Archive for April, 2007
Today’s the Bicycle Day. Want to know how it started ?
At 4:20 in the afternoon, on April 19th, 1943, the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann deliberately ingested 250 micrograms of LSD-25, a substance he had discovered during experiments with alkaloids of the fungus ergot. Despite the vanishingly small dosage, he soon found himself stricken with dizziness, euphoria, and an inescapable compulsion to laugh. Within the hour, he could barely write or speak intelligibly, and fearing he’d poisoned himself, rode his bicycle to his nearby home, called a doctor, asked for a glass of milk and collapsed on a sofa……. (from Page3.14)
Tags: society, event, bicycle day
Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious ‘colony collapse’ of bees
It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world’s harvests fail.
They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.
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This is an old book which tells you how to create figures in the wall with the help of hands and a light source. You will love the series of novel and amusing figures formed by the hand and this is free book released by Project Gutenberg.
Cover
Well, it has nice such pictures to help you figure-out how to make figures on the wall.
Book Details:
Author: Henry Bursill
Published by : Griffith and Farran
Date of the publication: 1859
Language: English
Amount of pages: 32
Format: CHM
Size of a file: 642 Kb
Download the book here
Free Children Audio Stories
A Chinese Fairytale
Peach Boy
The three Little Pigs
Tom Thumb
Link http://www.stoneagerobot.com/SoundStories/
Children Stories Audio on StoryNory
Dick Whittington and His Cat
The Maiden and the Frog
The Golden Fish By the Brothers Grimm
Snow White By the Brothers Grimm
Beauty and the Beast
The Steadfast Tin Soldier
The Gingerbread Man
Cinderella
Rikki-tikki-tavi Part Two
Rikki-tikki-tavi Part One
Jack and the Beanstalk Part One
Jack and the Beanstalk Part Two
The Snow Queen
In the Cyclops Cave
Harry and Rosie Take A Train
Harry and Rosie’s New Pet
Harry and Rosie Trick Santa by Angharad Lynn
A Chrismas tale by Angharad Lynn .
A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens
Harry and Rosie Trick Santa by Angharad Lynn
Bertie’s Christmas Storynory By HRH Prince Bertie the Frog
Tim Learns About Father Christmas
The First Christmas
Bertie Meets Father Christmas
A Visit From St. Nicholas
Christmas Writing Competition Winners
The Maiden and the Frog
Noah’s Ark
The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership By the Brothers Grimm
Kissa the Cat From The Brown Fairy Book of Andrew Lang
A Visit From St. Nicholas
Shock-Headed Peter
The Spider and the Fly
Two Poems about Mice
The Owl and the Pussycat By Edward Lear
Tim Learns The History of Soccer
Tim learns where Easter Eggs come from By Storynory
The Steadfast Tin Soldier
The Flying Trunk By Hans Christian Andersen
The Princess and the Pea By Hans Christian Andersen
The Snow Queen Part Two By Hans Christian Andersen
The Snow Queen Part One By Hans Christian Andersen (From The Pink Fairy book by Andrew Lang, 1897)
Aladdin’s Lamp
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves From the 1001 Arabian Nights
The Golden Fish By the Brothers Grimm
Snow White By the Brothers Grimm
The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership By the Brothers Grimm
Hansel and Grettel By The Brothers Grimm
Beauty and the Beast
Cinderella From the Blue Fairy Book of Andrew Lang
The Sleeping Beauty Part Two From The Blue Fairy Book of Andrew Lang The Sleeping Beauty From The Blue Fairy Book of Andrew Lang
Little Red Riding Hood From the Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Interviews
Jeremy Strong Interview
Young Bond Charlie Higson Interview
The Getaway by Ed Vere
Link http://storynory.com/
Children’s Literature Audio Stories
Aesop Aesop’s Fables - Complete Menu
Baldwin, James Robinson Crusoe Written Anew for Children
Baum, L Frank Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
Baum, L Frank Little Wizard Stories of Oz
Baum, L Frank The Marvelous Land of Oz
Baum, L Frank The Lost Princess of Oz
Baum, L Frank The Road to Oz
Baum, L Frank Sky Island
Brooke, L Leslie Johnny Crow’s Garden
Brooke, L Leslie Johnny Crow’s Party
Brooke, L Leslie The Golden Goose Book
Brooke, Leslie L The Story of the Three Little Pigs
Burgess, Gelett More Goops and How Not to Be Them
Burgess, Gelett The Goop Directory
Burnett, Frances Hodgson A Little Princess
Burnett, Frances Hodgson Sara Crewe: Or, What Happened at Miss Minchin’s Boarding School
Burnett, Frances Hodgson The Secret Garden
Carroll, Lewis Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Carroll, Lewis Through the Looking-Glass
Collodi, C (transl Carol della Chiesa) The Adventures of Pinocchio
Crane, Walter Baby’s Own Aesop
Denslow, W W The Three Bears
Grahame, Kenneth The Reluctant Dragon
Grahame, Kenneth The Wind in the Willows
Grahame, Kenneth The Wind in the Willows
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Fairy Tales
Harris, Joel Chandler Uncle Remus
Hoffman, Heinrich Struwwelpeter
Hope, Laura Lee The Story of a Stuffed Elephant
Kipling, Rudyard Just So Stories
Larned, William Trowbridge American Indian Fairy Tales
Lear, Edward The Owl and the Pussycat
Lofting, Hugh The Story of Doctor Dolittle
MacDonald, George The Light Princess
Marshall, HE Our Island Story, Part
Marshall, HE Our Island Story, Part (duet)
Montgomery, Lucy Maud The Golden Road
Montgomery, Lucy Maud The Story Girl
Moore, Clement C ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
Mulock, Miss The Little Lame Prince
Nesbit, E Five Children and It
Nesbit, E Railway Children
Newell, Peter The Rocket Book
Newell, Peter The Slant Book
Potter, Beatrix Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter
Sandburg, Carl Rootabaga Stories
