• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Useful Applications

The Gimp

The Gimp at V2.8 is AWESOME.

It's an open source wonder, that will match many of the "top end" graphics applications.

Get it HERE
 
I highly recommend WinPatrol. It watches for changes to your system files, home page and other locations, then asks if you want to apply the changes. Really, really useful for stopping spyware and other nasties.

RealVNC is a nice little freeware app for remotely connecting to another system, so you can install the server on your home PC and control it from work.

Daemon Tools lets you create virtual disc drives so you can mount CD images. I use it to run games from my hard disk so the original discs don't get scratched.

What about some Firefox extensions? There's some really useful little tools out there like BugMeNot, FlashGot and AdBlock.
 
Can anyone recommend a good registry cleaner program. I hear they can do wonders for speeding up boot times, reducing random crashes etc. Don't know whether this is true, but could be a good next step before I give in and wipe the hard drive and start again.

cheers

Floyd
 
Registry Mechanic. Also, if you're having a lot of trouble, do a good crap cleanup with MS Antispyware (WinXP and 2k only); if it's another system, get both Ad-Aware and Spybot. Never seen a computer yet which didn't have all sorts of nasties lodged in its crevices, so to speak.

Also, you can manually remove itsems from startup: Start > Run ? type in msconfig and hit enter, then go to the Startup tab and uncheck whatever you don't need. Tip: you don't need most of it. ;)
 
Don't use MS Anti-Spyware, it misses a lot of stuff, Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-Aware are infinitely better.
 
floyd23a said:
Can anyone recommend a good registry cleaner program. I hear they can do wonders for speeding up boot times, reducing random crashes etc. Don't know whether this is true, but could be a good next step before I give in and wipe the hard drive and start again.

cheers

Floyd
Click to expand...

http://www.ccleaner.com/
 
Beware. CrapCleaner is NOT a registry cleaning tool. Don't confuse registry cleaning with spyware removal.

There are many dedicated registry cleaning/defragmentation products out there. As an earlier poster mentioned, Registry Mechanic is superb, but also check out System Mechanic. It has a great registry cleaner, a registry defrag on startup option and lots of other great tools.
 
Thanks for the tips folks. :)

I have anti-spyware stuff, but want to specifically use registry cleaning software. I shall try your suggestions.

Many thanks 8)

Floyd
 
Unless you have a problem that you're pretty sure is being caused by a registry entry, you shouldn't need to use a registry cleaner. You're better off cutting down on the number of programs that run in the background and start with Windows.
 
ArthurASCII said:
Beware. CrapCleaner is NOT a registry cleaning tool. Don't confuse registry cleaning with spyware removal.
Click to expand...
ccleaner IS a registry cleaning utility as well as a general temp file removal tool and it is NOT a spyware/adware removal tool.
 
original_fLeebLe said:
ArthurASCII said:
Beware. CrapCleaner is NOT a registry cleaning tool. Don't confuse registry cleaning with spyware removal.
Click to expand...
ccleaner IS a registry cleaning utility as well as a general temp file removal tool and it is NOT a spyware/adware removal tool.
Click to expand...
Yep, thats what it says on the tin.
 
original_fLeebLe said:
ArthurASCII said:
Beware. CrapCleaner is NOT a registry cleaning tool. Don't confuse registry cleaning with spyware removal.
Click to expand...
ccleaner IS a registry cleaning utility as well as a general temp file removal tool and it is NOT a spyware/adware removal tool.
Click to expand...

My humble apologies.

CrapCleaner has indeed mutated to include a dedicated registry cleaning option since I last used it (only a few months ago).

I downloaded the latest version (V123.160) and ran it against the registry on an old laptop. CrapCleaner found 425 "bad" entries in 20 seconds, and marked them all for deletion. I then ran another, dedicated, Registry cleaning tool. It took three minutes and found 85 bad entries. When I compared the results, I found that many of the entries checked for removal by CrapCleaner weren't crap, they were just unused.

