The Cheapskate

Normally $39.95, Paragon Software's Partition Manager 10.0 Personal can be yours absolutely free. Today only. From software-freebie site Giveaway of the Day.

If you haven't visited the site before, here's how it works: You've got until midnight tonight (ET) to download and install the software. Other than that, there are absolutely no strings attached.

Well, OK, one "string" is that if you ever need to reinstall the software, you're outta luck. Its setup/registration process is tied to the date. But, hey, keep in mind you're getting a $40 app free of charge. You gonna gripe about that tiny gotcha?

True to its name, Partition Manager provides tools for partitioning your hard drive(s). That means you could have, say, Windows XP running on one partition and Windows 7 on another (a great solution for folks who want to migrate to the new OS gradually rather than all at once).

The software also features drive-optimization and -defragmentation tools, a boot fixer, a basic backup wizard, and a recovery-CD option.

I haven't found many reviews of Partition Manager 10.0 Personal, but over at Amazon it averages 4.5 stars out of 5, and 81% of users on the GotD site gave it a thumbs-up--a pretty high percentage compared with most freebies.

The program runs on Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and 7. There's a special 64-bit version available (download), which you should definitely choose if you're running a 64-bit OS.

Obviously this isn't a utility everybody needs, but if you have even the slightest interest in partitioning your hard drive, it's a no-brainer: grab it.

Want to archive your DVDs to your hard drive? Convert them for viewing on your iPhone or Zune HD? What you need is a good DVD ripper.

From now until September 30, Digiarty Software is giving away WinX DVD Ripper Platinum, which normally sells for $24.95.

Just pop a DVD in your drive, fire up the program, and choose an output format: AVI, MP4, WMV, iPhone, PSP, 3GP, or any of half a dozen others.

DVD Ripper Platinum has a clean, simple interface; I think that most users will have zero trouble using the program. Advanced users have the option of tweaking video and audio settings, like bit rate and resolution.

I just tried the program with a DVD of mine, and it worked quickly and flawlessly. I'd recommend disabling subtitles, which are enabled by default.

There are, of course, some decent freeware rippers out there, most notably Handbrake and DVD Fab, but WinX DVD Ripper Platinum offers a friendly interface, a flotilla of output options, and the satisfaction of getting for free something that's usually $25. Score!

My good buddy (and self-described Cheapskate fan) James is looking over my shoulder today, so I need an outta-the-park deal. And here it is: a Tiffen 52mm UV Protection Glass Filter for $4.99 shipped!

No, no, I'm kidding. Today's deal is literally a today-only deal: Freebie-software site Giveaway of the Day is offering Drm-Removal, which promises to strip the DRM from audio and video files alike.

Specifically, the utility claims to remove all copy protection from AAC, WMA, WMV, iTunes AVI, and other commonly DRM-infested files. And based on some quick tests I ran, it works.

Of course, now that DRM is largely a thing of the past, at least for music, this may not be something you need. On the other hand, if you have some old, protected content cluttering up your hard drive, here's the perfect chance to liberate it.

Similarly, if you've purchased videos from, say, Amazon or iTunes and want to watch them on the device of your choice, Drm-Removal will convert them to an unprotected format.

That being said, I don't condone the use of this or any other utility for piracy. I do, however, believe that if I purchase a song, movie, or whatever, I should be allowed to watch it where and how I please. This program makes that possible.

As with all Giveaway of the Day deals, this one must be downloaded and installed before midnight tonight (July 22). Make sure to follow the registration/activation instructions in the readme file, which are simple and straightforward.

One final note: This is one seriously ugly-looking app, and it will automatically start converting any selected media unless you first venture into the settings and disable "Start conversion automatically." But it does seem to work, and you can't beat the price.

Today only, freebie-software site Giveaway of the Day is offering Wondershare Music Converter, normally $29.95, free.

True to its name, the program converts music files from one format to another--great if you have, say, some WMAs you want to turn into MP3s. But it can also remove the DRM protection from AAC, WMA, and other popular protected formats.

Now that stores like Amazon, Rhapsody, and even iTunes sell DRM-free music, this is less of a big deal than it used to be. But if you still have DRM-infested tracks in your library, here's your chance to liberate them once and for all.

Wondershare is an admirably easy program to use: Just queue up the tracks you want to convert, choose an output format and destination, and click Start. For DRM strip-jobs, you'll first need to point the program to the folders containing your protected files, and then use the DRM Finder option to add them to the queue.

Wondershare can also extract the audio from DRM-protected video files: M4V, WMV, and so on. I used it to turn Weird Al Yankovic's "White & Nerdy" video, which I bought from iTunes, into an MP3. It worked like a charm!

In case you're unfamiliar with Giveaway of the Day, the only catch is time: You must download and install the software before the day is out. Other than that, it's a bona fide freebie for life (or at least until you move to a new PC).

