A set of tools that are used for maintaining your system

This site is relatively new to the contributor.

They compare antivirus products and publish comparative results going back to 2009. These results are capable of being presented in a simple to understand graphical format.

All security products may occasionally fail some tests. The threats evolve and a new threat may evade any one product for a short period. When evaluating a product it is better to look over a period of months to see how the product has fared historically and if a failure is noticed do not necessarily change it but watch the performance during the following month. Also look at reports on the Internet. Serious issues with any security product will be widely reported.

This site appeared in a review of anti virus test sites on known a reliable site. The author has not evaluated the testing methods used.

They compare antivirus products and publish comparative results going back to 2010. These results are capable of being presented in a simple to understand graphical format.

All security products may occasionally fail some tests. The threats evolve and a new threat may evade any one product for a short period. When evaluating a product it is better to look over a period of months to see how the product has fared historically and if a failure is noticed do not necessarily change it but watch the performance during the following month. Also look at reports on the Internet. Serious issues with any security product will be widely reported.

Avast! has been around for many years and provides, in the free version, a reliable anti-virus product. It is the AV product used by the contributor for many years and has proved to be very dependable and largely unobtrusive.

Avast is available for PC, Android, Apple MAC and IOS devices.

The only downside of the free product is that it "nags" you to upgrade. This became very intrusive at one time but is now at an acceptable level. It also warns you that there are items than need attention that can be automatically fixed in the paid for version.

The paid for version provides additional features.

AVG is now owned by Avast! It is believed that it now uses the same engine under the hood and only the GUI is different.

This product has not been evaluated by the contributor and any feedback would be welcome.

MalwareBytes can operate in one of two modes:

• The first is to scan, and remove, detected malware

• The second (only in the" paid for version") is to operate like a virus scanner and take automatic action if a malware infection takes place.

If your computer starts behaving strangely then it is usually worth installing MalwareBytes (or updating if you already have it installed) and running a scan. This will detect items that it regards as being Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) or worse and usually offer to remove them..

PUPs are nuisance programs that produce unexpected/unwanted pop ups for example but are relatively benign.

If removal of a program is recommended then it would be wise to seek advice, and ensure that you have taken an image backup. The contributor has used the program a number of times to remove infections on other people's computers successfully but there is some risk of the removal process breaking the computer.

The contributor only uses the free version.

The paid for version would probably help to keep your computer clean but, in the opinion of the contributor, a standard AV product is sufficient (and still essential). adding yet another program to your start-up will only reduce the performance of your computer (you may not notice this if you have a high range computer but most if us don't) and add very little to the overall security.

The paid for version claims to replace conventional antivirus but the contributor has not seen this product included in the comparative test results run by a number of comparison sites. It costs £29.99 per annum for one device with discounts for more computers.

This site has been around for a long time and is well regarded by security experts

I have been relying on this site for many years to evaluate antivirus products for professional and home use

All security products may occasionally fail some tests. The threats evolve and a new threat may evade any one product for a short period. When evaluating a product it is better to look over a period of months to see how the product has fared historically and if a failure is noticed do not necessarily change it but watch the performance during the following month. Also look at reports on the Internet. Serious issues with any security product will be widely reported.

Defraggler is now from the same source as Avast and CCleaner

It does NOT provide a boot time defragmentation method.

A defragmentation program that provides a number of defragmentation options. In particular it can defragment Windows system files including the pagefile). Most other defragmenting tools will not do this. It has a boot mode to enable this to happen.

Be careful during installation - the default installation has a checkbox set that will install additional software. This is also offered on the main page. This is less of an issue than it used to be and the program works well.

It is your choice about whether to replace the standard Windows defragmentation tool.

Provides a number of Boot time options which need to be checked before setting this option.

• Provides a number of defragmentation strategies

• Provides a boot time defragmentation mode that can defragment system files that are otherwise locked

The download link takes you to the IObit page. Choosing the "Free" option takes you to a download page on the MajorGeeks site.

The program contains several options to download additional programs and some are not free. Some of these additional programs may be useful but have not been evaluated

A comprehensive analysis of your system. This includes all installed programs as well as installed security updates.

The product is free for personal use. You do need to provide an email to download the program.

The program needs to run as Administrator.

This program will list all open processes and delineate between the parent processes and the processes that are spawned by the parent. This is a very useful program for seeing what programs are running on your computer and how they were launched

This program is part of the Sysinternals suite of useful programs which now provided by Microsoft.

It needs a level of expertise to interpret the data but can't make any changes and so is safe to run

Show Hidden is a small utility that will display all hidden folders, and files if you wish, on your computer. This program will scan all of your fixed and removable drives for folders and files that have the Hidden attribute. When Show Hidden is finished it will create a log that contains a list of all the hidden files and folders that were found.

Show Hidden is useful if you are concerned that your computer was accessed without your permission or knowledge. Using this tool you can quickly scan your computer for hidden files and folders that an unauthorized users or hacker created to store their tools or other files. Using the generated log file, you can quickly determine if any of the folders look suspicious or out of place and then investigate further.

