Sarasota PC Monitor

Review Chairman's Industry Comments (09/07)

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.

Freebie Faves

Last month we covered my favorite free antivirus apps. As you may be aware, it takes another two products to make your protection solid; a firewall, and an anti-spyware product. This month let’s take a look at the best firewall.

The requirements for a top-notch firewall require it to be easy to use, easy to install, effective in its operation, and offer two-way protection (controlling both what comes in and what goes out of your computer). Two products that meet these requirements hands-down in their free version are Comodo, and Agnitum’s Outpost. Although either will do the job equally well, my recommendation for somewhat greater ease of use is Outpost.

All you need do is download Outpost and let it painlessly install itself. You can pretty much forget it after that and be assured it will be quite effectively on guard to prevent hackers from intruding on your applications. It also obliges by using little of your computer’s resources so that it will not slow down your computer. You won’t even know it’s there while it is extremely effective. Try it. You’ll love it!

Computer Buffet

WHY USE ERASER? Most people have some data that they would rather not share with others - passwords, personal information, classified documents from work, financial records, self-written poems, the list can be continued forever. Perhaps you have saved some of this information on your computer where it is conveniently at your reach, but when the time comes to remove the data from your hard disk, things get a bit more complicated and maintaining your privacy is not as simple as it may have seemed at first.

Your first thought may be that when you ‘delete’ the file, the data is gone. Not quite, when you delete a file, the operating system does not really remove the file from the disk; it only removes the reference of the file from the file system table. The file remains on the disk until another file is created over it, and even after that, it might be possible to recover data by studying the magnetic fields on the disk platter surface. Before the file is overwritten, anyone can easily retrieve it with a disk maintenance or an undelete utility.

There are several problems in secure file removal, mostly caused by the use of write cache, construction of the hard disk and the use of data encoding. These problems have been taken into consideration when Eraser was designed, and because of this intuitive design and a simple user interface, you can safely and easily erase private data from your hard drive. http://eraser.heidi.ie/

Eraser Features:

* It’s free and works with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.

* Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000 can still be used with version 5!

* It works with any drive that works with Windows

* Secure drive erasure methods are supported out of the box

* Erases files, folders and their previous deleted counterparts

* Works with an extremely customizable Scheduler

WHICH VERSION OF WORD ARE YOU RUNNING? As you search for tips on how to use Word, you will notice that many of them are specific to a version of Word. If you are just learning how to use Word, you may not know how to find out what version is installed on your computer. You can look at the splash screen that appears as you start Word. However, sometimes the splash screen only is there for a second or two so if you blink, good chance you will miss it. There is an easier way to find out what version you have. With Word already open, click the Help menu and then About Microsoft Word. The information at the top of the dialog box will tell you what version of Word is installed.

VISTA SERVICES OPTIMIZER. Silently running in the background of your Vista PC are services that you don’t need. These leeches slow your system down and increase your system’s boot time. The free Vista Services Optimizer helps fix the problem, by analyzing your PC, telling you which you can safely turn off, and then turning them off for you. http://smartpcutilities.bravehost.com/servicesoptimizer.html 

DEFRAGGLER. Defraggler defragments your hard drive, and it offers some features that the defragmentation utility included in Windows does not. For example, Defraggler will show you all your fragmented files. You can click one to see where on the disk its various pieces lie, or defragment just that one. It’s free, fast, interesting to watch, and has useful additional features. What’s not to like? www.defraggler.com/  

COMODO VERIFICATIONENGINE. Modern Web browsers normally do a terrific job of security, but freebie Comodo VerificationEngine takes it several steps further. Designed as an anti-phishing add-on for many browsers, VerificationEngine uses basic color codes (green for go, red for stop) to give you the goods on sites you visit. There’s no other notification from the application besides color, so colorblind users may have issues with VerificationEngine, however. www.vengine.com/ 

FASTPICTUREVIEWER is a free, very small, very quick application — so simple that its purpose might not be immediately apparent. As a minimalist picture viewer, the program is optimized to do just one task: browse entire folders of digital photos in the shortest possible amount of time while allowing for quick sharpness checks by instant flipping to 100% view and enabling single-click, fast copy of the keepers to a preset folder and single-keystroke Adobe XMP rating/labeling. That’s about it. While FastPictureViewer can also be used for speed-browsing, rating or labeling an existing picture collection, but it doesn’t offer any image editing, enhancing, or cataloging functions. http://majorgeeks.com/FastPictureViewer_d5926.html 

