What Port's are Open on Your PC?

CurrPorts is a great program that lets you see what ports you have open and what their connected to. Currently, I'm running this all the time, mostly because I'm just interested out of my own curiousity rather than any real need. But I do think it is a good idea for everyone to have a tool handy that will let you find out what your PC is connected to. So this is a good tool to keep on hand.

CurrPorts gives you the IP address, tells you if the port is TCP or UDP, gives you the path of the process that is running, and it provides other information that might help you investigate a given process. I highly recommend that everyone keep CurrPorts on hand and run it sometimes, just so you are familiar with everything that you are connected to.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html

Need to Scan an IP?

SuperScan is a product that analyzes an IP addresses and provides detailed information about the connection. This is great if you really want to poke around the inner workings of your network connection. If your fire wall keeps alerting you that your system is continually being 'port scanned' turn around and do the same to them! Most firewalls can provide you with the IP address of the machine that is knocking on your door trying to get in (port scanning you) and that is all you need to do the same to them. You can find out where the machine is located and if it has any open ports... Any time that you run into an IP address that you want more information on, you can use SuperScan to get it.

Usually I like to refer my readers directly to the company that developed the software that I am recommending but the people who wrote SuperScan (Foundstone) were bought by Macafee and I can't find a link to this freeware on their new site. So you can download it from Snapfiles, one of my favorite sites on the web.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/superscan.html

Slay the Unwanted Programs Left on Your Screen

Ykill

I use YKill all the time. If you have a program stuck on your screen and you can’t get rid of it then open up Y-Kill and the “kill window” will allow you to drag a skull onto the intrusive window and it kills it every time without crashing your system. You can use the GUI to bring up a list of the open windows or use ctl+alt+X to bring up the skull, which you can then drag onto the offending window. It closes anything that is open on your desktop, even if it’s not listed as a process or a task in your task manager window. Ykill has helped me avoid many re-boots.

http://www.simtel.net/product.download.mirrors.php?id=57703

After 5 years of loyal use, I switch opinions on graphics programs

When I first started this blog, one of the first products I investigated was Photofilter. I was truly amazed by how robust this graphics software was. I had experience working with Paintshop Pro from a job I held years before and Photofilter did nearly everything that Paintshop Pro did and it did it for free. I am still a big fan of Photofilter but sadly, there will be no more development directed towards the freeware version of that product. They have decided to start charging for the latest version of the product but you can still download the old version of the software for free from the site I will list below.

The good news is that freeware users don't need to take a step down on graphics capabilities because there is an even more powerful graphics freeware product available. Gimp has been around for some time now and when I originally looked at it I thought it was too complex for the average user. The complexity is still an issue but it has become user friendly enough for everyone to look at and become proficient with if they spend an afternoon tinkering with it. GIMP is a very robust environment that offers a multitude of textures, layer controls, and editing tools. Gimp runs on both the UNIX and the Windows platform so we get the benefit of both the resources in the development community but we also get a file structure in the GUI that is a little confusing for a Windows user but don't let that scare you off. It is entirely possible to get good at using GIMP within a day or two and it is deep enough to keep you busy for years before you master everything in GIMP. Therefore, everyone's got to check it out and experiment.



http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html

You'll have to download both the application and the run-time environment and then install both packages. Then you'll be able to do everything from simple photo edits to advanced graphic environments.

If you've looked at Gimp and you'd rather work with something easier then check out photofilter at the link below.

http://photofiltre.free.fr/frames_en.htm

Create your own Pdf files, easily, and free

For some time now you've been able to download freeware that integrates a printer into your windows operating system which allows you to choose 'export to pdf' by switching 'printers'. It's a really great, easy, and wonderful freeware solution to the expensive option of buying the Adobe software to do the job. At first it feels a little like a 'jerry-rigged' solution but after you use it a few times you'll see that it's dependable, easy, and reliable. Normally there it is a great solution and everyone should use it. However there is one problem with a specific area. If you want to scan a documents onto your hard drive and you want to create a single pdf document from the several you've scanned you have to import them into another application to do it. I've been looking for a solution to that problem and I've found one that doesn't work very well so I won't recommend it here but what I do is import the documents into Microsoft Works word processor (I'm sure most word processors will work) and then print from there. However, before you import the documents you should format the page and move all the margins as far back as you can because if you don't do that your document will show up and be about 70% as large as the original. If you do format the page you get about 89% and it is hardly noticeable.

