I thought it would be a good idea to get a list of useful programs that we could keep here. If a mod comes across this - could you sticky it please. It would be quite helpful. I'm bound to have missed some programs, so if there is some that you think should be on this list - post here or PM me and I'll add them to the list.

With all these programs, there is no right or wrong one to use. Many of these programs are free or at least will offer evaluation periods. Try a few of them and see which one you like the best.

Virus Scanners

If you don't have a virus scanner on your PC - get one and fast. New viruses are released every week and some scan spread all around the world in a matter of hours. The news nowadays is constantly filled with talks of new viruses trying to do this and that. The best way of putting a stop to them is to have a virus checker constantly running on your PC. Here are a few to select from:

Norton Antivirus - One of the most popular virus scanners out there. My personal choice.
McAfee VirusScan - Also another of the more popular virus scanners out there.
Eset Nod32 Antivirus
Kaspersky Antivirus
Kaspersky Online virus checker - Kaspersky also offer a free, online virus check for those who don't want to buy a virus scanner (tisk tisk).
AVG Antivirus


Firewalls

Firewalls are another great way to stop many threats out there on the internet today. A firewall will only let programs send/receive if you say it can. This way you can make sure that your internet browser can access the internet, but any nasty spyware that sneaks in won't be able to. Windows XP comes with a built in firewall but if you don't have XP, or want more control, consider the following.

ZoneAlarm - Very user friendly but still powerful. Comes in several version - including a free one
McAfee Personal Firewall
Norton Personal Firewall
Sygate Personal Firewall - Free for personal use


Spyware Removal Tools

Do you keep getting annoying adverts popping up while surfing the internet? Does your browser keep setting your homepage to some rubbish? Well then you have some spyware on your PC my friend. Try downloading one of these bad boys to get rid of it,

Adaware - Along with Spyware: S&D, a must have on your PC. Looks good, updated regularly.
Spyware: Search & Destroy - Another great spyware removal tool.

Combined with Adaware, your PC should be adware free.

Also check out the sites for McAfee, Symantec (Norton) etc. for Spyware removal tools as well. You will have to pay for these ones I'm afraid though.

Internet Browsers

Firefox - Unless you have been hiding under a rock somewhere, you should have heard of Firefox. It's a free internet browser that is rapidly taking away market share from IE. It's faster, safer and has a number of nice extras like themes and extensions.
Internet Explorer - Out of fairness I put this here. I think Firefox is much better but IE is still the most widely used.
Opera - Another alternative to IE.
Avant Browser - Before Firefox, this was my browser of choice. It is actually just a wrapper round IE adding some extra features to it like tabbed browsing.

Email Clients

Fed up with Outlook Express? Well why not try on one of these email clients for size.

Mozilla Thunderbird - Firefox's sister program. Lovely email client with tonnes of features. Like Firefox you can download extra themes and extensions to make the app even more appealling,
Pegasus Mail - Some nice features like allowing you to OK attachments before they are downloaded from your email server.



I'll add some more useful programs on here later, but for now - this will do. Some linux programs may also follow I guess. Finally, sorry for being so bias towards Firefox/Thunderbird. As you can tell I'm not Microsoft's biggest fan.

mechanickid

Honestly i didnt read through all the previous posts,,, but an amendment to orignial,

Virus Scanner- AVAST Anti-Virus

Internet browser- Safari


i find avast to be a pretty low resource hoger

Romaniukesan

Data Recovery Tools - Recuva
Handy Recovery
I suggest Recuva cuz it shows more data and, and it seems to find more bits of deleted files than Handy Recuvery..

chaosmaster1

avg antivirus is a good one along with malwarebytes antimalware

for mozilla firefox try flashgot it is dead useful when it comes to audio and video

Nubzor16

A Good Security Setup. (Which is what i have + All Free)

Antivirus = AVG Free 8.0

AntiSpyware = Malwarebytes' Anti Malware, SUPERantispyware

Firewall = Online Armor 3.0

*for unsure apps i use run sandboxed with "sandboxie"

Helljack6

My typical setup includes Auslogics Free Disk Defrag (open source, works on every platform, is fast and efficient) Malwarebytes v1.34, Spybot S&D 1.6.2 and a corporate edition of Symantec AV or McAfee or TrendMicro. And my personal favorite, XP Cleanup batch file that scans and removes anything and everything CCLeaner and those others can't / don't get rid of, download it here:

https://www.box.net/shared/fdmuimtvr1

Copy DELTREE to C:\Windows\System32 folder then edit the batch file as you see fit, double click to run, for full time cleaning, toss into the system startup folder and have it run everytime the computer boots up.

Also, my favorite cleaning tool, copy the following and create a new shortcut on your desktop:

%SystemRoot%\System32\Cmd.exe /c Cleanmgr /sageset:35 & Cleanmgr /sagerun:35

Run it and check ALL the available boxes and remove any removable drives and sit back and watch it clean!

Joy Ripple

My husband, Jerry, thinks he knows it all about computers. Here is an e-mail he sent to his friend Stephen.

He says I am fine and then spends all his time telling him about how good his stupid computer is running now.

