Links & Useful Resources

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Organisations

• Rephael House is an independent charity offering counselling, support and information.

• YCT
• CDA
• NCVO ICT advice and support
• Designs on the Web

Business

• Email notices and email footers. A guide is based on UK law.
• Sample internet policies and notices

• How to boost your SEO. Every website owner knows how important SEO is, but how can you boost your rankings? Kevin Partner offers some simple and free tips to get to the top

Technical

• How to find you PC serial number (Opens a pdf)
• sysinternals
• cpuid

Free Software

Communication
Diagnostics
File Sharing
Internet
Security
Tools
Other

 Communication

Pidgin
www.pidgin.im
Size: 10.8MB

Pidgin allows you to communicate using one interface across a huge array of networks, from AIM, MSN and Yahoo, to the less common Zephyr, Bonjour and others. Pidgin gives you access to all of these networks for free.

Foxit Reader
www.foxitsoftware.com
Size: 1.67MB

Foxit is a an alternative to Adobe Reader for opening PDFs. Small and very fast.

Thunderbird
www.mozilla.com/thunderbird
Size: 6.2MB

Thunderbird is a POP3 mail client that does everything Outlook Express can.

LogMeIn Free
www.logmein.com
Size: 8MB

Remote-support tool. Once you've downloaded the utility onto your PC (or the person you're supporting has), you can access it from any location via the LogMeIn website - and the key advantage over UltraVNC is that the service is web based and  works through any firewall or router.

Diagnostics

CPU-Z
www.cpuid.com
Size: 450KB

It tells you everything you need to know about the core components. Constantly updated to support the latest CPUs, it gives you real-time clock-speed readouts, along with details of steppings, multipliers and cache; motherboard model and chipset; RAM speed, timings and even the memory slots you've filled.

DupKiller 0.8.2
www.dupkiller.net/index_en.html
Size: 3.9MB

Free up disk space you can by running this program, which detects duplicate files on your hard disk. It will also search network drives, removable storage and CDs or DVDs. You can choose to exclude certain folders or file types from your search, and whether to delete the files to the Recycle Bin or directly from your hard disk. Binary comparisons mean the files don't even have to have the same filename.

SpeedFan
www.almico.com/speedfan.php
Size: 1.5MB

SpeedFan collects the information from the temperature-sensing components in your PC, allowing you to determine whether your fan adjustments are making your CPU run too hot, for instance. You can also control fan speed and see the SMART status of your hard disk, giving you access to your disk's early warning system.

JDiskReport
www.jgoodies.com
Size: 0.5MB

JDiskReport shows you where all your space has gone, visually breaking down your usage by folder - so you can see which directories are the fullest - or by type, enabling you to see at a glance whether your MP3s or your family photos take up more space. There's a simple "top 50" file list.

SiSoftware Sandra
www.sisoftware.co.uk
Size: 12.8MB

Sandra gives a wider-ranging overview of your system and every detail of your BIOS and hardware in a series of easy-to-read reports. It can also benchmark components and compare scores against a huge database of hardware. A paid-for version adds extra modules, the free edition is fully functional and not restricted in any way.

Gainward ExperTool
www.gainward.com/support
Size: 3.5MB

Nvidia's latest driver control panel lets you control fan speed, but only in 3D mode, which doesn't help when it decides to spin up while you're editing a Word document. Intended only for Gainward cards, ExperTool nonetheless works with a great many other Nvidia-based cards, and allows you to control the fan in both 2D and 3D modes for silence.

Process Explorer
www.pcpro.co.uk/links/157technet
Size: 11.7MB

Process Explorer is a powerful replacement for the Windows Task Manager. It gives you full diagnostic and descriptive information for all the processes running on your system, including details of which DLLs and memory-mapped files have been loaded by each process. Colour highlighting lets you see at a glance what state processes are in, and anything unwanted can be killed.

File Sharing

FileZilla
http://filezilla.sourceforge.net
Size: 3.3MB

FileZilla allows you to store frequently used FTP sites along with their accompanying usernames and passwords. You can also send server commands, making FileZilla a Godsend for those who run websites hosted elsewhere. Secure FTP (SFTP) is supported as well - a feature lacking even from some paid-for FTP software.

