•  SideBar 

All Pages
Members Links
Freeware Reviews
Introduction To Wiki
Miscellaneous Stuff
NewsLetters
Rants and Raves
Software Warnings
Security Tips
Tutorials
Website Reviews
Windows Tips
Wiki Calendar
TagPage
Recent Comments

Software Policy
Privacy Policy

---

Be sure to visit BoogieJack.com for the best web design tutorials and great web graphics. It's a top webmaster resource!

 

 

visit alt.comp.freeware

Thanks for visiting

ContactUs

RecentActivityHere

Newsletter Archive    Reviews Archive    

Welcome to Clif Notes Newsletter

May 25, 2008

Hi Everyone. Thanks for reading my newsletter. Each week, I will have freeware reviews, tips, tricks, news, and lots of cool websites for you to check out. I hope you enjoy this week's letter. Be sure to write me for advice or yell at me for messing up. Email me Click here to chat while visiting this newsletter! _Online?

Welcome to Clif Notes Newsletter REVIEWS ObjectDock - a better start menu replacement K9 Web Protection - free internet filtering for young surfers Azulstar Wireless Wizard - gives you more info on WiFi networks Streaming Radio Alarm Clock - wake up to your favorite radio station IExpress.exe - create self-extracting archives with this XP utility SysExporter - extract infromation from any program or window LocatePC - Free Theft Recovery Software Old Newsletter TIPS AND FEEDBACK What free software do you need? Bob's list of Online File Storage and Collaboration Services Vulnerability Management for Dummies - free E-book Internet Fixes Weekend Windup Comments last week COOL WEBSITES Dirty Car Art - Tip from Tiffany Musopen - Free Public Domain Classical Music BitDefender Online Scanner - be very careful with this one CoolSites Newsletter this week NEW NEWS SnapFiles.com - new and updated freeware News from Sarah in Tampa Security news from Malware Advisor A view from CyberNirvana OTHER STUFF Frapper - you people live all over the world! Chatting at FreewareWiki Write your own review What do you have to say?

REVIEWS

ObjectDock - a better start menu replacement

Posted by ClifNotes, May 2008, permalink Desktop Tools

If you'd like to give your machine a cool looking animated menu bar, ObjectDock offers this and more. I was reminded to try this menu bar while browsing Download.com's recently featured downloads. I didn't actually intend to try it out, but I did want to see if it was offered as a portable download.

Good news! As of May 20th, ObjectDock is available as a portable app. It so happens that I found it a day after it was released. You can find the portable version in the link to the Portable Freeware Collection forums which I've included below.

Quote from the website
ObjectDock is a program that enables users to organize their shortcuts, programs and running tasks into an attractive and fun animated Dock. By allowing users to have more control over how they organize their desktop, users can take control of their desktop icons and shortcuts to have them be available when where and how they need them. This, all with the unique style and top-rate performance that ObjectDock is known to deliver!

Fully customizable, super smoothness in zooming, entertaining alternate mouseover effects, libraries full of high-quality images available for use with the program at WinCustomize.com. The first time you try ObjectDock's trademarked ReadyView weather flyout, there'll be no going back. And good news for fans - more ReadyView flyouts are planned for the future!

Website and download: http://www.stardock.com/products/ObjectDock/
Portable version: Portable Freeware Collection forums

K9 Web Protection - free internet filtering for young surfers

Posted by ClifNotes, May 2008, permalink Network Monitoring

Here's a review from one of the readers here. Thanks for the review FunDreamz.

click to expand picture
Quote from the website
If you’re like most of us, parenting in the age of the Internet has you facing a new set of challenges. Blue Coat is committed to helping you and all communities through this 'First Generation of Internet Parenting'.

K9 Web Protection is our free Internet filtering and control solution for the home. K9 puts YOU in control of the Internet so you can protect your kids.

Azulstar Wireless Wizard - gives you more info on WiFi networks

Posted by ClifNotes, May 2008, permalink Misc. Networking Tools

Here's a very nice free tool for those of you who do a lot of networking out on the road.

