101 Freebiess   Efficiency & Customization   File Oriented Tools   Graphic Utilities   Index of Listings

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File Oriented Tools
 

Open Office is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite: it is an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute. To help build the community, join us.

Open Office Base, Open Office Calc, and Open Office Writer, look and feel just like their Microsoft and Lotus counterparts. The icons and menu have a very similar look and will only take a few minutes to get used to. You can save your files in many of the industry standard formats. To take full advantage of the suite, you’ll need an add-on called JAVA from Sun Micro Systems.

 

tinySpell (totally free - no adware/spyware/nagware/etc.)

Checks spelling in any Windows application
Checks spelling on-the-fly (alerts if the last typed    word was misspelled)
Checks spelling of text that is copied to the clipboard
Allows you to specify tinySpell disabled or enabled applications (new in v1.6)
Optionally beeps on error (beep sound can be easily set to any wav file)
Opens replacements list with a simple mouse click or a hot-key
Optionally copies the selected replacement word to the clipboard
Optionally inserts the selected replacement word into the document
Allows you to add words to the dictionary
Easy Enable/Disable
Uses little system resources
 

Remind Me Please 2 - From Space Jock

Remind-Me-Please is a freeware reminder program which will give you advance warning of upcoming events, appointments, TV programs, movies, birthdays and so on. Enter one-off or repeating events: daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and specials like 'Every two weeks from 1/1/2005' or 'Third Sunday of each month.

Use this program to be reminded yourself of  bills. Set it up so my phone bill repeats every 2 months and gives me 7 days of warnings before it falls due. Same with utility bills, car registration, insurance, etc. Once it's set up properly it'll give you a splash screen listing all upcoming events whenever you reboot your computer, followed by a splash screen for items due NOW.  It will show the due NOW events after midnight if you leave your pc on.

Word Processor with spellchecker - This easy-to-use interface has a spell checker and lots of advanced document layout features and can save files in Microsoft Word (doc) format...

Read RSS and XML News Feeds: RssReader is a program to read RSS and Atom news feeds. RssReader collect news in the background at user configurable intervals and warn with a little popup in the system tray that there is a new message arrived. You can click the news headline to see a short description of the news and click or open the original news web page in an RssReader browser or default browser window. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a format for syndicating news.

Many news and web log sites support RSS by adding these pictograms as xml or rss to their web pages

RssReader support RSS versions 0.9x, 1.0 and 2.0 and Atom 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3. Running under Windows 98/NT/Me/2000/XP/2003. RssReader is FREEWARE, which means that you can freely copy the original installation package without any modifications and give it away to all of your friends. We don't take any responsibility for any damage to your computer caused by installing or inappropriate use of this program.

 

Download free Adobe® Reader® 8 software to more securely view, print, search, sign, verify, and collaborate on PDF documents, online as well as offline, from your home or office.

Removes Spam from Outlook & Outlook Express: SPAMfighter has partnered up with Microsoft to build the strongest, safest and most effective anti spam tool on the market. So if you use Outlook or Outlook Express and you want to get rid of spam, just install SPAMfighter. And if you use it at home, it's 100% free

Set Computer's Time to Atomic Clock: This program will connect to one of the time servers operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States, and will compare the time of your computer with the time on the servers operated by the NIST. This program will then display the difference between your system and the servers and if greater than 15 seconds, it will offer you the option of adjusting your PC by the displayed amount.

The overall uncertainty in this comparison should be no worse than +/- 5 seconds under all circumstances and will be substantially less than this value in most cases.

This utility is provided free of charge, so please feel free to share it, redistribute it, and use it any way you wish, provided you do not alter the program in any way.

Computer hardware and software analyzer: The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, including Microsoft Hotfixes, and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server.

File Search & News Update Utility: Google Desktop puts information from your files, email, chat logs, and Web history at your fingertips, helping you perform fast, easy searches directly from your Windows Desktop. With a fully configurable sidebar, you also can display constantly updated news, weather, stocks, and other data. Note: Requires Windows XP or Windows 2000 SP 3+

Archive Utility: This is a free archive programs. IZArc stands just above the rest. Even many former WinZip lovers prefer IZArc because of its straightforward interface, ability to handle a wide range of formats, and hassle-free integration with the Windows Explorer shell. Features include creation of self-extracting archives, antivirus integration, customizable toolbar, and color-coded file listings.
 

