There will inevitably become a point when your system will require a clean up, to remove unwanted or unused files and folders. Even basic tasks such as browsing the Internet will lead to your machine accumulating unimportant files which can build up, and if left unchecked, may eventually lead to your system becoming crippled with unnecessary files. Privacy is another issue if Internet files remain on your machine, as you may use an banking service and other online passwords which you may want to keep secure.

CCleaner 2.11 is a powerful system cleansing utility that will enable you to remove any data, irrelevant or sensitive, that may be stored by online applications. Use it to remove temporary Internet files and clear browser history as well as clean Registry files.

CCleaner 2.11 link.

If you've 'collected' digital audio from the old Napster days, we'd safely say that you probably have a rather extensive audio collection, with most tracks lacking the right information, artwork and other elements that you want for a successful catalogue. The snag is, if you have thousands of tracks, updating them isn't an easy task. Ideally you'd find a companion tool that would reside alongside your existing iTunes library and enable you to update tracks en-masse.

TuneUp Companion 1.0.4 is such a tool. It enables you to check your tracks and search for and then update your artwork. You can fix track information on the fly and much more. However, there are two big problems - firstly if you store your iTunes audio on another computer (such as a media server), then you can't use it to fix or manage your tracks. Secondly, one of the key features is to search for and update the artwork on your tracks, but in our test, out of the 50 tracks where artwork was clearly missing...it could only find artwork for one of these tracks. These 50 tracks were all sourced from iTunes or imported via audio CDs a few years ago. Old they may be, but a tool such as TuneUp Companion 1.0.4 - designed to fix these issues - should be able to do what it says on the tin.

The other issue we have is that it will only clean a small number of tracks before you have to pay a subscription fee.

TuneUp Companion 1.0.4 link.

If you're worried about infecting your PC with a virus or similar security threat, there's no reason why you couldn't use a virtual operating system to test new software. There are many other good reasons why you might want to use a virtual operating system manager. For instance, you can run a virtual Linux operating system, without having to leave Windows. If you have a virtual desktop manager, you can even open your virtual OS on another screen and quickly switch between open spaces.

VMware Workstation 6.5 is the latest version of the virtual OS manager that now enables you to run a secure virtual operating system, so you could take your virtual OS on the road, along with VMware Player 2.5 and leave no trace of your virtual environment on your host PC.

VMware Workstation and VMware Player links.

When buying a new PC, as with anything, if it's cheap it's usually for a reason. Many mainstream computer manufacturers claim to provide 'value-for-money', unfortunately though, that's not always the case. The literature used in advertising PCs is often misleading and uses selected information to advertise the better points of a machine, but many of these parts will be sourced as cheaply as possible and the final product may not run as efficiently as a competitor's machine with a similar specification. You can see this for yourself by using a system information utility.

PC Wizard 2008 1.86 is an advanced utility designed to analyze all aspects of your systems performance. Test and benchmark your CPU, RAM and hard drive performance as well as many other useful features. Use it to identify if your computer matches the manufacturers description.

PC Wizard 2008 1.86 link. 

Even an entry-level PC will ship with a large hard drive that's more than capable of storing a huge amount of information. The only downside to having all that space is it can be difficult trying to keep things organised. The more room you have to store data, the more chance there is that items can become more difficult to find as you have to search through hundreds of gigabytes worth of files and folders. One way to organise your drive is to divide it up into more manageable sections by creating separate partitions.  

EASEUS Partition Manager 2.0 is a free but comprehensive tool that will enable you to manage your drive more effectively. Use it to create and maintain partitions as well as resize, delete and format them. You can even hide or show individual partitions for privacy reasons and organise data in a way that may enhance certain areas of system performance.

EASEUS Partition Manager 2.0 link.  

Passwords are an integral part of computing, without them, our personal and/or sensitive data could be accessed by almost anyone. The only problem with using passwords is if we forget them, and it's not that difficult when their are so many to remember, it can be difficult to regain access. Any online account you use will require a password  and it's obviously not secure to use the same one for each account, but remembering  individual online passwords for  banking, social networking or auction sites can be difficult, especially if you don't access them regularly.

AI RoboForm 6.9.9.1 is an established form filling application that's been popular for a number of years. It keeps your sensitive data completely secure as well as enabling you to quickly fill in annoying online forms. The latest revision supports all major browsers including Netscape 9, Firefox 3 and Internet Explorer.

AI RoboForm 6.9.9.1 link.

