FREE TOOLS

Use or misuse of some of these tools may result in irreparable damage to your system.

In other words, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE YOU USE THEM!

Startup Utilities
Need to disable a service or process no matter what others have recommended. MSConfig is for troubleshooting purposes only. If you use it to disable startups and then run the program, you may cause what is known as a "memory leak" which does all sorts of strange things to your system. And disabling programs and services with it can get you into trouble that only a repair install can get you out of. Please note the warning found on the Microsoft site concerning MSConfig.. Instead, use one of the following startup managers.
00.. Codestuff Starter.
01.. Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel is an easy way of controlling the startup programs.
02.. Pacs-Portal Startup.
03.. Greatis Startup.

Hardware and Software Utilities
Need to find out something about your computers hardware or software?
10.. Everest is discontinued for free, but you can buy it now. I would use Belarc listed below.
11.. Belarc Advisor Reports on Software and processes.
12.. MS Windows Memory Diagnostic Tests your physical memory.
13.. PCPitstop.com checks many things from disk fragmentation to Internet speed tests.
14.. Driver Detective will check your drivers and report what updates are available. This program is not free, so we generally recommend people to simply write down their results and then manually get the updated drivers.
15.. Ethereal is a troubleshooting and reporting utility for networks.
16.. SiSoft Sandra A very powerful system audit tool and benchmark testing program. The free version has many benchmark test modules for normal users while the Pro version is more for developers and is not free.
17.. Tweaks : Is your PC configured for broadband?
This is from broadbandreports.com and runs a quick test to help you tweak your settings if you are a Cable, DSL and Wireless
broadband users
18. Memory Ten is a site that can read your mobo and tell you exactly what RAM you need and the max for the mobo. A useful site to check out with a lot of info.

Internet Security
Keeping your computer secure is your first line of defense against hackers, viruses, trojans, hijackers, spammers, and adware. These programs and sites will help you make the job a little bit easier. They will also educate you about the threat and your computer, and is one of the most important parts of computer maintenance you can do.
20.. Windows Update is the most important security measure you can do.
21.. Windows XP Service Pack 2 CD order Now you can order SP2 on CD so you do not have to download it after reinstalling Windows XP.
22.. Windows XP Service Pack 1a Now you can download and save SP1 on your computer or burn it to disk instead of having to download it every time you reinstall Windows XP.
23.. Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 6 SP1 This download wraps up multiple security patches from Microsoft into a single download.
24.. Windows 98 Critical and Beneficial Updates. Get them while Microsoft still supports Windows 98. Save them to your computer and burn them to CD.
25.. Shoot the Messenger Disables windows messenger service for you. Kellys-Korner has a fix if you use shoot the messenger and Outlook Express or Hot-mail slows down.
26.. DCOMbobulator Disables DCOM (a security threat).
27.. Auditmypc.com has test for firewall, spyware, and pop-ups.
28.. Sygate Security Scan tests for open ports on your computer.
29.. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyser
2A.. Unplug and Pray Disables the Rarely used UPnP service for you.
2B.. DirectX Buster fully uninstalls DirectX (v5 thru v8.1) from your computer.
2C.. Sun Java. More secure than MS version of java and still supported.
2D.. Hacker eliminator can prevent worms and hijacking and gives recommendations on your Internet browser settings.
2E.. Setting Up Security Zones in Internet Explorer shows you how to set up security zones to protect your computer.
2F.. Start Page Guard prevents your home page from being hijacked. If it gives you an alert, you should also scan for hijackers and viruses. Alt.link
2G.. Random Password Generator allows you to generate single or large numbers of secure, random passwords.
2H.. Microsoft's Protect Your PC Page

Free Personal Firewalls Never have 2 or more software firewalls running on the same computer as they will conflict with each other. Remember now with SP2 on WinXP there is a firewall, so if you get an alternative to disable
the Windows SP2 firewall!
30.. Sygate Personal Firewall is discontinued now. You can use the MS firewall that comes with SP2. It is more than sufficient for
most users really.
31.. Tiny Personal Firewall OR here is another link
32.. ZoneAlarm
33.. Outpost firewall <Note: no support from Agnitum now
34..Kerio Personal Firewall