I repeat my warning. Beware. If you're not fully conversant with the mysteries of the Windows registry, cough-up a few dollars and purchase a safer alternative.
 
Reviewing my digital pics the other day, I discovered that photos modified by PhotoPlus 8.0 had lost their information on when the original picture was taken, etc, although photos modified by IrfanView (a freeware product) had not.

PP has several ways of saving a picture, but they all have the same fault.
I then tried the image editor supplied with my camera, and surprisingly this has the same fault too!

Now IV is very good at basic stuff like cropping and resizing but lacks some of the more sophisticated tools that PP has. I take a lot of seascapes, so I like to be able to rotate a picture degree by degree so as to level the horizon.

I don't want to fork out for yet another image editor without knowing whether it will preserve all the info in a digital photo. Any thoughts, peeps?
 
rynner said:
Now IV is very good at basic stuff like cropping and resizing but lacks some of the more sophisticated tools that PP has. I take a lot of seascapes, so I like to be able to rotate a picture degree by degree so as to level the horizon.
Click to expand...

AFAIK, The wonderful IrfanView has oodles of plugins. Why not have a look at http://www.irfanview.com/plugins.htm. You might find what you're looking for.
 
Thanks for the ideas. However, I had a low tech idea myself later that doesn't involve downloading or buying anything else:-

whenever I need to use PP on an image, I'll also save a thumbnail size version of it in IV, just for the technical data. That should serve my needs and not be too much hassle!
 
I would take the position that, if you have any sort of connection to the internet, then Antivirus, Antispyware and Firewall software are all of equal importance and usefulness - i.e. essential!

Imagining the increasingly unlikely scenario of a machine or network that never has - or ever will be - connected to the internet, then you'd still need a virus checker to prevent viruses being introduced on removable media.

I guess by that line of reasoning, it could be suggested that a virus checker is "more essential" (yes, I know) than the other two.....?

At present, I'm using the following free products at home - always open to suggestions and dire warnings, though:

Firewall: An old PC running a linux-based dedicated firewall. ZoneAlarm v3.1 served me well when I was connecting to the internet through a Windows PC.

Anti-Spyware:SpyBot Search And Destroy v1.4. I keep hearing good things about the new Microsoft one, in spite of my deep and long-held suspicions about Gates and All His Works. There was a very interesting roundup of the current crop of Anti-Spyware products in the November edition of Personal Computer World. Noticed that Ad-Aware didn't come out of it particularly well.

AntiVirus: AVG Free edition v7.1.

Whatever security product is used, though, it's vitally important to regularly check for and apply updates.

Well that's my 2p worth.

PB
 
Good idea; I have been meaning to get one for a while - hope it's not just snobbery on my part ;).

Windows is shite when it comes to security for a number of reasons but there are certain applications (and games, I admit) I haven't yet managed to do without. That's why I try to do as much as I can with free software on Windows, rather than throwing good money after bad.

It's no great trick to get PCs dual booting into Linux, either, and I've done that with my home machines. Like Mac OS X Linux has, by virtue of its architecture, smaller market share, not being Microsoft etc., fewer problems with viruses and spyware (so far). However that doesn't obviate the need for a firewall, and overall it's best not to be complacent about these things.

PB
 
If you're looking for a good image editor, check out

http://picasa.google.com

It's a free download, and although I haven't fully tried it yet, it does have some very useful and easy to use features. Worth a look.
 
Personally I use a hardware firewall, with an OpenVMS box in the DMZ. Great fun watching all the failed login attempts and other hacks.

Given the poor state of Windows security, Spyware and Virus protection is essential.
 
A great image editor that never expires is Saint Paint.

An unexpiring image editor is hard to come by. U can resize, change coloring, make new brushes, save in a variety of formats whatever compression rate u choose. Its like a simpler photoshop. Get it at download.com.
 
lupinwick wrote:
... with an OpenVMS box in the DMZ.


What are you running it on? Presume it's being used as a web server?

PB
Click to expand...

On an Alpha XP1000 much to my partner's dismay :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top