Touchpad Blocker might be one of the most useful programs that I have added over the years to my arsenal of freeware programs. It has not only aided in keeping my accidental “clicks” down but it also has helped me keep my cool (less stressed!).

So what does Touchpad Blocker do you may ask? Its main purpose is to instinctively recognize accidental “clicks” that occur from the mouse pad and bypass them. For those of us who have laptops with overly sensitive touchpad’s, this programs is a must have. The great part about this small free program is that it has several options and settings that can be tweaked to the users liking. For me, the setting that allowed me to turn off the beeping noise that is omitted from the laptop when a accidental click is blocked (super annoying after awhile) and the option to turn the program on and off via a keyboard shortcut makes this program top notch. Not to mention the ability to change the time interval to block clicks.

I would like to point out that this program isn’t perfect and I have had a few accidental “clicks” and cursor movement occur even with using this program, but it is still 150% better than when I didn’t use it. I would highly recommend this program to all users facing similar problems that I specified here in this article.

A perfect example to illustrate my point is when I was recently dispatched to a client’s home to repair their laptop. After a quick fix, I had mentioned to the client that the laptop could use a good cleaning as I noticed some of the keyboard keys were beginning to stick. Before I could utter another word, the client had grabbed a rag, a bottle of Pledge and began to spray down their laptop as if it was no different than their living room coffee table. After explaining to the client how dangerous that action was and how it could have destroyed the laptop, I was able to give the client the proper cleaning procedures.

Tips for cleaning your PC

The first tip directly correlates with the example supplied above. Some quick general tips for cleaning your PC (Desktop or laptop) are as follows:

1.  NEVER spray, squirt, or pour any liquid directly onto your PC or any PC component. If using a cleaning product that is in a spray/squirt bottle, spray the liquid onto a piece of cloth or rag and then use that to clean the PC or PC component. (This also helps control the amount of liquid you use which is never a bad thing).
2. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, make sure whatever PC or PC component you are cleaning is powered off or unplugged from the wall outlet. NEVER clean your PC or PC component while it is powered on.
3. Many people are prone to using vacuums to clean dust, dirt, and debris from their PC’s. DO NOT DO THIS. What many of us don’t realize is that vacuums tend to create static electricity and when it comes into contact with PC components such as a motherboard, it could very well destroy that component. The best way to clean inside your PC or PC component is to use compressed air found at your local office supply store or department store.
4. Choose your cleaning solvents wisely. There are several cleaning solvents out there that could damage PC components if used.
5. When cleaning your PC, take your time and be gentle in the cleaning process. By doing this, you are less likely to turn switches on or off or accidently pop keys off of the keyboard.
6. Try to refrain from eating or drinking around your PC. The less chance there is to drop or spill anything onto or into your PC, the better.
7. All PC’s, whether desktop or laptop will have at least one fan. To clean these fans always make sure to keep the fan blades from spinning while cleaning. For example, I personally use compressed air to clean my PC fans and I use a pencil or pen to keep the fan blades from spinning while cleaning. If you were to let the fan blades spin at a high rate of speed without holding them in place, you could damage the fan itself and cause it to become very loud or not operational at all.

Cleaning Tools

Another important tip is knowing what kind of cleaning tools to use when cleaning your PC. Below is a list of the cleaning tools I use when cleaning client computers as well as my personal PC’s.

1. Cloth (preferably lint-free) – using a cloth rag to clean your PC is by far the best way to do it. Using paper towel is not recommended since it leaves behind more than it usually cleans up. We however, do not recommend using cloth to clean PC components such as motherboards, RAM (memory), or any other circuit board since it could create static electricity and harm your PC components.
2. Rubbing Alcohol, Computer Cleaner, or Water – Use any three of these with your cloth rag to clean your PC or PC components. Many other solvents may be damaging to plastic components or leave behind an unwanted residue. Remember, spray the cloth, not the PC.
3. Compressed Air – Using compressed air is the easiest and safest way to get rid of all the “dust bunnies” that build up on your PC’s outer case as well as inside the case (also good to use with laptops).
4. Cotton Swabs or Q-Tips – Cotton swabs or Q-Tips accompanied with rubbing alcohol or water is a great way to get into small tight spaces such as a laptop keyboard to get down in between the keys.

Why go through the work of cleaning your PC?

