If the gingerbread tablet I had was anything to go by, you'd do better to bin it and get the latest model, because no one is interested in giving you any support, and it runs like a slug on tranquilizers
I've been a trivia fanatic all my life and this is ,by far, the best trivia game I've
come across regardless of medium.It's quick,exciting, and the rankings by locale are a stroke of genius.
I grant it's possibly slightly less lightweight, and it's donationware (which still includes "free" as donations are optional) but my screenshot tool of choice is donationcoder.com's ScreenshotCaptor. I haven't done a feature-by-feature comparison but my sense is that the latter delivers a bit more "bang for your buck" (or, perhaps, "bang for your no bucks"!)
With respect, I fundamentally disagree with the idea that 'less is more'
I use Windows 7, and have at least 50 programs on my computer, many which I need for work, others are useful utilities
These include Office suites, PDF utilities, audio and video editors, and various system tools
I have also been using Windows since Windows 3.1
The main problem with installing programs is that as you install them, a lot of software insists on starting up every time you log into Windows
This leads to a slow startup when you turn on your computer, a slower computer, and a slower shutdown
It is often difficult to eradicate these programs once they put themselves on the Windows Startup program list
I have five solutions which prevents program bloat on my Windows 7 setup, and keeps my computers running quickly
1)A start up monitor.
When installing new software, it alarms every time a program insists on starting every time Windows starts, so you can block this option immediately
I use the free program, Start Up Monitor.
Windows should have this as a default program, but a quick computer has never been Microsofts priority
https://web.archive.org/web/20131113154828/http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml
2)A system restore creator
Creates a new system restore each time I turn on my computer
- if my computer ever slows down - its usually either to a new program causing slowness, or spyware
- restoring the registry to a date earlier in the week usually fixes things
- I use the freeware Restore Point Creator, it is better than the default Windows System Restore, which doesnt regularly set Restore Points
- https://www.toms-world.org/blog/restore_point_creator
3)Use portable programs where possible.
Portable programs dont clutter up the registry and dont insist on running every time Windows starts
4)A good program uninstaller
5)A good task manager, so I can see if a new program uses a lot of memory
If a program uses >50MB of memory, and it isnt essential program, then it gets uninstalled.
I use the free Process Hacker portable
I dislike the way Firefox is a massive memory hog that slows my computer, but thats another story
In this way, I can install and uninstall the programs that I need, and even with 50 programs, my computer runs like new
Without steps 1-4, the registry invariably gets cluttered, and the computer invariably slows with every new software installation
I have found the portable version of Greenshot exists, version 1.29
http://www.softpedia.com/get/PORTABLE-SOFTWARE/Multimedia/Graphics/Portable-Greenshot.shtml
Greenshot looks like a very versatile and sound program
- allows you to set your own Hotkeys
- very customisable
The reasons I dont use Greenshot
- It uses 50MB of RAM, my preferred utility uses 16MB RAM
- The Greenshot preferences insist the screenshot be saved as an image file - which I dont want (although I think I have found a workaround)
I dont want my hard drive being filled with screenshot images
I just want to copy screenshots to the clipboard, and not be saved on my hard drive
But what all discussion about these sort of utilities miss, understandably miss I should say, is the ease of use aspect. Ease of use is a highly subjective issue and I would not know how to measure or quantify that.
As far as ease of use goes good old Gadwin Print Screen version 4.7 seems to be a front runner; even my mostly non-technical customers learn how to do it if they need a screen shot. If you are interested:
https://eikes-computer-stuff.blogspot.com/2009/06/screen-shots.html
Btw. I appreciate all the mentions of alternatives, thanks to whom it may concern.
I agree with principle that less is more AND I agree with what you say. :-D
Thanks for taking the time to record a helpful checklist. A lot of people would benefit from your approach, actively managing their system rather than piling on more and more bloated and ineffectual software. I'm continually pruning my installed software so I can be more focused - games are always first to go because they distract me so much.
You are all to kind to Rob for his "less is more comment" which shows quite clearly he is not a content creator and makes me wonder what in fact he does for a living. For my motorcycle hobby I have programs to manipulate and create routes for my GPS. To manipulate data I have statistical programs and add-ins for excel. How about different video editors and programs to manipulate and edit images. I like to stream content to my TV and ship it around and store it and manipulate ,my cloud storage. Naturally I have skype and other communication tools and can test my internet connection in various ways. LESS IS MORE is NUTS. Get a fast computer Rob. And I go back to computing BEFORE the IBM PC when we used CPM. As for the recommended screen capture program...please. We all appreciate it that its your favorite. That hardly makes it the best free one.
Australia, after you capture a region with Greenshot, "copy to clipboard" is an option, along with send to printer, save to disk, e-mail, open in the Greenshot image editor, send to MSPaint, and save to Imgur.
Windows snipping tool has worked reliably for me over a period of many years, if there is some function it does not perform, then clearly it must be something that I have never needed. Thanks anyway.
Jim, you're being awfully harsh on a guy who spends a ton of time bringing free, useful programs to our attention without any compensation from us. He never claimed it was the "best" app of its type. He merely said he finds it to be the most useful of a set of freeware apps he uses regularly. Why do you criticize him for that?
