Sarasota PC Monitor

Review Chairmans Industry Comments (07/07)

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.

What is System Restore? System Restore monitors what is going on with your PC and periodically takes a 'snapshot' of your system's important files. This 'snapshot' is what System Restore uses to take your system back in time to when your PC was functioning properly.

Where is System Restore Located? Click on the Start button and then click on ALL Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Restore. The Welcome to System Restore Window will appear.

How do I use the System Restore feature?

1. Create A Restore Point: The first thing you need to do is click your mouse on the radio button next to the 'create a restore point' option. You will see that a small dot appears inside the radio button. This tells you that the option has been enabled. Once the option is enabled click the Next button. The Create a restore point window will now open. To create the restore point, simply type in a descriptive name, i.e. 'My Restore Point' in the System restore description dialogue box and then press the Create button. The system restore point is created and click on Close to finish.

2. Restore my computer to a earlier time: The next step is to click on the Restore my computer to an earlier time option and then click the Next button. The next window allows you to select a specific date to restore your computer to. Once you have selected both the date and time of the restore, click the Next button. All you need to do now is confirm that the system restore date and time are correct. From the Confirm Restore Point Selection window you can view the details that have been selected.

If these are correct simply press the Next button. Once the restore has completed, your system will restart. Your system should now be restored to a earlier time.

PANDO is free, secure personal peer to peer software that makes sending, receiving, and publishing files up to 1GB in size a breeze. Need to email large attachments, IM a folder, or post your downloadable videos or podcasts to the Web? Want to receive or distribute subscription-based content with the click of a button? Meet Pando. http://www.pando.com:80/

MAPS GALORE. There are plenty of map and satellite imagery sites online. Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft all have them. Of course, not all sites offer the same features. Some may offer maps and not satellite images. And the quality of images can vary from service to service. And don't forget that some sites have better images of certain areas. All this is enough to give you a headache. Well, if you're tired of hopping from site to site to find what you need, visit Flash Earth. This site includes maps and images from several other sites. This means you can compare the quality of Google, Microsoft and NASA with the click of your mouse. It's great! www.flashearth.com

SHOW YOUR PHOTOS. Learning to take great photos requires hard work and dedication. You must also be willing to experiment and take risks. Of course, you will also learn a lot by looking at other people's photographs. It doesn't hurt to get input on your work, either. Picli is a site dedicated to photography. You can vote on your favorite photos and offer comments to the people who created them. The photos may inspire you to experiment with your photography. Then, when you're ready, post your photos on Picli. See what other people think about them! www.picli.com doPDF is a free PDF converter for both personal and commercial use. Using doPDF you can create searchable PDF files by selecting the "Print" command from virtually any application. With one click you can convert your Microsoft Excel, Word or PowerPoint documents or your emails and favorite web sites to PDF files. doPDF5.0 installs itself as a virtual printer driver so after a successful installation will appear in your Printers and Faxes list. To create PDF files, you just have to print your documents to the doPDF pdf converter. Open a document (with Microsoft Word, WordPad, NotePad or any other software), choose Print and select doPDF. It will ask you where to save the PDF file and when finished, the PDF file will be automatically opened in your default PDF viewer. www.dopdf.com

FRESH UI is a kind of tweaker's heaven: With it you can change scores of settings in XP, many of which you no doubt never even knew existed. Want to alter most any aspect of the Windows interface? Go ahead. Customize the Start menu? No problem. Change global menu settings, the way applications work, and dozens of network and Internet settings? You can do all those things, and a whole lot more. www.freshdevices.com/

TWEAKNOW REGCLEANER STANDARD. Scan your Registry and root out problems with this tool. The Registry is a scary place; like Dante's underworld, it should have a sign over it reading "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." TweakNow RegCleaner Standard is your virtual Virgil, a guide into the depths of the Registry. It automatically scans your Registry, roots out problems, and shows you what it has found. After you examine the changes and tell the software to do its magic, it cleans out the Registry for you. www.tweaknow.com/

TWEAKVI BASIC. This free tool lets you do almost anything you want to Windows Vista. No question about it: If you want to do some serious Windows Vista tweaking and hacking, you need this utility. Microsoft has gone out of its way to make Vista unfriendly to power users; it's more difficult to tweak than XP is. But this great freebie gives you hundreds of ways to adjust the operating system, tasks that otherwise would be extremely difficult to do. Whether you want to hack the Start menu, put an image on Internet Explorer's toolbar, change how windows animate, optimize your CPU's cache, or do just about anything else, this program has something for you. www.totalidea.com/content/index.html