UltraVNC
www.uvnc.com
Size: 21.5KB

UltraVNC is a powerful remote access system that lets you connect to any computer. It's versatile, with built-in file transfer and a whole host of features.

Azureus
http://azureus.sourceforge.net
Size: 9.5MB

Azureus is a standalone Java application that offers a great range of features, including watched folders, IP filtering, SSL encryption, extensive torrent statistics and a plug-in architecture to add even more features should you have more needs.

Internet

IChrome
http://www.google.com/chrome
Size: 450kb

Googles web browser, "simplicity, power, speed and stability. Google's Chrome makes a very impressive start" see http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/222615/google-chrome.html

 

IE7Pro
www.ie7pro.com
Size: 1.28MB

Internet Explorer 7 Pro has customisable inline spellchecker and inline search, mouse-gesture support, sophisticated ad-blocking and powerful cut-and-paste features.

Webaroo
www.webaroo.com
Size: 6.6MB

Webaroo lets you search and browse the web when you're on the go without an internet connection. It does this using pre-made web packs, which you can download from the website. Alternatively, you can download pages from any website you like. Once you download the content onto your laptop or mobile device, you can browse it like normal, and when you connect to the internet again your device will be updated with fresh versions of the pages.

Feedreader
www.feedreader.com
Size: 4.4MB

The latest version supports all major syndication formats and has preloaded feeds for those searching for their own favourites. The user interface is highly configurable, quick and simple to use.

Security

Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic
http://www.free-av.com/
Size: 16.3MB

AntiVir is an effective antivirus package but you have to live with the nag window urging you to upgrade to the paid-for version.

HijackThis
www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/tools/security_tools/hijackthis
Size: 793KB

HijackThis is a simple but extremely useful tool. It lists every non-standard startup setting on your system, whether in the Registry or another configuration file, exposing unwanted startup items, browser helpers and malware. A single click returns settings to their default value, preventing the unwanted software from launching with Windows. Use with care, though, as changing the Registry can have dire consequences.

ZoneAlarm
www.zonealarm.com
Size: 201KB

ZoneAlarm firewall will alert you when programs attempt to access the internet for the first time. There's a one-click Internet Lock that immediately shuts off all internet traffic if you suspect something's gone wrong on your system.

Password Safe
http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net
Size: 1.5MB

Password Safe uses internationally renowned cipher man Bruce Schneier's Twofish algorithm, rendering your online credentials safe. It wil remember all your passwords then choose and remember just one password to protect them all. The project is open source.

Cypherix Cryptainer LE
www.cypherix.com
Size: 3.06MB

Cryptainer LE free, simple to install and use. It creates a secure volume (under Vista, this appears as a "device with removable storage" in Computer), which you then drag and drop your data into. The main restriction of this product is the vault's maximum 25MB size. Cryptainer offers you the choice of either the highly respected Blowfish448 algorithm or AES256.

Tools

Startup Control Panel
www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml
Size: 34KB

Categorised by the locations that startup programs can hide themselves away, each entry can be disabled, deleted or edited - the latter being particularly handy for changing command-line switches. Once you delete an entry, it stays in a holding area giving you a backup if something stops working.

Microsoft SyncToy
www.pcpro.co.uk/links/157synctoy
Size: 1MB

SyncToy is one of Microsoft's PowerToys, and is an excellent tool for backing up files over a network. The program allows you to create folder pairs - each folder can be anywhere on your network - and then keeps the contents of the two folders synchronised. It keeps track of when you rename files, so changes are reflected in the other folder. This also applies when you move or delete files.

ImgBurn
www.imgburn.com
Size: 1.5MB

ImgBurn weighs in at a shade over 1.5MB, yet is incredibly handy. You can burn ISOs to CDs and DVDs, and there's a utility for erasing RW discs. Alternatively, you can capture an ISO image from an existing disc, which is useful for long-term archiving.

Stardock ObjectDock
www.pcpro.co.uk/links/157objectdock
Size: 12MB

The Start Menu is all very neat and logical, but let's be honest: if you only use a few major applications the Mac OS X dock is an OS X dock for Windows that's even more versatile than the real thing, with customisable graphics and live mini-thumbnails in Vista.

