All Freeware - Detailed listing in popularity order
This is a list of all freeware categories on this site listed in order of popularity with the most popular first. It's a good list for leisurely browsing but if you just want to quickly scan what's available you may be better off using the Summary list
Best Free Antivirus Software
Last Update: Sat, 11/21/2009 - 01:37 — JonathanT|
In a Hurry?
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Introduction
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Antivirus software provides an essential layer of protection from a multitude of virus, trojan, worm, spyware, adware, dialer, keylogger and rootkit infections. Traditionally antivirus programs just detected viruses and spyware removers just detected spyware but nowadays the boundary between antivirus and spyware removers is unclear. Most current antiviruses have at least reasonably good detection rates of all forms of malware. Malware includes viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, adware, dialers, keyloggers and rootkit threats that perform malicious activities on a computer. With the huge increase in malware, antivirus software cannot keep up with detecting all of it. But using more than one real-time antivirus uses much more system resources, can cause conflicts and even reduce protection. So I recommend you only choose one antivirus for real-time protection. Instead, you can increase your protection using other security software. I looked at several free antivirus programs which are vital in protecting your computer from virus threats and other types of malware. |
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Discussion
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First, quite a few users have recently complained about the signature updates being very slow or not working, and this is a serious problem. There are instructions on an alternate method to download updates here. Second, AntiVir does not include web or e-mail scanning capabilities; this is only available in the paid version. The lack of an e-mail scanner is not really a disadvantage, it just means that AntiVir won't warn you of infected emails before you open them. But should you open an infected email, AntiVir will still spring into action, so it doesn't mean that you're not protected from email-based infections. Third, AntiVir has advertisements that appear with every update, although you can disable these ads. Finally, AntiVir has a time-limited license. It is renewable, but be aware that you'll have to periodically go through the hoops.
Microsoft Security Essentials is by far the best choice for average users because of the minimal user interaction required. It automatically updates and removes threats. No registration is needed, apart from a quick validating of Windows, and there are no nag screens or advertisements. The main downsides are the slow scan speeds and the lengthy amount of time it takes to quarantine malware. MSE also is not available in certain countries so users there will have to look elsewhere. Note that Microsoft Security Essentials requires a genuine copy of Windows to install.
On the other hand, Avast has slightly lower detection rates than AntiVir. And like AntiVir, it also requires periodic re-registration, whereas MSE and AVG Free do not.
However, AVG Antivirus free has grown considerably in size and resource usage, and has very slow scan speeds. AVG also had continuous problems with updating signatures on my computer. AVG has advertisements, but they can be disabled.
These free antivirus programs are excellent software that provide a real alternative to the major commerical antivirus products. You can increase your protection if you run on-demand scans with another antivirus. On-demand scans can be run regularly to check for viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, adware, keyloggers, rootkits and other malware that may have been missed by your main antivirus scanner. If you have a good preventive security strategy in place, however, the extra protection an on-demand antivirus scanner offers is minimal. You can also use one of the free antiviruses mentioned above as an on-demand antivirus scanner. One advantage is that you can set scheduled scans if you wish. Avira AntiVir Personal Edition: During the install, under "Choose Installation Type" select "Custom", and under "Install Components" untick "AntiVir Guard". Avast! Home Edition: During the install, under "Configuration" select "Custom", and untick all the items under "Resident Protection". AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition: In the interface, open the "Resident Shield Component" and untick "Resident Shield Active".
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I'll also mention several popular free antivirus programs which I considered but did not include in the review because of low detection rates.
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Please visit our freeware forum to share and discuss your views and get advice on free security software, including antivirus software. To post in the forum you need to register first but that's quick and immediate. |
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Quick Selection Guide - On demand antivirus scanners
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This category is maintained by volunteer editor JonathanT. Registered site visitors can contact JonathanT by clicking here.
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Tags
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free antivirus, best free antivirus, free antivirus programs, free antivirus program, antivirus software, free antivirus software, antivirus program free, anti-virus programs, antivirus scanner, best antiviros, best antvirus |
Best Free Firewall
Last Update: Thu, 11/05/2009 - 11:33 — Rizar|
In a Hurry?
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Introduction
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No other freeware product causes as much angst to users, whether in installation or day-to-day use, as a firewall. To find a stable and high quality firewall for windows often involves a process of trial and error. Firewalls should protect while not being too intrusive or too complicated to handle. This article gives you a selection of the best free software firewalls available. If you want to learn more about firewalls, visit this excellent introduction on How Firewalls Work. Be sure to use only one software firewall at a time. But feel free to combine a hardware and a software firewall to improve protection. Additionally, most products highly recommend uninstalling other third-party software firewalls before installation. Firewalls are increasingly useful to help you control the activities of Internet facing applications. It's becoming difficult to tell when applications connect online because they link so many of their features to Internet resources. Few programs stop to ask your permission. Often when you click for "Help," you find your browser launching and connecting to the Internet; sort of like asking your doctor for information and finding a needle in your arm instead of an answer. So, I predict that firewalls will be ever more important for privacy and control and choice. I organized the article into three sections ranging from (I) broad protection and greater user involvement; (II) to basic 'firewall only' configurations and less user involvement; (III) to narrow protection and "set it and forget it" products. |
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Discussion
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I. Best Software Firewalls for Maximum Protection and Greater User Involvement The following personal firewalls provide excellent network protection. Each firewall comes with default settings and shouldn't require tweaking except for the needs of advanced users. I provide some configuration and usage details since a little extra information may help you better answer popup alerts. I also give a few tips to help minimize alerts without letting malware through. Still, they seem to require a fair amount of time to learn their features and they require more user involvement. But they are not as bad as the User Account Control (UAC) in Vista and they have various features that limit the extent of action required by you. Oh, and I always create a drive image before installing a new firewall since they are known to give your PC serious problems if they conflict with anything. However, I installed and uninstalled each firewall several times during testing and had no problems.
The free version lacks many extras of the pay version, however, such as automatic updates, additional malware protection, anti-spam protection, and web safety features. Though, more annoyingly, the free version lacks helpful features such as breaking active connections you don't want. I also didn't like the automatic Outpost news updates, which place up-to-date advertisements for the Outpost Pro version in the interface. This being so, I see many user reports of satisfaction over Comodo and this is probably because of the extra care taken to reduce user involvement and limit outbound monitoring to a reasonable level. The HIPS component is called "Host Protection" in the interface. It provides four default levels of protection, which can be easily set with a slider and additionally customized item by item by advanced users. The default "optimal" setting only monitors "most dangerous activities" instead of all program activities. So the default "optimal" settings lack protection from keyloggers, direct disk accessing, window hooking, DNS API request monitoring, etc. You can check the types of reduced monitoring by clicking the "customize" button in the Host Protection section. I believe the intention of the "optimal" level is to acclimate users to the firewall and provide more outbound protection than the windows firewall. After you get used to the firewall, you can increase its protection. The installation asks users whether they want to train the firewall for a week (using its Auto-Learn mode and Rules Wizard). I'm not a fan of this feature (it's initially unchecked during the installation) and you can easily switch to it at any later point, say for an hour while you start using a new, trusted program. In my testing it greatly reduces protection during the time the firewall trains so (like with the other top firewalls) it's best to only train for short periods of time. One technical advantage over Comodo is that the self-protection component works well in all its levels of protection, whereas self-protection in Comodo depends largely on having Defense+ enabled. Additionally, (along with the firewall from PC Tools) it's alert messages do not depend on the user to set "trusted" rules if they want to permanently automate HIPS alert responses for a program (in its maximum security settings). So it has the advantages of PC Tools firewall in usability and similar proactive security protection to Comodo in its maximum settings. Outpost also has a helpful feature to set rules automatically for known safe applications. Otherwise Outpost's maximum security settings are not much more user friendly than Comodo and Online Armor. It prompts the user with just as many popup alerts. And Outpost lacks some of the techniques used by Comodo and Online Armor to decrease the number of alerts in their maximum security settings, such as the more flexible safe programs list in Comodo or the security wizard in Online Armor. So Comodo and Online Armor have the potential to be less intrusive in their max settings, but the continual work and annoyance in configuring them reduces their advantages in user-friendliness, giving Outpost a considerable edge for many types of users.
During installation, it gives you a choice between three levels of security. The "Firewall Only" mode is discussed in the next section. The intermediate option mainly turns off some protection from Defense+, including some direct access monitoring. The "Proactive Security" configuration uses all Defense+ monitoring and increases in aggressiveness over the "Firewall Security" configuration. I recommend using the "Proactive Security" configuration (check this setting by right-clicking the tray icon and selecting configuration). You can reduce the number of popup messages you get and automate the behavior of Defense+ by (1) using the "Clean PC Mode"; (2) adding files to "My Own Safe Files" for safe mode; (3) treating applications that regularly need more access as trusted or blocked or isolated (etc.) when you get popup alerts about them. Though any of these require much knowledge and work on part of the user, and if the user gets frustrated they may allow malware through. If you are fairly certain your PC is malware free, set Comodo to the "Clean PC Mode." In "Clean PC Mode" it automatically treats all applications on your drive as safe (but if any malware is currently hidden on your drive, it too would be considered "safe" in this mode). The exceptions to this rule are new files and applications. They get sent to a list of files "waiting for your review" in the "Summary" page. Files listed for review will be considered "possibly unclean" while you are in "Clean PC Mode" and will provoke popup messages. If you want to prevent initial alerts about these new files, you can manage the list before you run any programs listed in it -- you could empty it (if you are malware free) or add known safe applications to your safe files list. If you treat them as trusted or blocked (etc.) as you get alerts for them, this also automates the responses of Defense+ (even if you leave them in the list of new files waiting for your review). It also has an alternative "Safe Mode" in which you will get many popup alerts at first. But Comodo limits these alerts by automatically allowing some known safe applications to run (unless you use "Paranoid Mode"). Also, if a safe program needs additional access to run, then Defense+ will alert you and you can decide whether to treat it as a "trusted application" (which, finally, ceases most alerts about it from Defense+ in every mode). If you don't add your everyday programs to your safe files list or treat them as trusted or blocked or isolated (etc.), Defense+ in safe mode seems to alert you constantly.
The installation is lengthy if you go through its "Safety check" wizard, but it will accomplish much of what you have to do manually in Comodo's max security modes: it will search your PC for programs to set as safe and it also uses its own list of safe applications to automatically allow programs to run or access the Internet. You can disable this automatic feature in the settings, but it uses an excellent popup message when it automatically allows a program (it doesn't require user action). It has a short learning phase after installation and you can use its learning mode to create automatic rules at any point later, say, for a trusted online game that gets constantly interrupted by firewall alerts. On my testing, you receive about as many alerts as Comodo's "Safe Mode" (with applications manually added to its safe files list). But I found the installation more straightforward and user-friendly. Additionally, Online Armor was the most resource efficient on memory use. It also allows you to close both its tray tools from its right-click context menu. Both are not needed for the firewall and HIPS components to continue running and protecting, and even with the two tray tools active, it is still the most resource efficient firewall of all top contenders in this article (with PC Tools a close second).