There are only so many upgrades an ageing computer will benefit from, so it's inevitable that you'll have to replace your computer at some point. This old machine will contain a wealth of items that you may wish to transfer to your new machine such as music, videos and photographs as well as any other important data. However, what if your new PC ships with a newer operating system than your current machine.

Easy2Sync 1.30 is a handy tool that enables you to synchronise data, across multiple computers even if they are running different operating systems. This is ideal for transferring data from an old machine or when synchronising files between  machines at home or in the workplace.

Easy2Sync 1.30 link. 

There was a time when creating high-quality PDF documents required expensive, commercial software. Even though there were freeware apps available based around Ghostscript technology, the final product never really matched that of the more commercial software and generally, were not good enough for commercial printing. PDFs are a useful, universal file format that is useful for displaying all manner of information, so it's important to be able to download and read the literature contained within these documents.

doPDF 6.1.274 is a free PDF tool designed for both personal and commercial use. It will enable users to create print or web quality PDF documents from a number of Windows applications. Although an able application, there are alternatives which may give you an even better result such as Expert PDF Professional. 

doPDF 6.1.274 link. 

Most of us do not need to backup an entire partition or drive. As long as we keep our most important documents, files, media and other components backed up, we can quickly restore this data if we move to another computer or need to re-install Windows, at a later date. For instance, when I move across to a new machine, I make sure my documents, key data files and fonts are stored elsewhere as there are surprisingly few files required to maintain a work PC.

Cobian Backup 9.5 is a free file backup and restore tool. If you have some remote server space, or perhaps you were given some web storage when you signed up for your broadband account, then why not make use of this space and use Cobian to backup your files to this location?

Cobian Backup link.

It's easy to store your audio tracks on your desktop computer and then play them back through a media manager such as Apple iTunes or similar. However, you can also use iTunes to stream your audio tracks to a compatible wireless device such as the Apple Airport Express. If you want to distribute audio across multiple rooms, however, you may be better with a dedicated application that will enable you to intercept audio on your PC and re-direct this to your various Airport Express devices, situated through your home.

Airfoil 2.6.1 is a commercial tool that enables you to take just about any audio source on your PC, intercept, then distribute it to various wireless audio devices, connected to speakers through your house. This enables you to walk from room to room without missing your favorite track.

Airfoil link.

Our ambition is to get more Mac apps on to vnunet.com/downloads in the future. At the moment, we have small selection of some of the better apps available. Many of these were updated at the weekend and we briefly touched upon the fantastic Delicious Library 2.03 which will enable you to catalogue your entire media collection.

Other highlights include Sparkle 1.5b6 which is still in beta. This tool will enable Mac-based developers to add an auto-update facility in to their software, so that end-users can automatically check for new versions of their installed software. ForkLift 1.5.3 was updated, which is a superb replacement for your Finder. If you're a web developer, we seriously suggest you take a look at Coda 1.5.1, which is an old-school development tool that will enable you to code up and preview your work, as you progress.

iSale 5.2.1 will enable Mac users to promote and manager their eBay auctions, whilst Flow 1.03.1 is a simple FTP manager. Rapidweaver 4.1.3 is a tool that should help users design and publish their own professional-level homepage.

It's really easy to do; you have a party and people browse your CD and DVD collection, then ask if they can borrow them and for you to forget who borrowed each item. One easy way of tracking your media collection would be to create some kind of database and then type in the details. An easier way would be to use a dedicated media cataloguing tool which will enable you to scan in using the barcode on the DVD or audio CD, extract the information from Amazon, then display in your virtual catalogue.

MediaMan 3 is a brand new version of the PC-only media cataloguing tool that will not only enable you to store and view your media collection via a 'virtual shelf', but also track who has borrowed each item. There's a Mac equivalent of this application called Delicious Library, which is also worth a look.

MediaMan 3 and Delicious Library 2.0.3 links.

Many of us have more the one machine. This may include our regular desktop machine at work, another at home and our laptop, which we take on the road. Factor in our mobile devices such as our iPhone or smartphone, and we always need access to our latest files and documents. Regular online backup tools give you the option to, well, backup securely and then restore if you have issues. A better solution would be a tool that not only will backup your files online, it will also synchronise these files across your other computers and even enable you to share these with other users, if required.

Dropbox 0.6 is a cross-platform backup and synchronisation tool that will enable you to backup files online, synchronise these files across various computers - irrespective of operating system - then also share with other people. Ideal if you want to share some work documents that you are editing, on the road.

Dropbox link.

