Glary Utilities presents you with a bundle of tools to take care of these common problems and makes system maintenance a breeze! It’s an approx 6MB file which you can download from here. Install and fire it up and you get a host of utilities that help you take care of the most common problems.

The area to take notice of is the “1-Click Maintenance”, hit ’scan for issues’ and the software will scan for issues like invalid registry keys, dangling shortcuts, temporary files to be deleted, spyware and startup. Once the scan is complete (it’s fast, I didn’t expect so when I started the scan), it displays a summary of the issues, you can click on each of them to get the detailed reports and finally hit “Repair problems” and then bid them adieu!

If “1-Click Maintenance” is not what you are looking for, or you need to go in depth and analyze and repair the system yourself then Glary Utilities offers you a set of 18 utilities that you can use to maintain a healthy computer or perform certain other functions.

The utilities range from startup manager to process explorer to disk analysis to customizing the context menus to file encrypter to a file splitter and joiner. A set of very handy utilities to perform the common maintenance tasks and much more.

The Clean Up and Repair Module

It lets you clean up the clutter from your disk and registry, It also has a utility to find invalid shortcuts and an uninstall manager.

The Optimize and Improve Module

Using this module you can analyze and manage startup and the memory of your system and you may also set limits at which RAM will be recovered so that the performance of your computer stays optimum. This module also includes a Context Menu Manager that lets you manage the Right Click Menu of files and folders and the “Right Click > Menu” and the “Send To” Menu.

The Files and Folders Module

This module gives you access to a Disk Analysis tool which analyses the partition you choose and gives back you the percentage of the space used by each folder. It even classifies the amount of disk space used according to file types and gives you a list of files on your hard disk in descending order of their respective sizes. You can also search for duplicate files and empty folders on your hard drive. The files and folder module includes a file splitter and joiner utility as well.

The Privacy and Security Module

You can encrypt files using Encrypt and Decrypt Utilities, Shred files, delete internet history, cookies and all traces and recover deleted files using the file undelete utility.

The System Tools Module

Process Manager: Shows the currently running processes with a security rating for each, you can block processes from here and even Google the suspicious entries

Internet Explorer Assistant: Helps you baby sit Internet Explorer! It lists all the Browser helper objects, toolbars, custom buttons that are associated with your installation of IE. It gives you essential information like Hijack This and lets you manage IE Hijack from within the Assistant

Windows Standard Tools: Allows you to access Windows tools like Defragmenter, System Restore etc

[rating=4]

Do you prefer to use all in one solutions or do you use separate programs for each task? Which ones do you like the best?

Varun Kashyap – Programmer, Blogger and Tech enthusiast, who likes to mantain and keep his system working nice! He blogs about tips, tricks, tutorials, latest on the web on his TechCrazy Blog

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Whether it’s because you like your privacy or you think you have a reason to ‘erase your tracks’; in the end it’s all the same.

Luckily for you and I there are apps that can help you protect your privacy and your files, i.e. erase your tracks and put a nice big lock on all of your stuff.

You might also want to see 8 Firefox addons for Privacy and Security as well as 5 disposable web accounts to keep your identity safe.

Erasing Your Tracks

CCleaner

CCleaner is a name you’ll probably recognize (it has been mentioned numerous times on Make Use Of). Over the years it has made quite a name for itself. If you ever saw a list of apps, anywhere, to speed up your PC, chances are good CCleaner was in there. Henceforth it has always been mentioned in terms of tweaking.

But how does it wipe your PC? Well, it deletes the history/cookies/cache of your browser, clears the memory of various applications (like Nero and Office) and tidies up your system by deleting Windows Explorer cache, empties the recycle bin, sweeps your clipboard and much, much more.

This makes it the perfect cleaner. And even more so, you indeed get a faster computer by tidying up! (note: CCleaner can only delete internet browser files from Firefox, IE and Opera)

Securely Deleting and Encrypting Your Files

Encrypt Files

Although the biggest dirt is gone, you might still have some ‘things’ left on your PC which are ‘your eyes only’. This could be credit card details, your obscure tapes (if only Paris Hilton would’ve had this…) or other personal files. If you really want to delete something, like as in ‘unrecoverable’, you need to shred it. Basically it deletes your file and then uses a bunch of algorithms to write over the empty space again and again until it is impossible to find what once was there.