I as sure we all have a fav. Think I found this in Gizmo. I love how this works and the editor is easy and works great. Really like Screenpresso! Give it a whirl:
https://www.screenpresso.com/
Sorry guys your comments are well made. I did not realize that this was the "Rob Blog" where people who open the email are doing so they are curious about how Rob approaches computing and what he personally uses.. Meaning, I did not understand that but supposed the email was a service by the Gizmo web site to give me advice that is useful on the best free software out there. Rob telling me what he personally uses not in the context of it being the best out there .. really not why I opened the email as I'm interested in someone who has my needs in mind telling me the best software out there. And in this case the software he recommends is not even on the recommended Screen Capture free list by TechSupportAlert plus he reveals in his comments about computing generally that he likely does not have day to day familiarity with business and content creator users and how they set up their computers, use them, what they do and need. However, I get it. Volunteers should not be criticized and I over reacted in the context just explained. Now that I get it that this is the Rob Blog I'll not open these emails again. Sorry to offend.
I used to use "GreenShot" until I came across "LightShot", then I switched. It's not as verastile as the former but it has all I that I need and feels less cluttered. I suggest you give it a try.
https://app.prntscr.com/en/index.html
Edit: It's worth nothing that "LightShot" is missing the option to censor/blur parts of the screenshot.
I will consciously pour oil on the fire. it seems to me you are the offended one.
Reason #1: "... I'm interested in someone who has my needs in mind ..." sounds to me personally like a very cheap cop out. How can any body here have any ideas about "who has my needs in mind"? Your needs are your problem, not ours.
If you are a "...business and content creator ..." I would expect you to know where you are when you sign up for emails. Maybe we need your expertise and experience here on gizmo's freeware forum? Would you please volunteer to take responsibility for the Screen Capture list?
Reason #2: Your "... I'll not open these emails again ..." is a punitive and guilt inducing reaction of a little boy. Again, I would have to ask why did you sign up for these notifications in the first place? And what about just unsubscribing? BUt I know, growing up is painful ;-)
Oh, BTW, after reading through this a second time I stand by it and will not apologize for or renege on it.
To avoid toolbar or any other unwanted software with CCleaner, users should download either the portable version, or the slim version, from here:
https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/builds
The slim version is made available atleast a week after CCleaner is updated with a new version. The slim version does not have any bundled software with it. I always choose to wait for slim version.
Frequently, I run CCleaner's cleaner and its registry cleaner, before running Wise Care 365's Free PC Checkup tool. It keeps my system optimized and smooth. I'd recommend everyone doing the same - brilliant.
Our recommendation is that only users with advanced knowledge of Windows should ever run software capable of deleting registry keys. This includes so called tweaking tools that contain a registry component. The benefits of using such tools are marginal at best and certainly dangerous in inexperienced hands. I have seen more Windows systems broken by this type of software than by infection or any other cause and I have never seen one run faster as a result. There are many reasons why computers become slow but none of these can be fixed by messing around with the Windows registry. MC - Site Manager. http://www.howtogeek.com/162683/pc-cleaning-apps-are-a-scam-heres-why-an...
Agreed. I've used the free version of CCleaner for years. It's a great product. They do seem to release a new version every month - I'm guessing in order to get their users to visit their website every month and get the pitch for the Pro version each time - with incremental changes that for the most part are invisible to the average user. If you update your CCleaner a few times a year, you should be fine. And I agree with Midnight Cowboy. Unless you know what you are doing, you are more likely to cause yourself harm than good by running a Registry Cleaner. I do know what I am doing, and I am careful.
Free CCleaner includes other utilities as well: a rudimentary cookie manager, a program uninstaller, a startup program manager, a disk analyzer (to tell you how much space each different file type is taking up on your hard disk), a basic duplicate file finder, a Restore Point manager, and a drive wiper.
I use inly the clean-up feature of CCleaner but combine this with SlimCleaner by Slimware which, in my opinion, does a better job. Have you ever reviewed SlimCleaner?
I also run CCEnhancer from Singular Labs which adds support for cleaning over 1,000 new programs.
https://singularlabs.com/software/ccenhancer/
I download the program into the CCleaner folder.
The first time it is run you should see more programs appear in the CCleaner Applications menu.
To ensure I only get the application I want and no 'extras' I use a tiny utility called Unchecky which was a great find I came across here at Gizmos some time ago.
Hmmm. Both CCleaner and WiseCare365 seem to be 'tweaking tools' and they both have a registry component. I get the impression that the Gizmo staff themselves are divided about the value of these applications. Rob is obviously a supporter of CCleaner of else he wouldn't have posted this article. I think everyone agrees that a certain level of understanding should exist before users use any tool that could seriously damage their computer performance.
P.S. The article you provide a link to is terrible as it passes judgement on all cleaning programs based on its experience with just one.
I can only report what I saw during my years servicing dead computers in partnership with one other person. By far the majority cause of unbootable Windows systems was the use of registry cleaners. Some are more aggressive than others but the two main culprits in my part of the world were RegClean and what was then Advanced Windows Care, now Advanced System Care. There are hundreds of posts about this issue, these are just a couple from my own bookmarks.
The second one highlights a common escalation of the issue in that once things go wrong, users often start with system restore, uninstall a bunch of stuff or even run yet another registry tool. The cumulative effect is a non-fixable Windows system, and this is what we saw pretty much every day and in crowds at weekends. MC - Site Manager.
MC, I fully second your motion.
There are posts in this thread that make my spine curl ;-) Like KenA using SlimWare utilities or Zenegog using Wise Care's 365 stuff. I know YMMV but my experience is that I saw way too many messed up systems that were running programs like these.
And I just LOVE cosseyedlemon's remark about the HTG article. He seems not even to have read the article; right up front in that article the HTG says "PC cleaning apps are digital snake oil" and "Windows includes built-in PC cleaning tools that can do almost all of what the average PC cleaning app will do for you". HTG is IMHO one of the best computer "advice" web sites for end users out there and I trust them.
