Weekly troubleshooting utilities update

Our weekly utilities update report is a list of updates for Mac utilities that have been released in the past week. Though utilities can be any tool that helps you perform a routine task (including image manipulation and synchronization), our focus in this column is to bring you those tools that help in troubleshooting Mac hardware and software problems.

This week we have updates for fsevents-based file-system managing utilities, graphics and system managing hardware utilities, a few network diagnostics and information utilities, and one system maintenance program.

File-system utilities
Yesterday, I outlined some of the benefits of using fsevents utilities to locate and manage files that are frequently changed on the file system. Fseventer and DaemonFS are two of these utilities, and were updated this week. Fseventer (free) is a small release to fix problems with the utility not launching on G3 and G4-based Macs. Similarly, the update to DaemonFS (free) is a small bug fix release.

Hardware
One popular hardware utility for MacBook Pro users is gfxCardStatus (free) that gives you specific control over the dual GPU setup in modern MacBook models. The update fixes a crash that occurred when building dependency lists, specifically experienced by VMware Fusion users.

The system monitoring utility iStat Menus ($16) has also been updated to add fan speed control and improved sensor monitoring for the new 2010 iMacs. It also sports new features for the Magic Trackpad and has a few new interface tweaks.

Networking
In networking utilities, the in-depth network troubleshooting and monitoring utility VisualRoute ($49.95) has been updated to fix a bug with the "whois" routine, and likewise the Wi-Fi hot spot finder AirRadar ($19.95) has also been updated with a small bug fix for the signal status not updating.

The network administration and security testing utility NetScan (free) has also been updated and now has a revamped interface and new features for port scanning as well as fixes for icon appearance and update-checking problems.

Maintenance
Only one maintenance utility was updated this week. MacKeeper ($39.95) is now at version 0.9.8 and incorporates a number of fixes and enhancements, including a more accurate and higher-performing "Find Duplicates" algorithm, adding "Open" options to contextual menus when selecting files, and finer control over what items can be included in the data encryptor.

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