The New Version of UltraISO

Posted by ZikVn On 1:25 AM 0 comments
The new version 8.6.5.2140 of UltraISO recently became available. It is a program for creating, editing and converting CD/DVD image files.
By means of this utility you can edit ISO image files directly, extract necessary files from image, create images from CD/DVD drives or build a new one from files and folders on your hard disk. UltraISO can maintain bootable information and gives you the possibility to create your own bootable CD/DVDs. In addition, UltraISO supports nearly all known CD/DVD image file formats and can convert them to standard ISO format.
The new version of UltraISO is optimized for multi core processors. There are also some improvements and bug fixes.



In my opinion UltraISO has very easy to use interface and is one of the best programs from its family.
The license of UltraISO is Shareware. Its cost is $29.95. You can download it from this page and get a free trial before you buy.


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Clean Out Junk on Your System with CCleaner

Posted by ZikVn On 1:24 AM 0 comments
You install and uninstall software, surf the internet and use different programs. Eventually all of this can lead to a system contamination by unused files and other crap, and slows down your system. Therefore it is a good practice to clean your system from time to time. There are many programs for this purpose. I recommend CCleaner because it’s free and really does clean out the crap that accumulates in your hard-drive.
CCleaner is a very good system optimization tool. It can find and remove temporary files, log files, browser URL history, cookies, and unused and old registry entries – allowing your system to run faster, and freeing up hard disk space. CCleaner includes registry backup feature. Therefore you can make a back-up file, before deleting anything from the registry. But the best part is that it's rather fast cleaner tool.
In fact I was reading today that a new version 2.02.525 of CCleaner has just been released. See the list of new features on the site http://www.ccleaner.com.







Get it a try. You can download Cleaner v2.02.525 here (2.6 MB).

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optimization utilities, windows utilities

Posted by ZikVn On 1:23 AM 0 comments
The new version of the Undelete Plus windows utility recently became available. Undelete Plus v2.94 allows its users to restore accidentally deleted files, files removed from the Recycle Bin, from a network drive, from Windows Explorer with the SHIFT key held down or files deleted in a DOS window.
Undelete Plus supports all Windows file systems for hard and floppy drives, including FAT12/16/32, NTFS/NTFS5 and restoration of an image from MultiMedia, CompactFlash, SmartMedia and Secure Digital cards. It also supports all versions of Windows OS from Windows 98 to Windows Vista.
It is important to know: the moment you find out, that vital files have been removed, you should prevent the deleted files from being rewritten. Therefore, avoid any use of a disk where the file has been deleted while files are not restored.


Undelete Plus Window Image


The new version of the program has small interface improvements.
Undelete Plus 2.94 is absolutely free for non-commercial use for now, but who knows how long that will last.
Download Undelete Plus 2.94 for free.(0.8 MB)
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Super Utilities v.7.75 – Make Your Computer Better

Posted by ZikVn On 1:22 AM 0 comments
The new version of Super Utilities has been released recently. This Windows program is a collection of useful tools that will fix, clean up, maintain and speed up your operating system.
Super Utilities v.7.75 is suite of 27 tools. These tools are divided into five groups: System Cleaner, Security Doctor, Privacy Protecting, System Maintaining, and Special Utilities.
Super Utilities’s system cleaner features include such tools as Disk Cleaner, Registry Cleaner, Uninstall Plus, Memory Turbo and Shortcuts Repairer. All this tools allow you to clean up your system and perform routine maintenance tasks.





Security Doctor’s features contain such tools as Spyware Removal, StartUp Organizer, Security Service Manager, Security Task Manager, BHO Cleaner, and IE Password Manager. These features allow you to detect and remove adware, potential spyware, keyloggers, trojans, and tracking threats.
The privacy protector features of Super Utilities provide you with ability to hide your private information and keep it safe. This feature set includes such tools as Hiding Folders, Super EXE Locker, IE Privacy Manager, Tracking Washers, Super Shredder and Super Menu Guard.
Super Utilities offers several good maintenance tools that allow you to make back up of your system drivers, help you to manage file types and shell extensions.
Super Utilities has its own better version of Windows system information, which informs you of general information about your operating system and pc.
There are some other special utilities features that can make your work with computer easier and more efficient.





