Useful Utilities

[Steve Burke]

I've got the following utilities on my computer:

 

Anti-Virus - AVG Paid-For (includes anti-root kits that the free version doesn't, plus anti-spyware etc)

Anti-Spyware - Spyware Blaster (stops a lot of spyware and Trojans getting onto the computer in the first place)

Virus Clean-Up - Malwarebytes (recommended by Newt - cheers)

Auto Program Updating - Secunia PSI (ensures updates of all programs are done automatically, not just Windows, so helping security etc)

Registry Cleaner - CC Cleaner

Online Back-Up - Carbonite (in case a fire at home destroys both my computer and the external hard drive that I also back up to)

 

Any comments or suggestions most welcome as I know little about computers - as the above probably shows!

[Klaus]

I\'ve got the following utilities on my computer:

 

Anti-Virus - AVG Paid-For (includes anti-root kits that the free version doesn\'t, plus anti-spyware etc)

Anti-Spyware - Spyware Blaster (stops a lot of spyware and Trojans getting onto the computer in the first place)

Virus Clean-Up - Malwarebytes (recommended by Newt - cheers)

Auto Program Updating - Secunia PSI (ensures updates of all programs are done automatically, not just Windows, so helping security etc)

Registry Cleaner - CC Cleaner

Online Back-Up - Carbonite (in case a fire at home destroys both my computer and the external hard drive that I also back up to)

 

Any comments or suggestions most welcome as I know little about computers - as the above probably shows!

Hi Steve

I recently posted about IOBIT freeware, it is useful if you are trying to uninstall a program completely. Sometimes when you use windows uninstall programs not all files get deleted hence you get error messages from those programs i.e I had antivirus that needed updating the prompt was to uninstall old version/install new one .However windows uninstall seemed to jam and would not uninstall causing great frustration. IOBIT has a similar uninstall format with an added exta umph to it clearing old bits of files allowing the new install to take place. Newt said this was good info I believe you can get from CNET free downloads

 

Klaus

[kirisute]

I've got the following utilities on my computer:

 

Anti-Virus - AVG Paid-For (includes anti-root kits that the free version doesn't, plus anti-spyware etc)

Anti-Spyware - Spyware Blaster (stops a lot of spyware and Trojans getting onto the computer in the first place)

Virus Clean-Up - Malwarebytes (recommended by Newt - cheers)

Auto Program Updating - Secunia PSI (ensures updates of all programs are done automatically, not just Windows, so helping security etc)

Registry Cleaner - CC Cleaner

Online Back-Up - Carbonite (in case a fire at home destroys both my computer and the external hard drive that I also back up to)

 

Any comments or suggestions most welcome as I know little about computers - as the above probably shows!

 

AVG is fine; though it does pay to swap an anti virus software once a year! i usually rotate between AVG and Avast..both are usually very good at sorting out issues.

Spyware blaster ive had no experience with, but certainly malwarebytes is a MUST have and i reccomend a scan with that every month or so

same with CCleaner..thats probably the best freebie out there right now.

carbonite is like many online sources..they work up until the website goes down or their server crashes!! i dont ever fancy trusting my personal data to an online server/ back up utility....but thats personal choice.

 

some to add:

Recuva~from the makers of ccleaner and also free! enables you scan to recover recently deleted files on your hdd..can be handy if youve just dumped an important file you didnt mean too!

 

Picasa~ googles answer to quick photo manipulation ad photoshop stuff..actually really very good for a freebie! well worth it if you have a few snaps and want to fiddle with them!

 

RocketDock or NeXus~ like the apple bar that lurks at the bottom of your iphone or a mates Mac? then both of these will happily allow you to do the same on your windows pc! drag n drop icon placement and some nifty effects make them a good tool to have. personally i group shortcuts into folders and then shortcut the folder to the "dock". keeps your desktop uber free of icons and gives you a good excuse to keep icons altogether!

 

AnalogX~ if your like me and lazy when it comes to editing video then this can be a godsend! its basically an extension changer...for instance my JVC cam outputs as .MOD files...they are in fact a renamed MPEG file..but various video editing programs wont see a >MOD files...so i change all the extension to .MPEG and they work perfectly in anything i drop em into! might be a bit tricky if your unsure what your doing but can be a godsend at times!

 

Unlocker~ ever had a problem deleting a file? get that error message that windows tells you the file is locked? Unlocker will unlock that file and allow you to delete it! can also be handy for closing annoying software that just wont quit!

 

AVG pc Tuneup~ a very good piece of software that is a one stop shop to help keep your pc running nice and tidy; reg cleaners, disk clean ups; various other health scans...can be a really handy app to have

 

i use hundreds more in the professional life but they wouldnt help you out much! LOL they are techie nerd progs that are there for me to undo the damage done by virus attacks and malware and user incompetance! LOL

[Steve Burke]

carbonite is like many online sources..they work up until the website goes down or their server crashes!! i dont ever fancy trusting my personal data to an online server/ back up utility....but thats personal choice.

 

I couldn't agree more. As I said I also do automatic back-ups to an external hard drive as well, in case a fire at home destroys everything. A belt and braces approach maybe, but losing data and images would be terrible.

 

Thanks for all the other suggestions guys.

[chavender]

i have a nice little tool worth having ,especially if you use flash card in camera's etc or just occationally delete something you should of kept .

http://www.powerdatarecovery.com/power-dat...ee-edition.html

[Newt]

I strongly suggest installing Process Explorer and then using the option to have it replace Task Manager. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653

 

In fact, I like every utility Mark Russinovich has written. Most users won't need all of them and some are pretty tech/geek oriented but any that look useful are good to have.

[Steve Burke]

I strongly suggest installing Process Explorer and then using the option to have it replace Task Manager. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653

 

In fact, I like every utility Mark Russinovich has written. Most users won't need all of them and some are pretty tech/geek oriented but any that look useful are good to have.

 

Whoops, I'd forgotten about that one. Thanks, Newt.

[*Ant*]

I have Advanced SystemCare which seems to be a good and useful freebie, although i'm far from being an expert on these utilities.

[Newt]

I moved the off-topic discussion to a new topic. I didn't do it quite right so there is one huge post at the beginning but the content is all still there. It just has so many quotes that it blew up and won't treat them as quotes. My bad but I'd really like to keep this one to utilities that are useful to normal users and let us geek folk talk about geek stuff in a new topic.