Not only does that all confirm my hands-on experience, it shows too that "opinions" count for some people more than facts repeatedly proven. But then again, that mirrors life, doesn't it? Sigh...
Crosseyedlemon,
that only introduces another layer of unnecessary complexity. For years now I use ONLY the portable version of Ccleaner because it's Cleaner (the temp file delete function) is so much faster than Windows' Disk Cleanup.
Even if I did use the installer version I am sufficiently grown-up to detect and uncheck unwanted toolbar installers!
Used the free version for about a year before getting the Pro version. The first few months I used CCleaner I didn't think, or know, what to check or uncheck for cleaning. Learned very fast, especially when had a few problems...asked Microsoft Forum and had my fingers rapped neatly by people there who told me to Never clean my Registry. I am tech-challenged still, but am working on what is good to use and what is bad. Still use CCleaner but have unchecked every box in the registry section. Do like the cleaning it does on temporary files and have not had a bit of trouble since.
I tried CCleaner once. It removed so little junk that I didn't use it again. Look at DriveTidy or Find Junk Files if you want junk files removed. Caution, not for the feint of heart.
I have used CCleaner for many years and never had any trouble cleaning old registry keys. In fact it seemed to make things better. By contrast I have found uninstaller programs broke more things than ever and I can still remember the horrors with that. Newer programs or operating systems seemed to have fixed uninstall errors. Have not had one in ages except for MS office problems. I use Revo Pro which works gr8.
I agree about CCEnhancer but it slows CCleaner's operation significantly, so after you've ticked all the boxes of stuff you want deleted, run CCEnhancer's Trim function (under Advanced tab).
CCleaner's Registry function is one of the mildest and safest ones out there.
It gets rid of less stuff, but it's pretty safe.
I think I've also used the Registry cleaner in Glary Utilities safely, but you shouldn't have to clean your registry often.
Memory comes flooding back; Windows Secrets (pay walled) website did a test on registry cleaners last year, and I'm pretty sure CCleaner actually sped up boot times on a "dirty" OS, and it was the only one tested that did.
What about CCleaner's registry cleaner? Obviously it's probably the most-used computer maintenance software and I haven't seen anything about it's registry cleaner causing havoc.
I just use CCleaner for registry cleaning, Is Wise Care's registry cleaner in the PC Checkup tool as intense as it's main registry cleaning tool?
You can see various entries by searching the Piriform forum.
The fact is, no automated registry key deleting tool is guaranteed to be safe. If it was, there would be no need for a backup feature. :)
Fact also, you can have thousands of obsolete entries in your Windows registry and removing them won't make a measurable jot of difference to your computer speed or smoothness which are the two most favorite terms used by vendors of registry tools. The problem is these tools are programmed to work in a clean, functional version of Windows. Over time most systems can have user instigated corruptions that will hardly impair your system enjoyment and likely won't even be noticeable... until you run a registry tool. When said tool mis-identifies keys in these circumstances, deleting them can trash your system completely or make certain operations non functional. Experienced Windows users will edit their registry manually if they feel the need, others should leave it alone and not be influenced by vendor hype. It always used to amaze me how much in denial folks are about this particular subject. They used to rant at us in the shop claiming we just wanted money to do a new Windows install. Also, where we used to operate is quite a small city and we knew and were on friendly terms with most of our competitors. You would not believe how many users would rotate themselves around different PC repair outlets with the same problem. Used to be a standing joke as many of us used to meet up in the same bar after work. MC - Site Manager.
One of the reasons I'm a huge supporter of Gizmo's Freeware site is that they provide a balanced perspective of software, stating the pros and cons and letting the reader decide what suits their needs best. When you see an article like the one from HTG you immediately see the author has an axe to grind and can assume you will not be getting that important balanced perspective.
I only install stuff I really need rather than what some vendor website tells me I must have. Anything I am not totally sure about gets trialed first using ToolWiz Time Freeze. I also use portable programs wherever possible to minimize what gets written to the registry. I don't even use a third party defrag because I find the built-in Windows tool perfectly adequate. MC - Site Manager.
I've been using LightShot - which is also free - this program seems pretty similar. For information, there's also a LightShot extension for the Forefox browser.
I am the only person in the world that loves accumulating screen shots in Tabs ?
PicPick effortlessly opens each grab in individual Tabs in PicPick's editor.
You can go to it a wee bit later, and annotate (etc), and then choose to save them with whatever names you choose.
I can never go back to programs that lack that feature
Thanks Rob.
I completely agree with you when you write about Greenshot. I am using it (almost every day) since you recommended this tool (may be two years ago).
Previously, I have tested many others. But now, it is the only one I have in my laptop.
Regards
Peter
Hi Rob
Your work in testing freeware should be applauded, you are a wonderful source of information
Greenshot has a lot of options, when all I need is to copy a screenshot to the clipboard, not to edit it nor to save it to the hard drive
For my uses, I needed to deactivate a lot of options to do the simple task of copying a screenshot to the clipboard (using Quick Preferences)
If I may suggest, two shortcomings in your review:
1)Not mentioning the software requires a lot of system resources (59MB memory on my Windows 7 system)
The alternative screenshot software I use, only requires 5MB of memory
2)Not mentioning there is a portable version of Greenshot available
The Greenshot webpage link you provide also does not indicate that a portable version exists
Whenever you recommend software, I enter it in a Google search with the word "portable"
I found a portable version on another reputable website
Good software, but the system resources use makes it less desirable than some other software alternatives, for the simple uses I require
I use Snipping Tool which is built into Windows. I've put a shortcut on my taskbar so it is always available. I'm not sure what Greenshot offers that this doesn't but mine does everything I've ever wanted...