I think Super Utilities is really good program for every user who wants to keep his system stable, clean and optimized.
Super Utilities v.7.75 is shareware software developed by SuperLogix.net. You can download Super Utilities v.7.75 there. (5.2 MB)
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AnyDVD HD 6.3.0.0 – The Easy Way to Remove Copy Disc Protection

Posted by ZikVn On 1:21 AM 0 comments
SlySoft Company has announced the release of the new version of AnyDVD HD. It is AnyDVD HD 6.3.0.0 – the universal utility for removing the copy disc protection from any dvd, hd or blu-ray disc. It fully supports HD-DVD and Blu-ray, including Decryption of HD-DVD and Blu-ray movie discs.
This utility works in background and watches for disc to be inserted. As soon as the disc is inserted, AnyDVD HD scans it and automatically removes the copy protection of DVD movie, allowing you then to backup the disc data using any DVD backup tool. It also removes any region code restriction, thereby allowing you to watch movies with non matching region codes with every DVD Player Software you like!
AnyDVD HD can remove all unwanted movie features such as non-skippable commercials, subtitles and prohibition messages. Just check in the settings things you don’t want to see, and you’re done.
But decryption is not all that AnyDVD HD offers. It can help you to control speed of your drive to reduce the noise level.
Program frees you from the necessity to buy new equipment with the HDCP support. It allows you to watch movies over a digital display connection on your pc.
Another additional unique special feature is the ability to remaster any commercial movie disc using simple XML scripts, which can replace files on the physical disc. With the help of this feature you can customize discs as you like without even making a copy to hard disk!
The new version has improved support of HD DVD and Blu-ray discs. The support for new copy protection was included. There are also some minor bug fixes.
I think AnyDVD HD is great utility and it is must have for almost everyone who plays DVDs movies on his pc.





The licence of this program is shareware. You can download the last version of AnyDVD HD by clicking on this link. (1.97 MB)
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7-Zip 4.57 – The Final Release of Well Known Archiver

Posted by ZikVn On 1:21 AM 0 comments
The long-term testing of 7-Zip archiver was completed. The final release of this popular archiver is available now. It is 7-Zip 4.57.
7-Zip is a free compression utility that allows you extract archive files of numerous archive formats, including ZIP, RAR, CAB, GZIP and TAR. 7-Zip supports packing of 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR formats. It has its own incredibly efficient compression algorithm - 7z.
The program’s ability to compress files is amazing. The 7z archives that was created by 7-Zip are 30-70% smaller then their ZIP equivalents. And usually, 7-Zip compresses to ZIP format up to 10 percent better than most of other zip compatible programs.
7-Zip allows you to create self-extracting archives, and select the optimal compression level and password protection.





The program also has the powerful command line version which gives you access to all program functions through the command line.
The main interface of the program is simple and easy to use. The 7-Zip is integrated into shell and can be accessed from the context menu.





If you need an excellent compression utility and you don’t want to pay for it, I recommend you to try 7-Zip. I think it is the one of the best free archiver in the world.
You can download latest release of 7-Zip there. (0.8 MB)
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Spyware Doctor - The Best Spyware Protection

Posted by ZikVn On 1:19 AM 0 comments
Spyware Doctor is a progressive spyware and adware removal utility that protects your PC from numerous threats such as trojans, spyware, adware, keyloggers and spybots.
This program is multi-award winning spyware program used by millions world wide.
Spyware Doctor has been awarded Editors' Choice, by many of the worlds leading PC magazines and testing laboratories such as PC Magazine, PC Pro, PC Plus, PC Choice, and others.
The trial version of Spyware Doctor provides time unlimited real-time protection, but without capability to remove treats detected during on-demand scans. If you want to obtain access to all features of this program you will need to buy it.
This program is easy to use due to its well-designed interface and optimal preconfigured settings. As soon as Spyware Doctor has been installed, it immediately provides the real-time protection without being overly intrusive.
The main status screen of the program provides immediate access to the main functions of Spyware Doctor. You can perform full system scan, activate or deactivate immunization feature and OnGuard (real-time) protection. The main status screen also allows you to see the current status of your Spyware Doctor installation.


Spyware Doctor Status Screen


The program can perform several types of scan to run on your computer. I found that even the Full Scan doesn’t take a lot of time. It is fast.


Spyware Doctor Scan Screen


Spyware Doctor has a full set of controlling and monitoring features, such as OnGuard feature that monitors different parts of the system and blocks changes if required.





I think that full Spyware Doctor is one of the best anti-spyware applications. But if you don’t want to buy the registered version of Spyware Doctor, I recommend using the trial version of Spyware Doctor in conjunction with free version of Ad-Aware. Thus you will be able to obtain both the real-time protection (Spyware Doctor) and ability to remove treats detected during on-demand scans (Ad-Aware).
The current version of Spyware Doctor is Spyware Doctor 5.1.0.273 but there are also available the new beta version of this application (Spyware Doctor 5.5.0.176 Beta). Here links for download:
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DAEMON Tools Lite 4.11 is available

Posted by ZikVn On 1:19 AM 1 comments

The new version of DAEMON Tools Lite has been released recently. It is DAEMON Tools Lite version 4.11. DAEMON Tools Lite is free and well known application for cd/dvd-rom emulation. This program is able to emulate almost all known copy protections on the market today, allowing you to run backup copies of Laserlock, SafeDisc, CDCOPS, Securom, Protect CD and StarForce protected games.
DAEMON Tools allows you to create a virtual DVD-ROM drives. So you can mount and use nearly any CD and DVD images without the need for the physical disc.
DAEMON Tools supports all popular versions of Microsoft Windows including Windows XP and Windows Vista. It also supports more CD/DVD image types than any other optical disc emulation program.
The program has simple and well designed interface. It creates a small system tray icon that gives you quick access to all its commands. Here you can select the number of virtual drives that you want to have at your disposal and mount images for each of them. You can assign each virtual drive any letter of English alphabet which is not yet in use. There is also a capability to select the regional code for any created virtual drives. I want to note that mounting and unmounting of virtual drives occurs almost instantly and without the need to reboot.


