Favorite Computer Utilities
Custom Utilities from CaptainKen and crew:
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Multiple Dated Batch File Backups:
These are MS-DOS bath files that backup all my programs and their settings to another drive. They are in the TXT format for this site so you'll have have to change the file extension to BAT. Everything is backed up to the same folder that set within the batch file, with each program having it's own folder with date appended. It only keeps so many and then deletes the oldest, so no worries about all the backups eating up two much room. Should be self explanitory, but if it isn't just let me know and I'll help you out.
Download for Windows XP
OR
Download for Windows 7
Clear the temp files:
Upon boot or login this VBS utility deletes all files located in:
"C:\Users\admin\AppData\Local\Temp" AND "C:\Windows\Temp"
We usually save it to C:\Program Files (x86) and put a shortcut to it in the All Users startup. Compatible with WinXP, Vista, and Win7.
Download it and get rid of the ".txt" extension which will leave it with a ".vbs" extension.
Should be self explanitory, but if it isn't just let me know and I'll help you out.
Download here
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- TreeSize Free - Quickly Scan Directory Sizes and Find Space Hogs
- Partition Editors, Managers and Recovery (Partitioning Software)
I prefer BootIt - SiSoftware Sandra Pro: A leading computer analysis, diagnostics and benchmarking utility
- emailSTRIPPER
A free program for cleaning the ">" and other formatting characters out of your emails. It will restore "forwarded" or "replied" emails back to their original state so they're easier to read. If the above link doesn't work then click here.
I like emailSTRIPPER much better than Mr. Ed's Email Bracket Stripper
- Stress Reliever Fun Interactive Toy: (No need to install, just download to your desktop, double click and have fun!)
A desktop game for relieving stress by (c) Ing. Miroslao Nemecek. Assorted tools such as:
- your desktop is a sheet of glass and the mouse is a hammer
- your mouse is a chain-saw
- your mouse is a flame-thower
- your mouse is a Stamp
- termites eat away your desktop, so use the flame-thrower or machine gun to kill them
- Your mouse is a phaser
- your mouse is a washer/eraser to clean away the damage you've done to your desktop.
- Puzzle Printing Paper
Puzzle Clonzz blank jigsaw paper: You can print Puz zleCl onzz ®jigsaw puzzles of your own images directly on your own printer...no software needed.
- World Search Puzzle Template: My 7 year old daughter and I came up with this idea and created it. Just an MS-Word file template.
- World's Greatest Expense Report: An Excel 97 spreadsheet for entering and calculating traveling expenses. I've searched the net view several and this one tops them all. Wish I could take credit for it.
- MS-Access Cross Tab Report example: MS-Access 97 sample report. Believe it or not...Unlimited columns and rows!! Authored by Duane Hookom, Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
- FileZilla: The number one Open Source FTP Software
- Malwarebytes
- Recover Data for NTFS (Hard drive recovery program)
- Color Mania: Point at any color on your screen to get the html hex, RGB, and HSV color values.
- Techsmith Jing: Free screen capture utility with some nice basic features.
- Techsmith SnagIt: The best most feautre rich screen capture utility!
- Techsmith Camtasia Studio: The best most feautre rich screen recording and editing utility used to create screencasts!
- Ultra ISO
- ClipMagic - Windows Clipboard Manager
Do you CTRL-C? Then you need ClipMagic! Speed up your work with ClipMagic. ClipMagic monitors the Windows Clipboard saving everything you copy, keeping it safe for when you need it, and makes it easy to access your clips quickly whatever application you are working in. Whereas the Windows Clipboard can only store one item at a time - leading to duplication of effort and the need to constantly switch back and forth between windows - ClipMagic stores and categorizes an unlimited number of clips.
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CNET video: Useful network taskbar icon for Windows
Download Network Activity Indicator here - Postbox — A Better Way to Do Email from multiple accounts
- Windows Macro Tools and Automation Software: Automate your PC with Windows scripting
- QuickButtons: Create AppBars and turn complex keystroke sequences into simple button clicks. Map mouse click to keyboard events.
- Soluto - Anti-Frustration Software
- CNET TechTracker - the easiest way to keep software up-to-date
- LostPassword Passware Enterprise: Recovers all kinds of lost or forgotten passwords
- Magic Jellybean: Retrieve Windows and Office Product Keys
- Winamp Media Player
- Tag&Rename (screen shot)
- BooZet Free Double Driver
- How to Save Drivers for Windows XP to Backup CD
- NeoSmart Technologies' multiple award-winning EasyBCD
- Boot into XP/Vista/7/Ubuntu/OS X and more!
- Boot from USB, Network, ISO images, Virtual Harddisks (VHD), WinPE, and more!
- Repair the Windows bootloader, change your boot drive, create a bootable USB, and more!
- Rename entries, set default boot target, change BCD timeout, hide the boot menu, and more!
- Create your own custom boot sequence, hide drives on boot, backup and restore configurations, and more!
- EasyBCD Documentation Home - EasyBCD - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki
- Driver Magician: Backup your computers drivers
- SHERLOCK - The Free Codec Detective:List all the Video Codecs installed on your system
- Hulu Downloader
- Clone2Go DVD Ripper
- Total Video convertor
- Squared 5 - MPEG Streamclip video converter for Mac and Windows
- XBMC Media Center: Is an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media player and entertainment hub for digital media.
- Best Free Media Players
- CloneDVD2
- AnyDVD
- Better File Renamer
- Directory Lister Pro: Allows you to list a directory of files, showing their metadata (attributes, properties, details, etc.) and then save, print or send via e-mail list of files from selected folders. When you print a file list, you can include standard file information like file name, extension, type, owner and attributes as well as executable file information (EXE, DLL, OCX) like file version, description, company. Also multimedia properties (MP3, AVI, WAV, JPG, GIF, BMP) like track, title, artist, album, genre, video format (frame height, frame width, etc.), bits per pixel, frames per second, audio format, bits per channel can be listed. Video Tutorial
- Karen's Directory Printer
- IDImager (DAM = Digital Asset Management)
Besides being an awesome photo management program, it also makes cool web site photo galleries.
- Windows 7 Image Resizer 3
- CPUID: Free utilities - System hardware benchmark, temperature monitoring, reporting
- EndItAll2 EndItAll2 is also handy for closing all programs before installing software
- Start Up Control Panel Start Up Control Panel to control what applications start when your computer starts
- Alacritypc Alacritypc shuts down unnecessary services and programs before you run a resource intensive application like a game
- Karen's Power Tools
- Offline NT Password & Registry Editor
- Lifehacker, tips and downloads for getting things done
- System Explorer Portable
- Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic ToolCan be run from within Windows or a boot CD via the provided ISO
- Lifehacker, tips and downloads for getting things done
- ConvertIcon: Converticon is a simple icon utility. It can import ICO, PNG, GIF, and JPEG formats and export to high-quality PNG or ICO files. There is no software to download and it's 100% free.
- USB Safeguard
- Notepad++: Text Editor on steroids
- ObjectDock by StarDock: Organize your shortcuts, programs and running tasks into an attractive and fun animated dock.
- Winstep Nexus Toolbar/Dock: This is my Favorite! Provides a user with a way of launching and switching between applications. Your most frequently used applications are only a mouse click away - and Nexus turns working with your computer into a fun and exciting experience.
- Daemon Tools Lite: All you need is the free version
- Microsfot SyncToy
- Audacity: Audio Editing
- Pidgin, the universal chat client
- Meebo web based universal chat client
- Gimpshop Image Editor
- GIMP Image Editor
- Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software
- Backup Chunker: Backup Chunker is a backup / synchronization program with unique features: multiple synchronization and versatile compression with strong encryption.
- CNET TechTracker - the easiest way to keep software up-to-date
- UltraMon: Is a utility for multi-monitor systems, designed to increase productivity and unlock the full potential of multiple monitors
- Convert PDF to other formats
- Convert Web Page to PDF: #1 Web to PDF Converter
- The Editors' Choice List Our Selection of the Best PC Freeware
- Best Free Media Players
- Intel AMT Pro: How to Remotely Control Your PC (Even When it Crashes) - How-To Geek
- FireFox Browser - Here are my favorite add-on Extensions:
- Cool Previews
- FireBug
- MeasureIt
- NewTab URL
- LastPass Free Password Management: Works with FireFox, Chrome, IE
- Session Manager
- NewTab URLXmarks
- Radmin - Enables you to work on a remote computer in real time as if you were using its own keyboard and mouse.
(see comparison to Windows Remote Desktop below)
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Radmin - Remote Control Software ($50)
- Features FTP, Telenet, View only, Remote Control, Text & Voice Chat, Ctrl+Alt+Del, Reboot, mouse screen scrolling, and local/remote clip board sharing.
- Various screen resolutions by pressing F12
- Login as any user, no requirement to be an admin.
- Works with any version of Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7.
- Connects quickly, no sluggish wait.
- Cannot hear sounds generated from remote PC.
- Found problem in that if you login with windows remote first and then disconnect and try Radmin it doesn't work unless you reboot.
Windows Remote Desktop (free)
- Only works if logging in to remote PC as Admin
- Mouse screen scrolling not supported
- Hear sound from remote PC
- Only available on some versions of Windows.
- Screen resolution is much better when using Windows desktop. Radmin shrinks it down and you loose a lot of screen space.
- Initial login to remote PC is sluggish compared to Radmin.
- NOTE: No options for FTP, Telenet, View only, Text & Voice Chat, Ctrl+Alt+Del, Reboot, and local/remote sharing clip board.
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Online Utilities
- Area Code Lookup
The Area Decoder provides you with current information related to area, city, and country codes. Simply type in the name of a city, state, and/or country, or a city, area, or country phone code. We do not presently provide white pages information, postal information, or reverse phone number lookup.
- Area Code Lookup
- Look up Anything!
