| Ad-aware |
Utility from Lavasoft finds advertiser's spyware on your computer, those programs that automatically report back to someone else (such as Aureate, Alexa, Comet Cursor, &c.) about what you are doing with your computer. Identifies files, cookies, Registry entries. Removal is entirely under your control. Read more about it and keep up with new versions here. (Also works on NT & Win2000, if you have administrator privileges.) |
| Boot Log Analyser ver. 1.23 |
Does just what it says. Lets you analyze the contents of C:\BOOTLOG.TXT, especially in terms of failures and delays. A must for many kinds of Win95/98 troubleshooting! By Tony Sanson of Vision4. |
| CabPack ver. 1.4 |
Like a zip utility, but specifically creates Windows Cabinet (*.CAB) files. It's a stand-alone utility, doesn't imbed itself in the Registry, is installed by unzipping and copying it, and is uninstalled by simple deletion. By Lars Hederer. (Click here if you prefer to download it as a ZIP file; or here for Version 1.4a Upgrade, EXE files only.) |
| Clean System Directory ver. 1.7 |
Kevin Solway's freeware utility cleans your SYSTEM folder of DLL files that appear not to be in use by any application. It lets you back them up to an archive folder (where I suggest you keep them for many months!) in case you really need them. |
| CPU-Z ver. 1.07a |
This utility will provide you with a lot of information about your CPU. Know for sure what's in your box! It has a lot more information than WhatCPUis, listed below; but WhatCPUis dynamically measures how fast your CPU is functioning at the moment, and the changes are kinda cool to watch. CPU-Z is the better all-purpose tool, though. From www.CPUID.comOn Online Reference for Intel and AMD Instruction Sets. |
| Disk Usage for Windows (DUW) | Shows number of files and space occupied for any folder, including its subfolders. Easy to use, flexible, quite handy. Postcardware by Markus Seger. Version 1.21. |
| EditPad ver. 3.5.x |
This is about as simple and light-weight as Notepad+, and has more features. I love it's multi-document tab system. Download both and see which you like better. I now use EditPad for most page creations and changes on this site. Great postcardware by Jan Goyvaerts. |
| Irfan View ver. 3.98 |
My favorite graphic-file viewer, but so much more than that! You just may not believe everything this can do! I really recommend you download and use this! Now includes scanner management & TWAIN acquisition, sophisticated image editing, format conversion, audio-video file playing and more. Freeware by Skiljan Irfan. |
| Letter Assigner ver. 1.1 |
This cool tool gives Win95/98 users an option that only Windows NT users have: To reassign drive letters at will! It's as easy as can be, and also features several other drive management features. By Vadim Burtyansky. For more information, see his web site. |
| NeoTrace Express | This is an excellent traceroute tool that gives you the option either to have the usual node list, or a dynamic map of the exact route of your connection. Type the URL or IP address you want to trace, and get results in moments. This is the (only slightly less powerful) personal freeware version of the popular payware NeoTrace product by Neoworx. |
| Notepad+ ver. 1.11 |
Outstanding freeware replacement for the Windows Notepad program, with many more features and without Notepad's limitations! Of several Notepad replacements, this was my favorite. For most people, this will be the perfect Notepad replacement, and the first one I recommend they try! (For more info, or non-USA downloads, see Roger's homepage.) |
| PEsx | Windows 95/98/ME/NT shell extension that adds, to the Property sheet of each program and DLL a Dependencies tab that shows which modules the file depends on during its execution. Good for leaning what's going on under the hood.NOTE: Requires COMCTL32.DLL version 4.70 or later (which nearly everyone has by now). |
| PMTShoot ver. 1.3 |
Microsoft's Power Management Troubleshooter (ver. 1.0) comes with Win98. This is an improved version. (After you use the utility, it will recommend that you uninstall it. I recommend you follow that advice, and just keep the downloaded zip on hand in case you need it later.) Microsoft's discussion of this tool is here. |
| PrintFolder ver. 1.1 |
Windows shell enhancement that adds the capacity to Windows Explorer's right-click menu to print the contents of any folder. Many more nice features than I have space to mention here. Freeware by No Nonsense Software. (Check out their other freeware too.) |
| QuoteClip ver. 1.2 |
This little goody is the perfect tool for an increasingly necessary job. With the rise of HTML and quoted printable in email and newsgroups, more and more letters show up that don't add the little >; carats when you answer. QuoteClip takes care of it. Cut the original message to the clipboard, click QuoteClip once, paste the message back into the email window, all done! (Run it from QuickTray and it will only be there when you need it, consuming no resources the rest of the time.) To install, copy all unzipped files into a single folder, and make yourself a shortcut. |