Daemon Tools System Tray menu interface


The features of the DAEMON Tools can be extended with additional modules, which are produced by third-party developers.
Major improvements of the new version:
  • included DT Panel with Internet search box and "Mount'n'Drive manager"
  • DT tray behaviour changed to DT Pro style
  • Languages are now changed more easily and more convenient
  • Fixed several bugs

Before you begin to download this good and very useful application, I would like to warn you that DAEMON Tools Lite contains an optional adware toolbar. I recommend you deselect this option during installation.
You can download free version of DAEMON Tools from this page. (2.4 MB)
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Nero CD-DVD Speed – The Best Free Way to Test the Quality of Your CD/DVDs

Posted by ZikVn On 1:18 AM 0 comments
There are many optical disc recorders and great number of brands that sell CDs or DVDs, and you shouldn’t count solely on a brand name when you require long term data reliability. You can verify written data in your favorite CD burning program, but it’s not enough. If you want to be sure in the quality of your home-written media, you need a program to test your optical drives and media.
One of the most popular programs for this purpose is Nero CD-DVD Speed that is part of Nero Toolkit.
Nero CD-DVD Speed is a powerful tool for testing optical drives.
The program has simple tabbed interface that is very easy to use. The first tab is called Benchmark. It allows you to check the read speed of a disc, DAE quality (for Audio CD), disc access type, access times, CPU usage at different speeds, and data interface burst rate.


Nero CD-DVD Speed Benchmark


After scanning a disc you will see the curve of reading speed. If this curve isn’t smooth, then you should worry about reliability of your media and written data quality.
Nero CD-DVD Speed allows you to perform test of writing performance of your optical drive (Create Disc tab).
On the tab “Disc Info” you can find such information about disc as disc type, manufacturer, write speed, number of layers, disc capacity, disc status and others.


Nero CD-DVD Speed Info


One of the most important features of Nero CD-DVD Speed is its disc quality test. When this test is complete, you will obtain report about the discovered errors and will see two histograms that demonstrate the errors encountered. And finally Nero CD-DVD Speed calculates cumulative quality score. The higher this score, the better quality.


Nero CD-DVD Speed Quality Test


Nero CD-DVD Speed also includes a ScanDisc function with File Test & Surface Scan to check the integrity of the optical disc and allows to perform TA jitter test.
The are several others features such as overburning test, advanced quality DAE tests, etc.
Nero CD-DVD Speed supports for CD, DVD, Blu-Ray and HD DVD drives and media. And finally this good and very useful program is absolutely free.
The latest available version of Nero CD-DVD Speed is 4.7.7.15 that has been released recently.
Downloand Nero CD-DVD Speed 4.7.7.15 (733 KB)

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TweakNow RegCleaner v.3.7.0

Posted by ZikVn On 1:17 AM 0 comments
The new version 3.7.0 of TweakNow RegCleaner has been released recently. TweakNow RegCleaner is very useful software that can remove all Windows registry errors and restore your system to optimum performance.
The system registry is one of the most vitally important parts of any Windows system.
It contains information about your system configuration and determines how Windows looks, how efficiently it works, and what you're allowed to do.
Almost all programs use registry to keep configuration and other information. When you delete a file or uninstall a program, the registry entries of this program are deleted automatically. Unfortunately, it does not always work that way. Sometimes, programs fail to remove their own registry entries. Thus, an obsolete data or error stays in the registry.
Over time your Windows registry becomes saturated with these obsolete entries and invalid data that cause errors and even system crashes. Therefore it is very useful to periodically clean your system's registry.
TweakNow RegCleaner is an excellent utility for this purpose. The program has clean and simple interface. It is very easy to use.

TweakNow RegCleaner Interface


The default settings are configured for immediate use. However, you can adjust them to suit your need.
TweakNow RegCleaner has two scanning modes: Quick Scan and Custom. The first one only scan the most important part of your system’s registry. The second mode allows you to manually select list of registry sections to be scanned.
The user mode section of RegCleaner allows you to select the available options that best describe your understanding of Windows registry. The default Beginner mode only displays scan results that rated as safe to delete, and the Expert mode allows scanning the registry using all available scan methods and all scan results will be shown to user. You can restore the Windows registry, in case something goes wrong after removing some registry entries.
TweakNow RegCleaner available in two editions: standard (free) and professional, which has a more powerful registry scan engine and some advanced features.
I think TweakNow RegCleaner is a very safe registry cleaning software that is perfect for everyone who wants to clean out his Windows registry and doesn’t want to worry about messing up their system.

