Antivirus and other Free Computer Utilities

[msgttbar]

Mike Lin at www.mlin.net has several small programs which work as advertised and are really handy.
STARTUP is a program that allows you to edit your startup file without going through the "run", "msconfig" routine.  Just call up startup and add and subtract programs to your hearts content.
STARTUPMONITOR is a wonderful little program that tells you when some program is trying add itself or maybe its update program from installing.  When a program tries to add itself to the start menu, this monitor asks you if this is what you want and you may allow or deny the addition.
Not earthshaking but handy.

[Broomhead]

Here's one that I use all the time. Have you ever ordered something online, been given an order confirmation page and not been connected to a printer to print it? Ever see a picture on the internet that you want but it is copyright protected preventing you from saving it? Ever want to save part of a web page without copy'n'pasteing it? Well here's your answer, Hoversnap.

http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm

My Online Finite Math professor had the class download it so we could draw images on his apps and then save them and upload them. This program works great and the uses are endless.

[wizard93]

I recently came across a Linux OS that really works great out of the box.  It's called PCLinuxOS.  It's loaded with pretty much everything you need, including media player, browser, office suite supplied by OpenOffice.org, and more.  I installed it on an HP D530 SFF PC I had lying around.  This OS detected ALL of my hardware and installed all the necessary drivers automatically.  Windows XP couldn't even do that.

The Linux world has really gathered steam, even more so since Vista came out and disappointed a lot of people into exploring other realms of OSes.

If you can burn an .iso image to a CD, then you can download the .iso image from www.pclinuxos.com and either use Nero to burn the image or any .iso burning utility available free from the internet.

PCLinuxOS once burned to a CD can either be run as a "live" CD, or installed to the hard drive or other bootable media (SD card, USB drive, etc.).

True, there's a bit of a learning curve when making the switch to Linux.  But then again, look at all we had to learn with Windows...  If you try the PCLinuxOS, I'll guarantee you'll like it.

...Sounds like I'm trying to sell it or something.    Actually, I've tried literally dozens of Linux-based OSes with various machines and with mixed results.  So far, my top 5 Linux-based OSes are as follows:

PCLinuxOS
Puppy Linux
Xandros (Installed on my Eee PC from factory)
Freespire
Ubuntu

wizard93

[lbreevesii]

I've still got my problems with linux but it has plenty of good points.  It can majorly extend your battery life on laptops(especially with certain hardware) and its just plain good to have!

[wizard93]

I had a patient tell me about this one the other day.  It includes several different apps which run from a USB drive on any Windows machine without leaving personal information behind.  I just haven't remembered to take it to work with me and see if it really works like I want it to.  I copied the following from the website:

PortableApps.com Suite™ is a complete collection of portable apps including a web browser, email client, office suite, calendar/scheduler, instant messaging client, antivirus, audio player, sudoku game, password manager, PDF reader, minesweeper clone, backup utility and integrated menu, all preconfigured to work portably. Just drop it on your portable device and you're ready to go.

All versions of the PortableApps.com Suite include the integrated PortableApps.com Menu (pictured at right) and the PortableApps.com Backup utility along with a set of custom icons, an autoplay configuration, folders and a quick start shortcut. In addition, the packages include:

    * Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition (web browser)
    * Mozilla Thunderbird, Portable Edition (email)
    * Mozilla Sunbird, Portable Edition (calendar/tasks)
    * ClamWin Portable (antivirus)
    * Pidgin Portable (instant messaging)
    * Sumatra PDF Portable (PDF reader
    * KeePass Password Safe Portable (password manager)
    * Sudoku Portable (game)
    * Mines-Perfect Portable (game)
    * CoolPlayer+ Portable (audio player)
    * OpenOffice.org Portable* (office suite)
           - Writer (word processor)
           - Calc (spreadsheet)
           - Impress (presentations)
           - Base (database utility)
           - Draw (drawing)

*Note: The Light Suite includes AbiWord Portable (word processor) instead of OpenOffice.org Portable.

http://portableapps.com/suite

wizard93

[lbreevesii]

I use U3(comes loaded on sandisk flash drives).  I've got firefox, thunderbird, etc. for it.

[47_MasoN_47]

If you want a good Linux distro try out Ubuntu.  I have it on 3 servers at work, both of my personal desktops and all 3 of my laptops.  It works great!

[Strangerous]

Well, I just downloaded, used a new Anti-Spyware/Virus/Malware program and decided I would be doing you an injustice if I didn't share it with you good folks here. My reason behind this is because I ran (with all current updates) AVG 8.0, superantispyware, ad-aware, spybot S&D, and "Spyware Terminator"... and I was still unable to run Internet Explorer due to a trojan (for some reason you can't update Windows XP without IE) at all.

So I found this little gem: A-Squared Free 3.5
http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/
Download here:
http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/download/
or
http://www.download.com/A-squared-Free/3000-2239_4-10262215.html

[masfonos]

All software isn't free? :shock:

[47_MasoN_47]

We're talking about software that is LEGALLY free, although, pretty much all software can be had for free through the shady parts of the interwebnets.  I'm sure none of us folks around here no how to find any of those places though

BTW Goozex is teh pwn.

[masfonos]

We're talking about software that is LEGALLY free, although, pretty much all software can be had for free through the shady parts of the interwebnets.

most of my free software comes from sudo apt-get install or wget.  not exactly the dimly lit crack den of teh Internets.

[47_MasoN_47]

Ah, ah fellow linux user.  I prefer sudo aptitude install personall, but apt-get gets the job done.

[p7196]

Great reg cleaner is:
Registryfix

[tjsjr]

Any got a deap recovery program? My puter crashed I reformated and started over losing all the pics of my kids birth to now, any help PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAse

[Strangerous]

Any got a deap recovery program? My puter crashed I reformated and started over losing all the pics of my kids birth to now, any help PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAse

badcopy pro comes to mind...
Haven't tried these, you may have to weed out the ones that charge for the actual recovery:
http://downloads.zdnet.com/abstract.aspx?&kw=recover+deleted+files&docid=308479
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/collection/collid,1295-order,1-c,downloads/files.html
http://www.datarecoverydownload.com/