This free tool provides you with the following tools and information.
• Show Network Info
• Renew/Release IP Address
• Enable DHCP
• Show IP Configuration
• Open Network Connection
• Run Bandwidth Test

There are three things I didn't like.
• The installer errors out during installation but finishes okay anyway
• The program want to be an auto-run and live in your system tray forever
• It's ad supported (unobtrusive at the bottom)

You can't do anything about the installer, but you can disable the auto-run in the program's options. Since this is an ad supported application, please let me know if you find any good freeware replacements for it.

click to expand picture
Quote from the website
This tool is essential for using any WiFi or WiMAX network. It simplifies setup, improves security and will dramatically enhance the speed and reliability of your connection. It improves WiFi/WiMAX performance.

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/win/154211

Streaming Radio Alarm Clock - wake up to your favorite radio station

Posted by ClifNotes, May 2008, permalink Multimedia Streaming

This short review was submitted by Thomas Swift as a comment in my What free software do you need section? Thomas is the author of this and many more freewares that he hosts at his website TAS Independent Programming.

I tried out the Radio Alarm Clock and it was able to play my local audio files just fine. Every time I tried to play an internet radio stream, I kept getting an error message telling me that I had not filled out the URL section of the Settings. Perhaps Thomas can tell me what I was doing wrong? Be sure to check the comments below.

Give this one a try. It installs well and the uninstaller works just as nicely. It does place itself as an auto starting application, but most of you know how to disable this setting using MsConfig. Let me know if you have the same troubles I had.

If you don't feel like debugging an application today, be sure to check out the other utilities at Thomas's website. Please be aware that his website is tweaked to only be usable in Internet Explorer.

click to expand picture
Quote from the website
Streaming Radio Alarm Clock 3.5
Sun, 18 May 2008 14:28:34 US Mountain Standard Time
Windows: All
A streaming internet alarm clock radio. Features include internet detection with backup alarm sound file. 12 or 24 hour display with date. All savings are saved to the registry. No resetting the alarm every day, it is added to the start up. Tray enabled for quick access. Automatic mixer un-muting and 90% volume crank at alarm time. When you press stop on media player after alarm is playing it returns your mixer volume back to the originally set volume. You can also set the media player volume individually for each memory station and it is saved. Up to 5 preset stream links can be set from interface to point to any internet stream you like. I have included a huge file full of stream links to help users to pick stations. This program is full of features you are sure to love !
Requires windows media player 7.0 or up. Your mornings will never be the same. Enjoy !!!

Download:
Download

IExpress.exe - create self-extracting archives with this XP utility

Posted by ClifNotes, May 2008, permalink Compression Tools

I saw this article at CFJ (Confessions of a freeware junkie) last month. I may have a use for this built in Window's utility some day. I wrote it down here so I don't forget about it. I'm also hoping that someone reading this may also some day make use of it.

Quote from the website
If you have a need to create a self-extracting archive of compressed files and can't get your hands on IZArc or another similar tool - (like in those rare cases you can't get to the Internet) - - or perhaps you can't install a third-party tool on your servers...then you can use the built-in Windows command - 'IExpress.exe'.

read the rest to find out more

SysExporter - extract infromation from any program or window

Posted by ClifNotes, May 2008, permalink System Information

While visiting the freeware genius blog, I found a very handy utility that could save you time if you need it. SysExporter will grab text information from a program window that you can't copy from using the Windows copy function.

Note: Some time ago I learned a great shortcut for grabbing text from those pesky error messages that you get in Windows. Just highlight the window and press Ctrl + Insert. Now you can paste the error message text into any window that accepts text. To save it as a file, just paste the message into the Windows Notepad editor.

click to expand picture
Quote from the website
What do you do when you have information being displayed right in front of you that you need but cannot simply copy/paste or export? Typically what I used to do in this situation is simply grab a screenshot and perform OCR (optical character recognition) using a program such as JOCR. With SysExporter, however, I could simply locate the application that I want to extract data from in the SysExporter interface, then simply scroll through all of the dialogs associated with that application until I find the information I seek. Simple and quick.
read the rest to find out more

Download page:
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/sysexp.html

LocatePC - Free Theft Recovery Software

Posted by ClifNotes, Apr 2008, permalink PC Activity Monitoring

I've seen this utility around for quite awhile now. I've never had time to try it, but someone at MakeUseOf has apparently given it a try. This might help you track down a lost or stolen laptop. There are no guarantees.

