Quantcast

Blogs

    Steve Bass's Tips & Tweaks

  • Each week Contributing Editor Steve Bass tackles the most exasperating PC problems, including stubborn spam, pokey broadband, and unreliable hardware.
  • Subscribe to this blog

Top Tricks for Safe, Smart Downloads

Steve Bass

Clear Away Clutter With WinPatrol

WinPatrol is a must-have tool: It helps keep your system tray free of clutter and warns you when a program insists on loading at system boot-up. The latest version--WinPatrol 2007--has Delayed Start, a smart feature that lets you delay launch of nonessential programs for up to an hour after the system boots, so Windows loads faster. That's ideal timing for applications such as backup programs. Also new is a right-click function that opens the startup program's folder in Windows Explorer. WinPatrol Plus costs $30 (and I promise you, it's worth the money), but there's a free version as well. Compare the two versions.

Contributing Editor Steve Bass writes the Tips & Tweaks blog and is the author of PC Annoyances, published by O'Reilly. Contact him at hasslefreepc@pcworld.com.

  • Recommend this story?
  • 0 Yes
    0 No

"Top Tricks for Safe, Smart Downloads" Comments

Featured APC Accessories

  • APC Back-UPS ES Safeguards your equipment from damaging surges and spikes that travel along your utility & data lines.
  • APC SurgeArrest Performance Highest level of protection for your professional computers, electronics and connected devices, as well as provides surge protection.

Deal Breakers

Special Offers for PC World Users

Focus on Personal Productivitysponsored by Microsoft

  • Personal Finance 2.0 These free and fee-based Web services not only aggregate data from your online bank accounts, they give you tools for managing your money.
  • High-Tech Travel Tips Plenty of stories provide advice for elite mobile professionals. But what about you, the unproductive traveler?

People who read this also read:

Steve Bass's Tips & Tweaks

All PC World Blogs

Sponsored Links