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Free Software

Links to postings on OPCUG's web site with reviews of specific freeware packages are provided below, with the articles listed in alphabetical order. So, read on. There is a lot of interesting stuff to dig through.

But, if you don't find exactly what you are looking for on this page, did you know that OPCUG also has a guide to free software? This series of newsletter articles contains brief listings of free programs that, for the most part, have not been reviewed by club members. The application that you need may just be listed in the OPCUG Free Software Guide.

And, we have a separate page of open-source applications. These are a special type of freeware where, not only do you get the compiled, ready-to-go programs, you can also access the source code should you so desire. However, for most of us, open-source programs are basically just the same as freeware. So, you might also want to check out our page of Open-Source Software.

Freeware Packages

Better Disk Defragging – Upside Down?
Microsoft's Vista looks pretty and has some useful new features, but a change in the user interface for an old friend just doesn't cut it. I'm talking about Accessories – System Tools - Disk Defragmenter. The new version of Disk Defragmenter that comes with Vista is evidently designed to work on an assigned schedule. Gone are the brightly-coloured displays. And, running a manual disk defrag under Vista yields only the soul-less message: “This may take from a few minutes to a few hours”. There must be a better way! We might want to turn to a company from down-under for a solution. Auslogics Disk Defrag comes from a company based in Sydney, Australia.

Building a Better Image (Batch File Renamer and Image Resizer)
In today's world, digital cameras are all pervasive, and readily produce hundreds of images. The problem is that, straight out of the camera, the files have non-intuitive names, such as IMG_0671.JPG and IMG_0672.JPG. And, with multi-megapixel cameras, the file sizes can be huge (2MB and up) which makes sending several pictures by E-mail, or posting them to a web site, quite a challenge. This article reviews a freeware package (Batch File Renamer) and an open-source program (Image Resizer PowerToy Clone for Windows) that will rename and resize your pictures in batch mode.

Burn CD's and DVD's for free – with CDBurnerXP
Do you keep shelling out more cash for new versions of one or other of the industry's leading CD/DVD creation suites? Do these packages provide vastly more features than you need to burn a few files to a disk? If so, you should give CDBurnerXP a try. This freeware program will let you burn CD's and DVD's, including Blu-Ray disks, with special features for music files and ISO images. You can also copy disks and remove all of the contents of rewritable media.

CCleaner
I always try to keep my computer as clean as possible to avoid many problems such as filling up my hard drive too quickly, but it takes time and it's not always easy to know what is good and what is not. Obviously one can delete the Recycle Bin and the Temporary Internet Files without trouble, but there are lots of files I'm not sure about, and there are those that I know exist but not where they are. So when I heard at the IT Pro SIG that CCleaner was a nice cleanup program that was quite reliable and free, I was happy to give it a try.

Corel Snapfire
Let me say right up front that I do not own a digital camera so I don’t have a need for a heavy-duty photo manipulation program, but having said that, I do regularly handle images that I scan myself or receive via email. When Evelyn Watts of Corel demonstrated Snapfire Plus at our March meeting she hit on one feature that I knew would be incredibly useful: the ability to easily straighten up images. Anyone who has worked on a scanned image knows that it doesn’t always come out straight no matter how much care you take to position the original. In my experience, scanned images coming from other people only tend to be worse. Watching Evelyn’s demo I was intrigued, very intrigued. Snapfire, available as a free download from Corel, is a "reduced feature set" of Snapfire Plus and leaves out a number of the more desirable functions (like the straighten feature) but it does allow you to try out many of its features for free.

Cryptxt v3.21 -- Encryption Software
I recently decided that it would be useful to be able to encrypt a number of files to, hopefully, protect the data they contain from being read by any unauthorized individuals. One thought was that the data source might be stolen, and encrypting the files would make the actual data useless to the casual thief. No doubt there are many similar applications for data encryption that may be of interest to others. A search of the file library on PUB II identified a number of candidate programs and, after reading some of the associated documentation files, I settled on Cryptext v3.21, a freeware utility from Nick Payne of Australia.

