Data Forest

1. BEST TECH SITES AND RESOURCES FOR 2007

1.1 How to Find a File on the Web
Sometimes you need to find a specific file on the web such as abcdef.zip. Google is always a good starting point but usually have more luck with these FTP search engines.
http://www.filewatcher.com
http://www.metaftp.com/

1.2 Vista Driver Site
Here's a nice find: a site that list all Vista drivers as they become available, with direct download links to the drivers. It's free and updated daily.
http://www.radarsync.com/vista

1.3 Great Site for Removing Spyware Infection
If you suspect you have a spyware infection you should download the free HiJackThis! utility from here [1], then run it and paste the generated log to a security forum where experienced users can help you interpret the results. Another one, Tom Coyote forums [2] for this purpose. Log in this forum [3] they get help within minutes or hours compared to the bigger sites that can take days. Better bookmark this site, you might need it.
[1] http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/programs.php
[2] http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/
[3] http://temerc.com/phpBB2

1.4 Test Suspicious Files for Malware
It's a good practice to run any file you download (or borrow) through a free web based file testing service that will check it for malware using multiple anti-virus and spyware engines. Here are two favorites: Jotti [1] currently uses 20 different anti-virus scanners, while Virus Total [2] uses 32! Using one of these services can't guarantee that a file is 100% free of malware, but it's a lot safer than installing an unknown program on the blind faith that it's OK.
[1] http://virusscan.jotti.org/
[2] http://www.virustotal.com/flash/index_en.html

1.5 Website Identifies Mystery Files
Usually you can identify the program you need to open a file by the file type, but what if it hasn't got one? This free service allows you to upload the file and have it identified.
http://mark0.net/onlinetrid.aspx

1.6 Check Web Link Safety
Type in a web link at this site and they will scan to see if the website is hostile. Use this free service when someone sends you a link that you don't quite trust.
http://linkscanner.explabs.com/linkscanner/checkstep.asp

1.7 Recovering Data from a Corrupted Hard Drive
Data recovery is a very complex issue with many different kinds of problems and many possible solutions. The detailed guide that shows you how you can use a Knoppix live CD to recover data from a Windows disk. It's not the only solution of its kind but the excellent instructions make it worth bookmarking.
http://www.shockfamily.net/cedric/knoppix/

1.8 Make Firefox Look like Internet Explorer
Why would you want to do this? Because it's a clever way to wean change-resistant users away from IE.
http://johnhaller.com/jh/mozilla/firefox_internet_explorer/

1.9 How to Select the Best File Compression Program
The first one [1] mentioned KGB, an archiving program that can compress text files down much smaller than many popular archivers though it takes a lot time and computing power in the process. The second one[2] compares dozens of different archivers on the basis of compression efficiency, resource usage and time taken across various file types. This outstanding site is essential reading for those who needs to archive large amounts of data or indeed, anyone who has a general interest in file compression.
[1] http://techsupportalert.com/issues/issue146.htm#Section_2.2
[2] http://www.maximumcompression.com

1.10 How to Permanently Wipe a Hard Drive
Most users are aware they can securely erase files and drives using free utilities like "Eraser" [1] and "Boot and Nuke" [2] that overwrite the data multiple times. At this site [3], show how you can securely wipe a drive using a little-known feature built into many hard drives.
[1] http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/
[2] http://dban.sourceforge.net/
[3] http://blogs.zdnet.com/storage/?p=129&tag=nl.e622

1.11 Portable Software Lists
There are lots of these lists; none is complete but here are two of the best. The first covers free software while the second includes commercial products as well.
http://www.portablefreeware.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_portable_software

1.12 How Does Your Firewall Rate?
At this site they test all the major firewalls using leak-tests. Now outbound leak-testing is only one criterion for assessing firewall performance indeed some would argue that inbound protection is more important. Online Armor, Comodo, Jetico and ZoneAlarm Pro top the list while the Microsoft XP SP2 firewall get the wooden spoon. ZoneAlarm free was another notable poor performer.
http://www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/leak-tests-results.php

1.13 More Free Software from Microsoft
The first is to a set of free Vista programs and accessories from Microsoft [1] and the second to free Office 2007 software [2]. There is some nice stuff listed.
[1] http://bhandler.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!70F64BC910C9F7F3!1844.entry
[2] http://bhandler.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!70F64BC910C9F7F3!1822.entry

1.14 How to Save YouTube and Other Streamed Video Files
There are lots of ways to do this but one of the easiest is to use the free KeepVid web service. Just paste the video link into the KeepVid site [1] and then download the video to your PC as an avi file, Flash file (flv) or as an MP4 for your iPod or PSP. Firefox users have another easy option by using the free DownloadHelper extension [2] that allows you to save YouTube, MySpace, Google videos, DailyMotion, Porkolt, iFilm, DreamHost and many other streams by simply clicking the special DownloadHelper toolbar icon. Thanks to Hopper for the latter suggestion.
[1] http://keepvid.com/
[2] http://www.downloadhelper.net/

1.15 More Free Support Sites
CyberTechHelp [1]. Most user problems are answered quickly including analysis of HijackThis logs. It's both friendly and active. So too is D-A-L Computer Help [2], another forum-based support site. Try both the next time you have a PC problem.
[1] http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/
[2] http://www.d-a-l.com/index.php

2. BEST FREEWARE AND SHAREWARE UTILITIES FOR 2007

2.1 Add Sticky Notes to Web Pages or Anything Else
http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/

2.2 Free Program Removes Ugly Wires from Your Digital Photos

You can either download the stand-alone program or a plug-in that works with Photoshop, Photoshop Elements 4, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, Corel PHOTO-PAINT, Macromedia Fireworks or XnView. Freeware, Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, 1.9MB.

http://www.colorpilot.com/wire.html

2.3 Secunia Inspector now Available as a Free Stand-alone Program

Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP2, 2003, 5.3MB.
[1] http://secunia.com/software_inspector/
[2] https://psi.secunia.com/

2.4 The Uninstaller You Have Been Waiting For

Freeware, Windows 2000-Vista, 1.27MB.

[1] http://www.revouninstaller.com/
[2] http://www.zsoft.dk/

2.5 Free Remote Control Utility Offers Ease of Use

Freeware, Windows 98 and later, 2.28MB
http://www.crossloop.com

2.6 Recover Deleted Files from Digital Cameras and MP3 Players

Free beta, Windows 98-Vista, 211KB.
http://www.recuva.com/

2.7 Free Utility Copies Un-copyable Files

Freeware, All Windows versions, 67KB.
[1] http://www.xxcopy.com/index.htm
[2] http://www.roadkil.net/unstopcp.html