TWEAK N' TUNE. Well-designed and easy-to-use tweaking tool. This freebie is extremely simple to use and well laid-out for anyone who wants a straightforward approach to tweaking. www.acelogix.com/

OUTLOOK TIP. Did you know that you could send a message in Outlook at a specific date and time? When you create and send the message, Outlook will place it in the Outbox and does not send it until the date and time that you specify. This is definitely useful if you want to pre-compose but are not ready to send it. To send a message at a specific date and time in Outlook 2002:

MEDIAMONKEY. Not happy with Windows Media Player or your current media player, or are you just looking for an alternative? Then give the free MediaMonkey a try. It's an excellent tool for playing media, organizing your media library, and ripping and burning music. It'll play pretty much every music file that's out there, will synchronize with your iPod and MP3 player, and includes a tag editor. It will also automatically find album art for the file you're currently playing as well.

MediaMonkey organizes all your music in multiple ways, including by artist, title, album, genre, year, rating and so on. Unlike Windows Media Player, it loads fast. Fans of Internet radio will like this program as well; it automatically connects you to the Shoutcast and Icecast online radio directories, and play any stations you want. www.mediamonkey.com/

FILEMON. Is your PC acting flakey? This tool can help you find out what's causing the problems. FileMon gives you a real-time view of every running program - and lets you know what it's doing. The tool records and timestamps the actions of each open application - say, opening other files or loading helper programs. Watch for a specific program's behavior just before a system freeze. www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx

ALARM V2.0.1 The simple programs are sometimes the best. Looking at different alarm applications out there, it was hard to find a good one. Here are some more details about Alarm from the developers: "Alarm is a digital alarm clock that you can set to display a message and play a sound or music file (.mp3, .wav or .mid) at a time of your choice.

The alarm message can be displayed in a small pop up window, or in full screen mode which cannot be overlooked. The program offers a configurable snooze timer and customizable LED colors for the time display." As you can see, it makes a great replacement for your desktop alarm clock. You also don't lose any of the form or functionality of your old reliable clock alarm. Now the only downside is that this means you are going to have to leave your PC on all night long if you want it to wake you up in the morning. http://bluefive.pair.com/alarm.htm

NOTEPAD SX . Notepad SX is another notepad replacement with a few extra features that the Microsoft team left out of their version. Here is what the developers of the program have to say about it's freeware goodness. "NotePad SX is a notepad replacement text editor that offers a tabbed interface and a variety of text processing functions. You can convert cases, sort lines, generate random text, reverse text, trim lines, remove HTML/XML tags and more. The program also supports text-to-speech synthesis (Microsoft Agent) and offers several interface styles to choose from." There is no re-learning the interface here, it is all pretty straightforward. If you have used any text editor before, you should be able to find yourself at home here. The tabbed interface is nice as well. www.sxsoftware.com/

EASY MADE MEMORIES. Easy Made Memories is a scrapbook program that will turn your photos, videos, and audio clips into professional quality DVDs, complete with your own DVD disk and cover graphics. Over 2000 scraps, die cuts, backgrounds, borders, and audio clips are supplied for free. Import the movies from your digital camera, or narrate your scrapbook with your own voice and music. Keep your precious digital memories safe for decades to come in DVD format. Version 2.1.2 includes a built in voice recorder to add your own voice narration to your DVD scrapbook, and fixes many outstanding issues. www.easymadememories.com/

KEYBREEZE. Keybreeze is a small, command-line toolbar that's only visible when you are using it. You can activate it by pressing a hotkey on your keyboard. Then you can type keywords to open files, folders, and Web sites. Keybreeze comes with over a hundred preset keywords, and you can easily make your own. You can also type commands to search the Internet, look up a word in a dictionary, check the weather, activate the screensaver, create a note, or shut down your computer. Keybreeze commands can be configured to perform more advanced options, such as automating your repetitive computer tasks, inserting custom text into a document, or changing the display settings of a window. In version 2.1 you can now create sticky notes and set reminders. www.boletrice.com/

LOKI FOR FIREFOX. Loki is a location-based search and location-sharing browser toolbar. Leveraging Skyhook's Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) to automatically define a user's exact physical location, this customizable toolbar turns a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop into a 'virtual GPS' device and integrates location into your Internet search and communications. You can customize Loki to find content that you are most interested in and with one click instantly find the nearest jazz club, directions to the best Thai restaurant, find the cheapest gas prices in town, and pinpoint your exact location on a map. You can even share that location with others directly from the toolbar by email or SMS. With version 2, you can implement Loki's positioning system with only a few lines of JavaScript. Enhancing applications and websites with location awareness is now easier than ever. www.loki.com/