Sewell, Anna Black Beauty
Sidney, Margaret Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Spyri, Johanna Heidi
Stevenson, Robert Louis The Cow
Turner, Ethel Seven Little Australians
Twain, Mark The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Williams, Margery The Velveteen Rabbit (duet)
Williams, Margery The Velveteen Rabbit
Wilde, Oscar The Canterville Ghost
Wilde, Oscar The Happy Prince and Other Tales
Wyss, Johann David The Swiss Family Robinson
Teenagers might find these books especially appealing:
Alger, Horatio Ragged Dick
Burroughs, Edgar Rice The Gods of Mars
Burroughs, Edgar Rice A Princess of Mars
Defoe, Daniel Robinson Crusoe
Haggard, H Rider King Solomon’s Mines
London, Jack Call of the Wild
London, Jack White Fang
Montgomery, Lucy Maud Anne of Green Gables
Montgomery, Lucy Maud Anne of Avonlea
Montgomery, Lucy Maud Anne of the Island
Montgomery, Lucy Maud Rilla of Ingleside
Stevenson, Robert Louis Treasure Island
Stratton-Porter, Gene A Girl of the Limberlost
Twain, Mark A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Twain, Mark The Prince and the Pauper
Wells, HG War of the Worlds
Wells, HG War of the Worlds
Verne, Jules A Journey to the Interior of the Earth
Link http://librivox.org/childrens-literature/
In Texas, it’s against the law for anyone to have a pair of pliers in his or her possession.
In Philadelphia, you can’t put pretzels in bags based on an Act of 1760.
Alaska law says that you can’t look at a moose from an airplane.
In Corpus Christie, Texas, it is illegal to raise alligators in your home.
In Miami, it is forbidden to imitate an animal.
It is against the law to mispronounce the name of the State of Arkansas in that State.
In Illinois, the law is that a car must be driven with the steering wheel.
California law prohibits a woman from driving a car while dressed in a housecoat.
In Memphis, Tennessee, a woman is not to drive a car unless a man warns approaching motorists or pedestrians by walking in front of the car that is being driven.
In Tennessee, it is against the law to drive a car while sleeping.
In New York, it is against the law for a blind person to drive an automobile.
In West Virginia, only babies can ride in a baby carriage.
In Georgia, it is against the law to slap a man on the back or front.
A barber is not to advertise prices in the State of Georgia.
In Louisiana, a bill was introduced years ago in the State House of Representatives that fixed a ceiling on haircuts for bald men of 25 cents.
In Oklahoma, no baseball team can hit the ball over the fence or out of a ballpark.
In a press release today, Apple announced that they’ve sold 100 million iPods since it was first launched five and half year ago, in November 2001, making it the fastest selling music player. Apple has rolled out 10 different models of iPod spanning across 5 generations.
Steve Jobs : “At this historic milestone, we want to thank music lovers everywhere for making iPod such an incredible success,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPod has helped millions of people around the world rekindle their passion for music, and we’re thrilled to be a part of that.”
There are a lot of phobia. People tell different confusing names and you wonder if there is such thing like ..so and so..phobia.
Well, this is a very comprehensive list of phobia (more than 530 !!)prepared by Fredd Culbertson and arranged alphabetically.
It is amazing how much differently a person can feel fear. We all fear sometime of something and worst of all, most of the fears we fell in day-to-day life don’t fall into any of the category given in the huge list.
Let me list some of the fears:
Ablutophobia- Fear of washing or bathing.
Acarophobia- Fear of itching or of the insects that cause itching.
Acerophobia- Fear of sourness.
Achluophobia- Fear of darkness.
Acousticophobia- Fear of noise.
Acrophobia- Fear of heights…….
and it goes on and on……
Tags: fear, medical term, phobia
Well well well that is what I call an optimistic man. At 102 he is taking a 25-year mortgage and the people at East Sussex believed in him.
A pensioner aged 102 has been granted a 25-year mortgage despite the fact he would have to live until 127 to pay the loan back.
The property investor from East Sussex has taken out an interest-only £200,000 mortgage and hopes to meet the £958 monthly repayments with income from rent as he joins a growing army of retired people hoping to cash in on buy-to-let schemes.
Most lenders set a limit at 75 years for mortgage applicants but a handful, including Woolwich, and Bristol & West, have no such restrictions. This has led to a rush of applications from older investors.
Jonathan Moore, of Mortgages for Business, an independent adviser based in Sevenoaks, Kent, told how he brokered the mortgage for the unnamed 102-year-old, one of hundreds he has arranged for pensioners. “This is a new phenomenon.Obviously there is an element of risk if property prices and rental income suddenly fall but there is no sign of that at the moment,” he said.
Richard Stone, 75, from north London, owns 10 houses and has taken out a £120,000 mortgage. The retired maths teacher admits such a commitment at his age can be “quite stressful”.
I came across a website with a collection of 400 love letters by somebody called Asia.
400 Love letters by Asia
This is what the site looks like when you click this link. There are 400 squares and each square is a seperate letter. The color of square tells who the letter was written to.
red and pink=lovers
orange=fan letters
yellow=strangers
green=acquaintances
blue=friends
purple=crushes
indigo=family
brown=people I don’t really like
gray=anyone
black=everyone
white=me
flesh=my dream lover
Video Apps
- AVIcodec - Gives the codecs needed to play the file, and where to download those codecs if they are missing on your system.