Many people don’t realize the importance of keeping your PC clean of dust, dirt, and debris. For instance, if a large amount of dust builds up inside your PC, you may notice it operating slower or shutting down on its own. With the buildup of dust in a computer, this creates heat. Heat and electronic components don’t play well with one another. The same could be said about keyboards for both desktop PCs and laptops. Dust and dirt get under the keys and cause the keys to stick or become non-functional.

By no means does this article go over all of the possible proper cleaning exercises, but it is a good start. If you have any further questions about cleaning your PC or laptop, feel free to email us. Midwest Information Technology, LLC is here for you.

Laptop Type/Usage:

A question we hear frequently is; “I want to buy a new laptop, can you suggest a good one to get?” That’s a loaded question. There are so many different features and key attributes that the buyer needs to consider. First question I ask is, what are the main tasks of this computer? Is it for daily usage such as email, web browsing, and word document tasks?  Is it for video or photo editing? Gaming? Watching High Definition movies? The list can go on. Depending on the task will determine what kind of processor and graphics you should look into. There is such a wide price range for laptops because of the varying processing capacities available. For daily usage like email and web browsing, a dedicated video card is not necessary. All your tasks will be accomplished with an integrated video card. A Dual Core processer is probably just what you need. If there is video editing, or high graphic demanding programs such as Revit, Solid works, AutoCAD or gaming (not online web browser games), you will probably want a dedicated video card of 1GB or better, with a high end Dual Core or Quad Core processor to allow faster renderings. Of course, keep in mind the price difference. A basic laptop with an integrated video display can get as low as $300 while a high end gaming laptop or business line can get past $2,000.

Customized Options:

Many users base their purchase off customized options. The options I am referring to include webcams, Bluetooth, blue-ray drives, fingerprint or face recognition, built in remote control, or even a secondary hard drive bay to name a few. These are important features, but should be well thought out. It is not necessary to make a webcam your priority if you will only use it once. Before setting your mind on an option, do some research to compare prices between laptops with the option and laptops without the option.

Portability/Size:

Many users look to laptops because of the compact and portability aspects compared to a desktop computer. Laptops range in sizes from 10.1” up to 17.3” screens (measured diagonally). Though be aware, the 10.1” – 12” are usually netbooks. Netbooks are less powerful, and sometimes DO NOT include an optical Drive (DVD or CD disc drive). These netbooks are great for traveling, and bringing along on trips because of their long battery life, lightweight, and small size. These netbooks usually have integrated graphics and integrated processors, which lead them to be a lower performance rated machine. 14” – 15.4” are your standard laptop size. These have the advantages of faster processors and video graphics, while still being light enough to carry with you from day to day occurrences. 17” and bigger are usually geared for media purposes. This includes watching HD movies, listening to music, and sometimes video editing. If you need a larger screen to ease the strain of your eyes, look at 15” – 17” laptops.

Upgradability:

The easiest aspect to look past is the upgradability. Although laptops aren’t as easy to upgrade as desktop computers, it is still a good way to keep your laptop in service as long as possible. There are a few easy upgrades that apply to almost all laptops. One of these upgrades is RAM. RAM (Read Access Memory) allows your computer to load programs faster. The more RAM you have, the better performance your computer will have. Before purchasing, seek information on your exact model to see how much RAM it will allow. This can also be limited by your operating system. If running Windows, 32-bit operating systems will only allow up to 3GB of RAM. 64-bit systems are virtually limitless. This brings me to my second upgrade. Your operating system makes your computer usable. If you have an operating system that restricts your speed and usability, perhaps an upgrade is in order. Before purchasing, seek information on your exact model and its ability to support 64-bit systems. Processors can be upgraded, but are very difficult to do so. Not many laptop manufacturers provide information on processor compatibility. If your computer is slow, please see our article “10 Ways to Speed up Your Sluggish Computer”.

Cost:

Of course, most of us are restricted by cost. With all the retailers available, there are many places to shop for laptops. Websites such as Newegg.com and Tigerdirect.com always have good deals on new laptops. We suggest doing some research on the exact model once you find one worth purchasing. To aid in your research efforts, cnet.com always has fantastic user reviews for all electronic devices. We all know laptops aren’t cheap, and usually are outdated faster than we want them to. By learning what to look for in a Laptop to fit your needs, it will save you time and money when it comes to purchasing a laptop.