However, one very surprising difference was the ease of installation and configuration. In fact, I didn't have to do anything; no searching for or adding programs -- it just installs and starts protecting your PC. But, of course, this means a few extra popup alerts will appear if you have rare and unknown programs not in its automatic list of safe applications. It seems to download this list with a "PC Tools Plus Service," but if you have a slow Internet connection you may experience an overall lag for any program connecting and using the Internet until the service finishes downloading. Like the other firewalls above, you can disable the automatic allow feature in the settings to take back control. It also has a password feature that prevents users from setting permanent rules. But you can still run any program you want as long as you don't mind clicking "allow" countless times without use of the "remember this setting" feature (so it is not really comparable to the parental controls of Comodo and Online Armor). Though, it does have an interesting "Full Screen" mode or game mode that blocks all alerts while, say, you play a trusted online game. The program looks and feels user-friendly, with a simple setup and simplified alert messages, but still it's not for average users. Please note: Currently PC Tools Firewall Plus does not support Mobile Broadband or USB network connections, an ethernet connection will be required for your connection to be correctly detected. The software will still install on your computer but will not function correctly. II. Best 'Firewall Only' Configurations for Basic Protection and Less User Involvement The same three firewalls above have alternate configurations (see below to configure them) that compare favorably to user friendly firewall products. These configurations accommodate the use of your favorite active anti-malware and HIPS programs, and they reduce the burden of answering chains of popup alerts and make them easier to manage for average users. Additionally, some users (of many degrees of experience) prefer to avoid advanced firewalls that employ a constant "security guard" that question them daily when they want to connect to the Internet, install a new program, play online games, or run their programs. The more you install and uninstall programs, the more the fancier firewalls need user involvement and extra work. Outpost Firewall Free comes with reduced monitoring in its default settings. You can check this setting with a right click on the tray tool, click "Settings..." > "Host Protection" > the slider should be set "Optimal". This leads the section and is the best reduced monitoring configuration. It isn't quite a "firewall only" configuration, but it's much more user friendly than its maximum configurations. If you disable behavior monitoring in the following firewalls, then they still provide excellent inbound protection, minimal/marginal outbound filtering, and additional features such as port stealthing. First, of course, you must download and install the following software of your choice, then change their settings to reduce their level of protection/monitoring (in other words, disable their HIPS components). Here are the key settings to adjust:
All three will still ask you whether unknown programs should have access to the Internet, but they will not worry if you start OpenOffice Writer to compose your next poem. They also seem to remember your responses to alerts in a simple, straightforward way. Additionally, all three have a list of programs they automatically allow. For example, I noticed that none of them asked whether Firefox should be allowed to connect online. Though, they did alert me when some of my other lesser known programs tried to go online for updates. So there will still be a learning curve in dealing with popup alerts, but the alerts settle down quickly once the firewall has a good list of rules for your Internet-bound software. Though, these configurations will lose you important protection from malware running on your PC, such as root-kits, keyloggers, Trojans, viruses, or spyware, and dramatically increases the chance such malware will successfully make outbound connections (if you're without other security software). You would need additional security software to supplement these configurations. We have articles on options such as virtualization, HIPS and anti-malware. These are important security layers to help safeguard against malware and prevent it from harming your PC or from making outbound connections to steal your personal information or take control of your PC. For average users who want to try an alternative, simple and lightweight free firewall, Sunbelt-Kerio Personal Firewall causes very little annoyance for the user in its default settings. Yet it also manages excellent inbound protection, with marginal outbound protection. Its 'no popup' configuration disables "Application Behavior Blocking." If you use its feature for advanced users, the behavior blocker, then its protection is better and it superficially operates more like the top three firewalls (except its performance isn't in their league). You would also have many popup alerts to handle at least initially. Some advanced features are automatically turned off after the 30 day trial period and some users experienced system crashes in the past. But I had no problems with it in my recent testing. Other user friendly alternatives include Ashampoo FireWall Free and ZoneAlarm Free Firewall. III. Best Firewall for Novice Users The built-in windows firewall is an excellent choice for novice or impatient users since it avoids the hassle and confusion of incessant alerts while employing excellent inbound protection. This may sound unusual; a Gizmo Freeware article advocating the use of a built-in windows product -- almost seems impossible. Most novice users, however, are simply not prepared to reliably handle the numerous popup alert messages of the best firewalls on the market. Windows firewall is lacking against outbound malware threats, but users who merely click "yes" to each and every alert they encounter will not have the level of protection they think they have (and certainly not if the user gets so frustrated that they uninstall their maximum security personal firewall). Additionally, it does not require installation, so it's the least likely to conflict with other programs or your PC. If you are fairly sure no malware exists on your computer and you have no use for the other features of a personal firewall, then windows firewall is actually a practical and useful solution.
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Related Products and Links
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Related to Firewalls:
Related to Security:
Related Firewall Testing Sites:
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Have Your Say
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There are four major ways to send feedback: registered users can contact me directly here or in the forum under Contact Info. Registered users may also post in the forum. And anyone can post a comment at the bottom of this page. |
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This category is maintained by volunteer editor Rizar.
Tags for this page: best free firewall, best free firewall for windows, best free firewall software.
Best Free Adware/Spyware/Scumware Remover
Last Update: Sat, 11/14/2009 - 02:33 — Steve Hargreaves|
In a Hurry?
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Introduction
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It's been some time since my last round of testing, and the time has certainly come for a refresher. Adopting much the same approach as previously, I have been asked if there were any surprises, and the honest answer is yes, there have. The most significant surprise was how difficult I was finding it to infect my system in the first place. After three hours of browsing, deliberatley choosing websites and domains where infection was almost a prerequisite, I had nothing, and it was only after investigating various system settings that I found out why. For those looking for the technical "how I did it", I once again started with a clean install of XP SP2 on a virtual machine, patched with the necessary microsoft updates. I deliberately did not upgrade to SP3. Having gotten my clean install, I backed it up, and then went off to infect it. Before doing so I downloaded installation packages for those on test, and once I had my machine infected, I backed up the infected machine. I restored the original infected machine to test each product, ensuring a level playing field for each test. Finally, I did incremental scans with each product on the same infected system. |
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Discussion
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So, the question is why was it so hard for me to get my machine infected in the first place, and having identified the "problem", my top recommendation is not an anti-malware product, and doesn't even involve a download or a scan of any type. It doesn't offer any form of protection on your PC, but it will help enormously against infection in the first place. What is this magic solution? For some time, I have been using OpenDNS as my DNS server, rather than my ISPs own offering. I hadn't realised how pro-active OpenDNS is in the fight against drive by malware protection. Quite simply, every time I tried to visit a site guaranteed to infect me, it was simply shown as not found. During normal browsing sessions you never see this, and so it took me a while to realise the cause. Only after switching back to my ISP hosted DNS was I able to find the infections that I craved. Requiring only a quick, free registration and simple confirguration change, you improve your protections considerably. Having made that recommendation, it is still possible to infect your system, either running software that may spread infection, or visiting sites that may not be in OpenDNS blacklist, and whilst an excellent first line of defence, local protection is still a must. Top of the list once again is SuperAntiSpyware, which successfully detected and cleaned 121 threats on my test system. A fairly lightweight download and simple installation (5.99 MB) mean that this is not a burdensome product. If anything, the general package, whilst aesthetically similar, is improved since last time, managing to detect and clean after a single scan rather than the two scans required last time. A reboot to complete cleaning was still required, though this is a minor inconvenience, and required by most packages. If I had to raise a critisicm, it's that the freeware version still installs a startup item which doesn't actually do anything at all. In the paid version, it loads the always on protection which is not available in the freeware version. This minor annoyance aside, it remains my top recommendation.
Promoted this time to joint second place is A-Squared free edition, and let me be very clear that it is ONLY the free edition that I am able to recommend. A-Squared was able to identify just 43 infections, though some of the more serious threats identified by SAS were included in these. If we disregard tracking cookies, then the margins narrow. However, detection rate is only half the battle, and unfortunately A-Squared was unable to automatically clean some of the more virulent infections found itself. Nevertheless, it helpfully provides a link to forums for manual removal instructions.
The downside of A2 is the download size, being a huge 54.2 MB, immediately followed by a further 20MB updates. Anyone on restricted bandwidth or dial up may be advised to look elsewhere, but for an average broadband connection this should not be a factor.
As mentioned, I can only recommend the freeware version. During testing I inadvertently downloaded the full version of A2, which runs in evaluation mode for 30 days. Strangely, the full version hung on the scan during each test (though the program itself didn't crash), which is a particular worry.
Sharing the second place spot is MalwareBytes AntiMalware. MBAM caused me considerable problems initially, being one of two programs that had been actively bocked from running by one of the nasties I had picked up. Only after renaming the main executable, and running it in safe mode was I able to proceed. This initial scan found 19 infections and managed to clean them sufficently that when I rebooted I was able to run the program in a normal environment. I updated the program and ran a full scan, which found a further 8 infections, bringing the total to 27. Where MBAM did better than other products on test was it's ability to remove hijacked DNS entries (which forced redirection of links from popular search engines to less productive sites).
Separating A2 and MBAM is almost impossible. I found them to be on a par with each other regarding their scans, but both require a technical proficiency that many may not posses; A2 requires manual removal of many threats, whilst MBAM forced me to jump through hoops to get it working.
PCTools SpywareDoctor SE also performed well in scanning, finding 24 threats (excluding cookies). Unfortunately, cleaning the system proved more problematic. Despite reporting successful cleansing, SD failed to terminate processes already running, and did not in fact clean some of the more annoying infections. It would also be useful if SD prompted a reboot after cleansing, though it did not do this, and only experience dictated that this would be a good idea.
SD does, however, include real time protection, which most other products don't, and this protection did block those infections that it had failed to clean. Nevertheless, a further scan and clean with SAS was needed to fully clean my test system. A fine effort, but sadly falling short of the mark. Do note that the free version is no longer available from the PCTools website. It can be obtained as part of the google pack, or from here.
Old timer Ad-Aware, coming in at 35.7MB performed reasonably, if not exceptionally, finding a further 24 infections even after cleaning with A-squared, 4 of which represented real threats, whilst the remaining 20 were cookies.
Doing less well in on demand tests were Spybot S&D, Spyware Terminator and The Cleaner 2010. Spybot was the other program that was actively blocked from running, and nothing I tried could overcome this. It does come with an on demand file scanner which can be run from the command line and set to scan your entire drive. However, after letting this run for over an hour and noting that progress had barely touched my relatively small installation system (2.1 Gb) I cancelled. It would take an age to complete the scan, and would only examine files. Registry entries and services would be left untouched. Spyware Terminator found just 3 threats, and The Cleaner 2010 found absolutely none.
Arovax Shield is still in development, and starting to mature, though there are still bugs to be ironed out. For example, once installed, and after the obligatory reboot to enable it to start it's services, it immediately complained that it could not find Firefox. This is no surprise since FF was not installed on the test system, though I fail to see why it should prevent it from doing it's job. Maybe as time progresses this will become more viable, but in my opinion it isn't quite there yet.
And so that leads us to my standard "other recommendations". Internet Explorer has now reached version 8, which I am sure will become the most prolific web browser before too long, and as such will be the most heavily targetted. I stand by previous recommendations that an alternative browser (of which there are many free ones these days, including Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome and Safari) will offer a safer browsing experience.
And in order to shut the door after the horse has bolted, there is still little more useful that HiJack This, which is still a tool requiring expert help, but can be invaluable in helping to clean an infected system. Fortunately, the expert help is still only a forum away.
And as always, let common sense guide you. Don't run a program from an untrusted source, and don't visit websites where infection is likely. You should also beware of popups from programs that you haven't installed, some of the fake anti-spyware I managed to pick up in my browsing sessions was surprisingly convincing. Remember, sometimes malware will scream into your face that it is there (see pic, not a genuine window amongst them). It will just not tell you what it really is.
