I Use These Programs All The Time
by Cate Eales
Appeared September 3, 2009 on castanet.net
In the last
two columns, I shared my
preferences for anti-virus + anti-spyware programs, backup programs, and a
registry cleaner. This week, I'll tell you about some of the programs I
use just about every day.
How does that stuff get in the startup anyway?
Almost every time I visit a new customer I find unnecessary (and, often,
unwanted) programs starting up along with Windows.
I've written before about
using MSConfig and
Autoruns to clean out the startup list.
But often when I return to a customer, I find all kinds of junk in there
again. Wouldn't it be good if you could get a warning every time some
stupid program decided it was going to start up with Windows? Good news:
you can.
Some anti-spyware programs will warn you about pushy programs like this.
But if yours doesn't and you want the chance to approve or deny any change
to your start up routine, there are several programs you can use for this.
I like
StartUpMonitor by Mike Lin. I've used it for years on my Windows XP
machine. Here's the description from the website:
StartupMonitor is a small utility that runs
transparently (it doesn't even use a tray icon) and notifies you when
any program registers itself to run at system startup. It prevents
annoying programs from registering themselves behind your back.
The program is free, and you can
download it here.
Sadly, this program won't work on Vista. But another excellent program,
called WinPatrol,
will work on Vista and on XP. Available
here, WinPatrol
combines some features of StartUpMonitor and Autoruns, and adds some more.
There are free and paid versions.
A
comparison chart is here.
How many of these are in one of those?
Convert For Windows is a great little program. According to the
author:
Convert is a free and 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!
I use it all the time. It's free, and it will work on XP
and Vista.
Where did I put the..uh...the...uh...Download
folder?
Whether you are using Vista or XP, trying to find a certain folder in a
tree of folders can be tedious, frustrating, or confusing. Rainbow Folders
lets you turn any folder you want any colour you want, making it easier to
find what you're looking for.
I don't know how I ever lived without this program. I've
been using it since the Windows 98 days. Read more about it
here.
Download it from the link at the very bottom of the page.
Where's my shortcut to email?
Forget about the eleventy-nine shortcut icons on your desktop. Don't even
bother trying to organize your Start Menu.
In Windows Vista, simply type the first few letters of the program you
want to start into the Start Search Box, and select your program from the
search result to open it. (More
here.)
But in XP, Launchy
will do all that and more. Launchy can do several things well. But it
really shines as a Start Menu alternative. You just press the Alt key and
the space bar to pop open the Launchy window. Then, you type a few letters
of the program you want to open. Launchy finds one or more matches. Just
pick the one you want and press Enter. It takes less time to do that than
to tell you how it does that!
I was completely hooked the first day I tried it.
Launchy is free. You can
download it here. Launchy is easy to configure and run, especially if
you have a look at the documentation on that page first.
Links
What do YOU use?
http://rlis.com/columns/column210.htm
Back up your files!
http://rlis.com/columns/column211.htm
Why Computers Are Slow - Part 3
http://rlis.com/columns/column158.htm
Autoruns
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx
StartUpMonitor
http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml
WinPatrol
http://www.winpatrol.com/
WinPatrol Version Compare Chart
http://www.winpatrol.com/compare.html
Convert For Windows
http://joshmadison.com/software/convert-for-windows/
Rainbow Folders
http://www.rainbowfolders.aionel.net/
The Start Menu (overview)
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/e5ab641b-e34f-49a8-9ecd-6fd43a8dc89a1033.mspx#section_3
Launchy
http://www.launchy.net/
Computer Care Kelowna
http://computercarekelowna.com
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives
http://rlis.com/column.htm
Get Cate's column by email
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http://rlis.com/rlis.xml
--
Do you need help with your computer? I'm here to help you and your
computer get along!
Cate Eales runs Computer Care Kelowna, a mobile service helping home users
and businesses get along with their computers. To arrange an appointment
phone her at 250-764-7043. Cate also welcomes your comments and
suggestions. Send email to
help@computercarekelowna.com.
You can read previous
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©
Cate Eales 2009 – All Rights Reserved
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