bitly

It's easy to know which USB devices are plugged into your system. Just look, right? But what if they're connected on the back panel, and it's a royal pain to access them? Suppose one or more device has stopped working, and you're not even sure if they're still plugged in? Maybe you suspect one of your USB ports is malfunctioning, or you're trying to resolve a device conflict. NirSoft's USBDeview is a free system tool that can help with all those issues and more. It does something simple: display the USB devices connected … Read more

Shell extensions add useful capabilities to context menus in Windows. For instance, when you right-click a file, you might see icons for your anti-virus program, or graphics app, or Zip tool on the context menu. Those are created by adding shell extensions to your system. As more and more programs take advantage of this useful capability in Windows, it becomes harder and harder to keep tabs on them. NirSoft's ShellExView displays the details of all the shell extensions installed in your computer. It also lets you enable and disable shell extensions. This free tool is available in specific downloads … Read more

Since Windows is meant to be all things to most people, it leaves room for improvement on many fronts, such as copying files. Copying speed in Windows is mostly determined by your system's resources, but that's the point: by maximizing the copying according to your system's capabilities, it's possible to copy even very large files faster than Windows can. How much faster? Up to eight times faster, according to Easersoft, makers of ExtremeCopy Free, which optimizes copying speed based on your machine's resources. The standard version is free for personal and home use, though a … Read more

You might be surprised at how many processes run in Windows, though maybe not if you find your system slowing down and even freezing during a processor-intensive task, even when you thought you'd closed everything. Certainly, with Bitsum's Process Lasso you have less of an excuse, since it displays practically everything that can be displayed about your system's running processes. More than that, Process Lasso lets you set priorities for individual processes, balancing the load on your CPU and system resources according to need. For example, the gaming mode prioritizes speed and display processes and can even … Read more

Numerous entertainers have had serious flirtations with digital distribution, but the band Counting Crows has taken its infatuation a step further -- straight into the BitTorrent universe. (Legally, that is.)

The Counting Crows BitTorrent bundle (download), released today, includes songs, art, and liner notes from their latest album Underwater Sunshine. It's available to torrent freaks everywhere -- with the approval of both the band and its label.

"I don't know why everybody's not doing it," said Counting Crows lead singer Adam Duritz during a phone conversation with CNET. He noted that even at his band'… Read more

NiceCopier replaces the built-in file-copying tool in Windows Explorer, enhancing the copying process with a flexible GUI offering more data and options, including the ability to pause and resume copying. It automatically calculates the best copying speed for the job, too. It can manage multiple copying jobs at once. NiceCopier is available in specific downloads for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows. We tried it in 64-bit Windows 7 SP1.

When you install and open NiceCopier, it automatically takes over file-copying duties from Explorer. The program's system tray icon appeared when we copied files, though we could change the … Read more

Cloudmark Desktop One is an antispam tool for small and medium businesses, but it's free for personal use. It protects your e-mail account from spam, phishing, and viruses. It automatically configures itself to your e-mail account, but it works independently to protect you from threats even when your e-mail client is closed. It supports Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, and Mozilla Thunderbird with its optional integrated toolbar, and Gmail, Yahoo, Lycos, Hotmail, FastMail, and AOL without the toolbar. It offers separate downloads for 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP, Vista, and 7. We tried the 64-bit version in … Read more

Apple's iTunes is one of the most popular music-managing programs available for Windows. It can organize thousands of songs and play them back in a high-quality audio format. It also makes it easy to buy music from Apple's huge online store. Is it the best choice for Windows users? That depends. If you own an iPod or similar Apple device, iTunes is probably the easiest way to link your device to your Windows PC. But it's a large program that not only manages your tunes but also wants to manage your videos, podcasts, audiobooks, and other media. … Read more

Windows 8 is coming soon, bringing with it a snazzy new look with lots of animation and visual effects. For a preview of some of what it will bring to your desktop, try Aero QLaunch. As a program, it's prosaic: just another freeware quick-launch toolbar for the desktop. As a desktop enhancement, it's anything but subtle, adding some dazzling 3D fireworks to an updated theme based on the new look of Windows 8. Aero QLaunch is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. As part of the setup process, Aero QLaunch downloaded and installed the latest applicable version of … Read more