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This software category is maintained by volunteer editor Steve Hargreaves. The comments section below is so lengthy that it has become difficult for our visitors to read. Future posts will now be edited for length and repetition, and personal attacks deleted. You are all welcome to join our Security Forum which is much better-suited for intensive debate ... peter |
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Best Free PC Tune-up Utility
Last Update: Wed, 11/04/2009 - 16:26 — javelincts|
In a Hurry?
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Introduction
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I will start with a caution. These programs no matter how good they are may sometimes cause harm to your computer. With the steps below however you can avoid most problems very easily. Tune-up utilities are just as necessary as getting a car serviced. They keep your computer running fast and error-free. There are a variety of tasks tune-up programs can do, such as cleaning temp files, incorrect registry entries, even ensuring your privacy. There are two scenarios that stand out where these type of programs will shine. The first example being an older computer that has been running for a longer time and needs all the resources it can get. The second is computers who run resource intensive programs, such as cutting edge computer games or video processing. All-in-one tune-up suites are more convenient than using several individual products, but the downsides are if you are unfamiliar with all the different tools you may use some above your knowledge level.Something to keep in mind as well is some stand-alone freeware are more effective than the all in one options. Before you start with tune-up programs there is a couple things you should always do. Most of these apply as a general rule of thumb of working with computers but I just want to make sure we are all on the same page.
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Discussion
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My current top choice is Ashampoo WinOptimizer 5, from Chip Online. (Thanks to For Free On Internet for the information.) WinOptimizer has a very sleek interface, with one-click cleaning for disk, privacy and registry cleaning tasks. It also has a nice option of a full scan, which gives recommendations for disabling unnecessary services, tweaking system settings, as well as the one-click cleaning features. I also like "Did you know?" tips, some of which I found quite useful. However, WinOptimizer is the only product that requires registration. Also, no further updates are provided. However, this is the best choice if you want something simple that can clean your computer with a few clicks, with no ads. WinOptimizer offers a very basic disk and privacy cleaner; in particular, it does not clean the history of most programs. The disk defragmenter is very fast, but seems to be a bit too quick to offer good file placement. The file erasing utility is very comprehensive, with wiping options up to Gutmann and the ability to rename the files and folders before it is erased. The registry cleaner also seems very basic, detecting very little items. (Of course, registry cleaning is not simply a case of the more the better, but the result was far less than even some very conservative registry cleaners). It also has a tweaking utility with over 450 tweaks, and it's the best I've seen out of these products. WinOptimizer also has a detailed process manager, a startup manager, a system information utility, a benchmarking utility and various other tools. Another good option is Glary Utilities. It has one-click cleaning for some tasks. One important feature that Glary does not have is disk defragmentation. This is quite a powerful product, but many of its tools require user interaction. Glary Utilities free offers a very basic disk cleaner, but it is made up by a reasonable privacy cleaner and various tools which can remove broken shortcuts, duplicate files and empty folders. Unfortunately, I could not find an option to overwrite files in the privacy cleaner. The disk-space analysis feature is outstanding, offering the most detailed information out of these products. However, I was unable to find out what encryption algorithm Glary uses for its encryption/decryption utility, so I would not rely on it for sensitive data. Glary also contains a file and free space eraser and recovery of deleted files. The registry cleaner works very well and it also contains a registry defragmenter. The startup manager is the only product to contain a startup delayer, however, the security ratings from both the startup and process manager do not seem to be very accurate, but it could be useful for experienced users. Glary also includes a few other tools.
The disk and privacy cleaner is very thorough, but could be dangerous in the hands of a beginner. System Cleaner has a wide variety of file utilities, with encryption/decryption, a rename tool and calculation of checksums, to name a few. The registry cleaning is very aggressive, maybe too aggressive in my opinion. Other features include a minimal disk-space analysis feature, a detailed process manager, a startup manager, a rather basic tweaking utility and system information and benchmarking. Regardless of which tune-up utility you use, I suggest you read Gizmo's Best Free Disk De-fragmenter and run one of those defragmenters regularly. The reason for this is that I believe none of the disk defragmenters provided by these suites are that effective or have scheduling/real-time options. If you use a disk defragmenter in conjunction with one of these tune-up utilities, you'll have a remarkably complete tune-up package. Remember that cleaning your PC always involves a small element of risk, so backup your data, create a System Restore Point and have an image backup handy before you start. I recommend that you run the tune-up programs monthly. After each monthly Windows update is an excellent time to run a clean up. If you install and uninstall many products, you may want to increase this frequency to weekly or even daily. If you have never tuned up your PC, then you should see a real improvement in speed and responsiveness the first time you run these programs. However, on subsequent runs the improvement may be much less noticeable. Please help us by rating this review |
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100+ Places for Free Books Online
Last Update: Sat, 10/31/2009 - 12:19 — keroffsIntroduction
This is a listing of 193 sites that legally offer free books (eBooks) for download or for online viewing.
Some time ago I went looking for some free eBooks and was surprised to find that there are many resources for this. I decided to put together this list of sites that offer free eBooks as a reference. Since there are so many, I was not able to check each one out thoroughly. So comments from you on any of these sites would be appreciated and added to the comments in the article.
I have tried to make certain that all of the eBooks at these sites are legally available for viewing/downloading. However, it is possible that I have made a mistake. If you suspect any of these sites of illegally offering copyrighted materials, then please let me know.
Putting this together was exhausting, but the list is not exhaustive, so I encourage you to post any sites that you know of that are not listed here.
The listing here is in alphabetical order. Given the size of this list now, it may be easier to search by genre. I have set up 14 pages here of different genres. If you do not see one that covers your interests, let me know and I may be able to put one together.
I have also put together a listing of sites that offer free and legal audio books at
These listings may be search in the following methods:
- Alphabetical Listing - A listing of the site names in alphabetical order
- Listing by Genre - Links to pages here for different book genres (14)
- Online Local Libraries -These sites have links to local libraries which have much content for members
.
Alphabetical Listing
1RomanceEBooks
offers 27 free books from their romance collection for download in a variety of formats. These are not public domain offerings, but some of their usual offerings made available for free.
2020k Large collection, divided into categories and sub-categories for download in a variety of formats. Note: Many of the links to the Internet Archive from this site are not working.
4eBooks
Thousands of free eBooks in every computer programing field with reviews and descriptions.
AdaIC.org
has several free books on Ada as well as textbooks and tutorials on Ada.
Alive and Free - Links to free ebooks of living authors
AllBooksFree A small, but unique, listing of free fiction ebooks, available for download, mostly in pdf.
AllRomanceBooks
lists 169 free romance ebooks for download. Registration is required. I noticed that there appeared to be the 1RomanceEBooks and eHarlequin listings shown there, as well as quite a few others. Again, these are not public domain, but the free offerings of current publishers.
American Mathematical Society has a pretty complete listing of books involving mathematics.
Arthur's Classic Novels - Over 4000 novels covering a great variety of topics, nicely separated into categories and "best" lists. Some very interesting entries here. Available for online viewing.
Ask Sam - A small collection of classics, including Shakespeare, and legal, resource and government texts.
AssociatedContent
has several cookbooks available for download in pdf. Most are short and specific (muffin recipes etc.), but the Chocolate recipe book is over 600 pages and the Blue Ribbon recipes are over 400 pages.
AstrologyWeekly 10 books for online reading and about 30 for download. All on astrology.
Authorama offers a few hundred books, searchable by author, for online viewing.
BABBooks
is a children's site that has 25 free illustrated books available for online reading or listening.
Baen Free Library - A small library of downloadable science fiction novels in a variety of formats.
BaenCD - A small collection of science fiction books from Baen's promotional CDs. They are downloadable in a variety of formats as well as viewable online.
Baldwin Online Children's Projects 520 classic children's books in a variety of genres for online viewing
Bartelby - Harvard classics and encyclopedias. HTML only.
BBC (Dr. Who) for those who like Dr. Who, this is a collection of 8 books for online reading or download in a choice of 3 formats
Berkely SunSite Classics - A small collection of classics. HTML only.
Bibliomania - Over 2,000 classic novels, study guides, biographies and more. HTML only.
BlackMaskFiction
offers 20 or so free detective stories that were originally published in magazines during 1925 to 1939 for download in pdf.
BookBoon
offers a number of free textbooks on computer porgraming and other subjects for download in pdf. These are legal textbooks written for BookBoon which contain some ads within the books.
Book-bot 14,571 books available for online viewing in their easy to view reader. Very nice find by fellow editor Rhiannon.
BookBox
is a children's site that has about 20 free books available for download in pdf (as a single page) and MP3. Also free games and coloring books.
BookGlutton is a collection of 1200+ books for online reading with the added feature of groups available for discussion of the readings. Nice combination of reading and socializing. Suggested by an anonymous poster.
BookPop
is another children's site that has a number of illustrated books free for online reading. There are also some coloring pages for download. There are supposed to be music and story downloads, but I kept getting an error when trying to reach those.
BookRags - Small collection of free with many paid. Hard to find the free ones. Available in Word or PDF.
BooksShouldBeFree While primarily a good sized collection of audio books, each of the books is available for online reading or for download in text.
Bookstacks is a small collection (100+) of classic works available for online viewing, with many also available in Adobe PDF and Microsoft Reader versions. Nicely set up.
BookYards - 16,000+ books, videos, educational material.
Bored.com has over 15,000 books available for online viewing. Nicely divided into a good variety of categories.
BucaroTecHelp
has an interesting collection of free business books available for download in pdf. These deal with internet business for the most part. You do have to view their news feed to be able to download, but registration is not necessary.
CandlelightStories
has a good number of stories from the Arabian nights collection as well as other story books available for online reading.
CBeebies
is a BBC site that offers a good number of free stories, in flash, for online reading and listening. Also, has games, music and coloring books.
Chessville 40+ ebooks on Chess available for download (mostly in PDF)
ChestofBooks Large collection, divided into categories, for online viewing. Nice collection.
ChildrensBooksForever
has a nice collection of illustrated books available in pdf.
Children's Books Online is an excellent collection (600+) of illustrated antique children's books for viewing online. They are also available for download at a fee. This little gem was suggested by an anonymous poster.
Classic Authors.net contains the works of over a hundred authors (and short biography for each), with a varying number of works per author. Online viewing only.
Classic Book Library is a small collection (100+) of classic works arranged by genre. Online viewing only.
Classic Book Shelf Electronic Library offers the works of 50+ authors in varying amounts. Online viewing only.
Classic Literature Library Decent size collection that has complete works of a small variety of authors and works of others and a nice children's section available for online viewing.
Classic Reader offers thousands of free classic books for online viewing.
ComputerBooks.us larger collection, subcategorized and available for download in pdf
CrankyLibrarian 3011 books by 752 authors available for online viewing. Complete works of several authors and some interesting categories.
DailyLit - Read books online by daily email or RSS feed. Over 700 titles.
Developnew a good collection of free computer software books available for reading online.
Diesel eBooks - Offers 750+ ebooks formatted for Microsoft Reader and MobiPocket
DivineLifeSociety over 200 books on Yoga, religion and philosophy available in pdf or HTML
DoverCentreBooks
has a very large collection of links to free online cookbooks, horror stories, meditation, spiritualism and fables.. They are sorted alphabetically and since they are to a variety of download sites, the availability of online viewing and download formats vary.
DragonBytes Nice collection of horror novels available for online viewing. Separate section for Vampire novels.
Earthbound The 5 book science fiction series of Earthbound available for download in lit .pdb .pdf .txt .rtf.
