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5 Free Programs Every Techie Should Have. By Daniel VanBeek, aka Datech
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By Datech at 2009-07-29 22:43
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5 Free Programs Every Techie Should Have
By Daniel VanBeek, aka Datech
Tech savvy people are a dime a dozen in today’s enormous information society. No matter where you go online or in real life, someone will offer you a solution to each and every problem you may have. To the average user, encountering this magnitude of assistance can be both helpful and daunting. How do you know who to choose? Can I trust this information? Is this guy out to get me? To the experienced technical guru offering the help, competing with that same magnitude of assistance can be just as helpful and daunting. Is that a new method I don’t know about? Is my method wrong, or not good enough? We both run businesses, is this guy going to steal a potential client?
Whether you are the average user or the experienced techie it pays to know who to trust and what information to use. If you don’t know how to defragment your hard drive, trusting someone who links you to “How To Use A Sledgehammer” might be the wrong choice. If your tech expertise runs shy on hardware networking, regurgitating “How To Run CAT3 In Place of Corporate Ethernet” might get you blacklisted in certain circles.
So what criteria should one use to judge the validity of a piece of information you ask? In the end it comes down to pure judgment and how relevant the data is, but there is one standard I use to judge anyone who claims they are a techie: Free Software.
Any techie that knows his or her salt knows that it doesn’t take any capital investment whatsoever to run an effective computer diagnostic and repair business. Even if you aren’t running a business any worthwhile techie will know that while the purchased software is usually good, the free software is usually better. Free software is any program or code that can be obtained legally for free, usually by downloading the program straight from the developer’s website. A free piece of software can do anything the developer programmed it to do, and if the techie is smart enough it can do anything he programmed it to do as well.
A user can’t always simply ask a techie what software they use on a regular basis, but if you pay enough attention to the right people you will catch mention of certain software. If you intend to be a worthwhile computer techie, or if you are searching for the smartest techie with the best programs, below are five of the best free software packages for Windows that every techie should have.
CCleaner
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Current Version: CCleaner 2.21.940 (6/25/2009)
Description:
CCleaner is an all in one PC optimization tool that allows users to clean up unwanted and unnecessary files, clean out the Window’s Registry, and configure both the Startup and Add/Remove Programs list.
Feature overview: The original and main use of CCleaner, formerly known as Crap Cleaner, was to clean all the crap off your computer. Piriform, the developer of CCleaner, classifies ‘crap’ as any unnecessary file created by the operating system or any data deemed unwanted by the user. By default, the Cleaner portion of the software comes with 16 separate selected categories for cleaning with 11 optional categories for advanced users. These categories will erase everything from your browser’s cookies to your Windows Log Files by default, and will reset your Start Menu and Custom Files and Folder settings if you go advanced. The Cleaner portion alone is a very powerful tool due to the categories it will clean, so exercise caution when using the Cleaner portion and any other area of the program.
The other two standout features of CCleaner are the Registry cleaner and the Startup editor. The registry cleaner will scan for a host of common problems by default, but since we are dealing with the very fragile Windows Registry the program will now prompt you to backup the registry before any changes are made. The startup editor is a great tool for anyone who doesn’t like or doesn’t want to use MSConfig. Disallowing startup items is one of the best ways to speed up system boot times, and offering this feature in an easy to use manner makes CCleaner one of the best all around cleaners on the free market.
Why A Techie should use it:
For anyone who constantly complains that their computer is ‘just so slow’ CCleaner is a must. The majority of slowness problems stem from overburdened system resources, be it hard drive space or processing power and RAM in relation to the programs in use. CCleaner’s cleaning tools allow a techie to effectively reduce the fluff from any system for a notable performance increase.
As an example, I run CCleaner on every laptop I format for company employees. After a full system format with Windows XP and our company programs, CCleaner consistently cleans off over 300MB of excess files on every new laptop. Couple this example with the fact that the average user’s computer hasn’t been cleaned in over 6 months and never reformatted CCleaner quickly becomes the go to product for a quick and simple yet thorough system cleaning.
