Whether you're doing a clean install of Windows 7, getting a new computer from a deep discount on Black Friday, or getting a full-priced present, you owe it to yourself to check out this revamped collection of the most essential freeware tools for Windows. The programs in the Windows Starter Kit 2010 will work on Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7. These basics will get you up and running without even glancing askance at your wallet. If you're specifically looking for security tools, we've rounded up the best freeware security options in the Security Starter Kit.
There was much less movement in the Windows Starter Kit this year than in the Security Starter Kit, but there were still some changes that are worth calling out. Among the three recommended browsers, we moved Chrome ahead of Opera, although Firefox still retains top-dog status. Likewise, Mozilla's Thunderbird remains the best free desktop e-mail client. Had the Thunderbird-based Postbox remained free as it was in beta, we would've added it to the list.
In productivity apps, image editors, music jukeboxes, and video jukeboxes there was no movement at all. The GIMP is still the best Photoshop alternative that doesn't skimp on features, while Paint.NET is excellent for quick-and-dirty edits. We still recommend MediaMonkey as the best non-iTunes alternative, and we still recommend iTunes--despite its bloat--because it's still the industry standard. We expect these categories to be contentious because there are so many options available, so please let us know in the comments if you disagree with our choices.
TweetDeck and Seesmic Desktop (not pictured) debuted in the new Social Networking category this year.
(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)File compression and torrent management didn't change either, although we added the impressive Trillian redo and Skype to the chat category. Social networking debuted as a new category, with two options: Seesmic and TweetDeck. In Utilities, we added Revo Uninstaller, threw in a second Notepad replacement, and replaced Launchy with Find and Run Robot.
The hard part of coming up with a collection like this is keeping it concise, especially when it comes to Windows utilities. The fun part, though, is hearing your thoughts. So check out the kit, and let us know what you think in the comments below.
Black Friday is almost upon us, and the steep hardware discounts mean new computers for many. To help you during these tough economic times, we've refreshed the Download.com Security Starter Kit for 2010. Although nothing can replace common-sense browsing, this collection of freeware security tools will help you protect new machines and old from pernicious threats, large and small. Longtime readers will notice that in addition to changing up our recommended antivirus program, we've fleshed out the Web browsing safety category, and made other changes as well. If you're looking for more than freeware security programs, check out the CNET Download.com Windows Starter Kit for 2010.
In this year's version, you can expect to see Avast chosen ahead of AntiVir as our most favored antivirus app. Despite its odd interface, Avast scored higher than any other freeware antivirus in a third-party test, and it doesn't skimp on protection, either, with e-mail, network, rootkit, and behavioral guards along with its top-rated virus protections.
We're still recommending Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for spyware removal, but we've also added PC Tools' standalone ThreatFire as an excellent way to strengthen behavioral detections and prevent spyware from infecting you in the first place. Recent improvements to the program have made it incredibly light on resources, and in our days of empirical testing we didn't notice it slowing down our computers at all.
New this year is the expanded in-browser security category. We've recommended five browsing tools that are available as add-ons, and we took care to make sure that they applied to as many of the major browsers as possible. However, Firefox's deep add-on toolbox makes it naturally the browser with the most diverse collection of security tools, so expect to see it heavily, although not exclusively, represented.
PC Tools' ThreatFire.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)Firewalls used to be the forefront of security, but now they're just another tool you should have. Microsoft has made the native Windows 7 firewall impressively useful, but we realize that not everybody has Windows 7, and even those who do might want an alternative. This year, Online Armor joins Comodo on the list.
In Encryption, TrueCrypt remains the gold standard. The Thunderbird extension Enigmail joins it as a must-have tool for keeping your private e-mails as you intended them--away from prying eyes. In Parental Control, we've added OnlineFamily.Norton. It's not strictly desktop based, although to use it you must use its desktop hook, called Norton Safety Minder. Symantec has created what looks to be a unique and free approach that includes an emphasis on parental education and attempts to foster parent-child communication about how to use the Internet safely. We're of the opinion that anything that helps parents realize that browsing the Internet is far more than a TV with options is a good thing.
If you disagree with our security and safety choices for the Security Starter Kit, please let us know in the comments below.
The PortableApps Suite is a storehouse and management system for "portable" versions of some of the most popular freeware around. That collection used to be limited only to open-source programs. But on Wednesday it started making portable versions of closed-source freeware to users. The first batch of portable freeware includes Web browser Google Chrome, VoIP client Skype, BitTorrent client uTorrent, antispyware tool SpyDLLRemover, and three others at the time of writing. The new portable versions of these programs work both independently and in tandem with the PortableApps suite.
