Useful utilities ...

Ryo-Ohki · Nov 28, 2002, 04:18 AM

Here we go :

OGGDrop - freeware
(straightforward OGG Vorbis encoder, drag n' drop your WAV files)
http://www.vorbis.com

Active Ports - freeware
(GUI for the netstat command, monitors open ports and connections)
http://www.ntutility.com

HTTPort - freeware
(allows any kind of network traffic to be tunnelled through the HTTP port of a proxy)
http://www.htthost.com/

VMware Workstation - time-limited trial version
(can run several virtual machines off one PC - handy for test platforms)
http://www.vmware.com

OpenOffice - GNU (Win32 / Linux)
(do I still need to present this great, open-source office suite ?)
http://www.openoffice.org

Mozilla - GNU (Win32 / Linux)
(an all-time classic within the browser world !)
http://www.mozilla.org

The GIMP - GNU (Win32 / Linux)
(powerful Photoshop clone, not too easy for the beginner though)
http://www.gimp.org

Ximian Evolution - GNU (Linux)
(an almost perfect Outlook clone, absolutely must have!)
http://www.ximian.com

And of course, all the classics, Winamp, ACDSee, Windows Commander, Winzip, QuickTime, the DivX bundle, SiSoft Sandra, ASUS PC-Probe, Powerstrip, all the video capping/editing tools n' codecs you can find at http://www.doom9.net...

A couple of Windows paying utilities well worth their bucks also : Paint Shop Pro 7.0, PowerDVD XP 4.0 and AVP (Kaspersky Anti-Virus)

RIV@NVX · Dec 2, 2002, 03:27 PM

Not sure if I mentioned it already...
VCool. Software cooler for AMD processors.

Beta 10 supports KT400.
Get it here.

Vampirefo · Dec 3, 2002, 10:18 PM

Two free tools I like.

Spybot - Search & Destroy http://security.kolla.de/

What does SpyBot-Search & Destroy?

SpyBot-S&D searches your hard drive for so-called spy- or adbots; little modules that are responsible for the ads many programs display. But many of these modules also transmit information about your surfing behaviour and more to the net.
If SpyBot-S&D finds such modules, it can remove them. In most cases, the host still runs fine after removing the bot.
For a list of 'supported' bots see the feature lists below. The Spybot-S&D interface is so easy, that updates just require replacing a file of about 80k in size. Those updates are distributed by my software mailinglist, over this page and are also available from inside the programs update section.

Another feature of Spybot S&D is the removal of usage tracks, which makes it more complicated for unknown spybots to transmit useful data. The list of last visited websites, opened files, started programs, cookies, all that and more can be cleaned. Supported are the three major browsers Internet Explorer, Netscape Communicator and Opera.

Last but not least Spybot-S&D contains some routines to find and correct invalid entries into the registry.

NetworkActivSniffer http://www.networkactiv.com/Sniffer.html

Dual mode packet analyzer,

Mode 1 (Packet sniffer)
Receive and analyze IP packets from your network or the internet. Analyze only the packets of interest to you by way of filtering; this filtering may be done by IP address, port, packet size, protocol, or sub-string searching of packet content. Also, you can search for a sub-string within the current list of packets, save the list of packets to a text file, view the contents of each packet, and more.

Mode 2 (HTTP file sniffer)
This mode collects packets of the HTTP protocol, analyzes the packets, constructs them into usable files, and then automatically saves these files to a user specified directory. These files may be web-pages, pictures, videos, downloads, and more. You may filter the saving of files by IP address, port, and/or file size.

Both modes have easy to use interfaces, while maintaining the ability to customize.

This is a great tool for network administrators, security professionals, and just about any advanced computer user with an internet connection.

Note: This is 100% freeware; No ads, banners, spyware, or nags.

System Requirements:
Windows® 2000/XP (or higher) is required.
A screen resolution of at least 800x600 is highly recommended.

Kelsenellenelvian · Dec 8, 2002, 04:09 AM

MagicTweak is kinda nice.

ldonyo · Dec 10, 2002, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Quakindude
I am willing to bet that a lot of you have already heard/seen this little proggie before.
It is a must have to get rid of those little spyware/scumware crap some 3rd party programs and websites put on your computer. Scans memory, registry etc.