See also:
Super Utilities - Make Your Computer Better

Clean Out Junk on Your System with CCleaner

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TrueCrypt 5.0 - Best Free Real-time File Encryption

Posted by ZikVn On 1:17 AM 0 comments
If you want to protect certain sensitive data, the most viable and simple solution is data encryption. There are many encryption programs to choose from, but when it comes to ease of use and value few can compare to the open-source TrueCrypt software.
TrueCrypt can create a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mount it as a virtual disk that can be accessed via a drive letter. It can also encrypt entire hard drive or removable media, such as USB flash drives, floppy disks, and memory sticks.
Any file that is saved on the encrypted virtual drive is automatically encrypted on-the-fly, and can only be accessed while the drive is mounted with the correct password or key.
TrueCrypt supports 11 algorithms for encrypting your private data, including such algorithms as AES-256, Blowfish (448-bit key), CAST5, Serpent, Triple DES, and Twofish.
The best feature TrueCrypt provides for the user is the ability to create a hidden drives. It is the best way to prevent others from discovering that some data even exist.
The program has quite simple interface and the regular user can handle it easily. The useful tips in the comprehensive web help manual and volume-creation wizard provide excellent guidance.

TrueCrypt Best Free Encryption Software Main Window


One obvious downside of any strong encryption program is if you forget your password, you should consider any protected files as good as gone. So don’t forget your passwords.
I’ve tried several free and ‘lite’ encryption programs and TrueCrypt is my doubtless favorite. Similar applications cost enough to make you avoid them. TrueCrypt is free.

Compatibility: Microsoft Windows 2000, 2003, XP, and Vista. Mac OS X and Linux operating systems are also supported.
You can download TrueCrypt from this page.

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FastStone Capture 6.0 – Powerful Screen Capture Software

Posted by ZikVn On 1:16 AM 1 comments
The new version of powerful, flexible and intuitive screen-capture utility has been released recently. I talk about FastStone Capture 6.0.
Taking a screenshot of your desktop is quite easy if you simply want to capture the entire screen, using the 'Print Screen' key on your keyboard.
But what if you want to capture a specific area of the screen? Of course, you still can use the 'Print Screen' key to copy your screen to the Clipboard and then paste it into the image editor where you can crop a certain area of the image. However, it is not very convenient. There is also a Snipping Tool for Vista users that allows them to grab a particular area of the screen.
If you don’t have Vista or don’t like its Snipping Tool, I recommend you to try FastStone Capture. It is fast and easy to use screen-capture software.
FastStone Capture allows you to capture anything on the screen including windows, objects, selections, scrolling windows or web pages as well as full screen. It has integrated image viewer and capture editor where you can modify the captured image before saving. FastStone Capture’s editor enables you to apply additional editing tools like resizing, sharpening, brightening, cropping, rotating, text, watermarks, sepia and more.

FastStone Capture’s editor

You can select the destination for the captured image. This image can be sent to image editor, clipboard, print dialog, default email client program or directly saved to file. FastStone Capture also can sent captured images to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint documents or even to a Web (FTP) server.
FastStone Capture saves captured image in BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PCX, TGA, and PDF formats.

FastStone Capture

FastStone Capture has floating Capture Panel that offers fast access to its capture tools and output options. It’s worth to mention several additional features like global hotkeys, support for external editors, automatic filename generation, a color picker, a screen magnifier and a screen ruler.
The latest version of FastStone Capture offers several improvements and new features like improved "Draw" tool, ability to sent images to Web (FTP) server, enhanced screen ruler and some others. There are also some changes in the user interface and bug fixes.
FastStone Capture 6.0 can be downloaded here. (1 Mb)

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jv16 PowerTools 2008 1.8.0.455

Posted by ZikVn On 1:15 AM 0 comments
Macecraft Software Company has released an updated version of its jv16 PowerTools software.
jv16 PowerTools is one of the most known and certainly one of the best Windows optimization programs. This software is the suite containing 21 different tools which allow you to keep your computer running smoothly and error-free.
With jv16 PowerTools you can:
  • Automatically fix many types of registry errors
  • Automatically clean your Windows registry from unneeded and obsolete data
  • Easily remove all traces of software you have thought you have already uninstalled ages ago
  • Detect and remove unneeded history data and MRU (most recently used) lists that can contain your privacy information
  • Find and remove unnecessary files, including temp files and duplicate files
  • And much, much more!

The updated version contains the following changes.
  • Fixed a bug from the Registry Finder which caused it not to properly find a certain type of registry errors.
  • Added a safety feature to the Registry Cleaner and Registry Finder which prompts user for additional confirmation if user attempts to delete an important registry key.
  • Added a safety feature to the File Cleaner and File Finder which makes it more difficult to delete important system files with it, if user attempts to do so the program shows an additional confirmation message.