There are several solutions that all work the same way. The best that I have tested is the Cute PDF writer and you can download it for free at the link below. It's a snap to install and after you install it you'll notice that when you go to print a document, it looks like you have a new printer named 'Cute PDF writer'.

http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp

--------

I posted the following comment on 'download squad' and I thought I should back it up by telling you how to create the pdf documents I mention in the comment below.

Sooner or later someone is going to come out with a free fax service and it will be a huge success because the ones that are currently out there don't work very well. I don't understand why some smart people have not seen that opportunity in the market. I've tried to use the fax pay sites that have deals where you can fax a page or two for free but their primary business is a fee based service but I've never had the faxes actually go through. Today users can easily create their own pdf documents on their desktop with freeware so I can't understand why it is so hard for someone to create an outgoing fax service and pay for it with advertising. Faxing is the only existing niche in the market that hasn't benefited from the web2.0 movement (that I know of). I just wanted to point out that the market is there and so is the business opportunity. I wish I had the money, time, and skills needed to go after this juicy slice of the Internet market! Hopefully someone out there will read this, go after the opportunity, and be the next big success story!

I maintain a blog that reviews freeware. I'm continually working to identify a 'best of breed' freeware solution for the Windows NT platform. Check out my blog at:

http://mightyjoesfree.blogspot.com/

Posted at 2:32PM on Aug 10th 2007 by Ethan Dickerson

A Rare Switch in File Management

It is a rare event for me to change the way I interact with my file management system. I used xplorer2 for years and have recommended it on my original post on this subject. You can find the link in my previous posts. I decided to try Free Commander just because I wanted to see if it offered more features in it's freeware version than the freeware version of xplorer2 and I was impressed by how customizable it was. Most of the features in the fee based version of the other file managers are included in the freeware version of Free Commander. As a matter of fact, I don't think they even have a fee based product. Free Commander is a product that you can tinker with and change just about anything you can think of. Try it out and see for yourself!



http://www.freecommander.com/fc_downl_en.htm

Programmer's Notepad - Whatever You're Doing

Programmer's Notepad - is a really nice editor no matter what your programming in. You've got more options than you can shake a stick at. I'm not much of a programmer but I do some html occasionally and I frequently will open a program to make some suttle changes. Code doesn't scare me but I'm not the type that will create something on his own. Like most out there... I'm a code thief, meaning copy, hack, and get it to work for whatever need I have. I'd recommend this program to everyone to have on hand and I'd recommend that you change your system file type pref to bring this up every time you open a .txt doc as well.

http://www.pnotepad.org/download/

The Ultimate Whiteboard - Diagrams, Flow Charts...

I fell in love with Visio at my old job and for a long time I've been looking for a free or open source solution that I could use to generate business diagrams. DIA is the program that is the closest to Visio that I've found. It's great for mapping out network configurations, flow charts, building layouts... it's like a white board with lots of objects that you can use to enhance your drawing. Visio is the industry standard and Microsoft bought them about 10 years ago. I'm not sure how long DIA has been around but I can tell it's been out there long enough to attract a very talented and devoted user base who contribute to the ongoing development. It is a robust solution with a clean and well thought out GUI.

Download DIA

Need To Know What a Software Program Touches When it Runs?