Allows you to split a large file into smaller files and create a standard .bat file that can be used to reconstruct a copy of the original file.

This file split function is useful for breaking large music, graphic or text files into more usable segments or for breaking a file into segments to fit on multiple diskettes or for emailng puposes.

New version 2.1 supports drag drop and command line call.
 

Backup / Disk Burner: Ahead Software’s Nero is burning done right with an intuitive layout that offers plenty of options for every type of burning task. Be sure to also take advantage of this utility’s BackItUp and Cover Designer features. True, Nero isn’t cheap, but it’s everything you need for burning.
 

HTML Editor: DzSoft's WebPad is an extensible HTML editor with PHP and ASP syntax highlighting. Features one-click preview in built-in browser, HTML Tidy tool from the World Wide Web Consortium to format and cleanup your HTML code and much more. You can add virtually any feature to DzSoft WebPad with the power of conventional HTML and JavaScript.
 

HTML Editor: For you web page creators who don't need a lot of bells & “Nvu” may be right up your alley. In the lower portion of the screen you’ll find tabs very similar to Microsoft’s Front Page. The tab for HTML tags shows you the layout for the web page. For novice users, this is a big help when separating a header from the body of a page. For more advanced designers the source tab will show the page in full HTML code. And of course, preview will show the page in a preview mode so you can check your work. A spell checker is included along with the ability to insert forms, tables, and links. Unlike other free web design software, this program is open source. http://www.nvu.com
 

A collection of HTML tools and information for the budding HTML pro. Collected here are tons of articles and basic layman-language explanations of various aspects of getting started in HTML. Also covered is some advanced information such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and try to simplify the subject and clear away a lot of common myths. -- And believe me there are a lot of common myths out there!
 

A simple but powerful HTML learning tool: It requires no installation so just save it in any folder (ex: c:\html tools\) and then run it once. It will add a shortcut to your desktop to help you find it next time.
 

Powerful HTML-Email obfuscating tool which will transform your email address into a form that cannot be read by spiders. Make sure to add this tool to your HTML toolbox. HTML-Email-Cloaker is the most powerful cloaker I've yet seen anywhere. It combines the four best cloaking techniques together to confuse even the most clever SPAM-spider.
 

Remote desktop control: TightVNC is a free remote control software package derived from the popular VNC software. With TightVNC, you can see the desktop of a remote machine and control it with your local mouse and keyboard, just like you would do it sitting in the front of that computer. TightVNC is:
- free, GPL-licensed, with full source code available;
- useful in remote administration, remote customer support, education, and for many other purposes;
- cross-platform, available for Windows and Unix, compatible with other VNC software;
- well maintained and being actively developed.
 

File Transfer Utility: This free, secure FTP client gives you a fast, easy, reliable way to update and maintain your website via FTP. It also provides a secure method (via SSL, TLS, or SFTP) to upload / download files to and from FTP servers. Check out the list of features and you'll find almost every feature you need, all in a free ftp program. There are no popup ads, advertising or spyware and you're never asked or reminded to register.
 

File Transfer Utility: SmartFTP (File Transfer Protocol) can save you plenty of headaches with a sensible, clutter-free interface and smart transfer features that take advantage of high-speed connections. Browsing through local and remote folders is as simple as perusing Windows Explorer, complete with efficient drag-and-drop ability. SmartFTP also features automatic reconnection and resumption of broken transfers, thorough firewall support, and FXP (File eXchange Protocol) support, which lets you copy files from one FTP server to another.
 

File Management Utility for IE: An Internet Explorer plug-in that adds a convenient explorer bar to search in Favorites. If you are an active web surfer and often use the Favorites, installing DzSoft Favorites Search is absolutely necessary for you.
 

 
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Graphic Utilities
 

Screen Capture Utility: Use MWSnap, a powerful utility that captures anything, including menus, windows, fixed or freely-drawn rectangular portions of the screen, or the entire Desktop. Screen shots can be saved in varying color depths and formats, including BMP (bit map), JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), PNG (Portable Network Graphics), and TIFF (Tagged Image File Format).
 

Photo Manamement Utility: Discover the basics of digital photography with Adobe® Photoshop® Album Starter Edition software, the free software that makes it easier than ever to view, find, fix, and share your photos. It's fast, easy, and best of all — it's free!

Fix common photo flaws — like red eye, color, and brightness — in a single click.

Easily share your memories! Attach photos to e-mail, or send them to mobile phones. Make your own prints, or order prints, photo books, and more online.

