Favorite Software Additions

I don't use these on every computer all the time, but when I need additional software - this is where I start.

Windows OS Add-ons

Diskeeper [http://www.execsoft.com//] NT only - an absolute must for defragging NT hard drives. Free and commercial versions available.

Windows Plus Pack for 95 or 98 and the NT Options [ Sorry, no download link for any of these ] Not mandatory, but they have a few additional features

Internet Applications

AOL Instant Messenger [http://www.aol.com/aim/] A good, chat program, but not as many features as ICQ. note: AOL recently bought ICQ.

EFAX [http://www.efax.com/] receive faxes via e-mail with your own personal fax number.... FREE.... Thanks, Rod -- Note to readers: I have not actually tried thsi one, but Rod likes it.

ICQ [http://www.icq.com/] A great way to keep in touch with people when spread out across floors and cities.

Netscape [http://home.netscape.com/computing/download/index.html?cp=hom02tdow] Don't worry. I use I.E. too, but it comes with Windows. The rumor is that for some reason Netscape works better with Novell than I.E. does.

Real Audio [http://www.realaudio.com/] Now included with Windows 98

Internet Tools

Black Widow [http://www.softbytelabs.com/BlackWidow//] The best way I have found to download a web site for off-line viewing.

Copernic Download [http://www.copernic.com/download/index.html] Download fantastic search engine from Canada - free and full versions available.

Magnus Brading Bookmark Converter [http://www.abc.se/~m9761/bm_conv//] Move bookmarks between I.E. and Netscape formats

Atom Time 98 [http://www.atomtime.com/] Synchronizes Windows win 9.x and NT with internet atomic clocks

Dimension 4 [http://www.thinkman.com/~thinkman/] Synchronizes Windows 95 & NT PCs with internet atomic clocks

NeoTrace by NeoWorx [http://www.neotrace.com/] Home Page

Net Medic [http://www.vitalsigns.com/product/download.html] I leave this one running all the time! The download has a 30 day time out.

Demo Page [http://www.vitalsigns.com/products/nm/demo/index.html]

Tweak DUN [http://www.pattersondesigns.com/tweakdun//] Speeds up modem packet xfer. There are a lot of competitors now, but this is the only one I tried. I am open to suggestions.

WS_FTP [http://www.ipswitch.com/Products/WS_FTP/index.html/] GUI Driven FTP - the only way to fly...

Applications

American Heritage Dictionary [ Sorry, no download link for this one ]

LView Pro [http://www.lview.com//] A great way to view and do quick edits on images

Microsoft Project [ Sorry, no download link for this one ] Project management software

NoteTab Light [http://www.notetab.com/] A superb Text editor. Freeware version or choose the $20.00 version with spellcheck and other features. My only complaint is it has different tab settings than notepad and this can cause problems in configuration files.

Pointcast [http://www.pointcast.com/] A great way to keep up on events

Visio [ Sorry, no download link for this one ] The standard drawing documentation tool for network engineers

Utilities

Acrobat Reader [http://www.adobe.com/] I change the directory name to "Acrobat" so I can use the same directory name when future versions come out. I also prefer to put utilities like this under the C:\Windows directory to keep the root cleaner.

Computer Associates

InoculateIT Personal Edition [ Free ] [http://www.cai.com/antivirus/personal/]

Framework [ Free ] [http://www.cai.com/fw_reg.htm] Helps document and monitor IP networks

Password Pro [http://www.zdnet.com/swlib/specials/zdex/zdpp32.html] [ Free ] The best way I have found to keep track of account names and passwords other than pasting them on a monitor.

NetScan [http://www.netscantools.com//] You can set IP address range to ping and view the results. It has many other features too.

NetSwitcher [http://www.netswitcher.com//] Allows Win 9x and NT Computers to have multiple network configurations

QuickRes [http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wutoys/w95pwrtoysset/default.asp?site=95/] NT and Win9x versions (this link is just Win9x) - Part of the Power Toys set that allows quick changes to the video mode from the system tray - appears to use a lot of memory, but usually worth it.

SnagIt [http://www.techsmith.com/] Allows custom sized screen captures and output

Winzip [http://www.winzip.com//] Pretty much the standard archive utility for the industry

Ztree [http://www.ztree.com//] A fantastic shareware utility that replaces Xtree - offers long file name support with the quick point and shoot design of a good DOS app

Remember to add the anti-virus software of your choice. No one manufacturer gets them all of the time, so you might want to use a couple. If you are adding them to a server please test it in a non-production environment to see if the software crashes the server (you might want to do the same thing with backup software.)