- DVD Shrink - DVD Shrink is software to backup DVD discs
- MovieTrack - a freeware dvd database and general movie collection organizer, for Windows.
- TMPGEnc - converts .AVI file to MPEG1, the format which is used in VideoCD. Using variety of option in TMPGEnc, you can compress your video file in high quality.
- VLC - Stream DVDs and Videos over a network
- VirtualDub - VirtualDub is a video capture/processing utility for 32-bit Windows platforms (95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP)”
CD & DVD Applications
- AudioGrabber - audio CD ripper - Current Resident
- CDex - a CD ripper and converter for Windows
- Deep Burner - “A CD/DVD burning software that lets you create Data Cds, Bootable CDs, and Audio CDs as well as data DVDs. In addition, it lets you burn ISO files, and create ISO images. Also lets you design an auto start menu to launch documents or programs from the CD”
- DeepRipper - can convert music files from AudioCDs into practically any format you’d like, including: MP3, WAV, OGG, and others.
- Exact Audio Copy - CD ripper
- TagMaster - lets you edit the ID3 tag in MP3 files, which contains information like the name of the artist, song, album, etc.
Graphics Design & Editing
- @icon sushi - “@icon sushi is an icon convert tool that supports the mask editor and the creation of Windows XP 32bit icons.”
- Avery Design Pro Limited - Customize and print professional looking labels, cards, dividers and more in minutes.
- BatchRename - allows you rename all files or all image files in a folder, batch change extensions, and will automatically number each item in a series.
- Blender - the open source software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, interactive creation and playback.
- Dogwaffle - “A program designed for creative individuals who want to get down and dirty with their pixels.”
- Dup Detector - will scan pictures within a file (including subfolders) and present potential duplicates for deletion.
- Easy Thumbnails - can resize your pictures physically either larger or smaller, or you can keep the physical size and downgrade the quality
- FastStone Image Viewer - An image browser, converter and editor that supports all major graphic formats including BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO and TGA.
- Gimp - ” GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.”
- Icon Snatcher - “This one can pull icons from your own files to use to customize your folders.”
- ImageForge - Create and edit images, acquire pictures from your scanner, digital camera or other Twain-compliant device, apply special effect filters, produce your own photo albums and simple slide shows, and much more.
- Image Resizer - gives you the ability to resize an image/picture in 2 clicks, by adding the option to the Context Menu.
- Inkscape - an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, Freehand, CorelDraw, or Xara X using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. A powerful and convenient drawing tool fully compliant with XML, SVG, and CSS standards.
- IrfanView - “IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003.”
- Paint.NET - image and photo manipulation software designed to be used on computers that run Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or Server 2003. It supports layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools.
- PhotoPlus 6 - image editing software that enables you to create, manipulate and enhance photographs, bitmap graphics and web animations. (Free Registration Required)
- Pixia -”Pixia is the English version of a popular Japanese painting and retouch software for full color graphics. It supports mask, layer and many other editing functions.”
- Terragen - a scenery generator, created with the goal of generating photorealistic landscape images and animations.
- Xnview - you can quickly and easily view, process and convert image files. Will read more than 400 graphic file formats, and write to about 50. Will also display video formats. Also offers more advanced features such as Web page creation, contact prints, multiple conversion (format and transformation), slide shows, screen capturing and Twain support for scanners and digital cameras.
Office Applications
- Abiword - Free word processor that can open and edit OpenOffice, Word, Rich Text Format, HTML, Wordperfect documents, Palm, web pages and many more
- CutePDF - Create PDF Documents
- Foxit PDF Reader - You can view and print PDF documents. No installation required.
- Open Office - Free Microsoft Office alternative. Has the ability to open most mainstream document types and edit them.
- PDF Creator - Freeware PDF creation through any Windows based program.
- PDFill PDF Writer - a PDF Writer, Printer or Converter.
- Wink - A presentation program designed to make tutorials on how to use software. Can export these tutorials in Flash, EXE, and HTML.
- Rainlendar - Desktop calender for Windows, that’s skinnable and able to synchronize with M$ Outlook’s calender so you may see what your appointments are, without opening Outlook.
- Sunbird - Calendar program
File Compression and Archiving
- 7-Zip - a file archiver with high compression ratio.
- IZArc - File compression utility that supports most standard compression formats.
- WinRAR - click on the downloads tab and download the trial version (not the beta). You can use the full functionality forever.
- ZipGenius - A nice archiving tool. It handles zip, rar and many others.
Time & Weather
- Atomic TimeSync - synchronize your system clock with the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology).
- ClocX - An analog clock application for Microsoft Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003.
- ForecastFox - “This great little extension allows you to set it up so you can always view your local forecast in your Firefox Browser itself. The forecasts come straight from the Weather Channel’s website.”
- SysMetrix - Highly customizable, and skinnable clock. Can be customized to monitor the weather, your e-mail, cpu, memory usage and many other things, in addition to the time.
- Weather Pulse - A weather application
- WebTime2000 - WebTime 2000 is a small utility program that will synchronize your PC’s internal clock with one of the several atomic clocks maintained by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Utilities
- Active@ KillDisk - powerful and compact DOS software that allows you to destroy all data on hard and floppy drives completely, excluding any possibility of future recovery of deleted files and folders.
- AM-DeadLink - detects dead links and duplicates in your Browser Bookmarks. Checks Bookmarks from Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla and Netscape.
- Clipboard Buddy - a clipboard cache program that remembers what was copied to the clipboard even after new data is copied, and allows you to retrieve the old data.
- Convert - an easy to use unit conversion program that will convert the most popular units of distance, temperature, volume, time, speed, mass, power, density, pressure, energy and many others, including the ability to create custom conversions.
