Review Chairman's Industry Comments (10/01)
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.
WINDOWS 7 SECURITY SOFTWARE. If you’re running
Windows XP you probably have invested in some security software—
antivirus, antispyware, personal firewall, etc. Because of changes that
Microsoft has made to protect the operating system kernel, those Windows
XP-era security programs will most likely not work in Windows 7.
The good news is that the Windows 7 firewall is
significantly better than the Windows XP firewall, and Microsoft
provides adequate security protection for free with Windows Defender and
the recently released Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus program.
You may still want to explore alternatives and install more robust
protection, but these tools should provide sufficient protection for the
time being without costing you any money.
PREDATOR is a program that can lock-down and protect
your PC using a USB flash drive as a key.
www.montpellier-informatique.com
SMILLAENLARGER. If you’ve ever tried to work with
small images, like those generated by camera phones, you know how
frustrating it can be to turn them into something printable. Most image
editors just can’t seem to manage it. SmillaEnlarger can help: The
program takes even tiny icon-sized bitmap files and turns them into
usable full-size images.
http://imageenlarger.sourceforge.net/
TRUECRYPT. When you encrypt files on your hard disk,
not only do you want to scramble the files, but sometimes you want to
prevent others from discovering that the files even exist, a
sleight-of-hand known as steganography. Not only does Truecrypt use
strong encryption when it creates encrypted volumes, but it also creates
hidden volumes that are indistinguishable from random data.
www.truecrypt.org/
WHAT IS SETPOWER? SetPower harnesses your computer’s
existing power management capabilities. SetPower allows you to specify
when your computer may fall asleep and when it must be awake. Why is
this important to do? Because when you control your computer’s wake and
sleep cycle, you can reduce your power consumption — and reduce your
enery bills, too. SetPower is good for you, and the environment.
Consider this: most people do one of two things:
1. they leave their computer on all the time, sucking
energy and wasting money
2. they use the built-in Windows power feature,
resulting in a computer that falls asleep at inopportune times SetPower,
on the other hand, lets you leverage your computer’s existing power
management capabilities so that you can save energy and money, while
also ensuring that your computer is ready to go when you need it. Using
SetPower can save you as much as $10/month, or $120/year when compared
to leaving your computer on all the time. That’s just for one computer!
Help the environment as well as your wallet.
www.setpowersoftware.com/
CONVERT ANY MEASUREMENT IMAGINABLE. Some things are
easy to convert. How many cups are in a quart? How many feet are in a
mile? Some are harder. One dollar is worth how many rubles? An acre can
be divided into how many square feet? There are times when you need to
convert between two measurements. Most of us are handy with a few,
especially if you cook. But converting between units of currency, energy
and speed aren’t easy. And there are many more.
Converber is the ultimate free conversion tool. It
features all standard units of measurements. These are recognizable all
over the world. But it also has nonstandard, even archaic, unit types.
And you can quickly convert between any of them. The unit list is
extensive. Thankfully, you can pull out a list of favorites for quick
reference. You can also order them by various categories. You may not
know what a Molad or Hipparchic cycle is. (I certainly don’t.) But you
can convert them to your heart’s content.
www.xyntec.com
PAGLO ROGUESCANNER. Anyone with a network has reason
to be concerned about intruders. It’s especially a problem for wireless
networks, because someone can be across the street from your house, or
in the parking lot of your business, and hop onto your network
undetected. The free Paglo RogueScanner identifies potential rogues.
http://paglo.com/opensource/
INSSIDER. If you have a wireless network, you know
the true meaning of frustration. You probably have dead spots where your
wireless network doesn’t have a strong enough signal. In an apartment or
an office in a shared building, you have problems with competing
networks. Trying to troubleshoot wireless networking can be nearly
impossible. That’s where InSSIDer comes in.
www.metageek.net/products/inssider
PC WIZARD. Get detailed information about your PC.
Do you know exactly what is inside your computer? What kind of video
card are you running? Can you tell if you have the latest drivers
installed? Don’t worry. Few people have this information on the tip of
their tongue. But knowing how to get it can be useful. Maybe you’re
upgrading components in a desktop computer. Perhaps you’re installing
new drivers to improve performance. Or you could be troubleshooting some
indecipherable problem. All of this requires detailed information about
what is going on inside.
PC Wizard provides a free rundown of every piece of
hardware you use. It can also monitor the use of these components. And
it dives into details like model numbers, driver versions and more. You
can even run various benchmarks. These will measure your PC’s
performance.
