Gizmo's Freeware Forum - View Single Post

George · 20. Jun 2009, 05:21 PM

The last 18 comments from the main site article:

#1Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 05/19/2009 - 02:39.
+1 TweakNow WinSecret!

#2Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 05/19/2009 - 02:42.
http://www.tweaknow.com/WinSecret.html
Best collection of common, well documented and safe tweaks for the average user. Should be on this list!

#3Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 20:49.
I like WinBubbles-Lite 2009. It was designed to Windows 7, in which the author said it also works with vista and There is an IDE tool. you can update the entire program. All of your listing will become obsolete. check it out.

#4Submitted by George on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 08:18.
Looks indeed better now than an older version that I checked a while ago. Will give it another test... Thanks.

#5Submitted by caseyandrews on Thu, 04/02/2009 - 05:17.
I do agree... I used to love MZ until he added malware popups to his site....
I have found Vispa recently
It is at http://vispa.whyeye.org/

#6Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 03/03/2009 - 09:37.
I would strongly recommend TweakNow WinSecret Professional for the average user, it contains a nice selection of the most commonly found tweaks, but without any of the "could screw your system up if you don't know what you're doing" type ones.

#7Submitted by DesElms on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 18:27.
I'm a little concerned about the MZVistaForce product... or, perhaps more accurately, its web site. It is now http://www.mztweak.com (different, at least as of this writing, from what's linked-to in the article, above)...
...but the thing most alarming (or perhaps, more accurately, it's only disconcerting) about it is how Mr. Zacharias (the MZ software line's author) has so inundated it with advertising. The mouseover Clicksor and AdBrite stuff is irritating but tolerable. Even many (but thankgod not most, yet) of the big, well-known, reliable web sites (magazine and download web sites and whatnot) are now using such tactics, so we're all starting to kinda' get used to that. We hate it, but we're getting used to it... and, in the end, except for making us be more careful what we drag the mouse pointer over so we don't have all the annoying pop-up windows, no harm, no foul, I suppose. But Mr. Zacharias has gone the extra step of having full-screen pop-up (actually, pop-under) ad windows slap us in the face almost every single time one clicks on any of the links on his pages. It's maddening!
Of course I know how to stop such things in my browser... that's not my point here. My point is that in my nearly 30 years on the Internet (yes, starting even back before the "web" part of it even began in 1994), my experience has been that once someone goes down that road, the statistical probability increases precipitously that he cannot (if not now, then soon or at least eventually) be trusted not to put adware or spyware or other exploits into his free software.
Now, I want to be clear: I'm NOT saying that Mr. Zacharias is doing that... not yet, anyway. I'm just saying that in my experience, once one starts doing the sort of thing that Mr. Zacharias is now doing on his web site, one's eventually going that next deadly and untrustworthy step often follows.
That would not be such a problem if the software we're talking about here, in this category, were not so consequential. Some of the tweaks and system changes these products will perform are no small thing. Some of them can manifestly and profoundly affect the way Windows performs... or how (or even whether) built-in and/or third-party security products will work. Some of the tweaks make the machine less secure, or more likely to be the victim of exploit, in not-insignificant ways... sometimes even profound ways. Some of the tweaks, in combination with others -- particularly such as that are found on the several well-known Vista tweaking web sites out there -- can even darned-near break Windows... maybe even actually break it.
I'm not decrying these tweaking products or what they do... though, that said, some of them are not for the faint-of-heart and should be used very carefully (or maybe even not at all if the user isn't particularly experienced). I use these products myself, along with a variety of hand-coded registry and other tweaks that I typically apply to the machines that I use, that my wife uses, and that my clients who ask me to tweak their machines the way I would were they my own use. In the right hands, these tweaks are fine, and not inherently dangerous.
But the kinds of tweaks that Mr. Zacharias's software is capable of could be inherently dangerous if such software were infused with adware or spyware or other things which free software typically found on pop-under-advertising-heavy web sites tends to contain. Again, I'm not saying that Mr. Zacharias has done anything like that... at least not yet. Or maybe he has... whos knows. And therein lies the problem. Whenever a free utility software site owner crosses the crass commercialism line to annoying, full-screen, pop-under advertising, it necessarily raises the question... and rightly so.
So, I guess the point of this tome is twofold: First and foremost, to plant a seed of warning, just generally, into the mind of the reader before s/he goes and downloads Mr. Zacharias's products; and, second, to call to Mr. Zacharias's, however irritatingly to him, exactly how he and his software now appear to experienced, long-time web users and computer and IT professionals who refuse to go so willingly into the good night of aggressive web advertising tactics and such annoyances. There's a way for Mr. Zacharias and others like him to support what I'm sure is the daunting cost of maintaining his web site. I don't begrudge him the selling of ad space on his site, and the preferably-tasteful placement of said advertising there. But "tasteful" is among the operative words, here... and aggressive, full-screen, pop-under ads on every single clickable link on web site doesn't qualify... and, moreover, it causes one to wonder if such portends things more sinister about the software downloadable therefrom.
Something to think about... for us all, perhaps.
All that said, I think it's worthy of my noting here that Mr. Zacharias's software is fairly good. Personally, I like WinBubbles better; but the MZ Vista tweaking product has its virtues... and covers some things that WinBubbles doesn't (and vice versa). It's worthy of note, for purposes of my primary complaint here (regarding the advertising), that the WinBubbles site (http://unlockforus.blogspot.com) has advertising, too. But at least it's tame and appropriate and not an affront to the site visitor. (Mr. Zacharias, please take note!)
SAFETY NOTE: My talking about WinBubbles covering things that the MZ product doesn't cover, and vice versa, should not be interpreted by the reader, here, as a suggestion that one should use both products in order to get better "coverage." If ever there were a category of software (in addition to such as firewalls and resident anti-virus software, just to name two others) where one should always settle on and use only one product, this one would certainly be it! It's far safer, in my opinion (and considerable experience) for one to settle on such as either WinBubbles, or the MZ product (or whatever other similar product one prefers), and then augment it with individual tweaks and registry hacks (such as those found on HowToGeek, just to name one of many such web sites) which will accomplish whatever the primary tweaker utility won't accomplish... keeping very close track of the things that the primary tweaker product does, and what, beyond that, has been done by individual tweaks and hacks. One should also be careful not to use single-purpose utilities in addition to multi-purpose utilities which happen to cover the same thing that the single-purpose utility covers. For example, since WinBubbles will allow one to set UAC so that it's on, but elevates silently, one should not use the "Vista Tweak UAC" product mentioned in the article above if one is also using WinBubbles... just to give one example (I could cite many more). This whole tweaking thing can be kinda' tricky (and not-insignificantly dangerous) and should not, therefore, be attempted by anyone not willing to slow down and really and truly understand it all.
Just my two cents worth... for whatever it's worth. Hope that helps.