| RegClean 4.1a Alternate Site |
Microsoft freeware. Helps clean some of the junk out of the Windows Registry: It analyzes Registry keys in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, finds keys with erroneous values, exports them to an Undo.reg file, then removes them from the Registry. |
| Revelation 2.0 |
Discloses passwords that are only displayed as asterisks. I suppose, ultimately, this is a cracker's tool; but there are practical, legitimate uses for it, so I decided to post the link here. By SnadBoy. NOTE: At the moment there is no direct link for the new Ver. 2.0 download. You have to email them for information. I have given the general link to their web site so you can have the most up-to-date information. |
| TweakUI ver. 1.33 |
NEWEST VERSION The best of all the PowerToys! Many new features added. Works on Windows 95, 98, Millennium, NT, and 2000. |
| Windows PowerToys |
These should have been part of Windows 95 from the beginning! They are an amazing set of free add-on tools. Some of them have been incorporated into Win98, and some of the others work in Win98, for more information on the PowerToys in Win95/98/ME, read this first. |
| Win95 Kernel Toys |
What the PowerToys are to the user interface, Microsoft's free Kernel Toys are to more technical aspects of Win95. (Most work fine in Win98 too.) Includes Key Remap, the amazing WinTop, a Conventional Memory Tracker, MS-DOS Mode Customization Wizard and more. |
| WhatCPUIs ver. 1.01 (Beta 1) |
Ever try to identify what CPU is in a computer while you are running it? Or find out how fast it's running? This utility will do the job for you. By Gene6. (See CPU-Z above for a related tool.) |
| WinKey ver. 2.8 |
Allows the Windows Key ("WinKey") to be programmed to launch any executable file, or open any folder. Includes a Windows NT style Task Manager. For info, click here. |
| WS_FTP Light Edition |
If this isn't the best FTP program around, it is at least the best freeware FTP program you can get! Ipswitch's WS_FTP. (The Ipswitch site primarily discusses the full-featured retail version. Note the difference of the Light Edition when you click to download.) |
| Xteq X-Setup ver. 6.0 |
With version 6.0, Xteq's powerful X-Setup tweaking utility ("The Ultimate Tool for Black Belt system tuning") came of age. I still recommend TweakUI as the standard for most day-to-day tweaking purposes. X-Setup does a lot more, though. It's best suited for a one-shot getting your system the way you want it in the first place. Its size is both its strength (lots of options) and its weakness (way too darn much to dig through to make a little change here and there). |
| ZoneAlarm |
This is a free personal firewall, surely the best known, and a pretty good one. By ZoneLabs. (As with many of these programs, the manufacturer has both a commercial and a freeware version. Be sure you know which one you want!) For Win 95, 98, NT, ME, and 2000. (I recommend carefully reading this page about installing and uninstalling this product.) |
| RealAudio: | If you need to download this plug-in, do it here. And then you can listen to radio around the world while you surf the Web. Sports...music...talk. For live concerts and a great concert archive, try LiveConcerts.com. |
| Winamp: | This is a free MP3 player. MP3s are music files which can be downloaded and traded; you can create your own personal playlist with all your favorite music, old and new, and it's all of CD quality. You find these MP3s through search engines. Three of the best are Lycos, Audiogalaxy and OthNet.Another thing Winamp may be used for is for small, privately-run "radio stations". There is an extensive list of them at ShoutCast |
| Internet Explorer: | Explorer 6.0 is the state of the art today. |
| Shockwave: | A great plug-in for interesting games, graphics, etc. on the Web. You will really wish you had it at some point. |
| EMS Free Surfer: | This program zaps those annoying little pop-up windows as soon as they show up. |
| Pop Oops!: | An even better program that zaps those annoying little pop-up windows as soon as they show up. *Recomended |
| Naviscope | Optimize your online experience with this set of powerful Web acceleration and Internet tools, including Internet diagnostics, ad blocking, resolution caching, and site mapping. This updated version includes tools to eliminate other Web annoyances, such as sounds, pop-up windows, and blinking text. It also prefetches Web pages to allow faster downloading of subsequent pages, and offers improved stability, enhanced connectivity, and bug fixes. |
| ICQ: | Internet chat software. |
| QuickTime: | More and more sites are offering video clips. This is a preferred mode for watching them. |