Dependency Walker is a great program to debug problems on your PC. If you get an error message when you are running an application, pull it up in Dependency Walker and you'll see what it is accessing and if it has a problem with any of the stuff it is using to get up and running. It can also be useful for deciding if you are going to delete things off your computer. This is a program that you install and then run only when you want to take a look at something. Therefore, you don't have to worry about resources... It is a handy tool to have at your disposal and I think everyone should keep it around 'just in case'.

http://www.dependencywalker.com/

Clean Up Your Windows Context Menu

Mmm: Is your context menu a mile long? Trouble weeding through all the crud to find the things that you use all the time? This program from Hace will enable you to easily and efficiently edit your context menu and move all the junk under a file heading "rarely used". It is an easy interface that lets you select which entries to leave in your context menu. The name of the product is Mmm. Once you pick what you want to show in your context menu Mmm has to run all the time but it uses almost no cpu or memory and is a process clearly visible in task manager (or process explorer). Therefore, it does assign itself to your "start with Windows" list of programs that run automatically every time you boot up. I have experienced no problems, there is no spyware. Mmm is just an easy, clean, and efficient way to take care of your context menu.


http://www.hace.us-inc.com/

This Handy Tool Will Keep You Running!

Caffe1ne (notice the 1 in place of the i) is one of the handiest little programs I've run into lately. It puts an icon in your system tray that will prevent your screen saver, or system lock, from engaging. Have you ever been watching a video when your screensaver engages? It's a drag!! So this little product solves that problem nicely. Try it out, you won't be disappointed.

http://www.snapfiles.com/opinions/Caffe1ne/Caffe1ne.html

Switching Formats...

I'm going to start posting regularly to this BLOG. I have neglected it for a long time. My initial thought was to make my BLOG more like a website with several headings so if you wanted to see all "utilities", for example, you could just go to that section and see everything. But that takes a lot of the features that are nice out of a BLOG and I've figured out that I can accomplish the same thing by using tags. Therefore, I will now post each piece of freeware that I investigate as a new post. Not to worry... the old entries will always be available.

Although I neglected my BLOG, I did not stop evaluating freeware! So the good news is that I have a bunch of freeware that has been tested and identified as the best stuff on the Internet and I will be making all that information available to my readers.

Thanks for every one's support! I look forward to hearing from you. If you have suggestions or comments please feel free to leave me a note. I will respond to every note I receive.

Sincerely,
MightyJoe

Catch the Wave and Set Up Your Web Page!

Dynamic HTML Editor makes it possible for everyone to have a unique, professional, web page and all you have to do is download this software and plug around with it for a while. I tried several HTML Editors. The problem with most of the HTML editors that are for "beginners" is that they forced you to start with a "template". The result is that your web page looks generic. It's a lot like a Tribe user account where they set everything up and you just enter your information in. Dynamic HTML Editor is different, it starts with a blank screen and you place objects in that screen. With a little trial and error you figure out how to set your background and how to edit the objects that you are putting on the page. It is by far, the most easy to use, and powerful, interface that Mighty Joe has found to create a web page. Version 1.9 is completely free and fully functional so download it, learn it, and get on with it!

http://www.dynamic-html-editor.com/en_home.asp

Utilities You Gotta Love

Registry Cleaner

A few months ago I got an offer in my email telling me that I should "speed up my computer" and at that time I was struggling with resources so I checked into it. One of the areas it said I should devote some attention to was cleaning my registry, which I had never done. So I typed "free registry cleaner" in Google and it returned many results. Every site said "Free Download" so I went ahead and downloaded, installed, scanned, backed up... All this probably took me a half hour but when it came time to "fix" the problems the software had identified it would only fix the first 10 errors found (I'm ashamed to admit that I had over 900 errors). So obviously fixing the first 10 would do me no good.


This experience inspires me to discuss a "pet peeve". If a software product is not free than why to developers insist on using little tricks to make it look free. I am certainly never going to pay someone who "cons" me into downloading their shareware by advertising it as a "free download" and then limits the functions to make the product unpractical. It has to be the worst marketing move in history. Get a clue shareware developers!