#8Submitted by Hartford on Sun, 06/07/2009 - 07:40.
Two cents! Glad you didn't have five bucks! No seriously, thanks for the information. Some things I wasn't aware of. Gonna look at Vista but I've learned the hard way not to jump into the free goodies like a bag of candy.
I'll be watching for your mini series.

#9Submitted by George on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 03:05.
Hi DesElms,
where can I buy your books...? :-)
Anyway, thanks for the note. I didn't check on MZ's site lately so I wasn't aware that he changed it into an absolutely annoying pop-up hell. I share your thoughts about this and took his product out of this article right away. This is no comment about the product itself but the way it is marketed - simply unacceptable for me.
Best regards,
George

#10Submitted by rohaan on Fri, 02/13/2009 - 06:42.
I LIKED THE VISTA

#11Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/22/2009 - 15:25.
I like the Ultimate Windows Tweaker. It is very small and very powerful.
http://majorgeeks.com/Ultimate_Windo...ker_d6088.html

#12Submitted by George on Thu, 01/22/2009 - 22:03.
I seemed to be a nice one. But then it looked all messy on my screen. Widths were wrong, objects overlaying each other. I also had a couple of exceptions when running it.
Best regards,
George

#13Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 12/23/2008 - 05:06.
I use Vista Optimizer suite http://www.digeus.com/products/syste...zer/index.html
It is quite nice

#14Submitted by George on Tue, 12/23/2008 - 17:12.
Hi there,
I can't find a tool "Vista Optimizer" there. I see a product called System Optimizer, but it is commercial software. Am I wrong?
Best regards,
George

#15Submitted by christ4life7 on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 03:33.
Okay another personal experience...MZVista...YUCK!!! TweakVI...YUCK!!! Vista Shortcut Manager = GOOD!!
All you really need is a little know how and HowToGeek.com...no offense Gizmo!