As always, if you have any further questions about purchasing laptops, feel free to email us. Midwest Information Technology, LLC is here for you.

1. Remove dust from your computer

To some people, this may sound crazy but it is a large issue that causes many computers to become very slow and in some extreme cases, causes the computer to automatically shutdown (if motherboard has emergency thermal shutdown capabilities). I would suggest every month or two, take an air compressor to the inside of your computer and blow out all the dust and debris from inside. . If an air compressor isn’t accessible to you, go out and buy one or two cans of compressed air (can be purchased almost anywhere these days). If you have pets or have your computer placed in a high traffic area I would perform this task even more frequently.

2. Removing / Modifying Desktop Wallpaper    

Try to avoid using large file sized images as your wallpaper or background. Same goes for those who have multiple images selected in “slide show” mode. All this does is use up physical memory (RAM) that your computer could be using to support performance in other areas of need. The ultimate fix to make sure this isn’t an issue is to simply not use wallpaper or have a background at all (most operating systems will have the option to select “none” for wallpaper).

3. Keep Recycling Bin Empty

Just because you selected an item on your hard drive and hit the “delete” button, doesn’t mean it’s completely removed. All items selected for deletion are sent to the recycling bin. Just like the trash in your waste basket at home, your computers recycling bin should be cleaned out once a week at minimum.

4. Clean Up the Desktop

If your computers desktop has more than 50% of the desktop filled with shortcuts, file, folders, you need to “thin the herd”. Having desktop shortcuts to access certain programs quickly isn’t the big problem here, it’s the user who downloads a lot of content or doesn’t have a designated folder to put files in and instead puts everything on the desktop. Don’t do this! Not only is it nightmare to find anything but it can slow down your computer since it must load every single shortcut, file, or folder every time it boots up. The best practice is, if you haven’t used a shortcut, file, folder in over a week, store it somewhere else on the hard drive and remove it from the desktop.

5. Defrag the Hard Drive

Defragging your hard drive is something everyone should do at least once every other month. If you are someone who installs a lot of programs, downloads large amounts of content, or creates/stores a lot of content you should defrag even more frequently. Defrag your computer after deleting content from your hard drive as well. The reason you want to defrag your hard drive frequently is because as time goes on, files, applications, folders, get cluttered on the hard drive and need to be organized in order to make it easier to find and access. Make sure to always run a hard drive error check before defragging the drive. If you’re a windows user, the error-checking button is on the same page as defrag. Make sure to check the options to “Automatically fix file system errors” and “Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors”. All error-checking does is look over the hard drive volumes to make sure there are no problems related to lost clusters, bad sectors, duplicate files, and directory errors and in some cases, fixes them for you.

6. Remove Spyware

Spyware is defined as a program that records and monitors your activities to gain information about you and your interests and then sell it to companies to market products or services. Sounds harmless right? Not really. Not only do I consider it an invasion of privacy, but spyware programs can also drain system resources such as performance or diminished internet speed. It’s important to note that anti-virus software will not detect spyware and will not remove it for you. Some Anti-virus program packages do offer an add-on that will detect and remove spyware but as with anything these days, it comes with added costs. There are so many spyware removal programs available online and with spyware becoming almost more mainstream than viruses themselves, a lot of programs are free. Some of the spyware programs I have used in the past with great success are Malwarebytes, Ad-Adware, and Microsoft Security Essentials.

7. Disable Unneeded Startup Programs

Many programs want to run upon startup. This unfortunately slows down the time it takes to boot up as well as your computers overall performance as well. Many programs like MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Skype, QuickTime, etc. will all try to run on startup. A good rule of thumb is to completely disable these programs on startup. For Windows users the easiest way to remove programs is to access the msconfig utility and disable programs from the startup tab. Some programs may also have the option within the program’s settings to disable on startup like Yahoo Messenger provides. Once programs are disabled, the computer will need to be restarted before your revisions take effect.

8. Clean Out / Remove Temporary Internet Files

                The reason why you would want to delete all the contents in your temporary internet file folder is to free up space on the hard drive. Every keyword typed and every website viewed is stored by the computer for future reference. All of this information over time can build up and take up a large portion of hard drive space and cause the computer to slow. Some internet browsers such as Internet Explorer (IE) allow you to set a limit to how much hard drive space is used to store internet data. No matter the size of data allowed, the files should be removed on a consistent basis if computer performance is lacking. This may not immediately fix bad computer performance, but it is a great place to start.