READPAL READER works with Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, Outlook, and Outlook Express to display text in easy-to-read formats that help people with poor eyesight or learning differences like dyslexia or attention deficit disorder. The tool is also useful to readers who have a hard time reading text on screen. http://readpal.com/ 

KIDZUI is a free child-safe Web browser for kids in kindergarten through eighth grade. Its colorful, easy-to-use interface is well designed, offering access to child-appropriate Web sites, games, photos, and videos. I enlisted my 8-year-old daughter in testing KidZui, and she pronounced it "cool"—the ultimate compliment. www.kidzui.com/ 

XIRRUS WI-FI INSPECTOR. If you’re a frequent user of Wi-Fi hot spots, you’ll find this free software an invaluable tool. Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector finds nearby Wi-Fi networks, gives an extraordinary information about each, manages your Wi-Fi connections, and monitors and reports on network speed and performance. www.xirrus.com/library/wifitools.php 

COMODO EASYVPN. P2P networks are appealing, but the "peers" you find there may be worse than the ones in the jury pool. With this freebie, you can create a secure, encrypted peer-to-peer network with anyone—not everyone—over the Web. Then you can chat and exchange files without fear of snoopers. http://easy-vpn.comodo.com/download.html 

INSERT A ROW OR COLUMN IN EXCEL. Inserting a new row or column in a worksheet is a snap for experienced Excel users. However, it likely isn’t for those who are new to the application. To add a new row or column, select the existing row or column that you want the new one to appear before. From the Insert menu, choose the Columns option or the Rows option, depending on what you want to insert. Excel will add the new column or row into your worksheet. If you like prefer using the keyboard, you can add new columns and rows using keystrokes. Select the appropriate column or row, as you did in the previous steps, and pres CTRL++ (the CTRL key and the plus sign at the same time).

PRINT A CALENDAR. Many of us rely on Outlook or similar programs to manage our schedules. Or, we just use the calendar on our phone. But that doesn’t mean printed calendars are obsolete. It’s handy to keep one by the phone for quick reference. CalendarLabs features a tool to help you print calendars. You can print yearly or monthly calendars. These calendars can be customized. For example, you can add holidays to your yearly calendar. Or, you can add a photo to your calendar. There are a number from which to choose. Alternatively, you can upload your own or use one from the Internet! www.calendarlabs.com/ 

DRIVEIMAGE XML. Image and Backup logical Drives and Partitions. DriveImage XML is an easy to use free and reliable program for imaging and backing up partitions and logical drives.

The program allows you to: Backup logical drives and partitions to image files; Browse these images, view and extract files; Restore these images to the same or a different drive; Copy directly from drive to drive; Schedule automatic backups with your Task Scheduler.

Image creation uses Microsoft’s Volume Shadow Services (VSS), allowing you to create safe "hot images" even from drives currently in use. Images are stored in XML files, allowing you to process them with 3rd party tools. Never again be stuck with a useless backup! Restore images to drives without having to reboot. DriveImage XML runs under Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista only. The program will backup, image and restore drives formatted with FAT 12, 16, 32 and NTFS. www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm 

DISKDIGGER. DiskDigger is more than the usual undelete utility offered gratis as a leader product. It goes "beneath the file system" to recover data on a sector-by-sector basis from hard drives, thumb drives, etc. DiskDigger couldn’t be easier to use. Select a drive, select the types of files to be recovered (jpeg, mp3, documents, etc.) then click Next. http://dmitrybrant.com/diskdigger 

XOBNI is the Outlook plug-in that saves you time finding email conversations, contacts and attachments. After a quick install, you’ll see the new Xobni toolbar appear in Outlook - and suddenly information will become much easier to find. When a new email arrives, the sender’s full communication history appears in the Xobni sidebar, including past conversations, attachments and contact details. Xobni also includes a blazing fast email search tool. Xobni 1.7 starts Outlook 31 percent faster, with the option to have Xobni installed but not start with Outlook.