When we're browsing the Internet, it's easy to come across a word, a phrase, an address or similar where you're simply stumped. Of course, it's not too difficult to open another browser window (or tab) and simply check Wikipedia or Google. But what if they don't always give you the answer? You can keep on looking. Another solution is a device which would enable you to perform a custom check or search, depending on your choice, from the page you're currently browsing.

Hyperwords for Firefox 5 is an extension that enables you to highlight a word on a page and quickly find a reference in Wikipedia, Google, find a location on a map if it's an address and so much more. You simply right-click on the word and a list of options will appear.

Hyperwords for Firefox link.

We've just put a couple of media catalogue managers online, the Mac-based Delicious Library and the equally as good PC-only MediaMan 3. These tools enable you to import and catalogue your audio from your CDs. However, many of us still have lots of old LPs and cassettes and these are our only source of some of the rarer tracks, particularly live tracks. Over time tapes will certainly deteriorate. For this reason, it might be a wise idea to import them to your computer, so you have a digital copy.

Vinyl Studio 5 is all you need to record from your old LPs, tapes and video cassettes, import the audio tracks, edit and touch-up the imported audio, then save as MP3 files or simply burn the tracks directly to CD.

Vinyl Studio link.

Web designers and anyone who access a remote server, will normally work offline, edit a version of your site locally, then upload the contents using either the design tool or FTP client. However, this isn't the only option and may not be the most appropriate if more than one user is accessing the same files. It's too easy to overwrite relatively new files with your work. The other option is to simply access and use the files on the remote server. With a fast broadband connection, this is certainly an possibility.

WebDrive 8.2 enables you to turn a remote folder, stored on a server, in to a drive, with it's own drive letter, so you can access the contents in the same way as a USB flash drive was connected to your PC.

WebDrive link.

After months of using your PC, the drive will become fragmented. This means your apps will start more slowly, files will take longer to load and your system may feel more sluggish. The solution is to use a disk defragmentation tool that will analyse your drive and re-arrange the contents so they are in more of a systematic order, enabling your computer to find the contents more swiftly. There are two types of defragmentation tools, the old-school that will spend ages going through your entire drive, whilst you have to do something away from your PC, whilst it re-arranges the content. The other is a more modern disk defrag tool that will reside in the background, monitor CPU usage, then perform the defragmentation when you are not using your machine. As soon as you start using, it will pause automatically.

Uniblue DiskRescue 2009, a rather oddly named application, is an old-school disk defragmentation tool that will spend time going through your drive sorting the content. You can schedule a defragmentation or leave it running overnight, but it's a fairly basic app that, sadly, can be handled by freeware apps. Not one of the better Uniblue apps.

Uniblue DiskRescue 2009 link.

Purchase a recent edition of Windows and install it to your PC. You may believe that it spends time optimising to your components; it does not. You'll often find it installs vanilla versions of old drivers and configures your system for stability, rather than performance. There are also many hidden functions deep inside Windows, which Microsoft does not allow the average user to access. For this reason, you need a system tweaking and tuning tool.

With Computeractive 276 we're giving you the free full current version of Ashampoo WinOptimizer 2009 which will enable you to get even more from your installed copy of Windows XP or Vista. Open hidden areas, cleanse your system, tweak application settings and more.

Computeractive 276 link.

Current graphics cards enable users to choose from a number of different display options, unfortunately though, these will often be pre-configured settings for the card installed in your computer. The trouble is, you may not be able to adjust particular settings. You may want to connect additional monitors or even change your current one and to get the hardware to perform correctly, this may require you to manually tweak display settings.

PowerStrip 3.83.635 enables you to adjust your display settings using over five hundred controls, including adjustments for multi-monitor set-ups, so you have full control over your settings. It also supports numerous graphics cards and chipset vendors.

PowerStrip 3.83.635 link.

There are certain desktop tools, once you start using them, it becomes difficult to imagine not using them again. They may not even be the most complex or even expensive but they may save you time, or help with day-to-day tasks. A calendar is one of those handy desktop tools that make it easy for you to quickly refer to, regarding meetings, appointments or deadlines. Calendars that are incorporated with your desktop make it even easier for you to quickly access.

Active Desktop Calendar 7.6 enables you to view appointments, daily tasks and other useful information. You can colour code particular items and even mark dates and add alarms to important notifications. You can  also share calendar information with colleagues on you local area network, without showing any private notes.

Active Desktop Calendar 7.6 link. 