On to better things... After much frustration with the fake freeware products I did find a registry cleaner that truly was freeware that operates so well, so professionally, that it is hard for me to imagine any other software doing a better job. I can't say enough good things about Eusing Free Registry cleaner. It backs up your registry, analyzes it, and fixes it all with no hassles. So use their product and avoid the shareware scams. Here is the link to download Eusing's product.

http://www.eusing.com/free_registry_cleaner/registry_cleaner.htm


BK Replace

In the UNIX world there is a function called "grep" that allows you to search for a string of text and replace each occurrence of that string of text with something else. It was mainly a programmers tool but in the windows world there are all kinds of other needs for this same function, BK Replace handles all those needs. Everyone should keep this tool handy because you are not sure when you will need it. Download it and be prepared, you'll be glad you did!



http://www.orbit.org/replace/







PS Hotlaunch

There are lots of “launch” programs out there. This one is the best one I've found. It’s simple, clean, and resource efficient. I think everyone should have a program launcher. It’s a centralized location to pull up your common programs and most used files.



http://www.pssoftlab.com/pshl_info.phtml





Gadwin Print Screen!

Take a snapshot of your desktop and save it as a .jpg. You can control what happens when you hit the printscreen button. I have mine set up so that when I hit the printscreen button it pulls up the picture of my desktop and when I hit continue output it brings up a window to save the file, you could also specify for it to go to a printer... There are many options and tools to help you take snapshots of your desktop screen.



http://www.gadwin.com/download/



Deskhide

As you can tell from the product name, this program hides your desktop. It works well. I couldn’t find the actual manufacturers site so I’ve pointed you to Major Geeks to download.



http://www.majorgeeks.com/download1308.html

File Management - Unbelievable Value - Totally Free

Unlocker is a great program. There are so many things running on our computers and once in a while we run into something that we know should not be there. If you can kill the process and then try to locate the file and delete it, sometimes you get a "file locked" error foiling your attempt. Unlocker is by far the most useful tool for dealing with this situation. After installing unlocker you just highlight the file by right clicking on it, then choose unlocker, and it will bring up the interface.

http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/#download




Over Disk

What a great disk reporting tool. It gives you a “tree” based diagram that breaks down your drives sectors. Then you can jump to the directory where the files are stored and make the necessary adjustments. This is a must for anyone that is working to keep their disk well organized and wants to understand what is stored on your disk and where.

http://users.forthnet.gr/pat/efotinis/programs/overdisk.html





Syncback

Syncback allows you to backup or sycronize two directories. This is great if you want to backup your files to a different hard drive or if you are maintaining a website and you want to edit files in a "working" directory and have it post to permanent... It’s a nifty package that is easy to use, effective, and free!

http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html


Free Download Manager

I didn’t think that I needed a download manager. The reason I installed this was because the FireFox extension (FlashGot) required a download manager. I found this one and it’s great. Now I don’t use FlashGot any longer. I’ve never been able to figure that extension out. Free Download Manager places a transparent icon on your desktop. You just drag and drop any file you find in your browser that you want to download and it handles it. Then if you want to retrieve your download you just double click on the icon. You can schedule your downloads and do just about anything else you can think of for downloading a file. It’s a great product.

http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/download.htm


Filzip

There are many file compression programs on the free market. I tested four or five of them. This one works well when you first use it but after you get used to using it you’ll find that it works really well. It took me a while to take advantage of their extract shortcuts. The only thing I wish this would do that it doesn’t is allow you to check an option to automatically open the unzipped folder. Everything else about this software I like.

http://www.filzip.com/en/index.html


WS_FTP

This is a pretty nuts and bolts FTP program. It works well and has a good log window. What more could you ask for!

http://www.oxinet.co.uk/ipswitch/ws_ftp_le.htm


ReNamer

This is a handy program for file renaming. You can programmatically take characters off files. For example, if I have several files XXpictureofmydog.jpg and I want to remove the XX from all the files… This is the tool to help with that. I’ve also used it to put the date on a bunch of files that I downloaded at once.


http://www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~den4b/

Visual Desktop Enhancements - Lots of Value, Free of Charge!

