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Firefox Addon of the Week: FireFTP

David Murphy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:31:38 -0600

It doesn't happen that often, but sometimes, you just need an FTP. Or, rather, the problem is more like this: You need to access an FTP and you don't have a suitable software client on-hand for whatever reason. Sure, you can usually access an FTP via your Web browser, but that just offers the most rudimentary form of functionality (read: downloads only) that you can get. And that's even assuming that you can get into the FTP site you're trying to access--I've tested good ol' Mozilla Firefox on a few FTP sites that definitely work in a software client, yet do absolutely nothing when the ftp.*.* address is typed into a browser.

What do you do? If you're a fan of Mozilla Firefox, all you need is but one simple extension to bridge both worlds together. That's right--an FTP browser inside your Internet browser, which you can pull up into its own separate tab as if it was a new Web page, even though it's not.

What wizardry is this? A little extension called FireFTP is the hunk of code that makes this all possible. As mentioned, it's super-easy to use. Once you've installed the add-on, click on your Tools menu and select the FireFTP option. The add-on will pop up in its own separate tab. From there, you can use the "Create an account" button in the upper-left corner to define the IP addresses and login credentials for FTP sites you frequent, or you can hold down the left mouse button when clicking the button to access the add-on's Quickconnect feature.

FireFTP isn't as feature-packed as a typical FTP program. However, it's ability to connect, upload, and download as if it was one is a great stopgap for those needing speedy access to an FTP without wanting to (or being able to) install the proper freeware software to do so. Be sure to check out the add-on's configuration options to really tap into the full power of this useful little tool-including its "concurrent transfers" option for heavy-downloaders!

Maximum PC picks one new Firefox add-on as its favorite of the week each... week. Have a nifty extension that you can't live without? Twitter David Murphy @acererak with your latest suggestions.

Download of the Week: MakeTorrent

David Murphy — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:00:06 -0600

It's been a busy week for BitTorrents! I've showed you how to download them, how to tweak the heck out of a great program you can use to download them, and how to remotely access your BitTorrent downloads through Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. You, young padawan, are now fully grounded in the ways of the torrent. But you are no Jedi yet...

The final task that awaits you isn't so much related to the act of downloading information via BitTorrent as it is contributing to the cloud of data that you're usually pulling from. Yes, that's right. You're going to learn how to make your own .torrent file for distribution via your tracker of choice. While I realize there's a handy feature in uTorrent that allows you do this rather effortlessly, you're limited to working on one torrent at a time via this method. What if you want to make a whole bunch of .torrent files corresponding to a larger number of files you want to make available for download?

In that case, you're going to need the Download of the Week: MakeTorrent. This freeware app hasn't been updated since 2004--it's an oldie, but a goodie. It works fine all the way up to a 64-bit installation of Windows 7, so don't worry that MakeTorrent isn't going to be compatible with your OS of choice.

It couldn't be any easier to make your own .torrent using this quick little app. Start the program, then navigate to wherever it is you've stored the files that you want to share. Select them all, and then enter the URL of the corresponding tracker that will help coordinate the communications between your computer and the other peers jumping into your download stream. You can find some useful links to get you started right here. You can also append a comment to your .torrent file if you'd like. Click on the "Create .torrent now" button when you're done and voila! Create first BitTorrent file achievement unlocked! And if you're feeling adventurous, you can also use MakeTorrent to edit existing .torrent files.

Each week, Maximum PC picks a new free or shareware download as its favorite of... the week. Have a nifty application that you can't live without? Twitter David Murphy @acererak with your latest suggestions.

Chrome Extension of the Week: uTorrent for Google Chrome

David Murphy — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:30:00 -0600

Unlike its companion addon for Firefox, the Chrome Extension uTorrent for Google Chrome doesn't actually give you any way to remotely add a torrent to a uTorrent client that's running on a different, Web-connected system. That's kind of funny, considering that the uTorrent Firefox addon doesn't give you a way to control what's actually being downloaded by the remote system--Google Chrome's extension does.