Free Web Browsers
It's generally recommended that you have more than one browser available to you even if you use one exclusively. That way, you can check to see if a problem is unique to your browser or a more generalized problem. Here is a test for your browser.
For Windows OS's ~ most are tabbed browsers now unless notated otherwise
40.. Mozilla
41.. Firefox
42.. Firefox Extentions
43.. SeaMonkey is Mozilla's all in 1 internet suite
43.. Opera
44.. Flashpeak SlimBrowser
45.. Avantbrowser
46.. Maxthon
47.. Netscape
48.. IE7 the newest tabbed browser from MS
49.. Phase Out a good tabbed browser with advanced skinning options

Other OS's ~ NON Windows
WB a.. Konqueror for unix
WB b.. Camino for MAC
WB c.. Safari for MAC OS X
WB d.. Lynx runs on Un*x, VMS, Windows 95/98/NT, DOS386+
WB e.. Epiphany is the web browser for the GNOME (for Unix & Linux) desktop based on the Gecko (Mozilla layout engine) that replaced Galeon.
WB f.. Cheetah or Linux (and other free unix clones) that is not dependant on KDE, GNOME or Mozilla


Web based Virus and Trojan Scanners
It's always a good idea to never rely on a single anti-virus program. Especially if you have recently cleaned out a virus.
50.. Panda Active Scan
51.. Trend Micro House Call Virus Scanner
52.. BitDefender Free On-line Virus Scan
53.. McAfee Online Scanner. The scanner is in the free tools section.
54.. Free On-line Trojan Scan
55.. CWShredder removes the CoolWebSearch Hijacker and it's variations. Alternate link
56.. Symantec Security Check
57.. Jotti's malware scan
58.. Virustotal Free Online Virus and Malware Scan


Local computer Virus and Trojan Scanners
These free anti-virus programs give you extra protection against viruses and are updated regularly.
60.. Avast, Home Edition
61.. AVG AntiVirus If you're having trouble getting updates for AVG Anti-Virus, here's the fix.
62.. Mike Lin's Startup Monitor alerts you if any programs like trojans, viruses, or hijackers register to run at startup.

Links to common virus removal instructions
70.. Symantec w32 blaster worm information
71.. Symantec w32 blaster worm removal tool
72.. Symantec qhosts worm information
73.. Symantec qhosts worm removal tool
74.. McAfee Qhosts-1 information and removal instructions
75.. Besttechie.net has instructions on how to remove the MSUpdater.exe trojan.

Adware, Spyware, Trojan, and Hijacker Scanners
If your anti virus program finds nothing and you are experiencing virus like symptoms or unwanted advertisements, these programs may help.
80.. Spybot Search and Destroy removes advertising and spyware from your computer. DSO Exploit Bug Fix - Spybot S&D must be installed first.
81.. AdAware SE removes advertising and spyware from your computer. Tutorial for Adaware SE and Spybot S&D
82.. A2 Squared scans your computer for trojans, worms, spyware, dialers, etc..
83.. Ewido Security Suite is a full scanner for spyware, highjackers, worms, trojans, dialers and keyloggers.
84.. TrojanHunter scans for and removes trojans with a 30 day free trial.
85.. HijackThis is a highly useful program for finding and removing computer hijacking. alternate link
Current version is 1.99 available at
Direct download of hijackthis.exe
Direct download of hijackthis.zip
Direct download of hijackthis_sfx.exe
Mirror sites should update shortly.
86.. SpywareBlaster prevents some spyware from being installed in the first place.
87.. SpywareGuard provides a real-time protection solution against spyware that is a great addition to SpywareBlaster's protection method.
88.. IE Spyad places advertisement sites in the restricted zone and disables many of the tools they use to hijack your computer.
89.. MVPS Hosts blocks unwanted parasites with a host file.
90.. Mike Lin's Startup Monitor monitors what runs on startup and alerts you to new additions.
8A.. Winpatrol also alerts you to programs that are installed on your computer without your knowlege.
8B.. KazaaBeGone removes Kazaa and all of its spyware components. Alternate link

This one fits with the above sections:
WinSock XP Fix - fix XP internet connectivity
WinSock XP Fix offers a last resort if your Internet connectivity has been corrupted due to invalid or removed registry entries. It can often cure the problem of lost connections after the removal of Adware components or improper uninstall of firewall applications or other tools that modify the XP network and Winsock settings. If you encounter connection problems after removing network related software, Adware or after registry clean-up; and all other ways fail, then give WinSock XP Fix a try.