Icolor Folder - A new dimension to file management

This is a really great application that allows you to easily and dependably change the colors of your "folders". I use this to organize the files in my program folder, everything that I know and use I color blue, everything I know I want to unistall I color red, and anything that I don't know what it is I color Green. It's another dimension to folder management and it is very useful. After you install this freeware right click on a folder and click on "color label" and choose your color... it is as easy as it can get. This is another Mighty Joe Must Have for everyone!

http://icolorfolder.sourceforge.net/


XEarth - Dynamic Wallpaper


XEarth provides a picture of the world and updates you with earthquake information worldwide in near real time. It's the best thing I've found to use as your desktop background. After you install it right click on the earth icon in your tray and choose properties. Then go to the "image" tab and select cylindrical. That will display a flat earth and allow you to see the quakes updated in real time.

Check it out!!! I think you'll really love it!!!

http://hewgill.com/xearth/


Panorama - Wallpaper Management



I really prefer Xearth to any static desktop environment but if you need a change and want to use pictures as a background wallpaper then you should try Panorama! Panorama is the best freeware to manage your wallpapers that I've found. It is easy to use and does a good job and I have not experienced an problems. The reason that I mention problems is because I have had other programs that, for some reason, confuse the XP interface but this one is so simple and straight forward that I don't think we'll ever have any problems with it. Try it out!!!

http://www.ivory.org/panorama.html

Fonts

Download some cool new fonts. It’s a great way to spice up your documents and it's easy to do. After you download the font file, move it into C:\Windows\Fonts or you can pull up "fonts" from the control panel. You can download free fonts from the sites mentioned below.


http://simplythebest.net/fonts/index.html



http://www.fontdiner.com/main.html



http://www.fonthead.com/freeware.php





Icons

Another way to "dress the mess" is to change the icons on your system. This can be done simply by selecting a folder and choosing properties then choosing "customize". At the bottom that says "change icon". There are a number of really great icon management programs out there. I've used some and I'll write up a review after I decide which I think is best. There are also a number of programs that let you create and edit fonts and I'm in the process of looking into those as well.



This is a good location to download icons on the web.

http://www.entity.cc/archives4.php

Fast, Easy to Navigate, Photo Viewer

IrfranView - Photo Viewing

Everything you ever wanted in a viewer, it's fast, efficient, and functional. There are 2 interfaces that work together to bring you the ultimate viewing ability; a thumbnail view and a single pain view. Put the thumbnail view in your program launcher. IrfranView allows you to assign it as the "default" program for your image files during the install and I recommend that you do this. I did not select IrfranView as my multimedia player of choice. I'm looking into this...

For future reference... to select what programs open what file types you can do it by going to your control panel--> select "folder options" --> select the tab "file types".

Download IrfranView and you'll be amazed at how much easier it is for you to browse your images.

http://www.irfanview.com/

Memory Management and Resource Reporting

Eliminate the unnecessary services running on your PC. It is pretty easy and very important to do. I bought this laptop about a year ago. The sales person warned me that by selecting a model with only 256mb of RAM I would have to upgrade sooner or later. I didn't have the money at the time so I have been limping along by tweaking my system and being careful about what programs I have open. I have always wondered why I had so many "services" running. I was not sure what any of them did and I wished I had a list of what each one did.

At this web site you can learn what all the services are doing and stop the ones that you do not need. It was a real eye opener for me!

http://web.archive.org/web/20041128084144/www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

Below I have listed some of the services I have stopped but you need to go to the site above and read through it so you understand what services are right for you to shut down. BlackViper has made it easy to look up your services. The only reason I am showing you what I shut off is so you understand what a waste some of these services are. Anyone that owns a computer and does not go through this process is waisting their resources and sharing information they might not want to. This is one of the reasons that Microsoft is criticized so heavily by those who know what the Windows OS is actually doing. There are things you do not want running on your computer and Black Viper does a very good job of helping you sort things out.

