Software Recommendations

[Mike Ungerman]

Reply to this discussion to post your recommendations for software. Whether it's a program you've purchased, one you want more information on before buying, a link to a free or shareware program, we'd probably like to hear about it.

Remember to reply to the top level discussion rather than replying to a members reply to keep the quoting down. If you do reply to a members reply, edit out their original text, as it's not necessary to quote again and makes for a lot of stuff on the page.

Mike

[Mike Ungerman]

Decision Oven

If you've had computers for as many years as most of us, at one time you probably typed in your programs line by line in BASIC; whether on an Apple, Commodore, IBM or clone. One of the first programs I type in was called DECIDE and built a matrix of options to help you decide whether to do something, buy something, etc. I thought it was pretty slick at the time and miss having it on my computer these days.

So along comes Decision Oven that offers much the same thing with a GUI interface.

Decision Oven is in beta and free for the moment. Check it out at:

http://www.decisionoven.com/

[Mike Ungerman]

Secure Personal Software Inspector

The Secunia PSI is an invaluable tool for you to use when assessing the security patch state of software installed on your system. It constantly monitors your system for insecure software installations, notifies you when an insecure application is installed, and even provides you with detailed instructions for updating the application when available.

It is NOT the purpose of the Secunia PSI to detect whether your system has already been compromised or if local changes, settings, or missing requirements could cause the Secunia PSI to report incorrect results. The Secunia PSI relies on the meta-data of executables and library files. The Secunia PSI does NOT conduct an integrity check of the individual files, rather, it checks whether a specific program is vulnerable according to the reported version numbers and not whether the files have been compromised or replaced by other users or programs.

The Secunia PSI is not a replacement for other security measures such anti-virus or personal firewalls, the Secunia PSI is a great supplement to other security measures such as anti-virus and personal firewalls as it helps preventing exploitation of often overlooked exposures.

Additionally, it is important to understand that the process of identifying insecure software installations on any system involves many different factors and, in rare cases, may result in incorrect detections. Should you encounter such a situation, please send us your feedback and all relevant information at [e-mail].

Requirements

The current list of requirements that must be met for the Secunia PSI to function correctly are the following:

Supported Operating Systems:
* Microsoft Windows XP
* Microsoft Windows 2003
* Microsoft Windows 2000
* Microsoft Windows Vista

Privileges:
* To install the Secunia PSI you will need administrative privileges

Connectivity:
* Access to Secunia servers (encrypted) via SSL (https://psi.secunia.com:443/)
* Access to Microsoft Windows Update servers, see also WUA requirements below

Software Requirements:
* Latest version of Microsoft Windows Update Agent (WUA)

You can determine whether or not you are running the latest WUA by visiting "http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/". If you are able to check your system for missing updates through this tool, your system should function properly with the Secunia PSI.

How does the Secunia PSI work

The Secunia PSI works by examining files on your computer (primarily .exe, .dll, and .ocx files). These files contain non-specific meta information provided by the software vendor only. This data is the same for all users, and originates from the installed programs on your computer - never from their configuration. Please read the privacy statement available through the Secunia PSI application for more details about how information from your computer is used by Secunia.

After examining all the files on your local hard drive(s), the collected data is sent to Secunia's servers, which match the data against the Secunia File Signatures engine to determine the exact applications installed on your system.

This information can then be used to provide you with a detailed report of the missing security related updates for your system.

[Mike Ungerman]

Firefox Preloader

Firefox Preloader is a utility that is designed to load parts of Mozilla Firefox into memory before it is used to improve the its startup time. I find that Firefox loads about 30% quicker with this utility running. I have placed it in my startup programs.

Here's the link: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffpreloader/

[Mike Ungerman]

doPDF

There are a lot of PDF converters out there, but I like this one. It's a simple printer driver that converts whatever you choose to print into a PDF file. It's free, no adware, no nags.

http://www.dopdf.com/download.php

[Mike Ungerman]

Process Lasso

Process Lasso (click here for link) is a unique new technology that will, amongst other things, improve your PC's responsiveness and stability. Windows, by design, allows programs to monopolize your CPU without restraint -- leading to freezes and hangs. Process Lasso's ProBalance technology intelligently adjusts the priority of running programs so that badly behaved programs won't interfere with your ability to use the computer!

In addition, Process Lasso offers capabilities such as default process priorities and affinities, termination of disallowed processes, instance count limits, a system responsiveness graph, logging of processes, and much more!

