Everyone has documents that are vital; Driver's Licence, Birth Certificate, Citizenship document, Health Card, Credit Cards, Passport etc... It is important to have a record of these documents in case of loss. One idea is to make sure you document how to inform the issuer of these items in the event you lose these documents. Another way to protect yourself is to have a copy of all these documents. I scanned all the documents and have both a soft copy (images) and a printed copy (hard copy) whenever I need to access this information. What ever documents you consider important enough to have a record of can be scanned and stored in a secure place, a family member's home, safety deposit box etc... I carry a USB thumb drive with this information so I can report a loss any time from anywhere a computer can be accessed. How you accomplish protecting your data is your choice, these are just suggestion worth considering.
TestMyNet – Test your Download & Upload Speed
Speed Test Tool –
Test Screen
Other tools available on site for a fee (I have NOT tried - have no need for)
It is worth noting that this tool is under development with future improvements planned
Speed Test
– Test how fast your system Downloads or Uploads files
Download = transferring files to your system from a website or e-mail
Upload = transferring files from your system
i.e. attaching images to e-mail
NOTE:
Download speed is usually about 10 times faster than upload speed.
Press GO to start test
Do NOT Run any other tests on the site, unless you really want to test/buy UNRELATED software.
(see
Image1 - previous user interface
Image2 - current user interface). The user interface screen has changed a few times and may change again without notice.
NERO Lite –
Free for personal use (provide e-mail and begin download)
Hard drives do fail! - Burn CDs or DVDs Create crucial backups of
your most important and precious files.
Don't lose it all! Having backups can save a lifetime of memories and
vital documents. I always recommend
two hard drives to keep backups of important
documents and files.
OFF SITE BACKUP
on CDs DVDs or some other media is
VITAL
in case of catastrophic circumstances such as home fires.
Carbonite – One offsite option worth investigating Reasonable price
EditPad – A GREAT Alternative to Windows Note Pad
FREE for non commercial use
EditPad is a general-purpose text editor, designed to be small
and compact, yet offer all the functionality
you expect from a basic
text editor. EditPad works with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1
32-bit and 64-bit.
You can open as many files in EditPad at a time as you want.
You change between the open files by clicking
on their tabs. No hassle with heaps of overlapping windows.
EditPad Pro offers additional features at $49.95, well worth the price.
I use EditPad Pro exclusively for all text editing, including the website files.
Get Adobe Reader
(Read/Print .pdf files - Product manuals, Government publications & forms)
Java – Used on over 3 billion devices, extensive use on computers including websites
WordWeb
– Excellent Online Dictionary. Correct spelling, definitions and pronunciation just a click away
Winamp –
Excellent Media player. I use it only for MP3s (create play lists) and audio CDs
Temporarily unavailable — Ownership change - will keep you posted
Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer 2007 –
(View .pps .ppt Presentations)
MS Word Compatibility Pack
Facilitates editing .docx
(Word 2007) files with older version of Word
Get Adobe Flash Player –
A browser plugin that displays animations, presentations and interactive
graphics on some web pages.
Real Player
–
A FREE video player required to display video clips on some web pages.
BeLarc
–
FREE (for personal use)
Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware
CPU-Z – Useful information about your system
Open Hardware Monitor
– Displays voltages, temperatures fan speeds etc...
The above tools seem useless until you really need the information. Once you lose a drive to catastrophic failure, (I have twice over the years) you can't find the information these tools provide. Keep this information handy. One way could be to send the information to yourself in an e-mail so you always have access.
XXCopy –
FREE (for personal use)
XXCopy is a powerful (recommend for Expert users ONLY)
alternative to Windows Xcopy
with many many features.
Great for backing up your essential files.
NOTE:The author passed away in March 2017. The product has been discontinued.
There is support for XXCOPY through Forumw on the web.
Online
Technical Reference on the web.
One anomaly I found is related to changing the Clock twice a year. Each time the clock changed the files on USB drives were copied over because of the apparent difference in time.
Testing Solution – I am testing this solution to see /FU command
solves the problem of
DST vs EST, the twice a year phenomenon. Uses Universal time for File times!? Time will tell if this solves the time consuming problem.
Local Copy of solution
XXCOPY Technical Reference –
LOCAL COPY in case the web version vanishes.
Screen Capture Program – Not your simple Screen Capture software
• Capture a region, a window or entire screen
• Record a video of your screen (upto 120 minutes)
• Record a video using your web-cam
• Capture an image using your web-cam
• Open, annotate and share an existing image
• Copy to clipboard or save it locally
• Store screenshots & videos in the cloud
• Share a link to the stored screenshot & video
• Zoom in / zoom out
The cloud may be a great advantage but I prefer local storage of all my data
PDF Shaper Is a collection of free PDF tools, which allows you to merge, split, encrypt and decrypt PDFs, convert images to PDF, convert PDF to Word RTF or images, extract text and images from PDF. Program has easy-to-use user interface, supports Unicode characters and batch processing.