Even basic photo or image viewers ship with some basic editing features, although they  key  feature with most of these tools is the ability to convert the format of your image. If you accumulate images from a number of different sources, from the internet, via email or even pictures you have taken yourself which may need to be converted into a single, more manageable format. This is especially useful when emailing pictures to friends and family or putting your photos on a website.

XnView 1.95 Beta is a small tool with many useful applications. It will enable you to convert images into almost any other file format. Like other tools, you can use it to crop, fix and edit any of your images before conversion.

XnView 1.95 Beta link.

We've previewed the beta's of the new VMware Fusion for Mac a few times on this blog. It's a superb product that enables you to run Windows, or another OS such as Ubuntu, on your Mac, without having to leave your regular desktop. Indeed, if you use Leopard, you can use Spaces to open the virtual OS on another screen, then quickly switch between both operating systems. Really effective.

VMware Fusion 2 is finally available and ships with a whole host of new features. We won't go in to all the new features here, but the final release now enables you to allocate up to four CPU cores to each VM (providing you have an eight-core Mac!), which is superb for Mac Pro users. Allocate a few CPU cores and 2GB of memory to Windows Vista and you shouldn't see too much slow down at all.

VMware Fusion 2 for Mac link.

Sticky notes are great for taking notes or ideas, perhaps when your're on the phone. Place them around your monitor screen and after a short period, they start to lose their stickiness. If they fall off and land on your desk or the floor, you may find the cleaners have removed your notes when you return to your desk the next morning. It's too easy to do. The other option is to ditch the sticky notes and place similar computer-based notes on your desktop. Safer for the environment, too.

PNotes 4.0.112 is free sticky notes software for your PC that enables you to place the notes on your desktop. You can use various skins to spruce up your notes so that each note looks different. You can have different notes between your home and work based 'to do' lists. Of course, you might want to take these 'to do' notes on the road, so there's also a portable version of PNotes.

PNotes and PNotes Portable link.

Only yesterday we announced that Acronis were offering True Image 11 Home for only $9.99 (£5.89) for one week only. However, we've noticed that if you go for the Acropack 2008 option, which is Acronis True Image 11 and Disk Director 10 as a bundle, then enter the coupon code we gave you, you can get Acronis True Image 11 for 80% off, or $9.99, but then get Disk Director 10 for free! This has to be the software bargain of the year.

UPDATE [18/09/08]: Acronis have taken the 80% off promotion offline and the coupon code is no longer available. Note that this promotion ended without notice and we received no prior warning. The current 20% coupon still works, however.

Components that are shipped with your new computer are ultimately responsible for its performance. Even if your computer does require a performance enhancement, it's important to identify the area that is most beneficial to upgrade depending on your own needs. If you just browse the web and your computer is sluggish, upgrading your systems RAM may improve general performance but will not necessarily have any impact on web browsing. Use a system analysis tool to identify hardware upgrades applicable to your own needs.

Everest Ultimate Edition 4.6 enables users to run a full system analysis helping to identify performance statistics of all installed hardware. Use it to compare it to other hardware or check if components are performing correctly. The latest version fully supports Windows Vista.

Everest Ultimate Edition 4.6 link.

Wouldn't life be interesting and rewarding if you could make money, working from home, helping other users understand their own machine? I bet there are few novice users who do not want to have to spend money purchasing 'How To' books to teach them how to use their PC. It's way easier if you can have someone around at your home showing you how to use a particular application.

The alternative solution is to give someone access to your machine, remotely, and enable them to show you how to perform particular actions on your PC. You're in control. Although you give remote access to other users, you can disconnect them at any time and they can't suddenly infect your machine with a virus. You can also prevent access from particular areas of your computer - so files in your 'work' partition are out of bounds to the remote user.

However, if you want to do the demo work, you can choose to help other users and charge a fee. For instance, you could charge someone $40/hour to help someone get to grips with using their email client, as an example. Remember, you don't need to leave your laptop to do this. You simply need a fast Internet connection and hope your remote user also has a fast connection.

CrossLoop 2.3 is the solution we're recommending for this task.

If you work between an office and a laptop, file sharing may be part and parcel of your computers everyday life. You may use your laptop during meetings, on the move or whilst on business where you may also need to upload and download folders and files from numerous external sources. The trouble with constantly transferring files is that some files may be infected with a virus or other malicious applications, which inevitably, infect your computer.   

ClamWin 0.94 Portable is the portable version of the popular open source antivirus application. Take it with you on a USB flash drive, CD or even your iPod and use it to scan folders and files and folders. You can use it on your laptop or on any other machine you may be using without leaving any personal information behind.

