Here we’ll review free utilities for the most popular issues. You can download the tools individually or use a boot CD (as discussed in the end of this article) that is preloaded with hundreds of tools.
Combating Viruses, Spyware, and Other Malware Infections
There are endless utilities out there to help remove and prevent malware infections. When looking for utilities, understand that in addition to scanners, some provide real–time protection with alerts to help the user stop the malware before an actual infection. Keep in mind that some malware utilities concentrate on traditional viruses, spyware, or Trojans alone, and some support some or all the different types of malware.
In addition to installable or executable utilities, there are bootable CDs that can run on their own, in case you can’t boot into Windows.
Scanners aren’t the only utilities to help fix damage by infections. HijackThis, for example, lets you examine registry and file settings and fix those that have been changed.
Here are some popular utilities you might consider adding to your arsenal:
- Malwarebytes: Scans for and removes malware and offers real–time protection with alerts.
- ComboFix: Scans for malware, trying to automatically remove infections and giving a report for those that can’t be automatically removed.
- SUPERAntiSpyware: Scanning and real–time protection against spyware and other malware, offered via regular installation or a portable version.
- SpyBot Search & Destroy: Detects and removes spyware with scans and real–time protections.
- SmitFraud Fix: Removes many of the fake anti–virus programs, which are trojans, on Windows 2000 and XP.
- HijackThis: Displays registry and file settings, where you can fix those that are corrupted or hijacked. Keep in mind, it doesn’t help you determine which settings are bad, you must make the determination.
- Kaspersky Rescue Disk: Malware scanner and remover that boots from a CD.
- AVG Rescue CD: Provides an anti–virus and anti–spyware scanner and admin tools from a bootable CD.
Fixing Boot Issues
The Master Boot Record (MBR) of a PC can become corrupted by an infection, preventing Windows from booting. If you have the Windows disc, you can run the Recovery Console (to use the fixmbr and fixboot commands) or do a Repair Install. However, if you don’t have the Windows disc, you can use third–party tools such as these to restore or modify the MBR:
Checking System Info and Managing Disks
When troubleshooting or repairing, you may need to reference system specs or make modifications to disks. Here are some tools that can help:
- System Information for Windows: Displays an abundant amount of information about Windows and the system.
- Crucial Memory Advisor: Tells you how much memory is installed per slot and the compatible RAM type you can install.
- Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder: Shows product keys of Windows Vista and earlier, Microsoft Office 2007 or earlier, and 300+ other applications.
- GParted Live: A bootable CD/USB/PXE/HD distribution that gives you a graphical partition editor.
- SoftPerfect File Recovery: A simple utility that can search for deleted files and attempt to recover them.
- EASEUS Disk Copy: A disk/partition clone utility that can 100 percent copy or clone a drive or partition for backup or upgrade reasons.
- DiskCryptor: Encryption solution that can encrypt all disk partitions, including the system partition without formatting.
Cleaning Temporary Files and the Windows Registry
Cleaning a PC can help free up disk space, eliminate errors, and possibly speed it up. Cleaning typically includes deleting temporary Internet, application, and system files, and fixing Windows Registry issues. Here are two great cleaning solutions to consider:
- CCleaner: Helps you delete various types of temporary files of Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, Windows system, and numerous other applications. It also includes a registry cleaner, an uninstall, startup, System Restore manager, and drive wiper.
- Glary Utilities: Includes various clean-up and repair utilities, helping you to remove temporary files, clean the Registry, fix broken shortcuts, and uninstall programs. Many other utilities are also provided, including those for optimization, privacy and security, file management, and system tools.
Utilities for Networking and Internet Issues
Here are a couple tools related to networking and Internet issues:
- IEFix: Repairs Internet Explorer by re–registering its core DLL files and reinstalling with the IE.INF file. Works with Windows 98/ME/2000/XP systems.
- Fix IE Utility: Repairs Internet Explorer 7 or 8 on Windows Vista and 7 by re–registering its core DLL files.
- WirelessKeyView: Shows all the saved WEP, WPA, and WPA2 keys stored by Windows, in case the user has forgotten the key set on the wireless router or AP.
- inSSIDer: Displays nearby Wi–Fi networks, including their channel and signal levels.
- Wireshark: This network sniffer and analyzer shows you the raw data packets for troubleshooting networking issues.
Recovering Passwords for Windows and Applications
Passwords can be forgotten, especially if their complex like they’re supposed to be. However, most passwords can be cracked, reset, recovered from system files, or otherwise revealed. Here are a couple password tools that can come in handy:
Keep in mind, NirSoft provides many different password recovery tools, two of which are listed above.
Using Preloaded Boot Discs
Instead of downloading all the utilities and tools yourself, you can download and burn a pre–loaded boot CD. Most are loaded with hundreds of tools and utilities, giving you just about everything you’d ever need to diagnose, repair, and maintain a PC. You can launch tools from the boot menu, from the pre–installed Windows XP or Linux, or run them from the local Windows PC.
Boot CDs are also a blessing if you can’t boot into the local Windows. You can always boot into the pre–installed OS directly from the CD to access the drives, run scans, and repair the PC.
Here are two great boot CDs you should consider using: