Monthly Disk September 2009 |
Monthly Disk September 2009 |
FreewareAnti VirusAvira AntiVir Personal - Ver: 9.0.0.403If you have good e-mail habits - don't open unknown messages, don't run mystery attachments without scanning them, etc. - then the free version of Avira's AntiVir is probably all you need to keep your computer free of viruses. Consistently rated in the top five for effectiveness, AntiVir is also low-profile. That means it spawns only two background services and if there weren't a system tray applet to access the program, you probably wouldn't even know it was running. Despite this, it offers just about every basic AV feature you'll find in the major competition. AntiVir's interface is easy on the eye and easy to use for beginners. Unlike some of its competitors which make it difficult to access advanced settings, it also gives you all these with a simple switch to expert mode. Probably AntiVir's neatest trick is auto-scanning directories as you navigate though them. After I've done a complete system scan, I turn this feature off, but I often turn it on before attaching untested external drives to my test PC. Obviously, you're not going to get every neat feature with the free version of a pay program. Most notably missing in action is an e-mail scanner, though there is rootkit scanning. The 20-Euro premium version of AntiVir adds the e-mail scanner as well as faster updates, anti-spyware features, and a browser add-in that helps guard against malicious Web sites and downloads. It also kills the nag screen you see when you download updates. Although its major free competitor, AVG Anti-Virus Free, may offer one or two more features, Avira AntiVir Personal Edition Free has been consistently rated as better at detecting viruses by AV-Test.org. If you're good about not opening strange attachments, AntiVir is probably a slightly better choice. Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ Vista Hitman Pro - Ver: 3.5.1 Build 66This software can help you find and remove new unknown threats. Hitman Pro does not need to install any third party software. It is a stand alone program which looks for unknown and suspicious files, giving each of them a score using a patent pending technique. Unknown and suspicious files are automatically identified by online identification servers. This means no software on your system. Hitman Pro does not scan your system alphabetically, it scans disk objects in physical order on your disk. This also significantly lowers the stress on your hardware. Furthermore, a lot of analysis tasks are performed concurrently by deploying tasks multi-threaded. And if you own a multi-core processor, this software can efficiently use the extra core in order to increase enumeration speed even more. Hitman Pro doesn't need to scan every file on your system. Why not? We have profiled standard systems so it knows which files are good. Also, Hitman actually focuses on finding objects that don’t behave like good software. Software that does not follow trustworthy guidelines will automatically receive a higher score than software that is uninstallable by the user, identifiable, digitally signed, unencrypted, uncompressed, visible and accessible. The engine also tries to find out where the software came from, how it got on your system and what other people say about it on the internet. That probably sounds common sense or seem impossible to some of you but we are certain you will be astonished on how well the scoring system works. To remove malicious software the developers have also built a special removal engine that is capable of removing the toughest threats. A native NT application is capable of removing resilient threats before Windows starts. And of course, including corresponding references like registry keys and shortcuts. All without the need of updates and signatures. Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista Online Armor Personal Firewall - Ver: 3.5.0.14Online Armor Personal Firewall - easy to use, award winning firewall. Online Armor is a powerful personal firewall, with HIPS and a host of other security features to keep your PC clear of infections and running smoothly. Online Armor is designed to be easy to use for beginners and offers powerful performance.Minimum requirements: Windows XP/ 2003/ Vista Windows 7 & Vista Firewall Control - Ver: 3.0Protects your applications from undesirable network incoming and outgoing activity, controls applications internet access. Allows you to control personal information leakage via controlling application network traffic. Manages and synchronises port forwarding provided by external network connection (firewall/router) box with applications requirements and activity. Features :-
Minimum requirements: Windows Vista/ 7 AudioWavePad - Ver: 4.23WavePad is a full featured professional sound editor for Windows. WavePad will let you edit and make voice and other audio recordings. When editing audio files you can cut, copy and paste parts of recordings and, if required, add effects like echo, amplification and noise reduction. WavePad works as a wav editor or mp3 editor but it also supports a number of other file formats including vox, gsm, real audio, au, aif, flac, ogg and more. WavePad is designed to be a very easy and intuitive to use for audio editing. Within minutes you will be able to open or record a file and edit it. But if you take time to explore the other features you will find many powerful tools for editing audio designed with the professional sound engineer in mind. Here are some key features of "WavePad" :-
Minimum requirements: Windows all BackupBUtil - Ver: 4.6Easily backup and encrypt your most valuable data. BUtil is a reliable, simple and easy-to-use tool designed to be used for creating backups. It also comes with an encryption feature and a password generator. You may also choose to schedule backup jobs. Minimum requirements: Windows all/ Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 O&O DiskImage Express Edition - Ver: 4.0 Build 198O&O DiskImage 4 Express Edition is a free version for uncomplicated data imaging. Many programs rely on numerous settings and backup methods in order to achieve individually optimised backup processes. O&O DiskImage 4 Express is the right solution for users who appreciate straightforward functionality and easy operation. The program boots up with no installation necessary, and images an entire computer with just one click.Restoration is made by simply selecting individual drives. As opposed to file backups, the imaging-technology automatically images all system settings and operating system files. As a result, the system can be restored to its original state whenever required. The technology is taken from the highly acclaimed O&O DiskImage. Image information is generated by O&O DiskImage 4 Express Edition and displayed as image reports. Detailed online help explains terms like image and partition and gives tips on first-time usage. Minimum requirements: Windows all DesktopCapture .NET - Ver: 6.8.3477Multifunctional desktop tool with privacy eraser, screen capture, post it and more. Includes many helpful tools :-
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/ 2003/ Vista/ 7/ .NET Framework 1.1 or later. Desktop Hijack Fix - Ver: 1.2This tool can be used to fix most problems in which your normal background is not displayed. Usually in the backgrounds place there is another image or web site which has hijacked the desktop. This form of hijacking involves reconfiguring your desktop to display something other than your default configuration. This can be caused by a virus / malware or can be that your active desktop may have just encountered an error. You can use Desktop Hijack Fix to restore Microsoft Windows default settings for Active Desktop and remove any changes that had been made. It can also be used to backup your current Active Desktop configuration to be restored later if you choose to not restore Microsoft default settings. During running operations this tool has been designed to alert you if you active desktop settings have been hijacked based off your previous configuration. Desktop Hijack Fix has the ability to scan for and remove policy settings that may have been imposed by malware. When malicious software hijacks your desktop it may put policies in place to keep you from undoing the changes it has made and prevent you from removing the malware itself. This includes preventing access to the display icon in the control panel, task manager, regedit or even the whole control panel. Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ Vista Klipfolio Personal Dashboard - Ver: 5.2Klipfolio Personal Dashboard is the world's smallest and most configurable personal dashboard. It can be used to monitor anything online, such as weather, stocks, Hot mail, news, RSS feeds and even auctions, right on the desktop. With Klipfolio Personal Dashboard, you don't have to give up your desktop to stay on top of what matters to you. And with over 4000 Klips available for download--all small, resizable, customisable and skinnable - you're sure to find exactly what you need to stay ahead of, well, everyone.Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ Vista/ 7 PicPick - Ver: 2.0.1PicPick is an all-in-one software for software developers, graphic designers and home user. It has an intuitive interface and simple, elegant operation. After starting the software, you simply select one of the tool from the PicPick Tools tray icon menu when you want. It features a powerful capture tool, image editor, colour picker, colour palette, pixel ruler, protractor, cross hair, whiteboard and etc. You can use all these tools freely. PicPick is portable ware, so you don't need any installation. Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista Pixeur - Ver: 3.3.0.0Get the Colour, Hex, RGB, and Long value of any pixel on the screen. Pixeur gives you the chance to view the colour, RGB, Hex and Long value of any colour you see. Pixeur will also keep a history of all colours you have selected, so going back is as simple as choosing the colour from the Colour History list. Here are some key features of "Pixeur" :-
Minimum requirements: Windows all PMeter - Ver: 1.03PMeter is a very handy pixel meter. There are plenty of desktop rulers around, but it's hard to find a good one, which is free. PMeter is a simple to use desktop ruler allowing to switch between 3 user configurations easily. For each configuration you can set width and colors individually, choose to add a desktop magnifier to your ruler, and more. PMeter also includes a color picker in case you need to know or work with the color of any pixel visible on your screen. The additional display for mouse cursor coordinates might also be useful for you. Of course PMeter is a portable application you can carry with you on your USB drive, but it can also be installed locally to your hard drive.
Minimum requirements: Windows all Screen Mode Switch - Ver: 2.0.2.1Easy switch between screen modes with the world's best solution for changing screen resolution, define a hot key for each pre defined screen and customise your favourite screen modes to show up in the tray menu. Change resolution also when having no access to the system settings, switch screens directly from the menu or by using hot key combination. Quickly change resolution for your presentation to fit better on projectors, test applications and Web sites in specific screen sizes and much more.Minimum requirements: Windows all Undead Pixel - Ver: 2.2Pixels on LCD monitors can become stuck on a particular colour, no matter what is being displayed. Undead Pixel Can help repair them, using a strobe effect to re-energise them. Place the flashing area over your stuck pixel, and you can leave it to run while you work, until hopefully it comes back to life.The following is from a review by Download.com "It may be imprecisely named, but this skillfully executed freeware can fix stuck LCD pixels on your monitor. UndeadPixel's very basic interface needs no help beyond the minimal dialog information offered. Glance at a few colour bars with start and reset buttons and you're running this tool in seconds. One click of a button and the program displays a series of colours that cover your screen. You can quickly identify where to find the stuck pixels. Step two isn't as easy to implement. You repair the pixels not by flashing the whole screen, but in small 5x5 pixel windows. Precisely placing the windows on your stuck pixels can be difficult. It's too bad the publisher didn't offer the option to set a whole screen colour then place the flashing windows. It's easy to choose the number of stuck pixels you want to fix and how fast to flash the colours, and this program proves to be more precise than similar utilities. The advantage of this utility is you can continue to use your monitor while it runs. The small flashing windows can even be easily set to a single pixel to improve usability. Not every stuck LCD pixel responds to this procedure, but this freeware utility is the easy way to eliminate many pixel problems. UndeadPixel is recommended for any level user." Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista WallPapa - Ver: 1.0.4.2WallPapa is a free lightweight automatic wallpaper changer that changes the wallpaper on windows start up or at time interval of your choice. Features :-
Minimum requirements: Windows all WindowSize - Ver: 2.2A nice tool for web designers and programmers who want to test how a program or web site looks on a screen with a lower resolution. You can change your screen's resolution of course but it is probably more convenient just to resize your program or browser window to the desired width and height. All you have to do is to select the desired size in WindowSize, click on the big button then click on the window you want to resize.Minimum requirements: Windows all Digital ImagingFree Image Converter - Ver: 0.8.0.51Free Image Converter is an easy program which allows you to easily resize image files. Using this program you can convert all photos from your digital camera in just a few clicks and save a lot of space. It's great for uploading photos to the Web or sending photos to friends and family. It's very easy to use and it doesn't take a lot space.Minimum requirements: Windows 98/ 2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista Image Tuner - Ver: 1.1Image Tuner is a free software for batch resizing, converting, watermarking and renaming your digital photos and images from and to JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF and GIF formats. The program will help you to prepare your digital photos to upload and publish them in the Internet or send via e-mail. Features :-
Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ 2003/ 2008/ Vista Disk ToolsDisktective - Ver: 5.0.1With modern day hard drives now larger than ever, it is important that you keep tabs on which files are taking up room, and how much storage space you have left.Point the program towards the hard drive you want to analyse, and Disktective can produce a detailed byte-by-byte breakdown of your files and folders. Click on any of the folders on the left to see a chart of storage space on the right. Minimum requirements: Windows all Partition Wizard Home Edition - Ver: 4.0Partition Wizard Home Edition is a free partition manager designed by MT Solution Ltd. Home users can perform complicated partition operations by using this powerful but free partition manager to manage their hard disk partition such as Resizing partitions, Copying partitions, Create partition, Delete partition, Format partition, Convert partition, Explore partition, Hide partition, Change drive letter, Set active partition and Partition Recovery. Even the inexperienced users will be able to easily manage their partitions. Features :-
Minimum requirements: Windows all SBMAV Disk Cleaner Lite - Ver: 2.91 Build 6010This program is a powerful tool for cleaning cobwebs of useless information clogging your system. SBMAV Disk Cleaner will search for and delete temporary files and directories created by Windows and other programs, as well as search for invalid links to documents that have long since been deleted. The program is very easy to operate for first time users. Minimum requirements: Windows all Pegasus Mail - Ver: 4.51Pegasus Mail is an e-mail client that runs on computers using Microsoft Windows: by client, we mean that it interacts directly with the user, allowing mail to be sent, read, filed, printed and otherwise manipulated through a graphical interface. Pegasus Mail is the best free e-mail program. Probably one of the most feature-rich mail clients available, most users say that they find the program easy to use despite its richness. Small and fast, Pegasus Mail can be left running permanently on the workstation and includes powerful tools to notify the user when new mail arrives. Pegasus Mail can run on single Windows computers, or local area networks - it has special support for Novell NetWare LAN's that allow it to operate intuitively and with almost no maintenance. The program also supports multiple users on a single computer. Versions are available for both 32-bit Windows (Windows 95, 98, NT4 and 2000) and 16-bit Windows (any version of Windows 3.1 or later). Pegasus Mail can act as a complete internal mail system on its own without needing further servers or components: it can send and receive Internet mail on its own using standard protocols (SMTP, IMAP and POP3). By adding our Mercury Mail Transport System as a mail server, you can provide fully-integrated centralized Internet e-mail services and mailing list management for your Pegasus Mail users. Here are some key features of "Pegasus Mail" :-
Minimum requirements: Windows all EntertainmentJobee - Ver: 1.0.0.772Jobee is an application which allows users to listen internet radio stations and to watch internet television. So, for example, Jobee will remember the last radio station you ware listening. It will download automatically changes in RSS feeds and will let you know about this, showing notifications in right bottom corner of your screen. The capabilities of our program, such as different bit rates for radio stations, filtering radio and tv stations by language, ability to manage list of favourites and so on, will be quite useful for most users. Minimum requirements: Windows all GamesGo Ollie - Ver: 0.31Ollie the Oligocheata is a worm on a mission. He's on a mission to bring mouse controlled platforming fun to everyone. A compelling story featuring romance, excitement and fairy duplicity with two game play modes: Story Mode with over 60 individual levels each with three different objectives. Fast and furious action game with unlimited re-playability and high score table. 80 levels to explore and English and Spanish translations.Minimum requirements: Windows all LinCity-NG - Ver: 2.0If you've played SimCity in the past two decades, you are familiar with the core game play elements: You lay out industries, residences, and utilities, you balance economic and educational and social needs, you deal with disasters such as fire, and you try to keep your budget in the black. LinCity-NG, like most freeware games, lacks a bit in the graphics/animation department, but it does offer a number of unique and interesting game play elements. To begin with, tech level is very important. Many items are not available at first, and you must raise the tech level of your city to acquire them. At the beginning, this can be a very slow process, but eventually schools and universities become available. Your city grows from dirt paths to roads and rails, from windmills to coal plants, from simple blacksmith huts to massive industrial complexes. (This is where the relatively low quality of the graphics really hurts, because the variation in images, especially housing, is extremely limited.) Be warned, though - if you are a poor manager, you will start to backslide technologically and lose the ability to place more advanced structures. In addition to the tech element, various industries require resources, created by placing ore and coal mines. This creates a bit of an RTS element, as you must make sure the output from your mines can reach the industries which need them. Food is also important - farms must be placed to feed your growing population. The game tends to be a bit mute on the subject of missing or unavailable resources; you must figure out for yourself why your mills are silent. (The graphical cues for 'active' and 'inactive' buildings are also somewhat muted, requiring a practiced eye to discern.) While LinCity-NG does not have the graphical sophistication or bells and whistles of, say, Sim City 4, it does have the advantage of being free, and it runs on lower-end hardware. It also offers a sufficiently different game play experience that it's worth getting as a game in its own right and not just as a no-cost knock off of a commercial game. It is also open source, a boon to programmers looking to see how complex simulations of this type are put together. Minimum requirements: Windows 98 2000/ XP/ Vista/ Linux Super Mario Bros 3 : Mario Forever - Ver: 4.4Hearkening back to the heyday of Nintendo, this game faithfully reproduces the classic Super Mario Bros. Although Mario Forever's graphics and sound aren't identical to those of the original, they're so close most users familiar with the game won't be able to differentiate. The basic platformer action hasn't changed either. As the feisty little plumber Mario, you traverse different worlds to collect coins while dodging enemies such as malevolent mushrooms and ill-tempered turtles. You won't find an extensive feature set, but you can at least change the keyboard controls or disable the music and sound effects. NOTE : After installation you will be asked if you want to install a toolbar, change your search engine and change your home page. If you do not want these things to happen, please remove the tick from the relevant boxes. Minimum requirements: Windows all Home/OfficeAbiWord - Ver: 2.6.8Tired of paying megabucks for Microsoft Office when all you need is a good, solid word processor? Then you're in luck. If your word processing chores are straightforward, you'll want this freebie. AbiWord features a simple interface; you won't need to spend hours trying to wrangle your way through ribbons or multi-level menus. What you need is right in front of you--simple icons and menus across the top of the page, with no clutter. You'll most likely be surprised by the amount of features this free word processor packs in. For example, AbiWord handles: images; mail merges; and insertion of page numbers, type and time, and other auto text. It has some very nice tools for handling tables. Be aware that there are some drawbacks to the program. It won't handle the newest .docx Office file format, for example. But if you use AbiWord enough, you'll find that it's not just a money-saver, but a time-saver as well, because of its utter simplicity. Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ Vista Calculator for Science Students - Ver: 2.4This is a very useful calculator for science students. The system is designed to quickly carry out calculations and find commonly used reference data. The system contains a scientific calculator that can also calculate molecular mass, and from this main calculator over 60 other calculators, converters and science tools can be called. These include a measurement converter, an angle converter, an area and volume calculator, a triangle calculator, a molar mass calculator, a % and fraction calculator, an event timer and a gas laws calculator.Over 60 equation calculators can also be called to solve for any variable in the equation within the categories of motion, force, gases, area and volume, electricity, waves, light and chemistry. Reference tables can be called for constants, symbols, maths rules, derived quantities, Greek alphabet and Roman numerals, polygons, logic operations, cations and anions, metal reactivity, science prefixes, computer acronyms, frequency ranges etc. Interactive periodic tables can display over 20 properties for each element and a science glossary systems contains over 480 science terms.The system is easy to use and will readily run from a USB. Minimum requirements: Windows all Calorie Balance TrackerIf you are trying to watch your calorie intake it can be hard keeping track of all the figures involved and work out how you could do better. This program is a weight-watcher's assistant, which asks a set of questions about your height, weight and activities, then guides you towards achieving your goals. It calculates how you can progress's from the information you give about your exercise and diet.Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ SP/ 2003/ Vista Date Calculator - Ver: 2.2.30Simple utility to calculate the number of days, weeks, months or years between any 2 dates. Date Calculator is a very handy for seeing how old you are in days, how many weeks till your 50th birthday , how many shopping days until Christmas. Here are some key features of "Date Calculator" :-