If you want to improve the performance of your Windows system and release your hard drive from unneeded files jv16 PowerTools 2008 will be the right choice for you.
See more about jv16 PowerTools.
You can download jv16 PowerTools 2008 here. (Size: 3.7 MB; Usage limitations: 30 Day trial)
Posted by Oleg at 10:08 AM 1 comments
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008

jv16 PowerTools 2008 - Very Good Optimization Software

The new version of jv16 PowerTools 2008 is available. This software is amazing set of 22 different tools which allow you to keep your computer error free and running smoothly. jv16 PowerTools 2008 lets you fix, repair, optimize and tune up your computer easier than ever.
The program has well designed interface that gives a quick access to all its functions and features. It is very easy to use. The multilingual user interface of jv16 PowerTools allows the software to be used in all major languages, while safety features and automatic backup help you to use the program as risk free as possible!

jv16 PowerTools registry tools


jv16 PowerTools provides an efficient tool for controlling and uninstalling applications on you PC. It also allows you to remove all traces of software you have thought you have already uninstalled ages ago.
This software helps you optimize the performance of your system by cleaning your Windows registry from obsolete and unneeded data. It can easily fix many registry problems, increasing the stability of your system.
jv16 PowerTools includes privacy tools that can detect and remove unneeded MRU objects and history data that can contain your privacy information.

jv16 PowerTools Privacy tools


Such file tools as file organizer, cleaner, and duplicate finder can help you to manipulate and remove unneeded files on your system.

jv16 PowerTools File tools


There are many others very useful tools that help you maintain your computer optimized.
The new version 1.8.0.435 Beta 2 of jv16 PowerTools includes new user interface, improved Registry Cleaner, fully rewritten and supercharged Startup Manager, and some other minor improvements and bug fixes.
I think jv16 PowerTools will be the right choice for anyone who is looking for all-in-one software that can easily optimize their PC.

Download jv16 PowerTools 2008 v.1.8.0.435 Beta 2 (without handbook, 2.2 MB, shareware)

The current non-beta version of jv16 PowerTools can be downloaded here.

See also: Super Utilities v.7.75 – Make Your Computer Better

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Diskeeper Professional 2008 - Powerful Defragmentation Software

Posted by ZikVn On 1:14 AM 0 comments
Over time your HDD becomes fragmented. As you delete and create files, you create new regions of free space. Your free space is not in one big chunk at the end, but instead just a number of small holes all over your disk. And sometimes it is impossible to allocate new files contiguously, and your operating system has to break them into fragments, putting a small piece here and a small piece there.
File system fragmentation on your HDD can bring unforeseen problems, such as complete slowdown of system performance, slow startup and shutdown, PC crashes and sometimes even to drive failures.
Fortunately for all of us there are a number of programs that are designed to eliminate fragmentation. One of the best programs of this kind is Diskeeper 2008.
Diskeeper 2008 has one of the most powerful defragmentation engines ever developed. Even if your system only has a 1% of free space it can be defragged by this great program.
Diskeeper runs in the background and in real time and automatically defrags your disk when your machine is idle. Thus it can handle fragmentation as it occurs, eliminating the need for manual defragmentation.

Diskeeper 2008 Professional Main Window


Diskeeper 2008 also allows you manually defrag your system. Boot-Time Defragmentation option allows you to defrag your hard drive at boot time, moving files that couldn’t be moved while Windows was in use.
The program can configure the MFTs (Master File Tables - the place where information about every file and directory on an NTFS hard drive is stored) and paging files (a hidden file on your HDD that Windows uses as if it were RAM), preventing them from fragmentation and thus increasing overall system performance.
Diskeeper 2008 includes many others options and features for advanced users.
If you abuse your harddrive with lots of new/updated/deleted files, I would definitely recommend that you try Diskeeper.
You can download the latest version of Diskeeper here.
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Cobian Backup 9.1.1.193 – Good and free backup software

Posted by ZikVn On 1:14 AM 0 comments
The new version of Cobian Backup software has been released recently. Cobian Backup is a multi-threaded application that allows to schedule and backup your files and directories from some place in your computer to other directories or drives in the same computer or to a shared drive in another machine. There is also full support for the protocol FTP. So the program lets you ability to back up your files to your FTP server.
Cobian Backup exists in two versions: software and service. Cobian Backup software uses very few resources and can be running on the background on your system, checking your backup schedule and executing your backups when it necessary.
The application supports several methods of strong encryption and compression. So it can be used not only for making backups of your file and folders but for creating security copies of them.
Cobian Backup has very simple and easy to use interface with extra-large icons that even your grandmother can read without her glasses on. Maybe the program lacks some features of more powerful backup software products but it allows you to create and schedule an automated backup of all your important files in a few minutes.



