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Most PC users have probably heard that the Recycle Bin doesn't really delete files, at least not right away, and even long-deleted files can be recovered from your hard disk, if you rely on Windows to follow through when you tell it to delete something. "Delete" should mean "outta here," not "Level 1 Wipe" or whatever. But drag and drop files into Moo0 FileShredder, and it will zap them using one of four algorithms until they are completely unrecoverable.

FileShredder's "Drop Box" interface is a small dialog that we could … Read more

Graphs are a great way to display your data; they tell the story in a way that numbers can't. Grey Olltwit's Graph Maker is an extremely basic program for creating simple graphs. It's not for anyone doing serious research or working with statistics, but if you need to create a bare-bones graph, it might be able to do the job.

The program's interface is plain, but at first it confused us; there's a space to enter the y values for data points, but not the x values. It turns out that the program just uses … Read more

Desktop Ticker is a free scrolling RSS feed display that you can place anywhere on the desktop for an unobtrusive yet instantly accessible and highly customizable news crawl. It's easy to use yet offers lots of options. It can follow news, stocks, and pretty much any other feed you can subscribe to.

Desktop Ticker's small dock-style interface resembles a ticker tape, only with small directional arrows at either end for quickly scrolling forward and back and, on the right, an icon to minimize the display and close the program. A left-side menu has three entries: File, for managing … Read more

What to do when you want to take a photo of a skyline or landscape that won't entirely fit in your viewfinder? Create a panorama, of course! There are plenty of programs available that can help you stitch multiple photos into one panoramic image. Pos Panorama Pro is an easy-to-use option that will have even beginners creating great-looking panoramas in no time.

It just so happens that our spouse likes to create panoramic images from photos taken when we travel, so we had no shortage of fodder for Pos Panorama Pro. We tried the program with four photos of … Read more

Adore Puzzle is an interesting combination of virtual picture puzzles and visual travelogue. It depicts historic scenes and attractive views of the countries of the Western European seaboard, beginning in England and progressing through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal. Each puzzle has two modes: Puzzle, in which the pieces can be moved to any position, and Slide, which works like a slider puzzle where players must slide squares around to form the picture. The puzzles get progressively harder as you travel, and the game keeps track of your moves and time.

Adore Puzzle is a substantial download, and … Read more

We've all stood and waited while an inexperienced cashier calls in a supervisor to void a charge or enter a discount in a point-of-sale system that would be more at home in Mission Control than Corner Drugs. The Corner Store application has Mom and Pop in mind. It's a POS system specifically for small retailers, so it's designed to be as easy to use as possible. It supports bar code scanning, cash register hot keys, and customer tracking. Most importantly, it supports secure credit card transactions via major national services.

Corner Store POS uses Microsoft .NET Framework … Read more

Practice isn't just the way to get to Carnegie Hall; it's also the way to become a good typist. KeyBlaze Free Typing Tutor from NCH Software can help you learn touch-typing or practice your skills. It offers basic lessons, drills, and speed tests suitable for typists ranging from absolute beginners to keyboard jockeys. It's easy to use and effective, too.

The KeyBlaze installation wizard offers three optional downloads, which we didn't try but thought sounded useful: FastFox, a typing expander that can create and store keyboard shortcuts; TextTally, a word counter; and Express Scribe, which assists … Read more

Hash functions have a variety of cryptographic uses, such as providing digital signatures, checking the contents of downloaded files and programs for corrupted or changed files, and time-stamping secure documents without revealing their content. Easy Hash is a freeware hash value calculator from odzysk.info. It supports more than 130 file and text hash functions, and it can crack CRC-32 passwords. It can also reset passwords in a variety of dynamic content management and e-commerce platforms, including Joomla, Mambo, Wordpress, Magento, Drupal, and Prestashop.

Easy Hash's compact interface is easy to manage, with a plain window that displays the … Read more

We can't say that we don't have a few ethical issues with FacebookPasswordDecryptor. Sure, you might need such a program because you've forgotten your own password, or maybe because you suspect that your teenager is up to no good and you want to see what secrets Facebook can reveal. You could just as easily, however, use this program to nose around in your spouse's--or even your employee's--Facebook account. We'll leave that up to you and your conscience. What we can tell you is that FacebookPasswordDecryptor does indeed work as advertised.

FacebookPasswordDecryptor works by detecting … Read more