ClamWin 0.94 link.

It's a good idea to backup your most important data. If you have your work or media files stored on one partition, you could simply backup this partition and restore if necessary. With incremental and differential backup, you only backup new and updated data on your partition, so the next backup is handled swiftly. With Acronis True Image 11 you can now backup your files, as well as an entire drive or drive partition.

Acronis True Image 11 is being offered at a staggering discount of 80% off the standard retail price for this week only. That means you can buy Acronis True Image 11 for only £5.98 ($9.99), which a massive discount from the $49.99 retail price. To buy, click the link on Acronis True Image link and then 'buy now', entering the coupon code.

Acronis True Image 11 for only £5.98 link.

When installing or upgrading Windows many users are unaware of how overabundant default installations are. Many of the languages, add-ons and modules are unnecessary to most users taking up hard disk space and contributing to long-winded installations. Unfortunately, you can only slim down your installation to a certain extent and may need to use a third-party application to configure a pre-installation setup which enables you to remove any unwanted items.

nLite 1.4.9.1 is an application that enables you to create a custom Windows installation, removing any unwanted components. Remove language packs, add-ons and other items you may not need. You can also use it to perform a number of useful tweaks to create a slimmer operating system which will also reduce installation time.  

nLite 1.4.9.1 link.

If you're seeking an alternative, there's no reason why you couldn't buy yourself a Mac laptop and use OS X to manage your photos, your iPod and handle your work. If you need to launch Windows, simply run a virtual manager such as VMware Fusion and you'll be able to run XP, Vista or Linux OS, without having to leave your regular operating system.

VMware Fusion 2 RC1 is now available and it's still free whilst in beta-testing. The new version has a few additional features including a free version of McAfee Anti-Virus, including 12 months free updates, so you can keep your Windows-based virtual OS virus-free during use. There are also many fixes and enhancements.

VMware Fusion link.

Ever wonder what your computer is doing? Sometimes it can feel as though you don't have any control over which areas your systems performance is concentrated. You could be listening to music, browsing the web and all of a sudden an application will freeze and you may be unable to continue using it or even close it down. Being able to actually view performance statistics of your computer may enable you to identify where system resources are being used.   

Moo0 SystemMonitor is a small utility that enables you to view important system information. It enables you to check processor performance, memory used, hard disk activity and even the performance of your operating system. This monitor uses few resources itself, so you can accurately see what your system is doing.

Moo0 SystemMonitor link.

Explorer is a fairly basic component of Windows, certainly prior to Vista. Within Vista, the Explorer interface was revamped, extra functionality added, but it still isn't as good as many of the Explorer replacements that are available. For instance, Directory Opus is superb. At a very basic level, if you want to open an Explorer Opus window, simply double-click on any location on your desktop and the window will appear under your mouse pointer. For anyone who works with files, folders and other information, this makes life far easier.

XYplorer 7.60 is another alternative Windows Explorer replacement which, like Directory Opus, will enable you to open a multi-tabbed window so you can quickly move files between different directories. It's portable too, which means you can take XYplorer with you, on the road, and use it to manage a host PC.

XYplorer link.

There are numerous Firefox add-ons, some more useful than others. The good thing with using add-ons is that you can take the best parts from other software applications or web browsers and incorporate them in Firefox. Some features incorporated into other popular browsers such as Internet Explorer and Opera are useful, but others less so, so being able to pick and choose how to customise your version of Firefox enables you to get exactly what you want from your browser.

Fast Dial 2.6 enables you to create a panel of thumbnails of your favourite sites. It replaces the ¨about:blank¨ page and enables you to assign URL's to empty cells, with a thumbnail preview of each one. There are also a number of other customisable features as well as shortcuts designed to personalise your browser.

Fast Dial 2.6 link. 

If you're used to using the Mac OS X operating system, it's very easy to publish a document as a PDF. This enables you to design a document using your favourite word processor or DTP tool and then print to a PDF document, keeping the fonts, layout and structure in place. You can then put a web-quality version on the Internet for download by other users or produce a high-resolution version for commercial quality printing.

PrimoPDF 4.1 is a free PDF creation tool that enables you to produce PDF documents by simply exporting from any Windows application. You can produce anything from a low-res to high-resolution document.

PrimoPDF link.

Install Vista and you'd think that your new PC would now include the latest versions of the software drivers required to manage your various hardware components. Very wrong. In many situations, Microsoft plays safe and will include basic vanilla versions of various drivers to offer compatibility across various systems and configurations. Your ATI-based graphics card may not include the ATI control panel and other modules.