IsoBuster
www.isobuster.com
Size: 2.6MB

IsoBuster is a tool for extracting files from a CD, DVD or Blu-ray disc image without needing to burn it to a disc. It supports a huge range of formats, including ISO, BIN/CUE pairs, Nero images and even Apple DMG files. In addition, you can use it to explore the structure of physical discs and attempt data recovery from damaged media. The free version has limited UDF support, but is otherwise fully usable.

AbiWord
www.abisource.com
Size: 5.16MB

A word processor that arrives in a mere 5MB download, there's no great sophistication here: its basic feature set is roughly comparable to Google Docs & Spreadsheets, but without any of the online service's delays or awkward interface. The streamlined feature set and large icons make it a great choice for the kids' computer, and it writes to virtually all the major document formats (including DOC, RTF and ODT), so compatibility won't be an issue. A DOCX converter is on the way.

SyncBack
www.snapfiles.com/get/SyncBack.html
Size: 1.8MB

A free backup manager. Point the software at the files you wish to back up, set the destination drive and SyncBack does the rest. Handily, the software runs a simulation of the backup first. The scheduler can be set to wake your PC for out-of-hours backups, advanced options to perform backups to an FTP server, compress documents into a Zip folder or close certain apps before running.

Free Download Manager
www.freedownloadmanager.org
Size: 1.64MB

FDM handles everything from the basics like resuming broken downloads and finding mirrors, right through to creating multiple connections and setting up scheduled downloads. It can download everything from a website in one go, or just selected file types and extensions. You can request other users' opinions of a file before you download it.

TweakUI
www.pcpro.co.uk/links/157powertoys
Size: 146KB

TweakUI gives you easy access to all of Windows XP's hidden user interface settings that the normal Control Panel won't let you play with. Useful functions include automatically logging on a particular user at startup and disabling autoplay on selected drives.

Taskbar Shuffle
www.pcpro.co.uk/links/157shuffle
Size: 635KB

Taskbar Shuffle adds the ability to rearrange the taskbar buttons and System Tray icons, as well as swiftly changing their auto-group settings. You can set it to be transparent.

bgInfo
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897557.aspx
Size: 360kb

How many times have you walked up to a system in your office and needed to click through several diagnostic windows to remind yourself of important aspects of its configuration, such as its name, IP address, or operating system version If you manage multiple computers you probably need BGInfo. It automatically displays relevant information about a Windows computer on the desktop's background, such as the computer name, IP address, service pack version, and more. You can edit any field as well as the font and background colors, and can place it in your startup folder so that it runs every boot, or even configure it to display as the background for the logon screen.

 

Disable Caps Lock
http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/disable_caps_lock/
Size: 1KB

precise from the authors website.......

Now you can disable your Caps Lock key in Windows... without any special software, and without having to pry the key off with a screwdriver. Accidentally hitting the Caps Lock key when typing up an email or coding can be maddening. Most people never use it anyway, so why not disable it? This method of disabling the Caps Lock key works with  Windows 2000, Windows XP Pro & Home and Windows 2003. It will not work with older versions.

 

Various

Google Pack
http://pack.google.co.uk
Size: up to 200MB

Google Earth, Norton Security Scan, Google Desktop, Firefox with Google Toolbar, Adobe Reader, Skype, StarOffice (includes Java™), Google Toolbar for IE, Spyware Doctor, Picasa,Google Photos Screensaver, Google Talk, RealPlayer

Virtualisation

Innotek VirtualBox
www.virtualbox.org
Size: 14.8MB

Innotek VirtualBox is a complete virtualisation system that can run any x86-compatible operating system within Windows, Linux or OS X. The virtualised OS runs at almost native speed and can use the host's network connection and even much of its hardware (drivers permitting).

VMware Server
www.vmware.com/products/server
Size: 146MB

Previously a commercial product, VMware Server is now free, you need to register and get a product. You can install graphical non-server OSes and use any standard PC hardware. You can download a huge range of ready-to-run "virtual appliances", complete virtual hard disks with operating system and applications already installed.

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System Internals

Whether you’re an IT Pro or a developer, you’ll find Sysinternals utilities to help you manage, troubleshoot and diagnose your Windows systems and applications.

More free antivirus and anti spyware (links).

Test your broadband connection here or use a downloadable tool.

Free open source office productivity suite from openoffice.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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