Best Free Video
Editor VirtualDub which is outstanding. A comprehensive collection
of third party filters is available from an Italian site.
Click on the “TELECHARGER ICI” button to download the
complete set of filters (RAR pack). Once all the filters are installed,
delete the “PCVideo Image Processor” filter as the installation
instructions are missing a step. Note however that it won't handle
DVD or MP4 and like all video software, needs a fast PC. 958KB.
[1] http://www.virtualdub.org/
[2] http://milafat.free.fr/vdfilters.htm
[3] http://sourceforge.net/projects/virtualdub
Free Firefox V1.5 Extension
Offers Selective Privacy Firefox allows users to easily clear their
internet history, cache, cookies and other internet tracks. Sometimes
users don't want to clear everything but rather just the information
for a particular browsing session. You can do this using the free
Stealther extension. Once installed, just turn on Stealther from the
Tools menu before the session and afterwards turn it off. Nothing
will be recorded in the interim. Freeware, Firefox 0.9-1.6a1,
2KB. https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?id=1306
The Best Free Disk De-fragmenter
In the directory tree created you will find these folders: .../3rdparty/Diskeeper/
and .../3rdpartyDiskeeper.64/. Works great and the new Performance
tab is excellent. Windows 2000 and later, 89MB http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/software/idu/
Access Linux Files From Windows
Linux
Anyone who runs a Windows / Linux dual boot system will appreciate
this free driver that allows you read and write to Linux Ext2 volumes
from within Windows.
"Ext2 Installable File System for Windows" works as a kernel mode
driver that extends the Windows NT/2000/XP operating system to include
the Ext2 file system. (486KB) http://www.fs-driver.org/index.html
Thunderbird V1.5
is Here After a long period in beta the final version of the excellent
Mozilla Thunderbird email client has been released. New features include
a built in phishing detector, spell check as-you-type, auto saving
of drafts, global inbox filters, support for server- side spam filtering
and more. Most importantly, stability has been greatly improved. Overall
this great free email client has been made even better. Outlook Express
users should seriously consider switching. You'll get more features
plus a way safer product as well. Free Open Source, Windows and other
platforms, 6.08 MB. http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/releases/1.5.html
Record FM Radio Music to MP3
TimeTrax TraxCatcher is a stand-alone FM radio with a dockable MP3
player that allows you to directly record music files from FM and
store them on the MP3 player and your PC. Software to tag and organize
the MP3 files is included. Of course you can do the same thing via
streaming internet radio but this way you don't use any of your internet
bandwidth plus you get a usable MP3 player as well. MRP is $159. While
at the site check out their other products for recording XM, XM-Online
and SIRIUS broadcasts. http://www.timetraxtech.com/
What Plug is That?
Can you tell a PS2 socket from an S-video at a quick glance? Fear
not; just consult this comprehensive guide to PC plugs and sockets.
Another web page to add to your bookmarks. http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20051123/index.html
More Free Stuff from Microsoft "Express"
editions of a number of its programming products including Visual
Basic, Visual C#, Visual C++, Visual J# and more. The Express editions
are cut-down versions of Microsoft's full commercial Visual Studio
and SQL Server programs but are still very substantial products. http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/default.aspx
Free Utility
Improves Your Wi-Fi Security
Public Wi-Fi networks are insecure; so insecure that I wont use them.
The classic way to improve your Wi-Fi security is to set up a virtual
private network (VPN) connection but this isn’t easy to do.
A new and simpler alternative is to use TorPark, a pre-configured
version of the anonymizing program Tor, combined with the Firefox
browser, that’s setup for operation from a USB Flash drive.
I tried it out on my laptop and found it surprisingly easy to use
though, as with all anonymizing services, my browsing speed through
the network of chained Tor servers was slowed considerably. Another
restriction is that TorPark won't currently help with your email security.
That apparently is planned for an upcoming version.
Overall, it's a very useful free security product that is well worth
trying. A warning: please don't use a TorPark Flash drive at Internet
Cafes or public terminals with the expectation that it will protect
you from hardware keyloggers. It won't, simple as that. Freeware,
Windows 95 and later, 8MB http://www.freehaven.net/%7Earrakis/torpark.html
Free Utility Fixes PC Problems
Dial-a-fix is an interesting product that bundles together a large
number of fixes to known Windows problems as documented in many different
Microsoft Knowledgebase articles. These problems fall into five specific
areas: Scripting, the Windows Installer, Windows Update, Secure site
problems and Program registration. The last area includes specific
fixes for Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player
problems.