Competitors:
Advanced SystemCare Free is the closest competitor to CCleaner. IObit’s cleaning software offers many of the same features as CCleaner, but CCleaner’s user interface and depth of functionality make it the clear winner on every scale.
TrueCrypt
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Current Version: TrueCrypt 6.2a ( 6/15/2009)
Description:
TrueCrypt is an automatic, on-the-fly disk encryption program for all operating systems. It can encrypt an entire partition or storage device, create a virtual encrypted disk within a file, and provide your computer with encrypted pre-boot authentication.
Feature overview:
The key feature that the majority of TrueCrypt users utilize is the partition and storage device encryption. After a short tutorial and beginners guide any user is able to encrypt an entire partition or storage device for whatever purpose they may have. TrueCrypt offers the choice of encrypting in three different 256-bit encryption algorithms: AES, Serpent, and Twofish with the XTS mode of operation. The beauty of the TrueCrypt software is that the encryption is done automatically, in real time, and transparently with parallelization and pipelining in order for the data to be read and written as fast a non-encrypted drive. All of the encrypted drives and devices are immediately password protected for quick access to those privileged enough to know the key.
The other two features that this software touts are the creation and usage of hidden volumes and hidden operating systems in the interest of plausible deniability. Even though it has been proven that TrueCrypt volumes can be detected with high probability, it is still near impossible to prove that any volume is actually a TrueCrypt volume. This plausible deniability of the existence of the volumes is considered a function of the software because, as TrueCrypt puts it, “…in case an adversary forces you to reveal the password.” In all, the data protection provided by TrueCrypt proves extremely useful for a free product.
Why A Techie should use it:
The main reason behind encrypting data is for those of us paranoid enough to think that someone wishes to use our own data against us. This paranoia can range from the fear of someone stealing your computer and finding personal data, or the fear that someone may steal your laptop that is filled with intellectual property and private schematics.
With the advent of high capacity USB storage devices the chances of someone stealing your personal data by swiping your flash drive became even more prevalent. By encrypting your hard drive and your portable storage devices you almost completely protect yourself from the majority of criminals and identify thieves, not to mention any curious roommates and jealous ex’s. If you are a techie that deals with the data side of intellectual property and licensed information TrueCrypt proves to be an invaluable free tool for protecting any sensitive data.
Competitors:
CompuSec is an encryption program that will encrypt your entire hard disk in a quick and effective manner. However, the features offered by TrueCrypt absolutely trump the usability of CompuSec and any other free encryption program.
7-Zip
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Current Version: 7-Zip 4.65 (02/03/2009)
Description:
7-zip is an open source file compression and archiving software that can be used from a graphical user interface, command line interface, or Windows shell integration. The software can archive files in five different formats, and can unpack over 13 different compression formats as well.
Feature overview:
This compression software natively uses the .7z file extension and compression algorithm. The .7z format is based on the relatively new LZMA algorithm, an algorithm developed for 7-zip, but has so far proven to hold significant advantages over that comparable .zip and .rar formats. 7-zip can package files in the .7z, .zip, .gzip, .bz2, and .tar, and can unpack .cab, .rar, .arj, .Z, .jar, .iso, and more. As well, the GUI and CLI tools for 7-zip can open and modify some MSI and EXE files without having to run the initial installer.
Originally, 7-zip was developed for Windows as an alternative to the native compression tools and the finicky WinZIP. The greatest feature that 7-zip has is its ability to effectively handle and compress files and folders of sizes greater than 4GB. Windows has traditionally had problems handling files larger than 4GB due to file system limitations, but 7-zip seems to have no problems handling files of any size.
Why A Techie should use it:
Whether you are archiving all of your high school essays or compressing a virtual machine for replication, everyone should be using some type of file archiver. If you are considered a technical guru by your family and friends, you will probably have to reformat or back up their computers at some point in your life. With the proliferation of digital cameras today, those friends probably have well over 4 GB of pictures on their computer. Even though you might not be able to get everything in one swoop, what better way to back up a ton of pictures than employing an effective large file archiver for easy aggregation and transfer?