Profiles now load 42 percent faster and there are more performance controls so users can control how often and how much data Xobni indexes. www.xobni.com/ 

FACEBOOK TOOLBAR. If you’re one of the thousands of Facebook users who find themselves constantly managing your account, this Firefox add-on offers one-click access to Facebook while you browse the Web. http://mashable.com/2007/12/18/fbtoolbar/ 

COMODO FIREWALL PRO has eradicated most of its resource-hogging ways and gives users what they want: a flexible yet simple firewall that’s great for beginners but also provides a smorgasbord of information and plenty of options for advanced users. From the category tabs of Summary, Firewall, Defense +, and Miscellaneous to more specific headings, most security terms come linked to relevant security issues so users can drill down to learn more about how the firewall is performing. Although the app rears its head often when you first fire it up, once it learns your behavior, it becomes virtually unnoticeable. www.comodo.com 

AVIRA ANTIVIR PERSONAL FREE ANTIVIRUS does double duty, protecting against spyware and viruses alike. For users who want backups or want to have their antivirus and antispyware separate, we’ve recommended alternatives, but the trend is to find the two formerly separate features rolled into one program. AntiVir’s scans are flexible, allowing the user to check all hard drives, choose a preloaded scan—for rootkits, for example—or customize. After testing on several machines, no viruses turned up, although several malicious hidden files did rear their heads.

The heuristic scan can be turned on or off completely or partially, with three different intensity levels. The quarantine offers extensive support, too, although the definition file updater can be sluggish. Still, combining effective antimalware and antivirus tools into one is a freeware luxury, and AntiVir has been rated one of the most effective defense tools by third-party testers. www.avira.com 

OPENOFFICE.ORG 3.0 costs absolutely nothing but comes closer than anything else to letting you delete your copy of Microsoft Office (which probably cost you a lot). Even though OpenOffice.org—which is, yes, an application suite, not just a Web site—can’t do everything Office can, it can do a lot, and it has some of its own tricks that even Office can’t manage. Here are a few that may not be obvious, as well as a few ways to make OpenOffice.org less annoying out of the box. www.openoffice.org 

MALWAREBYTES’ ANTI-MALWARE is a surprisingly effective freeware antimalware tool. It’s a relatively speedy malware remover, with the quick scan mode taking about 10 minutes. The heuristics engine proved on multiple computers during empirical testing that it was capable of determining the difference between false positives and dangerous apps.

The app has some nice features rolled in, too. It supports multiple drive scanning, context menu options including a scan-on-demand for individual files, and the FileAssassin option under the More Tools section for removing locked files. The interface is simple, but pleasant-looking and well-organized. Tabs live just below the oversized logo, with few options per tab to keep the clutter to a minimum. The installation process was fast enough, but interestingly offered up the well-kept change log and an instant definition file update. You can pay for an upgrade to some snazzier features, but the free version is a worthwhile, responsive malware remover. www.malwarebytes.org 

THE SITEADVISOR PLUG-IN FOR FIREFOX AND INTERNET EXPLORER warns you about covert spyware and browser-hijack attempts as you visit a site. It operates as an unobtrusive signal in your browser’s interface, turning green if the site is safe, yellow if it’s suspect, and red if it senses threats. The same system applies to search results, inserting a colored icon next to each link. Clicking on one provides threat diagnostics, including links to suspect sites, spam counts, and dangerous downloads. In our tests, SiteAdvisor turned out accurate and reliable results, and though it doesn’t have a wide array of features, we urge all users to try this extension. www.siteadvisor.com 

TRUECRYPT. The ultimate freeware encryption program, TrueCrypt is loaded with powerful features that those concerned with protecting their data from thievery should want—and have. It offers 11 algorithms for encrypting your private files in a password-protected volume. You can store your encrypted data in files (containers) or partitions (devices). TrueCrypt works hard to offer powerful data protection, recommending complex passwords, explaining the benefits of hidden volumes, and erasing telltale signs of the encryption process, including mouse movements and keystrokes. Though the interface may not be immediately intuitive, its powerful, on-the-fly encryption for no cost still earns the freeware security tool a top rating. www.truecrypt.org 

PYSOLFC is a tremendous collection of Solitaire games, going well beyond the usual mix. In addition to traditional card games, there are Mah-Jongg tile matching games and Asian Hanfuda games. Within each category, there are subcategories, and sub-subcategories—for example, under French games, you may choose "Fan Type", and under "Fan Type", the specific game Cloverleaf. And it’s all free. http://pysolfc.sourceforge.net/ 

BALL IN A LABYRINTH. Remember that labyrinth tabletop game back in the 70s? You maneuvered a steel ball through a wooden labyrinth by tilting the surface. Now you can recreate the experience on your PC with this fun little game. www.novelgames.com/ 

SHAPE COLLAGE. Shape Collage takes your digital photos and creates an artistic collage from them. Just drag a set of photos into the Shape Collage window and specify the shape of the collage that you want to make. Shape Collage is easy to use and the results are so cool that you’ll probably get addicted (as I did) to making lots of collages just to see how they turn out. www.shapecollage.com/ 

VIRTUALPHOTOGRAPHER. For those digital photographers who long for film-like styling, grain, and effects, VirtualPhotographer is a simple, yet satisfying program. VirtualPhotographer is a free plug-in filter for 24-bit photo imaging programs such as Photoshop or PaintShopPro, but it works on 24-bit RGB images only. Download and installation are easy. Once installed, it appears among your other filters and can be initiated from within the program to work on the active image. Options are limited, but straightforward, and give nice quality results. If you’ve ever worked in a film darkroom, you’ll recognize the terms and effects for film-like grain, duotones, toning, brightness, contrast and so forth.