- Fass - a forum post editor & automated post generator. It also has a “Post Preview” feature, which shows your post as it will appear on forums. Designed for use with Invision Power Board, compatible with most forum software.
- HandyNotes - a small software program, that makes it easy to keep all your notes organized, in one easily accessible place.
- Magical Jellybean Keyfinder - a utility that retrieves your Product Key (cd key) used to install windows from your registry. It has the options to copy the key to clipboard, save it to a text file, or print it for safekeeping.
- MyUninstaller - Free app to remove entries from your Add/Remove Programs list.
- Netstat Live - a small, easy to use TCP/IP protocol monitor which can be used to see your exact throughput on both incoming and outgoing data - whether you’re using a modem, cable modem, DSL, or even local network. Will also graph the CPU usage of your system.
- Pow - trainable, popup blocker for Internet Explorer.
- Process Explorer - shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded.
- RealVNC - makes it possible to view, and fully-interact with, one computer from any other computer, or mobile device, anywhere on the Internet.
- Snap Backup - The One-Click Backup Utility that makes it simple to protect your important work.
- SpeeDefrag 3 - a program, which restarts your computer and runs only defrag.exe with optimized windows settings.
- Startup Inspector for Windows - helps both novice and expert user manage Windows® startup applications.
- Total Uninstall - can help you to monitor any changes that were made to your system during installation of a new software product and allow you to perform a complete uninstall without having to rely on the supplied uninstall program (which may leave files or changes behind).(last freeware version)
- TweakUI - This PowerToy gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings, and more.
- WinKey - create keyboard shortcuts to access your favorite programs, documents, and files. Once you’ve made a shortcut, simply press your desired key combination to launch your program. This tool supports up to 200 key assignments.
Screen Capture Applications
- Capture - a screen capture utility for Windows (and NT), which allows you to capture the active window, or the entire screen, at any color depth and resolution, and save it into a Bitmap file for editing.
- Gadwin Print Screen - an easy to use utility, that allows you to capture any portion of the screen, save it to a file, copy it to Windows clipboard, print it or e-mail it to a recipient of your choice.
- Screenhunter - screen capture tool for you to easily take screenshots.
- ScreenPrint32 - allows you to print, and/or capture to disk, or clipboard, the full desktop, active window, predefined area, or user selected area of the screen.
Windows Desktop Customization
- BootSkin - “These two are the full version and never expire, but are unsupported by the company. The bootskin will not work on every computer, from their literature; “Some drivers and bios makers “break the rules” which can cause BootSkin to not work correctly. If you experience that, you can try these alternative versions:”
- Iconoid - Iconoid is a small program that helps reduce the clutter and confusion of the Windows desktop.
- Logon Studio - Never expires
- ObjectDock - Limited functionality but never expires.
- WindowsBlinds - Limited functionality but never expires.
Chat Clients
- ChatZilla
- GAIM - a multi-protocol instant messaging (IM) client for Linux, BSD, MacOS X, and Windows.
- IceChat
- Trillian -
Games
HTML & CSS Editors
- 1st Page 2000 - HTML Editor
- HTML- Kit - HTML Editor
- Notepad++ - a free source code editor which supports several programming languages running under the MS Windows environment.
- NVU - WYSIWYG HTML Editor
- Selida - HTML/WYSIWYG Editor
- Sothink HTML Editor - HTML Editor (Can only edit one page at a time)
- Topstyle Lite - CSS Editor
- WYSIWYG Web Builder - HTML Editor
Website Creation
- ewisoft - Website creation tool.
- Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar - provides a variety of tools for quickly creating, understanding, and troubleshooting Web pages.
- Jalbum - “This one is pretty cool for making photo layouts for your website.”
- SiteGenWiz -
- WindowSizer - Sets a given window to an exact size in pixels. Useful for web developers who want to see what their site will look like at various resolutions.
File Transfer Programs
- BlazeFTP - FTP Client
- FileZilla Client & Server - FTP Client and Server
- FTP Surfer - FTP client
- Leech FTP - FTP client
- SmartFTP - FTP Client
- WinSCP - A secure FTP Program and Secure Copy Program for use with SSH
Programming Languages & IDE/Editors
- Bloodshed Dev-C++ - An excellent C/C++ IDE
- phpEdit - PHP IDE
- Visual Studio 2005 Express Products - This includes Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual C++, Visual J#, SQL Server, and Visual Web Dev. Free, if downloaded by November 7th 2006.
Telnet Clients
- Putty - Telnet and SSH Client
Antivirus
- Antivir
- Avast Free
- AVG Free - at the bottom of the page.
- Bitdefender Free
Trojan Removal
- a² Free - a complementary product to antivirus software which is specialized in protection against harmful software. Antivirus software often features an inadequate protection against Trojans, Dialers and Spyware. a² fills this gap.” - tg911
- Ewido Security Suite - removes Trojans, Worms, Dialers, Hijackers, Spyware and Keyloggers.
Spyware Removal -
- Ad-Aware
- IE-Spyad -
- Spybot - Search & Destroy
- Spywareblaster - prevents spyware from being installed on your PC.
- Spywareguard - provides a real-time protection solution against spyware that is a great addition to SpywareBlaster’s protection method.
- WinPatrol - WinPatrol uses a heuristic approach to detecting attacks and violations of your computing environment. Traditional security programs scan your hard drive searching for previously identified threats. WinPatrol takes snapshot of your critical system resources and alerts you to any changes that may occur without your knowledge.
Free Online Virus/Trojan/Spyware Scanners
- a² - Malware & Security checks. On the right, under Quicklinks.