PopUp Stoppers
90.. Google Toolbar
91.. EMS Freesurfer
92.. Popuptest tests your PopUp Stopper.

Web Sites with Useful information
These web sites have information that can help people diagnose many common problems on their computers. They also have information that people commonly ask about.
A0.. Doxdesk.com/parasite lists information about software parasites.
A1.. SpywareGuide.com lists information about spyware.
A2.. Spywareinfo.com also lists information about spyware
A3.. Answersthatwork.com lists common tasks that are running on your machine.
A4.. BlackViper.com Windows XP Home and Professional Service Pack 2 Service Configurations gives information about Windows XP services. Blackviper.com
A5.. BIOS Power On Self Test (POST) Beep Codes
A6.. Fdisk Radified gives information on how to use the Fdisk utility.
A7.. Annoyances.org has a lot of information and tip on many subjects.
A8.. Password Recovery for Windows XP, 2000, NT. Make sure you read the FAQ Before you do anything.
A9.. Vmyths.com is a web site with the latest news about Virus Hoaxes and Myths.
AA.. Hoaxbuster.ciac.org is an Email hoax site. Learn why you should not believe everything you read.
AB.. Internet Explorer errors are easily resolved with the help of one of Henri Leboeuf's Web pages.
AC.. Windows Fatal Eception errors are also more easy to troubleshoot with the help of Henri Leboeuf's Web site.

Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles
These articles by Microsoft resolve issues that we often see on this board.
B0.. Windows "Software Update incomplete, This Software Update Did Not Update Successfully" Error Message When You Visit the Windows Update Site.
B1.. 281679 You Cannot Open New Internet Explorer Window or Nothing Happens After You Click a Link.
B2.. 306615 The Computer Always Starts in Safe Mode.
B3.. 308421 How To Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP.
B4.. 148919 Windows Restarts Continuously.
B5.. 311806 Windows Restarts When You Try to Shut Down Your Computer.
B6.. 314057 NTLDR Is Missing Error Message When You Upgrade or Install Windows XP Over Windows 95, Windows 98, Or Windows Millenium.
B7.. 321305 How to Log On to Windows XP If You Forget Your Password or Your Password Expires.
B8.. 302089 How to Prevent Windows Messenger From Running on a Windows XP Based Computer.
B9..310123 Explanation of error codes generated by Device Manager in Microsoft Windows XP ~ This applies to Home ,Pro , and Professional 64-Bit Edition (Itanium)
B10.. 307545 How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting Symptoms: When you try to start or restart your Windows XP-based computer, you may receive one of the following error messages:
Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

Windows Installation Helpful How To Sites
These sites offer good information on how to install and repair Microsoft Windows.
C0.. XP Clean Install
C1.. How To Repair XP
C2.. How to Install Windows 98 on a computer With No Operating System
C3.. How to Use the Fdisk and Format Tools to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk
C4. Fix corrupted boot files for WinXp (when I find a direct link will place it):
Sometimes the boot files that are needed to start XP can become corrupted, and then you can't boot the operating system. You could do a repair from your XP installation CD, or even reinstall the OS, but that might not be necessary if you've created a startup boot disk. Here's how:
-Put a blank floppy that was formatted in XP into your floppy drive.
-Right click Start and click Explore to open Windows Explorer.
-If you haven't done so previously, in Explorer click Tools | Folder Options and click the View tab, then under Advanced Settings scroll down and uncheck the box labeled Hide protected operating system files (recommended). Click OK.
-Navigate to the root folder of your system partition ~ this is usually C:
-In the root folder, find the following files: boot.ini, NTLDR and Ntdetect.com. Copy these files to the floppy disk. If you have files in the root folder called Ntbootdd.sys or Bootsect.dos, copy these to the floppy as well.
*Now you can use the startup disk to boot Windows if one or more of these files is ever damaged or accidentally deleted.