GOOGLE SKETCHUP. Have you always wanted to be an architect? Or perhaps you are one? Or do you just want to design something as simple as a backyard deck? Then you'll want to give this freebie from Google a try. It's a 3D modeling program that lets you create three dimensional models of decks, houses, buildings, your own home woodworking projects, and much more. It comes with a full set of sophisticated modeling and design tools, and it includes very good advice for getting started. Unless you've used 3D modeling software before, you'll need the help, because this program can be fairly difficult to use. But follow the interactive help, and you'll go a long way toward getting started. http://sketchup.google.com/

LOWER CASE SWITCHER is a simple, but very useful utility that allows you to correct UPPER and lower case typos, that can occur if you accidentally left the Caps Lock button turned on. All you have to do is press a keyboard hotkey and the selected text, or last typed word will be converted to upper and/or lower case. www.lower-case-switcher.com/

ZIPGENIUS is the absolutely free software for Windowsr that lets you compress files to almost any kind of archive. ZipGenius supports more than 20 compressed archive formats, including CD/DVD-ROM image files in ISO9660 standard. This is the file compression suite you were searching for: it is free and easy to use, plus it supports more than 20 formats of compressed archives, including RAR, ARJ, ACE, CAB, SQX, OpenOffice.org documents and the excellent 7-zip. ZipGenius now can precompress executable files going to be added to a ZIP archive through the UPX compressor. It is one of the best (if not the best) free zip program out there today.

ZipGenius does a good job at trying to pack everything in it can. It is a powerful zip tool that offers support for more than 20 different compression formats, including 7zip, ZIP64, UPX, and many others. It supports drag and drop, five compression levels, full customization, and integration in Windows Explorer. The program also comes with a built in FTP client that allows you to download and upload files from within the software. www.zipgenius.it:80/eng/index.php

EUSING FREE REGISTRY CLEANER. The more software and hardware you install and uninstall, the more full your Registry gets. A great deal of software doesn't clean up after itself, and leaves behind old and obsolete Registry entries, or upon install creates invalid ones. There will be pointers to missing DLLs, listings of no-longer-valid file extensions, invalid paths, invalid ActiveX Controls, and much more. The more your Registry fills with this junk, the slower your PC gets?and the more often you'll have system crashes.

Eusing Free Registry Cleaner helps to fix the problem in a simple, two-step process. Tell it to scan your Registry, and it goes through and identifies common problems and junk. Then tell it to repair the Registry, and it tidies things up. Because changing the Registry can have serious impact on your system, the program lets you first look at the problems it finds, and tell it to only fix some of them. If you get into trouble, the program also lets you revert back to the previous version of the Registry. www.eusing. com/free_registry_cleaner/registry_cleaner.htm

MALICIOUS SOFTWARE REMOVAL TOOL. Even with the appropriate security measures in place, there is always the possibility that an instance of malware can go undetected by your anti-virus software or even disable it. Microsoft designed the Malicious Software Removal Tool for such situations. When the tool runs, it detects and removes any malicious software it finds on your computer.

Although the tool is not necessary if you are running up-to-date anti-virus software, it does provide another layer of protection. The tool is installed with Vista and is available as a free download for Windows XP. You can locate the tool by typing mrt.exe in the Search field on the Start menu.

When the tool runs, you can choose the type of scan to perform. You can perform a Quick, Full or Custom scan. If you choose a Quick scan, the Malicious Software Removal Tool will scan the areas of a computer that are likely to contain malicious software. A Full scan checks the entire system for malware. You should perform a Full scan occasionally but be advised that it can take up to a few hours depending on your system. www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

SPYCATCHER EXPRESS. Antivirus software usually won't protect you against spyware, which is where SpyCatcher Express comes in. This freebie scans your system for spyware, and removes what it finds. Better yet, it offers live protection, just as popular freebies like Ad Aware SE Personal and Spybot Search & Destroy do, so that it stops spyware from infecting your PC in the first place. When you first run it, it does a system scan to check for spyware, and then delete any it finds. After that, you configure it by setting your level of protection, as well as deciding when to do automated scans. SpyCatcher Express will also download new antispyware signatures automatically, so that you always have up-to-date protection. In addition, SpyCatcher Express includes a variety of other unique tools, such as a System Explorer, which offers a detailed list of all the applications running on your system, as well as ActiveX components and an Internet Explorer plug-in. It also lists all the programs that run on startup. www.tenebril.com/consumer/spyware/spycatcher-express.php