In a statement published on its Web site, PortableApps.com founder and CEO John Haller said that PortableApps "remains committed" to open-source software, but that closed-source freeware publishers would find other venues for USB stick-friendly versions of their programs if PortableApps didn't open its doors to them. For users that want to support only open-source programs, he said that the PortableApps directory will soon be filterable.
PortableApps is also planning to accept portable versions of commercial software, although it hasn't announced a timeline yet. Readers can check on the latest updates to the PortableApps catalog at their Web site, although we do host most of them at Download.com as well.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Friday, October 9, that the H1N1 virus was widespread in 37 states. Fortunately, vaccines are on their way, and seasonal flu shots are currently available (the map on the Flu.gov site helps you find a vaccination center near you).
The best way to avoid bringing the flu bug home with you from the office is to stay out of the office. If you have the flu, do yourself and your coworkers a favor: stay home and rest! Not sure if you have the flu? Check the CDC site for a list and description of the symptoms of both H1N1 and seasonal flu. You'll also find information on the CDC site for taking care of people with the flu, prevention for people at high risk, and travel updates.
One of the best ways to track the flu's spread is via Google Flu Trends, an interactive map that indicates the frequency of flu-related search terms in various countries.
The Google Flu Trends map tracks flu-related searches by country.
(Credit: Google)Additional information on flu trends is available for the U.S. and several other countries. For the U.S., you can compare yearly flu trends and view data for each state.
For several countries, Google provides more annual and regional flu data.
(Credit: Google)
Link to your office PC for free
In many work situations, there's no substitute for being face to face. But every year it gets easier to get your office work done from outside the office. One way to do so is via Windows' Remote Desktop Connection component, which lets you link to a PC that's on an office network, but only if the machine's running XP Professional or Vista/Windows 7 Professional, Business, or Ultimate.
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At or near the top of the list of aggravations for new PC owners is the trial version of a program that came preinstalled on the system refusing to uninstall once the trial period expires. The irritation really peaks when the product in question is from Microsoft.
Before I could install a bought-and-paid-for copy of Outlook 2007 on my laptop, I had to uninstall the trial version of Office Enterprise 2007 that was preinstalled on the machine's hard drive when I bought it several months ago. Very early in the uninstall process, an alert popped up reporting Error 1310 and instructing me to verify that I had access to a certain directory.
An attempt to uninstall the trial version of Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 generated an error message.
(Credit: Microsoft)I decided to try the uninstall again using the free Revo Uninstaller utility. In addition to cleaning up the Registry entries, files, folders, and other refuse that the program's own uninstaller misses, Revo Uninstaller finds and deletes junk files on your PC and performs other cleanup duties.
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A couple of weeks ago, I described how to sync contacts between Outlook, Gmail, and your iPhone. The program missing from this contacts mega-merge was Thunderbird (download for Windows | Mac), and for good reason. Mozilla's free e-mail program is not particularly contact-friendly.
The first time I attempted to use Mozilla Thunderbird's import function to bring my Gmail contacts into the client e-mail application, I was seriously disappointed with the results. Most of the contact information was squished into a single nondescript field for each record. The few fields that did make the conversion were incomplete. The entire process was pretty worthless, overall.
Then I found the free Zindus add-on for Thunderbird. The program brings a subset of contact fields from Google and Zimbra into Mozilla's free e-mail program. For Google, the fields imported include the contact's name, primary and secondary e-mail addresses, phone numbers, IM names, company, title, and notes. (I didn't test the program with Zimbra.)
After you download and install Zindus, a "Zindus" option is added to Thunderbird's Tools menu. Clicking it opens the Zindus Configuration Settings dialog box where you're presented with a handful of contact-sync options, including a Sync Now button.
The Zindus Configuration Settings dialog lets you reset your sync options.
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TextPlus not only sends text messages for free, it also supports group messaging.
Lots of apps let you sidestep iPhone SMS to send and receive text messages for free. But in most cases the apps themselves cost at least a few bucks. Enter TextPlus, a free, ad-supported app that offers unlimited texting.
That's reason enough to celebrate, but TextPlus has one other trick up its sleeve: group messaging. You can send a text to multiple recipients, and their replies will stay grouped together like in a chat room. (Obviously this works best if everyone uses TextPlus, but even nonusers can receive messages from the app.)
When you create a new message, TextPlus lets you choose one or more of your contacts or enter numbers manually. Turn your iPhone sideways and you get a landscape keyboard--always a welcome option.
Of course, the hassle with any third-party SMS app is that you don't get notifications of new messages unless the app is running. iPhone OS 3.0 promises to allow developers to remedy this problem, but for now the common workaround--and the one offered here--is getting new-message notifications via standard SMS.
Needless to say, that's not an ideal solution, as you still incur SMS charges for those notifications. But that's par for the course with SMS apps, and you're still able to save on outbound messages.