This program is really intended for advanced users. If
you like reworking your PC’s guts, it can be a lifesaver. But anyone who
is curious should try it out. You can’t accidentally mess anything up.
And who knows, you might find something interesting. (Be careful when
installing PC Wizard. It comes bundled with the Ask.com toolbar. To
avoid it, simply uncheck the related boxes during installation.)
www.cpuid.com
QTTABBAR is a add-in for Windows Explorer that adds
tabs and several other features to the Explorer interface. With it,
you’ll be able to quickly switch between folders by simply clicking a
tab, as well as being able to perform some basic functions with new
icons across the top of Explorer.
http://qttabbar.wikidot.com/
SAFEKEYS is a small program that helps to defeat
keyloggers on insecure computer terminals. Neo’s SafeKeys is perfect for
travel — use it in internet cafes, the office or even at home as
protection against stealth keylogging programs that can be installed
without your knowledge.
www.aplin.com.au
ARP (ADD AND REMOVE PROGRAMS) PLUS PLUS is an
advanced version of the Add and Remove Programs in Windows. It will
allow you to uninstall programs which cannot be removed from (or may not
even appear in) the Windows Add and Remove Programs.
http://users.csc.calpoly.edu
QUICKPASTE is a simple program that extends the
capability of the Windows clipboard. Anyone who has done a lot of "cut
and paste" work has wished that it were possible to store multiple
strings in the clipboard. QuickPaste simulates this behavior by allowing
you to store up to nine strings that can be placed into the clipboard
with a click of the mouse.
http://users.csc.calpoly.edu/~bfriesen/software/quickpaste.shtml
REGISTRY WIZARD is a powerful program that allows
you to backup your Windows registry. Every version of Windows has a
registry or "database" that stores all the information about your system
such as hardware, software, personal settings, etc. If your registry
becomes corrupt you can lose everything. Historically the only way to
backup your registry was during a tape backup of your system. However,
most people don’t have a tape drive and therefore cannot make a backup
of their registry. With Registry Wizard you can make a backup to
directory on your hard drive. In the event that your registry becomes
corrupt, Registry Wizard can restore your original registry.
Use To backup your computer’s registry enter the
directory where you want to store your backup and select "Backup." It is
a good idea to make a backup at least once every month. Registry Wizard
allows you to make multiple backups by entering a different path. In the
event you need to restore your registry, start Registry Wizard and
select "Restore Registry." Enter the path to the backup on your system
and click "Restore." After you reboot your machine your registry will be
restored.
http://users.csc.calpoly.edu/~bfriesen/software/regwiz.shtml
OFFLINE MAPS is an application that provides its
users the ability to download tiles from Google Maps and OpenStreetMap.
Developers can create layers on top of Google maps to visualize objects.
www.offlinemaps.codeplex.com
IDLEBACKUP is a backup solution for Windows that
allows you to backup files such as photos, mp3s or other sensitive data.
Idlebackup can make a backup to hard-disk, USB drive or network — and
even a compressed to a Zip file.
http://idlebackup.nl
COMMANDER. In the beginning, there was the Command
Line. Then came all kinds of replacement programs. One of the best was
Norton Commander. Thus we come to Commander, which is, basically, Norton
Commander for Windows. Whether or not this is a good thing is up to you.
http://meesoft.logicnet.dk/
OMEGA CE BETA. Omega CE helps get rid of files from
malware infections that might hide or protect themselves from normal
deletion. The program doesn’t run from within Windows. Instead, you burn
it to a CD and then boot the infected PC from that CD. Omega then sifts
through all the files on the hard drive(s) and displays them in an
Explorer-like interface. In the hands of an expert the tool could prove
useful. http://blacklistsoft.com/omega.php
WINDOWS 7 NEW CALCULATOR. Windows 7 has improved the
Calculator application by adding additional functionalities not seen in
previous versions of Windows. The Calculator in Windows Vista includes
two modes: Standard and Scientific. In addition to these two modes,
Windows 7 introduces the Programmer and Statistics modes. Just use the
Mode drop-down menu within the Calculator application to switch between
modes.
You will also notice changes to the calculator interface
which is divided into three areas: Calculation history, Current
calculation and Special calculation. Furthermore, one of the most useful
changes is the addition of a conversion utility which lets you convert
values from one unit of measure to another. Measurement units available
include angle, temperature, area, energy, volume, weight, time,
pressure, etc.
Finally, the Windows 7 Calculator includes various
templates for calculating mileage , lease and mortgage estimation,
making it much more useful for everyday use.
MOUSEEXTENDER. Operating System: Windows Vista.
MouseExtender is one of the handiest launchers I’ve seen yet. Once
installed, a click of your mouse’s middle button opens the MouseExtender
window wherever your cursor happens to be. Then just click the program
icon or folder you want. Once you get accustomed to middle-clicking your
way to your favorite programs and folders, you’ll wonder how you got
along without MouseExtender.
http://me.codeplex.com/
WIZMOUSE. WizMouse has a single function—if you
hover your mouse over an inactive window, and use the mouse scroll
wheel, it will scroll that window while keeping it inactive. This can be
a boon for anyone copying text manually from an inactive window to an
active one, or who needs to see data in one window while reading or
working in another. It even scrolls applications that don’t offer
mousewheel support.
http://antibodysoftware.com/web/software/software/wizmouse
CREATE A SYSTEM REPAIR DISC IN WINDOWS 7. A handy
feature of Windows 7 is the ability to create a bootable System Repair
Disc that you can use when Windows will not start correctly. The disk
loads the Windows Recovery Environment that includes some recovery tools
and the command prompt. If Windows 7 will not start correctly, you can
use the operating system CD/DVD to start the Windows Recovery
Environment. However, if you do not have the CD/DVD, you can create your
own recovery disk. To create a System Repair Disc in Windows 7:
1. Click Start, All Programs, Maintenance, and Create a
System Repair Disc.
2. Insert a CD/DVD into your drive and click Create
Disc.
Windows 7 proceeds with creating a System Repair Disc.
A HANDY HEALTH REFERENCE. It’s important to
understand your medications. You need to know side effects and dosages.
It is also essential to understand drug and food interactions. There are
a number of places to get this information. But few are as trusted as
the Physician’s Desk Reference. This is the guide that doctors use.
Unfortunately, the PDR isn’t very accessible. You can probably find it
at the library. But you may need a medical dictionary to understand it!
Well, the publisher has a site for laypeople. PDRhealth provides
information about prescription medications. You’ll also find information
on over-the-counter medications, herbals and supplements. They can also
cause side effects and interactions. In addition, PDRhealth has
information about diseases and conditions. Clinical trials are
discussed. And the Interactive Tools section will help you evaluate
treatments. This site is valuable for anyone with health questions. But
be sure to discuss any concerns with your doctor.
www.pdrhealth.com
DIAGRAM DESIGNER. Operating System: Windows
98,Windows 2000,Windows Me,Windows XP,Windows Vista, Windows 7. You’re
doing a PowerPoint presentation and you need to show a flowchart or
other simple vector graphics-based design, or you want to show a line
graph using a math formula. Enter Diagram Designer, which, through a
drag-and-drop interface, allows you to easily create charts.
http://meesoft.logicnet.dk/
YOUTUBE DOWNLOADER+ is a powerful and easy to use
application. that will help you to download your favorite videos from
YouTube. The program offers a unique feature that makes it possible to
extract video files names from the YouTube website. The application is
platform-independent and runs in Windows, Linux and MacOS. The YouTube
Downloader is distributed with a bonus application by the same author.
http://freeyoutubedownloader.net/
FENCES does exactly what it says: It fences off
parts of your desktop and devotes them to certain things, such as
applications, Web links, folders, recent items, files and documents, and
more. That way, instead of having to search through your disorganized
desktop for an item, you just go to the appropriate fenced area and find
it immediately there.
www.stardock.com/products/fences/
FREESNAP (64-BIT VERSION). If you want more control
over the details in your life, you’ll get a kick out of FreeSnap. This
memory resident app controls and resizes windows using keyboard
shortcuts, letting you "snap" the window to any corner or screen edge.
This version of FreeSnap is for 64-bit PCs running a 64-bit OS.
http://blueonionsoftware.com/FreeSnap.aspx
SIMPLIFY BULK E-MAIL SENDING. If you regularly send
out e-mail messages to large groups, you need a good e-mail list
management program. Outlook, Thunderbird and other desktop programs just
won’t cut it. Rather, you need a powerful program that is capable of
sending numerous messages without breaking a sweat. Dada Mail is one
such program. It runs on a server, so you’ll need access to one. If you
have a Web site, you can use your host’s server.