 9. Cleaning up Registry Errors

Registry errors are the most common problem with computers and are by far the most important to fix. Your computers registry is basically the database that stores all important settings used by the operating system. Much like your hard drive, the registry tends to get fragmented and corrupted with invalid and obsolete references and directories within and can cause programs to unexpectedly shut-down, blue screen of death (BSOD), or cause the computer to perform so poorly, it renders the computer useless. The registry becomes error ridden in several different ways but the most common would be from viruses, trojans, malware, adware, program crashes, and incorrect un-installation of software. It should be noted that viruses, trojans, and other malicious programs should be removed before cleaning out the registry errors. If malicious software isn’t removed first, more likely than not the registry would need to be cleaned multiple times. There are many registry cleaning programs out on the market that will remove errors and allow your PC to return to normal operating speeds. We strongly suggest you research the program you plan to use whether it is free or not. Always be cautious when using free programs to clean the registry as it will access the core system files storing personal data as well as data important to the operating system. If an important system file is deleted by a “free” registry cleaning program, it could possibly render the operating system corrupt and require you to reinstall the operating system, and lose all previous data stored on the hard drive. With that said, one of the free programs that we have used in the past and has been labeled as one of the better registry cleaners by other industry leaders is CCleaner. This program is considered a “mild” registry cleaner, meaning that it doesn’t go as deep as other programs out there in removing all registry errors but in our experiences it has done a good enough job for the price (free). As always, we strongly recommend backing up all data before performing any registry cleaning to insure all personal data isn’t lost. We also suggest that registry cleaning software be used on a monthly to bi-monthly basis.

10. Scan for viruses

Having antivirus software installed on your computer is a must these days. However, just having an antivirus program doesn’t mean you’re “virus free”. All antivirus programs should be updated weekly as new threats are generated. Most antivirus programs will run continuously to protect against possible incoming threats but it is just as important to do a full hard drive scan at least once a week. Viruses can do all sorts of damage to your computer including, slowing down performance, redistributing itself through email directories, and can even corrupt your operating system to the point of no recovery. This is why it is important to have an antivirus program installed and running at all times. Some of the free antivirus programs available online that have good reviews would be, Microsoft Security Essentials, AVG AntiVirus, and Avast!. Both AVG and Avast! offer other antivirus software packages with more security add-ons, but those do have a price other than free.

By no means does this list go over all of the possible solutions to fixing a slow computer, but it is a good start. This list merely provides some of the easiest and free ways to speed up your sluggish computer. If you have any further questions about speeding up your computer, feel free to email us. Midwest Information Technology, LLC is here for you.

1. Change the Default Administrator Username and Password

Most home networks start with an access point such as a router. Fresh out of the box, these pieces of equipment are setup with default usernames and passwords for users to easily access the device to complete setup. These “default” usernames and passwords supply user login information for the life of the device. Many manufacturers use similar or well known usernames and passwords which make it extremely easy for hackers to gain control of your device (router). An example of this would be Netgear, who for years, has used the same default username and password for all of their networking devices, which is also printed right on the back of the device. Changing the username and password is a critical step in improving your home network security.

2.  Change the Default SSID

All routers or access points use a network name in order to tell other devices “this is me!” All manufacturers use a default SSID name which usually corresponds with the brand name. For example, Netgear devices use “Netgear” as their default SSID. By leaving the default SSID, you are not directly causing your network to be unsecure, but hackers see default SSID’s as a clue that the device has not been properly setup and therefore, more likely to be attacked. Changing the SSID name from the default should be a priority when setting up your network.

3. Disable SSID Broadcast

When SSID’s are broadcasted it allows other Wi-Fi devices the opportunity to see and connect to the network. For hackers, broadcasting your SSID lets them know there is a possible target in the area. By disabling the broadcast, it makes it harder for hackers to find your device to attack. As the old adage goes, “out of sight, out of mind”. Disabling the broadcast feature is highly suggested by many professionals.

