Met up with some good friends a few nights ago and the topic of computers came up. First it was about one friend's (friend 1) veteran computer which was revealed to spend weeks without getting switched off, and how it needed four fans to keep the machine from roasting. Then attention was diverted to another friend's (friend 2) computer which was fairly new (my own assumption, from the way the conversation went) but operated sluggishly. A slew of questions ensued as we tried to figure out what the machine was used for and what software was being run on it.
We deduced that the problem most probably came from the selection of software my friend had selected, which led to a barrage of suggestions on which software to go for. Noticing the look of "Information overload!" plastered on Friend 2's face, I thought to myself "Oh well, I'll just pop over in a couple of days with a thumbdrive of great freewares and kick the computer into good working shape," only to be told that Friend 2 went abroad on a short trip.
I figured that the next best thing to do would be to compile a list of suggestions for Friend 2, since I'm very likely to forget these kind of things.
1. The PC Decrapifier
Humerous name, but straight to the point! This application removes a ton of junk that normally comes bundled with PCs and Laptops. Some manufacturers offers to remove bundled junk from their computers for a fee, but if you're a personal home user, the PC Decrapifier does it for you for free! You can even check out their list of Crapplications to get a hint of what nonsense goes into your 'brand new, absolutely-nothing-wrong-with-it computer'.
Website: http://www.pcdecrapifier.com
Cost: Free! But they do accept donations of US$5.00.
2. Avast! Antivirus
Antivirus applications are important, unless you enjoy losing data. The problem, however, is selecting the right virus protection software - there are so many out there, free or otherwise, but not all of them are useful beyond protecting against the most basic forms of attack. I'll refrain from arguing for or against Norton and McAfee, but I will say that I consider these two as 'greedy' softwares - they demand a lion's share of your computer's processing power - and using them can sometimes grind my PC down to pre-Pentium speeds.
Avast protects against viruses, spywares and malwares, checks for updates daily. Its settings allows me to run it in the background while I'm on my PC and the processing drain is barely noticeable. My only advice with using this programme is to switch off the audio options, as it verbally tells you when it's done something, such as updating its virus database. Trust me on that, it's made me jump a few times before I turned it off.
Website: http://www.avast.com
Cost: Free for home users! Businesses need to purchase a license under one of its many packages.
3. Web Browsers
I don't like Windows Internet Explorer (IE). I'd suggest alternate browsers such as Mozilla's Firefox or Apple's Safari. I'm personally a fan of Firefox and have not made the switch to Safari because I'm too lazy to familiarise myself with a new browser yet again, but I've tried it out on Macbooks a few time and quite enjoyed it ease of use. I've also been told by friends that the Windows version of Safari surfs much faster than other browsers.
Despite not liking IE, I'd advice against uninstalling it because there are a few transactional and / or interactive websites (such as applying for an American Visa) which only work with IE.
** Edit June 26: Firefox 3.0 for Windows has been released. Currently using it with no complaints! **
Websites:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/
http://www.apple.com/safari
Cost: Free!
4. Revo Uninstaller
Let's just get one thing straight before we start. Windows' "Add or Remove Programs" control panel applet isn't only slow, it also does not fully remove files associated with the software you're trying to get rid off. Residual profile, database, 'shared', and registry files all add to the clutter that firstly takes up a small amount hard disk space (a minor annoyance), and more importantly, slows your computer down (major annoyance!).
Revo Uninstaller unistalls and completely removes unwanted software and programs. It takes a couple more steps (which really just amount to a couple more mouse clicks) to uninstall an application with Revo, but it'll help keep your PC much healthier in the long run. This utility program has received five stars from both CNET Download.com and Softpedia reviews, so you really can't go wrong with it.
Website: http://www.revouninstaller.com
Cost: Free!
We deduced that the problem most probably came from the selection of software my friend had selected, which led to a barrage of suggestions on which software to go for. Noticing the look of "Information overload!" plastered on Friend 2's face, I thought to myself "Oh well, I'll just pop over in a couple of days with a thumbdrive of great freewares and kick the computer into good working shape," only to be told that Friend 2 went abroad on a short trip.
I figured that the next best thing to do would be to compile a list of suggestions for Friend 2, since I'm very likely to forget these kind of things.
1. The PC Decrapifier
Humerous name, but straight to the point! This application removes a ton of junk that normally comes bundled with PCs and Laptops. Some manufacturers offers to remove bundled junk from their computers for a fee, but if you're a personal home user, the PC Decrapifier does it for you for free! You can even check out their list of Crapplications to get a hint of what nonsense goes into your 'brand new, absolutely-nothing-wrong-with-it computer'.
Website: http://www.pcdecrapifier.com
Cost: Free! But they do accept donations of US$5.00.
2. Avast! Antivirus
Antivirus applications are important, unless you enjoy losing data. The problem, however, is selecting the right virus protection software - there are so many out there, free or otherwise, but not all of them are useful beyond protecting against the most basic forms of attack. I'll refrain from arguing for or against Norton and McAfee, but I will say that I consider these two as 'greedy' softwares - they demand a lion's share of your computer's processing power - and using them can sometimes grind my PC down to pre-Pentium speeds.
Avast protects against viruses, spywares and malwares, checks for updates daily. Its settings allows me to run it in the background while I'm on my PC and the processing drain is barely noticeable. My only advice with using this programme is to switch off the audio options, as it verbally tells you when it's done something, such as updating its virus database. Trust me on that, it's made me jump a few times before I turned it off.
Website: http://www.avast.com
Cost: Free for home users! Businesses need to purchase a license under one of its many packages.
3. Web Browsers
I don't like Windows Internet Explorer (IE). I'd suggest alternate browsers such as Mozilla's Firefox or Apple's Safari. I'm personally a fan of Firefox and have not made the switch to Safari because I'm too lazy to familiarise myself with a new browser yet again, but I've tried it out on Macbooks a few time and quite enjoyed it ease of use. I've also been told by friends that the Windows version of Safari surfs much faster than other browsers.
Despite not liking IE, I'd advice against uninstalling it because there are a few transactional and / or interactive websites (such as applying for an American Visa) which only work with IE.
** Edit June 26: Firefox 3.0 for Windows has been released. Currently using it with no complaints! **
Websites:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/
http://www.apple.com/safari
Cost: Free!
4. Revo Uninstaller
Let's just get one thing straight before we start. Windows' "Add or Remove Programs" control panel applet isn't only slow, it also does not fully remove files associated with the software you're trying to get rid off. Residual profile, database, 'shared', and registry files all add to the clutter that firstly takes up a small amount hard disk space (a minor annoyance), and more importantly, slows your computer down (major annoyance!).
Revo Uninstaller unistalls and completely removes unwanted software and programs. It takes a couple more steps (which really just amount to a couple more mouse clicks) to uninstall an application with Revo, but it'll help keep your PC much healthier in the long run. This utility program has received five stars from both CNET Download.com and Softpedia reviews, so you really can't go wrong with it.
Website: http://www.revouninstaller.com
Cost: Free!
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