Archive for PC utilities

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Defraggler – Free Disk and File Desfragmentation Software

Defraggler - Free Disk and File Desfragmentation Software

Defraggler is one of the best desfragmentation programs out there. The software allows you to defrag your entire hard drive, or individual files – unique in the industry. This compact and portable supports Windows applicationNTFS and FAT32 file systems. Defraggler is a easy way to improve your computer perfomance; and it’s free
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BlueScreenView 1.11-Find out the hidden meaning in a blue screen of death

Blue screens of death are a bit frightening, because they usually appear without prior notice and most importantly, because it’s hard to know what they really mean.

With BlueScreenView that last issue can be easily solved. This little app recovers the dump file created by any blue screen of death you’ve had lately and displays is again, so that you can look into the error message and look for possible solutions on Google.

BlueScreenView doesn’t require installation and is pretty straightforward – which is good, since it doesn’t include any documentation. The program can display the saved dump files as drivers list or just as the original blue screen, and also generate a report in HTML with all the info displayed on the interface.

If you’re getting frequent blue screens of death, BlueScreenView can help you find the solution by displaying those error messages on a more user-friendly interface.

Download BlueScreenView 1.11 in Softonic

NirSoft Installer 1.32-Download and install your favorite NirSoft tools at once

Sometimes having a simple tool that’s specifically designed for a certain function is better than dealing with a massive application.

The guys over at Nirsoft have specialized in creating simple tools like this, and have managed to produce a impressive collection of standalone, highly efficient tools that get straight to the point and can help you solve many different tasks. The only problem is that up until now, you had to manually choose the ones you wanted to download right on the developer’s website.

Luckily you can now use NirSoft Installer, a special tool that shows the list of all available Nirsoft apps and lets you choose which ones you want to download and install. The program includes several ready-made filters – like the possibility of installing only Windows 95/98 programs only – but also lets you create a custom selection.

Once you have chosen a few apps, NirSoft Installer will take care of the job. The only drawback to this handy utility is the lack of data about the NirSoft tools: either you already know them, or you’ll have to check the developer’s site for more information about what each individual tool does.

If you’re a fan of NirSoft utilities, you’ll love this piece of software: an automatic installer for your favorite NirSoft tools.

Download NirSoft Installer 1.32 in Softonic

doPDF 6.3.309-Create PDF documents from virtually any Windows application

As far as free PDF converters go, doPDF is one of the best out there saving you tons of cash on Adobe’s patented version and whatsmore, doing it in half the time.

The program is remarkably simple to use. Just open a document in Microsoft Word, WordPad, NotePad or practically any other text editing software, choose Print and select doPDF. The program asks you where to save the PDF file and when finished, the PDF file will be automatically opened in your default PDF viewer. This process takes less than a minute and you’ll be amazed at how accurate the PDF is. Occasionally, it can suffer with unusually formatted text and images and so they won’t come-out exactly as you want but this can be remedied.

Unfortunately, there’s also no option to print large web pages (such as long news articles or forum pages) without dividing it into separate pages so you’ll end up with lines dividing the article up throughout your PDF documents. The other slight downside is that it seems the PDF files it creates can be rather large although if you ZIP them up, this is not much of an issue.

An excellent PDF converter that’s fast, easy to use and serves as more than an adequate replacement for Adobe’s software.

Download doPDF 6.3.309 in Softonic

Printee 1.6.0.1 (Internet Explorer)-Select what you want to print from a web page

We should all avoid printing web pages unless it’s absolutely necessary. But if you do have to print one, use Printee and try at least to save paper and ink.

Printee is an Internet Explorer plug-in that adds a new button to the browser’s interface and displays a new toolbar when you click it. This toolbar lets you remove certain elements from the web page you’re about to print – images, banners, superfluous text – that you don’t really need to print and would only waste paper and ink.

The buttons included in Printee let you remove the background, get rid of all the images on the page, change text size, adjust the page’s width and choose between different page styles. Also, if you click the ‘Mode’ button, you can manually select which elements of the page you want to keep, and which ones you want to get rid of.

Before actually sending the job to your printer, Printee lets you preview the page so that you get an idea of how it’ll look – and how much paper and ink you’re saving!

Printee is a nice browser plug-in that lets you save paper and ink by printing only those areas on a web page that are relevant. Too bad it only works with Internet Explorer.

Download Printee 1.6.0.1 (Internet Explorer) in Softonic

KUninstall 0.3-App uninstaller for power users

If Windows already features a tool to uninstall programs, why should you install a third-party tool for that same purpose? Easy: because with some of them, like KUninstall, you get extra features the Windows default uninstaller doesn’t include.