Adaware

Just beware of one little thing. If you use Kazaa or the like, it will remove all the spyware/popups that program has rendering the program unusable. You will have to reinstall it after using adaware.

Does that mailwasher proggie help for Hotmail accounts also?

AdAware is fantastic! I've been using it for a couple of years and it's just great! I also use POW! and CookieWall from Analog X. Great little cookie manager.

TEmp69 · Dec 12, 2002, 06:55 AM

News_Interceptor
(not needed to register, unsubscribed)

Well, do you visit dozend of news-sites per day (slashdot, winbeta, fileconnect) and look each day multiple times, what is new what is the latest info?

Here is the program for you, it checks automatic websites (you can choose from a BIG list) and notifies you once something is new, then just doubleclick on the link and it will bring you to the newssite.

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CPU_COOL
(shareware)

Tells you CPU temperature / FAN speed and many more, can be configured to sit in the tray showing digital or analog datas.
If you are a Overclocker, a really useful program to monitor your computer!

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Trillian
(free)

Instant Messanger which incooperates multiple clients into one.
Use it for ICQ, AIM, Yahoo, IRC, MSN!!!

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DU-Meter
(shareware)

If you want to know how much UL/DL you have or
If you want to get a warning once your DL approaches your monthly DL limit or
If you just want to see some nice UL/DL graphics grab this tool!!!

make some nice statistics like this one:

DU Meter Weekly Report

Code:

Period (From)   Period (To)     Download       Upload   Both Directions   
03.11.2002      09.11.2002       3,55 GB      1,70 GB           5,25 GB   
10.11.2002      16.11.2002       6,06 GB      4,56 GB          10,62 GB   
17.11.2002      23.11.2002       7,40 GB      2,53 GB           9,93 GB   
24.11.2002      30.11.2002       5,10 GB      1,48 GB           6,58 GB   
01.12.2002      07.12.2002       3,13 GB      1,83 GB           4,95 GB   
08.12.2002      14.12.2002       3,39 GB    336,19 MB           3,71 GB

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putty
(free)

Wheee, the top tool to telnet, ssh and many more for windows....

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guildFTPd
(free)

FTP-SERVER for windows? then this is for you, stable, stable, stable is what i can tell from my experiences, its small and AWESOME program.

I use it if i work not at home but could need files from there, or if a friend just needs to grab some files.

Installed, up and running within 2mins....

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Small HTTP Server
(shareware)

HTTP-Server for windows? You wont belive what this little tiny program is up too, here is copy paste from webpage:

Win95/98/NT Shareware, $12. This very small utility turns your computer into a fully functional Web-server. The program itself requires a minimal set of system resources, so the server's functioning doesn't influence your computer's performance. This server can function under a LAN networking or even under a Dial-Up networking. Webmasters can run this utility on their local computers and debug their CGI-scripts without going on-line. Support CGI 1.1, SSI, PHP, etc...

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if i find more i will keep posting...

Louie6666 · Dec 13, 2002, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kelsenellenelvian
The google search toolbar add-in!!! Can't live without it.

The Toobar add in also folds for the genome project using your idle cycles....

http://www.folding.octeams.com/modules.php op=modload&name=FAQ&file=index&myfaq=yes&id_cat=25 &categories=Overclockers.com+Google+Toolbar+Hack%2 1&parent_id=7

This shows you how to modify it fold for a team if your in one

DarkFoss · Dec 14, 2002, 12:02 PM

While not really a prog this Steve Gibson's site will test your firewall and help your tweak it for maximum protection, as well as just seeing if it's really getting the job done. I just upgraded from Norton Internet Securities 2002 to 2003 and it showed me that windows UPNP port 5000 was still open despite patching from the windows update site. Port 135 was open as well after manually reconfiguring all ports are now stealthed. check out his site here.

https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

He does have some free tools as well and others you pay for heres a link to check them out.

http://grc.com/steve.htm

ToshiroOC · Dec 20, 2002, 01:26 AM

http://memtest86.com/

This has to easily be the best RAM diagnostic in existence, and is insanely valuable when you suspect ram errors. Overclockers, this is for you! Run the fast simple test set on your computer and you can see if it is the ram holding up your oc's or not, or do the long thorough set of tests and see if your oc will be totally stable for you, as this stresses your RAM beyond belief and will tell you exactly how many errors your ram is coughing up. This is the diagnostic program related to the BADRAM patch that is going to be added to Debian linux later on...