Directory Listings Made Easy (Directory Printer)
Have you ever wanted to print out a list of files in a Windows' directory, or needed to save such a list to a file for importing into a spreadsheet? If so, you may have found this to be a difficult task, since Windows doesn't provide a utility program to do the job. Sure, just like in the good old days of DOS, you could go to a command line and use a pipe to route the output of a directory command to the printer or to a file, but who remembers how to do this? For non-geeks, the simpler answer might be to use Directory Printer, one of Karen Kenworthy's Power Tools. This little utility program is tailor made for creating directory listings. And, it's free!

Electronic File Shredding
Recently, a friend wishing to dispose of an old lap top computer asked for my assistance. She wanted to give the machine to a good home, but needed to ensure that some personal files, E-mail messages and financial information, were permanently removed from the hard drive. Could I help? Well, no. I couldn't. But, Google certainly could. The very first hit on a search for “file shredder” provided a link to – what else? – File Shredder.

eMule
Quite often when you listen to the radio you tell yourself "Oh, I would like to get that song", and it's quite easy to go to any of the multitude of stores and get it for maybe $15. But there is nothing more convenient to get a song or other digital material than to start a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) program, type the title and/or the artist, wait a bit to get it downloaded and then be able to enjoy it as often as you want for free. No wonder that this type of activity is now one of the most popular uses of the internet. Let's talk about a P2P program that I find very well done called eMule.

FolderSync – File Comparison and Directory Synchronization
When I found the freeware package FolderSync listed on PC World's "101 Freebies" web page, I couldn't resist giving it a try. I'm always looking for a quick and easy way to make backups of projects in progress and usually this means copying new and updated files from my working directory to a USB memory key. And, that's precisely what FolderSync is designed to do.

FoxReader vs. Adobe Reader
To put an end to the slow response (and occasional system instability) associated with Adobe Reader, in both Internet Explorer and Firefox, I now use FoxReader (ver 1.3 Beta Build 0819, and of no relation to Firefox). FoxReader is free from Foxit Software. In comparison to Adobe Reader, FoxReader is also a fraction of the size, and displays documents much faster.

HDClone 4
Sometimes you get what you pay for... I wanted to use a free disk imaging program, and thought I would give HDClone a try. One and a half hours later, I had a 38 GB disk image of the 38 GB hard drive, that had only 8 GB being used. The free version of HDClone has a few small limitations. It doesn't ignore empty disk sectors, it runs slower than the paid version(s), and it will only restore the image to a bigger hard disk. Three strikes - it's out!

Hide in plain sight
Steganography is taking one piece of information and hiding it within another. The container object continues to appear and act as the original, unaltered object. As such, it does not raise any suspicions to the casual observer. The objects that can be used as containers are almost endless, but there are some containers that lend themselves to the job better than others. Graphic and sound files seem to be the most commonly used containers. Due to their nature, the introduction of a small amount of “noise” spread throughout the image or sound is not likely to be detected, let alone interpreted. There are also steganographic tools available that will hide messages in plain text, unused space on floppy disks, slack space at the end of files, and more.

Incredimail - an email experience
I’ve been looking for a better email program for years. But every email program I tried lacked the comfort factor I was looking for. Then one day my daughter-in-law suggested I check out a new email program called Incredimail. I decided to try yet another email program and downloaded the free version and installed it. Well within an hour I was convinced that I had at last found the email program that had eluded me for so many years.

Irfanview32 Graphics Utility
If, like me, you own a digital camera and/or scan pictures and save them on your computer, you need a graphics program to access and work with your pictures. One of the best and simplest graphics utilities I’ve ever come across, and my personal favorite, is a product called Irfanview32. And it’s also a freeware program for individual use. Irfanview32 supports multiple image formats. It also has many different functions for basic and advanced users.

Keyboard Layout Creator
In the March 1998 newsletter, Jean Vaumoron wrote an article on how to use the United States International keyboard to enter almost any French characters, but there was one missing character, the Œ (the letter O and E attached together) used in words such as "cœur", the heart. Now, there are many ways to enter special characters, such as with Character Map (>Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Character Map), or with special keys in some programs (in Word Press Ctrl+Shift+&, O), but they are all a bit complicated. Fortunately you don't have to remain stuck with a particular keyboard layout. You can modify one, or even create one, by using a program such as the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator (MSKLC).

