10 Useful Programs For Your PC 2008

Most of my computer post have been for the Mac. I don't want to leave my PC readers in the dark. Enjoy this article about useful programs for your PC.



10 Useful Programs For Your PC 2008

By Zhigen Lin

Welcome to my 10 Useful Programs for Your PC 2008 article! Here I discuss 10 programs which are useful for your Windows computer. This article applies to both Windows XP and Windows Vista. These programs clean up your computer, make your downloads go faster, help you save disk space, allow you to experience faster web-surfing, allow you to download YouTube videos as well as many other features. These programs are either free or I suggest using the "free version" of a program which also has a paid option (however, this year, there is one exception to "my rule"). The reason for this is because I dislike paying for programs and I prefer to encourage free distribution of products.

This year, I'm writing my 2008 selection of programs. You will see many changes in my program suggestions. I keep some products essential in my everyday "arsenal" from last year's article.

To find software, simply type these terms into Google, for example, search "Smart Defrag" or "Google Chrome".

Smart Defrag

One of the remedies often recommended for a sluggish system is to defragment the hard drive. Defragmentation involves reorganising file clusters on your computer so that your computer can find them faster. It is well known that Windows' own defragmentation tools are quite slow. Smart Defrag stands out from the crowd because it has a special "niche". It "boasts an automated defragger that continually defrags the files that you use the most" (Download.com). It also does not use a lot of RAM, so even older computers can handle it. All in all, Smart Defrag is one of the excellent freeware performance-enhancing programs on the web.

Category System Utilities
Available for Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista/2008 Server

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is a new web browser released by Google in September of 2008. Google Chrome "combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the Web faster, safer, and easier" (Google). It has an interesting feature of running separate processes for each browser tab, so that if one browser tab crashes, the whole browser does not crash. This feature, although taking up more memory, is one difference Google Chrome has over other browsers. Google Chrome is also "is blazingly fast and is easily the quickest browser available" (Download.com). All in all, despite the lack of plug-ins, if you're looking for the latest in technology, you should try this browser.

Category Browser
Available for Windows XP/Vista

YouTube Downloader

YouTube Downloader allows users to download YouTube videos directly off YouTube and convert them into video files (.wmv), mp3 files or several other formats. The process is very simple, just go to the video you want to download, copy the web address from the address bar and paste it into the downloader. YouTube Downloader will then download the video for you in .flv format. Then you can use YouTube Downloader to convert the video to your desired format. I suggest "high quality" .wmv for videos or if you do not want images, "high quality" mp3 files for music. Please note that this tool will not work for all YouTube videos as some of them have special copyrights. According to Download.com, YouTube Downloader "is one of the lightest editors around, but the simplistic interface belies its functionality and it performs exactly as advertised".

Category Download Managers
Available for Windows 2000/XP/Vista

TuneUp Utilities 2009 (trial program)I was recommended this program by a helpful computer expert on a computer help forum. This program seems to work wonderfully in optimising your PC, you can see how much work the computer programmers put into this nifty program. TuneUp Utilities has a range of useful programs like a registry cleaner, a defragmenter, a speed optimiser, a file shredder, deleted file recovery and lots more. The program is "a powerful, well-designed utility that accesses the entire Windows maintenance tool set and more in a fast, organized, and easy-to-use series of connected modules" (Download.com). The program even includes a "1-Click Maintenance" function, which does all the necessary work (e.g. defragmenting) essential for good computer health. There is also a system-analysing utility which "is worth the program price alone" (Download.com).

Category System Utilities
Available for Windows 2000/XP/Vista

TweakNow RegCleaner Standard

The heart and soul of any operating system is its registry. Sometimes this registry can become overcrowded with useless or obsolete files. This can slow down your computer considerably. But thankfully, TweakNow RegCleaner Standard is here to help! The interface is very simple to navigate and for beginners, you are told which files are safe to remove. In any case, if something goes wrong after deletion you can always rewind back. This program allows you to clean your system's registry regularly and keep your computer running soundly.