EasyMediaBroadcast
offers a nice size collection of mostly classical works for download in TK3. You must use the TK3 reader, available for free at the site, for these books. Books are sorted by author and title.
eBookLobby - Small, but interesting and unique, collection divided into 13 categories
E-Books Directory 944 books in 344 categories available for download in varying formats.
eBooksforYoungReaders
offers a large collection of free books for download nicely categorized into reading levels.
eBooksJustPublished Interesting collection of DRM free eBooks listed daily. Most are free.
eBookNook
A good number of stories, mostly romance, but some children and vampire stories available for online reading.
eBooksRead Over 41,000 books available for download in pdf or text. Search by author or title
eHarlequin
offers 17 free romance novels for download in several different format options. These are not public domain novels, but some of Harlequin's usual offerings.
eReader.com has a small collection of free ebooks for download, but a couple interesting entries. Registration required.
eServer - Over 30,000 works covering a variety of interests
eServer Technical Communications
has 875 works in its software section and 161 in its webdesign section (although a number were no longer available) as well as some articles in its other sections.
eText.lib The University of Virginia online library has a large collection of works available for online viewing (some are available in Microsoft Reader). Even though a good number are limited to UVA students and staff, there is still a good amount of interesting material available to the general public. Suggested by poster mikedutch.
EveryonesReading
is offering 10 free romance novels for download in several formats. These are one book from each of their series and are being offered to celebrate their first anniversary (so they may not be there long).
Federal Citizen Information Center offers informational booklets on a great variety of subjects. Many are free and most of the paid ones are available for a free download. Suggested by an anonymous poster
FeedBooks - Thousand of eBooks downloadable in a variety of formats
Fiction eBooks is a interesting small collection of works of fiction (including some Beatrix Potter illustrated childrens books) as well as some books for writers and works philosphy and sociology. Online viewing only.
FictionPress
is a growing network over 1 million writers/readers, and home to over 1,200,000 original works by unsigned authors.
FictionWise has 35 books available for free download in a great variety of formats. Most are the usual classics avialble elsewhere, but there are a couple of unusual ones and a few reference books that might be interesting.
FindingFreeeBooks
has links to free book offerings posted. Also worth checking out the limited time offers section. This is a nice spot to check as there are unique entries here.
Franklin - Thousands of free titles available in text and HTML format
FreeBookCentre links to thousands of computer ebooks divided into many sub-categories
FreeBookSpot - 5,000 free eBooks downloadable in 96 categories available for download in a number of different formats. Suggested by devinathann.
FreeBooksClub 1500+ books, in a wide variety of non-fiction categories, available for download. Registration required. Showing Account Suspended-will check to see if it renews.
FreeBooks4Doctors Over 650 works (in varying languages) dealing with medical matters. Available in pdf download.
FreeBooksforAll A fairly large collection of non-fiction books availabe for download (mostly in pdf)
FreeComputer Books - Free computer, math, technical books and lecture notes
FreeeBookDownloadLinks
has a very nice size collection of links to free computer science books online. Download options vary as these are links to other sites.
Free eBooks Net - Free books and resources for authors. Also magazines
FreeOnlineBooks
offers over 5,000 free books, mostly classics, for online viewing. Works may be searched by author, title, keyword, reading level and 15 genres. You can adjust the page width and font size and style. Registration is not necessary, but free registration allows some extra features.
FreeOn-LineBooks Interesting collection on individualist feminism and libertarianism available for online viewing.
Free Online Novels Interesting collection for online viewing. Several hundred novels separated into categories.
FreeQuickRecipes
3 cookbooks available for download in pdf and a large amount of recipes for online viewing as well as other information on kitchen and diet
FreeRead a bibliography of Australian writers who died before 1955, with links to a good number of them for download or viewing.
Free SF Online
over 2,000 links to science fiction books for reading online
FreeSFReader Collection of links for mostly science fiction, fantasy and horror novels and short stories, but also some other genres
FreeTechBooks - Computer science and programming books, textbooks and lecture notes.
FullBooks - Thousand of free full text books.
GenieBooks
offers a few free children's books available for download in powerpoint.
GetFreeEbooks - Smaller collection of all free ebooks.
Globusz - A place for new authors to post their work and for readers to check them out for free.
GoldenGems 
a collection of little golden books and other illustrated books for children for online viewing and saving as jpg.
Google Book Search - Good selection of free ebooks available in a variety of categories.
GrtBooks - A large collection of great books and classics.
Gutenberg - Over 25,000 books for download there and over 100,000 available through their affiliates.
HealthRecipes
8 cookbooks available for download in pdf
Heygidday Thousands of works in a great variety of categories available for download in pdf (zipped).
HorrorMasters 2100 classic horror novels available for download in pdf, plus links to horror novels at other sites.
HowTo offers around 150 free "how to" ebooks on a wide variety of topics. Suggested by an anonymous poster.
Infomotions - 14,000 listings from full classic novels to Western philosophy. HTML only.
InternationalChildrensDigitalLibrary nice collection of children's books from around the world in a variety of languages and nicely categorized, available for online viewing
InternetArchive - Over 500,000 texts available for download
Internet Sacred Text Archive very interesting and large collection of books on religion, mythology, folklore and the esoteric available for online viewing.
Islaam Pure & Clear around 50 Islamic books for reading or download
Jody Kihara has made two of her books for children available for free download in PDF and apparently more freebies are forthcoming.
Kellscraft Studio Around 250 books available for online viewing. Kellscraft lists out of print, public domain novels, most published prior to 1923. Searchable by title, author and topic.
KiddoTime
is a site for those learning to read. It has phonics, word, music and puzzle games. Suggested by Sefi.
KidsNurseryRhymes
a British site featuring over 1200 nursery rhymes for online viewing. Also has sing along rhymes (must have midi player-available there) and some nursery rhyme disco recordings available for download in MP3.
Kidspace A small collection of childrens books, available for online viewing, from the Internet Public Library.
LearningIsland Nice collection of children's books available for online viewing.
Librivox Although mostly know for its excellent collection of audio books. A poster named Les has pointed out that they also have links to online viewing sites for all of its large collection of audio books and also download links.
LilFingers Storybooks Small collection of books for very young children for reading and being read to.
Linux Online Around 25 linux, open source and programing, books for download or reading
Listverse
has a interesting top ten list (though there are 11 entries) of free sci fi books on the web.
Literature.org has a collection of classics, arranged by author, for online viewing.
LiteratureNetwork has over 1900 full books and over 3000 short stories and poems by over 250 authors available for online reading. Searchable by author and they have a few unusual ones.
LiteraturePost 825 works from 71 authors available for online viewing.
Luisa Green
offers 3 of her romance ebooks for free download in pdf.
Magickeys small, but interesting, and unusual, collection of childrens books for online viewing
ManyBooks - 22,000 books available for download in a variety of formats
Master Texts is a collection of 30+ authors for online viewing.
MedLine Plus is a great, trustworthy site for general health information, including tutorials, clinical trial updates and the latest news in medicine. You can also find plenty of books, including some intended for children.
MemoWare - Free books for PDA
Mises Institute Several hundred books, mostly on economics (and from a libertarian point of view) available for download as pdf. Some unique entries here. Suggested by poster, Bill Starr.
MIT Internet Classics Archive - Over 400 works of clasical literature available for download.
MIT OpenCourseWare
offers a large selection of business courses in its Sloan School of Management section.
MobileRead - Forum listing thousands of free ebooks.
MobiPocket over 10,000 works, in a variety of categories, available for download in MOBI.
Molwick Small collection of scientific and educational books available for download in pdf
Munsey's - Over 18,000 ebooks available in a variety of formats
NetLibrary - Small selection of free. But annual membership is only $8.95 for over 500,000 works.
OnlineBooks4free large collection of links to other sites for online viewing or download. Nicely categorized.
Online Books Page from the University of Pennsylvania is a listing of over 30,000 free books on the web. Mostly this references to other sites, but they do have the Gutenberg listings available for download as well as some interesting special exhibits.
OnlineComputerBooks - Good selection of free computer books.
OnlineFreeeBooks - links to various ebooks (mostly pdf) in 9 categories
Online Library of Liberty hosts over an interesting collection of over 1,100 books available for online viewing and also for download.
OnlineSapiens has a small collection for online viewing, but a few unique entries worth a look.
OxfordTextArchive - Over 2,000 classical texts downloadable as ASCII or DOC
PagebyPage a few hundred works available for online viewing.
Payton Lee
offers 17 of her romance works and several short stories for download in pdf. The downloads are at LuLu, which supposedly requires registration to download, but I was able to download and did not have to register.
PDFBooks - 4,700 pdf ebooks
PDFFreeBooks Small collection of children's books and two rare books on Syriac grammar and Arabic-Enclish lexicon. Available for download in PDF or DJVU.
PerseusDigitalLibrary - A large collection of classical texts broken down to time period written.
PlaneteBook - Free classical literature
PlanetPDFeBooks - Small collection of classical works.
ProgrammingeBooks
has a very nice collection of downloads and links for a wide variety of programming languages.
Project Gutenberg Australia over 1600 novels and an assortment of other works available in varying ways, including test, pdf and online viewing
PublicBookShelf around 150 books in varying categories for online viewing.
PublicLiterature Has some unique public domain novels among its classic collection of around 100 books. Also has a large selection of writings submitted by authors which are free and legal to download, but not to distribute. All are available for online viewing and download in several formats.
PubMed Bookshelf is an engine which lets you search for books containing keywords of your choice and then browse them.
PubMed Central This search engine covers all the open-access articles [rather than books] available on PubMed, the National Library of Medicine's main scientific portal (where you can also find abstracts from many restricted-access articles).
Questia Online Library offers over 5,000 classic and rare works for free online viewing
QuickFound
has links to many and varied free online cookbooks for viewing and for download in pdf. Definitely worth checking out.
Qvadis hosts over 6,000 free titles available in Palm Database (.pdb) format.
ReadBookOnline has a nice collection of classics available for online viewing.
ReadEasily - Small collection of works that has option for larger print. HTML only.
ReadPrint - Thousands of books, poems and short stories.
ReadTheseLips short fiction, poetry and other writings especially for and about lesbians.
RealTime - Free media for IT professionals
RIF Reading Planet
has an interesting collection of books for online viewing that changes monthly. Also has activities and games as well as Asian/Pacific, Carribean, Hispanic and native American sections with books and activities.
RobertBurtonRobinson
offers a number of free books and short stories for free online viewing and for free download in pdf.
RobertSchifreen
has made his new book "The Web Book", which covers everything involved in setting up a website available exclusively to visitors here at Gizmo's.
RomanticMarriageStories
features romance works about married life. These short stories present a high view of marriage and portray the fun a romantic couple can have in a happy and sexy marriage.
Sarah Reinke
has made several of her romance novels, and some non-romance novels, available for download in pdf. These are for mature audiences and you must be over 18 years of age to download.
Scholastic Small collection of children's books available for online viewing (or read to you). Featuring Clifford the Big Red Dog.
Scifimatter
has a nice listing of free sci fi books available on the internet. Some are already listed here, but there are quite a few unique entries.
SebastianSwan
a collection of Sebastian Swan stories for online viewing.
SejarahMelayuLibrary
is perhaps the largest public on-line collection of books and other documents on the history of the Malay archipleago and its surrounding region. Consisting of over 700 books and academic papers in electronic PDF format, the library is divided into seven broad sections:
SillyBooks
has a number of free books available for online reading. There are also puzzles, games and contests.
Sloan St.James
has made 4 of her romance novels, including THE DARK PLAIN, an RWA award winning novel, available for download in pdf.
SnipFiles - Small collection of free ebooks and software.
specficworld
has a small collection of free sci fi books available for download in pdf. Mostly short story collections.