A-SQUARED HIJACKFREE. No matter how much antispyware protection you've got on your PC, it's not enough. Spyware is notorious for being able to slip through the cracks of antimalware programs, and you're best off if you have more than one such tool on your PC. That's where this freebie comes in. Use it as a backup to your main antispyware utility, for extra protection. It doesn't offer "live" protection like SpyCatcher Express. Instead, use it to examine your system, to see if it's been infected, and then kill the malware. It's a surprisingly powerful tool, and with far more features than we can cover here. But these are the basics: Run it and click the Online Analysis button; it will then check your system for malware and issue a report online. If it finds any nasties, it will tell you. You can then use the program to delete the malware.

There are also tools for viewing what programs are using your TCP ports, and for examining programs that run on startup. For a free program, it's surprisingly powerful. www.emsisoft.com/en/software/download/

VISTAFIREWALLCONTROL. Microsoft has been touting the new Windows Firewall in Windows Vista, which it says for the first time includes an outbound filter as well as an inbound filter. Outbound filters are important, because if you've been infected with a

Trojan horse or similar software, it makes an outbound connection without your knowledge, letting someone else take control of your PC. Some malware can also turn your PC into a spam-spewing robot, sending out e-mail without your knowledge. Unfortunately, the outbound filter in Windows Vista is, in essence, turned off by default. And as a practical matter, it's impossible to manually configure it to block malware from making outbound connections. That's where the free VistaFirewallControl comes in. Install it, and whenever an application tries to access the Internet, a screen pops up with the application name, the publisher, and similar information, as well its path and file name. You can enable or disable the inbound or outbound connections it tries to make, either permanently or just this one time. If you're not sure if the program is malware or not, go to www.processlibrary.com and do a search for the file name, for details. All in all, VistaFirewallControl is a great way to make sure your PC isn't making unwanted outbound connections. www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/

TOR. Browsing the Web makes your life an open book. Web sites can track your online activities, know what operating system and browser you're running, find out your machine name, uncover the last sites you've visited, examine your history list, delve into your cache, examine your IP address, and use it to learn basic information about you such as your geographic location-and more as well. How to protect yourself?

Use Tor, which protects your anonymity as you surf and use the Internet. With Tor, all your communications (not just Web surfing, but also instant messaging and other applications) are in essence bounced around a giant network of Tor servers called "onion routers," until it's impossible for sites or people to be able to track your activities.

When you download Tor, you get other software that works in concert with it, including Privoxy, a proxy program. All the software is self-configuring, so you won't need to muck around with port settings or the like. Tor runs as a small icon in your system tray. To start Tor, right-click it and choose Start from the menu that appears; to stop it, right-click it and choose Stop. Once it starts, simply use the Internet as you normally would. If you're somewhat paranoid, you can regularly change your

Tor "identity," to make it even harder for anyone to track your travels. Tor also includes a nice bandwidth tool that graphs your bandwidth use. http://tor.eff.org/

WHAT'S RUNNING. So you want to know about every single process and every single service, view every single IP connection, find out the details of every driver-and even then you're still not satisfied? Then you'll love this program. In a simple, tabbed interface, you'll find out all those things, and plenty more as well, such as a list of all the programs that run on startup, and a comprehensive listing of your system hardware and software. The program does more than peer into your system, though. It also lets you take actions, such as stopping and starting processes and services, and halting unwanted programs from running on startup. www.whatsrunning.net/whatsrunning/main.aspx

UNDELETE PLUS. Windows users sometimes get too smug about being able to recover files that they've deleted. After all, there's the Recycle Bin, so why worry about accidentally deleting files? There's bad news for you. First of all, you may have emptied the Recycle Bin. Secondly, if you delete files from within a DOS window, or a network drive, those files aren't sent to the Recycle Bin. Instead, they're deleted directly.