Find any photo in a snap with automatic organization that lets you view all of your digital photos in one place using a familiar calendar view.
 

Photo Management Utility: Google’s Picasa takes picture organization to new heights with a scanning process that lets you easily see your pictures, move them, and rename them. Picasa also includes labeling and rating systems that can help you group pictures, plus you can keep single pictures in multiple albums, similar to how Google lets you store email in its Gmail service. This free utility also includes a nice selection of editing tools to give your pictures some basic touch-ups.
 

Video capture/processing utility: This is for 32-bit Windows platforms (95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP), 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.
 

Exif Reader is image file analysis software for Windows. It analyzes and displays the shutter speed, flash condition, focal length, and other image information included in the Exif image format which is supported by almost all the latest digital cameras. Exif image files with an extension of JPG can be treated in the same manner as conventional JPEG files. This software analyzes JPEG files created by digital cameras.  It also analyzes some maker-specific formats such as Maker-note as well.
 

A View & Convert Graphics Utility: XnView features include: The import of about 400 graphic file formats Export about 50 graphic file formats Multipage TIFF, Animated GIF, Animated ICO support Image IPTC, EXIF metadata support EXIF auto rotation support IPTC editing Resize, rotate, crop support Lossless rotate & crop (jpeg) support Adjust brigthness, contrast... Auto levels, contrast Modify number of colors Apply filters (blur, average, emboss, ...) Apply effects (lens, wave, ...) Fullscreen mode Slide show with effects Batch convert, batch rename Create WEB page easily Screen capture Create contact Sheet Create or edit Multi-page file (TIFF, DCX, LDF) TWAIN & WIA support Print support Drag & Drop support Compare image side by side Filmstrip layout 44 languages support And many many other things... No Adware, No Spyware
 

    
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Music & Video Utilities   Network / Security   PC Technical Tools   Toolbars   Top of Page
 
Music and Video Utilities
 

Music and Video (Basic) Real Player:  Get the newest basic player You get all this — FREE: Best video & audio quality ever Plays every major media format LivePause and Perfect Play allows you to control your video streams Transfer your music to over 100 portable devices

Note: Click on FREE Real Player in the top right corner of the realpayer download page...
 

Music and Video: Windows Media Player 10 gives you more music and more choices, and for the first time makes it possible to sync high-quality music, video, and photos to the latest portable devices.
 

Music & Video UltraPlayer handles the playing chores for MP3, WMA, RealAudio, WAV, MIDI, CD Audio, Internet radio, AND video files (Windows Media, AVI, MPEG, Real). It looks and sounds great, it's lightweight and powerful, and it's more handy than a big bucket full of llamas and aliens. "Seriously, this is one of the few Windows Players that has the potential to overthrow Winamp."
 

Peer to Peer file sharing program: BearShare is a leading file sharing program. Intuitive design, millions of users, safety features and quick setup - what more could you ask for? How about Free exclusive BearShare music, help with common questions and Free tools! Come see what everyone is talking about.

BearShare utilizes a completely decentralized peer to peer network, and is the most advanced file sharing application around. Trade any type of file: mp3, video, images, software, etc. It runs on Windows.
 

Peer to Peer file sharing program: iMesh is a peer-to-peer file-sharing program that lets you find, download, share, and publish audio and video files, computer games, images, photos, and just about any document. An ever-growing community of millions of registered users ensures quick location and download of virtually any type of file available on the P2P network.

iMesh 6.0 allows you to explore and experience the power of the iMesh network where you can access millions of songs and a great music community instantaneously. With the power of the iMesh network you can listen to and download songs that are 100% legal. Our service is adware and spyware free and is endorsed by the key players in the Music Industry. With iMesh 6.0 you get: Instant Connections. A powerful Search Engine. Access to a diverse and evolving music community. Great tools to share and experience music including, playlists, unique compilations and great mood music. 100% Legal Downloads. No Advertising, Adware, Spyware. Squeaky clean.
 

Peer to Peer file sharing program: Kazaa uses peer-to-peer technology. This means that individual users connect to each other directly, without need for a central point of management. All you need to do is install Kazaa and it will connect you to other Kazaa users.

Up to 15 'Search More's: You can now ‘Search More’ up to 15 times. This means you can access up to 3,000 results per search. Each ‘Search More’ displays up to an additional 200 search results.

