I wanted to create a basic "computer survival kit" - basically the programs you want to get on your computer right after you format ;) I went through suggestions and compiled this guide. I'm opened to critiques and suggestions and this is an ongoing list-creation. I'll be adding/removing/updating things and hopefully gets Hashes or links to sites with torrents on them for these files. If you have hashes to contribute or any other sites etc. (hint: "check my sig" posts) please chime in. Thank you.
NOTE: I HAD IMAGES for EACH SOFTWARE...HOWEVER THERE IS A LIMIT SO I LEFT THE LINKS IN TEXT RIGHT ABOVE IT...IF A MOD COULD FIX IT I WOULD APPRECIATE IT..THANKS...(I LEFT AS MANY AS I COULD UP)
Software Survival Kit
By: mts04988
Updated: January 17, 2003
If you decide to distribute this guide on other websites please give credit
THANKS TO: http://filesharingtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=75824 post by SHAREDHOLDER where I found a majority of the HASHES for the files below.
For those that nitpick :P Drivers are assumed installed ;)
Operating System
For the PC: Microsoft XP (duh!) ... Yeah preferences etc...There isn't anything out there more universal than a Windows product for a PC.
www.microsoft.com
Security
Antivirus
http://www.nod32.com/img/eye.jpg
Choosing a good anti-virus is probably the most debatable topic when it comes to software. People have many different preferences. Each of them have their pros and cons. When it comes to the BEST detection rate however, Nod32 takes the cake. However Nod32 does have its disadvantages...namely its "uncrackable" and to update the virus definitions one has to scour the internet for a working UN/PW for that month. This makes some turn to AVG Free from Grisoft or Norton Antivirus. All three are viable AVs, but due to the amount of awards and praise Nod32 received in its detection rate, it is the reccommened AV.
www.nod32.com
HASH:NOD32 for Windows NT2000,2003,XP +October Pass.rar Length:6165395 Bytes, 6020KB UUHash:=+gjURW86rKLnftM4PWCC7TR+OcI=
Firewall
http://www.sygate.com/img/sygate_logo.gif
Among choosing Firewalls, Sygate is the most reccommended. It has great options and good customability. You know your PC will be safe with Sygate running. Other options include Mcafee, Norton Internet Security (suite program), and BlackICE.
www.sygate.com
HASH:
Trojan Scanner
Tauscan 1.6
Often AVs cant detect trojans as well as Trojan specific scanners that use special heurestics. TheCleaner is also good, but hard to crack. THANKS TO: longboneslinger for RECOMMENDATION & HASH!
HASH:
File:Tauscan_1.6_+_Crack.exe
Length:2165184 Bytes, 2114KB
UUHash:=DXJCoiWZC8+6ZjC/wHSfXhWrIB4=
Adware Removal
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/images/menu_top.gif
There are a myriad of Ad-ware removal tools out there. Some programs out there are even designed to prevent spy-ware from even being removed the first place. Choosing a reliable Ad-ware removal program came down to two main choices: Spy-ware Search & Destroy or Ad-Aware by Lavasoft. The "original" program was Lavasoft, it was great in the beginning and later the definitions stopped coming out regularly. Spybot became a viable utility, but lately they've seemed to "switch roles" Ad-aware seems to catch files Spybot misses and comes out with updates much more often. Because of this the nomination goes to Ad-aware. Feel free to use both, but Ad-aware will more than suffice. Keep in mind there different versions of Ad-aware including Ad-aware Professional, Plus, and Regular. Plus has more options but Regular is completely free (BTW Spybot is free and includes one version) See what you like, but Ad-aware has better detection rates.
www.lavasoftusa.com
HASH:
XP ANTI-SPY
XP-AntiSpy is a little utility that let's you disable somebuilt-in update and authetication 'features' in WindowsXP.
For example,there's a service running in the background wich is called 'Automatic Updates'.I don't know what this service transfers from my machine to other machines onthe internet, especially the MS ones. So I play it safe and disable suchfunctions. If you like, you can even disable these function manually, by goingthrough the System and checking or unchecking some checkboxes. This will takeyou approximately half an hour. But why wasting time when a little neat utilitycan do the same in 1 minute? This utility was successfully tested by lots ofusers, and was found to disable all the known 'Suspicious' Functions inWindowsXP. It's customizeable, but comes up with the Default settings, which arerecommended. (SUGGESTION BY: zacspeed)
http://www.xp-antispy.org/
Maintenence
Registry
http://www.macecraft.com/images/powertools/icon.jpg
This is a powerful Registry editor/cleaner/maintainer. Here is the description and reviews from the site: An amazing set of tools to help you to fix, repair, optimize and tune up your computer easier than ever!