The free Undelete Plus, however, can come to your rescue. Run it, and it scans your system for files that have been deleted, even those removed from the Recycle Bin, or deleted on a network drive or via a DOS window. It lists all the files, and tells you whether it can likely be restored. (In some instances, the delete file has already been overwritten; in that case, you can kiss it sayonara.) Then tell the program to restore your files, and they come back from the dead. www.undelete-plus.com/ ADVANCED WINDOWSCARE. This all-in-one tool combines an antispyware feature, a Registry cleaner, a privacy sweep to delete your surfing traces, a system analysis tool, and more, all combined into one package. It's best suited for advanced users who aren't scared away by delving deeply into their systems. But it's exceedingly simple to use: Launch the program, just choose which feature you want to run, and it then goes about its work. There's too much here to go into detail, but each module is surprisingly full-featured, something you wouldn't expect in an all-in-one tool.

Note that you could get confused when you first start the program. Just be sure to click the Start button at the bottom of the screen. If instead you click any of the links, such as "Computer Type," you're whisked to a page that tells you that the feature is available in the paid version. www.iobit.com/

_SYSTEM INFORMATION FOR WINDOWS. Think you know the innards of your Windows system? Well, think again. Download and run this program, and you'll realize just how little you know. It's probably the most comprehensive free system analyzer you'll find anywhere. It gives you a complete rundown of all your hardware and software, your system setup, your audio and video codecs, your motherboard, your network cards, your system slots-and that's just the beginning. It also includes real-time monitors for things such as network, RAM, and CPU usage.

How much detail does it give? Consider these few bits of data. It will tell you the temperature of your CPU-and if you've got a dual-core processor, it will show you the temperature of each. It'll even tell you the temperature of your hard disk. And it somehow also manages to report on your software license keys as well, including the ones for Windows and subsequently installed software.

Note that this program is significantly different from What's Running. The latter shows the system processes and programs that are currently operating on your PC, but it won't analyze your hardware or peer deep into your system. System Information for Windows, on the other hand, is a system analyzer that shows you information about your hardware and installed software. www.gtopala.com/

PHOTOZIG ALBUMS EXPRESS. If you've got a surfeit of photos, you'll appreciate this freebie, which organizes your pictures, along with short videos and songs, into albums. You'll be able to create multiple albums, organized the way you want, and easily search and browse for photos with tools such as keyword searching and filters. You'll also find photo editing tools built in, such as red-eye fix, resizing and cropping, changing the contrast and brightness, and so on. There's also a full set of tools for sharing photos, including burning them to CD, sharing them on the Web, or easily sending them via e-mail.

One of the program's nicer features is its customizable interface. Select beginner, intermediate, or advanced, and the interface changes. At a beginner level, it's all graphically based; intermediate and advanced offer the ability to browse via a Windows Explorer-like interface, and to see hidden files and folders. www.photozig.com/

CLARIFY THE TEXT ON YOUR SCREEN. This is for everyone who is still running Windows XP (which is most of us). It works best with an LCD monitor, but should help even with an old monitor as well. This procedure adds clarity to the text on your screen.

Do a right-click in a blank area on your desktop, and in the new menu that opens choose Properties. Click the Appearance tab, then click the Effects button. Look for the option that says "Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts" and check that box. In the drop-down menu just below that option, choose "ClearType". Click OK, and click Apply in the remaining window. You will see a noticeable difference in the text clarity.

If your screen already had that display property in place, UNcheck it and click OK and Apply in the remaining window so that you can see the difference it makes. Of course, you will want to set it back to the clearer display again. Pretty big difference!

OPERA 9.21, a free browser, introduces Speed Dial, which improves navigation to your favorite sites. There's also fraud protection, and anti-phishing detection keeps browsing safe and secure. Other unique features include innovative widgets and a strong pop-up blocker. Tabbed browsing and saved sessions further increase browsing efficiency. You can also add your favorite search engines to the search bar and use beautiful skins to personalize your browser. www.opera.com

FREE YOUTUBE UPLOADER. The name of this program says it all - it will upload videos to YouTube for you. Run the program and enter your user name and password, and it logs you into YouTube. Then select your video, and write a title and description, and add tags, and walk through the simple steps of uploading your video, including selecting a category. It does more than just automate the process of uploading your videos, though. YouTube has a limit of 10 minutes or 100 MB per video, so the program includes a simple, easy-to-use video trimmer that lets you trim the video to size before uploading it. www.dvdvideosoft.com/ :

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Copyright 2007. This article is from the July 2007 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/

The Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. has 1,100+ members and was established in 1982. We are members of the Assoc. of PC User Groups (APCUG), the Florida Assoc. of PC Users Groups, Inc., and we are members of the America Online Ambassador Program.

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