Man this is a cool and valuable site! Look up by: Area codes, phone numbers, streets, cities, zips, demographics, geographic locations, SIC codes, distance between places, non-profit locations and more!
- What does your phone number spell?
- Official U.S. Time
- Phone Number Speller
Are you tired of the proliferation of phone numbers, e-mail addresses and so forth that you now have to memorize for today's technological world? Why not take some of the stress out of all this by using mnemonic devices to remember this growing list. PhoneSpell can help by allowing you to enter a six to ten-digit number and then showing all the possible words and phrases it can make. Use it to associate words with important numbers, create an easy to remember phone number for your home or business, or to quickly translate a spelled out 1-800 number into the proper digits for dialing.
- Web2PDF PDF Converter: Convert Web Page to PDF
- Pseudodictionary
Come to the place where all of your made up words, slang, Web lingo and colloquialisms become part of the dictionary. Browse the humorous and slang entries, or add your own.
- Radio Stations by city
- Research It!
Your One-Stop reference Desk! brings you several language tools like dictionaries and translation tools, biographical and quotation resources, maps, stock quotes, email discussion groups ... the list is long, go have a look for yourself.
- Songfacts
Did you know that Led Zeppelin's seminal rock classic "Stairway to Heaven" was never released as a single? Or that the title of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came from a brand of deodorant? These are just two examples of the tidbits you'll find at Songfacts, a storehouse of music trivia organized both by artist and by song title.
- Microsoft System Internals
- Time Zone Ticker
Graphical world-wide time zone selector
- World's largest collection of tongue twisters!
Welcome to the world's largest collection of tongue twisters with 3705 entries in 118 languages!
Portable Thumb Drive Applications
What are portable applications? Well they're just what the name implies. They're portable versions of your favorite applications that don't need installing on your PC but instead you place them on your thumb drive.
Pstart by Pegtop is my favorite portable App Menu system! Access all items easily with the PStart tray menu. You can create any use defined folders and subfolders you like. The tray menu is highly configurable. You can define mouse sensors or hot keys to let the menu pop up without clicking at the tray icon, If you like you can even hide the tray icon completely.
PortableApps.com - Menu System for Portable software run on USB, portable and cloud drives
Best Free Portable Applications
The following apps have been converted to portable versions and are available at PortableApps.com
- aMSN Instant Messenger
- CamStudio
- Ant Renamer
- Daphne: Daphne is a small (system tray) application for killing, controlling and debugging Windows' processes. It was born to kill a windows process and became almost a task manager replacement.
- Lightscreen:
- Pidgin:
- SQLite Database Browser:
- XAMP Apache Server by Apache Friends:
- Portable App Creator:
- PortableApps.com Installer:
- PortableApps.com Launcher:
- XAMPP PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB, portable and cloud drives
NOTE: There are other apps available from PortableApps.com, but the above only are my favorites.
The following applications are portable by design and freely available.
An * means that they are also available from PortableApps.com
- Audacity:
- AutoRuns for Windows: shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them.
- Clip Magic: ClipMagic monitors the Windows Clipboard saving everything you copy, keeping it safe for when you need it, and makes it easy to access your clips quickly whatever application you are working in. Whereas the Windows Clipboard can only store one item at a time - leading to duplication of effort and the need to constantly switch back and forth between windows - ClipMagic stores and categorizes an unlimited number of clips.
- ColorMania Color Picker
- Daemon Tools Lite (32-bit and 64-bit versions)
- emailSTRIPPER
A free program for cleaning the ">" and other formatting characters out of your emails. It will restore "forwarded" or "replied" emails back to their original state so they're easier to read. If the above link doesn't work then click here.
- FileZilla: The number one Open Source FTP Software
- Foxit PDF Reader
- GIMP:
- Google Chrome: How to make portable
- Handle
- IcoFX: It is an all-in-one solution for icon creation, extraction and editing.
- Notepad++: Text Editor on steroids
- The real portable Microsoft Office - Office Watch
- Skype
- RoboForm2go
- Process Explorer
- CPUID: Free utilities - System hardware benchmark, temperature monitoring, reporting (use the zip version)
- Shell Extension Viewer for Windows (32-bit and 64-bit versions)
- SIW System Information for Windows: System Info for Windows by Gabriel Topala
- System Explorer
- Speccy is a handy, portable system information tool from the makers of CCleaner
- Tag&Rename (screen shot)
- UltraISO
- uTorrent: µTorrent - a (very) tiny BitTorrent client (How to make portable)
- DamnVid: DamnVid is a cross-platform application to download and convert videos from your hard drive or from dozens of video sharing websites like YouTube, Dailymotion, Veoh, Metacafe, etc. Basically, it's a video downloader and converter that sucks less.
- VLC Media Player (Choose the "Zip Installer)"
- WinRAR: WinRAR is a powerful Windows tool to compress and decompress zip, rar and many other formats.(scroll down to the bottom of the downloads page and choose the "unplugged" version)
- USB Safeguard
- Universal USB Installer – Pen Drive Linux
- Parted magic - Partition Manager (Use Universal USB Installer to make portable)