Andrew Parker
What would a computer be without programs and tools for work and play? This is the third part of my series on the applications (“apps”) I’ve counted among my favourites over the years. You can download the entire series from www.tinyurl.com/favapps2012
Clean Slate
Whenever I set up a new computer for myself or for a client, I’m usually faced with lots of trial software, time-limited demos and lots of assorted rubbish that software vendors have bribed the computer manufacturers to pre-install.
A lot of the time, this software is not worth keeping and you can be sure it’s not always installed with your best interests at heart. Rather, once the trial periods are up, you’ll be hassled by persistent “nag screens” to purchase the full version. Many unsuspecting users have been duped into buying expensive software such as anti-virus or “internet security” subscriptions in this very way, when there are often very capable free alternatives available. What’s worse is the performance impact some of these programs can have.
Get Revo Uninstaller from www.tinyurl.com/revodownload2012 to rid your computer of this unnecessary junk. Revo does a fantastic job of uninstalling just about any program, even those that stubbornly refuse to budge using the standard “Add/Remove Programs” tool in “Control Panel” (known as “Programs and Features” in Windows Vista or Windows 7). Revo also includes a host of other useful tools to remove junk and temporary files left behind by programs such as Microsoft Office, and to tweak Windows start-up items – these tools are for the more experienced user.
Tiny links
If you’ve been reading Switched On for a while, no doubt you’ve seen I regularly list web addresses as www.tinyurl.com/something or other. TinyURL is not an app, it’s a web service, but it’s so useful I just had to include it. A URL (uniform resource locator) is simply an internet address, the sort you type into a web browser’s address bar.
Examples of URLs include www.bbc.co.uk, www.sabc.co.za and www.themercury.co.za.
Those are easy to remember or type into a browser, but lots of URLs are long-winded and complicated. TinyURL creates permanent, shortened URLs that automatically re-direct to any other URL of your choice. So you can turn long, complex web addresses into simple, short addresses. To give it a go, visit www.tinyurl.com.
Media Magic
In days gone by, playing a video or a DVD on a computer was far more complicated than it needed to be. Different types of video required different players, and often, a video would open only to play the audio track with a blank screen.
This stupid and frustrating situation was finally resolved by a brilliant free program that plays them all, without fuss or frustration. VLC Media Player is a staple on any PC I work with, and I’ve yet to come across a video or audio file it won’t open. Download and install it from www.videolan.org/vlc.
FBI-proof
If you work with any sort of data that needs to be protected from unauthorised access, you don’t need expensive software to encrypt it securely. TrueCrypt (download from www.truecrypt.org) is the leading free utility for securely encrypting files on a hard drive or removable disk. It’s especially useful to protect data on USB flash drives.
Make no mistake though, doing data encryption properly is not for the casual amateur – be sure to engage the help of a professional to help you configure TrueCrypt’s options correctly for your needs.
And remember, if you forget the password required to decrypt your data, it’s as good as gone. TrueCrypt encryption has famously foiled even the best efforts of the FBI, so you can be sure that without the password, your data is basically useless.
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