Real time virus, spyware protection using Winpooch-Clamwin

[Windows only] The web is a vast repository — both of good things and the malicious. As soon as you connect to the internet [or even without connecting] your computer is always vulnerable to attack from viruses that may damage your system or remain dormant without causing any apparent damage to the PC. There are also the dangers of spywares lurking on the web which are quick to capitalize on your slightest neglect or carelessness. a spyware infected computer does not only cause irritation but may also lead your to embarrassing situations. Imagine someone need to use your PC for sending a mail. You don’t want them to see the unwanted toolbar that was downloaded to your browser when you visited some malicious site.

Winpooch is a  free and open source anti spyware and anti trojan for Windows. It gives full protection against local or external spyware attacks by scanning the activity of programs in real time.

Get free graphic design tool to replace Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw

Are you among those who want to use illustration softwares like Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw but can’t afford these expensive softwares? Creative Docs .NET is the answer for you.

Creative Docs .NET is an vector-based graphic design tool which can be used for creating posters, brochures, illustration, flow charts and the like. The application is free for non-commercial use. It supports Windows 2000, XP, Server and the latest Vista.

Calm down your DVD drive

[Windows Only] Do you ever get annoyed by the loud noise that your CD/DVD Drive makes? This is because the optical disc in the drive rotates at a very high speed, not at all necessary unless you are transferring data to or from your optical media. If you are working on a laptop, things get even worse because the optical drive is way too close to you and is attached to the entire body. You do not only have to tolerate the loud whirring noise, but also bear with the vibration.

Nero DriveSpeed is one of the solutions to the problem, which lets you control your DVD or CD drive’s read-speed so that you can keep excessive drive noise at bay. After you load a disc into the drive, you can run DriveSpeed in either Silent or Fast modes. If you are watching a movie or listening to some music, you can select the Silent mode for a quite entertainment. If you need to transfer data and files quickly to your hard drive, choose the Fast mode.

Nero DriveSpeed is a freeware for Windows. It works with Windows XP/ Vista/2000 and ME. After installation, DriveSpeed can prompt you whenever you insert a disk and you can choose whether to run in Fast or Silent mode. Nero DriveSpeed is freeware, Windows only, and less than 750KB in size.

Download Nero DriveSpeed

[Via LifeHacker]

Six free disc burning applications

On its own, Windows is a good-for-nothing operating system which lacks all the essential applications that one requires on a system.
I had suggested to you in an earlier post some open-source alternatives for word processing, web browsing and editing photos. Taking it further, today I bring to you some free media burning softwares to burn CDs and DVDs with more control.

1. Deep Burner

I mention this burning software on the top because it’s there on my system. Apart from a free version, Deep Burner also comes in a paid version. But the free version is sufficient for a general user who needs to create data CD and DVDs, burn music CDs and also ISO (CD images). It lets you create multi-session discs , which means you can add some file or music to an existing CD. But this burning software does not write video CDs.

http://www.deepburner.com/ (Download Link)

Use DVD Rip to automatically backup any DVD

Do you wish to rip and back up any DVD to your hard drive? You can easily do this with DVD Rip, a freeware Windows application that automates the entire DVD-to-hard-drive backup process. All you need to do is insert your DVD, run DVD Rip, and let it take care of the rest.

Play any music, video or DVD with VLC

Have you ever been disappointed after trying to play a movie DVD on your newly installed PC? Many people, like me, do not know on the first go that neither Windows Media Player nor Realplayer can play DVDs on their own. One needs to buy DVD players like PowerDVD or InterVideo DVD for it. But not all will buy DVD players to view DVDs on their DVD drives. They will instead use VLC Media Player.