I have recently become a user of WinPatrol, available for free download from www.winpatrol.com. Available in a fully functional free version, and a nominally priced “Plus” version ($12.95), WinPatrol can significantly increase the performance, safety, and security of almost any Windows computer. WinPatrol is an easy-to-use but comprehensive utility utilizing a little Scottie dog to monitor the computer, and bark whenever a problem or threat is encountered. WinPatrol can control the programs that start when the computer is booted, similar to Microsoft’s Msconfig utility, but will also alert the user when another program, such as spyware or a Trojan attempts to insert itself in the startup sequence. By being able to control what programs automatically load when the computer is booted, and prevent unwanted programs from automatically loading, system performance can be significantly enhanced. Better then either the “Close Program” screen on Windows 95, 98, or ME, and the “Task Manager” on 2000 and XP, WinPatrol allows for the monitoring and control of any programs or processes running on the machine. If a program freezes or locks up while running, WinPatrol may be able to kill the unwanted tasks, without rebooting the computer. With all of the discussion about privacy while surfing the net, WinPatrol provides an excellent cookie manager that can be used to identify and control cookies placed on the user’s hard drive. If the user wants to know who is the real owner of a website, WinPatrol will do a “WhoIs” search, and provide that information. Some websites attempt to hijack the user’s Internet startup page, directing the user instead to another page; WinPatrol can detect and stop that unethical practice. The author of WinPatrol, Bill Pytlovany, of Scotia, NY, has a son and two nephews in the army, and is very supportive of military personnel and their families; for this reason, he is offering the “Plus” version of WinPatrol to military personnel and their families for free. Simple registration for those eligible, including a statement that the information will not be disclosed or used for any other purpose, is online at www.winpatrol.com/freeoffer.html. While on the “freeoffer” page, visitors can view a cute photo album of his active-duty family. I strongly recommend WinPatrol to the readers of this column and the listeners of my show.

A lot of computer users are unaware of what software is installed, and what hardware is in their computers. Many are not aware that hardware manufacturers periodically post updates and upgrades to drivers and other utilities. A free utility that can run on any Windows computer from Windows 95 to XP, that gives the user comprehensive information about his computer, AIDA32, is available from http://www.aida32.hu/aida-download.php. This software can generate a significant report (81 screens of information) about the hardware and software used, including detailed information on the motherboard, processor, video card, hard drive, sound card, memory, operating system, utilities, and other useful information. By knowing exactly the model number of the components installed, the user can then check the websites of the manufacturers to see if there are any updates. Builds or versions of all of the installed software are also presented, making updating or upgrading an easier function. Separate versions, all free, of AIDA32 are available for personal computers, networks, and enterprises. Written in Hungary, the program is also available in over a dozen languages. If a user is contacting someone for technical support or repair, the information provided by AIDA32 can be a valuable resource.

As has been stated repeatedly in this column, the three most important words in computing are “Backup, Backup, and Backup”. Murphy’s First Law of Computing is “A properly backed up hard drive will never fail; a hard drive that does not have a current backup will always fail at the most inopportune time”. Now, another reason not to backup frequently has been quashed, now that an excellent free backup utility is available. Written in Romania, Backup4All, available for free download from www.backup4all.com, is nearly as full featured as many of its expensive competitors. Capable of full and incremental backups (only files new or changed since the last backup), this program has a wizard that walks the user through the backup steps. Of course no backup is useful without restore strategy, and Backup4All provides a wizard for that as well. Designed primarily for backing up to local or network drives, with some support for limited backups to CD drives, this program has some limitations which the author says will be addressed in future updates. At present, the program does not offer any support for backing up to DVD or tape drives, but those features may be added in the future. Since contemporary thought is that backing up data to another hard drive, either local or on a network, is the fastest and most efficient way to backup and restore files, that is the method targeted by Backup4All, and the method that I personally use.

It is not always necessary to spend a lot of money to get excellent software, and these three programs are examples of that adage.

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