Synergy Networks Small Business Computer Support

ESET Online Scanner is a free antivirus scanner that runs through your web browser.  It’s a fast tool from ESET (who have created the paid antivirus products ESET Smart Security and ESET Nod 32 Antivirus) that detects and removes threats on your PC.  It utilizes only your web browser to run, using the most current threat signatures in ESET’s Threat Lab.  All infected files are moved into quarantine where they are no longer running on your computer or posing any threat.  You can then either choose to restore a file, or delete it permanently.

Supported browsers include Internet Explorer 5.0 and up, Firefox, Chrome, Netscape, and Safari, so you can run it on almost any computer, new or old.  It does require ActiveX Controls to run, though.

To learn more and try ESET Online Scanner on your system today, click here!  Click here to read the FAQ section.

This is one of those “just for fun!” free programs.  It is what the title says, an electronic piano in which you can not only play the piano, but there are over 100 additional instruments you can play.

Click here to download!

Everyone needs to take notes on a daily basis.  If you can think it, or see it, chances are Evernote can help you remember it.  You can type a text note, clip a web page, snap a photo, grab a screenshot, and Evernote will keep it all safe.

Everything you capture or write is automatically organized.  It’s processed, indexed, and searchable.  You can add tags and organize notes into different notebooks.  Search allows you to find anything fast by using keywords, titles and tags.  Printed and handwritten texts inside images are searchable too.

There are so many possibilities with Evernote.  Ideas of what to do with it include:

Do you think your computer has a virus?  Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free, downloadable security tool that provides on demand scanning to help remove common viruses, malware, spyware, Trojans, and other malicious software.  It won’t interfere with your existing antivirus software, as it is run ‘on demand’ (not automatically).

The tool expires 10 days after being downloaded.  To run a scan with the latest anti-malware definitions, download the Microsoft Security Scanner and run it again.  You have the option to do a quick scan or a full scan with this program.

Click here to learn more and download.

Stellarium is an awesome free program that allows you to learn about outer space and different stars!  It’s great for students learning or for the outer space/star enthusiast.  Features of this program include:

-Default Catalogue with over 600,000 stars
-Extra catalogues with more than 210 million stars
-Asterisms and illustrations of constellations
-Constellations for 12 different cultures
-Images of nebulae (full Messier catalogue)
-Realistic Milky Way
-The planets and their satellites
-Telescope control
-And more!

You can get Stellarium for Windows, Linux, and Mac.  Click here to learn more about Stellarium, and see below for screen captures.

Converber is a free unit converter.  It’s a very powerful software utility that makes conversions easy between various units of measure.  There are over 1500 units of measure available in 50 categories.  Converber converts everything from length and force to flow and temperature.  See some of the listed features below:

-Immediate access to all categories or single category.
-Favorites menu to bookmark frequently used conversions.
-Inline Calculator (*/-+^ and more).
-Shows either common units or all units.
-Extensive number formatting
-And more!

Click here to learn more about Converber and download today.

Ant Movie Catalog is a free program that allows you to manage your collection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray, and tapes.  It alphabetizes and categorizes your movie collections, and allows you to create reports and graphs.  Other features include the “Loan” section, which helps you keep track of what movies you currently have loaned out to what person.  Works on Windows and Linux-based computers.  Click here to learn more about Ant Movie Catalog!

Many people receive PowerPoint presentations to view, but not everyone has Microsoft Office installed on their computers (or, perhaps maybe they don’t have the latest version of Office).  Fortunately, Microsoft has released a product called PowerPoint Viewer that simply allows you to view and print PowerPoint files (there is no ability to edit PowerPoint files with the Viewer).

The PowerPoint Viewer works on systems with Windows SP (service pack 3) or higher, and you must have at least 256 MB of memory on your computer, and at least 300 MB of hard disk space available.  PowerPoint Viewer works with the following PowerPoint file formats: PowerPoint 97, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, and 2010, and the .ppt and .pptx file formats. 

Click here to download Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer.

Glary Utilities is a free suite of programs designed to help make your computer run faster and more efficiently.  The program’s features include the ability to optimize, clean and boost the speed of your Windows computer, protect your privacy and security, block spyware, Trojans, adware, etc; and fix certain application errors.

