Month: August 2007

Sometimes you simply can’t uninstall a program no matter how hard you try. Key culprits are those that often come bundled with your machine such as security software and Windows components to malware which roots itself into your system. The only solution in these cases is to use a dedicated uninstaller and here are ten of the best.

• Advanced Uninstaller Pro – Softonic’s top uninstall download
• Your Uninstaller! – Very easy to use drag-and-drop uninstall utility
• Magic Utilities – Variety of utilities including uninstall and process killer
• Rogue Remover – Removes hard-to-find malware such as trojans and adware
• Smarty Uninstaller – Erases the parts of programs left behind by Windows
• Free Uninstaller – This one doesn’t even need installation – and it cleans your system
• ZSoft Uninstaller – Seeks out remnants of uninstalled programs in your registry
• Revo Uninstaller – Provides real time information about running processes and programs
• Easy Uninstaller – Performs multiple uninstalls – just line them up and watch them go!
• Absolute Uninstaller – Removes everything left behind including the original installer

Here in the Softonic offices we’re becoming ultra paranoid about digital snooping after bandying around all sorts of unfounded theories that Facebook is run by the CIA, the KGB or aliens or something. What’s more we’re concerned (not that we’ve got anything to hide, mind you) about the proliferation of undectectable spy software that records literally everything you do on your machine, from the words you type on your keyboard to the web sites you visit. Spy software is now even being marketed to suspicious wives/husbands/boyfriends/girlfriends/employers as a way of checking on what your other half/employee is getting up to when they’re not looking over their shoulder.

SnoopFree Privacy Shield is designed to avert prying eyes by detecting and blocking attempts to spy on your data and PC activity and to help you uninstall these snooping apps. The interface arms you with several different ways of blocking, undoubtedly the most important being the ability to discover which program is carrrying out this activity and what EXE file it’s using.

The GUI is pretty bland but that doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful. It allows you to discover attempts to capture your screen, record registry data, retreive passwords, etc. It worked very well in our tests and instantly detected the spy software we installed for the evaluation. Although it doesn’t automatically uninstall the programs it detects, SnoopFree provides you with the data you need to get around the software’s password-protection and manually remove them. You’ll need to reboot for the deletion to take effect, but it’s a small price to pay for ensuring your privacy.

We couldn’t avoid writing about this great list of 30 business applications for Mac over on the Apple Blog. The software is divided into time tracking & invoicing, money management, communication, project management, contact management and other tools. All in all it manages to select solid applications that serious Mac owners should turn to. The list also cleverly features any web alternatives that users can turn to if they’re tired of downloading and installing programs.

Softonic’s business category for Mac is full of good software including many of those from the Apple Blog’s top 30 list. We do believe however that the Apple Blog missed out on some good business applications. Freemind is a great tool to brainstorm and draw up mind maps of your ideas. For your finances you can use the easy as pie, calendar oriented Horizon. Both Checkout and LightSpeed are also great Point of Sale apps. We also suggest the intuitive Billable, to create, edit, track and print all your invoices.

Have you ever lost a document that you were sure was on your system? I’ve been in a few situations where both Windows search and Google Desktop have failed to locate a lost document. Often, the problem is that the documents have been zipped-up or compressed. Step in EF-Find which is a small but powerful search program for Windows that can search for not only lost files but also text, HEX sequences and regular expressions inside compressed archives.

For example, if you’ve written a document about networks but just gave the document a generic name, you can search for ‘networks’ in EF Find, and even if it’s in a compressed file, it will find it almost immediately. The range of files it can search is really impressive and extends to 7-Zip, ACE, RAR, ZIP and many other formats. Like with all good search engines, you can also filter searches to such things as those words in upper case or within specific folders. This simple program has already been translated into 23 languages which gives some measure of how useful it is.

The only downside is that it can’t search within documents that aren’t compressed but as long as you’ve got lots of zipped-up files, you might find EF Find proves really useful one day.

Note to Mrs He Ling, of Chongqing, China: Next time your husband spends too long on the Internet, instead of cutting off his hand, why not simply install a PC access control program? Something like User Time Administrator is almost as effective as maiming in terms of restricting computer usage, only with far less blood and court cases.

This particular application lets you specify exactly when and how long the computer can be used for. You can schedule time slots and the number of hours that hubby Jiang Ming can access the PC each week. It will automatically log him out when he reaches his time limit. You can even use the program to record when and how much he’s using the machine. The password control prevents him from changing settings or uninstalling the product, and the internal file guard system protects all important files so the program can not be deleted. So, let’s give a big hand to User Time Administrator. Oops, sorry Jiang Ming.

It’s that time of year again when university students old and new get ready for the year ahead and start packing their bags for the new academic year. We can’t guarantee to make you top of the class but here is an A grade list of some useful software to help you on your way.

Google Earth – If you’re studying the planet in any way, then there’s surely no better tool than Google Earth for learning about the Earth up close.

Derive – If maths is dragging you down, then you should delve into Derive which consists of several tools to help you improve everything from multiplication to algebra.

Finale – If you’re studying music, then Finale helps you get your music sheets note perfect with an easy to use tool for composing, arranging, hearing and printing your masterpieces.

WikSpeak – If it’s English language skills that you’re seeking to improve, WikSpeak is an excellent pronunciation improvement program.

Populus – A biology and evolutionary ecology educational tool designed specifically for university students

Virtual Fashion – An essential tool for any aspiring student of fashion. Create and preview your own 3D clothing without cutting a shred of cloth.

Sharepod – If your university allows it, create a shared file with all your co-student’s favourite iPod tracks.

Lantiv Timetabler – Are there any conflicts in your course timetable? Lantiv Timetabler will help you find out as well as make sure you’re always at class on time.

AceMoney Lite – Have you got enough money to see you through the month? AceMoney Lite will help any student manage their finances on a tight budget.

CollegeBAR – Finally, what would college life be like without getting wild drunk? Here’s over 11,000 recipes for when the going gets tough.

Accessibility is an increasing problem on mobile phones as screens get smaller and the amount of information packed onto them increases. It’s only thanks to the fact that most mobiles now operate as cameras that we have a screen at all. And with a large chunk of the population lagging behind technological changes already, it makes sense to offer as much help as possible. Font Magnifier is a simple piece of software that could have really big benefits for many people, increasing the font size of text on your mobile.