So it’s a shredder? So what? What makes this one so special?

True. It doesn’t even let you chose the number of passes. But unless you’re extremely paranoid you’ll realize that you don’t need 35 passes (NATO uses 7 passes, the US Department of Defense 3). If you think otherwise, check out Wipe File.

The beauty about this one is that it’s part of a bigger suite. Except from deleting, you can also encrypt files.

That brings us up to the next step – protecting the files you do want to keep. ‘Encrypt Files’ is very simple to use. You pick one or more files and press the ‘encrypt’ button, hereafter you will be prompted to give up a password. You wait a few seconds and the files become completely useless. That is, for other people. Using the ‘decrypt’ button, the same password and again, a few seconds of your time, the file is quickly back to its original state.

Paranoia mode: ON

KeyScrambler

OK, it’s time for a little bit of paranoia (keeps the mind sharp). What if you deleted all your auto-passwords, secured all your files and some idiot with a keystroke-logger gets all your ‘well-kept’ passwords practically handed to him? Indeed, that would be a bummer.

When you’re typing inside your web browser, KeyScrambler codes all your keystrokes, making them impossible to read for a keystroke-logger. KeyScrambler even shows you what the logger gets to see (which looks real slick – showoff factor: 73%).

Locking Up

Unlock Platinum

Locking up your computer by using the Windows ‘Log Off’ and ‘Switch User’ options is OK, but it has some downsides.

For starters, anyone with an administrator account can still access your account. If you are a sub-user or are on a computer with multiple administrators, a password doesn’t mean all that much. More so, when you can never really know who attempted to access your account. This is a major problem as people can guess away without consequences.

Lock Platinum solves both these problems. It’s a standalone app (an executable so you don’t have to install it – it will even work on a guest account) and it locks your computer, trapping the mouse inside a small centered screen and disables the task manager and all other key combinations like ALT + TAB, ALT + F4, etc.

On top of that, it also records all attempts to penetrate your system. As you click on ‘Stats’ you can not only see when someone typed a wrong password, but also the exact password they tried. Want to know if you can trust someone? Tell them a wrong password and see if it turns up. I would advise using the first version though. Having tried all three, the last two seemed rather unstable (the unlocking window constantly hid itself with version 3).

OK, so that’s it. If you think you know (better) alternatives to this software, please feel free to plop a comment below!

(By) Simon is a student from Belgium who wastes his time relaxing, watching anime and surfing the net. He would tell you to check out his blog, only he doesn’t have one!

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Anti-Virus

AVG Anti-Virus

AVG Anti-Virus – AVG has been around since 1991, and have been updating their program since then. This program as well is definetely one of the best anti-virus programs out there. (See MUO Poll on Best Antivirus Software). AVG has numerous features that most certainly assist in keeping your computer secure, including periodic scans, built in email scanner, the ability to heal some virus infected files, and a “virus vault” that holds virus’.

Mark previously wrote a review on the new AVG 2008 Antivirus here.

ThreatFire

ThreatFire – ThreatFire is an extremely sweet Anti-Virus application. It does not only do all of the things many Anti-Virus applications do, it also addresses problems differently. On a regular Anti-Virus application, numerous different steps need to be taken to find and destroy a threat, unlike ThreatFire which automatically detects threats and malicious behavior, and addresses them automatically in the background while keeping logs of this.

On their website it states that ThreatFire has 243% more protection then traditional Anti-Virus applications in tests and that ThreatFire has examined 17,836,589,477 programs for suspicious behavior!

Avira

Avira Anti-Virus – Avira AntiVir is one of the highest rated Anti-Virus applications out there.

It runs in the background checking for malicious behavior and runs occasional checks, while checking opened and closed files.