ToshiroOC

***Zardon*** · Dec 24, 2002, 07:51 AM

http://www.softperfect.com/

Quote:

NetWorx is a simple, yet powerful utility for measuring your bandwidth usage and the speed of all kinds of wired and wireless network connections (dialup, Ethernet, ISDN, DSL, 802.11b etc.). The program provides the ability to measure your network throughput, graphic and numeric representation of incoming and outgoing traffic, highly customizable alerts, statistics about dialup connection duration, weekly, daily and monthly bandwidth usage etc.

bandwidth monitor, able to store daily/weekly/monthly download/upload figures, also real time and capable of being minimised to the task bar. has some other functionality but more importantly isnt bloated and uses almost NO CPU overhead. (I have never even seen it hit 1%)

this is another little application I love and paid for a while ago. I mainly paid for this one because most of the free ones either look ugly, take up vast resources/deskspace, crash alot or dont work correctly.

for those interested there is a free trial on the site for a month or so.

espionage_man · Dec 25, 2002, 08:55 AM

the best free or not free graphics viewer out there:

http://www.irfanview.com

eyeguy616 · Jan 9, 2003, 04:38 PM

Here's a good prog for converting .mp3's and .wav's and such:
http://www.dbpoweramp.com
It can convert to and from many different formats.

There's also another good free firewall besides zonealarm:
http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpost

And a tiny skinnable media player:
http://coolplayer.sourceforge.net

Also, these two sites have nothing but links to freeware:
http://www.tinyapps.org
http://www.pricelessware.org
Tinyapps.org obviously has links to tiny freeware apps. It's pretty amazing to see just how full featured some are when you can fit a bunch of 'em on a diskette.

~eyeguy616

bld155 · Jan 13, 2003, 08:11 PM

DarkFoss i dont think that firewall checker works becouse it said all my stuff was good and i have no firewall, i just have a virusscanner

TEmp69 · Jan 14, 2003, 07:56 PM

Browser:

www.crazybrowser.com

Uses the IE-engine but has ALOT of new features like Tabs, Groups and and and check it out

jp306 · Jan 15, 2003, 05:34 PM

Well I don't think anyone has metioned Fraps yet. It works in every game I play and lets you see your fps realtime so you can really see how well your rig is running

niemic · Jan 16, 2003, 05:38 PM

Thanks Zardon for the information

TEmp69 · Jan 20, 2003, 03:56 PM

Anyother handy program, currently under heavily development!

www.samurize.com

Short description:
Samurize is the successor to the quite popular program CureInfo. It is a system monitoring utility with awsome configuration power. The configuration program is totally separated from the client for minimal memory usage. For the moment Samurize is in beta state. This means: Bugs can and does exist, all optimitions have not yet been done. This is just a version to give you an idea of what's coming.

The program it self displays almost any kind of information right on your desktop/taskbar and homepage (server/taskbar version is in production).

Main features already implemented:
* A superb configuration tool
* Low CPU usage (<1% on Celeron 633)
* Per pixel alpha blending (text and graphs is actually AA'd against your desktop)
* Any perfmon object (a few 100 meters)
* Script support (javascript/vbscript, ie make your own meters with ease)
* Full memory monitoring (physical/virtual/swap)
* Drive monitoring (network/fixed)
* Laptop support (battery level etc)
* Uptime
* Date / Time
* Winamp (song playing)
* Full MBM support (any sensor, requires MotherBoard Monitor installed)
* Click through (work right through your meters)
* Always on top
* Pin to desktop
* Nice looking borders
* Unlimited number of graphs/meters

Requirements:
* Geforce 1 or better (needed to for hardware supported per pixel alpha blending)
* Win2k/WinXP

***Zardon*** · Jan 23, 2003, 11:23 AM

no it doesnt stop pop ups, no its doesnt defragment your hard drive and lastly no it doesnt fine tune windows XP. seems to me that nearly ever other cookie manager ive played with gives you one of the above options? why? dont ask me. not what I want, ive better programs to deal with all of them.

