Anti-Frustration Software Soluto

When you buy a new computer, it loads fast, but little-by-little the boot-up process slows down, and eventually you find it painfully sluggish. With freeware Soluto utility, you can get a full understanding on what is going on during the computer start-up and how can you optimize your Operating System boot-up. The software counts down for you how long startup is taking and gives you a beautiful graphical interface for turning off extra programs you don't need to load at first, or at last delay them so your startup goes a little faster.

The Soluto patent-pending low level driver technology detects when the user actually gets frustrated by his/her computer performance, and tells exactly of which application is causing the unnecessary delays.

The system requirements are:

1. Windows XP (service pack 2 and above)/Vista/7 (32bit & 64bit).
2.  512MB of RAM and above.

3  Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (Soluto will install if not present).

Developer’s website: http://www.soluto.com/

System Purification Tool

PureRa is a simple portable tool that does a simple computer maintenance task. However, this program has special features, giving an extra functionality in comparison with other computer cleaning utilities: it removes files from your computer that other cleaning programs tend to oversee. Some of the target files are simply removed to create additional valuable space while other files (that are able to recreate themselves) are removed in an attempt to repair certain system configuration issues.

Targets that are currently removed by PureRa are:

- Config.msi Folder [The Config.msi folder contains backup of that are being installed or updated during an install. Sometimes a Windows Installer package is sloppy and doesn’t automatically remove unpacked setup files and the Config.msi folder can get cluttered with useless files]

- Thumbs.db [when you view the contents of a folder in ’Thumbnail’ or ’Filmstrip’ view a system file called Thumbs.db is generated automatically by Windows XP. Thumbs.db contains a copy of each of the tiny preview images generated for image files in that folder so that they load up quickly the next time you browse that folder. Thumbs.db also stores your settings with regard to thumbnail and filmstrip view. Though they are small they may annoy you because there may be hundreds of them]

- Iconcache.db [The icons used in Windows are saved in an icon cache. These can become corrupted and lead to garbled/fuzzy icons. Deleting the Iconcache.db file will force Windows to re-create itself flawlessly]

- .sqm-files [sqm-files are created by MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger. It is rumored that they are created to become the reports that these programs will send if you turn on the option to allow Microsoft to gather information about your use of MSN Live Messenger (read surfing behavior). These reports are still being generated (as sqm-files) but not send]

- Desktop.ini [Desktop.ini is used to tell Windows how to display a folder. For example, enabling Thumbnail view creates a desktop.ini file in that folder which amongst other things, tells Windows to add an extra item to the View menu for that folder. Desktop.ini files are also used when you customize folders, change their icons etc.]

This program is absolutely free for any use; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation.

The utility is small (175 Kb), fast, portable, easy to use, and does not consume significant system resources.

Developers’ website: http://raproducts.org/purera.html

Freeware professional consultant for your PC - BelArc Advisor

Belarc Advisor can be considered as a free for personal use professional computer-security consultant for your PC.

The application performs a detailed investigation of the computer hardware and software and analyzes a machine’s weak points, looking at elements such as whether antivirus software is up to date, or whether all the security flaws in Windows have been patched. It uses the Center for Internet Security (CIS) benchmark test to give the computer a score showing its overall security level, and produces a report that can be viewed in a Web browser.

Not only does it analyze software and operating system components and tell you where problems are, but in its comprehensive report software tells you what your computer’s physical components are: not just how much RAM you have, for example, but what kind of RAM and which slots are occupied.

This program does not fix the problems itself, but gives clear advice on how to address each issue. The software is recommended for all home PC users as a first step in securing their computers, or for those considering a hardware upgrade, and need a detailed overview of the current system configuration. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any Web server.

Developers Web Site: http://www.belarc.com/

Direct download: http://www.belarc.com/Programs/advisorinstaller.exe

Revo Uninstaller - Secure and Effective Applications Removal

I like trying different software (definitely, freeware) utilities. Most of them, I will never use again, and just few become the part of my software tool-box. So, unneeded software should be uninstalled without leaving any traces on the computer. Unfortunately, it does not work like that. Program developers care a lot about clean and proper program installation, but they care much less, on how the software will be removed from your computer. Sometimes, it does not work at all, giving you notification that the un-installation file is missing. Sometimes, it does not produce any error messages, but still leaves behind abandoned drivers, orphan application files, empty data directories, else. For example, standard uninstaller, built in the Windows Operation Systems, cannot entirely remove all traces of AOL software, no matter what.

Definitely, it is good to use portable software, whenever possible, and I would consider non-portable programs just in the exceptional cases, when portable versions do not exist, and there is no competitive freeware product, offering portability.

In this post, I want to present a free portable solution for clean programs removal from your computer. Revo Uninstaller is able to completely uninstall unwanted programs from your PC even if you cannot uninstall them from "Windows Add or Remove Programs" control panel applet. Revo Uninstaller is also much faster and more powerful alternative to the Windows un-installer. With its advanced algorithm, it can analyze through a deep scan application’s data before and after application removal to make sure, no traces left. Even if you have a broken installation, Revo Uninstaller scans for an application’s data on your hard disk drives and in the Windows registry and shows all found files, folders and registry keys so you can delete them. This doesn’t just recover space on your HDD - it speeds up your computer as well.

On top of the main un-installer utility, Revo gives you another bonus - 8 handy and powerful tools to clean up your system: Auto Start Manager, Windows Tools Manager, Junk Files Cleaner, Browsers History Cleaner, Office History Cleaner, Windows History Cleaner, Unrecoverable Delete Tool, Evidence Remover.

A portable software version of the problem can be downloaded from the authors Web Site: http://www.revouninstaller.com/revouninstaller.zip