4. Always Use a Good Wireless Encryption

All Wi-Fi access points or routers will support the ability to encrypt your transmissions. This means that all activity sent from your device to the connected router will be scrambled in order to protect the data transfer from hackers who might try to intercept the data. Today, several different encryption methods exist. Listed below are the encryption protocols in order from strongest to weakest:

• WPA2
• WPA
• WEP

Most users will want to use WPA2 since it is the strongest but there is a small catch. Not all devices will accept the use of WPA2 and its added protocol features, which means other encryption protocols must be used instead. In today’s world, almost all wireless devices do in fact use or support WPA/WPA2 protocols. On a personal note, using WEP would not be advised. It is one of the weakest and most outdated protocols available but like I always say, “weak security is still better than none”. Regardless, it is highly recommended users pick one of the three encryption protocols and create a good password to compliment it. This leads us straight into the next tip.

5. Always use a Strong Password

When using encryption on your wireless network, a password will always need to be created. The difficulty then lies on coming up with a password that will be easy to remember but also hard enough so others can’t guess it. This is what separates weak passwords from the strong ones. In so many situations, people will choose to use passwords such as their pet’s name, middle names, or even their home phone number.  These are all examples of weak passwords because even though they are easy to recall, they are also easy to crack. The characteristics of a strong password would be as follows:

• Always use at least one uppercase letter and one lower case letter, a number, and symbol.
• Should be a minimum of 8 characters (********)
• Avoid complete words
• Do not use existing passwords (make sure it is significantly different from your other passwords)

Since strong passwords will be very unique, it may be difficult to remember, so a good practice is to write it down and store it in a location where it can be retrieved when needed in the future. For the sake of this article’s author, DO NOT tape the password to the bottom of the access point or router. By doing so, you have successfully negated the point I am trying to make.

6. Enable Firewall on Each Device, Including Router

Today’s access points or routers will have a built-in firewall ability, but whether or not the option is enabled is critical. A router’s firewall in essence is just another wall a hacker must climb over in order to access your wireless network. With that being said, it is also highly suggested that firewall software be installed on PC’s or other eligible devices also connected to network.  In many situations, the router’s firewall must be disabled to avoid interference with online gaming, in which case, it should be re-enabled after every session.

7. Positioning the Access Point or Router Within the Home

This tip is not as important as the rest on the list but, nonetheless, is something to consider when setting up your wireless home network. All routers broadcast signal in a proximity fashion. For instance, a router placed in a room not centrally located within the home may cause some areas within the home to not have Wi-Fi. Some manufacturers have tried to correct this problem by making routers with added range or additional devices but all come with an added cost. To possibly avoid this all together, keep your router centrally located within the home to ensure ultimate coverage to most, if not all rooms within the home. This also ensures that signal is not being lost outside the home and being picked up by your neighbors instead.

8. Power Off Access Point When Not in Use

The most effective way to keep your wireless network protected is it simply shut it down. Now, we are not suggesting every time you aren’t using your wireless network you should shut it off, but if it is not being used for extended periods of time it should be turned off. Going as far as unplugging the device when on vacation or away from the home for an extended period of time is also considered good practice because this also protects your network devices from possible power surges.

9. Use Static IP Addressing Rather Than Dynamic

The common network setting for many users will have the access point or router using a dynamic IP address system. This is great for wireless network that has a lot of different users connecting and disconnecting from it and is overall easy to setup. Dynamic IP addressing allows a user to connect and automatically gives the device a valid IP address. This unfortunately works to the advantage of hackers as well, making it extremely easy to obtain access to the network. By using Static IP addressing, a router can be setup to accept and allow access to only those devices which are connected by manually entering pre-determined IP addresses. This ideally makes it harder for a hacker to be able to obtain an IP address.

10. Do Not Auto-Connect to Access Open (Unprotected) Networks

This tip does not directly correlate with the protection of a home wireless network but we felt it was important enough to cover as our last and final tip. Automatically connecting to open or unprotected networks such as the free wireless hotspot at your local coffee shop or your next door neighbors home network make you and your computer vulnerable to security risks. It is important that you setup your computer or other Wi-Fi device to ask for permission to connect to any network (whether your own network or not). Hackers have been known to setup unprotected wireless routers in public areas in order to access computers or other devices who have the automatic connected setting enabled.