My good old standby for screen capture is Irfanview (which I use as an image viewer as well). It's quick, simple, effective, and does everything I need, and more.
It has plenty of options for capturing, including full desktop, foreground window, client area of foreground window, custom rectangle, etc., and plenty of options for what to do with the image(s) after capture. But normally it just takes a couple of key presses, and it's done.
I will keep Greenshot when I need to do more robust image editing. Another great free options for windows is the "Snip" form Microsoft Windows Garage https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/garage/project-details.aspx?project=snip Its a big improvement over the windows default snipping tool, no need to bookmark as it can be summoned with key. It also has a desktop popup window hides in the margins and expands with mouseover.
About the only thing it does not do is capture content that requires scrolling and I really like that it saves copies of all the Snips in a ibrary and has basic markup capability. The delayed capture is awkward to find and use but its there. One tip is if you want the entire screen just click in the screen or hit enter you want to capture once. to grab a region use the mouse to select it.
Another vote here for PicPic! I find it invaluable as I often want to add something to the item that I've captured or compare alternative versions before saving the one I want.
I'll give your suggestion a try, but might find it hard to beat FastStone Capture, which has the following modes: Scrolling Window, Freehand, Rectangle, Full Screen, Active Window. .
Can Greenshot capture the Start menu, application menus, context bubbles, etc? Most screen capture utilities miss those when they disappear after you click back on the utility....
A MAJOR shortcoming in Greenshot is that it cannot capture screens that require scrolling; please post// review programs that do this. Many times I wish to capture an image on the screen for which I need to scroll down a bit to capture the region, yet many tools do not allow this type of capture to be done. For most things I've just used the "Snipping Tool" in Windows accessories.
Rob; I personally always find your articles/posts useful; not always the software, because if nothing else it motivates me to look for something better. I'll give "Greenshot" a try, but I also need to give a positive, thumbs up to "PicPick", been on my computer for a long, long time now. Also "IrfanView, not only for screen capture, but for so much more; "IrfanView" has been on my computer for way longer than most programs on my computer and through all the fancy Image Viewers that have succeeded it I keep going back to "Irfanview" the Swiss Knife of Image Viewers - my opinion of course.
at footpatrol,
You said, "... I need to scroll down a bit to capture the region ...".
Did you scroll because the 'area to capture' is bigger than your screen size? My third party app (Lightscreen) requires me to scroll and take another full screen shot.
My Firefox extension "Screengrab" will take the whole page, no matter how many screens it consist of. I was not aware of a third party app with that functionality that was not a browser extension.
The changelog for version 16.20: "This release of Process Explorer, a powerful process management and diagnostic utility, adds reporting of process Control Flow Guard (CFG) status and dynamically updates to reflect changes to process Data Execution Prevention (DEP) configuration." (This, and other useful information, may be found at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb545021.aspx ).
Past changelogs may be found at http://www.softpedia.com/progChangelog/Process-Explorer-Changelog-15387.html .
Does Signal integrate with WhatsApp and/or Messenger or is it standalone. It would be a big job to get a significant number of friends onto a new messenger App
2 major points of Signal to add to your description IMHO:
1) it is not tied to any DataLoss Leaders with proven track records of privacy violations
2) you can use it including with VoIP phone numbers unlike whatsapp/viber etc... This is especially important for preserving proper big data cross references against metadata.
There are more and more such applications, but it is not known which is the safest to use. It seems to me that I could use a list of the best smartphone applications of this type - Beste-Cheats
Only thing I miss is ability to save locally on the computer or flash drive. I want a backup don't I?
I will talk about that on my next radio show. Sure hope that this or similar services one day will give Micro$oft a run for their money. Well, dreaming is allowed, isn't it?
UPDATE about ten minutes later:
Yes, even in the free version you CAN "download" the file in various formats. My LibreOffice loaded and showed the demo.docx file just fine.
I am majorly impressed. Thanks a big bunch to rob.schifreen.
This the sort of thing that makes me regret I could not donate more than I did.
Rob thank you so much for the review!
We're so happy Teamlab is mentioned with such warm words ))
Thanks a lot, we'll try to keep the quality as high as possible.
Nina, Teamlab Office Marketing Manager
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If the gingerbread tablet I had was anything to go by, you'd do better to bin it and get the latest model, because no one is interested in giving you any support, and it runs like a slug on tranquilizers
George J
Thanks a million for the tip on Quizup!
I've been a trivia fanatic all my life and this is ,by far, the best trivia game I've
come across regardless of medium.It's quick,exciting, and the rankings by locale are a stroke of genius.
Again, many thanks.
I grant it's possibly slightly less lightweight, and it's donationware (which still includes "free" as donations are optional) but my screenshot tool of choice is donationcoder.com's ScreenshotCaptor. I haven't done a feature-by-feature comparison but my sense is that the latter delivers a bit more "bang for your buck" (or, perhaps, "bang for your no bucks"!)
I use ShareX, it does a lot and its free.
Very happy using Lightshot. For that matter, why not just stick with the Windows Snipping Tool?
With respect, I fundamentally disagree with the idea that 'less is more'
I use Windows 7, and have at least 50 programs on my computer, many which I need for work, others are useful utilities
These include Office suites, PDF utilities, audio and video editors, and various system tools
I have also been using Windows since Windows 3.1
The main problem with installing programs is that as you install them, a lot of software insists on starting up every time you log into Windows
This leads to a slow startup when you turn on your computer, a slower computer, and a slower shutdown
It is often difficult to eradicate these programs once they put themselves on the Windows Startup program list
I have five solutions which prevents program bloat on my Windows 7 setup, and keeps my computers running quickly
1)A start up monitor.