Quote from the website:
What do you do then? Maybe your machine is covered on your home owners or renters insurance but that still won’t get back your data or computer. So a little application called LocatePC that lives on your Windows-based machine gives you a little more added security. All it does is monitor your IP address. If it detects a change in your IP it sends a pre-configured email. Interesting concept and best of all it is free.

click here to read more


Download:
http://www.iconico.com/download.aspx?app=LocatePC

Old Newsletter

I like to look back and see what I was thinking about. Here's another letter from the wayback machine.

TIPS AND FEEDBACK

What free software do you need?

Notes from ClifNotes, permalink Windows Tips

So what do you need? Write it down below and I'll see if I can find it. If you know the answer to someone else's question, add your answer there.

Previous What Do You Need comments

Search all the comments

Bob's list of Online File Storage and Collaboration Services

Posted by ClifNotes, May 2008, permalink Web Service

Bob Constans was kind enough to share a list of online services he's been gleaning from different sources. It's not a complete list, but he's taken the time to try some and offer his recommendations.

If you need to share files or work on files with a group, this is a good place to start looking.

Thanks Bob!

Vulnerability Management for Dummies - free E-book

Posted by ClifNotes, May 2008, permalink E-books

Here's a good resource for beginning IT managers. Some experienced IT people may also benefit from reading this free E-book.

Qualys is a well known provider of security software. I first ran into them a few years ago when they offered a free browser testing service. Since then, they've discontinued that service, but I've never forgotten them.

Note: To get this free offer, you must register your email address and a few other details at Qualys. I'm confident that they will not send you email that you don't wish to recieve.

Quote from the website
Get all the Facts and See How to Implement a Successful Vulnerability Management Program.

As a business owner, or someone responsible for network security within your organization, you need to understand how to prevent attacks and eliminate network weaknesses that leave your business exposed and at risk.

Vulnerability Management for Dummies arms you with the facts and shows you how to implement a successful Vulnerability Management program. Whether your network consists of just a handful of computers or thousands of servers distributed around the world, this 5-part book will help:

• Explain the critical need for Vulnerability Management (VM)
• Detail the essential best-practice steps of a successful VM Program
• Outline the various VM Solutions - including the pros & cons of each
• Highlight the award-winning QualysGuard VM solution
• Provide a 10-point checklist for removing vulnerabilities from your key resources

Geographic Eligibility: USA, Canada

http://www.qualys.com/forms/dummies/?lsid=7317

Internet Fixes Weekend Windup

tips from Gary at InternetFixes, Windows Tips

From Clif:
Gary at Internet Fixes continues to amaze me with hundreds and thousands of tips for your PC. Whatever your operating system, or how you use it, a visit to Gary's site will soon have you saying "So that's how you do this!".

Sign up for Gary's newsletter?
Weekend Windups are now available online
http://www.internetfixes.com/weekend_windup/

Comments last week

Thanks to everyone who commented on the articles last week. You gave me more ideas and some good advice.

REVIEWS
Sentry Lite - monitor your children or your spouse •
HP Smart Web Printing - organize web clippings before you print •
SS-Tools - free portable security utilities •
An overview of free turn-based strategy and war games •
DriveImage XML - free disk image backup •
GetIcons - scan your hard drive for thousands of icons •

TIPS AND FEEDBACK
List of commercial games released as freeware •

COOL WEBSITES
MediaFire - free file hosting made simple •

COOL WEBSITES

Dirty Car Art - Tip from Tiffany

Posted by ClifNotes, May 2008, permalink Funny

Here's a funny tip from Tiffany.

Tip from Tiffany:
Unbelievable!! I hope this clever man gets paid for his talents...

| View | Upload your own

**************
Tiffany Cartier
********************************************
http://tiffanycartier.stumbleupon.com/
http://hello-kitty.group.stumbleupon.com/ =^..^=
********************************************

Musopen - Free Public Domain Classical Music

Posted by ClifNotes, May 2008, permalink Web Service

Here's a quick tip from the Webmaster of www.topfreeware.net
Tony says: "Looks good"