Being proactive in securing your home network has never been more important. Not so long ago, hackers chose to attack large businesses and tried to take down entire corporations based upon unknown motivations, but now things have changed. Today’s hackers have changed their targets to small businesses and homeowners where big budget wireless security isn’t an obstacle they will have to endure. If you’ve read this far, by no means was this article created to scare users of the “wireless” world. We are merely trying to provide simple and easy steps to ensure users with a continued, non-interrupted use of wireless technologies.

One of the first things we ask our clients when they come to us with hard drive failure is, “Do you have your data backed up?” Many of us would believe that the answer to this question would be “yes” more often than “no”, but sadly the answer is almost always “no”. It seems in today’s world no one backs up their data or they are unaware that they should. Many people who use computers on a daily basis put so much trust into their hard drives to never ever fail but the truth is, they all fail at some point.

Hard drives are much like light bulbs. Both have a predetermined life of expectancy.  Hard drive companies like Seagate and Western Digital both have online specification documents on most of their hard drives that show the rated hours of usage. It is important to note that many hard drives will exceed the hours of use specified by the manufacturers, but it is something that all consumers should be aware of.

Our recommendation to the general public is to go out and buy an external hard drive, where you can save all documents, pictures, and files as a back-up. In today’s market, a 500GB external hard drive can be purchased for under $100. We see it as a cheap insurance policy for your precious data that no one can afford to lose. Now, for those who think that external hard drives don’t supply the kind of security that they need, there is another option.

The usage of off-site automatic backup and recovery services has climbed in popularity in the last few years. What once was thought of as a service only for big businesses has been refined for all businesses and homeowners all alike. A good company that provides off-site backup and recovery is Mozy (www.mozy.com). They automatically backup all files that the customer wants and allows you to browse and restore these files at anytime to your computer. At an affordable prices as well, it is also cheap insurance for all your data. This eliminates the need for an external hard drive as well which could also fail at some point in its life.

Computers crash, laptops get dropped, and drinks get spilled on keyboards; it’s life. The difference is, will you have a backup plan or will you be among the many who are emotionally destroyed by the loss of all their personal data? Make sure you have a system in place or backup plan for all your data.

What is Drive eRazer Ultra?
Drive eRazer Ultra completely erases all data from a hard drive quickly and easily. Stand-alone operation. No computer required! Faster than software. The new version adds many new features including an LCD menu with intuitive navigation, many preconfigured erase modes, customizable erase modes, automatic label printing, native SATA and IDE/PATA, and more.

Why use hardware?
Drive eRazer is faster than software programs, and Drive eRazer doesn’t tie up a computer. What’s more, it’s far easier to use. No computer required to erase.

How fast is Drive eRazer Ultra?
Drive eRazer’s performance depends upon the max write speed of the drive being erased. It can keep up with today’s fastest drives. You can expect 7GB/min on modern, high-performance drives and about 2GB/min on older drives.

How safe is it?
Very. Drive eRazer writes zeros over every bit of your drive. After it’s done, there’s nothing left to recover.

Hidden Areas with Secure Erase mode:

• Deletes all blocks including partitions and data hidden inside Host Protected Areas, even ones normally invisible to operating systems.
• Per industry specifications for the Secure Erase feature, will leave any HPA & DCO areas (which are partitions set in firmware) intact, though all data within them is deleted (along with all other data on the drive).

Does it meet DoD specifications?
The Department of Defense has a stated policy (June 28, 2007) with their specifications regarding drive sanitization. Drive eRazer meets the DoD requirements for “clearing” a “Non-Removable Rigid Disk.” The specification requires destruction of a hard drive containing government classified data. As far as the DoD is concerned, Drive eRazer is as good as it gets without a degaussing machine or other destructive methods.

Does this product destroy the drive?
No. It systematically removes all data. After using Drive eRazer you can choose to use the drive again or safely sell it.

What Operating Systems does it work with?
The erase process requires no computer. Attach a drive, select a mode, and perform the erase. It doesn’t matter what is on the hard drive or what operating system the hard drive was used with. Drive eRazer will erase Mac, Windows, Linux, already blank, or home-brew formatted disks quite easily.

Drive eRazer Ultra has a host port which does allow you to connect to a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer via USB. You can use this port to view at a disk before or after you erase it.

What kind of drives does it work with?
Drive eRazer connects out-of-the-box to all SATA drives (2.5″ and 3.5″) as well as 3.5″ IDE/PATA drives.