When installing new software, it alarms every time a program insists on starting every time Windows starts, so you can block this option immediately
I use the free program, Start Up Monitor.
Windows should have this as a default program, but a quick computer has never been Microsofts priority
https://web.archive.org/web/20131113154828/http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml
2)A system restore creator
Creates a new system restore each time I turn on my computer
- if my computer ever slows down - its usually either to a new program causing slowness, or spyware
- restoring the registry to a date earlier in the week usually fixes things
- I use the freeware Restore Point Creator, it is better than the default Windows System Restore, which doesnt regularly set Restore Points
- https://www.toms-world.org/blog/restore_point_creator
3)Use portable programs where possible.
Portable programs dont clutter up the registry and dont insist on running every time Windows starts
4)A good program uninstaller
5)A good task manager, so I can see if a new program uses a lot of memory
If a program uses >50MB of memory, and it isnt essential program, then it gets uninstalled.
I use the free Process Hacker portable
I dislike the way Firefox is a massive memory hog that slows my computer, but thats another story
In this way, I can install and uninstall the programs that I need, and even with 50 programs, my computer runs like new
Without steps 1-4, the registry invariably gets cluttered, and the computer invariably slows with every new software installation
Thanks for your suggestion Rob
I have found the portable version of Greenshot exists, version 1.29
http://www.softpedia.com/get/PORTABLE-SOFTWARE/Multimedia/Graphics/Portable-Greenshot.shtml
Greenshot looks like a very versatile and sound program
- allows you to set your own Hotkeys
- very customisable
The reasons I dont use Greenshot
- It uses 50MB of RAM, my preferred utility uses 16MB RAM
- The Greenshot preferences insist the screenshot be saved as an image file - which I dont want (although I think I have found a workaround)
I dont want my hard drive being filled with screenshot images
I just want to copy screenshots to the clipboard, and not be saved on my hard drive
I'm very happy with Snipping Tool
@Australia:
Generally I agree with you.
But what all discussion about these sort of utilities miss, understandably miss I should say, is the ease of use aspect. Ease of use is a highly subjective issue and I would not know how to measure or quantify that.
As far as ease of use goes good old Gadwin Print Screen version 4.7 seems to be a front runner; even my mostly non-technical customers learn how to do it if they need a screen shot. If you are interested:
https://eikes-computer-stuff.blogspot.com/2009/06/screen-shots.html
Btw. I appreciate all the mentions of alternatives, thanks to whom it may concern.
I agree with principle that less is more AND I agree with what you say. :-D
Thanks for taking the time to record a helpful checklist. A lot of people would benefit from your approach, actively managing their system rather than piling on more and more bloated and ineffectual software. I'm continually pruning my installed software so I can be more focused - games are always first to go because they distract me so much.
ST, ^ Which has some great not so obvious features like capturing dropdown menus.;)
Thanks rob, tried Greenshot but found it a little overblown for my needs, the last free version of FastStone Capture's my long time fave.
You are all to kind to Rob for his "less is more comment" which shows quite clearly he is not a content creator and makes me wonder what in fact he does for a living. For my motorcycle hobby I have programs to manipulate and create routes for my GPS. To manipulate data I have statistical programs and add-ins for excel. How about different video editors and programs to manipulate and edit images. I like to stream content to my TV and ship it around and store it and manipulate ,my cloud storage. Naturally I have skype and other communication tools and can test my internet connection in various ways. LESS IS MORE is NUTS. Get a fast computer Rob. And I go back to computing BEFORE the IBM PC when we used CPM. As for the recommended screen capture program...please. We all appreciate it that its your favorite. That hardly makes it the best free one.
Australia, after you capture a region with Greenshot, "copy to clipboard" is an option, along with send to printer, save to disk, e-mail, open in the Greenshot image editor, send to MSPaint, and save to Imgur.
Windows snipping tool has worked reliably for me over a period of many years, if there is some function it does not perform, then clearly it must be something that I have never needed. Thanks anyway.
Jim, you're being awfully harsh on a guy who spends a ton of time bringing free, useful programs to our attention without any compensation from us. He never claimed it was the "best" app of its type. He merely said he finds it to be the most useful of a set of freeware apps he uses regularly. Why do you criticize him for that?
Have to pass on your pick. The go to for me, which I've used for years, is Picpick. Best there is in my opinion.
+1 Gil Mensch, very well said.
Concur, its been great for years
I as sure we all have a fav. Think I found this in Gizmo. I love how this works and the editor is easy and works great. Really like Screenpresso! Give it a whirl:
https://www.screenpresso.com/
Sorry guys your comments are well made. I did not realize that this was the "Rob Blog" where people who open the email are doing so they are curious about how Rob approaches computing and what he personally uses.. Meaning, I did not understand that but supposed the email was a service by the Gizmo web site to give me advice that is useful on the best free software out there. Rob telling me what he personally uses not in the context of it being the best out there .. really not why I opened the email as I'm interested in someone who has my needs in mind telling me the best software out there. And in this case the software he recommends is not even on the recommended Screen Capture free list by TechSupportAlert plus he reveals in his comments about computing generally that he likely does not have day to day familiarity with business and content creator users and how they set up their computers, use them, what they do and need. However, I get it. Volunteers should not be criticized and I over reacted in the context just explained. Now that I get it that this is the Rob Blog I'll not open these emails again. Sorry to offend.
