Utilities and drivers

No, that's not a typo. The software is spelled Pitaschio, and it's not the only odd bit of English you'll find in the freeware utility. Initially developed in Japanese by a programmer known as ARA, Pitaschio was only recently released in English.

Pitaschio lets you tweak Windows XP or Windows 2000 in a variety of different ways to eliminate certain annoying functions, add keyboard or mouse shortcuts, customize your windows, and perform other similar system tricks.

Once you download the tiny 55K software and run it, a small "Pi" icon will appear in your Windows taskbar. To access Pitaschio's features, right-click on the icon to bring up a contextual menu. The features are split up rather randomly, with separate selections for managing your open windows, defining mouse shortcuts, accessing mouse and keyboard statistics, and using the generic "Tools" and "Settings" menus.… Read more

At first glance, the recently updated and curiously named Kleptomania is the textual answer to SnagIt and other screen capture programs. Yet the more text I attempt to translate with this interpreter, the more it seems that Kleptomania has more of a compulsion to overstate its own abilities than "steal" text embedded in the screen.

Not that the attempt isn't worthy. I, too, have wished that a screen capture could isolate the text from the JPEG or BMP image as easily as my eye does. As Kleptomania's developers explain, computers interpret screen images as pixels, not as meaningful text, and therefore reproduce screen captures as images. Kleptomania's technology aims to "read" the text, comparing contrasting shapes to 234 fonts in its character library.… Read more

If you're the owner of a blog, there's a chance that, come one day, you might lose some or all of your posts. In order to avoid this, there's BlogBackupOnline, a free solution that will grab everything you've ever done and make a backup of it off site.

Registering your blog (or anyone else's for that matter) is easy, just give it the URL, and if the site is on a popular blogging platform like Blogger, TypePad, or WordPress, it will start backing up posts right away. You don't actually need to give it … Read more

Recently, when Power Downloader got hit with a nasty virus while out in the field, several folders of important data were lost. Though many of the files would be available to him when he returned to the Power Lair, some files were crucial to his current case. Many miles from home, Power had only one option: recovery software.

Thinking quickly, Power Downloader searched Download.com for a software savior. After only a few clicks of his mouse, he was able to locate R-Studio. With the help of a generous front-desk clerk at his hotel, Power was able to use a … Read more

Like anyone who spends a lot of time in front of his computer screen, Power Downloader knows that over time, computers can start to get sluggish. There are a variety of reasons for this phenomenon, including the more dangerous issues of spyware and viruses. However, even the most protected computers suffer slowdown from lack of regular system maintenance. Power knows regular tune-ups are crucial to keeping his system in tip-top shape, so in addition to checking for spyware and viruses and regularly defragging his hard drive, he uses the popular optimizing software CCleaner.

Regular Internet surfing, even on only the … Read more

Computer users may not be hitting any piñatas or streamers to celebrate security software publisher PKWare's 20th birthday, but the software-publisher is hoping that a free full-version giveaway of its security program SecureZip for Windows will make users grin all the same.

The Register reports that "the release of a free version of the product marks the 20th anniversary of the firm and comes at the start of the Infosec conference in London this week."

Best known by CNET Download.com users for the original ZIP-file compression app PKZip, PKWare specializes in enterprise software. It … Read more

Webware gives you the capability to access your personal information from anywhere there's a network connection. But that doesn't necessarily mean you have to rely on anonymous server farms--you can also use your own personal computers as online storage. If you use multiple computers, file synchronization tools like Microsoft's FolderShare (which I have relied on for almost two years) remove the need to worry about which PC you last used to work on a file--you synchronize directories across your machines, and every one of them gets everything you do. It's brilliant.

The first file sync tool … Read more

Most Webware.com readers who use Windows are familiar with two kinds of software: applications that run within the Windows framework, and Web-based applications. Using the former requires access to your own computer; using the latter requires password management and an Internet connection.

Now, the growing availability of software that runs off portable devices makes schlepping your laptop home for the holidays less of a necessity. PortableApps Standard Suite turns your memory device--iPod, Darth Vader Flash drive or even your digital camera's memory card--into a software and personal file manager.

Here's how to get started: Grab the PortableApps … Read more

CrossLoop (download it from CNET Download.com) provides a quick, easy, and completely free way to give a colleague, a friend, or a relative access to your computer. After you download and install the tiny client, your PC will be assigned a 12-digit access code each time you start the program. You can then give that number to another user to virtually share your desktop. Once connected, that user will have full access to your machine.

The odd nature of sharing a desktop cursor and the inability to add multiple users makes CrossLoop illogical for proper business presentations. However, the … Read more