utility

Wise Care 365 Pro is now half off for a lifetime subscription

PC optimizers are pretty common these days. But how can you tell which one is worthy of keeping your machine fast and free of errors? One sure way to tell is to try it out. Wise Care 365 Free has always been a favorite with our editors as well as users. With over 50,000 downloads a week, Wise Care 365 is a go-to cleaner application for many people.

Main features:

All-in-one utility: Besides optimizing performance, WC365 also includes a Disk Cleaner and Registry Optimizer to help your PC get in shape. Comprehensive cleaning helps slim down your system by … Read more

Review: MacUtil packs unprecedented control over the OS X interface

MacUtil for Mac hands more control over to you in determining the look and utility of your desktop, tweaking the user interface in ways you may have already been wishing you could.

MacUtil for Mac comes as a small download, and once unzipped and copied to your Applications folder, it is ready for action. The app offers 50 different tweaks to the user interface, and we tested each one. Some of the tweaks are mostly aesthetic such as changing the dock from 3D to 2D, or making its background clear, but even these can have a minor impact on system … Read more

Get Leawo Tunes Cleaner (PC/Mac) for free

If you're anything like me, you have an iTunes library you've amassed over the course of many years, one that includes everything from ripped CDs to Amazon MP3 purchases to song downloads from any number of outside sources.

In other words, it's a messy collection, with duplicates, missing album art and tags, and so on. There are plenty of utilities out there promising to clean things up, but most of them will cost you.

Not today. Until tomorrow, you can get Leawo Tunes Cleaner (PC/Mac) absolutely free. There's a slightly obnoxious catch, but ultimately it'… Read more

Tidy up with MaxiDisk from Uniblue, now 65 percent off

Keeping a clean computer is akin to keeping a clean house. It takes a bit of elbow grease and time to tidy up. Having MaxiDisk from Uniblue (developer of PowerSuite) is like having a personal housekeeper for your PC. You may know what needs cleaning but it's always easier to have someone else do it for you. MaxiDisk helps save time by analyzing your hard drive for unnecessary junk files to be deleted, getting rid of outdated backups, and compressing large files to reclaim valuable storage space. If you're worried about what should and shouldn't be discarded, … Read more

How to change an encrypted volume's password in OS X

With data security being an all-too-common concern, the options for encrypting data in OS X are welcome additions that are quite easy to implement. While you can store files in an encrypted disk image, you can also use FileVault to encrypt your boot drive. Furthermore, you can encrypt or decrypt any secondary volume by right-clicking it and choosing the option to do so, or by using the Terminal.

These features are convenient, but if you wish to change the password for an encrypted drive, you will find that this feature is not available along with the options for encrypting. You … Read more

Power utilities claim 'daily' and 'constant' cyberattacks, says report

Power utilities in the U.S. are under daily cyberattacks, according to report released Tuesday by members of Congress.

Of about 160 utilities surveyed in the 35-page report (PDF), more than a dozen reported "daily," "constant," or "frequent" attempted cyberattacks on their computer systems.

"Grid operations and control systems are increasingly automated, incorporate two-way communications, and are connected to the Internet or other computer networks," the report said. "While these improvements have allowed for critical modernization of the grid, this increased interconnectivity has made the grid more vulnerable to remote cyber … Read more

Refresh old drivers with DriverScanner, now 50% off

Drivers are tricky things. When they work you barely notice them, but should something go wrong, they can cause major headaches. This is especially true for machines with older hardware (we're talking Pre-Windows 7 computers). You used to be able to manually search for device drivers directly on the manufacturer's Web site. This process, however, takes both time and patience, requiring you to find the device info. and the correct driver version. At the end of the day it can still be a risky process, requiring a bit of technical savvy.

In comes DriverScanner 2013 to save the … Read more

Get Laplink Sync for free

Greetings from 34,000 feet! Sometimes I still marvel at being able to get Internet access all the way up here.

So, funny story, yesterday I received a press release indicating that today, and only today, Laplink is giving away its Laplink Sync utility. It normally costs $39.99.

Update: Looks like Laplink's servers are on fire (figuratively), as many people are reporting problems claiming the offer -- not uncommon with a heavily promoted giveaway such as this. Hopefully the company will do the right thing and extend it so everyone can have a chance at it.

Or will … Read more

Disk Utility may combine custom drive setups on some Macs

Apple's Disk Utility program is the built-in drive and volume management tool for OS X that is included not just in the working OS X installation but also in the OS X installation and recovery volumes for an OS X system. While useful for checking system file permissions and fixing formatting errors, there are some instances where it may not properly manage some custom drive setups on iMac and Mac Mini systems.

In 2012 Apple introduced iMacs and Mac Minis with Fusion drives. This Fusion drive, in which a smaller solid-state drive is coupled with a larger hard drive … Read more