Until now, Textfree was my go-to app when my SMS count was nearing its monthly limit. But the freebie Lite version tops out at 20 messages per day, doesn't have a landscape keyboard, and doesn't do group messaging. Needless to say, TextPlus has replaced it.
Is there an SMS app you like better? Tell me why in the comments!
GreenPrint World scans print jobs before they hit the page to make them as tree-friendly as possible. It creates a print filter, intercepting your print jobs before they reach the spooler and checking them against a list of preset but adjustable criteria. You can have it grab by the number of lines on a page, for example.
In this First Look video, we'll show you how the program can help you prevent wasteful print jobs--and how it could be even better.
Update: VoxOx has extended the deal from Thursday, April 9, at 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. PDT. Also, $5 normally buys 500 VoxOx points, not 250 as previously stated.
Multiprotocol chat client VoxOx is offering a deal to CNET readers until 2:30 p.m. PST on Thursday, April 9. If you buy $5 worth of VoxPoints, instead of the usual 500 points, CNET readers will get 1,500 points. This is triple the number of points VoxOx is offering readers who sign on through VoxOx's own site. Each point converts to 1 minute's worth of talk time. New users will still receive the additional 120 free points, and can earn another additional 120 free points for referring a friend.
I reviewed the cross-platform VoxOx back in November, and it's been slowly improving on its potential to compete with better-known VoIP and multiprotocol chat clients. The most unique feature that it offers is CallBack, which users can initiate either from their computer or an SMS message to make international calls for the cost of a local one.
The program still struggles with stability and sluggish start-up times, and that makes it a hard sell. Still, if you need to talk internationally from your local cell phone, VoxOx offers an inexpensive solution. To take advantage of the promotion, enter "cnet1000" without the quotes when you download and install the program.
I'm a confirmed pack rat. I've got stacks of old utility-bill statements dating back to the 1980s. Alongside the boxes of ancient paper records in our attic are about a half dozen old PCs. The jewel of my "collection" is an original 60-MHz Pentium PC, complete with the famous floating-point bug. Well, it was famous in 1994.
One benefit of holding onto these PC relics is not worrying about their data falling into the wrong hands. (OK, I suppose a determined thief could break into our attic and walk off with the computer antiques, but I wish them luck finding the cables and peripherals required to bring the machines back to life.)
Not everyone is so attached to their old electronic equipment as I am. You probably know that you need to completely wipe or remove the hard drives from your PCs before you donate or recycle them. How to ensure that the data on the drives will be out of the bad guys' reach is another matter.
(On a related subject, don't ever let a computer repair shop hold onto your old hard drive if they replace it. And don't believe them if they say they returned the drive to the vendor. If they give you this spiel, call the cops and demand that they return the old hard drive to you, right then, right there.)
Free data-wiping program obliterates your data
If you want to keep the drive usable but totally erased, use the free Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN), which comes in a version that runs off floppy disks and USB flash drives and another that runs off a CD or a DVD. The program's interface won't win any awards, but DBAN has a solid reputation among security experts.
Attack the platter to render a hard-disk unreadable
No matter how thorough a data-wiping program is, the only way to be certain that a hard-drive's data is unrecoverable is by rendering the drive's platters unspinnable. I've heard and read all kinds of methods people use to destroy an old drive, some of which are downright dangerous.
Put it in a fire? There are lots of toxic chemicals in that gadget. Do you really want to be breathing them or otherwise releasing them into the environment? Microwaves are handy for destroying CDs and DVDs, but you'd have to cook a hard drive for a long, long time to blister the drive's platters.
Several Web sites suggest soaking the drive in diluted hydrochloric or muriatic acid. This might work, but you run the risk of burning yourself or breathing toxic fumes. Lots of people recommend breaking out the power tools and drilling several holes through the drive. You can achieve the same effect by pounding some nails through it, or simply by whacking the heck out of it with a hammer, sledge or otherwise.
I'm normally a big fan of brute-force methods, for the vicarious thrill if for no other reason. But the goal is to make sure you can't spin the drive's platters. There's a more subtle approach that achieves this, without necessarily requiring safety goggles.
I found a great step-by-step tutorial written by David Gewirtz that describes how to disassemble a drive, remove the platters (and other components, including the drive's magnets), and sand or grind the platter surfaces, which renders them unreadable.
David's method requires the use of TORX driver bits to remove the small screws holding the drive's case in place. These can set you back about $20, but you might be able to save the money by using a large, flat-head screwdriver to pry the case off.
David also suggests degaussing the platters by placing them between neodymium magnets before grinding their surfaces, which obliterates the data they hold. This strikes me as overkill, but I guess you can't be too careful when protecting your private data. Making wind chimes out of the degaussed and sanded platters, as David's wife did, is strictly optional.