This is the best cookie manager out there, bar none ! for ease of use and total control over which cookies you want to keep, remove, block access, allow access etc. you have every control, on a site to site basis. small memory footprint and stable. one to recommend. only downside is it costs $15 (still worthwhile purchase IMO).

you can also configure it to run and close when you open and shut your browser so its not sitting in memory all the time.

Quote:

COOKIES AREN'T JUST FOR BLUE MONSTERS
They can be used to invade your privacy.

Paraben's Cookie Manager gives you complete control over which cookies you allow to be placed on your computer by web sites that you visit. Almost every commercial site use cookies - from advertisements that track your purchasing habits, to news sites that customize content through cookies. Some are good and some are invasive. Now you have control over which cookies you allow and which ones you eliminate before they are put on your computer.

http://www.paraben.com/html/cookie.html

tragic · Jan 24, 2003, 03:57 AM

Some nice proggies being posted here:

This one is darn good also:http://www.alcohol-software.com/

Make perfect 1:1 back-ups of CDs and DVDs, Alcohol 120% is really the ultimate DVD / CD emulation and burning software.

Store your most used or important CDs as images on your computer and run them at 200x speed from up to 31 virtual CD or DVD drives!

Burn more than one CD or DVD at the same time, even from from different sources, using the latest multiple burners technology.

Highest drive compatibility - Alcohol is compatible with more than 99% of drives available and if it doesn't work with your drive we can improve it so let us know!

Supports the highest number of possible image file types including - MDS, CCD, BIN, CUE, ISO, CDI, BWT, BWI, BWS, BWA & many more...

Another i like is screenhunter 4.0 :freeware. Capture your sceen images in most shapes and sizes.
http://www.wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter.htm

And a system info tool, with memory benchmarks Aida 32:http://www.aida32.hu/aida32.php

wufong · Jan 27, 2003, 02:37 PM

A nice little program to sort out the registry is Reg Cleaner , clears out all obselete registry entries etc.

There is a privacy 'bug/feature' in IE : IE stores the visited URL's in some hidden files (namely index.dat). When you clean your cache/history etc these files are not deleted! Spider scans these files for hidden URL's and puts those URL's in a file for you to consult/delete

Very useful if you want to stop another user seeing the URL's you have visited

StatBar is a freeware system status bar which allows you to quickly get an overview of your system's condition (memory, CPU, uptime etc). These modules are available: battery status, CD door eject/close, CPU usage, Dial-Up Networking status, exit/lock buttons, harddisk information, locks status, master volume control, memory status, network traffic meter, QuickLaunch, RC5/OGR counter, time synchronization, Winamp controls, Windows uptime, and Windows version. I love the auto-hide option, which can be configured to either pop up the bar on a mousemove or on a mouseclick.

Dyre Straits · Jan 28, 2003, 06:49 PM

RADTOOLS....absolute MUST for video compression and/or conversion!

I've found this FREE Utility to be exceptional in its ability to convert and compress video. It handles compression very quickly.

It includes BINKS and SMACKER apps.

Get it here:

http://www.smacker.com/

Dyre Straits

karlotta · Mar 12, 2003, 06:53 PM

jv16 PowerTools 1.3 www.jv16.org
Diskeeper Lite http://www.diskeeper.com

jv16 is a great regprog, and Diskeeper is a fine defrag app!
and of course DH XP-Tray SysInfo tool!

nieves · Mar 13, 2003, 08:13 AM

Foobar2000. No kiddin', that's the name of a barebones media player... I can play mp3, wma, ogg, mpc and the several other audio formats. It used extremely few resources, simple interface (looks like a regular folder), database, album lists and many plugins available on the website... The sound is crystal clear, everything is done in directsound.... The player has some features I coudn't find anywhere else. Feel free to explore. I know I did and I have to say I was surprised...

http://foobar2000.hydrogenaudio.org/