Me and My Shadow
Are your important files backed up? Do you do this on a regular basis? If the answer to either of these questions is no, perhaps you should consider an automatic solution such as that provided by Quick Shadow Backup.

MenuMaid - Right-Clicks in a New Context
This little utility offers "a fast and easy way to clean up your Window Explorer and Internet Explorer right-click (context) menu." MenuMaid allows you to just uncheck any items you don't want to show up, and lets you restore them at any later time. The program will help clean up your system, without the need for you having to deal directly with registry settings.

Netcraft Anti-Phishing Toolbar
You have probably received them - emails from eBay, PayPal, Citizens Bank, or whatever - that ask you to come to the web site to correct some problem. Maybe there was a security problem and they need you to verify activity on your account. Or maybe there were billing problems and they need your account information updated. The trouble is - the email didn't come from that company. And when you click the handy link in the email, you are taken to a web site that looks like the legit site, but is run by thieves out to steal your money. Netcraft, a company that provides network security services as well as some pretty extensive research data on the Internet, wrote an anti-phishing toolbar for Internet Explorer. It is a very cool, free download from their web site.

PC-Decrapifier
PC-Decrapifier was mentioned in Part 10 of the OPCUG Free Software Guide (Ottawa PC News; p.7; November 2009) and promises that it will "uninstall many of the common trialware software applications often installed on PC's by the big name OEM's, and will remove unnecessary items from the start-up menu." I tried it out on an old Compaq desktop machine that had been given to a friend. Much, if not all, of the original software installed on the machine was still present. The problem was that the machine was running really slowly. Removing all the bloatware, in order to clean up the hard drive, was one of the first steps taken to try to speed things up.

Picasa – Image Management by Google
Picasa is a free image management program available from Google. As might be expected, the package has a number of web-based components. These include the ability to order prints by E-mail from your favourite photo finisher, share photographs with friends and relatives using “Hello” (http://www.hello.com/), and even post images to a free blogging site (http://www.blogger.com/start). But, the software also has many of the desirable features of a stand-alone image manager, albeit with some novel twists in their operation.

Personal Firewalls Revisited (Zone Alarm)
In a recent edition of the Ottawa PC News, I wrote a review of BlackICE Defender. Since that review, a new product has come onto the market from ZoneLabs called Zone Alarm 2.0. I guess they took a page from the dBase book that debuted with dBase II. Steve Gibson, of SpinRite fame, says, "My fingers are crossed, the dust is still settling and the paint is still wet. It's too early to tell for sure, but it looks like Zone Alarm 2.0 (ZA) will be the perfect and ultimate personal firewall for the typical Internet user! And it's 100% free for the individual user!"

Photo Story - So, you want to be a movie director?
Do you have dozens of digital photographs from your recent vacation, or visit to your grandchildren, and need to package them in a novel way for viewing by friends or family? If so, the tool for you might be Photo Story from Microsoft and – gasp! – it’s a free download. But, a word of caution, the program only runs under XP, so users of earlier versions of Windows need not apply. The program is essentially a multi-function wizard that guides you through the various steps necessary to develop a fully-contained movie file with your chosen photographs, added titles, spoken commentary, and even a music soundtrack.

PTB Sync
Have you ever wanted to keep the clock of your computer accurate? What about being reminded when somebody's birthday is approaching? Do you want to see a calendar? All those things have one thing in common; time. There are many programs out there that do just that, but I've never seen one that does it better than PTB Sync, and for that, all the author asks is to make a donation to any non-profit organization.

Reflections on Disk Imaging Software (Macrium Reflect)
As OPCUG members will know, I'm a real fan of disk imaging software for backup purposes. I have had many successes with such programs, but I have also had my share of heartaches. In particular, I found that I really couldn't get along with the user interface in the most recent incarnation of Acronis True Image Home 2011. Consequently, I set my sights on finding (a) a suitable replacement, and (b) preferably one which could be categorized as free and/or open-source software. I came across the free edition of Macrium Reflect which seems to do everything that I want. As with many such programs, the basic operations of backup and recovery are handled by means of wizards that make it very easy to run either process. But, Macrium Reflect also has a couple of unusual tricks up its sleeve that make it worthy of consideration for prime time use.