Like any good backup utility, Cobian Backup allows you to choose what type of backup full or incremental you want to create. Full backup allows you to create a copy of all your data every time. Incremental backup makes a copy only of those files that have changed.
Here some others key features of Cobian Backup software:
  • automatic removing of old backups
  • remote backup
  • displaying of backup history
  • an open plugin architecture to allow the program's enhancement
  • backup to multiple destinations.


The latest version 9.1.1.193 of Cobian Backup has a lot of changes. Here is the list of the most important of them:
  • Start a backup when autostart
  • Autostart the interface can now be set for all users or the current user
  • Now you can pause the backup in any place
  • Proxy SMTP can now use SOCKS
  • SMTP can now use SSL
  • FTP operations use now UNICODE for local operations
  • FTP operations can now use UTF transfers if the server support it
  • Support for 7zip compression
  • Zip files can now store file names in UNICODE
  • A brand new, improved help file and tutorial
  • And more.


You can download the latest version of Cobian Backup here.

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Smart Defrag – Very Efficient Defragger

Posted by ZikVn On 1:13 AM 0 comments
Fragmentation of hard disk drive space is generally main cause of slow and unstable computer performance. Smart Defrag is one of the most efficient disk defragmenters. With the help of this program you can keep your hard disc drive space from becoming excessively defragemented.
Smart Defrag is very easy to use and maintain. You can just install it and forget it. The program works automatically and quietly in the background while your computer is idle and doesn't need additional user manual intervention for basic maintenance. While working in the background, the program only uses up 14MB of RAM, so it's feasible to run it smoothly on aged machines.
The program also includes a manual defrag option where you are able to set up to defrag whenever you want and schedule defragmentations. Smart Defrag can shutdown your computer after defragmentation.



Smart Defrag has the world’s quickest defragmenting engine. It has been specially designed for present-day, large disc drives, so it eliminates long waiting times.
So, Smart Defrag is a convenient defragger with options for scheduling and more, this is a great choice for both beginners and more skilled users.
You can download the latest version of this Smart Defrag on this page.
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ACDSee Photo Manager 2009 – The Best Digital Imaging Software

Posted by ZikVn On 1:12 AM 0 comments
ACDSee Photo Manager 2009 is now available. The new version of these powerful digital imaging software designed for digital photographers, crafters and scrapbookers. ACDSee Photo Manager is a comprehensive application ideal for viewing, acquiring, enhancing, organizing and sharing your images. Improved features make ACDSee Photo Manager 2009 the quickest, most flexible and affordably priced organization software available for at-home use.
The new user interface is wholly customizable, and offers fast access to tools and features. You can customize the screen layout, the order of pictures, toolbar display, and many other options to suit your preferences. ACDSee Photo Manager is very easy to use image management software that everyone from novices to professionals can use and enjoy.


ACDSee Photo Manager


The latest version of ACDSee Photo Manager adds many features designed to help users handle their digital images, stay organized and share memories with friends. Here are some of them.
ACDSee lets you organize your entire collection the way that works best for you. The new PhotoDisc feature puts its power into the hands of users, who can now organize images stored on CDs, DVDs, and external hard drives without copying them to your computer. With new tools from ACDSee you can rename, categorize, back up, add ratings and keywords to images on any storage device connected to your computer.
The program allows you to assign images to as many categories as you like without taking up more space on your computer.
ACDSee Photo Manager 2009 is the fastest viewing software around. With it you’ll never wait for an image to open. Fill your screen with images, quickly browse through your thumbnails and view photos at full size. Plus you can use ACDSee's Quick View feature to instantly preview e-mail attachments or files on your desktop.
ACDSee supports over 100 image and multimedia file formats including BMP, IFF, JPG, PNG, RAS, RSB, GIF, PSD, and TIFF.
ACDSee Photo Manager allows you to supplement camera metadata (IPTC and EXIF) with their own custom metadata, including categories and ratings. So you can now protect and share this custom information with other ACDSee users by embedding it into their images. Program lets users to include custom information even with such file formats as GIF, PNG and PDF. ACDSee's Database Backup feature also helps you backup your images to CD or DVD so you don’t lose them if your computer fails.
With this software you can share your photos by e-mail without worrying about file sizes. ACDSee also simplify online photo sharing with integrated uploading to such sites as Smugmug and Flickr.
Another new feature of ACDSee Photo Manager is ability to create PowerPoint presentations. So you can create your own stunning slide shows with transition effects, notes, captions and sound.
Also, ACDSee includes a lot of image editing tools you can use to edit, enhance and correct your digital photos. ACDSee allows you to add a custom border, aply various effects like crop, sharpen, saturation, blur, shadow or edge effect. Use advanced red-eye tool to get natural-looking results with custom eye colors to replace red areas.


ACDSee Photo Manager


The program automatically saves and keeps the original image when it is first opened for editing. So you can restore to the original at any time after editing.
ACDSee’s print layout tools help you print multiple prints on a single page, fill an entire page, or create custom print sizes.