Uniblue DriverScanner 2009 is a tool that will enable you to auto-check your current drivers against the latest versions available. When new drivers are available, you can choose to download and install. You can also choose to backup your existing drivers so that they are always available if you need to re-install Windows at a later date.

Uniblue DriverScanner 2009 link.

There are a number of 'big name' software manufacturers that specialise in particular areas. Symantec have been developing and manufacturing Internet security solutions for a number of years. As one of the most established manufacturers of security software they are also responsible for equipping many new computers with pre-installed security suites that provide protection from an array of online threats from spam to spyware.

The latest offering from Symantec is the official release of Norton Internet Security 2009. This latest revision has been vastly improved in a number of areas, including a new architecture than runs more efficiently and uses far less system resources. Start and scan times have been reduced, as well as the silent mode that enables definition updates without interruption.

This comprehensive security suite offers complete protection from the latest online threats and may be a good solution for those who are looking for a fairly low-maintenance online security solution.

Norton Internet Security 2009 link.   

The software industry does confuse me, somewhat. I can understand why people still prefer to purchase Microsoft Office - they want complete compatibility as, in business, you can't afford to not be able to open or read important documents. However, there's no reason why you'd need to use a commercial archive manager and then keep purchasing an upgrade each year. Some do and many use WinZip.

WinZip 12 is the brand new version of the popular archive manager and it ships in two editions: Standard and Professional edition. The new version will enable you to compress your photos and images by up to 25%, saving space when you create an archive. The Professional version contains even more functionality, including support for handling password protected archives.

WinZip 12 link.

Well all know that installing software on your new PC will cause it to slow after a period of time. The reason is that when you install new software, it writes entries to your Registry. Remove the software through the regular Add/Remove Programs control panel and you might find that it doesn't remove all the Registry entries. Reboot your PC and your system may look for deleted files when starting your computer, whilst various filetypes may be associated with uninstalled software.

Uniblue RegistryBooster 2009 is a possible solution. It's a brand new version of the Registry optimisation tool that will look through your Registry, find possible errors and ask you which errors you'd like to fix. Note that the trial version will not enable you to fix Registry errors; it will only allow you to run a Registry scan to check for errors.

Uniblue RegistryBooster 2009 link.

A new PC will appear to handle anything you throw at it, partly because you would have upgraded from your previous machine but also because it is yet to become cluttered with unused files. This period of problem free computing won't last long, especially if you let unused files and folders build up. As this unwanted data accumulates, your system will find even the simplest tasks difficult and may eventually lead to your hard disk becoming fragmented.

IObit SmartDefrag 1.0 helps you to maintain a smooth running PC. This defragging utility enables you to rearrange and consolidate space on your hard disk. General system performance will be improved, the time it takes your system to boot will be reduced as well as enabling applications to run more efficiently.

IObit SmartDefrag 1.0 link.

It's really easy to do: you take a memory card on holiday and format or delete the contents so you can take some new photos, forgetting that you didn't take the photos from the card. Sadly Windows doesn't come with any decent file search and recovery software, so once you've deleted a file and emptied your trash, it's almost impossible to undelete the data. There are many third-party file recovery tools and one of the best is iolo Search & Recover 5. Luckily for you we have permission to offer you the full current version, worth $39.95!

iolo Search & Recover 5 will go much further. Instead of scanning an entire hard drive searching for every possible deleted file, you can narrow the search to specific files. For instance, you could only search for deleted MP3 or other audio files.

iolo Search & Recover 5 link.

If your PC becomes infected with virus, spyware or any other malicious application, you may even be unable to boot your machine. If your computer fails to boot, how do you access your PC and begin ridding it of any infection? At this stage we tend to concede that it may be time to wipe your hard drive and start from scratch, losing everything that is not backed up. Before taking drastic action though it may be worth trying a bootable recovery CD.

F-Secure Rescue CD is an ISO file that is used to create a bootable CD. Once you've created your CD restart your computer and insert it into your machine, this enables your PC to boot directly from the CD rather than the hard disk. You can then access the Internet and begin scanning and removing viruses.

F-Secure Rescue CD link.   

Working with numerous storage devices, although convenient, can cause problems when trying to identify which letter is assigned to each individual drive. Usually we use the Windows Explorer to look for connected storage devices, but wouldn't it be simpler if Windows created a desktop shortcut? Simply click the drive icon and access it, then once you safely remove it the icon disappears from your desktop. This would enable you to quickly find and connect to any connected drives.