The indexing service: If you create a lot of files and directories on your computer the indexing service built into XP, and automatically turned on each time you start your computer, is probably sucking up your memory and slowing you down.

Network Location Awareness: It turns out that this service is not needed if you have upgraded to XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).

Server: Doesn't make sense unless you are sharing printers or files across a network like they do at big companies. In fact, it is a security risk if you are using your computer at home as a single user.

SSDP Discovery Service: It turns out that the things this "discovers" are pretty unlikely for you to have at your home and it may be a security risk to leave this on.

System Restore Service: Especially with this service, you need to read through the description on the "black viper" web page. This service creates a snap shot of my environment every so often. Besides the indexing, this is the largest offender of system resources on your service list. I made the decision to stop it because I don't think I will ever use it. Even if my drive crashes (knock on wood).

TCPIP Netbios: Provides legacy support for these networking formats. If you use a cable modem from home you probably don't need this service.

Terminal Services: If you are sharing your computer with several people you should leave this on. I am not so I shut it off.

WebClient: BlackViper has not found a reason to have this running and it is a security risk so I shut it down.



CachemanXP

I like the user interface in this product. It lists out all the processes and how much RAM they are using and allows you to individually recover the RAM from each process. Until I found Ram Saver Pro (I had to license a fee based product) this was my solution.

http://tinyurl.com/86v3o




BySoft FreeRAM

This is the only free product that I found that allows you to edit the cache size. I don't use it any longer. I used it for a while and tried to look up optimum configurations on the web but I was never able to optimize my memory use enough to make a noticeable difference. Also, every time you change the cache it requires you to shut down and it has to make some hard changes. I didn't like this "hard boot". It concerned me.

So I gave you all the negative stuff in the paragraph above. This is an application that you can use on your home PC for free and it does allow you to change the cache. So if you need to change the cache this is the product for you!

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


Tiny Res Meter

This is the only desktop monitoring tool that I use now. It’s small and it provides all the information you need. Might Joe has searched the web and tried many different products but when it comes to monitoring your resources without sucking up all your resources this is the best product I’ve found.

http://pesoft.fr.st/


ConfigInspector

This is a Taskman like application but it's more of a system investigation and reporting tool. I was surprised by the amount of information available through this interface. There are plenty of ways to gather information like this but I really like having it at my fingertips and in an interface that I understand. ConfigInspector covers just about everything, CPU, network, memory, display... It doesn't take much ram to run and I think the information is valuable and should be kept available at all times. Try it out, you can't ask for a better system reporting tool.

http://softvoile.com/configinspector.php

Administration Tools - Power to Change Your World!

Process Explorer

This is a replacement for task manager that provides more information and is more customizable. It took me several weeks to feel comfortable to disable Task Manager but I've completely migrated now. I've been running it for over three years now and it has proven itself to be a very stable program. Process Explorer is a very impressive freeware program and I think most people running XP, that know what they are doing, use this program in place of task manager. I think you will like it, you can change the colors of OS based services vs the services you start so it gives the user more flexibility. It also lists out the complete path and even more information on the dlls of each running process. Everyone should be running process explorer instead of task manager. Consider it a free upgrade from Task Manager!

http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml


Filemon

This is another great free product from sysinternals. They have so many different products but I have found the combination of Process Explorer and Filemon to be very effective. If my machine disk is spinning like crazy and my CPU is off the chart I can find out what is going on by utilizing these 2 products. Process Explorer will tell me what is using CPU and ram but filemon tells me what products are opening files on your disk. This is crucial information... After you set up filemon and then open it up you will get a window "on the run" one of the buttons on top, I believe 2nd from the left, stops the scrolling so you can have a good hard look at which programs are causing your disk to spin. This is very useful.