I think that ACDSee Photo Manager 2009 is for the real digital photographer who requires almost endless ways to categorize, rank, and document digital images, while having abundant ways to enhance those images. This software system lets the photographer's originative side to show itself through the various effects.
ACDSee Photo Manager 2009 is available for a free 30-day trial and for purchase for $49.99 (USD) at http://www.acdsee.com
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Posted by Oleg at 11:35 AM 1 comments
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Saturday, March 01, 2008


IrfanView 4.10 - Full-featured Graphics Viewer

IrfanView is one of the most popular and feature packed free image viewer, editor and converter for Windows. This fast and compact program is trying to be simple for beginners and powerful for professionals.
IrfanView supports all important graphic formats, as well as multiple media formats.
In addition it includes many additional features including image editing, image adjustment, slideshow, batch conversion and editing, multipage editing, drag and drop support, TWAIN support, fast directory browsing, IPTC edit, capturing, numerous effects, multiple language support, and much more. Moreover, the functionality of IrfanView can be further extended via plug-ins that are widely available.
Lets take a closer look at this program.
The user interface of IrfanView is not streamlined, but it is simple and quite easy to use.
As I mentioned above IrfanView allows you to open image files, as well as sound and video files of multiple formats.


IrfanView Open dialog


Thumbnails shortcut on the toolbar lets you view thumbnails of images in the specified directory.


IrfanView Thumbnails View


IrfanView allows you to create slide shows. There are several options for slideshow. For example, you can set time interval for changing slides or use MP3 files (with installed plug-ins) as background music. You can also save the current slideshow as self running EXE or SCR file (standalone executable/screen saver).


IrfanView SlideShow


IrfanView is not only the viewer, but also a converter of graphic files. In the program there is a batch processing option with the possibility of converting incoming files of different formats into a single output format. You also can apply many special operations to the images during conversion. Furthermore, IrfanView has batch rename feature that lets you rename original/input files or copy/move original files to output directory and rename the files in the output directory. For renaming, you can generate a name pattern for new names and the starting index for numbers.


IrfanView Batch Processing


Another IrfanView’s useful feature is called Copy Shop. It allows you to print an image directly from a scanner or any other TWAIN compatible device (digital camera, TV card, etc.).
Though IrfanView is not a professional graphic editor, it still allows you to do some useful image editing tasks. You can cut and crop images, paint or draw objects into an image, insert text. IrfanView also lets you to rotate, flip, resize images, create panoramas and apply different effects like sharpen, blur, emboss and others.


IrfanView Image Effects


The program has many others useful features.
IrfanView is my favorite image viewer, because it offers really good options and features for free and because it is the fastest picture viewer I can find.

You can download IrfanView from this page or from the official web site irfanview.com.

See also: XnView 1.92 – The Universal Graphic Viewer and Converter
Posted by Oleg at 12:56 PM 0 comments
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Friday, February 15, 2008


FastStone Capture 6.0 – Powerful Screen Capture Software

The new version of powerful, flexible and intuitive screen-capture utility has been released recently. I talk about FastStone Capture 6.0.
Taking a screenshot of your desktop is quite easy if you simply want to capture the entire screen, using the 'Print Screen' key on your keyboard.
But what if you want to capture a specific area of the screen? Of course, you still can use the 'Print Screen' key to copy your screen to the Clipboard and then paste it into the image editor where you can crop a certain area of the image. However, it is not very convenient. There is also a Snipping Tool for Vista users that allows them to grab a particular area of the screen.
If you don’t have Vista or don’t like its Snipping Tool, I recommend you to try FastStone Capture. It is fast and easy to use screen-capture software.
FastStone Capture allows you to capture anything on the screen including windows, objects, selections, scrolling windows or web pages as well as full screen. It has integrated image viewer and capture editor where you can modify the captured image before saving. FastStone Capture’s editor enables you to apply additional editing tools like resizing, sharpening, brightening, cropping, rotating, text, watermarks, sepia and more.


FastStone Capture’s editor

You can select the destination for the captured image. This image can be sent to image editor, clipboard, print dialog, default email client program or directly saved to file. FastStone Capture also can sent captured images to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint documents or even to a Web (FTP) server.
FastStone Capture saves captured image in BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PCX, TGA, and PDF formats.


FastStone Capture

FastStone Capture has floating Capture Panel that offers fast access to its capture tools and output options. It’s worth to mention several additional features like global hotkeys, support for external editors, automatic filename generation, a color picker, a screen magnifier and a screen ruler.
The latest version of FastStone Capture offers several improvements and new features like improved "Draw" tool, ability to sent images to Web (FTP) server, enhanced screen ruler and some others. There are also some changes in the user interface and bug fixes.
FastStone Capture 6.0 can be downloaded here. (1 Mb)
Posted by Oleg at 12:17 PM 0 comments
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Sunday, January 13, 2008


VSO PhotoDVD v2.6.4 - Create Your DVD Photo Slide Show


VSO Software has just released the new version 2.6.4 of PhotoDVD. PhotoDVD is probably one of the easiest applications to create an animated slideshows on DVD.
It takes your digital images and animates them to make a DVD photo slide show. The program is able to add multiple soundtracks and comments as DVD Subtitles.
As you can see PhotoDVD has simple interface. It is very easy to use.