Minimum requirements: Windows all Diagram Designer - Ver: 1.21Diagram Designer is a simple, Open Source, vector graphics editor for creating flowcharts and diagrams. Features customisable template object palette, import/export WMF, EMF, BMP, JPEG, PNG, MNG, and PCX images. Simple graph plotter to plot mathematical expressions. Advanced "pocket" calculator with equation solver.Minimum requirements: Windows all KeyBlaze Typing Tutor - Ver: 1.0KeyBlaze is a typing tutor software program designed to assist with learning how to speed type and touch type. The software allows you to start with basic lessons such as Home Keys for index, middle and pinky fingers and practice lessons including poetry, prose and drills. KeyBlaze also features a typing test where the duration can be set to 1, 2, 5 or 10 minutes. This typing lesson software only takes a minute to download and is completely free. We make KeyBlaze free in the hope that you will try some of our other business solutions.Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista/ 7 Weather Pulse - Ver: 2.10 Build 12Weather Pulse is a powerful weather display program for the Internet. Display popular Satellite images from around the globe, share images with your friends and family, stay updated on current and expected weather conditions. Displays the current temperature in your Windows task tray with adjustable colours, border and fonts and much more. Weather Pulse is Free for use, if you enjoy the program, just let us know by dropping by our web site and using our many services and software. Please feel free to suggest anything you'd like to see in future releases, your suggestions will determine the future upgrades and software development. NOTE : IF you get the following message when you try to start the program: Runtime error 216 at 00403D12 (or similar), RIGHT click on the WP program icon, select Properties, select the Compatibility tab. Under Compatibility Mode select Windows > 98/Win. Minimum requirements: Windows all InternetAcoo Browser - Ver: 1.97 Build 928Makes your surfing experience easier, quicker and more comfortable! Acoo Browser is a powerful multi-tabbed Internet browser based on the Internet Explorer engine (IE 5 or greater required). Acoo Browser provides a user-friendly GUI, including tabbed document windows, customisable toolbars and dockable panel groups. Acoo Browser allows user to surf multiple Web sites within one browser window. It also includes many advanced features such as Mouse Gestures, built-in syntax highlighted HTML source viewer, powerful built-in Web page analyser, recoverable Popup Blocker, Ads Filter, ActiveX Filter, script error suppression, Cleaner, external tools, web page zooming, URL Alias, Integrated search engine support, skinned window frame, and much more... Acoo Browser can block annoying pop-ups, banner Ads, flash Ads and other Internet Ad annoyances automatically without interfering your surfing. There is also detailed logging record in Acoo Browser, and you may know the Ads sites killed by Acoo Browser so as to improve your setting. Acoo Browser makes your surfing experience easier, quicker and more comfortable! Here are some key features of "Acoo Browser" :-
Minimum requirements: Windows all FeedBeast - Ver: 1.5FeedBeast delivers most of the expected features for any RSS reader worth its salt. It can import and export RSS feed subscriptions, quickly shift between views that change the display of your feed and article lists depending on your preferences, and display individual items in an IE-based tabbed browsing interface. The application also brings in a few not-so-common extras, starting with an extensive start-up welcome and introduction to the program. There's also a Voice Announcement feature that uses the built-in Microsoft text-to-speech to read your feed titles and summaries, and you can teach it the correct pronunciation for things like 'RSS.' Minimum requirements: Windows XP/ Vista Local Website Archive - Ver: 3.1.0Local Website Archive will offer you a fast and easy way to store website's from your internet browser permanently for future reference. Information on the web often vanishes quickly, sometimes before you even have a chance to make use of it. Let Local Website Archive store the information you're interested in. Seize the information! Local Website Archive is available as a Freeware-Version and a Pro-Version. Companies and educational organizations must register the Pro-Version, Here are some key features of "Local Website Archive" :-
NOTE: During the installation there will be a box giving you the option of installing the free or pro version. Suggest you chose the free version. Minimum requirements: Windows all Network Info - Ver: 1.5If you need to quickly access details of the network adaptors connected to your PC, then this program is the tool for the job. It can be used to determine your computer's current IP address, subnet mask and gateway, and the program can be configured further using the Settings icon in the lower left-hand corner.Minimum requirements: 98/ Me/ 2000/ XP SopCast - Ver: 3.2.2SopCast is a simple, free way to broadcast video and audio or watch the video and listen to radio on the Internet. Adopting P2P(Peer-to-Peer) technology, It is very efficient and easy to use. Lets anyone become a broadcaster without the costs of a powerful server and vast bandwidth. You can build your own TV stations comparable with large commercial sites with minimal resources. With SopCast, you can serve 10,000 online users with a PC and a home broadband connection Here are some key features of "SopCast" :-
Minimum requirements: Windows all Xenu Link Sleuth - Ver: 1.3cXenu's Link Sleuth (TM) checks Web sites for broken links. Link verification is done on "normal" links, images, frames, plug-ins, backgrounds, local image maps, style sheets, scripts and java applets. It displays a continuously updated list of URL's which you can sort by different criteria. A report can be produced at any time.