- aumha.org - Internet Explorer (IE) parasite scan
- BitDefender - virus scanner
- CastleCops - several scans under “Tool Kit’, on the right, at the bottom of the page
- eTrust - Virus scanner - WhyBeNormal
- F-Secure - virus scanner
- HouseCall - virus scanner
- HouseCall - Europe - virus scanner - Does not require the use of ActiveX controls. Uses Java instead.
- Jotti’s scan - submit files to be scanned by multiple (14) scanners (AntiVir, ArcaVir, Avast, AVG, BitDefender, ClamAV, Dr.Web, Fortinet, F-Prot Antivirus, Kaspersky Anti-Virus, NOD32, Norman Virus Control, UNA and VBA32)
- kephyr.com - PopUp Killer Test
- McAfee - virus, security and Wi-Fi scanners
- PandaSoftware - virus scanner
- PC Pitstop - several scans, on the left
- RAV - virus scanner
- SpywareGuide - spyware scanner, on the left, under “Our Online Tools”
- SpywareInfo - spyware scanner, on the left, under “Site Navigation”
- Sygate - several different scans on the left
- Symantec.com - virus & security scanners
- Webroot Spy Audit - Spyware scanner. It will not remove or modify any files.
- WindowSecurity - trojan scanner
Specific Virus Removal Tools - if you know what Virus you have, try here.
Firewalls
PC Security
- CleanUp! - a powerful and easy-to-use application that removes temporary files created while surfing the web, empties the Recycle Bin, deletes files from your temporary folders and more. - WhyBeNormal
- Core Control - a full featured advanced security program, designed for Windows 95/98/ME Operating Systems. - acklan
- Cryptainer LE - A really simple to use encryption tool that creates an invisible, password protected folder on your hard drive or other media. Free version limited to 25MB.Cryptainer LE’s encryption works with all 32 bit versions of Microsoft Windows (95/98/ME/2000/XP/2003 Server) and with all known file types.
- Eraser - an advanced security tool (for Windows), which allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns. - jgweed
- EULAlyzer - can analyze license agreements in seconds, and provide a detailed listing of potentially interesting words and phrases. Discover if the software you’re about to install displays pop-up ads, transmits personally identifiable information, uses unique identifiers to track you, or much much more. - Wink
- Hide & Protect any Drives - Hide or restrict access to any drives such as Hard drive, CD, DVD, floppy and flash, and deny access to partitions of your hard drives. (This is an older version that is still freeware. The newer version isn’t free.)
- iProtectYou - allows parents to control which web sites can be visited, which programs can have Internet access, block e-mails, chat sessions and instant messages with inappropriate words, stop annoying ads, and/or restrict internet time to a predetermined schedule. - acklan
- MaxCrypt - an automated computer encryption tool that protects your PC. -
- SiteAdvisor’s Plug-in for Internet Explorer - installs a small button on your Internet Explorer browser. The button changes colors as you browse the Web based on the results of our safety tests. You can also click on the button’s menu to see the site’s detailed test results.
Hard Drive & System Utilites
- Belarc Advisor - builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, including Microsoft Hotfixes, and displays the results in your Web browser. - Ronbo
- Cobian Backup - a multi-threaded program that can be used to schedule and backup your files and directories from their original location to other directories/drives in the same computer or other computer in your network. - usasma
- CoolMon 2 - a program for monitoring vital system stats and almost anything else you wish to display on the desktop. - nosnhoj#3
- CPU-Z - gathers information on some of the main devices of your system; CPU, Mainboard, Memory, and System. - Rimmer
- Digital Dolly - hard-disk-partition, image, and cloning software that runs completely from a bootable CD-ROM. - acklan
- EVEREST Home Edition - a freeware system information, system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for home PC users. Similar to Belarc, but much more comprehensive. - Herk
- Memtest86 - a thorough, stand alone memory test for x86 architecture computers. - boopme
- MicroSoft’s Memory Test - tests the Random Access Memory (RAM) on your computer for errors. - acklan
- PC INSPECTOR - a data recovery program that supports the FAT 12/16/32 and NTFS file systems. - usasma
- Quick Access InfoBar - Get the latest definitions and exhaustive advice on all the processes running in the Windows Task Manager. - Quick Access InfoBar
- Ranish Partition Manager - Partition resizer, create, manager similar to Partition Magic but free!
- SequoiaView - an excellent utility to help you figure out what is taking up so much space on your hard drive.
- SIW - This program performs computer configuration, analysis, and diagnostics. (Similar to Everest)
- SpeedFan - monitors voltages, fan speeds and temperatures in computers with hardware monitor chips.
- SyncBack Freeware - backup and synchronization software
- System Spec - lets you can see, save and print a complete spec of your PC with this no-install, system information utility and perform various windows functions. Additional advanced info includes CPU, drives, apps, display, memory and more.
- What’s Running - a product that gives you an inside look into your Windows 2000/XP/2003 system. Explore processes, services, modules, IP-connections, drivers and much more.
- WinAudit - a self-contained (no setup required) PC audit, and inventory of software, licenses, security configuration, hardware, network settings
Web Browsers
- Avant Browser - based on the Internet Explorer browser engine.
- Firefox - a highly customizable web browser, with tabbed browsing
- Maxthon Internet Browser - tabbed browser with a highly customizable interface. It is based on the Internet Explorer browser engine.
- Mozilla - ” Web-browser built for 2004, advanced e-mail and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, and HTML editing made simple — all your Internet needs in one application–Mozilla.”
- Netscape - Includes a browser, email client, and html composer
- Opera
Email Clients & Tools
- ePrompter - automatically and simultaneously checks and retrieves your e-mail messages from up to 16 password-protected e-mail accounts. It not only lets you compose, forward, and reply to your retrieved messages, but also gives you the ability to delete unwanted spam or suspicious-looking mail without having to launch your e-mail program or having to go to your Web mail’s site.
