Articles about Know Your PC

Windows 8 has many interesting new features, and one small but particularly welcome example will see the system able to mount ISO images for easier browsing.

Sounds good to us. If you don’t plan on upgrading any time soon, though, you could achieve something very similar just by installing a copy of the open-source WinCDEmu.

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Oracle has released a major update to VirtualBox taking it up to version 4.2. The virtualization software is available for Windows, Linux and OS X, and now includes a new VM Group features that makes it easier to manage related virtual machines by organizing them together in groups. Users are able to utilize several virtual machines simultaneously either through the GUI, using various APIs or through command line tools.

VirtualBox 4.2 has a number of improvements to networking components, starting with increasingly the maximum supported number of network cards for a virtual machine from eight to 36. This is not the only improvement that has been made to networking as it is now also possible to place limits on network usage by any virtual machine. If a network is being used for other things, this traffic shaping is a valuable way to prevent unwanted slow-down in other areas.

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One area that doesn’t get an awful lot of attention with each new release of OS X is the Finder. Sadly, as the plethora of Finder add-on tools proves, that’s not because it’s perfect. Unfortunately, there’s usually a price attached to gaining extra functionality, but the good news is that it’s not always the case.

If you’re looking to give Finder a much-needed shot in the arm for free, check out XtraFinder 0.8.4. Since we last featured it, the tool has grown to fill even more gaps left by Finder, including the addition of multi-tabbed Finder windows, making it easier to work with two or more separate locations on your hard drive.

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If you’re curious about your Internet connection’s performance then of course there are plenty of online speed tests around that promise to tell you more. But these are limited, in particular because they can only measure your connection speed at a single point in time, while your actual performance will probably vary throughout the day.

For more accurate results, then, you should probably grab a copy of JD’s Auto Speed Tester, a powerful free tool that runs in the background and automatically benchmarks your connection at regular intervals.

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Berlin-based O&O Software GmbH has released DiskRecovery 8.0 Professional, the latest iteration of its data-recovery tool for Windows PCs. Version 8, which is also available as a dedicated 64-bit build, recognizes more file types, plus promises improved tools for recovering picture and video from digital cameras. It also claims enhanced search tools for compressed files, including zip and 7-zip.

Despite the “Professional” tag, this version of O&O DiskRecovery is aimed very much at individuals as well as home users, and offers a simple wizard-based interface for finding and saving deleted, lost and corrupt data from a user’s hard drive.

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One of Windows’ many annoyances has long been the general inaccessibility of the shutdown and restart controls. Previous versions of Windows stuck them on the Start menu, but now Windows 8 makes them even harder to find by burying them away in the Settings section of the Charms bar.

Thankfully, you can preserve your teeth and voice from a lot of gnashing and wailing by enlisting the support of a third-party shutdown tool. And if all you want is to access shutdown et al direct from your desktop, then you’ll want to take a look at zebNet ShutDown Manager 2012.

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AVG Technologies has unleashed an entirely new and far more powerful version of PC TuneUp, its system cleaning and optimization tool.

And the new release sees the old Auslogics BoostSpeed-based technology replaced by what is essentially a rebranded TuneUp Utilities, after TuneUp Software GmbH was acquired by AVG in August 2011.

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Hot on the heels of the RTM version of Windows 8, a swathe of tools that can be used to either emulate the appearance and features of the latest version of the operating system, or tweak Windows 8, have emerged. Windows 8 Transformation Pack 6.0 and Windows 8 UX Pack 6.0 both fall into the former camp. Something that has annoyed many long-term users: Microsoft dropped Aero from the latest release -- with these tools you can regain it.

Now that the final release version of Windows 8 has been unveiled, many of the changes that have been are fairly minor updates that bring this duo of tweaking tools in line with the very latest code. In the Transformation Pack this means that wallpapers from the RTM version of Windows 8 are now available, and changes have been made to the use of the Segoe font family for better compatibility. Elsewehere you’ll find the very latest icons, buttons, boot screen and more, so you can get the full Windows 8 look.

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Backup software comes in many different varieties -- file-based, disk imaging, synchronization tools, continuous data protection, and more -- which can make it tricky to identify precisely which package you need.

But if that sounds too much like hard work, then you could simply buy a copy of Acronis True Image 2013, which can handle just about anything you might want to do.

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Just how involved would you like to be with the process of cleaning up and maintaining your computer? If you’re reading this, there’s a fairly high chance that you like to get pretty hands on, but there will still be occasions when time is short and you need a quick-and-easily solution to get the job done quickly. Puran Utilities is a free utility suite that has both bases covered with an impressive selection of more than 20 tools that you can use individual or in combination with each other.

These tools cover everything from check your hard drives and registry for problems, removing unnecessary software, rendering deleted files unrecoverable and much more.  Many of the optoins available may sound like tools that are already built into Windows, but this is not the case for all of them. Windows has lacked a file wiping tool for years, and a registry cleaner is similarly noticeable by its absence, but even if you view Puran Utilities as a repository of simple tools, it is useful to have everything available in one place.

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Parallels Holdings Ltd has announced the launch of the latest version of its Mac virtualization tool, Parallels Desktop 8.0.18100. Parallels allows Mac  users to run a variety of operating systems, including Linux and Windows, in a virtual environment, while integrating non-OS X applications into the Mac interface.

Version 8 extends support to both Mountain Lion and Windows 8, plus takes advantage of new technologies such as Retina displays, allowing Windows to run in a high-resolution environment.

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When you need to understand exactly what programs are doing on your PC then tools such as Process Hacker, Process Explorer or Process Monitor will almost certainly get the job done. They’re compact, powerful, and an excellent aid for all kinds of troubleshooting tasks.

These tools often produce extremely lengthy reports crammed with low-level detail, though, which can be intimidating to some users. And so if you’re looking for something more straightforward, you might be interested in the free Windows Explorer Tracker, as it’s the kind of system monitoring tool which just about anyone can use.

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Are you tired of repeating the same task on your PC, over and over again? Launching a particular sequence of applications, say, or perhaps carrying out the same string of actions online? Then you may benefit from WinParrot, a clever free tool that can record your keypresses and mouse clicks for replay at some later date.

The program makes it unusually easy to get started. It’s a tiny 654KB download; there’s no installation required, just unzip and run; and recording your macro is as simple as, well, clicking Record (and pressing the End key when you’re done).

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Users of Windows are known not only for their love of tweaking, but also for their love of knocking the product they use -- how many people who use nothing but Windows do nothing but complain about the way it looks or works? The release of a new version might be seen as a time for Microsoft to address the issues and annoyances that have plagued their customers, but for many upgraders, the switch to Windows 8 brings a new batch of things to get irritated about.

While some of the new irritants are fairly major, such as the relegation of the Start menu, other more cosmetic issues are something that can be more easily addressed through the use of third party tools. Winaero produces a collection of tools designed with tweakers in mind, specifically those who are running Windows 8. If you’re the kind of person who tires of their desktop wallpapers quickly, Desktop Background Tuner provides you with a means of customizing the rotation of a series of images to help keep things interesting.

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If you’d like to find a good proxy server to keep you anonymous online then there are plenty of online sources which claim they can help. These lists aren’t always reliable, though -- some recommended servers may not work any more, others aren’t as anonymous as you might think -- and you can spend quite some time manually checking their various suggestions before you find anything that suits your needs.

If all that sounds too much like hard work, then, you might prefer to use the free A+ Proxy Finder, which automates the process of locating and evaluating HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS proxies.

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