Desk Drive 1.6.2 makes it easier to connect to assigned drives; it simply adds a temporary drive shortcut on your desktop that takes you to that destination. You can also use Desk Drive to monitor specified drives, linking you directly to Flash drives and ignoring others depending on your settings.

Desk Drive 1.6.2 link.

Some people may question the wisdom of employing a personal firewall on a desktop machine that's protected by a hardware-based firewall, in your broadband router or modem. For a single machine, there may be some logic in this argument. However, most home users have more than one computer - one for the kids, the other for parents and often a laptop could be brought from work to be used to finish off a project. You may want to enable your computer to be able to access the server at work, but you won't want to open up the port on your kids' computer.

ZoneAlarm Free 8 is the latest version of the popular free personal firewall. It would enable you to install this on a PC and configure settings that are specific for that PC, irrespective of how your router is configured.

ZoneAlarm link.

Along with the new iPods announced last night, there's a brand new version of Apple iTunes available to download. The latest Apple iTunes 8 ships with a number of new features, including 'genius' music recommendations which will offer you various track options based on the music you like to listen. Of course, the recommendations come from the iTunes Music Store. Other new features include the ability to download and watch HD-based TV programmes.

However, early feedback suggests that the new version of Apple iTunes also ships with improved support for Windows Vista, including a quicker statup procedure. You'll need to download iTunes 8 in order to use the latest iPods.

Apple iTunes 8 link.

Although the Microsoft Outlook email client has a built-in spam filter, it's not as effective as other seperate filters. Spam filters are available in many different guises, generally though, filters that work exclusively with particular email clients tend to perform better than the more generic tools. Spammers are constantly working on more canny ways of distributing malicious mail, so up-to-date protection is vital. Also, most separate filters will benefit from regular updates.  

SpamBully 4.2.0.11 is a filter that's designed to work specifically with Outlook helping you to identify a large number s of malicious and potentially harmful mail. When you're on the road, use SpamBully on a mobile device to access legitimate mail. There are also Outlook Express and Windows Mail versions of SpamBully available.

SpamBully 4.2.0.11 link. 

The size of internal, external and portable hard drives is increasing rapidly, yet we still find a use for all that space. We store more information on our PCs than ever, especially when it comes to media formats, such as MP3. Its useful and convenient being able to store everything we want but it can become tricky when looking for a specific document on a large drive, or across multiple external drives. Searching across numerous drives with Windows can be arduous.

Copernic Desktop 3 enables users to compile and maintain a database of all files stored across multiple drives. It works in the background updating the database, so when you need a document, the search is performed as quickly as possible. The latest version, whilst searching for a document will show an advertisement asking you to upgrade, which you may need to do to perform network drive searches.

Copernic Desktop 3 link. 

It honestly doesn't seem that long ago when I was hooked on Red Alert. I'm not a massive fan of computer games, but Red Alert was one the few games that got me interested. You could play as the Allies or the Soviets and built up an arsenal of weaponry to take on and eventually take over the opposition. You could play against one or more computer-based opposition and, quite frankly, playing as the Soviets was way more fun. Build a few Tesla Coils, a few tank and rocket launchers and you were guaranteed success.

EA's Command & Conquer Red Alert is now available as a free download. Even better, it's updated to work on both XP and Vista. With Red Alert 3 around the corner, give this old classic version a go. Ok, the graphics are very out-of-date, but it's still fun.

Command & Conquer Red Alert link.

For those of us who work or study from home, your computer will be used for various important tasks. Some of this work may be ongoing, meaning you've probably devoted a considerable length of time on certain projects. For this reason it's important to keep documents saved and files backed up. Unfortunately though, it's easy to forget when you're busy working and can end up working for a significant period of time without saving a document.

File Hamster 1.5.4.2 is a freeware tool designed for you to effectively save and backup files and documents. You can also use it to add notes to particular documents and even set backup times, decreasing the number of backups that are created. You can also use it to recover an older version of a saved file.

File Hamster 1.5.4.2 link.

Staying in touch internationally using a phone is hugely expensive, so we tend to stick to using email to stay in touch with friends and family when abroad. Instant messaging clients are also a cheap and effective way of communicating with others, with the benefit of chatting in real-time rather than waiting for an email reply which could take much longer. However, your friends and family may use alternative message clients, so finding out who is online, and synchronising contacts between clients may be more difficult. This is where a cross-network messenger may prove helpful.  

