Cool Tools--and a Personal Note

Two of Bass's favs, other essentials, and a magician.

Steve Bass

Steve Bass writes the "Hassle-Free PC" column in PC World's print edition and is the author of PC Annoyances, 2nd Edition: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer, available from O'Reilly. Sign up to have Steve Bass's Tips & Tweaks newsletter e-mailed to you each week. Comments or questions? Send Steve e-mail.

I have a short sidebar in my "Hassle-Free PC" print column called "Tool of the Month." (For example, in my October column I talked about a free taskbar tool.) Unfortunately, the column's a monthly, so even though I run across free and low-cost utilities all the time, I can only talk about 12 of them each year.

This week I'll tell you about the new utilities I've discovered, and think you can use, as well as a few of my standbys. I'll also tell you about my new PC World blog.

Two Utilities I Depend On

Among the tools on my PC are ones that load when I turn on my system. There are two I rely on and recommend you investigate for your own use: WinPatrol and ZoneAlarm.

WinPatrol keeps track of changes in my Startup group--as well as the myriad spots in the Windows Registry capable of loading programs. WinPatrol also watches for changes in Internet Explorer's Helper menu, file extension types, cookies, services, and active tasks. The newest version, WinPatrol 9.7, is still free, and it includes more spyware protection. For instance, you can now automatically have tracking cookies removed.

I've used Zone Labs' firewall for more years than I can remember. The free version of ZoneAlarm is okay; it certainly has more to offer than the firewall included with Windows XP, including better alerts and a way to block outgoing traffic.

Until recently, though, I've been using the $50 ZoneAlarm Pro for its added features, such as protection against Trojan horses that hijack my e-mail program; I also have File Attachment enabled so that every dangerous file attached to an e-mail is automatically renamed.

But after reading Mary Landesman's review of the anti-spyware component in the $70 ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 6, I've upgraded to the suite. Read "New ZoneAlarm Tackles Spyware" for details. I haven't had time to do an extensive comparison of the suite's anti-spyware feature with my favorite stand-alone program, Sun-Belt's Counterspy, but I'll have more to say soon in my blog.

Dig This: If you've ever thought of trying to skydive, do me a favor and don't emulate this guy. [Warning: Turn down your PC's volume.] [1.5MB WMV video]

Other Tools You Can Use

There's one thing about utilities that you may already have figured out: What tickles me may not do a thing for you.

For example, I'm forever tinkering with my Start menu to make sure it's neat and clean, with easy access to menu items. So Tidy Start Menu is a must-have for me. It's a freebie, so if you trust my taste, just grab a copy from us. For my write-up, read August's "Tool of the Month."

I've never relied on IE's Favorites feature because it's kludgy and slow-witted, and just plain inconvenient. Maxthon's Groups is terrific for saving and later opening a bunch of related sites, but it's not useful for when I find and need to quickly save a dozen or more unrelated sites for "Dig This." If you think it'll work for you, you can download the latest version from the Maxthon site (it's a freebie).

I recently discovered Kaylon Technologies' Powermarks, a super substitution for managing IE's Favorites--quickly saving, deleting, and finding them. Briefly, the program imports your Favorites from IE (as well as Netscape) and from then on, you just click the Powermarks icon in the System tray to add a Favorite, along with optional keywords.

Using Powermarks to locate Favorites is instantaneous, with no futzing with folders. Just start typing keywords in the Powermarks search field. The program also backs up your Favorites onto Kaylon's server--and that doesn't cost you an extra dime. Powermarks costs $25 and is compatible with Netscape, Opera, and Mozilla, but not Firefox. You can download a 30-day trial from Kaylon's site.

Another tool I heard about (from Robbert B. in The Netherlands) is NiftyWindows. It's a freebie that lets you manipulate windows--drag, resize, maximize and minimize, and close--with a click of your right mouse button. Robbert writes, "It's really handy and it makes handling windows much more intuitive." He's right.

I've got quick takes on another two goodies worth the download. If you have a ton of files to rename, you might try JoeJoeSoft's free Rename Master. Then try Bayden Systems' SlickRun, a floating command line. Once you create what Bayden calls a Magic Word--essentially an alias for a command string--just type the word to launch the program you want. For example, to launch Eudora, you could substitute, say, the word e-mail for the command c:\program files\eudora\eudora.exe.

Dig This: Derren Brown is a phenomenal magician who specializes in mentalism. Some of his work just blows me away. His site is nifty and somewhat creepy; have fun with it.

You and Me

Some of you have been with me since I started this newsletter about five years ago, and in that time we've gotten to know each other. I know it sounds silly, but I visualize you when I write. I think it's because we have similar attitudes about computing and, well, about lots of things.

Over the years, scads of you have written, sending me tips, suggestions for newsletter topics, and "Dig This" leads. Most of the time when you send me e-mail, you write as if you know me. I love the familiarity--well, except for that one marriage proposal (just kidding).

And I know how it feels. I read the San Francisco Chronicle's Jon Carroll, and it's like I know the guy. It's a kick when he responds to my e-mail.

The point, without getting too maudlin, is that this is the last time I'm writing this newsletter. [Note to editor: "Maudlin" means excessively sentimental.] Instead I'll be focusing my energies on my new daily Tips & Tweaks blog, and this newsletter will essentially be a summary of the weeks' postings.

You're all important to me, and I want to make sure you read my daily blog--and post your own comments.

Since using RSS feeds is an easy way of keeping up on blogs, I want to get you all up to speed. So head for "Reading (and Writing) Blogs" and read the "Rip Into RSS Feeds" section.

I have other blogging sites for you to browse. Wikipedia has a good, simple write-up that explains RSS and provides links to equally valuable sites. The "What Is RSS? RSS Explained" site also has a good, short explanation, with links to sites with RSS feeds.

Dig This: Transparent monitors are just too cool. Hop over to Flikr and click the Prev and Next links directly to the right of the larger image.