Speccy is a useful tool for Windows users that will generate a comprehensive report on your Windows installation. Such information can be very helpful to an "expert" providing you with support.

The report can be displayed directly in the application or it can be archived, emailed, and then opened on another computer.

The data displayed is comparable with the well known Belarc program but that program is only free for non commercial users. This is a worthy alternative!

This tool provides data that needs Windows expertise to interpret. A link to a Guide is provided that explains how, as a non expert user, to collect this data to pass to an expert to assist them to help you.

Speccy must be run as Administrator

Speccy is provided by the company that produces CCleaner and Avast!

This program will scan your drive and easily show the folders on your hard drives that are using the most space. If you are concerned that your server was hacked to distribute copyrighted programs and videos, you can use this tool to search for large folders that you can then investigate.

Is the email legitimate?

This guide explains how to look at the detailed email headers to see if an email, e.g. purporting to come from your bank, is what it seems or whether it comes from somewhere totally different.

It shows how to open the details look at the message headers which then tell the real story!

This document currently based on Thunderbird as the email client. Other clients can be added if you give the relevant information to the author

Is the email legitimate?

This guide explains how to look at the detailed email headers to see if an email, e.g. purporting to come from your bank, is what it seems or whether it comes from somewhere totally different.

It shows how to open the details look at the message headers which then tell the real story!

This document currently based on Thunderbird as the email client. Other clients can be added if you give the relevant information to the author

A free utility that can be downloaded via this page. It will remove some rootkits (listed on the page) that cannot be removed by any other means.

The site provides links to 32 and 64 bit versions

A free utility that can be downloaded via this page. It will detect and list any rootkits or some other forms of infection found. It can alse be used to remove infections.

Created 17 February 2013

A free utility that can be downloaded via this page. It will remove some rootkits (listed on the page) that cannot be removed by any other means.

Is the email legitimate?

This guide explains how to look at the detailed email headers to see if an email, e.g. purporting to come from your bank, is what it seems or whether it comes from somewhere totally different.

It shows how to open the details look at the message headers which then tell the real story!

This document currently based on Thunderbird as the email client. Other clients can be added if you give the relevant information to the author

A free utility that can be downloaded via this page. It will remove some rootkits (listed on the page) that cannot be removed by any other means.

The site provides links to 32 and 64 bit versions

Advanced uninstaller

The following is quoted from the web site:

Bulk Crap Uninstaller (or BCUninstaller) is a free (as in speech) program uninstaller. It excels at removing large amounts of applications with minimal user input. It can clean up leftovers, detect orphaned applications, run uninstallers according to premade lists, and much more! Even though BCU was made with IT pros in mind, by default it is so straight-forward that anyone can use it.

This program looks good but should be used with care. It can remove items from Windows 10 that are difficult to remove any other way. it does offer to create a System Restore point. It might be good to take an image before doing anything too serious.

Quote from web site: CCleaner is a freeware system optimisation and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware! :)

The original name of the program has now been abbreviated and the original Crap Cleaner has now been dropped!

The program provides an uninstaller which populates MUCH faster than the standard one. It can also remove temporary files of one sort or another. Its primary role (at least for me) is its registry cleaning functions. It can successfully clear out junk from the registry.

Note that this program needs to be used with care. Some functions are innocuous but its registry cleaning functions need to be approached with caution. I have not had any problems using it so far.

Display "SMART" information

A tool that will display SMART information about a Disk Drive

SMART information is a "standard" that most disk drives support and provides a snapshot of diagnostic information. This can be used on conventional rotating disk drives and will show the error rates and hence give an early warning of impending failures

For the newer Solid State Drives (SSD) the standards are not so well established but the information is still useful. It should be noted that SSDs do have a "lifetime" and can only be written to a finite number of times. This program will typically show how much of this lifetime has been used on SSDs.

This program is the preferred tool for partitioning disk drives. It resizes partitions very much quicker than Partition Wizard. The only two features that it does not support are changing physical drives to logical drives (when it believes these to be the bootable drives e.g. W7/8 C drive - this is NOT bootable) and the ability to easily create a bootable CD version.

The free version of the program supports:

• partition resizing

• partition moving

• partition creation

• partition deletion

Everything is managed through a simple user interface. Some operations, such as moving or shrinking the C drive, require a reboot. It will restart following a confirmation prompt and will perform the required operation(s) before Windows starts.

The program works with Windows 7 and 8. Both 32 and 64 bit versions are supported.

It is possible that the laatest version might now support changing partition type. This has not been tried.

Some operations may take a LONG time. If performing many resize and/or move operations it is strongly recommended that these are performed one step at a time even though the program could perform them all within one reboot. Once the sequence has started if cannot be safely aborted.

A free utility that can be downloaded via this page. It will detect and list any rootkits or some other forms of infection found. It can alse be used to remove infections.

Created 17 February 2013

Karen Kenworthy developed a very useful set of tools some years ago. Sadly she died and for a long time they were not being updated but a new author has now taken on this task so they are actively being maintained again.