Search Agent: Searching for a file? Get Search Agent on the case to perform repeated searches every 30 minutes over a 24 hour period.

Multiple simultaneous searches: Searching is now much faster and more efficient. Run up to 24 concurrent searches.

Multiple search results tabs: Each search you perform is displayed in a new window. This means that your search results won’t be overwritten by each new search you perform.

‘Quick’ and ‘Advanced’ search tabs: ‘Search’ view allows both quick and advanced searches. Use the advanced search to obtain more accurate results in less time.

Web search: Use Kazaa to search the web.
 

Peer to Peer file sharing program: Shareaza is a peer-to-peer client for Windows that allows you to download any file-type found on several popular P2P networks. Shareaza is FREE & contains NO Spyware or third-party products.
 

Backup Utility: SyncBackSE will give you more power over what you back up and how you do it. Backups are fast and effortless, and aggressive compression keeps your files small and manageable. Single-button recovery gives you ease of mind, as does the utility’s 256-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard). True to the “sync” in its name, SyncBackSE also can keep two computers perfectly synchronized with the same files.
 

File Search Utility: Restoration may not look pretty, but it does a darn good job of scouring hard drives for previously deleted files. This utility lets you search complete drives or search for a complete or partial file name. When you find a deleted file, you can simply copy it to the location of your choice.
 

  
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10 Popular Toolbars
 

Internet Explorer Menu Add-On: The toolbar that started the craze is still a top contender. Google’s bar allows you to access Google features from any Web page, as well as the ability to search within the pages of any site with the Google search engine. This handy toolbar also offers a pop-up blocker, automatic forms filler, spell-check, translator, and an auto-link feature that turns street addresses into links to online maps. In addition, you can integrate the software with the Google Desktop Search that makes it easy to browse your computer and launch applications. A Firefox version is also available.
 

Internet Explorer Menu Add-On: Yahoo!’s toolbar offers a pop-up blocker, as well as an antispyware utility. You’ll find that easy access to Yahoo! Music Engine and other various Yahoo! services, including news and weather, are nice extras. However, an account is required to use many of its features. Yahoo! has released a new version of the toolbar for the popular Firefox browser, but it lacks some of the features of the Internet Explorer model. Yahoo!’s message boards provide welcome support for any software questions.
 

Internet Explorer Menu Add-On: This formidable toolbar boasts an incredible 50 tools. As one might expect from such versatility, however, some of the features are less useful than others. Biorhythm charts and a love calculator might not be at the top of your list, but others, such as Desktop search, dictionary, and a currency converter, are certainly handy. Moreover, the full suite of 20 network and Web tools will fill advanced users with joy. Pop-up blocking, metasearching, and the ability to add new search engines make A-ToolBar an A+ in our book.
 

Internet Explorer Menu Add-On: Slim and simple, Quero keeps the focus on searching instead of offering dozens of confusing and seldom-used tools. And rather than take up valuable Desktop space, Quero replaces the standard address bar of Internet Explorer. Choose from 12 useful search engines while the built-in Flash and pop-up blocker suppress unwanted ads. Quero also provides keyboard shortcuts and find-as-you-type functionality to IE. And for those whose eyesight needs a bit of a boost, the built-in zoom is a welcome relief.
 

Internet Explorer Menu Add-On: This well-designed toolbar sits unobtrusively on your Desktop, allowing you to easily organize, find, and launch programs, utilities, and bookmarks. More than a dozen tabbed categories of shortcuts for applications allow convenient access. Furthermore, the generous allotment of seven sizes of buttons and categories to choose from makes for easy readability. Fully customizable, jet’s drag-and-drop features are ideal for quickly adding and removing buttons and categories. You can dock the toolbar on any side of the screen. If you have a mic, you can even run the program with your voice.
 

Internet Explorer Menu Add-On: The Viewpoint Toolbar provides a unique and timesaving way to surf by allowing you to preview search results with real-time thumbnails and annotated text. You can easily save, search, and share favorites using the same graphic approach. DogEar marking makes it easy to recall and bookmark important sites. Additional features include pop-up blocking and a digital photo manager.
 

Internet Explorer Menu Add-On: Anyone who has ever felt the frustration of a short memory or a dead bookmark will appreciate the thinking behind Furl. This software is a revolutionary approach to finding (and finding again!) stuff on the Web. Furl transforms the Web into your personalized Web by storing a whopping 5GB of your surfed pages on servers that are accessible from any Internet-connected computer. You can make the pages public or keep them private, as well as annotate and search them—making it ideal for students and researchers. Install Furl as a toolbar or in your bookmarks.
 