Minimum requirements: Windows all Multi MediaDVD Identifier - Ver: 5.2.0DVD Identifier retrieves and interprets the pre-recorded information that is present on all DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW and DVD-RAM media. This information contains a variety of parameters such as disc manufacturing information and supported write speeds. Even though this information is usually printed on the packaging, the brand name may differ from the actual manufacturer or sometimes there might not even be any packaging information at all. To Summarise : 'DVD Identifier' offers a reliable method of accurately identifying the disc's REAL manufacturer. Minimum requirements: Windows all Greenfish DataMiner - Ver: 1.1This program recovers lost files from a damaged optical disc (CD or DVD). Use it to rescue your important files from a scratched disc, or an accidentally overwritten RW. The program can heuristically recognise various kinds of files, such as BMP, ICO, CUR, ANI, AVI, CDA, PAL, QCP, RMI, WAV, RIFF, 7Z, BZ2, CAB, GZ, HQX, NRI, RAR, RPM, SIT, SQX, TAR, UHA, ZIP, ZOO, AIFF, AMR, AU, FLAC, MID, MP3, OGG, DOC, XLS, PPT, CHM, MDB, PDF, PSD, PSP, SIB, SQLITE, EXE, DLL, CHR, BGI, CLASS, DCU, ELF, GM6, PPU, TI calculator, RES, TLB, TPU, DCX, EMF, GIF, JPG, PCX, PNG, TIF, WMF, ASF, RA, RM, MOV, MPG, SWF, VOB, LNK, SFK and text files.Minimum requirements: Windows all Winamp - Ver: 5.56Winamp is a free multimedia player made by Nullsoft. It supports numerous audio and video formats. It also plays streamed video and audio content, both live and recorded, authored worldwide. It has an extremely customisable media library, and allows you to rip and burn your favourite music CD's. Winamp has thousands of skins and plug-ins that allow you to change the look-and-feel of the player, as well as add new features. The player also has access to thousands of free songs, videos and online radio stations from SHOUTcast Radio and AOL Radio with XM. NOTE : This program will try to install the Winamp Toolbar amongst other things. If you do not want these to happen, please remove the ticks from the relevant boxes. Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ Vista Cool PDF Reader - Ver: 3.0.0.128Cool PDF Reader is the smallest PDF viewer/reader to view and print PDF files, and convert PDF's to TXT, BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, WMF, EMF, EPS. It is only 655KB to download and doesn't need lengthy installation, just download and run. Here are some key features of "Cool PDF Reader" :-
Minimum requirements: Windows all RegistryLittle Registry Cleaner - Ver: 4.3Little Registry Cleaner is an open source program designed for Windows Registry. Its purpose is to remove obsolete or unwanted items that build up in the registry over time in order to improve the stability and performance of your computer. These items may include un-needed or inaccurate entries left behind by incomplete uninstall routines (known as "Software Rot"), application program errors, and even misapplied registry hacks.Problems also come up when users transfer or delete files without realizing that dozens of Registry entries aim towards the old location. Added advanced tree view to display problems. A details control has been added to display more information on a registry key. Files and Folders can be added to the ignore list. Does not go through obsolete software keys. Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ Vista/ 7 SecurityFree Hide Folder - Ver: 2.3Most everyone has files or folders on their computer that they do not want to share with others. The best way to protect your personal information is to make the folders visible ONLY to you. Free Hide Folder is a free computer security software to hide your private folders. It is very useful to keep your personal data away from others. Others will not know where your personal files exist and they will not be able to accidentally view them. You can hide folders simply with a few mouse clicks. Free Hide Folder is protected by a password that you can change or remove at any time.Features :-
Minimum requirements: Windows 9x/ Me/ NT/ 2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista MyPadlock Password Manager - Ver: 1.0MyPadlock is a simple application which allows users to keep all their passwords secure in one easy location. Keeping your passwords safe has never been more important. As the internet grows and more of our finances and personal information is stored online, so increases the risk that they are vulnerable to hackers. Today, most people have dozens of usernames and passwords to protect their information and access to finances, but we need to become increasingly smart about protecting those usernames and passwords. This impacts our livelihood, our privacy, and our lives. Start protecting your passwords today with password management software like MyPadlock. Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista Zamzom Wireless Network ToolIf you are worried about wireless security this new wireless network tool by Zamzom instantly provides users with information on each and every computer that has access to their wireless networks, including authorised and unauthorised users. It will inform you of all the names, IP addresses and Mac addresses. Zamzom Wireless Network Tool will scan your wireless network in only 10 seconds. It will detect computers even if you don't see them in program neighbourhood and detect computers even if you can't ping them.Minimum requirements: Windows Vista UtilitiesDuplicate Cleaner - Ver: 1.3.2The following is from a review by Download.com :-