It's a weird mish-mash of features, but it doesn't mean that uTorrent for Google Chrome is any less valuable of an addon for your daily browsing. If you're a BitTorrent junkie, you'll find this addon to be a considerable upgrade from the experience of having to load the default uTorrent Web UI every time you want to check on (or edit) your downloads.

Web UI... remote BitTorrent... this might be a bit over your head. Let's back out for a second and take a more general look at what this extension actually does. The uTorrent app comes with a nifty little feature--a Web UI--that allows you to remotely "log in" to your BitTorrent client. It's a great tool for when you want to capitalize on the fast speeds of your home (or office) Internet connection, yet do much of your actual browsing in the various coffee shops, libraries, or other WiFi hotspots around your community. You can fire up this Web interface to do everything you could normally do if you were sitting right in front of your running uTorrent app: start downloads, stop downloads, pause downloads, label downloads, et cetera.

The aforementioned Chrome Extension takes all of this functionality--and the painful process of typing in a large URL to access said Web UI--and slaps it into a tiny button near the address bar in your browser. You can't add new files, but you can check and see the status of your downloads using a pretty visual bar that indicates the percentage done. You can also get a quick look at your client's upload and download speeds, the estimated time remaining for your download, and the exact number of seeds and peers that are also grabbing the files in question. Of course, you can also perform all the basic uTorrent commands: starting files, stopping files, deleting files, et cetera.

It's small, it's pretty, and it's quite useful--save for that whole "adding new files" bit. For a great Google Chrome uTorrent manager, this appropriately titled extension is just what you need.

Maximum PC picks one new Chrome extension as its favorite of the week each... week. Have a nifty extension that you can't live without? Twitter David Murphy @acererak with your latest suggestions.

Firefox Addon of the Week: BitTorrent WebUI

David Murphy — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0600

Keeping with my uTorrent/BitTorrent theme this week, it only makes sense to show you how you can go about pulling .torrent files through the Firefox browser. But wait, you say! What am I talking about? Clicking on a .torrent link allows you to open it right up in your client of choice (I'll assume uTorrent for the sake of this post), and that, in turn, slots said file (or magnet link) into the application and begins the download.

Why would you need a fancy addon to do that?

Good point. In fact, you don't need an add-on in Firefox to load torrent files. Where an addon becomes handy is when you're using Firefox from a different computer and would like to somehow get a .torrent file you've found onto the download queue of a different machine. Think it's a strange setup? It's not that uncommon: perhaps you've left your PC on at home to make best use of its super-speedy landline connection, yet you're browsing around various BitTorrent sites at work, in a coffee shop, or in your car.

I guess you could email the .torrent file to yourself and queue it up later. That's lame, especially when a little addon called BitTorrent WebUI is ready to do all the work for you!

Here's how it works. Go into your uTorrent preferences menu and turn on the program's WebUI feature. You can change the default login and password if you want (I recommend it). Install the BitTorrent WebUI addon and restart Firefox. When your browser loads back up, it'll want you to put in your system's IP address as well as the port that uTorrent uses for its connections. Select uTorrent as the client, then hit OK.

Assuming that uTorrent is running on your main computer--and that's a critical factor--then you'll now be able to click on any .torrent link in your browser and load it into your main system's uTorrent client. Simple as that. You can now start BitTorrent downloads (or access the Web UI to do much, much more!) via any computer with the configured addon installed!

Download of the Week: SpeakerShare

David Murphy — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:25:00 -0600

Are you ready to rock? Because you'll be doing a lot of head-banging and dancing around once you've transformed every computer in your living area into a collective speaker system. Perhaps the better question remains unasked: Why would you do this? Because you can. Because you want to. Because it reverses the issue of having to connect to or stream from a central music repository (like an iTunes database) and instead allows you to push tunes out of a single music hub to anywhere you want to them to go.

Also, you want to do this because the app that makes this cacophonous symphony possible--SpeakerShare--is super-easy to use and well worth the small time investment you'll make. Here's how it works: You start by running an instance of SpeakerShare on all the networked computers (connected to all the speakers) that'll be blasting your music. These get set up as client servers in the main architecture. All it takes to do so is the click of a single mouse button. It's that easy.