Starfall nice little collection of works to help children learn to read
Starry FreeOnlineNovels small collection, but some interesting entries, available for online viewing.
StoryPlace Elementary
has six stories and related activities for online viewing geared for elementary school age children.
StoryPlace PreSchool
has a nice collection of books and activities designed for pre-schoolers available for online viewing.
Suvudu
offers the first book in some of their acclaimed sci fi series for free download. Interesting entries.
TechBooksforFree
offers a wide range of free programming and computer books divided into nine main categories.
TechToolBlog Links to 345 online programing books
TheFreeLibrary
has a large collection of free classic books sorted by author and searchable by author, title or keyword. There is also a small biography of every author along with the listing of that author's works on the site. The site claims to have over 5 million works. Online viewing only.
Tikiri
has a nice collection of Sri Lankan stories available in English and Sinhala available as pdf.
ToddlerSchool
has a small collection of illustrated books to read and listen to online. Also has educational games for younger children. Suggested by Sefi.
TopMystery A good amount of each of the few mystery authors listed are available for online viewing or download
Tor.com
has a good number of Science Fiction & Fantasy stories available for download in pdf, mobi pocket, html or ePub. Also available for listening or download as MP3.
TrinityMoon
a small collection of novels and short stories for online reading
Vitalita 
The Vitalita Culinary Group is offering two free vegan cookbooks for download in text. A Taste of Vitality and Desserts of Vitality include pictures of the finished dishes.
Web Literature has 6500+ works of over 350 authors available for online viewing. A nice feature is that they try to display the full works of the listed authors
WitGuides - Small collection of free ebooks in a variety of categories.
WordIQ Nice collection of over 10,000 books available for online viewing. There are some unusual entries here, but hard to find unless looking for specific title or author.
WorldofTales
a collection of folktales, fairy tales and fables from around the world available for online viewing.
Wowio - Good size collection of novels and also comic books.
Libraries
On the advice of anonymous poster that most public library systems offer free ebooks, audiobooks, and music downloads to their customers for free, I did some checking and found that there are a large amount of offerings available through online libraries. It appears most, if not all, require a local library card. These are sites that have links to local library sites.
LibWeb is a good search source for local libraries online. A good selection of US and worldwide locations.
Public Libraries very good for US, looked not as thorough as LibWeb on worldwide.
Internet Public Library also has some links, but I found the above two to be superior set ups.
Genre Pages
Because this page is becoming extremely long I have switched the genre sections to their own pages. Please check these separate pages out if you are interested in a particular genre as they have some links that have not been added to this main list as of yet and they also have links to audio books.
- Free Children's Books Online
- Free Science Fiction & Fantasy Books Online
- Free Horror, Ghost & Gothic Books Online
- Free Romance Books Online
- Free Computer & Internet Books Online
- Free Mystery, Detective, Thriller & Crime (Fiction) Books Online
- Free "Westerns" Books Online
- Free Cooking, Food & Wine Books Online
- Free Religion & Spirituality Books Online
- Free Health, Fitness & Medicine Books Online
- Free Biography, Autobiography & Memoir Books Online
- Free Travel Books Online
- Free History Books Online
- Free Business Books Online
Related Links |
Best Free Trojan Scanner/Trojan Remover
Last Update: Fri, 09/11/2009 - 06:38 — nirvana39|
In a Hurry?
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Introduction
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Malware, trojans and threats Most PCs are now connected to the Internet and networks, making easier the spread of malicious software (malware), which includes trojans (also known as trojan horses), viruses, worms, spyware, adware, rootkits and other malicious or unwanted programs. Like spyware and adware, trojans can get onto your computer in a number of ways, including from a web browser, via e-mail, or in a bundle with other software downloaded from the Internet. You may also inadvertently transfer malware via a USB flash drive or other portable media. Unlike viruses or worms, trojans do not replicate themselves but they can be just as destructive. On the surface, trojans appear benign and harmless, but once the infected code is run, trojans kick in and perform malicious functions to harm the computer system without the user's knowledge. For example, waterfalls.scr is a waterfall screen saver as originally claimed by the author, but it can be associated with malware and become a trojan to unload hidden programs and allow unauthorized access to the user's PC. Some typical examples of threats by trojans are as follows:
To minimise the threats, most PC users will need an effective anti-malware program to remove trojans along with other malware. Anti-malware and anti-trojan programs As more computer security developers are extending their product capabilities to address more than one type of malware, the boundary between different types of anti-malware programs is no more a clear cut and has become blurred. For example, an anti-virus program such as AVG Anti-Virus covers not only viruses, but offers protection against spyware, adware and others. An anti-spyware program such as SuperAntiSpyware not only detects spyware, but removes trojans, rootkits and other threats. Likewise an anti-trojan program can offer to remove viruses, spyware and other types of malware. More appropriately, these security products are to be classified as anti-malware programs rather than to be grouped by the name of the products. In this respect, anti-malware products which are designed to detect and remove trojans more effectively than the others will be reviewed in this category. How many anti-malware programs need to install?
Disclaimer Despite their ratings in this review, some anti-malware programs in certain cases are able to detect more malware than the others depending on their designs, online databases and the infections on computers. |
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Discussion
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Other Related Products
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These are a number of other free trojan scanners and removers which were brought up in comments here or noted from other sources. As they are not rated in this review, I am listing them here with brief descriptions and links to their sites for ease of reference.
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Have Your Say
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Editor
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anti-malware, anti-trojan, anti-virus, anti-spyware, adware, remover, scanner, freeware, free trojan scanner, free trojan remover |
Best Free CD / DVD Burning Software
Last Update: Thu, 10/08/2009 - 08:13 — M.Broderick|
In a Hurry?
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Introduction
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Despite the technology world’s efforts to eliminate moving parts in computers, optical mediums such as CDs and DVDs are still widely used and most average users still need to burn optical discs. Whether backing up data, preparing an audio mix CD, or creating a bootable Linux disc, finding the right burning software is essential. I have determined what I believe to be the best free solutions available for this purpose. However, no software can be everything to everybody, so try a few different options before you decide on the right one for your needs. After considering many comments from the readers and investigating various programs, I have chosen four applications to receive spots for the category of Best Free CD / DVD Burning Software. I believe that the combination of these programs will satisfy the needs of all types of users. |
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Discussion
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ImgBurn includes support for:
Unfortunately ImgBurn’s advanced features do come at the cost of a badly organized interface that may confuse users who just want to do a basic burn. The welcome menu provides quick access to some common tasks, but other basic features such as erasing a rewriteable disc are not immediately visible. Playing around with ImgBurn for a while and exploring the menus will certainly reveal most of what you need. However, people who aren’t interested in advanced functionality will most likely want to look at my other recommendations. Although ImgBurn is primarily aimed at advanced users, I still feel that it is the most worthy product for the top spot in this category.
BurnAware does not include support for:
I was unable to determine if dual layer discs are supported because I do not have any to test and because the program’s website does not specify. On the positive side, BurnAware Free supports CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs. It even allows you to create audio CDs and video DVDs, and you can burn ISO images as well as erase rewriteable media. BurnAware Free is my personal favorite disc burning application, and I will use it for the majority of my burning needs. I highly recommend it for the average user who doesn’t need advanced features, but wants an easy way to burn a disc quickly.
Although CDBurnerXP is not as advanced as ImgBurn or as simple as BurnAware Free, it has a respectable interface that makes most burning tasks straightforward and fast. The biggest drawback for some users is the program’s dependency on the .NET framework, which means that running the portable version from a flash drive will only work if the host computer has Microsoft’s .NET Framework installed. I do not personally like CDBurnerXP because I feel that between ImgBurn and BurnAware Free, my burning needs are covered. Nonetheless, I recommend trying it out if you need a full set of features without the troubles of a complicated interface.
InfraRecorder is a respectable burning program, but it has a few disadvantages as well. It does not support Blu-Ray discs or HD-DVDs. It also does not include many advanced options for tweaking the burn process to perfection like ImgBurn. Its interface isn’t as nice as that of BurnAware Free, and it doesn’t have any extra features like CDBurnerXP. Aside from these possible downsides, it feels like a solid program that definitely deserves a chance at becoming a part of your favored software collection. |
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This software category is maitained by volunteer editor m.broderick |
Best Free Registry Cleaner
Last Update: Thu, 07/02/2009 - 00:48 — christoph|
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Introduction
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The registry is what keeps your computer running; it tells the computer what to do when certain events happen. However, as you use your computer, a lot of unwanted and unnecessary information is written into the registry, and this usually occurs because you've installed and uninstalled programs or updated versions of existing programs. This gradual accumulation of unneeded or incorrect information will, over time, slow the speed of your computer. A registry cleaner tries to get rid of this unwanted data and restore your PC to full speed. The problem is that the cleaning process is less than perfect. In particular, there is always a small risk that the registry cleaner may incorrectly remove data that is actually needed. In the worst case scenario, your PC may become unusable as a result. That's why it's absolutely essential that you backup your registry before using a registry cleaner. For most users the easiest way to do this is to create a system checkpoint. An even better way is to use a drive-imaging program to create a snapshot of Windows, which you can use for system recovery if needed. As an added layer of protection, that may actually be more effective than System Restore, consider using the excellent ERUNT utility. This ever-present risk of problems is why the "best" registry cleaner is the one that causes the fewest problems, rather than the one that finds the greatest number of registry errors. Thus it is evident, a registry cleaner is - if at all - a tool reserved for the experienced user. The inexperienced may be assured that since the introduction of Windows XP, registry cleaning is no longer a crucial issue for the stability, security and performance of your system. Don't mess around with it!
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Best Free Media Player
Last Update: Thu, 10/08/2009 - 04:40 — joe.bennett|
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Introduction
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Finding an all-in-one media player used to be impossible. In the past you needed to use several separate programs to play MP3 files, streaming media from Real, Mpeg files, Quicktime movies, CDs and DVD discs, but with the advent of Microsoft's Windows Media Player (WMP), all of these media types could be played in one player. Over a period of time, however, WMP for XP and Vista has become bloated and isn't compatible with all of the available file formats. WinAmp, which began as an mp3 player, now plays almost everything, although it uses a lot of system resources and may contain adware if you aren't careful on the installation. iTunes has become more prevalent on many PCs due to the almost universal reach of the IPod, but it also uses a lot of resources and is processor intensive. So I've done some major research to find alternative media players capable of playing all of these media formats, including digital music, video, CD, and DVD, while still being light on resources. I was impressed with what I found. Not only do these programs replace WMP ITunes and WinAmp, but they also exceeded their functionality. The products that I've reviewed here are capable of playing multiple types of media files, including various digital audio and video formats, CDs, and DVDs. They are also easy to install and use and are light on system resources. NOTE: Some of these programs may require additional codecs for expanded functionality. For more information about codecs, including what they do, legal issues and download links, see the article, "Understanding Codecs". |
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My thanks to everyone who suggested The KM Player, especially subscriber Sandeep, whose comments were helpful in creating this review.
MPC Home Cinema has many additional functions above and beyond the original MPC including: The option to remove Tearing, better support for Windows Vista (including a release for 64 bit platforms), support for EVR (Enhanced Video Renderer) and playback and recording of television if a supported TV tuner is installed.
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VLC Media Player
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| Available on multiple platforms, can read DVD's from all regions | ||
| Large download size, many options can be confusing to non-technical types | ||
| http://www.videolan.org/ | ||
| http://www.videolan.org/vlc | ||
| 18 MB |
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GOM Player
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| No extra codec packs are needed, capable of playing broken avi files | ||
| May not play DVD discs on some systems | ||
| http://www.gomplayer.com/main.html | ||
| http://www.gomplayer.com/download.html | ||
| 4.66 MB |
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This software category is maintained by volunteer editor Joe Bennett. Registered site visitors can contact Joe by clicking here.