After extracting the program anywhere on your hard drive, KUninstall scans the system and displays a list with all installed applications. A right-click on any of these entries will reveal a context menu from which you can uninstall the selected app and view detailed information about it, among other options.

Another nice feature in KUninstall is the ability to identify any running process and perform different tasks with it. Simply drag the crosshair icon on top of any window or app and KUninstall will display a message with the process’s complete path and buttons to uninstall, locate or kill the process.

Besides not requiring installation, KUninstall is also much faster than the Windows default uninstaller and, as you can see, includes interesting functions that make it well worth a try.

With KUninstall you can not only remove unwanted apps from your system, but also obtain more information about them.

Download KUninstall 0.3 in Softonic

Moo0 FileShredder 1.06-Vaporize your deleted files

If you have private information that needs deleting, you shouldn’t make do with just the Recycle Bin. You need to make more of an effort to ensure that your confidential details stay confidential.

Moo0 FileShredder is a handy program that does just that. The application opens a small interface that can be expanded to see the precise details of each deletion method. There is also a blank area, which is where you drag your unwanted files to. You chose from one of the four levels of deletion – from Shred Once to Vaporize – and drag over your file. Bear in mind that dragging it into Moo0 FileShredder is all you need to do in order to delete it forever, so make really sure that you’ve picked the right file!

Moo0 FileShredder hasn’t got many options, but the ones it does have are quite useful. You can set the program to close by simply clicking the middle mouse button, or expand or reduce the window by right-clicking. Moo0 FileShredder is also available in a variety of languages, and leaves a relatively small footprint on your machine. If you need to delete confidential files on a regular basis, it’s a very good bet.

Moo0 FileShredder – a slick program that does what it says on the tin.

Download Moo0 FileShredder 1.06 in Softonic

WinRAR 3.90-One of the best file compression packages

Stealing the crown from WinZip, the previously undisputed king of file compression apps, WinRAR is a must-have in any modern-day PC toolkit. The application not only includes support for extracting virtually any kind of file compression format, it also boasts a no-nonsense approach to reducing file sizes.

Some will argue that the application isn’t as quick as WinZip at compressing files. However, for the small lag in time difference, you end up with a significantly smaller archived file at the end of the process with WinRAR. What’s more, the application allows you to save files into both ZIP and RAR formats, with a multitude of options for speeding up compression times, or reducing file sizes at the expense of a few more seconds.

Although many newcomers might be put off by the sheer range of features and settings within the program, the interface doesn’t take long to get accustomed to, and if you’re still really stuck there’s a simple wizard-based system that walks you through the process of extracting or compressing. All this adds up to make WinRAR a dependable utility that performs better than any other tool in its class.

Boasting more compression options, higher compression rates and smaller file sizes than WinZip, WinRAR is now the undisputed market leader in file compression.

Download WinRAR 3.90 in Softonic

NodeSoft Cover Printer 1.0.0.1-Easily print covers for your CD and DVD

Printing CD and DVD covers can be a bit tricky: you need to calculate sizes, margins and proportions properly if you want them to come out right and fit the correspondent case.

Luckily you can now count on NodeSoft Cover Printer to help you with this task. This little application makes cover printer much easier by providing you with the necessary templates, print preview and even crop marks and lines so that you achieve a perfect result.

NodeSoft Cover Printer doesn’t require installation and is very easy to use. The program includes templates for CD and DVD with a few possible variations, and can extract front and back images from full covers automatically.

Bear in mind though that NodeSoft Cover Printer doesn’t actually include any covers, nor does it let you download them from the Internet; you’ll have to do that on your web browser by yourself.

NodeSoft Cover Printer helps you print the perfect covers for your CD and DVD.

Download NodeSoft Cover Printer 1.0.0.1 in Softonic

VistaSwitcher 1.0.2-A nicer Alt-Tab menu to switch between apps

When you have a dozen different applications running at the same time on your computer, you need something else than just a simple icon when using Alt-Tab to switch between them.

With VistaSwitcher you get exactly what you’re looking for: a full, real-time preview of all currently active apps and windows on your system, every time you press the Alt-Tab hotkey. VistaSwitcher enables you to switch between apps and windows in a much more comfortable way, knowing exactly what’s running on your system and where you’re headed to.

You can configure VistaSwitcher to replace the standard Alt-Tab combination, or use it as just an extra way to switch between programs. The program can be launched not only via Alt-Tab, but also with a customizable keyboard hotkey and VistaSwitcher’s icon on the system tray.

The program includes a configuration menu to tweak its behavior and appearance. You can also filter specific applications so that they’re not included in the Alt-Tab menu.

Need a more powerful, visual way to switch between active apps and windows on your system? VistaSwitcher is the program you’re looking for.