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Diskmon.html


AutoRun

You need to have some kind of window into your “start menu”. When you install programs a lot of them put an executable in your "start menu" and they automatically run when you turn on your computer. The good programs give you an option to place it there but many programs do it without asking you. Even for the programs that ask you if you want to run them on start up you always want to make changes to what runs and what doesn't at startup. This is the best program for looking into all the "start files" on your PC.

http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/autoruns.shtml


Sysinternals

A word of thanks to Sysinternals who has put out more quality free utilities than anyone else I know. There are several applications that I have not highlighted here because I personally have not found a need for them. However, I'm sure that some of my readers may find a need for some of them. If you are interested in really digging into things yourself just go to the Sysinternal's website and check out all the administrative tools they have for you!

http://www.sysinternals.com/

Encryption - Tip of the Iceberg - What More Do You Need!

AxCrypt
This is a simple, free, way to encrypt your data files. There may be better encryption software available but this is a good, simple, way to keep 99.9999% of the people out of your files. It also installs itself into your context menu so any time you right click on a file you have the option of encrypting it. You can access your encrypted files with a password or a 'master pass key' that you save onto a flash drive.

I really like this solution because it's easy, fast, and pretty darn secure. You can also highlight an entire folder of files and it will encrypt every file in that folder under one password. I think everyone should keep this on their system just in case you ever want to lock something away.

http://axcrypt.sourceforge.net/

Spyware and Security - I'm Having No Trouble!

Sygate Personal Firewall

I had been running Sygate for over a year when I received an offer to upgrade via a system notification. Unfortunately, the automated upgrade within the program didn't work so I pulled up the Sygate web page and found out that they had been purchased by Symantec. I'm not a Symantec fan because when my computer was new it came with a trial copy of Symantec fire wall but when it came time to pay up, I decided not to license the software and when I tried to uninstall their software it locked up my system! I had a terrible time uninstalling it. Therefore, I wasn't happy when I found out that Sygate was purchased by Symantec so I decided to look at other free firewalls. I downloaded Kerio and Zone Labs and I had problems with both. I liked Zone Labs but for some reason it locked up my system and I couldn't figure it out so I had to uninstall it. I was bummed out because I really liked the interface. So I tried Kerio and that worked OK for a while but then I started having core memory dumps. I had three very scary events and after the third event I booted up my system and there was a window from Kerio apologizing for the event and saying that it was their fault and it wanted me to send them an automatically generated report. It took too long to compile the report so I had to hit cancel before it was complete and then I uninstalled it. So after all of my efforts I ended up finding my old, and free, version of Sygate again. It's available on twocows. The free version is not available from Symantec's page. The Sygate firewall works pretty well for me. I've had no problems with it. The GUI isn't as fancy as some but it works and you can get the information you need. Best of all, it's reliable. The motto of this whole experience... If it works don't fix it!!!

http://www.tucows.com/preview/213160


Spyware Guard

This is a great freeware application that provides the real-time monitoring that your system needs. It protects against browser hijacking and notifies you if a program tries to write to your registry. I don't run it all the time but it is nice to have on hand so you can engage it if things "heat up".

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sgdownload.html


LavaSoft

One of the standard freeware packages for finding spyware that has hidden itself on your PC is LavaSoft. It scans your system and fixes the problems. LavaSoft has been around for a long time and they continually update their database. Every home computer should run this freeware at least once a month.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/


Avast

I think Avast is the best suite of anitvirus software on the market. They update regularly because they have a good fee based business that demands them to stay current and there is not any difference between the products that are free and their fee based stuff. Basically, Avast is free for the home user but it is a pay service if you are a business user. They provide a great service and have a strong business. The Avast suite is a little resource intensive but antivirus is an important function so this is a good spot to spend cycles. Every home user that runs Avast owes them a big thank you because we are getting a lot of value free of charge. If I were a business owner or if I had influence in a business where I worked, I would definitely be using Avast because they have proven themselves to me. I recommend them to you with confidence.

http://www.avast.com/eng/programs.html


CC Cleaner

I've run CC Cleaner for years and it'’s always provided a good service. It enables you to clean just about every temporary file that is stored on your computer. Of course, you can select which files to delete. After it's set up, you push one button, and your system is cleaned in less than a minute. It also has a good software de-installer (under the "tools" tab).