With Dada Mail, you can send announcement-only messages
free, or you can use it for discussion lists. It also handles
opt-in/opt-out requests. But the features are too great to list. Before
you start installing Dada Mail, read the instructions carefully. Make
sure you can handle it before you get started.
www.mojo.skazat.com
SIDEREAL CLOCK is a tiny free application that
allows users to keep track of local mean sidereal time. Users can enter
their time zone or have the clock detect it automatically, and users can
also enter their longitude. But that’s it. The clock is small, about 1
inch by 2 inches, and displays sidereal time in hours, minutes, and
seconds. An online Help file gives a brief description of each of the
clock’s features. Users access the program’s settings by right-clicking
on the clock’s face, and it may seem at first that the program contains
several other features, including the ability to display universal time
and use a calculator and alarms. However, attempting to access these
features results in a message encouraging users to upgrade to the
commercial version of the program. If you truly need a sidereal clock
and nothing more, this program is fine.
http://download.cnet.com/windows/radio-sky-publishing/3260-20_4-72111.html?tag=mncol
FREE MEDICAL DICTIONARY is a searchable glossary of
medical terms from almost all specialties and fields of medicine,
including general medical, pharmaceuticals, health-care equipment,
health conditions, medical devices, and medical abbreviations. Some
features include a built-in spelling checker, free updates, easy
installation, and easy uninstallation. Also, Free Medical Dictionary
does not cause any pop-ups or contain any spyware. It’s perfect for
doctors, researchers, medical students, medical transcriptionists,
nursing students, and anyone else with medical questions or a need for
precise medical information. Free-Medical-Dictionary.com
EASEUS PARTITION MASTER 4.0.1 HOME EDITION is an
excellent partition management freeware. With its help, you can extend
system partition, have better disk space management, settle low disk
space problem! The most attractive feature is it can resize/move
partition without destroying data. This free partition software works
perfectly with hardware RAID and Windows 2000/XP/Vista Operating
Systems. It not only provides convenient user-interface to simplify your
job but also enables you to configure and manage partitions of hard
drive. Safely copy dynamic volume to basic disk with resizing this basic
disk and extend NTFS system partition without reboot are available now.
In addition, Disk & Partition copy is designed for protecting your data.
http://download.cnet.com/windows/chengdu-yiwo-tech-development/326020_410044738.html?tag=mncol
MICROSOFT SECURITY ESSENTIALS provides real-time
protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and
other malicious software. Microsoft Security Essentials is a free
download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and
always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the
latest technology. It’s easy to tell if your PC is secure — when you’re
green, you’re good. It’s that simple. Microsoft Security Essentials runs
quietly and efficiently in the background so that you are free to use
your Windows-based PC the way you want—without interruptions or long
computer wait times.
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
SAFEHOUSE EXPLORER USB DISK ENCRYPTION. Operating
System: Windows 2000,Windows XP,Windows Vista,Windows Server 2003.
SafeHouse Explorer can secure your data on all media, protecting it from
unwanted prying eyes. SafeHouse installs its own Explorer on any USB
drive or media you indicate. The folders you create in SafeHouse
Explorer are password-protected and use 256-bit Twofish encryption.
www.safehouseencryption.com/
ASTROBURN LITE. So you’ve got a bunch of files on
your hard disk, and you want to burn them to a CD. You can stick in a
blank CD and trust to Window’s built-in file burning utility to do it,
or you can get a program to help you. If your burning needs are either
infrequent, or simply very straightforward, Astroburn Lite will do the
job with simplicity. It also burns to Blu-ray Disc, a feature lacking in
many other free programs.
www.astroburn.com/
POP PEEPER. Access all of your e-mail accounts in
one place. Many people have multiple e-mail accounts. Maybe you use a
desktop program to check your main address. There could be a Webmail
account for friends or newsletters. And there might be a third for
contests and freebies. Checking them all is a pain. Multiple accounts
can be handy. But that’s true only if checking them is simpler.
Otherwise you might even abandon rarely checked accounts. Luckily, there
is an easier way. POP Peeper can access an unlimited number of accounts
free. These include POP, IMAP and Webmail accounts. You can check mail
and send messages from any one of them. Switching to POP Peeper is easy.