Download VistaSwitcher 1.0.2 in Softonic

CloudBerry Explorer for Amazon S3 1.6.1.19-A handy file explorer for Amazon S3 accounts

Amazon S3 is quite popular these days as a file hosting service. If you use it too, CloudBerry Explorer may be the program you’re looking for.

CloudBerry Explorer is an intuitive file explorer that helps you manage your Amazon S3 account just as if it was one more folder on your local drive. The program features a double-pane interface and works like an FTP client, with each window devoted to a location. These locations are not fixed and can be switched to suit your current task: local computer and remote S3 server, two local folders or even two Amazon S3 accounts.

CloudBerry Explorer supports multiple S3 accounts and lets you open multiple connections, which you can then easily manage through interface tabs. The program’s configuration options also let you tweak the way the program works with files when copying and moving data.

On the downside, the program lacks some advanced functionality such as multi-thread connections for faster transfer speeds and the ability to sync folders, though according to the developer’s website these are both coming soon in future versions.

CloudBerry Explorer for Amazon S3 is an efficient, intuitive file manager for your Amazon S3 accounts.

Download CloudBerry Explorer for Amazon S3 1.6.1.19 in Softonic

Glary Utilities Portable 2.16.0.758-Handy pocket toolkit for PC maintenance

After testing the desktop version of Glary Utilities a while ago, I was pleased to see that the developers of this great PC toolkit have now released a portable edition.

With Glary Utilities Portable you can now take all the program’s tools anywhere with you, and use them to optimize, repair, tweak and improve any computer without leaving any usage traces on the host computer. Glary Utilities Portable doesn’t require installation and can be run directly from any USB device.

Now, don’t let yourself be fooled by the “portable” tag of this program. Glary Utilities Portable is by no means a stripped-down version of the desktop program. It does include all the system utilities you need for all sorts of PC maintenance tasks, and they’re all neatly organized into several categories so you can easily find what you’re looking for: disk cleaner, startup manager, tracks eraser, duplicate file finder and many more.

All the tools included in Glary Utilities Portable are generally very easy to use, so don’t be afraid of trying them out. Also, in the case where any of them make important changes to the system – such as the Registry Cleaner – the program creates a backup copy first. The only weird thing is that the appearance of these tools is completely different from the program’s main interface, but that’s no big deal.

Glary Utilities Portable is a light yet powerful maintenance toolkit that you can take anywhere to repair, clean, optimize and improve any computer.

Download Glary Utilities Portable 2.16.0.758 in Softonic

Métamorphose 2.0.6.4 Beta-Powerful and flexible renamer for files and folders

Renaming a file is no big deal; but when you have to rename a bunch of them simultaneously, it’s a different story. In those cases, you need a tool like Métamorphose.

With Métamorphose you can easily rename hundreds of files with a minimum effort. The program features a clear interface divided into four tabs, each of them devoted to a different purpose: picking the files or folders you want to rename, tweaking the actual renaming options, sorting the files in a variety of ways and finally checking for any error messages or warnings that the program may display.

It sounds confusing, but Métamorphose is in fact very easy to use. The most important tab is ‘Renamer’, where you actually create the new name for your files. Métamorphose supports several renaming methods (inserting a custom string, moving text, replacing certain characters and swapping elements around, among others) and you can use as many of them as you want simultaneously.

To make things even easier for you, Métamorphose lets you preview your renamed files at all times – before actually renaming them – and lets you also undo the renaming operation in case something goes wrong.

Métamorphose is a complete free renaming tool with plenty of options.

Download Métamorphose 2.0.6.4 Beta in Softonic

WLMUninstaller 1.0-Remove Windows Live Messenger from your computer

Some programs are very easy to install, but a real pain to uninstall. A good example of this is Windows Live Messenger.

If you don’t like it at all or prefer to use an older version- which requires uninstalling the one currently present on your system – your only option is WLMUinstaller, a handy tool that helps you get rid of this stubborn IM client.

WLMUinstaller doesn’t require installation and is dead simple to use: run the program and it’ll automatically detect which version of Windows Live Messenger is installed on your system. Then click Uninstall and after a few minutes, Microsoft’s IM client will be gone.

WLMUinstaller doesn’t perform a clean uninstallation – in fact, there’ll be some traces left on your system – and doesn’t give you any clue about how much is going – no percentage, no progress bar. But at least Windows Live Messenger won’t bother you again.

If you want to get rid of Windows Live Messenger once and for all, WLMUinstaller is the tool you’re looking for.

Download WLMUninstaller 1.0 in Softonic

Disk Bench 2.5.3.2-Test the speed of your hard drive

Download Disk Bench 2.5.3.2 in Softonic