Speccy is a software program by popular developer Piriform that is best known for programs such as CCleaner, Recuva or Defraggler. The program is a PC hardware system information tool that lists […]
Esecure Delete is a free add-on for Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010 to delete the recent document history in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Microsoft Office keeps track of the recent document history. […]
The Windows operating system keeps track of the most recently used (mru) files. Most Windows users do not know that and are surprised when someone points this out to them. This can […]
Flash Cookies, which are also known as super cookies or Local Shared Objects, should not be confused with normal cookies that are placed by websites. Normal cookies can easily be deleted from […]
Probably one of the most important pieces of software you think about when looking to keep your PC healthy is anti-virus software. You have the option of purchasing top of the line […]
The Windows Start Menu seems to grow in size over time. Even users who regularly uninstall software programs the proper way will notice that they end up with a massive list of […]
CleanAfterMe is a free portable program by Nirsoft for Microsoft Windows that lets you clean temporary files and Registry entries. Every system cleanup tool has to face a comparison with the much […]
Internet Explorer handles cookies in a different way than other web browsers. It stores cookies on the local hard drive and leaves traces behind even if cookies have expired. Cookies have an […]
Comodo System Cleaner is a computer cleanup tool that combines the functionality of registry cleaners, disk cleaners and privacy cleaners in one application. The software can be used to scan the registry […]
If you are the tech savvy user in your family and community you usually get lots of calls from desperate users who need computer help. The help that is needed can vary […]
The Windows operating system records all kinds of information when the computer is used. It records what searches are performed on the computer system, what programs are opened or saved, which urls […]
A recent analysis of index.dat files on a Windows XP Service Pack 3 test system revealed hundreds of entries. Index.dat files are hidden files that contain information about visited urls, cookies and […]
MRU Blaster (via Technix) is a software program for Windows operating systems that cleans the Most Recently Used files on the computer system. Microsoft thought it would be a good idea to […]
If you perform a search for index.dat files on a computer that is running Windows you will most likely end up with dozens of files with that name. The index.dat file is […]
The Internet is full of optimization tips for reducing the boot time and making the computer boot faster. Many of the tips described have virtually no effect or even ill-effects. The Boot […]
I reviewed software programs or Windows Explorer extensions that display hard drive space usage before (for example Folder Size or JDiskReport Hard Drive Analyser, or my current favorite WizTree). FoSiX is another […]
After reading the original heading over at Download Squad I thought that the Anti-Malware Toolkit was a software to scan the system for installed security and cleanup tools and update them if […]
System Partitioning is a little scary, especially if your as stupid as me and don’t back your files up before you start. I have been using Ubuntu installed through Wubi, a very […]
Every new application that enters the "temporary data cleaner" category has to stand its ground against established programs like CCleaner which seems to be the application of choice for most cleaning enthusiasts […]
Clean After Me is a new software by the well respected NirSoft developers. The application is as usual portable and can be executed right from its location. The main purpose of the […]
I was beginning to think that the time of the free promotional keys was gone when I spotted yet another promotion at Tip and Trick. This time it is possible to get […]
Windows is keeping track of programs you opened recently and uses two locations on the system to store those information. The first location saves the 15 most recently opened documents that are […]
Windows XP keeps track of how many times an application has been started by a user of the system and displays the most frequently used programs in the start menu. That's a pretty convenient feature for some users but there is no obvious way to control which applications are listed in the start menu.
For some time now I'm running several maintenance applications once a week to improve the performance, security and privacy of my computer. It usually takes less than two hours to run all of these applications and I would like to explain which programs I'm using, why I'm using them and what the benefit of using them is.
A new version of Revo Uninstaller was released this week and I decided to install it again to check on the progress of the application. Revo Uninstaller is a program uninstaller that has several interesting features that I mentioned only briefly in my last article which was published a while ago. It's main task is a replacement for the Windows uninstaller which is slow and careless when it comes to uninstalling applications.
It's becoming dark and cold outside sooner these days which is in my opinion the best time for some serious PC winter cleaning. I'm doing those cleaning once every three months to make sure my computer runs stable and without ballast that drags performance down. This article will only look at the software and operating system and not on the hardware which could be optimized as well by looking for firmware and bios upgrades.
Every company that has it's own website or software seems to advertise their toolbar that you need to install on your system. Spammers also like toolbars and most computers have many toolbars installed that are most of the time simply unnecessary. The real difficulty begins when you try and uninstall a toolbar which is not as easy as it sounds.
Windows does not automatically delete temporary files during system shutdown. This means that deleted files in the trashbin and temporary files like those in the Internet Cache are still accessible after a restart of the system. System cleaners like CCleaner or Disk Cleaner are able to delete those files but I would like to show a way how many of them can be deleted by using a Windows system tool.
The makers of CCleaner and Recuva have created a new software called Defraggler which is a defragmentation software for Microsoft Windows 2000 up to Windows Vista. Defraggler introduces some new features that most - if not all - other defragmentation softwares are missing.
I'm currently using several tools to clean my system, change settings to increase security and privacy, control startup items and tweak system settings to improve performance. Softwares like CCleaner, Xpy, Autoruns and several others do the job just fine with the only minor issue that I have to open them if I want to change specific settings. It would be far easier to use one software to do all of those tasks.
Gili over at Connected Internet compiled a list of 15 applications that he calls the best free software for your computer. We all know that it can be quite difficulty to compile a list with the best because the best is nothing more than a personal judgment. I would agree that about half of the recommended softwares are must haves while the other half are nice to have but not really required.
I disabled my trashbin by default which means that deleted items bypass the trashbin and are deleted immediately. This works fine most of the time but it happens that I occasionally delete a file that I need later on again. There is no obvious way to get those files back and you will face serious troubles if want to get them back but used something like defragmentation on that hard drive after the deletion.
The question that some might ask is why one could recover deleted files at all. This is actually a very good question. Windows does not delete the file at all when you press the delete button. It simply deleted the reference to that file and makes the space the file occupied writable again. This means that you can recover most files if you are just fast enough. One freeware that can do the job is Recuva which is supposed to be pronounced recover.
Windows popups a balloon tip with a "Low Disk Space - You are running out of Disk Space" warning everytime a hard drive goes below 200 megabytes of disk space. This can get pretty annoying if you have a lot of data on the drive and your disk spaces goes regulary below 200 megabytes on it. There is however a very easy way to turn this message off, it involves a registry setting.
Panicwipe is a one click solution to delete unwanted files securely from your system. The freeware is able to delete programs, files, folders, registry entrys, IE cache, history and cookies with one simple click. You´ve got full control over the whole process of course: you select the data that you want to delete, everything else remains.
You are leaving traces on the computer you are working with unless you are using a live cd or software that runs from an usb stick. Traces are everywhere and it´s rather hard to clean every possible trace by hand. Disk Cleaner is a nice little freeware application that helps you in this task.
It is a good idea to make sure that no one is able to find and use private files on your computer against you. I can think of several reasons why it is wise to secure private files. If you are sharing a computer you have multiple users working with it, would not it be embarrassing if your mother (wife, sister, girlfriend..) found your hidden adult picture stash ? A thief would be more than happy to use all the personal information (login details to sites like paypal or ebay for example) to make some extra bucks.
EasyCleaner is a small program which searches Windows' registry for entries that are pointing nowhere. EasyCleaner also lets you delete all kinds of unnecessary files like temps, backups etc. You can search for duplicate files and you can view some intresting info about your disk space usage! You are also able to manage startup programs, invalid shortcuts and add/remove software list.
Dylan Tweney compiled a list of 101 fabulous freebies for the pcworld website. The link above leads to the category view of all freebies that dylan collected. Categories include Tune Up: Utilities and system tools, Lock It Up: Security/antispam tools, system-stabilizing utilities and Share It: File sharing and storage services. All categories include program links and a short description of the program itself. Lots of known tools but also some lesser known ones and also some services are included.
CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less that a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware.