Though simple to use, we don't recommend this for novices, because of the potential damage from mistakenly removing needed files. Duplicate Cleaner's interface is all business. Although fairly straightforward, some odd interface choices may throw you, such as requiring you to click Select in order to see the types of available files rather than including those types in the drop-down list already visible. The program gives you three basic options for searching: folder(s), file type(s), and filter criteria. We scanned a single drive (about 12,000 folders), looking for audio files and using the CRC Checksum method for comparison. The scan took just under 6 minutes and found 19 groups of duplicates comprising 43 individual files. You can also search for files with the same file name, size, or date--or any combination thereof--and limit the search to files within a particular size range. Once the application returns a list of results, you then have to decide what to do with the dupes. The application allows you to tick the boxes of the items you want to modify and perform an action-- Delete/Delete the Recycle Bin, Move to Folder, or Create Hardlinks (on NTFS systems only). Duplicate Cleaner can also clean up orphaned files and empty folders if you so desire. A Selection Assistant allows you to select and deselect files en masse using various criteria, such as a file name pattern match or file size. Here is where the user interface may trip up novices or even cautious advanced users: you must first select the files you want to modify, then click a button that says Remove Selected. Files aren't deleted at this stage, however; the program opens a new window giving you the Delete/Move/Create Hardlinks options. In the end, the application tries to be safe: whatever your choice, it will ask you to confirm. If you seem to be doing something odd - such as deleting all files within a group rather than just the ones that are duplicates - the application will again ask you to confirm. The application offers a few safety measures directly accessible from an Options file menu. Items such as Protect C\Windows and C:\Program files, etc., are selected by default. Such files will still show up in a duplicate list, and you will not see this in action until you go through with confirming the deletion of such a file. We would have preferred that protected files didn't show up in the search results at all. Still, we found that, overall, Duplicate Cleaner is an excellent optimisation tool for intermediate to advanced users." Minimum requirements: 98/ Me/ 2000/ XP/ Vista Evernote - Ver: 3.1.0.1212Functional and useful, Evernote goes beyond its architecture and is also interesting. It's a true three-platform play: it works very well, and somewhat differently, on desktop computers, mobile phones, and over the Web. Evernote is a good note-taking application. If you have the Evernote application running on your camera phone, it will automatically upload your snapshots to the Evernote server, creating a useful archive of them. But the killer feature is that it also does OCR on your images so you can find them later by searching for text in them. Use this tool to snap pictures of products you see in stores and want to remember, to grab whiteboards in meetings, and to take pictures of people with name tags at conferences. It's one of those utilities that might just change your life. Everything you do on your phone and on your computer gets synchronised to your Evernote account on the Web. Since it synchronises as soon as you log on, and regularly thereafter, reinstalling the software or losing data because of a crash are nonfatal problems. Do note that the Web-based text editor isn't keystroke compatible with the PC-based editor. It makes switching between the two experiences confusing. Minimum requirements: Windows XP/ Vista FreeCommander - Ver: 2009.02FreeCommander is an easy-to-use alternative to the standard windows file manager. The program helps you with daily work in Windows. Here you can find all the necessary functions to manage your data stock. You can take FreeCommander anywhere - just copy the installation directory on a CD or USB-Stick - and you can even work with this program on a foreign computer.Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ Vista jEdit - Ver: 4.3pre17jEdit is a mature and well-designed programmer´s text editor with 7 years of development behind it. While jEdit beats many expensive development tools for features and ease of use, it is released as free software with full source code, provided under the terms of the GNU General Public License. Features :-