Category Privacy Software
Available for Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

Mozilla FirefoxIt is well known that most online browser exploits target Internet Explorer, so why not use another browser? This program is the main internet browser I use. Mozilla Firefox is a fast, full-featured Web browser that makes browsing more efficient than ever before. As more users continue to abandon Internet Explorer, Mozilla's popular Firefox gains a large chunk of the browsing community. It is already on its 3rd version, which improves dramatically on sleekness, among other things. The built-in pop-up blocker is still extremely effective, and Firefox's reputation for tight security is still well deserved. Brian Bergstein recommends users to get the performance enhancement called "Flashblock", which "blocks Flash video from running on Web sites you have open but are not currently viewing". Anyone who's tired of IE will find more than one reason to like this free alternative. Another reason to have this browser: Internet Explorer recently had a massive security flaw, allowing hackers to take control of your computer (it was on the news if you saw it).

Category Browser
Available for Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

FileZilla

FileZilla is an excellent freeware FTP program which I use to upload pages and other files onto this website and well as my other sites. It is one of the most bug-free programs I have ever seen. Simply put your website's FTP details into it, including a username and password, and it will log you into your FTP server. Then you can drag and drop your new or edited files and it will appear instantly on the web. It also allows users to transfer multiple files simultaneously. FileZilla has a "site manager" which saves multiple FTP servers, usernames and passwords for quick access. FileZilla is clearly "one of the best FTP tools around" (Download.com).

Category FTP Software
Available for Windows 2000/XP/Vista

PrimoPDF

PrimoPDF is a free Word-to-PDF converter. Unlike many another Word-to-PDF converters, it does not leave a watermark. A watermark is a small company logo which is put, for example, on the bottom right of a page (sometimes every single page you convert from Word). If a person wants to sell a text ebook, simply right your ebook on Microsoft Word and then use PrimoPDF to convert it into PDF format, which is readable with the freeware Adobe Reader (formerly Acrobat Reader). The advantage of having something in PDF format is that a consumer cannot edit the text, and cannot simply delete your name and put their own. You will notice that many ebooks nowadays are sold in PDF format - it is a simple way to keep your ebook secure.

Category Document Management Software
Available for Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista

Download Accelerator Plus

Download Accelerator Plus is a program which speeds up your downloads. When you download a file, it will increase your download speed and will automatically try to find faster mirrors. The Free version has very few limitations and is quite useful. According to the description, this program can accelerate downloads up to 300%. I have experienced my fastest download speed ever using this program to download some chess videos. This program is one of the most popular on Download.com.

Category Download Managers
Available for Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista

CCleaner

CCleaner is a useful privacy tool. The program does a range of things to make your computer work smoother and faster. According to Wikipedia, CCleaner is a freeware system optimiser and registry cleaner. CCleaner scrapes your computer quite comprehensively, cleaning up temporary files, download history, cookies, auto-complete form history, index.dat, URL history, temporary files, recent documents, Recycle Bin, log files and more. A warning that users should be careful what they remove, in case they don't get it back! Nevertheless, CCleaner comes with a "comprehensive backup feature". I'm impressed with this privacy program, it removed about 100 MB of junk from my computer.

Category Privacy Software
Available for Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

You may have noticed that I didn't discuss programs like Adobe Acrobat Reader or the Java Runtime Environment. This is because you will normally be encouraged automatically by your computer to download these programs.

If you want to check up on the latest programs being downloaded, you can visit Download.com's Top 50 List http://www.download.com/windows/most-popular/3101-20_4-0-1.html. This is a comprehensive list and gives statistics from millions of downloads.

Zhigen Lin is a chess player and computer enthusiast. You can check out his website at http://pc.geniusprophecy.com/

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Please note that GeekForFree brings you this article for informational purposes. If you decide to download the programs in this article do so safely. There are a lot of sites out there that may not be safe to download from. Use caution and make sure you are on a site that can be trusted.