I'd have to agree. The website is well organized and it's bound to get better as they add more music. At this time they have compositions authored by:
Alexander Borodin, Alexander Glazunov, Bedr(ich Smetana, Camille Saint-Saëns, Carl Maria von Weber, Edvard Grieg, Enrique Granados, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, George Frideric Handel, Gustav Holst, Hector Berlioz, Isaac Albéniz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Sturt, Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Modest Mussorgsky, Muzio Clementi, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sylvius Leopold Weiss, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Quote from the website
Musopen is an online music library of copyright free music (public domain music). We want to give the world access to music, without the legal hassles so common today. There is a great deal of music that has expired copyrights, but almost no recordings of this music is in the public domain. We aim to record or obtain recordings that have no copyrights so that our visitors may listen, re-use, or in any way enjoy music. Put simply, our mission is to set music free.

http://musopen.com

BitDefender Online Scanner - be very careful with this one

Posted by ClifNotes, May 2008, permalink Anti-Virus Tools

I tried this online scanner on a whim, just to see how well it worked. I works too good. BitDefender's online scanner requires that you use Internet Explorer and downloads to your PC as an ActiveX application. I don't like ActiveX and I don't like being forced to switch browsers.

The scanner didn't take long to load and I didn't see any settings options pop up. After it scanned for a few minutes, I suddenly saw that it had deleted three files off my system. Wait a minute! I didn't tell it to delete any files!

I quickly stopped the application and checked to see what files it had deleted. From what I could tell, the files it deleted were not even infected files. I think these were false positives, but I can't prove it. After all, the files are gone now.

I checked previous reviews from other people who had tried this app before and they showed that the scanner had options allowing you to choose the files to be scanned and also options to notify before the scanner deletes any files. Either the scanner has changed or there is something different about my computer that made it skip offering me any options.

I cannot recommend this service. If you do decide to use it, be very careful with this one.

Quote from the website
Scan your PC for free
BitDefender Online Scanner is an on-demand virus scanner which incorporates the award-winning BitDefender scanning engines. You can use it to scan your system's memory, all files and drives' boot sectors, and to automatically clean infected files.

http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/

CoolSites Newsletter this week

Here are a 6 links (out of dozens) from Mark's CoolSites Newsletter. Be sure to visit his site and see the rest of his links this week.

Quote from the website
COOLSITES is a list of safe, fun, useful, informative and just plain cool websites and programs that are FREE, FREE and FREE. All of the programs and websites I list are free. If I list anything that is so good but isn't free I will list the price with it.


http://luem42.googlepages.com/coolsites.html

NEW NEWS

SnapFiles.com - new and updated freeware

Source - http://snapfiles.com/freeware

News from Sarah in Tampa

Source - http://sarahintampa.com

Security news from Malware Advisor

blog by TeMerc Internet Countermeasures, source
Infected? Go to http://temerc.com for help

A view from CyberNirvana

CyberNirvana: Zia's blog about the web and web technology.
http://zia.blogspot.com/

OTHER STUFF

Frapper - you people live all over the world!

Wow! Over 900 people and still growing! I invite all of you to record your locations on this map. You can include as little or as much information as you wish. I think you'll enjoy seeing yourself there.

Here's a small look at my frapper map.

You need a free 6 GB Gmail account to access many of the cool features at Google. After more than two years in beta testing Gmail is open to the public. Just go to http://gmail.com and sign up for an account.

I think Gmail works best in the awesome Firefox browser. It's free, easy to use, and it's way more secure than Internet Explorer. My favorite thing to do is to customize Firefox so that it does much more than IE ever could. You can select new button controls for your toolbars, install extensions to add new features, or change the look of your browser with themes - the way Firefox looks and works is under your control.

Get Firefox!

Chatting at FreewareWiki

permalink

Now you can chat with anyone visiting a website by using Meebo. To see who's gabbing at this website, click here.

Find out more about Meebo.com

Write your own review

I get many of the reviews in the newsletter from the readers. You don't have to be a genius or computer guru. Just answer a few questions and send me a review. I'll probably put you in the newsletter.

What do you have to say?

Just tell me what article you are talking about and leave me your comment.

Have fun and surf safely.

Clif

http://clifnotes.net & http://freewarewiki.pbwiki.com
Devoted to promoting Freeware and Free Information

 Please provide a link back to the webpage used if you publish any part of Clif's pages.

Visitors to Clif Notes:

 Create your own educational wiki!Help Add to Del.ici.ous Add to Digg Add to Reddit Add to fUrl Add to SpurlPublic, Platinum wiki Privacy Policy RSS