Once you install Process Lasso, it'll just start working. More advanced users can tweak the configuration, but you needn't touch anything to have it instantly improve your system responsiveness and prevent stalls in high load situations.

For example, I did a check of my system processes and found that the indexing process had a very high priority and was using a lot of cpu resources and memory. Some people recommend disabling the indexing, but I'd like it to run, but at a very low priority so it will run only when I'm not doing anything else. I used Process Lasso's tweeking menu to lower the process, and I don't notice it any more!

Some of the features include:

* Process Lasso Features ProBalance dynamic priority and affinity optimization
* Default process priorities
* Default process CPU affinities
* Foreground boosting
* Limit number of program instances
* Disallow programs from running
* Process logging
* System responsiveness graph
* Stand-alone core engine
* Available in x86-32 and x86-64 builds

Did I say it's free!

[Mike Ungerman]

PIXresizer

PIXresizer is a tool for quickly generating screen-friendly versions of your images with dramatically reduced file sizes. It is a photo-resizing program that enables you to quickly resize one file or a selection of image files for use on the web and in e-mail. The reduced files are saved in a different directory, so your original pictures are not changed.

The program offers several different resizing methods to choose from and can automatically recognize image sizes to calculate the best fit. PIXresizer includes a built-in image viewer and you can also convert between graphics formats: it opens and saves in .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .png, and .tif formats. A great companion for webmasters and digital photographers.

[Mike Ungerman]

Macrium Reflect Free Edition

Macrium Reflect Free Edition. An award winning disk imaging solution for free. A complete disaster recovery solution for your home and office. Protect your personal documents, photos, music and e-mails. Upgrade your hard disk or try new operating systems in the safe knowledge that everything is securely saved in an easily recovered backup file. Macrium Reflect suports backup to local, network and USB drives as well as burning to all DVD formats.

I was looking for an alternative to Acronis True Image, and think this is it. Most of the Acronis features are available in the free edition. You get the incremental backup and some other features if you pay the fee and register the program. However, this version is a true "cold iron" backup and comes with the ability to create two different format boot CD's: Linux and Bart PE.

I installed this on a customer's computer and backed up a 250 gb partition with 30gb of data to a 2.5" portable USB hard drive in about 10 minutes.

[Glenn McLain]

I had/have a need to download some model railroad Flash files. I found Download Helper, a Firefox extension, www.downloadhelper.net which downloaded those and many other files types. To view the downloaded Flash files I found GodLikeMouse as a viewer, glm-flv.sourceforge.net Both worth checking if you have a need for downloading and viewing Flash video off-line.

[Mike Ungerman]

CNET's Download.com has posted their "Windows Starter Kit: Must have PC apps". All are freeware and interesting to at least review to see if you have used it or could use it. There is also a link in the story for security software.

http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-10128190-12.html?tag=contentMai...

[Mike Ungerman]

Revo Uninstaller & Portable Edition

Revo Uninstaller is a great application to assist in removing all traces of a program from your computer. Long ago, I used to use Clean Sweep, but since Norton Utilities dropped it, and Symantec no longer supports it, I've switched to this free application.

Available in both a fully installed utility and a portable application that will run from any USB key, Revo Uninstaller first attempts to execute a program's regular uninstall utility. If successful, it then acts as a registry cleaner searching for all registry entries left over from the uninstall and allowing you to delete them. It will also check for any files left over and allow you to delete them too.

Check it out at: http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html

[Mike Ungerman]

Ad-Aware Plus Anniversary Edition

Ad-Aware is a staple in the anti-spyware/adware industry. Free and full function paid versions are available. Today's offer from Download.com is their special anniversary edition. It too is free, but if you complete an offer from TrialPay.com, a fully functional registered version is available. Many of these offers are the usual come-ons for trial versions of music or movie services (you have to remember to cancel after the trial periods), but several are useful. I needed stamps, so used the Stamps.com offer for photo stamps of Joyce and myself and got the registered copy free. I even checked retailmenot.com and got an additional 10% off.

From Download.com:

Exclusive: Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition Exclusive: Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition

We like this set-up: Ad-Aware turns ten and we get a present. Exclusive to CNET Download.com, Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition is a hugely lighter app with new real-time protection and external drive scanning. Read more:

[Mike Ungerman]

PC Magazine's Best Free Software of 2009

There's no way I can cover all the software that PC Magazine is recommending, so here's the link to their online article. If you download, install and like one of the programs, why not write up a small review of it as a comment to this discussion? We'd all like to see others posting besides Hewie and me.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2338803,00.asp