You then head over to your main computer--the source of the music or audio you'll be sending out to all connected PCs. Use SpeakerShare to configure this system as the server, then select the appropriate sound output that represents all the sound your system plays (like Stereo Mix or Wave Out). That's it. Your sound goes over your network and out the speakers of SpeakerShare-enabled systems on a one-second delay. And you, friend, are now the life of the party.

Don't forget, you'll need to give SpeakerShare some kind of sound output to stream out--if your system doesn't have this kind of "What You Here" output, you might be out of luck. You'll also have to install Apple's Bonjour before you start streaming, but don't worry--this comes as part of its iTunes program.

Murphy's Law: Is $40 Too Much to Ask for Revo Uninstaller Pro?

David Murphy — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:00:00 -0600

It's always a curious enterprise when a company elects to deliver a fully-functional, nag-free version of a piece of software alongside a paid-for, "professional" or "super-bonus" edition of the same program. And it's not always easy to separate the freeware from an app's costly "real" version. Companies tend to do all they can to promote the latter-and with good reason-instead of delivering as much face-time and promotional effort for the freeware versions of their products. You might find an errant link to the inexpensive app on a download page... and that's it.

Such is the case with VS Revo Group's popular Revo Uninstaller application. I had been meaning to check out the professional version of this wicked uninstallation application for some time now, as curiosity was killing me. What's the big difference between the $40 edition and the freeware version?

Revo Uninstaller is no stranger to Maximum PC, after all-both my colleagues and I frequently cite it as a must-have download for anyone, be you a power-downloader with pages and pages of third-party applications on your system or a novice user who simply wants a junk-free PC. Given the strength of Revo Uninstaller's free version, it's hard to believe that its developers would be able to go above and beyond the program's critical feature-the seamless and complete removal of any file or registry entry associated with any program you install on your PC.

Simply put, Revo Uninstaller puts the default Windows add/remove utility to shame.

It's a little funny that many of the features built into the professional version of Revo Uninstaller are consequently ones that you can find... in other freeware applications. But I'll get to that in a second. The core of Revo Uninstaller Professional and Revo Uninstaller is identical regardless of whether you've made a monetary contribution to VS Revo Group or not.

Uninstallation Extras

Two new program uninstallation features found in the pro version of the software are handy, just not deal-breaking. A "new programs" list makes it easy to target a recently installed application or game for quick removal. Revo's tracing functionality is a unique addition-if you activate it when first installing a program, Revo will capture exactly what the installer mechanism dumps on your system. This consequently speeds up the Revo-based removal process later down the line and can offer a slightly more comprehensive deletion of leftover files versus the program's default scanning technique.

To be honest, I didn't make much use of Revo's "Forced Uninstall" option-to be found in the professional version only-for the program's included Hunter mode already accomplished everything I needed. Forced Uninstall allows you to target a folder or file and send Revo on a grand journey to find an associated uninstallation application already on your PC. If one doesn't exist, the app will run its usual bevy of scanning techniques to remove all files and folders associated with your target. Hunter, found on both Revo's professional and free versions, allows you to target applications currently running on your system. I don't foresee an average user looking to delete random folders on their system, but I can see a case for trimming down a ton of icons in one's system tray.

Of course, that's assuming that you'll even need to switch to these extra options to nuke programs on your system. The free Revo's program list and Hunter mode will likely satisfy 99-percent of all uninstallation-related desires.

Into the Sink

Beyond that, VS Revo Group goes the kitchen sink route in an attempt to bolster Revo Uninstaller Pro's presence. But these add-ons are nothing you haven't seen before: an Autorun manager for getting more information and editing the apps that start with your system (try msconfig and Google), a junk files cleaner for removing unnecessary files from your system (try CCleaner or SuperAntiSpyware), a "Windows Tools" option for accessing... parts of the operating system (try Control Panel or Start Menu), a browser cleaner for trashing your history and cache (um, try the browser itself?), et cetera.

It's nice to have all these options in a single place. But unless you're supremely lazy or really have no idea how to empty things like various apps' recent documents listings, your clipboard, your recycle bin, and your Windows temporary files, these are pretty paltry add-ons that replicate the most common actions one can do in the Windows operating system.