- Eudora - Free mail client but is ad sponsored. ( Eudora has a lite version available… just download the current version, and if you can live without the spellchecker, you dont have to live with the ad screen, being there. Go to the help menu, after installing, and select “payment and registration”. Then select “lite mode”, and it will ask if you can live without all of the extras, just click on “reduce features” - rexifelis)
- Pegasus Mail - Bizrus
- SpamBayes - anti-spam filter
- Thunderbird - Open Source email client.
- OE Quick Backup - Backup Outlook Express mailboxes, settings, mail rules, etc.
Spell Checker & Dictionary
- IESpell - A spelling checker for Internet Explorer. Works like the spell checker in M$ Office, right click and select Check Spelling.
- Magical Jellybean Dictionary - a freeware dictionary client for Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP, that connects to a dictionary server, and retrieves the definition from a database on the server.
- tinySpell - easily and quickly check the spelling of words in any Windows application. Monitors your typing on the fly, and alerts you whenever it detects a misspelled word. It also checks the spelling of every word you copy to the clipboard.
- Word Web - a comprehensive English thesaurus and dictionary, that can be used to look up words from within most programs.
Audio Applications
- Audacity - a free audio editor.
- dBpowerAMP Audio Player - “dAP plays Mp3s, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, Monkeys Audio, Real Audio, Wave and Midi, and many more”
- foobar2000 - an advanced audio player for the Windows platform.
- iTunes - Music Player, Organizer, Tag Editor and online store. Only works with Windows XP. - Phawgg with clarifications from Jeservices
- K-Lite Codec Pack - a software bundle which includes the K-Lite Codec Pack Full, QuickTime Alternative, Real Alternative and BSplayer.
- Media Player Classic - The application has the same look and feel as the old light-weight Windows Media Player 6.4, but is a completely different application which has all the options and features one might expect from a modern media player. (Media Player Classic comes bundled with Real Alternative, so if you’d like both, just get RA)
- Mp3Decode - a real handy app to have in your Send To menu, it simply converts MP3 into WAV, quick and lightweight.
- mp3DirectCut - a fast and extensive audio editor and recorder for MP3.
- Real Alternative - designed for playing RealMedia files, which normally require Real Player
- QuickTime Alternative - will allow you to play QuickTime files (.mov, .qt and other extensions) without having to install the official QuickTime Player. It also supports QuickTime content that is embedded in webpages.
Thanks to fatguysmart
Another Big List
Anti-Spyware/Anti-Virus/Anti-Rootkit Freeware Utilities : I want to …
- check if there is a rootkit installed on my computer : F-Secure BlackLight
- check if there is a rootkit installed on my computer : RootkitRevealer by SysInternals
- check if there is a rootkit installed on my computer : RootKit Hook Analyzer
- protect the computer against adware : Ad-Aware Personal
- protect the computer against adware : Spybot-S&D
- protect the computer against spyware : Windows Defender from Microsoft
- protect the computer against trojans : ewido
- protect the computer against viruses : AVG Free
- protect the computer against viruses : AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic
- protect the computer against viruses : Avast! 4 Home Edition
- protect the computer against viruses : BitDefender 8 Free Edition
- protect the computer with a firewall : Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall
- protect the computer with a firewall : Safety.Net
- protect the computer with a firewall : ZoneAlarm
- protect the browser against spyware : SpywareBlaster
- protect the browser against spyware : SpywareGuard 2.2
- remove CoolWebSearch virus : CWShredder
- remove specific viruses : Grisoft/AVG Virus Removal Tools
- stop/cleanup homepage hijacking : HijackThis
Audio/Music/MP3/Real/Wav Freeware Utilities : I want to …
- burn a CD : CDBurnerXP Pro
- burn an audio CD : MP3 CD Doctor Lite
- cut mp3 files into small parts : mp3DirectCut
- cut wav files into smaller parts : CD Wave
- cut wav files into smaller parts : Wave Splitter
- control iTunes in Firefox : FoxyTunes
- edit mp3 tags : TigoTago
- edit mp3 tags : Mp3tag
- fade-in/fade-out mp3 files : mpTrim
- manage my iPod without iTunes : YamiPod
- organize the mp3 collection : MediaMonkey
- organize the mp3 collection : Media Manager
- play all mp3 files in a folder : 1by1
- play an audio CD : TinyCD
- play an audio file : Foobar2000
- play an audio file : XMPlay
- play real audio (.ra, .rm) files without the real software : Real Alternative
- record/save streaming music : Streamripper for Winamp
- rip music from a CD : Audiograbber
- rip music from a CD : CDex
- rip music from a CD : EAC = Exact Audio Copy
- show song lyrics for the song playing : EvilLyrics
- tag/fix mp3/audio file tags : the GodFather
- tag/fix mp3/audio file tags : ID3-TagIT
Business/Office/Access/Excel/Word Freeware Utilities : I want to …
- add lots of commonly used functions into Excel : ASAP Utilities
- capture the screen : Gadwin PrintScreen
- capture the screen : ScreenGrab 1.0
- capture the screen : Screenshot Captor
- capture the screen : MWSnap
- change the date/time on multiple files : SetFileDate 1.1
- convert a document into a different format : Omniformat
- convert a document into pdf : CutePDF Writer
- convert a document into pdf : PrimoPDF
- convert access database into mysql : Access to MySQL
- create a small database : TreePad Lite
- create pdf (portable document format) file : PdfEdit995
- create pdf file : Pdf995
- create pdf file : PDFCreator
- create pdf file : PDF reDirect
- create/edit css lists : CSS Tab Designer
