TECH TOOLS
Registry cleaner:
CCleaner
Antivirus:
Avast!, free
Comodo, free
Kapersky
Booting tools:
LiveCD
Ultimate Boot CD
To keep healthy system performance:
1-Run CHKDSK at command prompt to check for bad sectors, lost clusters, and repair them if possible. Do it once a month.
2-Run Disk Defragmenter once a week.
Online Backups:
Mozy.home, $5.99 per month, unlimited
Carbonite, $59 per year, unlimited
Barracuda, $50 per 100GB
View different online backup options at Online Backups Review
Traditional Backups:
1-Create restore points using System Restore. Only settings and programs are changed, so no data is lost!
In Windows XP: start| all programs | accesories | system tools | system restore | write a description
In Windows Vista: system properties | system creation | create
2-For Win 2000 and XP: Install a SYSTEM RECOVERY CONSOLE in your hard drive so it appears in your startup options and you do not need a Windows XP cd-rom to run. Place the XP cd in your drive, do not let autorun run it (select no), and then go to start | run and type d:\i386\winnt32 /cmdcons (d: is the drive of your cd-rom). Follow instructions on screen. From now on, you will have the Windows Recovery Console in the OS menu.
3-Win Vista and Win7: Use System Repair from System Recovery Options of the installation media.
SECURITY TOOLS
TrueCrypt
To encrypt a partition or volume
Lockdown your computer like the NSA
Ideas to enhance/improve your PC security.
PERIPHERALS
Web cam basic stats:
A 1.3 megapixels (good image quality that won't slow down your system) with 30 frames per second is appropriate for video chatting.
RightMark 3D Sound:
This is a soundcard benchmarking utility that helps you analyze the particulars of any sound card.
NETWORK TOOLS
When you have network problems, always follow this checkup process: Hardware, Protocols, Network, Shared Resources.
Useful commands at the command prompt:
NET
PING
IPCONFIG
~