Does your computer seem to get slower day by day? Are you experiencing any computer problems such as crashes? jv16 PowerTools is the solution. To wrap up, jv16 PowerTools is a monster of a tool squished into a tiny executable. You can clean your system in a few minutes or setup an automated script for the repetitious task of system maintenance."
www.jv16.org
HASH:
Harddisk
http://www.softwareshelf.com/images/...home_title.jpg
It's important to keep your harddisk in excellent condition to increase its lifespan and reliability. One powerful solution is Diskeeper 8.0:
Disk fragmentation is the “hidden bottleneck” that chokes the speed of Windows servers and workstations. The only way to maximize system speed is to eliminate fragmentation entirely – something that a manual defragmenter simply can’t do.
Diskeeper 8.0 keeps systems working at maximum speed automatically. No administrator intervention is required – just “Set It and Forget It”®!
System administrators who implement Diskeeper across their networks consistently report an increase in system speed and a decrease in help desk calls. Furthermore, the added speed allows them to extend the life of workstations and servers by as much as two years.
www.executive.com
HASH: File:fo-dkp8.zip Length:19573043 Bytes, 19114KB UUHash:=t+OTMYGRjmvPAR2Gz1S+9VoP7Uc=
AIDA32
AIDA32 is a professional system information, diagnostics and benchmarking program running on Win32 platforms. It extracts details of all components of the PC. It can display information on the screen, print it, or save it to file in various formats like HTML, CSV or XML. For corporate users, AIDA32 offers command-line switches, network audit and audit statistics, remote system information and network management. (SUGGESTED BY: DwK)
www.aida32.hu/aida32.php
Web-surfing etc.
Browser
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firebird/h-fb-dl.png
http://www.myie2.com/images/title_middle.gif
When it comes to web-browsing you'll want two browsers. Unlike having multiple AVs which could cause conflicts, having 2 browsers are a necessity as some sites simply work better on Netscape-based or IE-based. Here are the two contenders for each category: myIE2 & Firefox. Respective links are below and yes these are the best browsers. myIE2 has great "conveinence" programs packed in such as Roboform. (BTW - both are free, unlike Opera)
FireBird
myIE2
HASH: (not required)
Track-eliminator
[IMG]http://www.webroot.com/wb/imgs/title-products-windowwasher-text.gif[.IMG]
Webroot Windows Washer is great for eliminating cookies, trails, and temporary internet files. Website description:
Wash away your online and offline tracks to protect your privacy
Bleach completely wipes out data for total privacy protection
Custom wash cycles put you in control
Automatic cleaning saves you time
Free plug-ins clean up over 150 popular programs
www.webroot.com
HASH: rorww507-2003-10-10.rar Length:2582250 Bytes, 2521KB UUHash:=M+DeJ/XeX3ZtcIN9y8w35PDaYhI=
Pop-Up Blocker
The Google toolbar included in MyIE2 should suffice for blocking popups. But for those who require a seperate program I came upon PopUp XP. I have not tried it out and seen the effectiveness of it, and I am opened for suggestions about replacing the award. However, one of my friends has given it nothing but praise so I include it here. Shareware.
Popup XP
HASH:
Connection Boosters/Tweaks
Webroot Accelerate
Boost Conection and let sites load faster. Download speeds also increase and it works with all modems and internet connections
HASH: accsetup-1_157894.exe Length:1087040 Bytes, 1061KB UUHash:=Ml5FByAQU0dtXLtBrtFb1CAODPQ=
E-mail/Newsgroup Client
http://www.mozilla.org/images/h-tb-dl.png
Great program for e-mail.
www.mozilla.com
The Bat!
The Bat! is a powerful, highly configurable, yet easy to use email client. We've designed it especially to help you deal with your growing volume of email as quickly and efficiently as possible, saving much of your precious time. Use all its powerful features at home or at the office to handle your email naturally - the way you want and how you want, simply and directly (SUGGESTED BY: Smurfette)
FileSharing & P2P Communication
Since this is a FileSharing forum you can find a lot of info in the pertaining topics. I will simply list some of the key/unique filesharing programs and ones that are outstandingly good.