The Editors' Choice List: Our Selection of the Best PC Freeware
Last Update: Sat, 11/21/2009 - 01:23 — Rizar|
Welcome to the editors' choice list, where you'll find a collection of the best free software on our site. Many of the software products on this list won the coveted "Gizmo's Top Pick" award. You'll find only the best free software products here, many as good as or better than their commercial counterparts. Our choices include a broad selection of must have free programs, exquisitely rare freeware treasures, reliably effective freeware, and editor favorites. To get into this list a product must have done more than win a Gizmo's Freeware award; it must also impress our editors with its usefulness and professionalism. One of the most convenient measures of product "usefulness" is article popularity. So the freeware products on this list are from our most popular articles, but we exclude redundant top picks and any programs that are mostly a placebo. Usually our top software picks must win in a competitive, Darwinian struggle against many rival programs! We suggest you browse the whole list at your leisure as you may be surprised what freeware gems you will discover. The pathologically impatient can use the category index below. |
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Security Advice
Antivirus Software (Using more than one real-time antivirus can cause conflicts, consume system resources heavily, and even reduce protection, so we recommend one antivirus for real-time protection.)
Firewalls (Many people just use windows firewall for sanity's sake, but in any case only install 1 software firewall and consider making a fresh drive image or restore point before installing.)
Virtual Protection and Internet Safety (Browser Protection Utilities, Internet Safety Freeware)
Adware/Spyware/Scumware Removers
Intrusion Prevention and Detection Utilities (HIPS)
Related Top Picks: a-squared Free, LastPass, TrueCrypt |
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All-in-one PC Tune-up Utilities
Clean Excess Junk (File Cleaners, Registry Cleaners)
Related Top Picks: Eraser, Duplicate Cleaner, CleanMem |
Folder Synchronization Utilities ("Synchronization utilities are important in helping you keep identical versions of your files or folders, say, on both your home computer and office computer.")
Related: IsoBuster, jDiskReport, PC INSPECTOR File Recovery, Active@ HD Monitor, DriverMax |
Related Top Picks: TCPOptimizer, Process Explorer, ArsClip, Spotlight on Windows, Memtest86+ Related Top Picks (Desktop & GUI): Dexpot..., Launchy..., QTTabBar..., Copernic Desktop Search, Cathy |
Audio & Video Format Conversion
MP3 and Other Music Essentials (Music Players and Organizers, CD Rippers, MP3 Tag Editors)
Media Editing (Audio Editing, Video Editors)
Internet Media Viewing/Capturing (Online TV Viewers, Streaming Media Recorders)
Related Top Pick: DVD Profiler |
High Dynamic Range (HDR) Software
Related Top Picks: Project Dogwaffle, Noiseware Community Edition..., Microsoft ICE... |
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Home Essentials: Word Processing & More (Office Suites, Software Suites)
PDF Viewers and More (Non-Adobe PDF Readers, PDF Writers, PDF Tools)
Related Top Picks (Home & Office): Jarte, GnuCash, Palm Desktop..., PolyEdit Lite, Stickies |
BitTorrent Clients ("Quickly became an important download format for its speed, efficiency, and cheapness in distributing content over the Internet.")
Remote Access Software ("Remotely administer another computer for off-site troubleshooting or for accessing your home PC while traveling.")
Related: KompoZer, HTML-Kit..., Fire FTP..., NetMeter..., WireShark, Nmap..., NetworkStumbler, Digsby... |
Tags for this list: best freeware, best free software, must have free programs, best of Gizmo's Freeware, editors' choice list.
Best Free Disk De-fragmenter
Last Update: Wed, 11/04/2009 - 16:29 — drewbee|
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Introduction
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A disk defragmenter is a key toolkit element for keeping your PC running optimally. Disk fragmentation occurs through normal everyday use of your PC; over time your system becomes unable to store related data on your disk in a sequential (contiguous) manner, and must "fragment" files across different physical locations on your hard drive. This increases the number of times your hard drive must spin (or "seek"), which slows down the process of reading and writing files. Defragmentation software compresses files and free space back into contiguous blocks. Here is an example of a contiguous file system:
Here is an example of a fragmented file system:
Defragmenting your hard drive on a regular basis is a sound housekeeping habit; a chore that most home users should do once a month. By Defragmenting your system, one can greatly increase system performance. Your computer will be able to read files much quicker. It will also relieve stress on your hard drive. |
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Another major option in the playing field of free disk defragmenters is Ultra Defrag. Dubbed the "Open Source" defragmenter, it is a highly capable disk defragmenter that has been on the field for a very long time. It is currently in its fifth release. I found the features to be laid out very well, and the defragmentation speed was above average. This being said, the program's vista support is troublesome. Granted, there are guides to getting the program to running on vista, but for a program not to have native support for vista is a bit too much for me. I will continue to keep the program installed on my XP machine, as it is a good piece of software; however in my opinion, it is not worth the trouble in vista. In spite of this, here is the guide to installing the program on vista. To go along with MyDefrag, there is an excellent addon dubbed "MyDefragGUI." MyDefragGUI provides an enhanced graphical user interface for MyDefrag. It allows the user to access all the advanced features of MyDefrag in one easy console. If you use MyDefrag, then you know that instead of a GUI (graphical user interface) MyDefrag instead uses a series of start menue entries. For those of us who feel uncomfortable with that method, MyDefragGUI provides an excellent alternative.
If your needs for a glossy graphical interface are not a driving factor, Contig from SysInternals is a robust command line utility which defrags one file at a time and results in excellent performance gains. It's fast and safe, but the command line can turn off users. Fortunately, eXcessive software has built an excellent user interface for Contig, called Power Defragmenter that turns Contig into a really usable product. The latest release of Power Defragmenter offers a very nice “TripleMode” option which runs Contig in three passes; defragmenting any remaining fragmented files with each pass. |
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Enhanced Defraggler Shell for Defraggler from eXcessive Software. Desktop Utilities with Diskeeper Lite V9 from Intel. Instructions to remove nag screen from Diskeeper Lite. |
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This software category is maintained by volunteer editor drewbee
Best Free Audio / Video Format Conversion Program
Last Update: Wed, 11/18/2009 - 22:32 — Arithmomaniac|
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Introduction
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There are many different audio and video formats out there, and most devices (such as the iPod) and programs (such as Windows Media Player) will only take a few specific formats. A DVD or WMV movie will not play on an iPod, for example, without being converted into an MP4 file. Many commercial programs will do this conversion for you, but there are a few good ones that will do it for free. None of these programs are quite perfect. Some support more formats and devices, some are easier to use, and some are more stable. While some are better than others overall, which one is best for you will depend on your specific needs. Note: I don't own DVDs, so I'm not qualified to review DVD rippers. If you want to review them, or have software suggestions, leave them here. |
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For those perks, try FormatFactory. It supports dozens of devices (in addition to generic encoding) and does audio and picture conversions, making it the most complete converter in this review. The sidebar-based interface is a little garish, but responsive and stable. Although the sheer amount of devices supported will throw beginners for a moment, making (and saving) advanced tweaks and adding files is easy. If only it used less popup meus, and and didn't include a static banner ad for eBay, it would be perfect (and still is the best) converter for advanced users.
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Recommended for niche use SUPER: Great for simple but advanced custom jobs, and has some presets. Has an annoying interface Tested and not recommended Actusoft Free Video Converter: Koyote Soft with bad presets and other minor bugs |
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This category is maintained by volunteer editor Arithmomaniac. Registered site visitors can contact Arithmomaniac by clicking here.
Best Free PDF Writer
Last Update: Sat, 10/31/2009 - 16:19 — dave007|
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Introduction
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All of the PDF writers in this review are programs that function by creating a pseudo printer on your system. When you want to create a PDF document from pretty much any application you just choose to print it to the PDF printer and it creates a PDF document. The thing that distinguishes one product from another is the number of options and flexibility available. The one problem with this approach is that you need to have a program that will open the file on your system. If someone sends you a file created with a program you do not have and you can't open the file then you can't print it and if you can't print it then you can't convert it to a pdf using a pseudo printer technique. The two online products do not suffer from this problem but are limited only by the file formats recognized by the online vendor. After eliminating those PDF Writers suggested by readers that were not free, were limited time trials, and basically adware (the product was free but forced the user to endure various ads as a punishment for using it), there were only six candidates left. These were (alphabetically) Bullzip PDF Writer, CutePDF, doPDF, PDFCreator, PrimoPDF, and TinyPDF. Which one of these is best? That really depends on the options you need. |
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While I have recommended PDFCreator in the past, I have now moved to either PDFill Writer and/or Bullzip PDF Printer as my personal favorite(s). Both have more of the options I need and has worked flawless for me. A problem with Bullzip is that the pdf file created may not be searchable. While it created a searchable pdf from word processing programs it did not from other programs like Excel. All the other candidates produced a searchable document from Excel and other non-word-processing software. Please note that both of the recommended writers, and especially PDFill Writer, have enough options that they can be confusing to one who only wishes to create a simple PDF file. Both PDF Creator and Cute PDF Writer will easily suffice for most users. Key features of Bullzip PDF Printer include:
PDFCreator in its latest version is still my second (of three) choices and has all the features of Bullzip with the exception of a 64 bit version and more limited watermark abilities. The help files are available only in English, French and German. However it does have one unique feature among these products. It comes with both a standalone install and a server install. In a company setting this gives you the ability to install the printer driver on a server and make it available to all the workstations on the network without doing an install on each one of them. This may make it a preferred choice in business situations if you don't need the other options that products like Bullzip offer. Version 0.9.8 of PDF Creator did a great job printing a web page to pdf.
Among the very basic pdf Writers is CutePDF. This provides only the most minimal functions and creates the pdf file with no options for password, encryption, metadata, or most other optional functions. On the other hand, it is among the smallest of the downloads. doPDF is comparable to TinyPDF in terms of features. It provides a minimal set but does have the ability to choose different levels of output quality which the other two do not. I can see no reason not to prefer it over the other two unless you often print graphical documents to pdf.