I used to use "GreenShot" until I came across "LightShot", then I switched. It's not as verastile as the former but it has all I that I need and feels less cluttered. I suggest you give it a try.
https://app.prntscr.com/en/index.html
Edit: It's worth nothing that "LightShot" is missing the option to censor/blur parts of the screenshot.
Jim,
I will consciously pour oil on the fire. it seems to me you are the offended one.
Reason #1: "... I'm interested in someone who has my needs in mind ..." sounds to me personally like a very cheap cop out. How can any body here have any ideas about "who has my needs in mind"? Your needs are your problem, not ours.
If you are a "...business and content creator ..." I would expect you to know where you are when you sign up for emails. Maybe we need your expertise and experience here on gizmo's freeware forum? Would you please volunteer to take responsibility for the Screen Capture list?
Reason #2: Your "... I'll not open these emails again ..." is a punitive and guilt inducing reaction of a little boy. Again, I would have to ask why did you sign up for these notifications in the first place? And what about just unsubscribing? BUt I know, growing up is painful ;-)
Oh, BTW, after reading through this a second time I stand by it and will not apologize for or renege on it.
And Happy Easter!
Very good. Very useful. Thanks.
I agree, after using LightShot for the first time, it's now installed on all the computers I use.
There's a both a full Windows program and also addons for most (all ?) of the popular browsers.
Well, errr... according to Piriform themselves, there's been a new version of Piriform every month since July 2008.
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/version-history
Frequently, I run CCleaner's cleaner and its registry cleaner, before running Wise Care 365's Free PC Checkup tool. It keeps my system optimized and smooth. I'd recommend everyone doing the same - brilliant.
Our recommendation is that only users with advanced knowledge of Windows should ever run software capable of deleting registry keys. This includes so called tweaking tools that contain a registry component. The benefits of using such tools are marginal at best and certainly dangerous in inexperienced hands. I have seen more Windows systems broken by this type of software than by infection or any other cause and I have never seen one run faster as a result. There are many reasons why computers become slow but none of these can be fixed by messing around with the Windows registry. MC - Site Manager.
http://www.howtogeek.com/162683/pc-cleaning-apps-are-a-scam-heres-why-an...
Agreed. I've used the free version of CCleaner for years. It's a great product. They do seem to release a new version every month - I'm guessing in order to get their users to visit their website every month and get the pitch for the Pro version each time - with incremental changes that for the most part are invisible to the average user. If you update your CCleaner a few times a year, you should be fine. And I agree with Midnight Cowboy. Unless you know what you are doing, you are more likely to cause yourself harm than good by running a Registry Cleaner. I do know what I am doing, and I am careful.
Free CCleaner includes other utilities as well: a rudimentary cookie manager, a program uninstaller, a startup program manager, a disk analyzer (to tell you how much space each different file type is taking up on your hard disk), a basic duplicate file finder, a Restore Point manager, and a drive wiper.
I use inly the clean-up feature of CCleaner but combine this with SlimCleaner by Slimware which, in my opinion, does a better job. Have you ever reviewed SlimCleaner?
I also run CCEnhancer from Singular Labs which adds support for cleaning over 1,000 new programs.
https://singularlabs.com/software/ccenhancer/
I download the program into the CCleaner folder.
The first time it is run you should see more programs appear in the CCleaner Applications menu.
To ensure I only get the application I want and no 'extras' I use a tiny utility called Unchecky which was a great find I came across here at Gizmos some time ago.
Hmmm. Both CCleaner and WiseCare365 seem to be 'tweaking tools' and they both have a registry component. I get the impression that the Gizmo staff themselves are divided about the value of these applications. Rob is obviously a supporter of CCleaner of else he wouldn't have posted this article. I think everyone agrees that a certain level of understanding should exist before users use any tool that could seriously damage their computer performance.
P.S. The article you provide a link to is terrible as it passes judgement on all cleaning programs based on its experience with just one.
I can only report what I saw during my years servicing dead computers in partnership with one other person. By far the majority cause of unbootable Windows systems was the use of registry cleaners. Some are more aggressive than others but the two main culprits in my part of the world were RegClean and what was then Advanced Windows Care, now Advanced System Care. There are hundreds of posts about this issue, these are just a couple from my own bookmarks.
http://forum.piriform.com/?showtopic=20377
http://www.sevenforums.com/backup-restore/179808-ccleaner-has-wrecked-my...
The second one highlights a common escalation of the issue in that once things go wrong, users often start with system restore, uninstall a bunch of stuff or even run yet another registry tool. The cumulative effect is a non-fixable Windows system, and this is what we saw pretty much every day and in crowds at weekends. MC - Site Manager.
MC, I fully second your motion.
There are posts in this thread that make my spine curl ;-) Like KenA using SlimWare utilities or Zenegog using Wise Care's 365 stuff. I know YMMV but my experience is that I saw way too many messed up systems that were running programs like these.
And I just LOVE cosseyedlemon's remark about the HTG article. He seems not even to have read the article; right up front in that article the HTG says "PC cleaning apps are digital snake oil" and "Windows includes built-in PC cleaning tools that can do almost all of what the average PC cleaning app will do for you". HTG is IMHO one of the best computer "advice" web sites for end users out there and I trust them.
Not only does that all confirm my hands-on experience, it shows too that "opinions" count for some people more than facts repeatedly proven. But then again, that mirrors life, doesn't it? Sigh...
Crosseyedlemon,
that only introduces another layer of unnecessary complexity. For years now I use ONLY the portable version of Ccleaner because it's Cleaner (the temp file delete function) is so much faster than Windows' Disk Cleanup.
