Fun Applications

Do you have any unwanted software in your new system? Try PC Decrapifier. It can get rid of up to 50 standard programs on Window Vista and XP. And it’s free! Visit Pcdecrapifier!

If you want to know whether the page you’re currently viewing is safe or dangerous, try TrendProtect, a browser plug-in from TrendMicro that can identify unsafe websites. TrendProtect will check and warn you of any dangerous sites. It works by adding a new button in the browser’s toolbar. The button’s colour changes to indicate the safety of a page currently open. As each site needs to be checked, the results display will be slowed down. Another disadvantage is that the page is already open before one finds out whether it’s safe or not. TrendProtect allows one to check individual pages or entire websites in Yahoo, Google, or MSN searches.


CloneDrive is a free, compact, virtual drive for your ISO images. You just need to install it, run it once to complete the setup and right the drive to mount or unmount images.

DIManager X is an icon layout manager which allows you to set up and save your icons and their layouts. It comes in handy when you do graphics and only want icons on the desktop for Photoshop illustrator or the shortcuts where you store your images. Just switch to Graphic work profile, and hey presto, the shortcuts you want are there while the other unnecessary clutter is gone. Don’t freak out if the program starts in German; just wrench icon on the top right of the app’s window, choose the third tab and then English.

When enjoying a YouTube clip, have you ever been distracted by an annoying bright banner or pop-up window? Press Ctrl+F11 and Clutter Cloak will darken everything on the screen, except the area where your mouse is over. Or press Ctrl+Alt+F11 to set the border of an image and block out the rest. This could also be used in presentation where certain parts of a slide may need to be hidden from view. The download is on the right of the main page of the blog and it runs on XP and the .Net 2.0 framework. Get it from Teleskiving.

SweptAway is another ‘distraction terminator’ which minimises inactive windows after some time.

Fancy a three-dimensional virtual desktop program for that extra sophistication? By pressing Ctrl+Shift and either the left or right arrow key, you can rotate a cube that has your virtual desktops on. You can jump straight to an open app in any desktop by clicking the Yod’m 3D icon in the System Tray and selecting the app. This works on Windows 2000, XP or Vista. Visit Chsalm-on.club.

Have fun!