Different applications in the utilities suite:

-Disk Cleaner: Removes junk data from your disks and recovers disk space.
-Registry Cleaner: Scans and cleans up your registry to improve your systems’ performance. 
-Shortcuts Fixer: Corrects the errors in your start menu and desktop shortcuts.
-Uninstall Manager: Uninstalls programs completely that you don’t need anymore.
-Startup Manager: Manages programs which run automatically on startup.
-Memory Optimizer: Monitors and optimizes free memory in the background.
-Context Menu Manager: Manages the context-menu entries for files, folders, etc.
-Registry Defrag: Defrags the Windows registry to speed up your computer.
-Tracks Eraser: Erases all the traces, evidence, cookies, Internet history and more.
-File Shredder: Erases files permanently so that no one can recover them.
-File Undelete: Quick and effective way to retrieve accidently deleted files.
-File Encrypter and Decrypter: Protect your files from unauthorized access and use.
-Disk Analysis: Shows you the disk space usage of your files and folders.
-Process Manager: Monitors programs that run on your PC and stops spyware and Trojans.
-Internet Explorer Assistant: Manages Internet Explorer Add-ons and restores hijacked settings.|
-Windows Standard Tools: Provides direct access to the useful Windows default functions.

Glary offers a “One click” feature that runs all of these utilities as you wish without having to worry about it.  There are also advanced functions for advanced users who wish to control exactly what they want the program to do.  Click here to download Glary today!

Editing PDF files is something that many business people need to do, but purchasing professional PDF editing software is so expensive!  That’s where Free PDF to Word Converter comes in.  Powerful, free, and with all the features you need, this program is a must-have for nearly every computer user!  Convert Adobe PDF files to Microsoft Word Doc files fast and easily.  This program can extract text, images, and shapes from PDF files and put them into a Word document.  It even preserves the original layout of the PDf!  It can convert all pages from the PDF, or any page range you desire.  This is a standalone program, so you are able to convert PDF to Word Doc without Adobe Acrobat Reader or Microsoft Word installed on your computer!

Learn more about the program and download it here.

Undelete 360 is an excellent free program that is great for retrieving files or photos accidently deleted from your computer.  It can recover files deleted from the Recycle Bin, flash drives, digital cameras, and memory cards.  It can find files that have been deleted by accident, by a virus, and by software/computer failures, and files that were too large to fit in the recycle bin.  Undelete 360 supports both file and folder recovery.  However, Undelete 360 cannot recover files from hard drives that were formatted or repartitioned. 

Have you ever accidently deleted pictures off of your digital camera before you were ready to?  Normally you are not able to recover those photos, ever, but thankfully Undelete 360 can help!  Common file types that Undelete 360 can recover include document files such as DOC, XLS, RTF, PDF, PPT, MDB, HTML, CSV, TXT; audio and video files such as AVI, MP3, WAV, WMA, MPG, MOV, ASF, M4A; image files such as JPEG, JPG, PNG, BMP GIF, TIF, TSA, EML, RAW, and so on.

Why not give Undelete 360 a try?  Learn more and download here.

Sumatra PDF is another alternative PDF viewer to Adobe Reader.  It is slim and portable, and very fast.  Sumatra has a minimalistic design, and simplicity is a priority in the program.  You can run this program entirely off of a flash drive, and doesn’t write any data to the computer.  Sumatra focuses on usability and portability rather than an abundance of features, but still can do quite a bit!  Click here to learn more and download!

Foxit Reader is a PDF reader for Windows computers.  It’s fast, small, and full of rich features.  You are able to open, view, and print any PDF file.  Foxit Reader is very safe and secure, and offers three levels of PDF viewing security to protect against malicious or harmful PDF files.

Foxit Reader is ideal for anybody with a Windows computer, be it the typical home user or an enterprise company.  There are many customization options in this program  that make it easy to deploy Foxit Reader that meets most any organization’s business objectives.  It also has adherence to ISO32000 standards and PDF viewing requirements.

Why not give Foxit PDF Reader a try today?  Click here to learn more and download.

Auslogics Disk Defragmenter is free for home users.  It is supplied with advanced disk optimization techniques that only paid analogs typically have.  Disk Defrag stands out from its major competitors as the only free comparable, efficient disk defragmenter.