- create/edit html color codes : Color Coder
- create/edit html file / website : Evrsoft First Page 2006
- create/edit html file : Alleycode
- create/edit html file : Matrix Y2K
- create/edit html file : HTML-Kit
- duplicate a block of text with some programmed variables : DupBlock
- encrypt PDF files : Signature995
- open PDF files faster : Foxit Reader
- password protect a text file : Steganos LockNote
- show all the fonts installed : FontList
- show all the fonts installed : Font Thing
Communication Freeware Utilities : I want to …
- chat on IRC : IceChat
- chat on IRC : X-Chat 2 for Windows
- chat with different messenger clients : Trillian by Cerulean Studios
- chat with different messenger clients : Jabber
- chat with different messenger clients : Miranda IM
- chat with different messenger clients : Qnext
- chat with different messenger clients : SIM-IM
- chat with the jabber network : Pandion
- check multiple email accounts with 1 utility : ePrompter
- phone free using the internet : Skype
- phone free using the internet : Gizmo
- phone free using the internet : KishKish SAM
- phone free using the internet : switchboard
- phone free using the internet : Voipbuster
- talk to skype and google-talk clients : Festoon Unity
- telnet/ssh to a site : PuTTY
- use a better MSN Messenger client : Mercury Messenger
- video conference with others : SightSpeed
Desktop Freeware Utilities : I want to …
- add useful widgets : Yahoo Widgets
- add useful widgets : Kapsules
- automatically take screenshots at regular intervals : TimeSnapper
- change desktop wallpaper automatically : Background Boss
- change desktop wallpaper automatically : Panorama 32
- change multiple monitors resolution : HobRes32
- change my cursor shape/size : Stardock CursorXP
- customize my shortcuts : PowerPr
- display a calendar : Calendar
- display earth-from-space photographs screen-saver : EarthView
- display weather information : WeathAlert
- display weather information : WeatherMate
- display weather information : Weather Watcher
- hide/bring back all the icons on the desktop : DeskSweeper 2.0
- hide applications from taskbar/system tray : WatchCat 2.0
- keep the icons fixed even when screen resolution changes : DIManager
- launch applications : Mobydock
- launch applications/bookmarks : jetToolBar 3 by Cowon
- launch applications from a sidebar : Desktop Sidebar
- launch applications quickly (list) : PopSel
- launch applications quickly (icons) : RocketDock
- launch applications quickly (icons) : Qsel
- launch applications quickly (icons) : ObjectDock
- launch applications with shortcut names : SlickRun
- launch applications with shortcut names : Find and Run Robot
- make application windows transparent : Glass2k
- make application windows transparent : Power Menu
- manage icons : Iconoid by Sillysot
- manage wallpapers : Wallpaper XChange
- multiple desktops and switch between them : BossKey
- multiple desktops and switch between them : Virtual Dimension
- rename Recycle Bin/My Computer/My Documents/My Network Places icons : Desktop Renamer
- run a airplane flight simulation screen-saver : Holding Pattern
- show a funny clock : Toon Clock
- show a world clock : Qlock
- show an analog clock : ClocX
- show date and day in the taskbar : TClockEx
- synch computer clock to exact time : TimeSync
- synch computer clock to exact time : TimeSync by RaviB
- use two desktops on 2 monitors with taskbars : MultiMon Task Bar
- write sticky (post-it) notes on the desktop : ATnotes
- write sticky (post-it) notes on the desktop : hott notes 3
- write sticky (post-it) notes on the desktop : Stickies
- write sticky (post-it) notes on the desktop : Stickies for Windows
- write sticky (post-it) notes on the desktop : StickyPad
Editors/Notepad Replacements Freeware Utilities : I want to …
- edit a file collaboratively : MoonEdit
- edit in hex : Freeware Hex Editor XVI32
- edit php source code : PHP Designer 2005
- edit programming source code : Crimson Editor
- edit programming source code : PSPad editor
- edit text : <Araneae
- edit text : EditPad Lite
- edit text : EDXOR
- edit text : ConTEXT
- edit text : Notepad2
- preview any file as a hex dump : HexView
Files and Folders Freeware Utilities : I want to …
- add a comment field for file/folders : HobComment XP Shell Extension
- access files remotely : Avvenu
- add a foldersize column to Windows Explorer : Folder Size for Windows 2.3
- archive (zip) files : IZArc
- archive (zip) files : QuickZip
- archive (zip) files : ZipGenius
- backup files and folders : Replicator
- backup/mirror a folder on another drive : SyncBack Freeware V3.2.10 from 2BrightSparks
- change file-date on multiple files : FileDate Changer
- change file-date on multiple files : ntouch
- change the folder icon : NirExt
- compare two text files and find difference or merge them : WinMerge
- completely wipe/delete a file : SuperShredder
- create a self-extracting (.exe) compressed files archive for a list of files : Funduc Software ZIP Extractor
- create an encrypted archive : BCArchive
- display all shared folders : GoTo Shared
- display size/space of folders on a drive : DriveUse
- display size/space of folders on a drive : JDiskReport
- display size/space of folders on a drive : SequoiaView
- display size/space of folders on a drive : SpaceMonger
- display size/space of folders on a drive : TreeSize Free
- encrypt a file : DSE
- encrypt a large file quickly : SureCrypt
- exchange files in my private network : Grouper
- find/delete duplicate files : DoubleKiller
- identify a file : TrIDNet - File Identifier
- keep two folders in synch : SyncToy v1.2 for Windows XP by Microsoft
- keep various versions of a file : CVSNT Open Source
- list all files in a directory/folder in a text file : FileList
- list all files in a directory/folder in a text/html file : Directory Lister
- locate a file on the hard drive : Locate32