#16Submitted by George on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 08:49.
None taken. But as you said, it's your personal experience.
Best regards,
George

#17Submitted by George on Sun, 12/14/2008 - 10:03.
Hi all,
I had to take out Vista Boot Pro since it became commercial software now. For those who still wanna check it out, here is the link:
http://www.vistabootpro.org/
Best regards,
George

#18Submitted by br4n0 on Thu, 11/20/2008 - 12:53.
Consider adding vista services optmizer http://smartpcutilities.bravehost.co...optimizer.html

20. Jun 2009, 05:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
George Under Thieves... Join Date: May 2008 Location: Toronto, CA Posts: 384	Best Fre Vista Tweaks The last 18 comments from the main site article: #1Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 05/19/2009 - 02:39. +1 TweakNow WinSecret! #2Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 05/19/2009 - 02:42. http://www.tweaknow.com/WinSecret.html Best collection of common, well documented and safe tweaks for the average user. Should be on this list! #3Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 20:49. I like WinBubbles-Lite 2009. It was designed to Windows 7, in which the author said it also works with vista and There is an IDE tool. you can update the entire program. All of your listing will become obsolete. check it out. #4Submitted by George on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 08:18. Looks indeed better now than an older version that I checked a while ago. Will give it another test... Thanks. #5Submitted by caseyandrews on Thu, 04/02/2009 - 05:17. I do agree... I used to love MZ until he added malware popups to his site.... I have found Vispa recently It is at http://vispa.whyeye.org/ #6Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 03/03/2009 - 09:37. I would strongly recommend TweakNow WinSecret Professional for the average user, it contains a nice selection of the most commonly found tweaks, but without any of the "could screw your system up if you don't know what you're doing" type ones. #7Submitted by DesElms on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 18:27. I'm a little concerned about the MZVistaForce product... or, perhaps more accurately, its web site. It is now http://www.mztweak.com (different, at least as of this writing, from what's linked-to in the article, above)... ...but the thing most alarming (or perhaps, more accurately, it's only disconcerting) about it is how Mr. Zacharias (the MZ software line's author) has so inundated it with advertising. The mouseover Clicksor and AdBrite stuff is irritating but tolerable. Even many (but thankgod not most, yet) of the big, well-known, reliable web sites (magazine and download web sites and whatnot) are now using such tactics, so we're all starting to kinda' get used to that. We hate it, but we're getting used to it... and, in the end, except for making us be more careful what we drag the mouse pointer over so we don't have all the annoying pop-up windows, no harm, no foul, I suppose. But Mr. Zacharias has gone the extra step of having full-screen pop-up (actually, pop-under) ad windows slap us in the face almost every single time one clicks on any of the links on his pages. It's maddening! Of course I know how to stop such things in my browser... that's not my point here. My point is that in my nearly 30 years on the Internet (yes, starting even back before the "web" part of it even began in 1994), my experience has been that once someone goes down that road, the statistical probability increases precipitously that he cannot (if not now, then soon or at least eventually) be trusted not to put adware or spyware or other exploits into his free software. Now, I want to be clear: I'm *NOT* saying that Mr. Zacharias is doing that... not yet, anyway. I'm just saying that in my experience, once one starts doing the sort of thing that Mr. Zacharias is now doing on his web site, one's eventually going that next deadly and untrustworthy step often follows. That would not be such a problem if the software we're talking about here, in this category, were not so consequential. Some of the tweaks and system changes these products will perform are no small thing. Some of them can manifestly and profoundly affect the way Windows performs... or how (or even whether) built-in and/or third-party security products will work. Some of the tweaks make the machine less secure, or more likely to be the victim of exploit, in not-insignificant ways... sometimes even profound ways. Some of the tweaks, in combination with others -- particularly such as that are found on the several well-known Vista tweaking web sites out there -- can even darned-near break Windows... maybe even actually break it. I'm not decrying these tweaking products or what they do... though, that said, some of them are not for the faint-of-heart and should be used very carefully (or maybe even not at all if the user isn't particularly experienced). I use these products myself, along with a variety of hand-coded registry and other tweaks that I typically apply to the machines that I use, that my wife uses, and that my clients who ask me to tweak their machines the way I would were they my own use. In the right hands, these tweaks are fine, and not inherently dangerous. But the kinds of tweaks that Mr. Zacharias's software is capable of could be inherently dangerous if such software were infused with adware or spyware or other things which free software typically found on pop-under-advertising-heavy web sites tends to contain. Again, I'm not saying that Mr. Zacharias has done anything like that... at least not yet. Or maybe he has... whos knows. And therein lies the problem. Whenever a free utility software site owner crosses the crass commercialism line to annoying, full-screen, pop-under advertising, it necessarily raises