Here's another great freebie from Giveaway of the Day: Paragon Drive Backup 9.0 Personal. It's a drive-imaging program similar to Acronis True Image, and today only you can pick it up for nada.

Let me repeat that: today only (Wednesday, April 8). As you might guess from its name, Giveaway of the Day is a site that offers a different commercial program each day of the week. When the clock strikes midnight tonight, Paragon Drive Backup goes back to costing $39.95.

CNET hasn't reviewed the program, but there's a good overview at PC World. In addition to imaging your entire hard drive, Paragon Drive Backup can back up individual files and folders. Get the full feature rundown from Paragon's site.

I've used a program similar to this for years, cloning my primary hard drive to a secondary drive. That way, if the main drive croaks, I can just swap in the spare and get back to work.

Paragon Drive Backup 9.0 requires Windows 2000, XP, or Vista. It's a 241MB download.

Remember: today only. Grab this $40 app free of charge before it's too late, and start making full-system backups like you know you should.

Here's a little something for business users: PDF Converter can turn any PDF into a Word document while keeping all text, images, and formatting intact. Normally, it sells for $59.95, but it's available free on Monday from Giveaway of the Day.

The catch? You must download and install the program today, March 2. That's how Giveaway of the Day works: The site offers a new commercial-software freebie each day of the week, with the only requisite being that you act on it within that 24-hour window. Hardly a catch at all, in my book.

In addition to Word, PDF Converter supports output to HTML, JPEG, TIFF, and even plain text. It offers batch conversion, drag-and-drop file selection, and a command-line mode. The program runs on Windows 95 and later.

If you miss out on the deal, there's a new Web service that offers similar capabilities: PDF-to-Word Converter. It's in closed beta right now, but I know where you can score an invite.

Make sure that you check out the "readme" file in the download and follow the instructions; otherwise you might have trouble activating the program.

ZoneAlarm ForceField is a new security utility that promises bulletproof protection against browser-related threats. It normally sells for $29.95, but Check Point Software is offering it absolutely free, today only, as part of a Patch Tuesday promotion.

The software relies on a technique called "virtual browsing" to protect your PC against unauthorized downloads, malware installations, phishers, keyloggers, and the like. It also promises total privacy by erasing the (virtual) browser's cache, cookies, history, and passwords. According to Check Point, the program won't interfere with any existing security software you might already have.

I haven't tried ForceField yet, and I tend to think my browser (Firefox 3) already provides pretty solid protection from Web threats. But, hey, it's a one-day-only freebie, and you know me: I'm all about the freebies.

Note: The above promo video is fairly amusing, but it has segments that are NSFW.

(via PC Magazine)

If you're looking for a Nero-like utility that can rip, burn, and author just about any kind of optical media, look no further: StarBurn v.10 supports everything from CD-R to DVD+RW to Blu-ray, and it's free--today only--from Giveaway of the Day.

Interestingly, there's a freeware version of StarBurn that's available every day, but the Giveaway-of-the-Day version includes features found only in the $495 Network Edition--namely, DVD and Blu-ray decrypters and network burning capabilities. While StarBurn doesn't actually copy protected BDs and DVDs, it can create image files (ISOs) from them, which you can then turn around and burn to blank media. (It doesn't produce iPod-ready video files, either--for that, look to a program like HandBrake.)

Like previous Giveaway of the Day offers I've mentioned, the only catch here is that you must download and install StarBurn today. With that done, it's yours to keep. (When you install the program, make sure to disable all the "additional tasks" except the first one.) Based on what I've seen so far, StarBurn is a powerful utility that's definitely worth downloading.

Data disaster can strike anywhere, anytime. If you're not making regular backups, you're asking for trouble. Trust me. In that spirit of doom and gloom, I've rounded up five free backup utilities for preserving different types of data. All of them are "set-and-forget" programs, meaning once you've installed and configured them, they'll do their thing in the background. Doesn't get much easier than that.

• Amic Email Backup This highly automated tool backs up most popular e-mail clients at scheduled times and can restore the library to another computer (great if you have to move to a new machine following some disaster).
• Comodo Backup This full-featured utility lets you archive specified files and folders to any number of destinations: external and network drives, blank discs, an FTP server, and so on.
• MozyHome One of my favorites, MozyHome offers 2GB of free online storage and a simple utility for choosing what to back up. Unlimited storage costs a reasonable $4.95 monthly. The service is available for both Windows and Mac systems.
• PIM Backup Windows Mobile device users get a backup every time they sync, but this utility adds phone logs, text messages, and other data to the mix.
• Yahoo Autosync An oldie but goodie, Autosync (formerly Intellisync) synchronizes your contacts, calendar, and other data to the Web. That not only gives you a backup in case of disaster, but also makes your info available from any PC.

Did I leave out your favorite backup utility? If so, hit the Comments and share your fab freebie with the world. In the meantime, get "backing." No more excuses!