Internet Explorer Menu Add-On: This excellent search agent is a Web researcher’s dream. Quickly and easily metasearch the Web for images, audio, multimedia, news, auctions and more from the browser toolbar. Don’t have your browser open? No problem. Perform the same search from any application, anytime via the Copernic box in the Windows taskbar. Copernic features specialized categories such as Web, Shopping, Dictionary, and Thesaurus that query multiple search engines at once. You can easily add and manage custom search engines, assign keyboard shortcuts and find info by highlighted keywords in pages.
 

Internet Explorer Menu Add-On: Nobody wants strangers to read the contents of his PC, but what if that stranger were a computer? Would you call that stranger a friend? Well, you might if it were Blinkx. This amazing software uses advanced algorithms to assess the info you’re viewing and then retrieves additional relevant content from Web pages, news articles, video, and more, in addition to files and email already on your PC. You may never need a keyword or complicated search method again.
 

Internet Explorer Menu Add-On: Can’t decide which toolbar to download? Perhaps you want them all—or none! The ToolbarBrowser (www.toolbarbrowser.com) can solve either problem. If you are concerned about limited screen real estate, this free software uses tabbed controls, making it simple to manage multiple toolbars. As if that weren’t enough, this handy tool actually lets you build your own toolbar. Now you can take all of the best features of other toolbars and easily create your own custom program. Best of all, ToolbarBrowser’s Web site offers extensive help, including a tutorial, FAQ, and support forum. Although the software only works with Internet Explorer, you can write toolbars in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), XML (Extensible Markup Language), Java, or even Flash. Perhaps your toolbar will become the next big hit.
 

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Network / Security
 

Virus Protection: The ewido security suite offers real-time protection against Trojans, keyloggers, worms, hijackers, spyware, and dialers with its daily updates, vigorous analysis tools, and heuristic scanning to detect unknown threats. This utility will even scan and clean out the Windows Registry and then scan within archives, and its current threat data-base covers more than 185,000 known threats.
 

Spy-Ware Protection: Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware is a long-standing favorite of security buffs. With its slick interface, regular updates, and efficient scanning, this program almost makes dealing with spyware a joy, particularly when it returns the usual horde of suspects after a scan. In addition to spyware, Ad-Aware can also find and delete privacy-related items such as search terms used in the Google toolbar, documents opened by Microsoft Word, the last download directory used by Internet Explorer, and others.
 

Spy-Ware Protection: While it isn’t nearly as attractive as Ad-Aware, it’s equally effective. Spybot will find entries that Ad-Aware doesn’t, so it’s wise to use both programs (one at a time) each time you scan for spyware. As with other security programs, be sure to regularly update Spybot so that it’s always using the most current spyware definitions. Spybot also includes some immunization features, but you're better off using SpywareBlaster for prevention.
 

Spy-Ware Protection: Spyware Doctor provides three-way spyware protection for your PC through real-time threat blocking, advanced system scanning and immunization against known browser infections. This is one of the many reasons why the award-winning Spyware Doctor has been chosen by millions of users to protect their PCs against spyware, adware, trojans, keyloggers, spybots and other tracking threats.
 

Spy-Ware Protection: Ad-Aware and Spybot are adept at eliminating spyware, but they won’t do much to prevent it from appearing on your computer; in fact, by the time you scan, any installed spyware might already have leaked information to a remote party. SpywareBlaster prevents the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other intrusions, and it can block suspicious cookies via IE and Firefox. One of the most appealing aspects of SpywareBlaster is that it doesn’t hog system resources because it doesn’t even need to be running in the background.
 

Network Port Monitoring: With Active Ports, you can get an immediate look at all open TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) ports on your computer, and you don't need to have a mountain of networking certifications under your belt to understand the data. Active Ports instantly analyzes all connections and lists the process, remote IP address, remote port, and path of the program using the process for each entry.
 

Antivirus Protection:  With an interface that’s a breeze to navigate and a wealth of options for fine-tuning your protection to the way you want it. If you don’t want to fuss over your antivirus protection, this utility lets you select from one of three levels of protection that instantly configures the protection. Kaspersky can detect viruses in more than 700 compressed file formats, and it offers new virus definitions every hour.
 