Even if I did use the installer version I am sufficiently grown-up to detect and uncheck unwanted toolbar installers!
Used the free version for about a year before getting the Pro version. The first few months I used CCleaner I didn't think, or know, what to check or uncheck for cleaning. Learned very fast, especially when had a few problems...asked Microsoft Forum and had my fingers rapped neatly by people there who told me to Never clean my Registry. I am tech-challenged still, but am working on what is good to use and what is bad. Still use CCleaner but have unchecked every box in the registry section. Do like the cleaning it does on temporary files and have not had a bit of trouble since.
I tried CCleaner once. It removed so little junk that I didn't use it again. Look at DriveTidy or Find Junk Files if you want junk files removed. Caution, not for the feint of heart.
I have used CCleaner for many years and never had any trouble cleaning old registry keys. In fact it seemed to make things better. By contrast I have found uninstaller programs broke more things than ever and I can still remember the horrors with that. Newer programs or operating systems seemed to have fixed uninstall errors. Have not had one in ages except for MS office problems. I use Revo Pro which works gr8.
I agree about CCEnhancer but it slows CCleaner's operation significantly, so after you've ticked all the boxes of stuff you want deleted, run CCEnhancer's Trim function (under Advanced tab).
It speeds up things a lot.
CCleaner's Registry function is one of the mildest and safest ones out there.
It gets rid of less stuff, but it's pretty safe.
I think I've also used the Registry cleaner in Glary Utilities safely, but you shouldn't have to clean your registry often.
Memory comes flooding back; Windows Secrets (pay walled) website did a test on registry cleaners last year, and I'm pretty sure CCleaner actually sped up boot times on a "dirty" OS, and it was the only one tested that did.
What about CCleaner's registry cleaner? Obviously it's probably the most-used computer maintenance software and I haven't seen anything about it's registry cleaner causing havoc.
I just use CCleaner for registry cleaning, Is Wise Care's registry cleaner in the PC Checkup tool as intense as it's main registry cleaning tool?
You can see various entries by searching the Piriform forum.
The fact is, no automated registry key deleting tool is guaranteed to be safe. If it was, there would be no need for a backup feature. :)
Fact also, you can have thousands of obsolete entries in your Windows registry and removing them won't make a measurable jot of difference to your computer speed or smoothness which are the two most favorite terms used by vendors of registry tools. The problem is these tools are programmed to work in a clean, functional version of Windows. Over time most systems can have user instigated corruptions that will hardly impair your system enjoyment and likely won't even be noticeable... until you run a registry tool. When said tool mis-identifies keys in these circumstances, deleting them can trash your system completely or make certain operations non functional. Experienced Windows users will edit their registry manually if they feel the need, others should leave it alone and not be influenced by vendor hype. It always used to amaze me how much in denial folks are about this particular subject. They used to rant at us in the shop claiming we just wanted money to do a new Windows install. Also, where we used to operate is quite a small city and we knew and were on friendly terms with most of our competitors. You would not believe how many users would rotate themselves around different PC repair outlets with the same problem. Used to be a standing joke as many of us used to meet up in the same bar after work. MC - Site Manager.
One of the reasons I'm a huge supporter of Gizmo's Freeware site is that they provide a balanced perspective of software, stating the pros and cons and letting the reader decide what suits their needs best. When you see an article like the one from HTG you immediately see the author has an axe to grind and can assume you will not be getting that important balanced perspective.
MC,
I adore your capability to say nasty truth nicely. WOW!
I don't have the after work bar experience but YEAH, you tell it how it is.
MC - How do you personally keep a system optimized (assuming you keep away from registry cleaning)?
I've been using LightShot - which is also free - this program seems pretty similar. For information, there's also a LightShot extension for the Forefox browser.
I am the only person in the world that loves accumulating screen shots in Tabs ?
PicPick effortlessly opens each grab in individual Tabs in PicPick's editor.
You can go to it a wee bit later, and annotate (etc), and then choose to save them with whatever names you choose.
I can never go back to programs that lack that feature
Thanks Rob.
I completely agree with you when you write about Greenshot. I am using it (almost every day) since you recommended this tool (may be two years ago).
Previously, I have tested many others. But now, it is the only one I have in my laptop.
Regards
Peter
Hi Rob
Your work in testing freeware should be applauded, you are a wonderful source of information
Greenshot has a lot of options, when all I need is to copy a screenshot to the clipboard, not to edit it nor to save it to the hard drive
For my uses, I needed to deactivate a lot of options to do the simple task of copying a screenshot to the clipboard (using Quick Preferences)
If I may suggest, two shortcomings in your review:
1)Not mentioning the software requires a lot of system resources (59MB memory on my Windows 7 system)
The alternative screenshot software I use, only requires 5MB of memory
2)Not mentioning there is a portable version of Greenshot available
The Greenshot webpage link you provide also does not indicate that a portable version exists
Whenever you recommend software, I enter it in a Google search with the word "portable"
I found a portable version on another reputable website
Good software, but the system resources use makes it less desirable than some other software alternatives, for the simple uses I require
I use Snipping Tool which is built into Windows. I've put a shortcut on my taskbar so it is always available. I'm not sure what Greenshot offers that this doesn't but mine does everything I've ever wanted...
In Linux Mint, I use Shutter. It does this & more.
Since leaving MS Windows in 2009, I have never looked back. So many better open-source programs out there. And, I contribute to each of them directly.
Rob-- you are an amazing person to do all that you do. Thank you & cheers from AU!
Same. Simple and it's already there.
My good old standby for screen capture is Irfanview (which I use as an image viewer as well). It's quick, simple, effective, and does everything I need, and more.
It has plenty of options for capturing, including full desktop, foreground window, client area of foreground window, custom rectangle, etc., and plenty of options for what to do with the image(s) after capture. But normally it just takes a couple of key presses, and it's done.
I like the browser addon FireShot.
I will keep Greenshot when I need to do more robust image editing. Another great free options for windows is the "Snip" form Microsoft Windows Garage https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/garage/project-details.aspx?project=snip Its a big improvement over the windows default snipping tool, no need to bookmark as it can be summoned with key. It also has a desktop popup window hides in the margins and expands with mouseover.
About the only thing it does not do is capture content that requires scrolling and I really like that it saves copies of all the Snips in a ibrary and has basic markup capability. The delayed capture is awkward to find and use but its there. One tip is if you want the entire screen just click in the screen or hit enter you want to capture once. to grab a region use the mouse to select it.
I use it through ShareX and I totally agree with the article.
Another vote here for PicPic! I find it invaluable as I often want to add something to the item that I've captured or compare alternative versions before saving the one I want.
I'll give your suggestion a try, but might find it hard to beat FastStone Capture, which has the following modes: Scrolling Window, Freehand, Rectangle, Full Screen, Active Window. .
Screenshot Captor from Donationcoder has served me well over the years on many Windows computers. Small footprint for the features.
I have the Microsoft "Snipping Tool" pinned to my Task Bar.
Appreciate your suggestion Rob. These always lead to additionally interesting comments and suggestions.
Merry Christmas to all!
Can Greenshot capture the Start menu, application menus, context bubbles, etc? Most screen capture utilities miss those when they disappear after you click back on the utility....
lunchbeast:
Yes, clicking on PrtSc.
In Greenshot tthis key is "Capture region"
A MAJOR shortcoming in Greenshot is that it cannot capture screens that require scrolling; please post// review programs that do this. Many times I wish to capture an image on the screen for which I need to scroll down a bit to capture the region, yet many tools do not allow this type of capture to be done. For most things I've just used the "Snipping Tool" in Windows accessories.
For the life of me I can't think of one thing this does different/better than the Windows built in utility, Snipping Tool.
While I use Snipping tool a lot, it's pain for marking and adding comments. Also quick sorting and saving of screenshots is not very practical...
I'm using Screenpresso for complex screenshots (great free tool).
Been using Nimbus Screen Shot, a browser addon that is very handy.
bill_39
I have just written to them, suggesting they add TABS to their editor.
The moment they do that, I will check it out
Agreed,
Still love and frequently use FastStone Capture 5.3, the last free version..
@Merry Christmas and Happy New Year y'all :)
Rob; I personally always find your articles/posts useful; not always the software, because if nothing else it motivates me to look for something better. I'll give "Greenshot" a try, but I also need to give a positive, thumbs up to "PicPick", been on my computer for a long, long time now. Also "IrfanView, not only for screen capture, but for so much more; "IrfanView" has been on my computer for way longer than most programs on my computer and through all the fancy Image Viewers that have succeeded it I keep going back to "Irfanview" the Swiss Knife of Image Viewers - my opinion of course.
at footpatrol,
You said, "... I need to scroll down a bit to capture the region ...".
Did you scroll because the 'area to capture' is bigger than your screen size? My third party app (Lightscreen) requires me to scroll and take another full screen shot.
My Firefox extension "Screengrab" will take the whole page, no matter how many screens it consist of. I was not aware of a third party app with that functionality that was not a browser extension.
That's great that it's been updated, but this article would be stronger if it identified even just 1 of the "new features."
As it is, this article just tells current users what we already know--I came here hoping to find out what was new.
Love the program, and typically I appreciate these articles, but this one is not particularly helpful yet.
Thanks Rob for informing us about this update for this very useful tool.
Peter
+1
:-)
The changelog for version 16.20: "This release of Process Explorer, a powerful process management and diagnostic utility, adds reporting of process Control Flow Guard (CFG) status and dynamically updates to reflect changes to process Data Execution Prevention (DEP) configuration." (This, and other useful information, may be found at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb545021.aspx ).
Past changelogs may be found at http://www.softpedia.com/progChangelog/Process-Explorer-Changelog-15387.html .
+ 2
:)
Does Signal integrate with WhatsApp and/or Messenger or is it standalone. It would be a big job to get a significant number of friends onto a new messenger App
2 major points of Signal to add to your description IMHO:
1) it is not tied to any DataLoss Leaders with proven track records of privacy violations
2) you can use it including with VoIP phone numbers unlike whatsapp/viber etc... This is especially important for preserving proper big data cross references against metadata.
There are more and more such applications, but it is not known which is the safest to use. It seems to me that I could use a list of the best smartphone applications of this type - Beste-Cheats
Wow!
Just did a mini-micro test and WOW!
Only thing I miss is ability to save locally on the computer or flash drive. I want a backup don't I?
I will talk about that on my next radio show. Sure hope that this or similar services one day will give Micro$oft a run for their money. Well, dreaming is allowed, isn't it?
UPDATE about ten minutes later:
Yes, even in the free version you CAN "download" the file in various formats. My LibreOffice loaded and showed the demo.docx file just fine.
I am majorly impressed. Thanks a big bunch to rob.schifreen.
This the sort of thing that makes me regret I could not donate more than I did.
Rob thank you so much for the review!
We're so happy Teamlab is mentioned with such warm words ))
Thanks a lot, we'll try to keep the quality as high as possible.
Nina, Teamlab Office Marketing Manager
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