This is a compact and fast defragmenter that supports both FAT16/32 and NTFS file systems.  You will quickly enhance your system’s performance and consolidate your free space once you run Disk Defrag.  You can schedule a regular defrag to occur, something virtually unseen with free programs.  By scheduling a regular defrag, you can ensure your computer will perform optimally. 

Other cool features include the ability to defrag certain files or folders (as opposed to the entire drive), support for multi-terabyte items, ensuring that even the largest of hard drives is defragged, and it’s compact and fast.  It uses less system resources compared to other defragmenters, so the process goes a lot faster and more smoothly.

Click here to learn more about Auslogics Disk Defragmenter and to try it out today.

MoneyManager Ex is an excellent free money management program comparable to Microsoft Money or Quicken!  With no pricetag associated with this free product, this product is ideal for anybody, whether or not you are on a budget!  You can set money saving goals, enter in spending and purchase info, and you can import info from your online banking sites to see an updated summary of what spending you are doing.  It categorizes things into easy-to-use columns and reports, and you can configure things like stocks, assets, bills, rent, mortgage, and more to neatly sum up all of your expenses and funds.

You can install MoneyManager Ex on virtually any computer.  Supported on Windows from Windows 95 all the way up to Windows 7, Mac OS 10.4-10.6, and several Linux versions, including SuSe, Fedora, Ubuntu, and Kubuntu. There's also a broswer based version of MoneyManager Ex for Windows, Mac, and Linux, so you can always be watching closely over your funds!  Check out the screenshot below for an overview of the program.  Download MoneyManager Ex here!  

Below: Screenshot overview of MoneyManager Ex.

FotoSketcher is a free artist program that converts your digital photos into art automatically.  You simply open a photo you wish to edit, select one of the many style sketches and the program will instantly apply the effect.  You can tweak the settings to increase or decrease the desired effect.  Other features include adding text, a caption, or photo frame to the text.  You are able to save the new photo without overwriting the original. 

Some styles you can apply to your pictures in FotoSketcher include different varieties of sketches, paintings, oils, pastels, sepia, and vintage photos.  With so many to choose from, you’ll be playing with this program for hours!

Download FotoSketcher here.

Below: Example of a FotoSketcher filter applied to the photo on the right.

Quick MediaConverter is a free, powerful, and complete universal video and audio conversion tool.  Let’s say someone sends you a video of their family, or you upload a CD to your computer.  You may wish to add that video or song to a portable music player, like an iPod, but the file type you have isn’t supported on your media player!  Well, Quick MediaConverter can help!  You can convert video and audio files into many different formats, including formats for Windows Media Player, iTunes, QuickTime, DivX, DVD, VCD, Wii, PSP, XBOX, iPhone, Nintendo DS, and more! 

It’s pretty incredible what you can do with this program, not to mention it’s pretty simple to use.  You can install it on almost any computer, from Windows 98 up to Windows 7.  This tool is a must-have for the digital media lover.  Download it here!

CrystalDiskInfo is a hard drive monitor that gives a full-on summary of performance, speeds, and even temperature of the drive.  It can help keep your hard drive healthy and educate the user on what’s going on with it.  There is a diagnostics utility that can help you diagnose possible issues with your hard drives.  A must have for any computer user interested in maintaining their PC!  Download it here!

Time to update your version of Adobe Reader to 10!  Anything below 10 is now outdated and could be a potential security risk.  Adobe Reader 10 (or, “X”, as Adobe calls it) has a new look and a few new features.  Adobe Reader is the industry standard for PDF viewers.  Why wait, download the new version now!  Download it here.

Want a taste of Apple, but don’t want to shell out the money for a MacBook?  Then Safari may be the answer!  Safari is Apple’s official web browser, which works in both Mac and Windows.  The design and layout is similar to windows in a Mac operating system, and the browser is both fast and secure.  A good addition to any computer if you like trying out new browsers.  Download the latest version of Safari here.

Below: Overveiw of Safari Browser.