Miranda Portable 0.7.10 is a small, free and portable cross-network messenger client. Simply put it on a USB stick and take it on the road for use on any computer connected to the Internet. Being cross-platform, you can chat with anyone using other instant messaging services. It can also be greatly enhanced with an extensive list of plug-ins.

Miranda Portable 0.7.10 link. 

If you use your PC for important work, you shouldn't be installing and testing new software on your machine. Indeed, most corporations will prevent you from installing software for the sole reason that this can cause your system to fail. However, if you do want to use and test new software, the best option may be to install a virtual operating system where you can run another OS and create a restore point so you can go back to a previous state in the future, without it affecting your main OS.

VirtualBox 2 is a new version of the free virtual manager from Sun. The new version now enables you to use 64-bit virtual machines, improved networking capabilities and, if you're using the OS X version, an improved user-interface.

VirtualBox link.

Although we though the browser wars were locked between Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer, with Opera and various IE-based browser such as Maxthon, in the mix, large software developers still think it's worth investing time and effort producing their own browser. Recently Apple released Safari for the Windows platform (why, we're not sure), based on the WebKit platform. Now Google have produced their own web browser, which is also based on WebKit.

Google Chrome 0.2 has reached public preview stage and it looks good. It's a very simple looking web browser, with simplicity at it's core. It's quick, delivering web pages immediately. It also enables you to surf the Internet in an 'Incognito' mode, keeping your web browsing a secret, useful if others use your computer.

Google Chrome link.

If you don't have a good understanding of the Windows operating system, it can be tricky when trying to safely tweak or adjust certain areas of it. Manually editing your registry isn't exactly ideal either, you may start out trying to adjust a particular setting but end up causing numerous other problems. A safe, easy solution would be to use a tool specifically designed for the job, there's less risk, and you won't create any unwanted or problematic Registry entries accidentally.

Fresh UI 8.14 is a free tool that enables you to configure Windows to your personal preference. There's no risk as there's no need to edit your Registry, which could potentially interfere with or even damage key areas of your operating system.

Fresh UI 8.14 link.

Instead of walking in to your local HMV and purchasing the latest CD, it's become too easy to download our favourite tunes from online stores such as iTunes or Amazon. Despite the fact these tunes are compressed and offer a poor audio experience, it's the convenience that counts. Brits love shopping from their sofa. Sad, but true. Anyway, now you have your audio tracks on your PC, you won't want to lose this data. For this reason, it's recommended that you regularly backup your collection.

O&O DiskImage 3 Express is a very basic version of the disk and partion backup/restore tool from O&O Software. It enables you to backup and entire drive or partition and then restore in the future, when necessary. You can't restore a system partition nor perform incremental backups, so the scope is limited.

O&O DiskImage 3 Express link.

Portable USB devices are a quick and easy way of storing and transferring documents and files. They hold a reasonable amount of data, are small and convenient for travelling with and very easy to use. As we tend to use them on several machines, it can be difficult keeping track of your recently saved documents. Recognising which document has most recently been saved and keeping up-to-date is crucial, especially when working between home and the workplace.

Allway Sync 8.3.0 is a freeware synchronisation tool, it enables you to synchronise recently saved files across numerous computers with minimal confusion. You can set the application to synchronise at chosen intervals or update newly saved documents manually.

Allway Sync 8.3.0 link. 

Using a computer between multiple users has obvious drawbacks; privacy is just one important issue. PCs will store information whether running an application or even a game certain information will remain on your machine. It's not exactly ideal to have this information on your machine let alone it being visible to other users. Having to make sure you clear your information each time you use your computer can be inconvenient, wouldn't it be easier if you could run an application within a self-contained environment? Then you could simply log off without manually clearing any data.

Sandboxie 3.30 is an application that enables you to run applications in a sandboxed environment, very useful for anyone using a shared computer. All the information stays not on your drive but within a sandboxed environment, this also helps to protect your system from malicious infection.

Sandboxie 3.30 link. 

A solid, standalone FTP client would have been a primary concern for most Internet users only a few years ago. This is partly because they are less relevant since the advent of broadband, but mostly due to the fact that they are now integrated with almost all web browsers. Many users have never considered using an FTP client, as when you download files, your browser is often all you need. However, when it comes to uploading files, an FTP client may be a more efficient way of uploading data quickly.

Filezilla 3.1.2 is a free, standalone FTP client that enables you to transfer files to and from the Internet. By using your broadband connection, you can administer a remote site or take advantage of any free homepage space and get files online faster than ever.

Filezilla 3.1.2 link.