Competitors:
WinRAR and WinZIP are the two other big name file archivers in the game today, and both are capable of many of the same things 7-Zip can perform. However, 7-zip is superior due to the effectiveness of the .7z file format as well as its ability to handle the ZIP format better than both Windows and WinZIP.
Foxit Reader
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Current Version: Foxit Reader 3.0.1817 (6/19/2009)
Description:
Foxit Reader is a multifunction PDF reader that is offered as an alternative to Adobe Reader. The software opens PDF documents as any PDF readr would, and allows for saving unfinished PDF forms, converting to text, highlighting, and drawing.
Feature overview:
PDF Readers are a fairly simple concept and therefore many of the readers, including Foxit, don’t have many standard features to speak of. Adobe’s Portable Document Format has become the standard for creating and sending documents of any size that should no longer be edited. Since Adobe created the popular format, it was long thought that the best option to read and create files in PDF format was to use one of Adobe’s software. However, over the years all of Adobe’s massive software library has become incredibly bloated and are no longer the go to product for many tasks. Adobe Reader by default will include an entry in your computer’s start up processes, will require you to update the software constantly by way of a very ineffective patch system, and yet it still takes a relatively long time to load a PDF document when you need to.
From the outset Foxit attempted to remedy these issues that many were encountering with Adobe’s Reader. Now in its 3.0 stage, Foxit still loads incredibly faster than Adobe’s product, does not include any startup entries, never automatically updates, and provides a very configurable interface and option set for any other features you may deem less than desirable.
Why A Techie should use it:
Everyone and anyone who considers themselves tech savvy should use Foxit for one reason: speed. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to download a 20 page motherboard manual or a 300 page Red Hat white paper in PDF format and waiting 5 minutes for Adobe to load before it even begins the download. The average load time for Foxit is around 3 seconds, whereas the average load time for Adobe is closer to 20 seconds. Couple this with the fact that removing the Adobe startup process from your startup commands decreases boot time by about 5 seconds and response time by about 10 seconds, you start having some pretty good reasons to switch to Foxit.
Competitors:
Adobe Reader is currently the only comparable product worth mentioning, and if you read the earlier sections you know why it isn’t even worth mentioning anymore.
Active@ ISO Burner
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Current Version: Active@ ISO Burner 2.0
Description:
Active@ ISO Burner is an easy to use program that burns bootable ISO images to disc. The software supports a wide range of optical devices and will burn to CD, DVD, and Blue Ray.
Feature overview:
This product is focused strictly on burning ISO images to a bootable media and it provides two very easy ways to do so. The first is a simple context menu option for any ISO file with the second being a configurable GUI. If you have an ISO image sitting anywhere on your computer the easiest way to burn the image is to simply Right Click the file and click Burn ISO Image. With this option Active@ ISO Burner will automatically begin burning the file to whatever media you have in your default optical drive.
The second method the software offers is a GUI for burning the ISO’s. When you open the program you will see a very simple menu that lets you select the file you want to burn, the optical drive you want to use, and then gives you options for the mode, speed, copies needed, and various after-burn options. For anyone who needs a onetime bootable disk or for those who are making copies of their latest streamlined XP install, Active@ ISO Burner is a simple and effective application that does everything it promises.
Why A Techie should use it:
There are many modern day reasons to use and boot from an ISO. If you are creating a new OS disk, you’re going to need a bootable ISO disk. If you are trying to install a legacy application like MS Office, you’re going to need a bootable ISO disk. If you want to restore data on a TrueCrypt drive from your TrueCrypt RescueDisk, you’re going to need a bootable ISO disk. The ease of use this program provides in performing a semi-complicated activity really makes Active@ ISO Burner worthwhile.
Competitors:
ISORecorder is the main alternative to Active@ ISO Burner. ISORecorder allows for burning only CD or DVD and is presented as more of a power tool than an actual application with a complete GUI. The intuitiveness offered by Active@’s GUI and options simply trump ISORecorder in every respect.
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