The Big Wrap-Up

There's no reason why you shouldn't have Revo Uninstaller on your system. Not many freeware applications deserve that kind of a pass, but Revo Uninstaller's comprehensive approach to program removal goes miles beyond what's normally offered through any version of Windows. That said, you don't need to pony up for the professional version of the program. The uninstallation-based features it adds are already replicated quite well in the free version of the app. The additional removal tools for various parts of your operating system, while helpful, are in no way worth the Revo's $40 asking price.

David Murphy (@ Acererak) is a technology journalist and former Maximum PC editor. He writes weekly columns about the wide world of open-source as well as weekly roundups of awesome, freebie software. Befriend him on Twitter, especially if you have an awesome app or game you're dying to recommend!

Freeware Files: 5 Apps for Hardcore File Management!

David Murphy — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:45:48 -0600

I'll preface: not that kind of hardcore file management. And I'll promise: I will do my best to not make some kind of witty reflection about how it's the new year, and you should really use this time to finish that big resolution of getting your computer's file system all tidy and organized, et cetera. Only, I just said that. And that's exactly what this first Freeware Files of the 2010 is about. Enclosed within the bits and bytes of this post are five killer applications that are designed to help out your cluttered, aging file system by hunting down junk, helping you organize, and giving you new ways to tackle issues that bugged you in 2009.

There's no freeware app that's going to get me to stop with this extended metaphor, unfortunately. But don't let that keep you away from the helpful programs found within the bowels of this very post. Need an app that better manages your Windows 7 libraries? Got it. Need a way to recover deleted files from a USB key? Fear not. Want to catalog and delete the duplicate files taking up unnecessary space on your system? Get ready to itch that trigger finger.

Those are but mere snippets of the full assortment of apps in this week's roundup. If frustrating file issues and a steadily decreasing amount of hard drive space makes you mad, then get ready to pop five different freeware chill pills.

Migratr

If you're sitting on a large stash of photographs in hopes that they'll somehow sprout wings and fly away to your favorite online hosting service, you're in for quite a wait. While Migratr can't help you get your pictures from your hard drive to your favorite online photo gallery of choice, it's an awesome tool for duplicating the contents of an online photo archive to a new service entirely.

The cool thing about the freeware app Migratr is its sheer compatibility: In one app, you have a direct route to quickly get your photos transferred (really, copied) to more than 10 different photo hosting services. Jump from Photobucket to Flickr. Jump from Flickr to Smugmug. Jump from Smugmug to Picasa. Does this have anything to do with actual desktop-based file management? Not really. However, to dry up the future tears streaming down your face when your years' worth of photographs are eliminated in a single, unfortunate drive crash, there is no better solution than Migratr. In but a few clicks, you have insta-backups all around the Web--backups that preserve your original EXIF data, mind you.

Download it here!

iBin

Delete a file on your system and it goes to your recycle bin. Delete a file on your USB key... and you're stuck. Stuck until now, that is. The useful app iBin creates a new recycle bin of sorts on a portable device of your choosing, tasked with storing the deleted files from your USB drive until you're ready to cut the cord for good. A super-helpful configuration screen actually gives you more options to work with than the default Windows recycle bin, and an easy-to-use file list delivers the name, size, and deletion date of the files you've since recycled from your key.

The only sticking point with iBin is that it uses the term "recycled" to actually mean "restore," whereas traditional Windows users might mistake this for "delete for good." The "Clear data selected" option is actually the big delete key for files that have been recycled. Er. Deleted. Er. Trashed?

Download it here!

Win7 Library Tool

Windows 7's libraries--large file organizers that can scoop up certain files from across your operating system into giant combined folders--are pretty cool tools for those with media files scattered all over the place. However, just try adding a networked location as part of a library. Odds are good you will run into difficulty. Solving that problem became the genesis of the Win7 Library Tool, but that's not all this little utility can deliver for Windows 7 library enthusiasts. Not only will you be able to add un-indexed folders to your libraries for now and evermore, but you'll also be able to:

Backup and restore your library configuration for quick resetting following an OS reinstallation or for transfer to a different PC.
Create a mirror of your libraries in a new [systemdrive]:\Libraries folder, which gives you easier access to said libraries by eliminating your need to hunt through a large list of folders.
Change the icons for your libraries!