Anty-Virus - VAST! Home Edition is now free of charge for HOME users for NON-COMMERCIAL use. You can find more information here. If you are not a home user, or you use your computer for profit, the avast! Home Edition is not licensed for such use, and you are asked to use the commercial version
 

Antivirus Protection: One of the most trusted is AVG, which delivers nonobtrusive protection with a resident shield, email scanner, scheduler, update manager, and virus vault. Although you won’t find the breadth of options available in paid antivirus utilities, you’ll get enough to maintain reasonable control over your antivirus environment.
 

Anti-Spyware Protection: AVG Anti-Spyware Free is a free anti-spyware protection tool developed by GRISOFT for home use. We invite you to join the millions of satisfied customers worldwide who have downloaded the software and now enjoy the benefits of AVG Anti-Spyware Free.
Note: Requires Windows 2000 or above
 

Windows Defender is a free program that helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. It features Real-Time Protection, a monitoring system that recommends actions against spyware when it's detected and minimizes interruptions and helps you stay productive. Now with 2 free support incidents for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
 

Firewall Protection: Even if you have a router, a software firewall is a good idea to monitor outgoing connections initiated by other software, including worms and Trojan horses. Some software firewalls are unnecessarily complex, but Sygate Personal Firewall includes default settings that make it amazingly easy to use. If you happen to like software complexity, this firewall does include plenty of intuitive options for creating advanced rules, and the software’s interface displays all running applications, Windows Services, and incoming and outgoing traffic history.
 

Firewall Protection: Solid security foundation for your Internet-connected PC Blocks hackers, spyware, and Trojans from communicating with the Internet Stops intruders from accessing your PC; makes your PC invisible to hackers Provides precise security controls Free ZoneAlarm - Basic PC Firewall protection for the home user. Is this product right for you? Their checklist will help you decide.
 

Blowfish-encrypted utility that stores all of your passwords in one place. To use it, simply enter your safe combination (or password) in the Password Safe welcome window, double-click an entry to copy the password to your Clipboard, and paste it into the appropriate password field. Just don’t forget your safe combination, and make sure you regularly back up your password file.
 

 
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Efficiency & Customization
 

This utility displays all files and folders as boxes that consume the overall storage of a hard drive, giving you a bird’s-eye view of how much space certain programs and files are using in relation to other data.  If you really want to see what’s happening under the hood, use SpaceMonger.

This defrag is a lot quicker, and it provides better feedback during the defrag process than Microsoft's defrag.  Disk fragmentation leads to system slowdowns, PC crashes, slow startups and shutdowns. Auslogics Disk Defrag is designed for fast optimization of modern hard disks. Use it together with Auslogics BoostSpeed to get the top performance out of your expensive hardware. Disk Defrag is absolutely FREE

Defrag Utility: The watered-down version of Diskeeper included with Windows XP is frightfully inefficient, so if you want properly defragged hard drives, you need a third-party utility such as O&O Software’s O&O Defrag, a powerful, easy-to-use defragger that works fast and transparently. The newest version features a one-button defrag, support for notebooks, and a screen saver mode. Aside from the brainless one-button mode, you can choose from five different defrag methods.
 

Boosts Download Speed and Manage Downloaded Files: If you're still using a dial-up Internet connection, you need a download manager to both boost your download speeds and manage downloaded files. FlashGet boasts an increase in downloading speed of up to 500%, and although you might not experience an increase that ridiculously high, you’ll definitely notice a marked improvement. This tool splits files into pieces and downloads them simultaneously to squeeze as much data as possible through your available bandwidth. Management features let you set the software to automatically dial up, hang up, and shut down?all on its own.
 

Safe and stable non-supported tools: These utilities expand on Windows functions to give you more power over your Windows environment, and all of them are stable and safe (even though Microsoft says it won’t provide support for them). The best of the bunch is Tweak UI, which opens the door to a spectacular number of hidden Windows settings. Other winners are the Alt-Tab Replacement and Image Resizer.

Helps you copy, move, and synchronize different directories: With new sources of files coming from every direction (such as digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops), SyncToy can help.
 

RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer: Are you a serious photographer? Now you can organize and work with digital RAW files in Windows Explorer (much as you can with JPEG images). This tool provides thumbnails, previews, printing, and metadata display for RAW images. Download or learn more.
 

Text enhancer: Use ClearType technology to make it easier to read text on your screen, and installs in the Control Panel for easy access.

Create an HTML slide show of your digital pictures, ready to place on your Web site.
 