SpeedFan is a cool program that monitors your computer’s voltages, fan speeds, temperatures, and even hard drive temperature (SATA, IDE, and SCSI).  It can change fan speeds accordingly, which can reduce noise produced by the computer.  It can also help save power, which in turn saves you a little bit of money each year!  It is supported on Windows operating systems from ME-Windows 7, in both 32 and 64 bit versions.  You can even put it on Windows Server systems.  Try SpeedFan today!  Download it here.

Dia is a diagram creating program that offers many different shapes, colors, and text options to help you create professional looking graphs, charts, diagrams, and more.  There are many different customization options available, and many different pointers, buttons, and graphics available to insert in your diagram.  Dia is compatible on XP, Vista, 7, Linux, and Mac.  Download it here!

Below: Example of what Dia can accomplish.

Digsby is an all-in-one instant messaging and social networking platform.  You can be signed in to all of your favorite IM (instant message) platforms at once, such as MSN and Yahoo.  You can also be signed in to MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to receive notifications, messages, etc.  You can customize the look and feel of Digsby, and decide what updates to your social networks you want to be notified of.  You can also manage your Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL Mail, IMAP, and POP accounts right from Digsby, a very convenient feature. 

This app is a must-have for the Web social user.  Download it here.

FastStone is an amazing free image viewer, not only allowing you to view all and any images you may have, but you can view photos of your choice in a slideshow with many transitioning effects available, and the ability to add music.  You can draw lines, shapes, ovals etc. on images, and add text.  Many image types are supported, including jpeg, tiff, gif, png, and more.  You can resize photos, and add many effects, like a drop shadow.  Download here! (It’s the first one on the list.)

Below: Overview of FastStone Image Viewer.

There is a regular edition of KeePass and a professional edition, both free, with portable versions of each.  Select your download of choice here.

Download this must-have tool here.

Everything is a cool program that will search for everything and anything saved to your computer.  If you are looking for a particular file and just can’t seem to locate it, type the name of it into Everything, and it shall find it!  Has a clean and simple, easy-to-use interface.  Works on Windows 2000-Windows 7!  This program even works on Windows Server!  Download Everything here.

Paint.net is a cool free tool that allows you to edit and manipulate existing photos, or create cool imagery and artwork of your own.  A free and easy to install utility, this program is great for people who don’t wish to shell out the money to buy Photoshop or Corel products.  Download it here.

We figured since there were so many great ‘freeware’ products available, and tons and tons reviewed on our website, that we’d come out with our Top 10 all-time favorites list!  We think that any computer user could benefit from these programs, whether you’re new to the world of technology or as tech savvy as they come.  Many of these applications have a portable version as well. 

From antivirus to security, cleanup to remote access software, here’s what made the list:

10. 7-Zip

7-Zip is a great way to compress multiple files you’d like to e-mail someone into a Zip file.  It is comparable to WinZip without the pricetag.  Easy to install, doesn’t take up much hard drive space!  Download the regular version here and the portable one here.

Nowadays when you buy a new laptop, it comes pre-installed with a free trial of Office 2007/2010.  That doesn’t sound so bad, however when it expires it requires you to pay full price for the item, or no longer use it.  Uninstalling this free trial can be a pain too, and in some instances it’s impossible with traditional tactics (Add/Remove Programs, Remove Programs feature of CCleaner, even Revo Uninstaller can fail.)

Thankfully, there’s a tool to help you rid of this free trial.  It works with Office 2007 and 2010, free trial or full versions of the program.  Click here to learn more and download.  After running this, you should run CCleaner's registry scanner to remove broken files left behind from uninstalling Office.  

Norton Antivirus and its sister products are notorious for being extremely difficult to uninstall.  Luckily, Norton itself has released a series of tools to help frustrated users uninstall the program once it has expired and they’ve chosen another route for antivirus.  Simply visit the link provided below, and choose the program from Norton you’re running.  It’ll guide you step-by-step on what to do, and presto!  All gone.

Click here to visit the website.

AeroWeather is a neat utility available for Windows Vista or 7 computers with the Aero feature enabled.  It will change the color of ‘Aero Glass’ (the see-through tops of program windows, taskbar etc.) depending on the weather in your area!  What a neat concept.  Setup is pretty easy, as you can see in the image below.

Download here (the link to download is after you see the image on the page, describing AeroWeather setup).