Editors Note: This will run on any operating system that has Sun Java installed, including Macintosh, Linux and Windows. Minimum requirements: Windows all PC Wizard 2009 - Ver: 1.88PC Wizard is a powerful utility designed especially for detection of hardware, but also some more analysis. It's able to identify a large scale of system components and supports the latest technologies and standards. This tool is periodically updated (usually once per month) in order to provide the most accurate results.It is also a utility designed to analyse and benchmark your computer system. It can analyse and benchmark many kinds of hardware, such as CPU performance, Cache performance, RAM performance, Hard Disk performance, CD/DVD-ROM performance, Removable/FLASH Media performance, Video performance, MP3 compression performance. Minimum requirements: Windows all PSPad - Ver: 4.5.4 Build 2356A small yet powerful programmer's editor that features syntax highlighting, HTML previewing and a FTP client. PSPad editor is the universal freeware editor, and is for you if you need to work with plain text - it has a wealth of formatting functions, including a spell checker, create web pages - as web authoring editor PSPad contains many unique tools to save you time, use a good IDE for your compiler - catch and parse compiler output, integrate external help files, compare versions, and much more..... There is no complex install process, the program is ready to work immediately, without requiring customisations. PSPad supports many file types and languages, with syntax highlighting. There are macros, clip files and templates to automate repetitive activities. An integrated HEX Editor, Project support, FTP Client, Macro Recorder, File Search/Replace, Code Explorer, code page conversion, are just some of the many possibilities that PSPad can offer you. Here are some key features of "PSPad" :-
Minimum requirements: Windows all QwikMark - Ver: 0.4QwikMark provides fast and easy benchmarking. Many excellent benchmark tools already exist, but QwikMark is unique because it tests everything on a single screen. As with all benchmarking utilities, hardware performance measurements are a very inexact science, however QwikMark closely matches results from industry standards like CPU-Z, SiSoftware Sandra, and Atto. The download is just a single file, no installer or supporting files are needed.Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista SundryTools XV - Ver: 4.0.0.520SundryTools XV is a freeware all in one organiser, with multiple unique features, including a Gracenote CDDB.
Minimum requirements: Windows all USB Flash Drive Tester - Ver: 1.14Flash card/drive tester allows testing of any removable media including SD, MMC, CF, USB flash pen drives for bad or unstable sectors. Especially useful for testing for fake sizes often seen on low quality USB pen drives.Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista/ 7 WhatInStartup - Ver: 1.11Disable / enable / delete programs that are loaded at Windows startup. WhatInStartup will displays a list of all programs that are loaded automatically when Microsoft Windows starts up. For each application, the following information is displayed: Startup Type (Registry/Startup Folder), Command-Line String, Product Name, File Version, Company Name, Location in the Registry or file system, and more. It allows you to easily disable or delete unwanted programs that runs in your Windows startup. You can use it on your currently running instance of Windows, as well as you can use it on external instance of Windows in another drive. WhatInStartup also supports a special "Permanent Disabling" feature - If a program that you previously disabled added itself again to the startup list of Windows, WhatInStartup will automatically detect the change and disable it again. Minimum requirements: windows 2000 / XP/ 2003/ Vista/ 7 Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor - BetaIn general, if your PC can run Windows Vista, it can run Windows 7. But if you're not running Windows Vista, or are just not sure if your system is ready to run Windows 7, there's a quick way to do a simple check. Just download, install, and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta. You'll get a report telling you if your PC can run Windows 7, and if there are any known compatibility issues. If the issues can be resolved, you'll get suggestions for next steps. For example, it'll let you know if you need an updated software driver. You'll also get advice on how to upgrade to Windows 7. Information about your computer will be sent back to Microsoft; however, no information will be used to identify or contact you. For more information, read our privacy statement. Before you run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor beta, be sure to plug in any USB devices or other devices such as printers, external hard drives, or scanners that are regularly used with the PC you're evaluating. Important: The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta is a pre-release version, and is available in U.S. English only. While we consider this a stable and high-quality beta, it's not the finished product. Minimum requirements: Windows XP/ Vista VideoVirtualDub - Ver: 1.9.4VirtualDub is a video capture/processing utility for 32-bit Windows platforms, licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). It lacks the editing power of a general-purpose editor such as Adobe Premiere, but is streamlined for fast linear operations over video. It has batch-processing capabilities for processing large numbers of files and can be extended with third-party video filters. VirtualDub is mainly geared toward processing AVI files, although it can read (not write) MPEG-1 and also handle sets of BMP images. Main Features :-
Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista |