Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Free Essential Windows Utilities


No...not those Windows Utilities. Although if you're thinking that you must never use a computer... 


Just like owning a car, owning a computer comes with the hassle of maintenance every now and again. In order to prevent your computer from getting sluggish, download these free utilities. Most are shareware and include additional features if you pay, but their free versions are more than powerful enough. Get them, and ensure your Windows PC stays just as fast as the day you first got it!


My favorites: (In order) Make sure to keep these programs updated!


My favorite utility is  Glary Utilities . I just do not check the "Tracks Eraser", because you lose all your website history.  I try to run it at least every 10 days.  It also has some nice specific modules inside the program. 


Spybot Search and Destroy: Application to scan for spyware, adware, hijackers and other malicious software.



Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (shareware) – The number one anti-malware application out there. MSE can sometimes miss malware that MB Anti-Malware simply doesn't. More importantly, it can also remove that malware, and it even includes a tool called FileASSASSIN – a great tool that can even delete files locked by Windows. You should run this once a week.


Microsoft Security Essentials – For the longest time, Windows users had to turn elsewhere to guard themselves from the onslaught of viruses and malware that plague their systems. Recently, the folks in Redmond decided to step up to the plate and release their own anti-virus program. It's free, works great, and receives definition updates almost daily. Add to that live protection, and you've got one of the best anti-virus programs out there, all for free! Just be sure not to accidentally delete important registry files if you do get a virus; you'll be in for a world of lost data and headaches. You should make sure this is turned on and doing live protection everyday.

These are some other programs to check out:



Revo Uninstaller (shareware) – As I previously mentioned before, this is the best uninstaller on Windows. It completely removes all traces of an application, even the files located deep within your registry associated with that program. Use this to ensure that you reclaim all available hard drive space when uninstalling a program. Use whenever it's needed.


Recuva (shareware) – If you accidentally delete a file, use Recuva to pull deleted files from the grave. It's got support for a ton of different file formats, from emails to iPod music to word documents. It's helpful every now and again whenever you need it.


If you need to download a whole website try HTTrack, it allows you to download all the contents of a website.  






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