PhotoDVD Main Window


This is the first screen on PhotoDVD. From here you can add pictures, soundtracks and adjust the global settings of the slideshow.


PhotoDVD settings window


PhotoDVD supports a great number of various digital image formats, including JPG, GIF, BMP, ANI, PCX, EMF, WMF, and so on. The list of audio formats supported by PhotoDVD isn’t so impressive but it includes all popular audio formats such as MP3, WMA, OGG, MPC, WAV and APE.
Once images have been added, you can select each image and adjust what happens with it. PhotoDVD takes care of all the animation factors for you and can analyze the picture’s size and orientation to automatically create a movie with cool fade, zoom, and pan effects.


PhotoDVD aditional additing


Once all editing tasks have been finished, you can add soundtracks to the slide show and define the desired video format and output destination. PhotoDVD supports Fullscreen (4:3) and Widescreen (16:9) output and can write the created slide show to your hard drive as well as burn it to DVD disc (Single or Double Layer).


PhotoDVD output window


I think it is very good software that will be useful for anyone interested in creating DVD photo slide show. DVD slide show created by PhotoDVD has impressive quality and the animation and transitions have calming effect increasing the viewing pleasure.
The new VSO PhotoDVD v2.6.4 has added the ability to automatically rotate image based on EXIF information.
VSO PhotoDVD is shareware. You can download it from this page.
Posted by Oleg at 11:47 AM 1 comments
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Wednesday, January 02, 2008


PhotoFiltre 6.3.0 – The Best Free Digital Image Editor


PhotoFiltre is an excellent tool for anyone who wants to retouch their digital photos. Actually, I think it’s one of the best free digital image editors for Windows PCs that is available today. Though PhotoFiltre is not for professional use, it may be a good alternative to such programs as Adobe Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro.
PhotoFiltre has simple, but elegant user interface that is very easy to use.
The program has a well designed set of toolbars. You easily notice the toolbar with the most frequently used tools, with easy recognizable icons. Other toolbars give you access to more advanced tools such as gamma correction, dust reduction and another standard filters with just a few clicks.


PhotoFiltre the best free image editor


PhotoFiltre supports almost all image file formats. This application offers all standard editing tools such as paint brush, clone brush, selection etc. But these basic features will no longer seem attractive after you find a large number of image effects, photo masks, and image adjustments. Among numerous PhotoFiltre image processing features you find effects and filters like sharpen, blur, soften, noise, texture, color, flatten, stylize and much more.
One of the most useful features of PhotoFiltre is batch processing capability. This feature allows you work with a great number of images at the same time and apply image effects, rotate images and perform other image processing tasks in one fell swoop.
Another great feature of PhotoFiltre is that it supports 11 language, including English, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Swedish, Spanish Catalan and Czech.
The new version 6.3.0 of PhotoFiltre has been released recently. In new version some bugs was fixed and compatibility with Vista was improved.
PhotoFiltre 6.3.0 is free for personal and non-commercial use. I recommend it for anyone who needs to work with digital images.
PhotoFiltre can be downloaded for free here (1.68 MB).
See also:
5 Best Free Alternatives to Popular Programs
XnView 1.92 – The Universal Graphic Viewer and Converter
Posted by Oleg at 9:03 AM 1 comments
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Thursday, December 20, 2007


XnView 1.92 – The Universal Graphic Viewer and Converter


The new version 1.92 of XnView has been released. It is free for non-commercial use and fast application for viewing and converting graphics files.
This program has well designed user interface, that is highly customizable.
By default window is divided into three areas: tree of folders, the contents of the selected folder (list or thumbnails of images), and the preview pane. Each of these panes can be easily hidden, using the special blue buttons, placed exactly on the separators.



XnView main window


XnView has advanced functionality. This program supports more than 400 file formats, a lot of operating systems and 44 languages (Windows only).
XnView provides a lot of useful tools for working with digital photos. It allows you to apply special effects and filters to your images.



XnView Batch Processing


The program can display pictures in slide show mode, generate simple hyperlinked thumbnail web pages, create TIFF and PDF files based on the selected images.
It also offers many other features, including screen capture, tools for converting, renaming and scanning images in batch mode, and more.
New features in the latest version of XnView including APNG read support, IPTC read support for RAW files, experimental Shadow/highlight function, the possibility to print selected area, improved batch processing of files. Errors of previous versions were fixed.
I think XnView is a must have software. According to many user reviews out there, it's application that handles well.
You can download the latest version of XnView from this page.

See also: IrfanView 4.10 - Full-featured Graphics Viewer
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