Anti-Spyware

Windows Defender

Windows Defender – Microsoft created Windows Defender which is an incredibly awesome Anti-Spyware application built into Windows Vista and is available for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

It includes many features that make it one of the best applications out there, including: Monitoring start up applications as well as system configuration and Internet Explorer, monitoring applications as they run, etc. Again, check out our poll what’s the best spyware removal.

Spybot Search and Destroy

Spybot Search and Destroy – This program has been around for a while now. I use it for many things as a general security suite as well.

Spybot removes Adware, Spyware, keyloggers, trojans, usage tracks, shreds malicious programs, the option to get back the programs that have been removed, etc.

Secure File Erasers

Eraser

Eraser – Eraser is one of the most used file removers. It can erase files and folders, password protected files, temporary files, internet cookies, paging files, internet cache, compressed files, etc. It adds an option to “Erase” something to the right click menu when you click on a file or folder.

You can check previous MakeUseOf review of Eraser here.

UltraShredder

UltraShredder – UltraShredder is another one of the most used secure file shredders. It overrides files with random characters, while saving it to the disk, and then removes the file without the recycle bin of course. Thus, if a file recovery service attempted to access the file, all they would find is random characters. See our earlier round-up on free file shredders here.

Keeping your computer fast

CCleaner

CCleaner – CCleaner is one of the most essential tools for keeping your computer fast. It takes up an extremely small amount of space and should be used often. The specific use of it is to remove and/or fix temporary internet files, cookies, other types of temporary files, fix the Registry, and fix applications.

It includes an extra start-up list to allow you to edit and an uninstall option to replace the standard Windows Uninstaller.

Defraggler

Defragger – This application is from the same company that created CCleaner. It is an incredibly awesome disk defragger that replaces the standard Windows Defraggler. Unlike many defragging applications, Defragger allows users to defrag a certain file or folder, and not an entire drive if you like.

The actual application is small, around 1 MB, and thus can be put on a flash drive. After it is done, Defragger creates a map of your hard drive showing the parts that were fragmented and how much space they take up, etc.

Defraggler is a great disk defragmenter, though some people may prefer something else, for other disk defragmenting tool check out earlier article on 5 Disk Defragmenter Programs to Defrag your PC.

Startup Control Panel

Startup Control Panel – Startup Control Panel is one of the most effective applications for speeding up your computer out there. It gives you a list of applications and other things that start on startup and allows you to remove those to speed up your computer start time.

Be sure not to uncheck your Anti-Spyware or Anti-Virus software, yet there are many things you can remove. It comes with the option to download the full program (59 kb) or a single executable (34 kb).

WinPatrol

WinPatrol – WinPatrol is another extremely helpful small program, that assists in not only speeding up your PC, but also keeping it secure. It runs in the background and monitors system changes to find added and taken away registry keys. Mark briefly covered it in an article last year.

Is there anything I have forgotten? Anything in the list you disagree with? Let us know in the comments!

(By) Will is a complete computer nerd and geek and currently works on his website at Advanced Tech Solutions and his blog at Online Free Tech Tips.

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Chances are, your PC contains entirely too much personal information about you … passwords, banking information, credit card numbers, address books, social security number, personal emails, and maybe even a few things that you wouldn’t want announced on the evening news.

And you may think that just by hitting your “delete” button, all is “lost”. Well, not exactly. “Delete” is actually just another word for “hidden”, when it comes to your PC.

Most of the information you delete can still be recovered by using special “retrieval” programs for that purpose, so it is still available to hackers, identity thieves, enemies and other spies!

If you want to completely wipe out personal information, and keep yourself safe, you need to take certain measures, like installing “data shredding” software. In the conventional sense of the word, data “shredders” don’t actually “shred” your info; instead, they are programs that are capable of rewriting your selected files multiple times with a random series of binary data, thus obliterating them beyond recognition.

Most shredders use overwrite technology that conforms to DoD 5220-22M specifications (Military-Grade) or better. DoD 5220-22M is the standard set by the U.S. Department of Defense for permanent erasure of digital information.

So, even if someone does gain access, what’s to see? Here are 4 FREE file shredders that you might want to check out.