BitTorrent
-Not a "Central" file-sharing program like Kazaa. See www.suprnova.org for torrents and info pertaining to BitTorrent clients can be found here: http://filesharingtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=54389
Blubster
-For Music (.mp3's) NOTHING is better. Give it a try.
Kazaa Lite
-Though officially "Down for the count" there are still many people on the network and using the program. Scour through google or these forums for a place to download the client.
Shareaza
-Not much experience with this program but I hear good things about its "Torrent + network" file downloading mechanism.
Emule
-Great Program which basically splits files into different segments and starts downloading wherever it can, meaning you don't need sum1 who has 100% of the file to complete it (from what I saw on TechTV ;P) Its a great program with lots of support and great speeds. (SUGGESTION BY: Samurai)
DirectConnect
-I have no experience using it. The only thing I have heard people complaining about it is that "you have to LOTS of files (100 GB+ and a Godly connection T3, T1? etc...)
WinMX
-Used it about 2 years ago and it had lots of files and lots of people on the network. I *believe* it runs on the Gnutella network and it had some great stuff when I last used it, (which was about 2 years ago) Try it for Mp3s (SUGGESTION BY: Samurai)
mIRC
-See Forum
Skype
-Not a file sharing program, but a voice-chatting program. Talk to other people with your mic with CRISP & CLEAR!! sound. Needless to say, a broadband connection is necessary (low latency=helpful).
Download Manager
FlashGET
HASH: FlashGet+serial.rar Length:1764580 Bytes, 1723KB UUHash:=ND/7OKpTce2t3funBFyv2ynHZI4=
CD-burning software
Depending on the type of file you get (.iso, .cue, etc.) different CD-Burner software become more viable. Not included here is (Fireburner and WinISO which are great "specific file" burners)
http://www.nero.com/img/_logo.gif
It's always good to go with a "universalISH" program. (sony, Nokia, etc..) As you know there is always going to be support for it. Nero is very popular and if you ever encounter directions for Burning a certain file, Nero instructions will almost always be included. Easy CD Creator by Roxio is popular as well, but Nero is a pioneer of the burning industry.
www.nero.com
HASH:Nero 5.5.10.35+Keygen.rar Length:13644140 Bytes, 13324KB UUHash:=TsOrnhnN2TpDsKcLE+Vyy7GtkTs=
http://www.elby.ch/images/clone_cd_large.gif
[IMG]http://www.elby.ch/images/clone_dvd_large.gif[.IMG]
CloneCD was THE BEST program for 1x1 CD copies. It is was so good, it is now illegal. You can no longer purchase it, but if you scour hard enough you can find on your favorite FileSharing utility
CloneDVD is an excellent program for DVD copies and comes from a reliable company
CloneCD & DVD
HASH:
[IMG]http://www.alcohol-software.com/images/sqr_120.gif[.IMG]
Alcohol 120% great program.
Alcohol-software.com
HASH:
[IMG]http://www.dvdxcopy.com/images/invisible.gif[.IMG]
DVDXCopy is a great program for 1x1 DVD copies.
321 Studios
HASH:
Daemon Tools
Daemon Tools is great for mounting your CD images
Daemon Tools ?
HASH:
Multimedia
[IMG]http://www.bsplayer.org/images/bsplayer_logo.jpg[.IMG]
BSPlayer is a good software for watching videos.
bsplayer.org
[IMG]http://home.online.no/~run-oes/screenshot.jpg[.IMG]
This is my personal favorite for watching Videos. Its great and not a resource-hog.
Stamp3
Winamp
Great utility for Mp3 listening etc. Awesome for Playlists. (SUGGESTED BY: Smurfette)
www.winamp.com
CoolEdit Pro 2.0
Great for editing Mp3s etc.
Adobe Acrobat Reader
www.acrobat.com
Codecs
-K-Lite Codec Pack
Scour the sites and FileSharing programs to see if it is still availible.
Word Processors
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is the standard. Great program and works real well.
www.microsoft.com
Open Office
Freeware alternative
www.openoffice.org
File Utilities
WinRAR
-Great archiving program. Comes in retail version & corporate. Recommended that one gets corporate as it requires no key.
www.winrar.com
7Zip
-Also great archiving program.
http://www.7-zip.org/dl/7z313.exe
Web Editor
DreamWeaver MX
www.macromedia.com
Hope you enjoyed the guide and it helps you pick what software you want.
E-mail me if you have any specific questions:
[email protected]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
