remover

It doesn't take long for a computer to collect duplicate copies of all sorts of files. When my year-old laptop started running low on disk space, I knew one of the fastest ways to recover some lost hard-disk storage was to give the machine's duplicate files the boot. If you rely on the file-management tools in Windows to root out unnecessary, space-clogging files, you're in for a long day of folder hopping.

Several free utilities promise to hasten the file-cleanup process. The two I tried — Duplicate File Finder from Auslogics and Digital Volcano's Duplicate Cleaner — take … Read more

Every now and then it's nice to enhance digital images with frames and other effects. Easy Photo Frame is a basic program that lets users apply frames and stamps to their digital images. Although the program works, we can't say we were particularly impressed by its layout or contents.

Easy Photo Frame's interface is plain and fairly easy to figure out, but it could be better organized. A large preview pane displays the image the user is working with and the effects that have been applied, while a smaller pane below displays available frames and stamps. There … Read more

The publisher of PureRa claims that it "removes files from your computer that other mainstream cleaning programs tend to oversee," by which we suppose they mean "overlook." Though it's neither the most attractive nor the most grammatically accurate program we've encountered, we found that it works well as a quick, no-nonsense way to rid your computer of unwanted files.

The program has an extremely simple and intuitive user interface. It lists a variety of file types and locations that you can check off for removal, including temporary files, Recycle Bin files, software distribution logs, … Read more

ROMs are files that emulate and save data from read-only memory (ROM) devices such as video game cartridges, and most are just that: software images of old-time, old-school video arcade games, Atari games, and other obsolete gaming system cartridges that many gamers collect like trading cards. They use MAME (multiple arcade machine emulator) software to recreate the original software environment for realistic play and preservation. ROMs can pile up on your hard drive quickly. ClrMamePro is a free ROM management tool that makes it easy to keep your game collection up-to-date with each new release and every deleted set. It'… Read more

Spam is so pervasive that many think the lunch meat was named after the e-mail and not the other way around. Spam's annoying, but viruses are deadly to your PC, and when they come in tandem, it's double trouble. The right tools can help you stay one step ahead of the problem. PCPrivacy's Spam Sweeper can stop spam and kill viruses before they have a chance to enter your system through your e-mail client. Spam Sweeper doesn't download the entire message, just enough to tell what it is, a simple scheme that's quicker than ordinary … Read more

Apple may be in the process of removing "overtly sexual" content from its App Store, according to a TechCrunch report.

The developer behind "Wobble iBoobs," an adult-themed application, told TechCrunch that his application has been taken down. Apple reportedly told the developer in a letter that the decision to remove the app is part of a larger plan to remove sexual content from the store.

"Your application, Wobble iBoobs (Premium Uncensored), contains content that we had originally believed to be suitable for distribution," Apple's letter to the developer read, according to TechCrunch. "… Read more

E-mail scanning and a tiered level of rootkit removal come to Ad-Aware in Monday's update to version 8.2. Ad-Aware Free, Ad-Aware Plus, and Ad-Aware Pro now come with e-mail scanning for Microsoft Outlook users, as well as expand the Ad-Aware Live system to block malicious files from downloading, and introduce a tiered rootkit removal system that increases in efficacy as you upgrade Ad-Aware.

The new features are part of the recent expansive approach that Lavasoft has been pushing in Ad-Aware, looking beyond antispyware as the company tries to keep the program relevant. The tiered rootkit removal is the … Read more

Duplicate File Eraser is a simple program that ostensibly finds and removes duplicate files. Although it's easy enough to find duplicates with the program, deleting them is another matter.

The program's interface is extremely plain, with all of the program's functions in view. Users first select the directory or directories that they want to search, then set a handful of other options, including whether or not they want to search subdirectories or include hidden files. The results appear in a separate tab, where users can select the files that they wish to delete. Actually deleting the files … Read more

When it's time to get rid of old computers, many people think erasing and reformatting a hard drive is sufficient to keep private information out of others' hands. But to keep your private data safe from others, you really need a more thorough tool and EAST-Tec's DisposeSecure fits the bill. This hard-disk and network sanitizing utility can completely eliminate data beyond the possibility of recovery. It uses Department of Defense standards for data destruction, but users can configure custom security levels too.

DisposeSecure is a powerful and competent tool, and its interface and features reflect that, once you … Read more