Download it here!

Auslogics Duplicate File Finder

The name says it all. This application combs through your system and spits out a list of all the duplicate files on your PC. You can then peruse said files and choose which, if any, you want to delete from your system for good. Sounds easy, right?

Just to make sure that it's catching exactly what you want it to catch, Duplicate File Finder comes with a number of configurable options for the searches it runs on your system. You can have the program match files by their exact name, size, date and time, or contents--which includes an MD5 check, in case two files are bit-for-bit identical but exist under different names in your file system. You can set the program to scan for particular files, like multimedia or applications, and tell it to ignore any files under a specific size. Who cares about those tiny little text files on your drive when you can go after the bigger space hogs?

Download it here!

NTFSRatio

Just how well is the NTFS file system--and I hope you've switched to the NTFS file system--compressing your folders? Only one way to find out! Fire up the NTFSRatio utility, which gives you way to scan folders and subfolders on your system to determine just how much compression you've achieved for a particular file or folder. If you've found that this ratio just isn't up to your specifications, then you can compress or decompress the folder directly through NTFSRatio. It's that easy.

Download it here!

How to Automate Your File Management... for Free!

David Murphy — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:05:59 -0600

Need to keep your hard drive from being crapped up? Are you a power-downloader with no organizational skills? Do you want to see exactly where the space on your hard drive is going and have your computer automatically shuffle and sort new files around?

You're in luck. We've assembled a batch of freeware utilities that are, without a doubt, the most essential file management tools you'll want to have on your PC. We use them to automate mundane tasks like file moving and deletion, and better still, to determine exactly where all the wasted space on our drives are going. We would kill to have these feature integrated into Windows Explorer, but no dice thus far. But we can't complain much, because we've saved so much time with these small utilities that we can't ever think about going back to a life without them.

Auto Delete

What it does: Specify a target folder and a time period. The utility will automatically crawl through this folder and nuke anything that falls outside of the window you specify. This is perfect for temporary file locations, default download directories, or anywhere else where you don't want forgotten clutter to fill up your machine. And you can even exclude certain files from the axe, just in case you really need to separate your mission-critical files from potential junk.

Download it here!

SysExporter

What it does: If your computer is already in dire straits, with files and directories in every possible place and stretched out to an endless amount of nested folders... chill out. SysExporter is a handy way for mapping out your directories in a different format, like an Excel spreadsheet or HTML page. It captures the nesting information of a directory tree and allows you to convert that into a searchable database. You can then parse out exactly how you've structured your hard drive and make the necessary fixes without having to click back and forth between an infinite number of folders.

Download it here!

SpaceMonger

What it does: So you just picked up that brand new terabyte drive only to find that you've filled 80% of it with your data. But you swear that you don't have that much on your drive, so where's the bulk? Enter SpaceMonger -- a utility that charts out exactly where your biggest files are residing in a graphical or table-based format. Once you've run a detailed analysis, you can make simple file commands directly in the program itself. There' s no need to switch back and forth between SpaceMonger and Windows Explorer when purging your drive of unnecessary junk!

Download it here!

WinDirStat

What it does: In essence, this program performs a similar function to SpaceMonger. We include it because we appreciate its graphical representation of your drive, which is far prettier than SpaceMonger's. If you want to chart out your storage issues with a bit of flair, opt for WinDirStat over SpaceMonger.

Download it here!

Download Mover

What it does: Here's the biggie. This tiny utility constantly scans folders you specify. When files of a given type hit the folder, they're automatically moved to a location of your choosing. If you use, say, any Internet browser under the sun, this means that you can just download all of your files to a single, default directory. Download Mover will work behind-the-scenes to make sure that your MP3s always end up in your music folder, your JPGs in your pictures folder, and your ZIPs in your... um. Compressed files folder. Hey, people can get pretty thorough...

Download it here!