the question... and rightly so. So, I guess the point of this tome is twofold: First and foremost, to plant a seed of warning, just generally, into the mind of the reader before s/he goes and downloads Mr. Zacharias's products; and, second, to call to Mr. Zacharias's, however irritatingly to him, exactly how he and his software now appear to experienced, long-time web users and computer and IT professionals who refuse to go so willingly into the good night of aggressive web advertising tactics and such annoyances. There's a way for Mr. Zacharias and others like him to support what I'm sure is the daunting cost of maintaining his web site. I don't begrudge him the selling of ad space on his site, and the preferably-tasteful placement of said advertising there. But "tasteful" is among the operative words, here... and aggressive, full-screen, pop-under ads on every single clickable link on web site doesn't qualify... and, moreover, it causes one to wonder if such portends things more sinister about the software downloadable therefrom. Something to think about... for us all, perhaps. All that said, I think it's worthy of my noting here that Mr. Zacharias's software is fairly good. Personally, I like WinBubbles better; but the MZ Vista tweaking product has its virtues... and covers some things that WinBubbles doesn't (and vice versa). It's worthy of note, for purposes of my primary complaint here (regarding the advertising), that the WinBubbles site (http://unlockforus.blogspot.com) has advertising, too. But at least it's tame and appropriate and not an affront to the site visitor. (Mr. Zacharias, please take note!) SAFETY NOTE: My talking about WinBubbles covering things that the MZ product doesn't cover, and vice versa, should not be interpreted by the reader, here, as a suggestion that one should use both products in order to get better "coverage." If ever there were a category of software (in addition to such as firewalls and resident anti-virus software, just to name two others) where one should always settle on and use only one product, this one would certainly be it! It's far safer, in my opinion (and considerable experience) for one to settle on such as either WinBubbles, or the MZ product (or whatever other similar product one prefers), and then augment it with individual tweaks and registry hacks (such as those found on HowToGeek, just to name one of many such web sites) which will accomplish whatever the primary tweaker utility won't accomplish... keeping very close track of the things that the primary tweaker product does, and what, beyond that, has been done by individual tweaks and hacks. One should also be careful not to use single-purpose utilities in addition to multi-purpose utilities which happen to cover the same thing that the single-purpose utility covers. For example, since WinBubbles will allow one to set UAC so that it's on, but elevates silently, one should not use the "Vista Tweak UAC" product mentioned in the article above if one is also using WinBubbles... just to give one example (I could cite many more). This whole tweaking thing can be kinda' tricky (and not-insignificantly dangerous) and should not, therefore, be attempted by anyone not willing to slow down and really and truly understand it all. Just my two cents worth... for whatever it's worth. Hope that helps. #8Submitted by Hartford on Sun, 06/07/2009 - 07:40. Two cents! Glad you didn't have five bucks! No seriously, thanks for the information. Some things I wasn't aware of. Gonna look at Vista but I've learned the hard way not to jump into the free goodies like a bag of candy. I'll be watching for your mini series. #9Submitted by George on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 03:05. Hi DesElms, where can I buy your books...? :-) Anyway, thanks for the note. I didn't check on MZ's site lately so I wasn't aware that he changed it into an absolutely annoying pop-up hell. I share your thoughts about this and took his product out of this article right away. This is no comment about the product itself but the way it is marketed - simply unacceptable for me. Best regards, George #10Submitted by rohaan on Fri, 02/13/2009 - 06:42. I LIKED THE VISTA #11Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/22/2009 - 15:25. I like the Ultimate Windows Tweaker. It is very small and very powerful. http://majorgeeks.com/Ultimate_Windo...ker_d6088.html #12Submitted by George on Thu, 01/22/2009 - 22:03. I seemed to be a nice one. But then it looked all messy on my screen. Widths were wrong, objects overlaying each other. I also had a couple of exceptions when running it. Best regards, George #13Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 12/23/2008 - 05:06. I use Vista Optimizer suite http://www.digeus.com/products/syste...zer/index.html It is quite nice #14Submitted by George on Tue, 12/23/2008 - 17:12. Hi there, I can't find a tool "Vista Optimizer" there. I see a product called System Optimizer, but it is commercial software. Am I wrong? Best regards, George #15Submitted by christ4life7 on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 03:33. Okay another personal experience...MZVista...YUCK!!! TweakVI...YUCK!!! Vista Shortcut Manager = GOOD!! All you really need is a little know how and HowToGeek.com...no offense Gizmo! #16Submitted by George on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 08:49. None taken. But as you said, it's your personal experience. Best regards, George #17Submitted by George on Sun, 12/14/2008 - 10:03. Hi all, I had to take out Vista Boot Pro since it became commercial software now. For those who still wanna check it out, here is the link: http://www.vistabootpro.org/ Best regards, George #18Submitted by br4n0 on Thu, 11/20/2008 - 12:53. Consider adding vista services optmizer http://smartpcutilities.bravehost.co...optimizer.html __________________ Best regards, George