Registry Cleaners, file shredders, and file recovery
Securely deleting files, recovering deleted files, and cleaning the registry are common issues many people have asked about.
D0.. Regseeker is a registry cleaner.
D1.. Eraser is the most recommended file shredder.
D2.. AnalogX Supershredder
D3.. Ultrawipe
D4.. AbsoluteShield Internet Eraser Lite is more of an Internet privacy utility.
D5.. MRUBlastercleans up Most Recently Used entries for privacy on public computers.
D6.. Active@Killdisk hard drive eraser will wipe the entire hard drive completely.
D7.. PC Inspector emaxx will wipe a hard drive well enough for the defense department.
D8.. PC Inspector File Recovery is a data recovery program.
D9.. Restoration - File Undelete Utility will recover files after they were removed from the recycle bin.
D10.. DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk.
DA.. ISO Buster will allow you to recover lost data or files from Cd's or DVDs.
DB.. Autoclave wipes the entire hard drive clean.
DC.. Disk Cleaner cleans out TIF and temp directories for Opera and IE. You must download plug-ins for the program to work.

Video conversion and editing
These websites give excellent information about converting video and making DVDs, VCDs, and SVCDs.
E0.. Videohelp.com has information on making DVDs, VCDs, and SVCDs.
E1.. Videohelp convert has information on converting files into DVD, VCD, and SVCD formats.
E2.. TmpGenc video conversion program.
E3.. Irfanview will display pictures and video in most formats. Plug-ins are also available.
E4.. Video MP3 Extractor extract soundtracks from video files
E5.. STOIK Video Converterconvert WMV, ASF to AVI or DiVx
E6.. VCDGear extract MPEGs from CD images, convert VCD files to MPEG, correct MPEG errors
E7.. Riva FLV Encoder Encode video to flash video.
E8.. TMPGenc Very powerful video editing and conversion tool.
E9.. Zamzar Free Online File Conversion
E10..mypictronline file converter for sites like Myspace, Blogger, etc....

This would fit the above with video: Combined Community Codec Pack

Other, Uncategorized Links
F0.. www.dllfiles.com find missing dll files here.
F1.. missingfiles has many of those files that your computer may be missing.
F2.. Winzip compresses and decompresses most file formats.
F3.. Izarc compreses and decompreses .rar and other types of file extentions.
F4.. What is a Troll? answers the question "why is this guy insulting, and what can I do about it".
F5.. http://www.artistscope.com/ Protect images on your web site or CD from all avenues of copying and saving except screen capture.

Tweak Sites
G0.. Kelly's Korner has more information, fixes and tweaks than most people have time to read.
G1.. Pureperformance is no longer recommended due to the conversion to a sponsored and questionable referral links only site
G2.. Overclockers.com
G3.. PC Pitstop has a utility that test your computers performance.
G4.. X-Setup Pro has lots of tweaks. Don't forget to get the extra plug-ins.
G5.. Jv16 utilities has many tweaks available for your system.
G6.. TweakUI also has many tweaks for Windows.
G7. Windows XP Home and Professional Service Configurations by Black Viper:
G8.. TweakGuides.com and they have a PDF file with a Tweaking Companion

Spell Checkers
H0.. Internet Explorer Spell Checker
H1.. Outlook Express Spell Checker
H2.. Mozilla Firefox Spell Checker
H3.. Firefox9+ spellchecker
(Follow the installation directions carefully, there are three XPI files involved.
The choose options and install section on the page works best.
For those who like to download the XPIs, then install them the files needed are:
spellbound.xpi
spellbound-lib.xpi
spell-en-US.xpi (or the language of your choice))


Hosting for images and files
I1.. Sharkle. Free Online Video Sharing Community:
I2. Photobucket Image Hosting - Photo Sharing - Online Photo Albums:
I3. Welcome to Image Shack Photohosting:
I4. Tiny Pic Image Hosting

Game Developement
J1. http://www.thefreecountry.com/sourcecode/games.shtml


Some Free Photoshop alternatives.
K1. Paint.NET - Photoshop alternative:
K2. Photo-Free.net
K3. GIMP - Windows installers:
K3a. Plastic Bugs - Home of the 'Original' GIMPshop » Blog Archive » Announcing GIMPshop:
K4. PhotoPlus 5.5 - Photo Editing Software:
Free, but requires registration at
Serif Product Registration:
to activate after install.

Information on video card buying and installation.
L1..Graphics Beginners' Guide.
them as soon as possible