In Pictures: 20 Must-Download Utilities For Windows 7
In Pictures: 20 Must-Download Utilities For Windows 7Released in September 2009, Microsoft's aim with Security Essentials (MSE) was to provide customers a means to improve Windows security without draining their pockets. While most consumers don't associate Microsoft with anti-virus solutions, it was only a matter of time before the company took that extra step in integrating anti-virus capabilities into the Windows operating system.
The program itself is relatively light, facilitating simple tasks like running a quick scan of the system, a full scan that's best left as an overnight task, or an optional custom scan based on the user's preference. Like most anti-virus programs, MSE updates itself in the background. However, users can also manually update with the click of a button.
Other features include a history section that lists quarantined and allowed items and a settings area that allows the user to schedule a scan, manage real-time protection, and allow MSE to create system restore points on a daily basis.
Best of all, it's free for genuine installs of Windows.
Download: Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0.1963.0
- CCleaner is good (in fact, VERY good) at removing crap. But it's not completely crapware-free: it installs the Yahoo toolbar by default. However, you can un-check that option at install, so don't go clicking 'next-next-next' too fast. Then, true, it's damn good.
- 7-zip can unpack anything that is zipped; if a ZIP file fails, then it wasn't a ZIP file... Or it was corrupted.
- The GIMP accepts what you say, and more: current stable version can deal with CMYK data, colour profiles, and can even delegate some work to the graphics card. And, yes, it provides some HDR effects.
- Scribus and Ghostscript are separated for one very simple reason: Ghostscript being THE reference implementation of Postscript in the Free Software world, it is very often updated - and it is very nice to be able to update said reference without having to update the whole stack. This may be a drawback on first install (you need to install two packages), it's a boon on prolonged use: no need to download the whole shebang every time Ghostscript is updated...
- I wonder about Trillian: why not Pidgin? It does the same thing Trillian does (for the free version), on more networks, and sound/video chat are being added little by little.
i agree, i used to organize it manually by just dragging them into certain groups. but sometimes a game will glitch and will not change back to my desktop resolution when they exit or something like that and everything will get messed up. Fences keeps that from happening, and so its worth the 5 extra seconds of boot and 20-30 megs of ram usage
Never actually used that, but I've heard good things. What makes it so good though?
never freezes on me
agreed
Windows Classic Shell is quite simply not only brilliant, but it actually makes Windows Explorer work like it SHOULD have by default.
However, thanks, Tom's. 7stack is sort of what I needed.