Do you need to erase even more types of media? With Combo Adapters (sold separately), Drive eRazer will erase other types of drives such as 2.5 inch and 1.8 inch drives. (DEU is currently not compatible with the PCCARD adapter or the DOM adapter).

There are many programs we use on a daily basis. Of which, are free! These programs are useful for hardware testing and monitoring, and malicious software protection.

Our top 10 must have FREE programs:  

Avast! Free Anti-Virus Protection

avast! Free Antivirus often outperforms competitors´ paid-for products in independent tests, leading in both security features and scanning speed. In fact, AV-Comparatives.org rated avast! 5.1 the fastest out of 20 antivirus programs!

Having antivirus protection is critical and, fortunately, easier than ever. Download now and in just a few minutes you’ll be enjoying the peace of mind that comes from having the best and fastest online protection available.

 http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download

Avg Free Anti-Virus Protection

Computer and internet use is an integral and growing part of our everyday lives. Every aspect of our lives is accessible electronically, which brings considerable benefit, as well as considerable risk. Our role is to shield you from potential dangers by providing powerful, easy-to-use protection that works in the background and allows you to go online with confidence.As the nature of threats continues to evolve, so too must the nature of protection. That’s why AVG uses the latest technology developed by world-renowned security experts to provide real-time defenses against real-time threats. With AVG you can surf, shop, bank, download files, chat, network and email safely and confidently, knowing that your personal information will not be stolen or misused.

http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage

CoreTemp

Core Temp is a compact, no fuss, small footprint, yet powerful program to monitor processor temperature and other vital information.What makes Core Temp unique is the way it works. It is capable of displaying a temperature of each individual core of every processor in your system!You can see temperature fluctuations in real time with varying workloads. Core Temp is also motherboard agnostic.

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

Speedfan

SpeedFan is a program that monitors voltages, fan speeds and temperatures in computers with hardware monitor chips. SpeedFan can even access S.M.A.R.T. info and show hard disk temperatures. SpeedFan supports SCSI disks too. SpeedFan can even change the FSB on some hardware (but this should be considered a bonus feature). SpeedFan can access digital temperature

sensors and can change fan speeds accordingly, thus reducing noise.

http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

Seatools

SeaTools is a comprehensive, easy-to-use diagnostic tool that helps you quickly determine the condition of the disk drive in your external hard drive, desktop or laptop computer. It includes several tests that will examine the physical media on your Seagate or Maxtor disk drive and any other non-Seagate disk drive.

 http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools

Hitachi Drive Fitness Test

The Drive Fitness Test (DFT) quickly and reliably tests SCSI, IDE and SATA drives. The DFT analyze function performs read tests without overwriting customer data. (Note: other DFT restoration utilities may overwrite data.)

 http://www.hitachigst.com/support/downloads/#DFT

Western Digital Lifeguard Diagnostic Tools

The Data Lifeguard Diagnostic Tools are used primarily for determining the physical condition of your hard drive. If you are having computer problems which you suspect are hard drive related, you can test your drive with this tool. This diagnostic utility is designed for hard drives larger than 8.4 GB with the model number starting with WDxxx. (Compatible with Western Digital Drives only)

 http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?lang=en

Memtest86

Memtest86 is a thorough, stand alone memory test for x86 architecture computers. BIOS based memory tests are a quick, cursory check and often miss many of the failures that are detected by Memtest86. Available to boot from a disc or In Windows Operating System.

http://www.memtest86.com/

Prime 95

Over the years, Prime95 has become extremely popular among PC enthusiasts and overclockers as a stability testing utility. It includes a “Torture Test” mode designed specifically for testing PC subsystems for errors in order to help ensure the correct operation of Prime95 on that system. This is important because each iteration of the Lucas-Lehmer depends on the previous one; if one iteration is incorrect, so will be the entire primality test.

The stress-test feature in Prime95 can be configured to better test various components of the computer by changing the fast fourier transform (FFT) size. Three pre-set configurations are available: Small FFTs and In-place FFTs, and Blend. Small and In-place modes primarily test the FPU and the caches of the CPU, whereas the Blend mode tests everything, including the memory.

 http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/

Kill Disk

Powerful and compact software that allows you to destroy all data on hard disks, USB drives and floppy disks completely, excluding any possibility of future recovery of deleted files and folders. It’s a hard drive and partition eraser utility.

http://www.killdisk.com/