Freeware to save time & money

Don’t waste time trying to recover lost files. There’s freeware that can do all that far more efficiently
Kavita Kukday TNN

No matter what operating system you use, some tasks remain as cumbersome as ever. For instance, it is still fairly common that one deletes files by mistake or that one is stuck with a lot of duplicate files. Often simply finding a file among the hordes of similar data files on your computer can be a task. Not only can these tasks take hours of your time, but they are also extremely frustrating activities. Of course, there are plenty of applications that you could buy to simplify these tasks. But then again, why pay good money when there are similar applications that are available for free? So here, get a load of some brilliant freeware applications that could save you a lot of time and money. Recover deleted files: So you deleted an important file by mistake. Worse still, you emptied the recycle bin too. Now what? Well the easiest answer is Undelete-Now (www.undelete-now.com). This utility attempts to recover all or parts of deleted files whose data still lurks around on your hard disk. The utility will, of course, work better if the files have been recently deleted, mainly because Undelete-Now can’t recover the data if other files or programs get overwritten on them. Another similar free utility that does a good job of un-deleting files is called Restoration. The best part about this utility is that it also doubles up as a shredder to completely destroy sensitive files. So this can be used on all those bank account details or important documents that you wish to erase completely. The entire utility is very small (about 4 KB) and can even be run off a USB drive, so you can carry it on you all the time. For a quick peek inside files: Probably one of the most tiresome tasks is hunting for a lost file. Unfortunately, file names most often don’t tell the whole story about the contents. Sure, you can open files in the programs that created them and check them one by one. But why waste hours opening dozens of files when all you need to know is the basic contents of a document? This is where a utility called Alexey Torgashin’s Universal Viewer (www.uvviewsoft.com) comes to the rescue. This free application lets you peek inside a variety of common file types (PDF, graphics, HTML and more) just by right-clicking and choosing the Universal Viewer command. And if it’s a Microsoft Office file such as Word or Excel, that you want a quick look at, then the application also comes with a separate plug-in for Microsoft Office. To get advanced features however—such as an Explorer-like tree structure—you’ll have to buy the advanced version, which costs $20. Get rid of the duplicates: We do it all the time—make copies of files for back-ups or simply to edit while retaining an original copy. These duplicates lie around, hogging precious disk space. Big Bang enterprise’s DoubleKiller (www.bigbangenterprises.de/en/doublekiller) is a handy freeware application to have in such cases. The application gives you plenty of control over which files you need compared or ignored. It also lets you pick detailed criteria for looking at duplicates. After it completes its analysis, the utility’s results list provides helpful buttons to simplify selecting the first or second duplicate plus others to move or delete selected items. DoubleKiller can also hunt for duplicates on networked drives for your office computers. Online office suite: There aren’t too many people around who can do without the office suite. Isn’t it nice then to get the same functionality online? Google Docs (docs.google.com) is a good option of course, but another online office suite that is worth looking at is Zoho Suite (www.zoho.com). This online application makes collaborating and editing documents, presentations and spreadsheets simpler and easier—you do all this from within the browser. So if collaborating and editing office documents from your browser is what you are looking at, give Zoho a shot. Encryption and security: In this age where online thieves are always on the prowl, it’s always a good idea to add a little extra security to your sensitive data. Androsa FileProtector (www.androsasoft.net) is one such free application that lets you password-protect files with up to 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard encryption. It’s a tiny utility that can be run off your USB drive. The program is simple to work with, where you just drag the files or folders into the FileProtector window and assign a password. FileProtector program can also compress files as it is encrypting them and create self-extracting archives. The utility also allows you to scramble the names of the encrypted files for extra privacy.

Times of India, 7th Feb Page 25