- open subfolders of a folder with a right-click : Open Subfolder
- perform muliple operations on files/folders : Drag and Drop Shell Robot
- print the directory/folder tree list (and optionally, file list) : YourDir
- print the list of files in a folder : PrintFolder 1.2
- rename files (command line) : Renamer
- rename multiple files : Bulk Rename Utility
- rename multiple files : Lupas Rename
- rename multiple files : Oscar's File Renamer
- rename multiple files : THE Rename
- rename multiple files easily : Rename Master
- rename multiple files in one click : Flexible Renamer
- search file/text on the computer : Copernic Desktop Search
- search file/text on the computer : Google Desktop
- search file/text on the computer : Yahoo! Desktop Search
- search text (regular expressions) in multiple files/folders : Agent Ransack
- search and replace text in multiple files : dsFSR
- search and replace text in multiple files : ReplaceEm
- search and replace text in multiple files : TexRep 2.0
- securely delete a file so it can never be recovered : SDelete from SysInternals
- share a folder with friends/private network : FolderShare
- split a large file into smaller parts : HJ-Split
- synch files between computers : BeInSync Basic
- un-erase that file : PC Inspector File Recovery
- undelete that file : FreeUndelete
- undelete that file just recycled : Restoration
- upload/download using FTP : SmartFTP
- upload/download using TFTP : TFTP Server from SolarWinds
- use GMail to store some files : GMail Drive
- view all text files in a folder : Textview
Financial Freeware Utilities : I want to …
- budget and track expenses : PearBudget
- calculate retirement cash flow: Forecaster
- manage personal finances : AceMoney Lite
- manage personal finances : Money Manager
Graphics/Images/Photographs Freeware Utilities : I want to …
- convert images into various formats : Xnview
- convert images into various formats : FastStone Image Viewer
- create a flash-based animated how-to/tutorial : Wink
- create a web photo album and slideshow from my photographs. : iGal
- create a web photo album and slideshow from my photographs. : JAlbum
- create a web photo album and slideshow from my photographs. : Web Album Generator
- create icons : Icon Sushi
- create thumbnails of images : Easy Thumbnails by Fookes
- create thumbnails of images : Thumbnail Generator
- draw charts/graphs in 2D/3D from data : Gnuplot
- draw diagrams : Dia
- edit an image : CinePaint
- edit an image : PhotoPlus 6
- edit an image : Photo View
- extract icon files from exe/library files : Icon Factory
- find any duplicate photographs in a folder: Dup Detector
- find the color of any pixel : CatchColor
- find the color of any pixel : Pixie by NattyWare
- find the color of any pixel : Xoomer
- magnify image to pixel level : Magnifier
- manage galleries of photographs : Picasa from Google
- paint creatively : ArtRage
- paint creatively : Artweaver
- paint creatively (for kids) : Tux Paint
- pick a color from a pallette : ColorPic by Iconico
- right-click on an image and convert/print/thumbnail it : FirmTools ShellExtension
- remove unnecessary information from a jpeg file : PureJPEG
- stitch together multiple photographs : Autostitch
- view images in an album folder : Irfanview
- view images in an album folder : GL Image Browser
Information/Fun/Misc Freeware Utilities : I want to …
- convert units of measures : Quad-Lock Unit Converter
- convert units of measures : Convert
- find word meanings and synonymns : WordWeb
- learn the periodic table information : Periodic Library
- learn the periodic table information : Periodic Table v2.4
- learn typing : MaxType LITE Typing Tutor from AskMeSoft
- learn world geography : Seterra
- see 3d space simulation : Celestia
- solve a scientific calculation : ESBCalc
- solve equations and plot graphs : DeadLine
- watch funny videos : Metacafe
- zoom onto the Earth from space : Google Earth
- zoom onto the Earth from space : World Wind by NASA
Internet Freeware Utilities : I want to …
- add tabs to Internet Explorer browser : Maxthon Internet Browser
- backup outlook express email : OEBackup
- backup mozilla (firefox/thunderbird) browser profile : MozBackup
- blog from the desktop : w.bloggar
- browse the web (small footprint browser) : Off By One Web Browser
- clean browser cache/temporary files : CleanCache 3.0
- create a single page html of all intenet explorer favorites : FavoritesView
- create/edit html files / website : Nvu
- create/edit xml files : XMLSpy Home Edition
- download a file via a torrent / p2p site : uTorrent
- download an entire website : HTTrack
- download manager for internet downloads : FlashGet
- download manager for internet downloads : Free Download Manager
- download manager for internet downloads : LeechGet
- encrypt email messages : ClipSecure
- ftp multiple sites simultaeously : BlazeFtp 2.1
- ftp files securely : WinSCP
- log into an internet-connected computer from another : LogMeIn
- manage passwords : PassPack
- manage/resume file downloads : Free Download Manager
- monitor bandwidth usage : RAS Monitor
- read my RSS feeds : Abilon
- read my RSS feeds : FireAnt
- read my RSS feeds : Pluck RSS Reader
- read my RSS feeds : RSS Bandit
- read my RSS feeds : RSSOwl
- read my RSS feeds : RssReader
- read my RSS feeds : RSS Xpress
- read my RSS feeds : SharpReader
- read Yahoo! email using thunderbird/outlook/POP-3 : YPOPs!
- remove all html tags from a file to make a into text file : HTMLAsText
- remove dead (404) bookmarks : AM-DeadLink
- run x-windows server : Xming
- safely browse the web : Avant Browser
- search the web from the browser : Google Toolbar
- search the web from the browser : Yahoo! Toolbar
- tune-up firefox browser : FireTune for Mozilla Firefox v1.x
- use a text editor to view-source in Internet Explorer: View Source Editor
- view Outlook Express message database files (*.idx/*.mbx/*.dbx) :