A creative team of people have released a version of OpenOffice.org designed for kids aged 7-12.  This cool program makes word processing, presentations, and drawing as easy as it gets. Most kids don’t need features like macros, mail merges, etc. and many of those features can confuse the younger ones.  This free program drastically simplifies this, yet it is still powerful and quite effective.  Many of the programs included in it are compatible with Microsoft Office file extensions, making compatibility a cinch!

This powerful free suite of applications includes:

Writer: A word processing tool, great for writing reports or letters.  You can save the documents you create in a variety of file extensions, including Microsoft Word’s .doc extension.

In the past year or so, Google Chrome has become one of the most popular browsers available.  It’s also the safest, fastest, and most secure browser available.  Chrome just makes web browsing easier, from determining whether or not a webpage is safe, to making downloads and download management easier.

Freemake Video Converter is a cool freeware utility that allows you to convert between popular video formats, create images slideshows, music visualizations, and more!  Simple, straightforward format conversions are featured with this utility.  It’s very simple to use…just select (or drag and drop) your files, and select the desired output format.  

USB SafeGuard is a free encryption utility that is small, portable, and easy to you.  It secures files on your flashdrives and portable USB hard drives.  You simply drag and drop file and folders to instantly protect your critical, sensitive documents, and then enter a password of your choice to encrypt/decrypt the files that you want protected.

Besides encrypting files, it also has a “Safe Internet Browsing” option that allows you to surf safely on the web, removing all Internet traces such as URL history, typed passwords in web forms, and typed URLs.

Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder is an awesome freeware utility that helps you recover Product Keys from installed programs.  It finds these keys in your computer’s registry.  This is pretty neat, especially if you need to re-install a program but lost the case it came in, or the key that came with it.  You can also retrieve the product keys from unbootable Windows installations.

Download Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder today!

Pivot StickFigure Animator is a great, free application that allows you to create stick figure animations ranging from very basic, to super impressive!  It just takes a little time and patience to master, but is so much fun!

You can create individual frames of action with stick figures, and then view them in sequence, producing the animation.  You create a story, design the frames and then watch it in action!  Add color, backgrounds, and more to make a sweet story!

Screenshots:

Eraser is a free, advanced security tool that allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns.  You can install Eraser on Windows computers running XP, Vista, 7, Server 2003, and Server 2008 (even R2!).

At some point, there is data we just want to erase from our computers.  However, it’s hard to know whether or not the data is completely gone.  Even if you empty your recycle bin, there are still ways of getting that data back!  You can use free programs such as Recuva and PC Inspector Smart Recovery to recover that data, to name a few!

You can set up scheduled ‘tasks’, so you can have it delete certain files in certain folders, when you want it to run.  You can set the tasks to run automatically or manually.

To learn more about eraser, visit this page.  To download, click here!

Advanced SystemCare free (formerly called Advanced WindowsCare Personal) can help protect, repair, clean and optimize your PC with one click of your mouse.  This free program has had 50 million downloads, and of course is safe for your computer.  Key benefits include registry cleaner, system optimization, quick and extensive system cleanup, powerful hard drive defragmenter, extra system security, prevention of hackers/hijackers from installing malicious software on your computer, and the ability to fix multiple system errors.  On top of it all, it is very easy to use.

PC maintenance is a snap with Advanced SystemCare Free.  You can diagnose or clean up your computer with one click!

FreeRAM XP Pro is a program that will, like its name states, free RAM on your Windows XP computer.  This is ideal for slower, maybe older computers that have less than 1 GB of RAM.  This program will run in the background on your computer, and, when you specify it to, it will try to free up unnecessary RAM on your computer to help speed things up.  So why not give FreeRAM XP Pro a try?  So simple to install, so useful to have!

Download FreeRAM XP Pro here.

7-Zip is an open-source file archiver with a high compression ratio.  You can convert documents, programs etc. into .zip files easily and for free!  You have the ability to pack/unpack files in the following formats: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR.

The following files can be unpacked only: ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, DEB, DMG, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MSI, NSIS, RAR, RPM, UDF, WIM, XAR, and Z.

Download 7-Zip today!  Great free alternative to WinZip.  Download here.  Available in Portable form too!