Drop to DOS from Windows: In Win Explorer open cmd.exe in the selected folder: Adds an "Open Command Window Here" context menu option on file system folders, giving you a quick way to open a command window (cmd.exe) pointing at the selected folder.
 

See Applications and preview page in alt-tab window:  In addition to seeing the icon of the application window you are switching to, you will also see a preview of the page. This helps particularly when multiple sessions of an application are open.
 

Get access to system settings not exposed in XP by default in the user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings, and more.
 

XP Power Calculator: You can graph and evaluate functions as well as perform many different types of conversions.
 

Resize one or many image files with a right-click.

Burn slide shows to CD: You can view images burned to a CD as a slide show: 3The Generator works downlevel on Windows 9x machines as well.
 

Manage up to four desktops from the Windows taskbar with this PowerToy.
 

Magnify part of the screen from the taskbar.
 

Take pictures at specified time intervals from a Webcam connected to your computer and save them to a location that you designate.

Includes 20 of the most popular Widgets, pre-loaded by Yahoo!: Using a system of “widgets,” Konfabulator lets you boost the usefulness of your desktop PC without sacrificing stability. Other desktop UI enhancers tend to be buggy, but Konfabulator features attractive, mostly reliable desktop additions that you can configure depending on your needs. About a thousand widgets are available, providing news feeds, weather, calendars, Web cams, traffic cams, reminder lists, alarms, games, audio players, search tools, conversion tools, and many more. Some widgets are memory-intensive, so if your system is low on RAM, you should limit the number of widgets you use at a time.

System Requirements:

• Windows XP with Service Pack 1 installed or Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 installed, or newer, or Mac OS X 10.3 or newer.

• A connection to the Internet.

• 512 megabytes of RAM is recommended

Defrag Utility: Over time, your Windows Registry grows clogged with unused data that can slow the performance of your computer. EasyCleaner is a compact, fast program that searches for invalid Registry entries and lets you delete any that you choose. But that’s not all; EasyCleaner also removes invalid entries from the Add Or Remove Programs list, searches for duplicate files on your hard drive(s), lets you manage startup programs, and deletes privacy-related items, among other tasks. The watered-down version of Diskeeper included with Windows XP is frightfully inefficient, so if you want properly defragged hard drives, you need a third-party utility such as O&O Software’s O&O Defrag, a powerful, easy-to-use defragger that works fast and transparently. The newest version features a one-button defrag, support for notebooks, and a screen saver mode. Aside from the brainless one-button mode, you can choose from five different defrag methods.
 

Checks Favorites for bad links: Right now, chances are pretty good that your browser’s bookmark file is full of links that point to dead pages. Chances also are pretty good that you don’t feel like testing every single link to see which ones are actually dead. AM-DeadLink will do the dirty work for you by loading all of your saved bookmarks and checking every last one of them to see which work and which don’t. The tool will tell you whether a particular page is OK, if it redirects you to a new page, or if it’s gone altogether. You can then gather the dead pages together and delete them all at once.
 

Permanently deletes files from the Recycle bin:  When you delete files in Windows and empty the Recycle Bin, the files aren’t necessarily gone for good. Instead, Windows simply reallocates the data to another area until it needs that space because doing so is more efficient for the file system than actually deleting it. However, if someone uses recovery software, he can find files you thought you deleted. The Eraser program permanently deletes files quickly and easily by overwriting their data multiple times. You also can use this program to erase free space that could contain files you previously deleted using the aforementioned insecure method.
 

Heavy-duty hard drive cleaning utility. This no-nonsense utility finds all the usual junk, such as temporary Internet files and temporary Windows files, but it also finds rarely used data that’s leftover from program installations, as well as unused logs, memory dumps, and useless program data. Because CCleaner is so powerful, make sure you inspect what it wants to delete before you actually delete it.
 

Diagnostics that gathers information on main devices of your system:  CPU - Name and number. Core stepping and process. Package. Core voltage. Internal and external clocks, clock multiplier. Supported instructions sets. Cache information.
Mainboard - Vendor, model and revision. BIOS model and date. Chipset (northbridge and southbridge) and sensor. Graphic interface.
Memory - Frequency and timings. Module(s) specification using SPD (Serial Presence Detect) : vendor, serial number, timings table.
System - Windows and DirectX version.