The most commonly asked question by readers has been about the size of the output file. Using a large test file without graphics doPDF created the smallest files at 1.4 megs, CutePDF, and PDFCreator came in at 1.8 megs, and Bullzip came in at 1.9 megabytes. While CutePDF, PDFCreator and Bullzip were larger they were also set at 600 dpi while the other two did not have the ability to change output and appeared to be 300dpi. This was not a sufficient difference in output file size to make it an important factor for deciding on one over the other. However, when a substantial amount of graphics were included doPDF produced a much larger file than the others. CutePDF came in at 3.5 megs (at 300dpi), PrimoPDF and Bullzip both came in at 7.8 megs (at 600dpi) and doPDF came in at a whopping 13.3 megs (at 600dpi). PDFCreator failed to correctly render the page and created failure errors each time it was tried. Primo pdf was removed from the list of best software because after downloading the newest version on June 5 from their website I found it totally unacceptable. The product still does everything it did before but there is a lag of several seconds from the time I selected the printer until the screen with the Primo interface opened. I even wondered if my computer was hung and was starting to look for the application to stop the process when it finally came up. With no features that are not also found in Bullzip, I decided to delete it from the recommended list. I should note that on my fastest computer it worked reasonably well but still much slower than all other products. Although PrimoPDF was removed from the recommendations of best pdf Writer it does have a free online version at http://online.primopdf.com/ that allows you to upload a file and receive it back as a PDF via email. If you need a pdf conversion only on rare occassion or you are on a computer that does not allow you to install software, or you don't have a program that can read the file, then this is a reasonable option. Of course there is no opportunity to add passwords, encrypt, or add any of the other features you may need. It is just a straight pdf file. The most requested missing feature in all of these products is the ability to delete or reorder pages. Sorry but you have to go to a paid product to get these features as none of them provide it in the free version. HP also offers a free online service called CloudPrint. It is designed to give you the ability to print from a cell phone or PDA. If you check your email from a cell phone and need to print an attachment you can just send it to this service, which will convert it to a PDF file and send a SMS message to your cell phone with a reference ID. When you get to a computer with an Internet interface you can login to the CloudPrint service and print the document. It will also convert and print pictures taken with your cell phone. While I don't see a need for this service personally, some swear by it, especially those who are constantly on the road seeing clients or between multiple offices. This was not considered as one of the best PDF Writers only because it does not produce a file that you can save and keep as a PDF on your local drive. It converts to PDF on the web server and allows you to print it from there. On the other hand, it does allow you to print documents without having the original program that produced the file. If you select a PDF Writer that you like but it does not have some of the features you need you might consider a couple of products that offer the ability to add functions after creating the file. pdfExchange Viewer is a fast viewer for PDF files that also allows the reader to add annotations to the file. It can then be saved and printed either with or without the annotations. PDFTK Builder allows you to add passwords and limit the ability of the reader to print, annotate, copy portions or otherwise use the pdf file other than reading it. However, it does not have the ability to add encryption. And lastly, JPDF Tweak allows the addition of watermarks, passwords, and encryption as well as limiting the ability to print or copy the file. These all work on a pdf file that has already been created and are not used to create one. Since those are beyond the limited scope of this article I have not included their information in this review, but they are easy enough to find with a web search. |
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Best Free Windows 7 / Vista 64 bit Software
Last Update: Sat, 10/10/2009 - 01:16 — rikmayell|
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Introduction
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You have no doubt invested time, trouble and possibly money, in your "must have" software. This investment is largely protected when you move to Windows 7 / Vista 64 and, if not, there are many excellent freeware alternatives. (In addition, Windows 7 / Vista 64 continue the tradition of offering Here are the top freeware picks for Windows 7 / Vista 64 in their various sections. Where a native 64 bit application is currently unavailable, a suitable 32 bit alternative is provided. |
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BROWSER Although Windows 7 / Vista 64 include both the 32 and 64 bit versions of Internet Explorer, version 8 in the case of Windows 7, many prefer more secure products. The 32 bit versions of Firefox, Google Chrome,and Opera all work without a hitch under both operating systems. Apart from 64 bit Internet Explorer, the only other 64 bit browser currently available, and still under development, is Firefox. Various preview versions can be found here. I've found version 3.5.3 to be as stable as the 32 bit version. This version will import all of your bookmarks and history from 32 bit Firefox 3.0.14 or 3.5.3. All currently installed addons are checked for compatibility when 64 bit Firefox is started, and those that are known to work are loaded automatically. Active development is starting but these applications are not yet ready for daily use:
If you find these restrictions unacceptable, stick with a 32 bit browser. See:
EMAIL CLIENT Currently, the only released 64 bit email client is Windows Mail, included with Vista 64. Windows 7 does not include an email client. There is a development project for 64 bit Thunderbird 3, the latest build, 3.0 beta 2, codenamed Shredder, is available here. Unfortunately, moving from your existing email client to 64 bit Thunderbird 3 can be quite a challenge. Users moving from Thunderbird 2 under Windows 7 / Vista 64 will need to use two third party freeware products, MozBackup and MailStore Home. Migration from Outlook is relatively simple under Vista 64 using the Thunderbird 3 import function. This approach doesn't work under Windows 7 due to changes in the registration of MAPI entries which no one appears to want to acknowledge or address. Thunderbird 2 users who are considering the switch should be aware that the popular Lightning addon is not supported. For the time being I would recommend that you stick with a 32 bit email client. For details refer to our review:
FTP CLIENT Following a comment from a reader I have been searching for free 64 bit FTP clients. So far, I have only managed to find one, Null FTP from Vision Works. The free version of Null FTP, a cut down version of the paid product, has the following limitations:
Whether or not you can live with the first two limitations depends largely on how much you rely on FTP in your day to day activities. The third restriction has no impact on the speed of Internet or local network FTP transfers so I am surprised that they even bother to mention it.
Overall, the product fails to match the top 32 bit selections in our review Best Free FTP Client. Unless you feel that a 64 bit FTP client is essential I suggest that you look there for the solution best suited to your needs.
FIREWALL Remember that you should never run two or more firewall products side-by-side. If you plan to switch to one of the products below, ensure that you disable Windows Firewall and any other firewall you have installed first. If all you need is a simple interface to the built-in Windows firewall, and aren't too fussy about appearance or features, the free version of Vista Firewall Control is perhaps the answer. Be warned that access has to be defined for each application using one of four modes; out only, in only, enable all, or disable all. I suspect for many this will not offer a fine enough degree of control. If you are looking for a free firewall with extra peace of mind in the form of a Host-Based Intrusion Pevention System (HIPS - see our article HIPS Explained for further information), Comodo Internet Security (CIS), is an excellent choice. CIS can be rather intrusive at first, but things do settle down as the program learns more about the system. It's necessary to change mode when installing new software and when dealing with reports, but this is a small price to pay since CIS includes one of the most effective firewalls on the market, free. Full instructions are available in the "Miscellaneous" tab, or from the Comodo website. When installing CIS, deselect the Install Antivirus option if you already have a suitable antivirus solution installed. If you are using an old version of the CFP or CIS you should upgrade to the latest version as this will increase stability and reduce memory footprint. Windows 7 users should ensure they install version 3.9.x or later.
ANTIVIRUS With its ease of use, fast scanning, and excellent detection rates, my first choice is Avira Antivir Personal Edition. Although it lacks an email scanning feature, it compensates by the speed in which the Real-time protection leaps to your defence when any threats, including infected email attachments, are detected. As of version 9, Avira protects against Viruses, Worms, Trojans, Rootkits, Dialers, Spyware and Adware. I have no information, as yet, regarding the effectiveness of the anti-spyware and anti-adware components added in version 9. Version 9 of Avira also adds the facility to review suspect items at the end of a scan, rather than dealing with each item when detected. This leaves the user free to run a scan unattended at any time and simply deal with the results when appropriate. My main criticism is the large advert for the paid version which accompanies the updates, but it only takes a click to make it go away. You also need to periodically reregister. If you need an antivirus with extra features, such as email scanning and antispyware, Avast 4 may be the answer. The detection rates are good and scanning speed has been greatly improved in recent releases. Unfortunately, the default appearance isn't to everyone's liking although Avast does support alternative skins. Many of the protection mechanisms used by Avast rely on interactive Windows services. Support in Windows 7 / Vista 64 for interactive services is intended for use by legacy applications. This places restrictions on the information that can be sent to the user. Both Avira and Avast are hybrid 64 bit applications. Only the low level kernel mode drivers that interface with operating system are written in 64 bit code. You can have more than one AV product installed, but only one should be enabled for real-time scanning. The same applies to email scanning. If you are interested in alternatives to Avira and Avast, such as AVG Free or a-squared Free, then refer to our review:
ANTISPYWARE There are some very good on-demand scanners which don't conflict with real-time protection. Perhaps the best of these is SUPERAntiSpyware (SAS). Only available as a 32 bit application, it can still detect malware that other products miss, remove rogue applications, and also repair some malware damage. If you check the Windows event log, don't be concerned by entries relating to SASDIFSV.SYS and SASKUTIL.SYS following a reboot. These are 32 bit device drivers used by the full version of SAS and do not affect operation of the free version. The 64 bit version of SAS is currently undergoing beta testing. It is unclear if there will be a free version. Malwarebytes is also worth considering because of its fast scanning and general ease of use. Effective at detecting and removing trojans, results are less impressive for other types of malware. The newly released Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition represents a major overhaul. Heuristic detection and integrated real-time protection have been added, although the latter is only for rogue processes in the free version. Resource efficiency has been targeted, particularly processor and memory usage, scanning speed has been improved, and a more extensive detection database is now used. Ad-Aware AE is certainly more resource efficient than previous versions and scanning times compare favourably with SuperAntiSpyware when tested on a system with over 200 Gb of software and data. Real-time protection is implemented by a combination of an interactive Windows service and a 64 bit kernel mode device driver making Ad-Aware AE a hybrid 32/64 bit application. Support in Windows 7 / Vista 64 for interactive services is intended for use by legacy applications. This places restrictions on the information that can be sent to the user. As to real world effectiveness, Ad-Aware continues to maintain a reasonable detection rate but many threats go undetected. For full details of the testing carried out on these and other products in this category refer to our review: Best Free Adware/Spyware/Scumware Remover
SYSTEM TOOLS Although Windows 7 / Vista 64 have their own housekeeping tools for defragmenting the hard disk, removing junk files and various other tasks, there are 3rd party alternatives which perform better and offer additional features. There are few 64 bit tools but the ones available, added to the 32 bit versions that work under Windows 7 / Vista 64, are very good at what they do. Before you dig too deeply into this section you might want to read the great article: "How to make Vista run faster" The information contained in the article applies equally well to Windows 7.
ALL IN ONE If you prefer to use a single tool for the upkeep of your PC, you need look no further than the latest version of the excellent Glary Utilities. As this is a 32 bit program that runs in a 64 bit environment, you will notice that one or two of the modules are not fully working, the Uninstall Manager for example, doesn't recognise 64 bit applications, and therefore cannot uninstall them. This is a step in the right direction though, and perhaps there is a native 64 bit version of Glary Utilities on the horizon.
DISK DEFRAGMENTER JKDefrag, available as a native 64 bit application, finds many fragmented files, even if used immediately after the Windows defragmentation tool. After defragmenting files it optimizes file placement and, being Volume Shadow Copy aware, doesn’t destroy your valuable Restore Points. JKDefrag can be run on demand from the desktop or USB stick. There are also command line and screen saver versions. MyDefrag, by the author of JKDefrag, available in 32 and 64 bit versions, is novel in that it is a merely a defragmentation and file placement engine. The actions carried out by my MyDefrag are script driven, with a number of useful example scripts being included in the installation. The simple scripting language is well documented allowing scripts to be developed to suit any defragmentation/optimisation requirement. The scripting language includes a command that allows the files identified in the Windows Prefetch cache to be optimised. A script can be executed by double clicking on it in Explorer, passing it as a parameter to MyDefrag invoked via a shortcut or the appropriate task scheduler. MyDefrag requires administrator privilege and, if running from the Task Scheduler under Windows 7 or Vista, it is recommended that the SYSTEM account is used. If the MyDefrag GUI interface is set to be visible during script execution, the default, the rather poor disk map, familiar to JK Defrag users, is displayed. You can switch from this to a text based statistics/progress view, but presentation is equally unimpressive. All physical directory/file operations carried out by MyDefrag use the Windows Defragmentation API and can therefore be considered safe. The process can be interrupted at any time without risk of data loss or corruption. For those with unusual defragmentation and/or optimisation requirements MyDefrag offers unparalleled flexibility. Readers who merely want to defragment their disk(s) on a regularly basis should use one of the standard scripts provided with MyDefrag, I use FastOptimize, to achieve excellent results. MyDefrag definitely deserves to replace JKDefrag as Gizmo's Top Pick. Readers who dislike the minimal JK Defrag/MyDefrag GUI should consider 32 bit products such as IOBit Smart Defrag and Defraggler, covered in our review: Keep in mind that 32 bit disk defragmentation tools will incur a performance hit by having to use the WOW64 (32 bit compatibility mode) interface. If you decide to use a third party disk defragmenter, don't be tempted to disable the built in Windows 7 / Vista 64 disk defragmenter. If you do, you will greatly reduce the effectiveness of ReadyBoot (sic), the mechanism that monitors files accessed during the last 5 boots and creates a boot plan to reduce startup time. This boot plan is passed to the Windows disk defragmenter to allow the placement of files used during the boot process to be optimized.