SUPERAntiSpyware is a great spyware and adware remover.  It can also detect malware, Trojans, worms, keyloggers, hijacks, rootkits, and so much more.  It’s a good idea to have two types of threat protection in place, so if you already have some type of antivirus (like AVG Free or Microsoft Security Essentials) it would be a good idea to put SuperAntiSpyware in place as well! 

Super Anti Spyware provides real-time protection against threats, blocking and removing upon threat attack.  Its unique repair system also offers repair of broken Internet connections, desktops, registry editing and much more!

You can schedule when the scans will run.  Pick from either Quick, Complete, or Customs cans that can run daily or weekly on the date and time you choose.  Schedule regular scans to ensure your computer remains secure and free from harmful software.  This program will remove threats automatically, providing some relief from the stressful world of infected systems!

Download SUPERAntiSpyware here.

VLC is essentially a universal media player.  It can play DVDs, VCDs, music CDs, web streams TV cards, and much more to your computer.  Codecs and codec packs are not necessary, VLC has them all built in, including support for nearly every codec available.  You can even play media files if they are damaged!  VLC will play all the video and audio information that is still intact.

Some supported formats include DVD, VCD, Audio CD, Mpeg, Cable, Digital TV, MP3, MP4, MOV, 3GP, OGG, AVI, DirecX, Real, WAV, DTS, WMA, WMV, and many others.

Download at this link.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a great free anti-malware program that provides your Windows PC with real-time protection against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software items.  Very easy to install and use, and of course the zero-pricetag feature makes it ideal for home and small business users alike.  It will automatically keep you up to date with the latest virus definitions, and it’s very easy to tell if your PC is secure.  When your icon on the taskbar is green you are protected, it’s that simple.  It runs in the background efficiently, hogging as little system resources as possible so you are free to use your PC as you want without interruption.

Please note:  Your computer must be running a genuine copy of Microsoft Windows in order for the software to install.  Supported on Windows XP, Vista, and 7, both 32 and 64-bit versions.

TimeLeft is a clock (also a Windows tray replacement clock), reminder system, countdown, work day/hours countdown, alarm clock, timer, stop watch, eBay auction watch, time synchronization utility, desktop sticky note, and more!  There are tons of features included with TimeLeft.  It is very user friendly and very easy to use, and very versatile. 

Download the free version here.

Revo Uninstaller is a free utility that is meant to help uninstall programs.  It is much faster and thorough than Windows Add/Remove Programs applet.  You are able to choose what you want to uninstall, and it will actually work!  It also scans your computer before and after you uninstall an application.  After it runs, you can remove additional unnecessary files, registry keys, folders etc. that are left on your computer when you uninstall something.

Works on Windows XP, Vista, and 7.   Download Revo Uninstaller here!

Skype is an awesome free program…to call it a chat program would be an understatement!  Yes, you can send instant messages with Skype, but not only that, you can do it while you call people on your computer!  Instant message anyone with a Skype account.  Call anyone on their computer for free, or call to landlines from your computer for a very low cost (starting at around 2 cents/minute).  You can even leave a voice mail to their Skype account.  If you have a webcam, you can integrate video into your voice chat.  Or, do all three at once…video chat someone with audio enabled in an instant message conversation!  So many possibilities!  Skype will run on Windows and Mac computers, and apps for Android and other types of phones are starting to emerge!  Break away from undependable chat programs that hardly offer what Skype can…and talk to your friends and family in other locations for free!

Download Skype here.

Songbird is an excellent replacement to iTunes and other music/media software.  The layout is very similar to iTunes so if you’ve ever used that program, chances are Songbird will be a cinch.  You can store all types of music files in Songbird, manage them, and have them sync to your media device, like iPods, MP3 players, cell phones like the iPhone and Motorola Droid, etc.   There are also cool features like the ability to see bands and artists that are playing in your area.  You can download and view Songbird on your computer, phone, or portable music player.   Go here and check Songbird out!

Gimp is an image manipulation program very similar to Adobe Photoshop, and would be a great free alternative.  Considering you will pay hundreds of dollars for professional photo and art software, this is a pretty sweet deal!  It was originally made for Linux operating systems but has a Windows version and there is a ton of support and information out there on how to use it!  You can also download versions for Mac computers, and Sun Solaris.  It’s pretty quick to install.