http://www.ccleaner.com/ccdownload.asp


Harden It

This is a security patch that tightens up some of the loop holes in your XP software. Run it and forget about it.

http://www.sniff-em.com/harden-it.shtml


SpyBot Search and Destroy

Spybot is a very popular adware and virus scanner. Spybot is an essential part of any home computer system. The GUI is pretty intuitive so download it, learn what it does, and your computer will benefit. I don't spend much time protecting my PC from all the crap that is out there. If you take a few precautions (running spybot 1 time a month is one of them) you shouldn't have any trouble either.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html


XP Antispy

This is a must have program for anyone running Windows XP. There are all kinds of things in Windows XP that you don't necessarily want to run. This program allows you to shut off a lot of the unnecessary services that your XP is running. This program puts a GUI around the administrative chore of shutting down the services. The GUI tells you what it is doing and provides some great information about the services so you can make the right choice on whether or not it is important for each service to run in your environment. Everyone running Windows XP should install and run this product because it tightens up your security and saves you a lot of resources.

http://xp-antispy.org/index.php?option=com_remository&func=sellang&iso=en

Media - Always Rewarding but Always Confusing and Possibly Risky

P2P Downloading - Winmx
I use Winmx which is one of the oldest peer to peer download sites on the web. A couple of years ago they upgraded their software and started a fee based service. They shut down their networks to the hundreds of thousands of people running their old free software which created a user uproar and a 'workaround' rebellion. You can still run Winmx if you work at it. Go to the link below and download the old freeware version. There is a chance that it may block you from 'finding their network'. If that happens leave a message in the comment section here and we'll see if my users and I can get you running. Normally I wouldn't recommend that you download software that may or may not work. However, in this case, it makes sense because the value is so incredibly strong.

http://www.oldapps.com/winMX.htm#about



Kazza Scanner

The first thing to know about this product is that it has no affiliation with Kazza. I don't know why they chose that name because that product is so full of spyware and other garbage that it will ruin your system, so never download the P2P Kazza client. Now, back to the real reason for me writing this post... Kazza scanner is a small application that watches your shared folder for new downloads then picks it out and moves the file to wherever you keep your songs. This way, you set up a working folder for all the incoming garbage and a separate folder for your music archive. It is a better way of doing things because you can keep your music archive free of all the incomplete files that never finish downloading. It accomplishes a task that most people do by hand so it's a worthwhile program. I recommend this freeware but I do wish they would change the name.

http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/starthere/

Office Replacement - I Could Have Saved Hundreds!

Microsoft Office® has become the standard for exchanging documents. Unfortunately the Office® suite can be cost prohibitive, especially if you are in business for yourself. There is a viable alternative. “Open Office” accomplishes the same thing as Excel, Word, and Power Point and transparently imports files from those packages. This software is
open source which means it is free to the end user. Open Office is supported by a loyal and strong user base. The software requires about 200mg on your hard drive. Once you install it, you will have an icon in your system tray that enables you to launch
the four applications; spreadsheet, word processor, presentations, and drawing.
This is a huge development in the global open source industry. Try it out, you will not
be disappointed. I wish I would have known about it before I forked over the dollars
for my personal copy of Microsoft Office®.

http://www.openoffice.org/

Mighty Joe's Browser of Choice - Firefox is an important development in Web Exploration

"Rediscover the Internet with FireFox!" The user community has developed themes and extensions (skins/plug-ins) allow you to do nearly everything you can think of (and then some) from a web browser.

You can download Firefox at the link below. Just do it! It is easy and fun and you'’ll be happy you did. When you pin down your extension configuration it is like turbo charging your browsing experience. You can work much more efficiently and it is really fun to see all the things you can do.

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

For more information about Mighty Joe's Firefox please visit my blog dedicated to identifying a configuration of Firefox extensions that is useful and stable for the average user. This is a great way for a new Firefox user to get the most value out of Firefox in the shortest amount of time.

http://mightyjoefirefox.blogspot.com/