The Trouble-Free PC

Free Tools: Something for Nothing

The utility suites we review in this article smooth most of the rough edges of your PC, but they don't do it all. Luckily, dozens of handy, no-cost utilities can fill in the gaps. All of the programs listed below are free, and devoid of ads and spyware. In many cases the authors accept donations from grateful users, which in turn keeps revisions and new editions coming.

Capture: Sometimes, nothing tells a story like a picture--be it of a crashed application, an error dialog box, or evidence of a missing feature. The next time a support technician wants you to click a button that you can't see, use Capture to send them a shot of your screen.

FileMon: Just as the three bears wondered who had been sleeping in their beds, you may often wonder, "Who's been editing my files?" Sysinternals' FileMon tells you just that, along with a record of every other file that gets opened, closed, or otherwise accessed. Filemon generates a forest of data, but it also provides filters that allow you to focus on what you need, so you can check the history of a particular document or file.

SuperShredder: Hard disks are tricky. When you empty the Recycle Bin, it looks like your sensitive files are gone, but bosses, probation officers, and the Department of Homeland Security all know how to get them back. With SuperShredder, you can completely erase any files by using drag-and-drop or the 'Send to' menu.

WinKey: Few folks remember to use the Windows key, probably because it can perform only a limited number of tricks: Windows-E for opening Explorer, Windows-D for showing or hiding the desktop, and--yawn--a few others. WinKey lets you program the key to do the stuff you actually do every day--why not program Windows-P to launch PCWorld.com? The sky's the limit.

WinPatrol: Unless you know where to look, it's hard to keep tabs on the many programs, plug-ins, services, and scheduled tasks set to load and run automatically when you launch Windows. WinPatrol does the job, letting you view all of these items in a tabbed interface, disable unwanted activity, and manage cookies, too.

Scott Spanbauer

Lincoln Spector and Scott Spanbauer are contributing editors for PC World. Testing was done by Senior Performance Analyst Elliott Kirschling and Development Analyst Thomas Luong of the PC World Test Center.