Directions for use: Install and Remove CPU-Z does not need to be installed. Just unzip the files in a directory and run the .exe. In order to remove the program, just delete the files, and that's it. The program does not copy any file in any Windows directory, neither writes in the registry.
 

  
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PC Technical Tools
 

Hard Disk Installation

MaxBlast is a one-step, ATA/IDE hard drive installation utility. MaxBlast 4 makes hard drive installations and upgrades hassle-free for novices and professionals alike by automatically identifying, partitioning, and formatting any Maxtor ATA or SATA hard drive, making it data-ready in minutes. MaxBlast 4 replaces all previous versions of MaxBlast and MaxBlast Plus.

Installation software for Seagate hard-disk drives: "Starter Edition" - This DOS-based floppy edition is for installing drives in new system builds. Features: Solves many common installation issues by fast formatting and overcomes many capacity barriers. "Windows Edition" - A 32-bit application for adding a second drive in a system already running a Windows OS. Features: Easy to read and follow graphics. Includes DiscWizard Starter Edition and SeaTools Desktop.
 

DiskManager Samsung Hard DIsk Installation Software: Some old BIOSs have a capacity barrier and does not recognize the high capacity HDD. In that case, the Disk Manager will solve the capacity barrier

Hard Disk Diagnosis

Analyze, Monitor, Optimize, Restore and Find Drivers for Your Hard Drive

Install Your Drive

• Feature Tool - Change various ATA features.

• Power Booster - Control advanced battery life extender power settings.

• Disk Manager

Utilities for analyzing, monitoring and restoring Hitachi HDDs

• Drive Fitness Test

• Feature Tool

• OGT Diagnostic Tool

• SMART Defender

Looking for drivers for Hitachi hard disk drives?

Looking for drivers for Microdrive Digital Media?
 

Maxtor has been acquired by Seagate Technology Read the press release.  Maxtor product support, warranty services, software downloads, open source code, knowledge base and product index is now fully supported through Seagate.  Maxtor Product Support
 

Western Digital Service and Support:

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Western Digital EIDE Hard-drive utility: The Downloadable Data Lifeguard Tools was written specifically for Western Digital EIDE hard drives. Its purpose is to examine the drive and test its functionality. It scans the drive and looks for errors. It even has the ability to correct certain types of errors that it may encounter

SeaTools Hard Drive Utilities for DOS and Windows: SeaTools for DOS has replaced SeaTools Desktop and PowerMax. SeaTools for DOS can test Seagate or Maxtor Parallel ATA (PATA and IDE) and Serial ATA (SATA) interface disc drives. Because the software boots to its own operating system you can test your drive regardless of the OS installed on it.  You can even test a new or completely blank drive.  SeaTools for DOS will instruct the drive to run its built in Drive Self Test (DST) and give either a pass or fail status.  If you are troubleshooting your disc drive and the DST passes, then you have a good drive!

SeaTools for Windows has replaced SeaTools Online and PowerMax. SeaTools for Windows is a comprehensive, easy-to-use diagnostic tool that helps you quickly determine the condition of the disc drive in your external hard drive, desktop or notebook computer. It includes several tests that will examine the physical media on your Seagate or Maxtor disc drive and any other non-Seagate disc drive.
      SeaTools for Windows tests USB, 1394, ATA (PATA/IDE), SATA and SCSI drives. It installs onto your system. SeaTools for Windows is completely data safe.
 

Hard Drives - Support

Samsung hard disk drive statistics lookup

Gateway utility Software Support Docs by product:

48bit LBA Hard Disk Drive Supplement Ver. 1.0 - 7513310
BigFix 2.1.1.3 - A20094-001-002
Gateway System Manager Client 3.2 - A00662-001-001
GWSCAN 5.02 - 7513250
GWSCAN 5.04 - 7513483
GWSCAN 5.07 - 7513666
GWSCAN 5.09 - 7514539
GWSCAN 5.11 - GWSCAN511
GWSCAN 5.12 - GWSCAN512
LANDesk Client Manager V. 6.3 R15 - 7513443
PC Doctor 3.1 for Windows - 9509729
PC Doctor 4.3 for Windows (Build 1.05.008) - 9524201
PC Doctor for Windows - 9506524
PC-Doctor 3.0 for Windows XP - 9514480
PC-Doctor 4 for Windows - 9515212
PC-Doctor 4.1 for Windows - 9520465
PC-Doctor 4.2 for Windows (Build 1.05.004) - 9523280
PC-Doctor DOS - 75114299