| Julien's list of Free Stuff |
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I use and evaluate a lot of software. What I've found is that there is a decent amount of good software that is free. Here's a few.
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Lavasoft Spyware Detection Software
http://www.lavasoft.de/
Spyware or Malware is the biggest curse of the internet user. Spyware affects your computer in many ways, slowing it down, displaying
unwanted pop-up adds, opening web pages you didnt want plus many more. At worst they can capture your kestrokes or even turn your computer into a
zombie, at the beck and call of criminal gangs to instruct thousands of zombie computers around the world to extort money for web content providers.
Lavasoft was one of the first spyware scanners and is still one of the best. Its free and is updated regularly. However as spyware authors get smarter
you now also need Spybot Search and Destroy, see below.
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Spyware Search & Destroy Spyware Detection Software
http://www.spybot.info/
There are so many spyware variants around that you need this one as well as Lavasoft above to keep your computer clean. If I suspect my computer is
infected because it is behaving strangely I run both programs, one after the other. They each use different methods to detect spyware. If I'm in a hurry I just run this one.
An added bonus of Spybot is that it has an optional module that stays in memory when your browsing the web and helps stop the spyware getting-in in the first place.
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AVG AntiVirus Anti Virus Protection
free.grisoft.com
There are many AV products on the market and I've used a lot over the years. However I now use the free version
of AVG AntiVirus. It has regular auto-download updates and it scans my incomming email, and its really fast.
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Zonealarm Software Firewall
http://www.zonealarm.com
The free version of ZoneAlerm is an useful Firewall product. It will block access to the internet by programs that have not been authorized to access it. Useful to catch spyware or virii in the act.
Windows XP SP2 is supplied with a firewall but I dont know how effective it is so I use this one.
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CWS Shredder Spyware Removal Tool
http://www.trendmicro.com/cwshredder/
CWS (or Cool Web Search) is a repeat offender in the spyware business. They constantly change their programs to avoid detection. This program sniffs out
the various permutations of CWS spyware infections and helps to clean them out of your computer. You should check for updates regularly.
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HijackThis Spyware Removal Tool
http://www.merijn.org/index.html
HijackThis is a powerful tool in keeping your PC free of spyware and browser HiJacks. Its so powerful infact that if you dont know what your doing you can
make your computer worse by removing settings that are a normal part of its operation. However if you know what to look for it really useful. If you are unsure
about something that HijackThis loccates then save its log report and then paste it into the box provided at this address:
http://hjt.networktechs.com/.
They will analyse your log and provide a color coded interpretation.
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Startup Control Panel System Startup Utility
http://www.mlin.net
I like this one because it gives me a quick list of all programs that start-up when I turn on my computer. Nasty stuff can hide in the startup list, but so can just
annoying things too like the Apple Quicktime player. This program lets you remove these items selectively.
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CONVERT Unit Conversion Tool
www.joshmadison.com
A simple but powerful program to instantly convert just about any measure value to another.
Pounds to Kilos, farenheight to celcius, miles to kilometers or even bushels to pecks!
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Unlocker Locked Files Utility
http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/
Sometimes, for reasons best known to itself, windows will not let you delete a file because it is "in use". Now, you
'know' the file is not being used, but windows stubbornly refuses to delete it. That's what Unlocker is for. It will
find what has the file locked and free it. Wonderful stuff that!
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Mmm Context Menu Editor
http://www.hace.us-inc.com/mmm.shtml
I don't know what I did without this program. Its function is simple but after using it its become indispensible.
When you right click on an item you are presented with a context menu, that is, menu options that relate to that particular
file type. Now this is a useful feature of windows but it seems every software application inserts a context menu option
resulting in a long - slow loading list. This program allows you to move unnecessary menu items. Not only does it speed up
the display of the context menu it makes it significantly easier to use.
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