If you have problems in any of these areas you should check this utility
out. I've now used it successfully on two machines with IE problems,
so it's become a standard item in my tool kit. Note though, that this
program is intended to be used only on machines with known problems
in the designated areas, so read the online notes before using. If
your PC is running fine, you don't need it and may risk actually causing
problems. Recommended for experienced users only. Freeware, Windows
9x and later, 261KB. http://djlizard.net/software/dial-a-fix/
How to Print Lots of Documents Easily
Print Conductor that allows you to print large numbers of individual
files, without opening each document. It even allows you to
change settings on the printer before it runs the print job and even
better you can save the list of documents that need printing and later
on import the list back into the program.
It prints Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word DOC, Microsoft Excel XLS, Autodesk
AutoCAD DWG, and Microsoft PowerPoint PPT. It’s also great
for converting large numbers of documents to PDF using a virtual printer.
Freeware, 548KB. http://www.print-conductor.com/
Get JV16 PowerTools 2006 for Free
JV16 started life as a free registry cleaner but has been expanded
over the years to become a complete commercial system utility suite
comprising of a registry editor, registry monitor, a file cleaner,
duplicate file finder and more. At $29.95 the final version will be
very competitively priced, but you may be able to get it for free
if you participate in the beta program.
You can do this by subscribing to the beta tester's newsletter [1].
It's up to the company whether they accept you as a beta tester but
it's well worth a try. Remember this is only a beta version
so don’t carry out any critical operations such as registry
cleaning until the final version is released. All versions of Windows,
1.09MB [1] http://www.macecraft.com/newsletter/
Free Service Rates Web Site Safety
The company claims to have compiled information on more than one billion
sites by visiting the sites and checking whether any download from
the site contains spyware and other nasties. They also sign up to
any email offering from the site and then monitor for any subsequent
spam. To access this database you will need to install a free Internet
Explorer add-in or Firefox extension.
Then, whenever you visit any site, your browser will display a color
coded security rating for that site. More details about the site are
available by clicking on the warning bar. A really nice feature is
that the site ratings are also shown alongside Google or Yahoo search
results. This really helps you avoid accidentally visiting dangerous
and hostile sites when surfing.
A word of warning: however useful SiteAdvisor may be, it's best employed
as an additional security measure and shouldn't be seen as a replacement
for primary security or plain old common sense. Don't, for example,
feel free to download a "free toolbar" from a site just because that
site is rated OK by this product. That's asking for trouble. http://www.siteadvisor.com/
Fastest Browsers
Fastest Browser
Firefox latest version
Released The latest update includes fixes for memory leaks, improved
stability plus a number of unspecified security problems. Most Firefox
users will have had the update automatically downloaded to their PC.
If not, visit the Mozilla site and download the latest version now.http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/
The Fastest Browser Now Updated
The K-Meleon browser is a slimmed down cousin of Firefox that's optimized
for Windows. Of the four browsers I use regularly, K- Meleon is the
fastest loading and along with Opera, the fastest for surfing.
On the downside there are only a limited number of add-ons and plug-ins
available so you are pretty well limited to the features available
in the standard product. If you are the type of person who prefers
performance to bells and whistles you should definitely try K-Meleon.
Freeware, all Windows versions though early versions may require a
library update, 6.0 MB. http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/
New Preview Version of Opera 9
The second Technology Preview release of Opera 9 adds a whole batch
of new features including BitTorrent searching and downloading, content-blocking,
widgets, enhanced CSS support and much more. http://snapshot.opera.com/windows/w90p2.html
Top Tech Sites And Resources
Top Process Viewer
Top Process
Viewer Updated SysInternals Process Explorer has
long been one of my favorite free process viewers.
The latest V10 release includes dozens of small enhancements rather
than new features.
New Version of Top Free RSS
Reader
With the latest V2.13 release, BlogBridge, one of the top free standing
RSS readers, just got even better. Despite the unimpressive looking
version numbering, the 2.13 release is actually a major upgrade. The
most important new feature is the addition of "Reading Lists" which
are collections of items that you can share with others.
Also new is a cleanup wizard, better synchronization across several
computers plus a host of usability and interface improvements. If
you haven't yet tried RSS, BlogBridge is a great way to investigate
the medium without spending a cent. Free, Open Source, BlogBridge,
Windows XP, Mac OS X, Linux, 3.8MB. http://blogbridge.com/