I think his information would probably help someone get their computer running right so that they can spend more time with their wife.

His letter:


Stephen,

How's my wife? She's fine, thanks for asking. How's my computer?

I am glad that you asked as I am just bubbling up with excitement and joy as to how fast and efficient she's running! It's like she has lost weight, age, and is more appealing!

First let me tell you what I did to make this happen. These are the steps that I took and that I recommend that you take also to make your PC faster, more efficient, more secure, and more appealing.

Make sure that you have no other programs running or open when you are installing a program or doing a scan (Turn off your firewall). That's the best way of insuring yourself that everything will flow smoothly.

I recommend that you download, install, and run these FREE programs from: Free Software Downloads and Reviews - Download.com

CLEANING TIME!

1- Revlo Uninstaller - Uninstall any program that you do not use regularly. If you have not used it in six months you probably do not need it.This software lets you, after you uninstall a program, remove left-over registry entries that take up room and contribute to a slow PC.

2- CC Cleaner - Clean up Windows and Applications of files and junk not needed that are just taking up space and slowing your PC.

3- Shortcuts Wizard - Right-click on your desktop and run this wizard. It will help you remove desktop shortcuts that aren't needed as they are not being used.

OPTIMIZING TIME!

1- Advanced System Care:

a- Diagnose & Repair system - Check all except Disk Defragmenter which we will do later. Repair all.

b- Maintain Windows - Check all and Scan & Repair

c- Utilities - Tune Up - 1- Disk Check 2- Disk Cleaner 3- I Obit Registry Defrag 4- Shortcuts Fixer

2- Run your Windows Defragmenter - Start/All Programs/ Accessories/System Tools/Disk Defragmenter/Defragment. This will take an hour or two so make sure you do not need the use of your computer when you do this. Also make sure your firewall, screensaver, and power saver are all off.

3- Advanced System Care:

a- Security - Driver Backup - Scan Driver & Backup Recommended.

b- Administrator Tools -

1- Startup Manager - This has a list of programs that start automatically when you start your computer. Many of these do not need to start then. Uncheck what you do not need and highlight those that you want to know more about and then click Properties or Online Search to find out more about them. The more programs on this list the more time it will take for your PC to start and the slower it will run.

2- Windows Manager - System Service

This will show you a list of services that start-up Automatically, Manual, or are Disabled. Advanced System Care has tweaked this already. If you know what you are doing and know what you want or don't want you can tweak it more. It is best left alone. But you may do further research with this information if you are geekly inclined.

4- More FREE Software:

a - 7 Zip - To compress and decompress files.

b- Abi Word - Word Processor if you need a quick one that doesn't take up much space and uses less resources.

c- AVG Free - An excellent anti-virus program.

d- Comodo Firewall - Have this running in addition to your Windows Firewall. It is recommended by experts to run both as they do not conflict with each other.

e- Ad-Aware by Lavasoft - This is a must to protect and scan against all malware.

f- Mozilla Firefox 3 Browser - This is the very best browser available. And it's FREE! Download it from www. mozilla.com Once you load it set it to be your default browser and forget about using Internet Explorer again. This browser is much, much safer and may be tweaked with over 5,000 FREE add-ons. Once you have it you will wonder how you ever lived without it. It is like having a brand-new computer with all the latest.

g- Photo Filtre - To enhance/manipulate photos/graphics. It doesn't take much room in your hard drive.

h- Spyware Blaster - A list of malicious sites that will automatically be blocked from your PC.

Well that wraps it up! I'll see you Tuesday morning at our networking group. By the way, how's your wife?

Yours truly,

Jerry

Helljack6

It's amazing that everything he stated to do, the geek squad will charge you $49.99 to do as an "optimization" on your computer. Half the crap he mentioned isn't even scratching the surface of optimization. Perhaps it's just best if he boxed his computer up and took it back to the store as he clearly doesn't know nearly as much as he thinks. I mean hell, steps a,b and c are all the same steps, just in a different location on his list, ?! You want a firewall, invest in a router. Want something that opens/decompresses Zip files, the feature's already built into windows! Come on! Stop installing more software that does what's already installed by default on the system! The man seriously has no clue!

BUT! If you want to add additional software, then go to my website and follow the steps there and I can personally guarantee you'll get a screaming fast computer. My techniques are tried and true and the batch files available there are constantly being updated for maximum effectivness. But don't blame me if you can't follow directions.

ITstudent2006

helljack6

I know I downloaded them batch files off of your website and I noticed a slight increase in response time when opening applications.

Rick

Curlyben

Most of this is already covered here: http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/compute...rs-233870.html

frostyrecordz

there is a couple more programs that would be ideal with the rest.
1. CCleaner
great for cleaning your PC and repairing registry files and sorting startup issues out, so your PC will run faster. This can be downloaded free from filehippo.com

2. 1Click PC Repair
does what the nam says. this is not a free software but can be downloaded and patched very easily.
many version are available but a good solid version is 3.5 in which you wont get any problems.
it does what CCleaner or any registry software would do in one click. great.




frosty