Virtual Photographer is not an end-all, be-all filter. But as far as it goes, Virtual Photographer does a rather nice job, and is a good first step in imaging that may give you just what you want without having to go further. Given that this little program is free and could possibly be the answer for small edits, it’s certainly worth adding to even a professional system. www.optikvervelabs.com/ 

FILESEEK helps locate a particular file, or information within a file, from within the ever-growing heap of data sitting on your hard drive. This free tool could provide fast and focused searches in the hands of someone comfortable with techie techniques like regular expressions and wildcards. In its search results, FileSeek reports the filename, full path, and whether the result is based on finding a match based on the file’s name or on information within the file. www.binaryfortress.com/fileseek/ 

THE K-LITE VIDEO CONVERSION PACK will allow you to convert video files into various formats. It even allows creation of your own DVDs with custom menus. It supports almost every type of video file as input. It can do lots of things: cut, remix, convert, etc. It contains its own decoders and encoders for all common audio and video formats, so it does not need any codecs. http://majorgeeks.com/K-Lite_Video_Conversion_Pack_d5768.html 

TOWEB FREE EDITION. Between simplistic "Personal Home Page" tools and full content management suites like Joomla, lies ToWeb Free Edition. This useful program serves those who want more than pictures of their cat but don’t have the time or inclination to learn CSS and muck about with configuration files and editing raw DHTML. ToWeb guides you through everything from selecting a topic for your Web page to uploading it to a host (you will need to provide a hosting service). www.lauyan.com/en/tw-home/index.html 

XMLFOX XML EDITOR. XML is a powerful and flexible way to encode data, but designing XML schema (the rules by which data is encoded) is often difficult. Verifying that your XML documents conform to the schema can be difficult, as well. XMLFox XML Editor is a nice freeware program that greatly simplifies these tasks. In addition to this, XMLFox has the basic features one expects from an editor. XMLFox lacks a lot of high-end, complex, features found in some editors, such as macros, regular expression parsing, and so on—but it’s quick, clean, and easy to use. http://www.xmlfox.com/ 

SUMO stands for Software Update Monitor.Thanks to SUMo you’ll be able to keep your PC up-to-date by using the most recent version of your favorite software! Unlike build-in auto update features, SUMo tells you if updates are available before you need to use your software. http://majorgeeks.com/SUMo_d5824.html 

BELARC ADVISOR. Get to know your PC intimately. A great tool to help you get familiar with your PC’s insides, Belarc Advisor will scan your system in seconds and load up a detailed profile, right in your Web browser, which makes printing, cutting, and pasting the information easy. The front page tells you what hardware you’ve got under the hood, including the model numbers and details of your motherboard and drives. It’ll even tell you the basics of what RAM you’re running and whether you have free slots to install more. Other pages notify you if you’ve missed a Microsoft Update, or if your virus protection is out of date. http://www.belarc.com/  IsMyLcdOK Root out stuck pixels IsMyLcdOK is a tiny (just 8.43K) executable that will help you discover any dead pixels on your LCD screen. From the main screen, you’ll see a list of commands that displays solid screens of color. Cycle through them all, and look closely for any small dots that stand out as either black or a color other than what the rest of your screen is currently displaying. If you find dead or stuck pixels soon enough after purchasing your screen, you can take it back to the store where you purchased it for a quick exchange. www.belarc.com/ 

SPEEDFAN. Check your cooling components. If your computer keeps crashing when doing labor-intensive tasks like playing 3D games, your system could be overheating and in need of a new CPU or video-card cooler. (Or you might just need to open your PC and clean out the dust.) The best way to find out for sure is to run SpeedFan, which will display the system temperatures from your internal sensors. Overclockers use SpeedFan to monitor voltage and fan speeds, but it’s also useful as a quick way to see if your PC is running a little too hot. http://majorgeeks.com/download337.html 