Developed by Glorilogic
Features:
• Extract text, images of other objects from single or multiple PDFs
• Convert PDF to Word RTF or image, or convert image to PDF
• Extract pages from PDF and save them as separate PDF files
• Combine several PDF files into single PDF
• Encrypt and decrypt PDF with password, set user permissions
• Rotate, crop and normalize pages, set meta data
Glorilogic Software – Free software (I have not yet tested these)
Free ISO Software -
Free Image Resizer -
Free Burning Software-
Free Encryption Software
Virtual Magnifier – Useful for magnifying sections of your screen
TreeSize Free – Quickly Scan Directory Sizes and Find Space Hogs
NOTE: The FREE Wise utilities come highly recommended from reliable sources.
I have used them without any problems. If they recommend advanced users for some of
their functions you are advised to stay clear unless you really KNOW what you are doing.
Most utilities perform much needed function at the basic level
Creating a System Restore Point and Backing up the registry are always wise BEFORE using powerful tools.
WiseCleaner Products – Products Catalogue Download Centre
NOTE: – I use all the wise products
The products from WiseCleaner are best downloaded from the
Product Catalogue
Option Portable Version is often a .zip file
Option direct download is usually the executable to install the product
The
Option will display a message similar to the one below for each product:
will install the product immediately on your system
will save the product somewhere in temp location on your system facilitating product install
Select the Save down arrow (shown above) pops up the message-box below
Save as
Allows you to specify a location for saving the install file, keeping a local copy for immediate and future use.
Locate each product below from the product table.
Wise JetSearch – Extremely FAST file search utility see NOTE: above
Wise Disk Cleaner – Securely Cleans Up Useless Files and Makes Your Computer Run Faster
see NOTE: above
Wise Registry Cleaner – Cleans, defragments, and optimizes the Windows Registry. Three separate tabs to perform the required functions. Use with caution, as with ALL powerful tools. see NOTE: above
Backup select it on top line, highly recommended BEFORE starting.
Major Geeks – A Great collection of FREE Utilities
The Windows Club – List of freeware and other releases from The Windows Club (I have NOT tried any yet)
The Best Free Antivirus for 2016 – PC Magazine technical analysis of several antivirus tools
AVG Free –
FREE
Good basic Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware (more robust version for sale) My Choice
Comodo Antivirus FREE – Great protection - highly
Customizable - FREE initial setup support -
Great at detecting but as soon as you have an incident there is no way to eradicate/resolve the issue without getting paid support involved @ $100 a year.
An excellent option for novice (most) users requiring security
Avast FREE Antivirus – A robust virus protection program
AntiVir –FREE
Basic protection against computer Viruses (Full more robust version for sale)
SPAMfighter –
FREE for personal use
FREE
Spam Filter for Outlook Express, and Windows Mail. Other security tools
available to purchase.
Malwarebytes – FREE A robust version - Identify and remove malicious software from your computer.
(Full Upgraded version for sale - also other tools available) I Use this
Ccleaner – Clean up useless files and speed up your PC (similar to Wise Disk Cleaner) FREE
I use this
SpyBot – Remove malware, adware and rootkits from your system FREE
About SpyBot
I use this
Ad Blocker Plus – Protects against dangerous ads that may carry
ransomeware FREE
I no longer use this - too many sites complained about being blocked
AM-DeadLink – Detects broken links and duplicate entries in your browser favourites/bookmarks. FREE
Protection against Malware, Spyware, Viruses and Malicious Software is a MUST today.
The tools offered here provide a measure of security against threats to your system FREE.
NO claim that these tools provide 100% protection, such claims would be irresponsible
and such tools do not exist. The struggle against evil is constant and
keeping tools as current as possible is imperative.
DO NOT
click links in e-mail messages from unknown people.
The real content of the link in the message might be a virus.
DO
keep your computer protected with an antivirus and/or a security suite.
DO
Backup your data files, precious pictures regularly (frequency depends on how often your data changes) at least monthly and keep a copy off site if possible
(safety deposit box, at a close relative's/friend's or - NOT as ideal a private spot at your place of work under lock and key). Large capacity Thumb Drives (USB sticks) are most reasonably priced and are ideal for backups.
See
Off site backup – Worth investigating - reasonable price for security of your data, accessible from anywhere in the world. Recover your personal data from catastrophic failure.
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