You can even import accounts from other desktop e-mail programs. Then,
you’ll get handy audio and visual notifications when new messages
arrive. www.poppeeper.com
BENUBIRD PDF. Benubird PDF takes all of the
documents scattered over your hard disk (you tell it which folders to
search in) and then it copies all of them to a single directory, gives
them unique names (so your 500 copies of "readme.txt" become
0001_readme.txt, 0002_readme.txt, and so on), and allows you to sort and
search them by file properties such as author, creation date, subject,
and so on. www.debenu.com/
COMPUTER VIRUS TUTORIAL is an informative tutorial
on computer viruses that explains what a computer virus is, a history of
computer viruses, discussion of protection from viruses, and mentions
some of the characteristics of a virus hoax.
www.cknow.com
SPYWARE BLASTER. Along with firewall and antivirus
programs, anti-spyware is a security must-have. Spyware is a
particularly unpredictable type of threat. It can trigger pop-ups or
cause your computer to slow to a crawl. Even worse, spyware can work in
the background without noticeable symptoms. You should use a few
anti-spyware programs to ensure that each possible threat is detected.
SpywareBlaster is a free, effective anti-spyware tool. Unlike most
anti-spyware programs, it does not scan the hard drive for spyware. Its
strategy instead is to prevent modifications of your files and settings.
For example, it can block browser toolbars from installing themselves.
SpywareBlaster can be used to prevent changes to Windows’ HOSTS file. It
also has a System Snapshot feature similar to Windows’ System Restore.
SpywareBlaster will report any changes to your system since the last
snapshot.
www.javacoolsoftware.com
CROSSLOOP. CrossLoop is a program that allows you to
connect to remote PCs over a network (such as the Internet). It allows
you to share the screen and control the mouse and keyboard — all is as
if you are working side by side at the same PC. This is especially
convenient when you need to show a friend how to use a PC but can’t
explain it over the phone.
www.crossloop.com
ARTWEAVER. An image-editing alternative to
Photoshop. Getting into photo editing is a little like falling down the
rabbit hole. Everything is fairly simple at the outset. But the deeper
you go, the more complicated things become. And that’s a good thing.
Powerful image-editing tools are great. But for many people price
quickly becomes a problem. The more complex image-editing tools can be
expensive. Photoshop is the de facto standard. But the latest version
costs $700. Artweaver attempts to fix this problem. It has many of the
features of Photoshop. It supports layers, various brush styles and
more. It even supports image files in the Photoshop file format.
The program comes in free and paid versions. The paid
version has additional features that make it even more like Photoshop.
Be sure to click the link to download the free version.
www.artweaver.de
COMODO INTERNET SECURITY (CIS) is a free,
multi-layered security application that keeps hackers out of your PC.
Built from the ground up with your security in mind, CIS offers 360
degrees of protection by combining powerful antivirus support, an
enterprise class packet filtering firewall, and an advanced host
intrusion prevention system called Defense+. Unlike the stripped down
versions of commercial software that other software vendors offer for
free, this is the full, completely functional version of the product.
www.comodo.com
FREENET. Large swaths of the world are subject to
censorship, or else track their citizens’ use of the Internet. Free
program Freenet lets you anonymously browse the Web, share files, chat
on forums, and more—no matter where you are. Download and run the
software, and you become part of a decentralized P2P network that uses
encryption and other tools to keep you hidden and anonymous.
http://freenetproject.org/
YOONO DESKTOP. One of many apps that mash together
all of your social networking updates into one, Yoono Desktop stands out
in a few important ways. It doesn’t require any other installation (such
as Adobe Air); it works on its own. Another big advantage Yoono has is
that it’s not just the union of Twitter and Facebook, but also includes
support for MySpace and a whole host of IM clients. Download and
installation are simple. www.yoono.com/
PHOTOJAY. Put your photos front and center. You
probably have a bunch of photos stored on your computer. When was the
last time you actually looked through them? They might as well be in a
cardboard box in the attic. Your photos are filled with great memories.
Why not look at them all the time? Well, they’re buried in your photos
folder. Getting to them just isn’t as easy as it should be. Free
PhotoJoy aims to dust off those precious memories. It makes your photos
a fun part of using your computer. It features custom wallpapers,
screensavers and desktop widgets. All of them use your photos. Each
element automatically rotates through your photos. Whenever you see your
desktop or screensaver, you’ll see something new. This is a great way to
put those old photos to work.
www.photojoy.com :
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Copyright 2010. This article is from the January 2010 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
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