SYSTEM SPEC organizes all your system info. It launches its own tabbed window with labeled icons like CPU, Network, and Software. It isn’t flashy, but it’s fast, and finding information about your hardware or software couldn’t be much simpler. We especially like System Spec’s ability to print a full spec sheet or export the info to HTML. System Spec is a simple executable, making it a good diagnostic tool to keep on a flash drive if you’re the sort of person who frequently gets asked to troubleshoot other people’s PCs. www.alexnolan.net/software/sysspec.htm 

3DMARK06 BASIC EDITION Test your machine’s gaming prowess This 3D benchmarking software will put your video card through a workout while running in the guise of a pretty game demo. Don’t be surprised if your machine slows way down on some tests, as this software is designed to test the limits of beefy gaming rigs. When the test is complete, you can compare your scores against those of others who have used the software and decide if it’s really time to upgrade your CPU. www.afterdawn.com/software/desktop_software/other_tools/3dmark.cfm

WINDIRSTAT. Visualize your files If you’re running out of storage space and considering adding a new hard drive, run WinDirStat first. It will scan your drives and give you a revealing, colorful mosaic layout of all your files, so you can see what’s taking up all that space. Maybe you have a few old backups you forgot about or home movies you’ve already burned to DVD. This program is a great way to recover drive space long occupied by unnecessary files.

After a few minutes poking around with WinDirStat, if you don’t find anything you’re willing to delete, it’s probably time to take the plunge and buy another hard drive. http://windirstat.info/

DRIVEWAY MANAGER 1. Share large files with friends. Most e-mail services have file-size upload limits for attachments, which can be a real pain if you’re trying to send a video or a zipped folder of vacation photos to a friend or family member. Driveway Manager is a plug-in for the excellent Driveway.com, which makes uploading large files (up to 500MB) as easy as right-clicking what you want to upload and selecting Create Driveway Link. The app will even automatically zip entire folders into one convenient file before uploading. You’ll get a link to the uploaded file that you can then send to anyone you want to share the file with. Just be sure you tell your friends to grab the files fast because the links expire after 30 days. www.software.techrepublic.com.com/abstract.aspxdocid=788441 

DOUBLE VISION. This unique browser lets you watch your favorite videos while you work. With such a superb performance and intuitive user interface, it’s hard to believe that it’s free. When you first install Double Vision, it requires that you read a very brief tutorial. There, you’ll learn how to navigate the browser, and use the available shortcuts to hide and adjust the video display’s transparency. Basically, all you have to do is use the program’s search engine to find your favorite video site. Once you’ve found a video, click the Go button on the user interface, and the video instantly becomes transparent and positions itself behind whatever you’re working on at the moment. Aside from using the hot keys, a slide bar on the video display window lets you adjust the transparency. You can also adjust the screen size. Regardless of whether you are working on a text document or browsing the Web, the video plays in the background while you go about your business. Of note, if you use the hot-key combo to hide the video, the sound does not go away, only the video.

Along with the tutorial, the program also offers help in the form of FAQs. Double Vision is extremely easy to use and is a great tool for letting you watch videos without skipping a beat. www.godoublevision.com/ 

SMART DEFRAG keeps your PC humming–for free. One of the simplest ways to make sure your PC runs as efficiently as possible is to defragment your hard disk, and Smart Defrag is a great way to do it. As with the defragment utility built into Windows, this freebie analyzes your hard disk, shows you the results, and then lets you decide whether to defragment. But it also offers extras as well, such as several levels of defragmentation, including whether to merely defragment your hard disk, or also move files around for optimum placement.

There’s also a simple-to-use scheduler, so that you can schedule your defragments at regular intervals. You can also customize the defragmentation in many ways, such as not defragging when your PC is on battery power. One particularly nice feature is Auto Defrag, which defragments your hard disk only when you computer is idle, so that you don’t interrupt or slow down any work. You can also customize Auto Defrag by telling it to pause when your system exceeds a certain percentage of resource usage, for example. Note that by default, this program installs the Yahoo Toolbar, so if you don’t want it installed, uncheck the box when you install the program. www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html 

CUTE PDF WRITER. Portable Document Format (PDF) is the de facto standard for the secure and reliable distribution and exchange of electronic documents and forms around the world. CutePDF Writer (formerly CutePDF Printer) is the free version of commercial PDF creation software.

CutePDF Writer installs itself as a "printer subsystem." This enables virtually any Windows applications (must be able to print) to create professional quality PDF documents with just a push of a button. Free for personal and commercial use! No watermarks! No popup Web ads! http://majorgeeks.com/CutePDF_Writer_d5409.html  :

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Copyright 2009. This article is from the July 2009 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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