Once you install Gimp, you can customize all your images, or create new ones.  There are tons and tons of image filters, meant to enhance images or make them look unique and artistic.  Gimp makes things like photo restoration a snap…so anytime you scan an image to your computer, old or new, you can make it look amazing with one of the many artistic effects or filters.

Granola is an amazing utility that will help your computer reduce power consumption, saving you money overtime.  It was designed with environmental protection in mind, significantly reducing the power involved with having a computer and reducing your power costs!  Once you download and install Granola and run it, you will get a summary of what it will do for your computer.

If you’re like most people, you’ll have more than one instant messaging screen name.  Google, MSN/Windows Live, Yahoo, AIM, ICQ, you name it, chances are that most computer users have an account with one or more of these providers.  But how do you keep up with all those messaging programs?  Downloading them all can just waste space and slow down your computer.  Luckily, Pidgin is available. 

Speccy is another wonderful free product from Piriform.  It will analyze your system and give you a detailed list of your specifications, be it memory/RAM (including type, how many slots available in computer, amount of memory), Hard drive (brand, type, storage size) Processor (brand, speed), operating system with service packs, and so much more!  It is much more detailed than the Windows system information/properties. 

Have you ever accidently deleted an important file and wish you wouldn’t have?  Ever emptied the Recycle Bin before you were ready?  Sent an e-mail forever into the land of cyberspace trash before you realized it?  Well, thanks to Recuva, you know have a way out of it!  Recuva is another wonderful freeware download from Piriform.  You can recover files deleted from your computer, USB hard drive or flash drive, camera, mp3 player, or iPod.

You can recover from damaged files or reformatted disks.  Even if you totally formatted a drive that would normally appear blank, you can use Recuva to find it!  E-mails can be recovered too, if you happen to use Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, or Windows Live Mail.  If you close a Word document without saving it by accident, Recuva can help!  Recuva is very quick; it can find most files you search for in under a minute.  Once again, as is the theme with any Piriform products, there is also a portable version of the product.

Click here to download Recuva!

Defraggler is another amazing freeware tool offered by Piriform (the creators of CCleaner, Speccy, and more).  Use Defraggler to defragment your hard drive with ease.  This tool is generally faster than the Windows Defragmenter included on any copy of Windows.  It delves deeper into your files and can usually find more items to defragment than Windows Defragmenter does.  We also find it easier and more convenient to use.  It also comes in a Portable App form (see article on Portable Apps for more information.)

This tool is safe and secure, and won’t destroy important files.  It claims to be tough on your files and light on your system, which we have found to be true.  You can set up future scheduled defragmentations as well.  Also, it has language support in and option in 37 languages.  They’ve made it really easy for users to defragment their hard drives.

Try Defraggler today at this link.

McAfee.com offers a wide range of free utilities designed to make your computer and web experience more secure.  There are currently 8 free services offered on their webpage, and we’ve tested them out and reviewed them for your convenience!  These days, you can never be too secure when browsing the web, and these utilities help to make things easier.  You can go here to view them all and try them out.

This is a security add-on for your Firefox or Internet Explorer browser that can help you to identify websites that are known and linked to viruses, adware, spyware, spam, phishing, and other online fraud.  The McAfee SiteAdvisor service gets information from a huge database with detailed results for over 100,000 pieces of software, and covers over 95% of the world’s Web traffic.  It integrates with popular search engine results and will add an icon to your browser toolbar to indicate whether or a website is safe, or needs to be avoided/approached with caution.  You can view detailed reports for a website that is labeled unsafe.  It also tells about spam, harmful downloads, etc that have been known to come from that website.

PC Decrapifier is a great, free utility that can help you clean up and remove unnecessary programs off your computer.  When you purchase a new computer, it comes pre-loaded with many utilities, many of which are unnecessary and can slow your computer down and take up space on your hard drive.  PC Decrapifier solves this.

 When you start PC Decrapifier, it will scan your computer for any program it deems unnecessary.  It will produce a report of what is to be removed, and you can either approve of it and continue or hit “Cancel”, and manually de-select components it found that you think you should keep on your computer.

Overview

After you download and install PC Decrapifier from this link and start the program, you will see the welcome screen.  You can click the “Check for Updates” button to receive updates, and then click “Next” to continue.