A set of useful utility programs that are too numerous to describe individually. Here is a list (the ones listed with ** are those I have found useful in the past):

• Zone Manager - Create desktop shortcuts to timezones, even create and edit your own custom time zones! Also synchronize your computer's clock to an ultra-precise Internet time server!

• LAN Monitor - Monitor your computer's connections to other computers (on your LAN, and on the Internet). See real-time traffic statistics.

• ** Replicator - Automatically copy and backup files.

• Once-A-Day II - Automatically perform tasks, the first time Windows starts or a user logs on, each day!.

• Directory Printer - Print the names, and other information, of all folders and files on your computer.

• Alarm Clock - Turn your $2,000 computer into a $20 alarm clock. :)

• Time Sync - Automatically synchronize your computer's clock to any of the ultra-precise Internet time servers!

• Version Browser - View and print the "Version" information stored inside your Windows programs and other files.

• ** WhoIs - Discover who owns Internet Domain Names, and how to contact their owners.

• 'Net Monitor - See if your web site, e-mail server, or any other computer on the 'net, is up or down.

• E-Mailer II - Send E-Mail from Windows' command line, desktop, from Countdown Timer II, or 'Net Monitor.

• Countdown Timer II - Never forget another appointment.

• Computer Profiler - View your computer's hidden secrets.

• Show Stopper - Shutdown, Power Off, Reboot, Log Off, Suspend or Hibernate -- all from a desktop shortcut or command line!

• ** URL Discombobulator - Understand those cryptic web addresses, and make a few of your own.

• Calculator - A Calculator with a difference! This one can accurately handle numbers containing thousands of digits.

• Hasher - Compute and verify MD5, SHA-1, SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 hashes of text strings, files, and groups of files.

• Cookie Viewer - View and delete web "Cookies" left by the web sites you've visited.

• Print Logger - Keep a record of each document your computer prints.

• Disk Slack Checker - See how much of your disk space is being wasted.

• Drive Info - View information about the disk drives attached to your computer.

• Window Watcher - See the hidden programs running on your computer.

• Recycler - View and manage each drive's Recycle Bin. Empty bins manually, and automatically.

• ** Font Explorer - See the fonts available on your computer.

• Power Toy - Teach your computer to talk, sing, and even dance!

• Clipboard Viewer - View the contents of Windows' Clipboard.

• Time Cop - Time your meetings, recipes, exams, and more!

• E-Mailer - Send E-Mail from Windows' command line.

• ** Autorun.inf Editor - Easily create the special file that causes programs to run automatically when a CD is inserted.

• Registry Prune - Remove unneeded entries from Windows' Registry.

• Registry Ripper - Extract portions of Windows' Registry, and save them to a file.

• Snooper - Track what programs are being run, and when they are running.

A free utility that can be downloaded via this page. It will remove some rootkits (listed on the page) that cannot be removed by any other means.

This is an alternative Partition Manager that will work with Windows 7 and 8 32 and 64 bit systems. This application is provided as a Windows installer but is also available as a bootable CD which requires no installation. In general Easeus is currently preferred.

Enables creation of a recovery disk.

This program is the only one known that can change the W7/8 system partition (C drive) from a physical to a logical drive. This is only needed for machines that use the now obsolescent MFT disk partition format and not the newer GPT partitioning method.

Contributor prefers Easeus for routine use

Some operations may take a LONG time. If performing many resize and/or move operations it is strongly recommended that these are performed one step at a time even though the program could perform them all within one reboot. Once the sequence has started if cannot be safely aborted.

Password reset utility for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

This link is actually to a page describing how to use the password reset utility. The download link site can be accessed from this page - just follow instructions.

You will need CD burning software (e.g. Imageburn) to make a bootable CD from the downloaded ISOfile.

The program will allow a password to be cleared. It claims to be able to change a password but there are caveats. Try this at your own risk!

This site provides a Bootable Linux CD or USB download. The beauty is that it's self-contained, no extra software to install, and has a lot of other good utilities.

Its downside is that you need to type in the image file name rather than browsing it, so you need to know 3 simple Linux commands:

1. mkdir /mnt/usbhd = Make a place in the "file system tree" for USB drive

2. mount /dev/xxxx /mnt/usbhd = Connect your USB drive into the file-system Where xxxx is the device name of your USB drive, probably sda1, as shown by: Start> Show file systems

3. ls -l /mnt/usbhd = List files in the /mnt/usbhd folder (or wherever, eg ls -l / shows the top level folder which is a bit like "My Computer/" on Windows)

If you want to image a partition and are not comfortable with Linux commands then consider using Macrium.

Windows 8 Start Menu Creation

It works quite well, It has lots of options. It will bypass the W8 Start menu going straight to Desktop.

There is a version for W8 and a different one for W8.1. Choose the correct one.

This is currently my favourite for W8! I think I can afford $3.

The web site claims compatibility with W 10 so you at least have an option if you don't like the new W10 start menu.