DISK CLEANER CCleaner, recently rewritten in c++ , scans for both junk files and registry errors. The registry cleaning component only handles that part of the registry visible to 32 bit applications and is quite mild. Additional features include cookie management, program removal, and secure file erasing. Existing users who upgrade will notice a significant reduction in scanning times. This is one of the first tools I recommend people install on a Windows PC, and regular use will go a long way to preventing the hard drive from becoming bogged down with unwanted junk. CCleaner has never dealt with purging Windows Restore Points, a major source of accumulated junk. The Disk Cleanup tool available in 32 bit Windows 7 / Vista allows you to do this but, under Windows 7 / Vista 64, although the option to perform this task still exists, it does not work correctly. My thanks go to Kristan Kenny for providing the solution to this problem. If you want to correct the Disk Cleanup shortcut in the Start menu, follow these steps:
If you've automated Disk Cleanup, the correct path to use in your script is: %WINDIR%\sysnative\cleanmgr.exe If you launch Disk Cleanup from another location in Windows, for instance by clicking the “Disk Cleanup” button in the properties window of a drive, the correct 64 bit version of Disk Cleanup is launched.
REGISTRY CLEANER I am not a fan of Registry cleaners. They have a nasty habit of removing things that are vital to the correct operation of commercial software.
Firstly, it allows you to backup the Registry before you start and there is also a restore option. Secondly, by default, it doesn't check Class Security Identifiers (CLSIDs) or other areas where most Registry tricks are played, although these can be included if required. Finally it divides redundant/invalid entries into two groups, 1) those you can remove safely, and 2) the rest which require closer examination before removing. I think it is fair to say that you are reasonably safe removing the entries in the first group although I would caution against removing those in the second group unless you have a good understanding of the Registry and how applications use it.
REGISTRY DEFRAGMENTER While a PC is in use there is a constant stream of data being added to and removed from the registry and over time this can cause the registry to become fragmented, there is also the problem of registry cleaners and program uninstalls producing gaps in the registry file. When this occurs, it does nothing to enhance the performance or reliability of the system, therefore, the occasional use of a registry defragmenter / optimiser is seen by some as a necessary part of the maintenance regime. Free Registry Defrag is a fast, reliable and free tool which is capable of compacting and defragmenting the registry and from version 2.4 onwards includes both 32 and 64 bit versions. If used when the level of fragmentation is in excess of 10% the results are noticeable. Be aware though that the software does not include a Registry backup option so exercise caution and create a Restore Point before using.
SYSINTERNALS SUITE No list of system tools would be complete without mentioning the excellent SysInternals Suite which is used to trouble shoot PCs worldwide. Although SysInternals is now part of Microsoft, the tools remain free and are regularly updated. Most of the SysInternals tools work correctly under Windows 7 / Vista 64. In particular, the three most widely used tools, Process Explorer, Process Monitor and Autoruns, extract and run 64 bit code. At present, Autologon doesn't work, but a suitable alternative can be found here. If you are looking for a utility that will create shortcuts to the most commonly used SysInternals tools, check out SysInternals Toolbox in our review :
SYSTEM INFORMATION UTILITY The 32 bit SIW utility still manages to display a host of detailed information relating to your PC hardware, operating system, installed programs, processes, services, serial numbers (CD keys), users, open files, system uptime, network, network shares, as well as real-time monitors for CPU, memory, page file usage and network traffic when running under Windows 7 / Vista 64. It also displays currently active network connections, passwords hidden behind asterisks, installed codecs, and more. SIW doesn't require installation so it can be run from a USB flash drive without problem. For a full guide to System Information Utilities: Best Free System Information Utility.
SYSTEM TOOLS/UTILITIES INCLUDED IN WINDOWS 7
To try out Resource Monitor, click on Start, type resource monitor into the search box, and then click on the Resource Monitor entry that appears under Programs. For an in depth look at Resource Monitor refer to our article: Windows 7 Resource Monitor: New & Improved My favourite new feature in Windows 7 is the Problem Steps Recorder. If you've ever tried to help a friend or family member over the phone, or via email, with a PC problem I'm sure you know how difficult and frustrating it can be. With the best will in the world things tend to get lost in translation. They miss out a piece of information relating to the problem, or you do regarding the solution. PSR overcomes this problem by allowing the steps needed to reproduce a problem, or to implement a fix, to be recorded and saved to a file. To start PSR, click on Start, type psr.exe into the search box, and then either click on the psr.exe entry that appears under Programs, or right click and choose Run as a administrator. Note you need to choose Run as administrator if any of the screens you wish to capture are running with administrator privilege.
The ZIP contains a MHT, mime encoded HTML, format document that includes the screen shots, any comments that were added, and a text based description of the actions that were carried out. This can be opened and edited in any version of Word from 2002 upwards. Alternatively, the file can be viewed using the free Word Viewer, Internet Explorer version 5 or higher, Firefox with the UnMHT extension installed and Opera version 9.0 or higher. PSR is not a ground breaking application, but it will help me to assist others much more quickly and efficiently.
TWEAKING TOOLS The majority of tools in this category are covered in: Best Free Vista Tweaks which includes details of compatibility with Vista 64. With the exception of Vista Logon Studio all the applications that work under Vista 64 will also work under Windows 7. An alternative to Vista Logon Studio for Windows 7 users is given below. In order to use Iconoid to change the colour of text you must first turn off drop shadows for icon text. This must be done via Control Panel, System, Advanced System Settings, and then click on the Settings button under Performance. Right clicking on Computer, and then choosing Properties, will only change settings until you logoff or the PC is rebooted.
Windows 7 imposes a 256 Kb limit on the size of the JPEG image that can be used for the logon screen. If your image is larger than this, Logon Changer will give you the option to automatically resize and/or compress the image. Note that the original image is left untouched.
DATA/FILE/FOLDER TOOLS DATA RECOVERY / UNDELETE No matter how careful we try to be, there's a chance that an important file, picture, track etc will get deleted by accident. Hours of work and valuable photos can all be lost with a click of the mouse, or by selecting the wrong option on a digital camera. There aren't many data recovery apps that support Windows 7 / Vista 64, but the good news is that the 32 bit application Recuva, from the makers of CCleaner, is one that does. Recuva is simple to use, effective, and can be used to recover lost items from the following:
FILE ARCHIVER/ZIP UTILITY 7-Zip and PeaZip are available as native 64 bit applications and contain all of the functionality of their 32 bit counterparts. Readers interested in a comparison of these products should refer to our review: Best Free File Archiver/Zip Utility
FOLDER SYNCHRONIZATION UTILITY Microsoft's SyncToy, available as a native 64 bit application, can copy, move, rename, and delete files between any number of folders and even computers. Operations are carried out on local and/or remote pre-defined folder pairs. Remote folders can be specified by drive letter or UNC name. You define and name these pairs, files can be included or excluded based on wildcards and/or file attributes, and then when you want to perform a task, you recall one of these pairs and carry out the operation. Syncing can be in either direction and covers all options from complete sync to updating newer files only. SyncToy can also keep track of files you rename and rename those in the sync destination. Overwritten files in the destination can be saved in the recycle bin, in case you need the older version. SyncToy also allows you to preview a sync, that is, view what would happen if the sync operation was executed. This ensures the operation will do exactly what you want before you use it. In addition to the easy to use GUI, SyncToy can also be run from the command line to sync a chosen folder pair or, all folder pairs. SyncToy is a versatile utility that will satisfy all but the most demanding of users. It also runs very quickly despite being based on the .NET framework. The only major things it lacks are the ability to select files from a folder via a standard tree view, direct support for ftp, and a portable version.
SECURE ERASE UTILITY The 64 bit version of Eraser will securely overwrite selected files and folders, or even whole disks (it works with any drive, including IDE, SCSI, RAID, and CD-RWs). It addition to handling normal data areas, Eraser can also wipe data in the paging file, Internet cache, temporary files, Internet cookies, unused disk space, and a number of other places where data can secretly lurk. It can handle FAT, FAT32, and NTFS partitions. Erasing files with a high level of security, involving user selected data patterns and multiple passes, will always be a time consuming task, and 100% security cannot be guaranteed. However, Eraser makes the task about as easy as it can be, at a security level that exceeds most conceivable requirements. If Eraser goes beyond what you need, then refer to our review Best Free Secure Erase Utility for details of simpler, 32 bit alternatives, that work quite happily under Windows 7 / Vista 64.
DESKTOP/OFFICE TOOLS DIGITAL IMAGE EDITOR This is not a field in which I can claim to have any expertise. I have tested the products identified to confirm that they work under Windows 7 / Vista 64. Readers who are interested in comparing product features should refer to our review: Best Free Digital Image Editor Paint.Net is available as a native 64 bit application. In addition to the products built in features there are a huge number of user contributed plugins that add further capabilities. Despite requiring version 2 or higher of the .NET Framework, 3.5 SP1 is recommended, Paint.NET isn't too resource intensive and during testing I didn't notice slow downs at any point. An experimental 64 bit version of The GIMP is available although the installation routine stresses the fact that this version isn't suitable for day to day work.
DIGITAL IMAGE VIEWER A reader has brought to my attention FastPictureViewer, a native 64 bit application for viewing JPEG images.This claims to be (and probably is) the fastest viewer ever. It uses hardware to speed things up and requires a lot of system resources and graphic capabilities. It has a nice interface as well. Anyway, the program offers no other functions and is limited to just viewing.For readers who require greater functionality, the top picks in our review Best Free Digital Image Viewer, XnView and IrfanView, both 32 bit applications that include 64 bit shell extensions, run flawlessly under Windows 7 / Vista 64. I suggest that you refer to the review for an expert comparison of these products.
OFFICE SUITE Open Office covers just about all the bases, everything from a document writer to databases and spreadsheets, it handles files produced with Excel. Word and Powerpoint, and also there are numerous extensions available. All in all this is one of the best examples of freeware to be found! For those of you who need to be able to handle Office 2007 documents I suggest that you check out How do I open Microsoft Office 2007 files?
PDF READER
In use, the 64 bit version is quick and memory usage is on a par with Adobe Reader 9. Image quality, although not quite as good as Adobe's product, is still excellent. In fact, for documents that originally contained rasterised images, reproduction is actually far better. The portable 32 bit version is worthy of mention. It naturally lacks some features available in the full product but still produces high quality images making it ideal for a personal PC toolkit. If you want a feature rich 64 bit PDF viewer and are not prepared to wait for Adobe to play catch up, then I recommend you take a look at this product.
PDF WRITER BullZip, CuteWriter and doPDF all have 64 bit versions although BullZip and CuteWriter rely on the 32 bit version of GhostScript Lite. I have successfully tested all of these applications under Windows 7 / Vista 64 and suggest that interested readers refer to our review : to assist them in choosing the best product for their needs.
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Useful Links
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| Start64! | Comprehensive list of commercial 64 bit applications and latest device drivers |
| Vista Forums | Forum post, found by Foundation Editor Peter, listing free software for 32/64 bit Vista and Windows 7 |
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