My Current Favorites

Links to useful software, utilities and websites that I use frequently

Web Browser

A web browser is simply the software you use to navigate the internet. Like different brands of television sets, they all go out to the same web pages; just the controls, buttons, and menus are different. The standard for many years has been Internet Explorer (IE), but the newest versions of IE seem to have problems with speed, stability or even opening web pages at all. Two web browsers that seem to be giving IE a run for its money are Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. While Chrome has been improving quickly, Firefox seems to work better on more websites.

Firefox can be downloaded and installed from here: Mozilla Firefox

(Note: don't forget to update Adobe Flash Player and Java Runtime after installing Firefox.)

Hard Drive Cleaner

To quickly clean your hard drive of old temporary files, temporary internet files, and cookies, its hard to beat Cleanup 4.52. It seems to be very effective without risking deleting anything of importance. By default, it prompts you to run your first your first cleanup in trial mode without removing anything, at which point I usually click "No"

Cleanup 4.52 can be downloaded and installed from here: Cleanup 4.52.

Malware Scanner

Malware represents the most common and pervasive type of internet threat these days. It can take many forms, but seems to have common characteristics in the sense that the goal appears to be duping you into paying for something that is useless and then reproduces itself in various forms. MalwareBytes is a simple software tool written to scan for and eradicate such threats. After installing and updating it, I usually restart the computer in "Safe" mode to scan with it.

MalwareBytes can be downloaded and installed from here: MalwareBytes

Free Anti-Virus Program

Avast Free is one of the best free anti-virus programs available; simple, straightforward, easy to understand and configure, and relatively effective, considering its free.

Avast Free can be downloaded and installed from here: Avast Free

Free Productivity Suite

The OpenOffice suite is the best free full-featured productivity suite available. It includes word processor, spreadsheet, presentation and database programs that are Microsoft Office compatible, and even has some built-in features that its expensive Microsoft counterpart can't match.

The OpenOffice suite can be downloaded and installed from here: OpenOffice

Internet Video Phoning Software

Skype is a great piece of software for doing live video phoning from one computer to another. For more information, take a look at the magazine article I wrote on the topic: Video Phoning Via The Internet.

Skyp can be downloaded and installed from here: Skype

Presentation Slideshow Viewer

There really is only one PowerPoint Slideshow Viewer

It can be downloaded and installed from here: PowerPoint Slideshow Viewer

Digital Photo Editing and Sharing Software

Picasa is a powerful free digital image editing software with a relatively straightforward and intuitive user interface, and a built-in feature for seamlessly integrating with web folders for sharing your pictures with others. 

Pcasa can be downloaded and installed from here: Picasa

Internet Speed Test Website

There are several websites that will test your internet speed, which you may want to do if you are suspecting you are not getting the download speed your ISP says you should be getting. Speakeasy is a good one with a simple and easy to understand interface. Just click on one of the cities to begin the test and read the results.

Speakeasy Speedtest can be accessed here: Speakeasy Speedtest

Startup Applications Database

To learn which items that are starting when your computer starts are not needed, you can go into your startup configuration utility (Start > Run > "msconfig") and compare what you find there against internet databases. My favorite is at a website called Pacman's Portal. Type the name of each startup item you see into the search field, and the website will tell you what it is and if it is needed or not. Then just uncheck the unnecessary ones.

Pacman's startup list can be accessed here: Pacman's Startup List

    Contact Info

Phone: (608) 235-4738

Email: info@housecallcomputer.com

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