer with EXIF support, resizing, rotating, cropping, and color adjustments, as well as customizable zoom viewer. FastStone Capture supports all major graphic formats including BMP, JPEG, JPEG2000, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO and TGA. www.faststone.org

GADWIN PRINTSCREEN is an easy to use one-click screen capture tool, that captures the contents of your screen. The captured screen can then be sent to the printer, or saved to disk as a file in 6 different graphics file formats (JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP,TGA and TIF) with optional drop shadow effects. Gadwin PrintScreen supports capturing the entire screen, the active window, the client area or a specified rectangular selection with optional inclusion of the mouse cursor. You can choose to copy the captured image to the clipboard or to auto-save it into a default directory of your choice (with auto-naming option). The hot key defaults to the PrintScreen key, but users may also define other keys to initiate a capture. In addition, Gadwin PrintScreen also includes a feature that allows you to e-mail the captured images automatically. www.gadwin.com/printscreen

HOTKEYZ is a shortcut utility with shortcut control for executing other files, launch them in a Normal, Minimized or Maximized State. It supports parameters, so you can pass them on to the selected executable. The shortcuts work with the WIN, CTRL, ALT, SHIFT modifier keys and most other keyboard keys. You can also enable or disable unwanted Hotkeys without deleting them from the Key List. Additional features include support for WinAmp controls, and setting of Windows state (e.g launch minimize, maximized). The program is easy to use . Later versions are now shareware. www.skynergy.com

SIW is a system information tool, that gathers detailed information about your system properties and settings. It includes detailed specs for CPU, Network, TCP/IP, Memory, Hardware, Users, Network Shares, and more, as well as real-time monitors for CPU, Memory and network traffic. SIW also displays currently active network connections, installed codecs, connected MS SQL and Oracle database servers (if any) and more. A standalone tool that does not require installation. www.gtopala.com

BULK RENAME UTILITY allows you to easily rename multiple files and directories, based upon flexible criteria. For example, if you have a whole load of files prefixed with "2005", you can quickly rename all these to "2006".

Similarly, if you have lots of "html" files then you can quickly rename them all to "htm" or other. In addition, you can also add incrementing numbers to the file name, add a suffix or prefix, change case, replace characters and more. www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk

SOFTTANKS SECURITY SOFTWARE. Our Security software will work only on Windows 95/98/ME/2000 Operating System. Our Security System will help keep your computers safe from general public as well as your friends and collegues. You just need to remember the passwords which you can change any time. It will Protect your Computer from 1. Unauthorized use by anyone, 2. You can Start the security system whenever you leave your computer. www.softtanks.com/downsecurity.html

TRILLIAN BASIC 3.1. More and more people find instant messaging handy at work as well as at home, but not everyone uses the same IM system. You don't have to put up with the ads and annoyances of multiple IM clients-just load up Trillian Basic 3.1 (free). It will communicate with your buddies on AIM, ICQ, IRC, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger, keeping them all in one handy list. You can audio-chat with buddies whose service supports it, log conversations, and set your away/back status for all services at once. The $25 Pro version supports additional IM services and adds a host of advanced features. Cerulean Studios, www.ceruleanstudios.com.

LOGMEIN FREE. Travelers who can't live without full access to their home-base computers will pay for a high-end remote-access solution. For the rest of us, the remote control provided by LogMeIn Free (free) should be enough. Just set up an account and install the software on your base computer. Now you can securely log in from any other Internet-connected computer to run programs and access data. You'll have to upgrade to the Pro version to get file transfer and synchronization, but LogMeIn Free still lets you copy/paste between the local and remote systems or remotely control your e-mail or IM client to send yourself a file. 3AM Labs Inc., www.3amlabs.com

RESTORATION RECOVERS FILES deleted from your system. The software searches your hard drive for sectors containing files marked for deletion and provide a mechanism for recovering the files. After performing a search of an entire hard drive the software shows a list of files available for recovery, sortable by type, size or filename. You can choose to recover one or more files or have Restoration completely erase all traces of the file from the PC. www.geocities.jp/br_kato

FIREFOX BETA 2.0: Mozilla Corporation has introduced a beta version 2.0 of its free Firefox Web browser, adding functionality and security. A spelling checker integrated in the browser alerts you to typos when you input text into Web forms and blogs. Another feature lets you recover a tab window after you accidentally shut it. The beta candidate includes a filter that blocks phishing sites.

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Copyright 2006. This article is from the September 2006 issue of the Sarasota PC Monitor, the official monthly publication of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., P.O. Box 15889, Sarasota, FL 34277-1889. Permission to reprint is granted only to other non-profit computer user groups, provided proper credit is given to the author and our publication. We would appreciate receiving a copy of the publication the reprint appears in, please send to above address, Attn: Editor. For further information about our group, email: admin@spcug.org/ Web: http://www.spcug.org/ 

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