Remote Computing with VNC
For years there have been remote control programs available on the market. Programs such as Symantec's PC Anywhere, Laplink.com's namesake product, and Microsoft's SMS Remote Control have helped people run computers from remote locations as if they were sitting at the console. But you don't need to spend any money to get one of the best remote control packages around - VNC v3.3.3r7. VNC (which stands for Virtual Network Computing) is available free of charge under the GNU General Public License.

Secunia PSI — Vulnerability management made easy
Secunia is a security firm founded in 2002 that focuses on vulnerability intelligence and management, tracking information about security vulnerabilities. And then they did a very nice thing for the health of the Internet and all the Windows computers attached to it; they released a wonderful program - Secunia Personal Software Inspector – free for home use – that keeps the software on your computer patched!

SyncToy – File Synchronization from Microsoft
OK, so everyone knows that I'm a sucker for file synchronization utilities. So, when I found out that Microsoft was giving one away, I could resist taking a look. SyncToy follows in the fine tradition of PowerToys where useful utility programs developed by Microsoft’s in-house programmers are made available outside of the Windows' operating system. While SyncToy is dedicated to the specific task of file transfer between two directories, it does offer a useful range of intelligent transfer options.

The tax man cometh... and here comes the Taxman
It's that time of year. Once again, you have to dig out all those slips and receipts, spread out a raft of paper forms over the kitchen table, sharpen your pencil, and dig into the preparation of your tax return. Well, of course, nobody actually uses pencil and paper any more – do they? – everyone uses the computer. But, it still irks to have to pay out good money for a commercial tax package just so you can send even more of your hard earned cash to the Canada Revenue Agency. So, is there any help available in the form of freeware? Well, yes, there is. You need Taxman – a Canadian specific tax program – developed by G. Thompson of Victoria, BC.

TextExtract
TextExtract is a freeware program that will scan a file, or a batch of files, for letters, numerals and text strings. The default parameters can be user-defined. The source file could be a corrupted word processor file or any system file (for example, .COM, .EXE, .DLL, or .VXD). The results are saved in a user-specified file that you can examine at your leisure.

VanBasco's Karaoke Player
I heard many times of people using karaoke and have even seen it a few times, but singing in front of a crowd is definitely not my idea of fun. But as I found out last year, using karaoke on my computer is a great way to learn and practice lots of songs, and that can be a lot of fun when singing with a group of friends, where everyone can follow the words and the music as it plays. I've tried a few karaoke programs, but the one I liked the most was VanBasco's Karaoke Player. Not only is the program ad-free freeware, but it has all the features I want and more.

VCW VicMan's Photo Editor
VCW Vicman's Photo Editor is fairly easy to use with some powerful features, but it still lacks some maturity to be a serious competitor to other well known programs, though for it's price, free for the regular version and $42.87 for the pro version, it is an interesting option.

What's inside the box? (Everest Home Edition)
So, what processor is running in there? How much memory do you have? What graphics card do you use? What speed does your CD/DVD burner run at? After a while the answers to these questions from friends and relatives become obscure as the memory of your new computer purchase becomes - well - just a memory. You could use a Windows utility to find out about your hardware, if you could remember which Windows program it was! Or you could turn to a third-party product, such as Everest Home Edition, to obtain a detailed inventory of your computer's hardware components.

Zip Central
My quest for quality open-source software and freeware has moved on to look at file compression utilities. The industry leaders, PKZIP and WinZIP, are not expensive (around US $30), and work extremely well. But, is there a free product out there that will give similar results? Well, give Zip Central a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Zoner Photo Studio Free
This digital image management package features a three-panel main screen under the Manager tab, with windows for navigation, image preview, and thumbnail display. Two other main tabs are Viewer, with options that include zooming and slideshow creation, and Editor, where a wide range of tools allow images to be rotated or resized, colours to be modified, and so forth. A Settings menu allows many of the program's functions to be customized, while a help menu provides detailed on-screen information..