File Shredder

This one is free for both personal and commercial use and works with Windows NT, 2000, XP, 2003 Server and Vista. You can choose between 5 different shredding algorithms, each one gradually stronger than the previous one. It also has the capability of wiping unused disk space.

Zilla Nuker

Looks like another good one:

It will securely shred and destroy any sensitive files on your hard drive, including locked files and previously deleted ones. It works with Windows 95, 98, ME, XP, NT 3.x, NT 4.x, and 2000. Highlights include: different shredding modes (ex. Quick Mode), scheduler, option to shred whole drives, etc.

Evidence Nuker

The one I currently use is Evidence Nuker. “Permanently Delete Everything You Want Erased”. You can choose which areas get “nuked”, and leave others alone. Options include:

• Address Bar History
• Browser Cache
• Visited Sites History
• Cookies
• Autocomplete Data
• Documents History
• Recycle Bin
• Run History
• Search / Find Menu history
• Windows Temp folder
• Error Checking Temp
• Click History
• Clipboard
• Media player history
• and more …

And, as you can see below, you have 4 shredding level options to choose from:

While it is recommended that you select at least Level 2, I normally use Level 4. Even at this “slowest” level, it only takes a few seconds. Evidence Nuker is compatible with Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP.

CBL Data Shredder

CBL Data Shredder was profiled in PCMag and looks like a good choice too.

It’s specifically designed to meet government data erasure standards in the US, Canada, Germany and the UK. The CBL Data Shredder uses so called the multiple-pass Gutmann method, which repeatedly overwrites the data with different bit patterns until it’s completely unrecoverable.

That’s about it. And again, if you have favorite info nukers that you use, please add them in comments.

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With Restoration, you can now play the part of the geeky computer technician and restore data that has been lost. You can also play the part of the tough techno-savvy criminal who cunningly uses a secure deletion program such as Eraser, to scupper the efforts of law enforcement. Let’s start with Eraser.

Eraser

When you delete information from your hard-drive, it isn’t really gone. The computer just tells you it’s gone, it gives you back the hard-drive space and over a period of time, the deleted file gets written over and over with other data until it is no longer retrievable. But for a period of time after the file has been deleted, it can still be retrieved and brought back to life. This is why when you sell your old PC to someone, it’s good to delete all your files through a secure deletion program otherwise the new owner can fire up a retrieval program and see what they can find. If they find sensitive information such as tax forms or social security numbers, then you may find yourself with identity theft problems. If they find naughty photos then you might find your girlfriend suddenly being “Topless Babe of the Week” on a dodgy website.

But a program such as Eraser can solve all these problems in a flash (and save you 30 years in the joint because the FBI can’t restore that video of a mob hit in an underground car garage). Eraser deletes the file but then starts to immediately overwrite it over and over again until the file really is gone forever, or at the very least garbled beyond repair. Think of it as a computer version of a shredding machine. It will take your file and hack it into tiny little pieces. So use Eraser with caution. Once Eraser gets to work, you won’t get your file back so only use this tool with files you know you definitely don’t want to come back and bite you later (love notes from mistresses, compromising photos, that sort of thing).

Eraser integrates itself into your Windows trash bin so when you right-click on the trash bin to empty it, you can choose a regular emptying or an Eraser emptying.

Restoration

But if you don’t use the Eraser emptying, those files can come back again if you or someone else is determined enough. With a program like Restoration, you can specify the name of the file or simply the file type. It will then go to work seeing if the file is retrievable and if so, it will show you what can be brought back. You can then choose what you want and it will come back to your computer again.

Text files and pictures are the easiest to bring back. MP3 music files and video files are the hardest. If you are able to bring back a MP3 or a video file, it is likely to be corrupted in some way (garbled audio and / or inferior picture quality, missing segments, etc). It might be good enough to secure a conviction in a court of law but if you want to impress a lady friend with your movie-making skills or your singing skills, you’re probably better off starting afresh.

Do you know of any other good secure deletion / file restoration tools we should be looking at instead? Tell us in the comments!

By: Mark O’Neill is a freelance writer, proofreader and blogger. Visit his blog at BetterThanTherapy.net

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