Here
is a set of essential utilities without which I would find computing much more
difficult and time consuming.
This
completely accessible backing up tool is part of the Karen’s Power Tools suite.
It is a highly customisable backup tool and has loads of features. Basically
you can set up backup jobs which will intelligently search your computer for
new or amended files and back them up to a location of your choice. You can
have it running in the background to automatically back up on a schedule if you
wish. Seems very fast to me. Freeware.
Download from the Jaws User Programs Page
On
a surprising number of occasions I want to copy a list of file names in a
folder. This application will enable you to either print the directory listing or
save this as a text file. This is a quick way of making playlist file for
example. The easiest way to use this program is to set options for it to appear
in the Explorer shell. Right clicking on
a folder will then include the option to use this utility. Best to go through
the settings as a lot of the detail you may not want saved or printed.
Download
from the Jaws User Programs Page
There
are loads of programs out there which handle zip files but Seven Zip seems to
have inbuilt support for a whole range of obscure extraction formats most of
which I have never heard of. I never worry now about odd formats as right
clicking will open a Seven Zip sub menu which will take care of it all.
Download
from the Jaws User Programs Page
This
appears to be the Spyware remover which outdoes all other programs. I have
purchased AVG Internet Security but Super Anti Spyware consistently finds stuff
that has slipped past AVG. I have tried SpyBot and AdAware in the past but this
program does appear to outperform both of them.
The
actual scanning part of the program is very accessible but I have to use the
Jaws cursor to properly access the preferences menus. Probably most people will
not want to change preferences though. The free version works well but does not
provide “real time” protection. This is not really a problem if you remember to
run a scan every few days or so. The program works fine alongside main anti
virus and spyware programs. Everybody I
know who has installed this has been shocked at what it has found.
Get super Anti-Spyware from its home page here
Jaws
and I suspect most screen readers work best when the windows of programs are
maximised. This can be a chore to check manually. Luckily the Authorizer
utility will force any program to maximise its window. This is accessible and
easy to use. It loads at start up but is very light on resources.
Download
from the Jaws User Programs Page
It
can be very annoying when programs install and set values in the registry which
causes them to run at system start-up. Sometimes it can be very hard to find a
way of stopping this within the programs themselves. This is where start up
manager comes into its own. It lists every file that windows loads as
applications and processes at start up. These are organised in various
categories which you will have to control tab to view in their category
windows. You can disable enable or delete items here. I used this utility to
stop an annoying nag from Symantec which kept on telling me that I should
register their programs. The only
drawback knows what all these files actually are. For this you will need
ProcInfo.
Download
from the Jaws User Programs Page
A
very useful and small utility which will analyse the applications and processes
loading only your and give you information about then. The program will explain what the file is,
and whether you should delete it or continue to let it load. The program is
free but it tries to suggest you buy a partner product with which you can
delete or disabled applications. However you do not need to buy this as the
excellent and free Start-Up Manager see above will do the job just as well.
Straightforward
program to correct errors in your registry caused by badly programmed applications. It will also clean off the junk on your PC.
Free and Accessible.
Download
from the Jaws User Programs Page
This invaluable little utility will analyse all your hardware and present the relevant information about it in an accessible browser window. This utility is particularly useful for someone with visual impairment who cannot check hardware details. It also virtually opens the lid on parts of your PC and will give you information about your chipset and bios etc. Hopefully you will not need to know this information but potentially if you have to re-install windows from scratch you may need to know this information to download the correct drivers. It is interesting to know what the makeup of your system is anyway.
Download
from the Jaws User Programs Page