With the Network Lights software no installation is required – just run and click on the new icon that appears in the system tray, to change settings.  You can set Network Lights to load upon start-up by ticking Load at Windows Startup, and set the flicker rate of the send and receive LEDs(in ms).  Network Lights also keeps track of certain network statistics for the current Windows user session. 

Version at the time of writing: 1.1

Download this essential software here:
Network Lights

File Analysis via TrIDNet

TrIDNet is a GUI based tool that provides a simple user interface allowing the user to select a file to be analysed and upon analysis of the file’s type, will present the user with the matching format – or a list of possible formats based on percentage of likelihood in a timely fashion. 

To use TrIDNet, simply download and extract both the program and definition files to the same folder and run TrIDNet.exe – there’s no installation required.  Upon running TrIDNet, it will automatically check the definitions file (TrIDDefList.TRS) for file type definition information.  When you browse for a file to use and select it, the file is automatically analysed.  If you change the path, you can then use the Analyse! button.  Double clicking on the result’s extension will give you more information about that file type.  

TrID is a CLI (command line interface) version of the tool and supports the use of wild cards for a much more efficient method of file type discovery when dealing with files in bulk eg. after data recovery.  There’s even a program called TrIDScan that allows one the ability to create new XML definitions for use with TrID.

An online service version of TrID can be found here. 

Version at the time of writing: 1.8
Supports: Win 9x/ME/NT/2K/XP/Vista

You can download this essential software here:
TrIDNet

All devices have a Vendor and Device ID.  To obtain this information do the following:

1. Locate Device Manager via Control Panel.
2. Right-click on the device marked as unknown and click on Properties.
3. Click on the Details tab and select Device Instance Id from the drop down menu.
4. The text should look resemble this:
   PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0402&SUBSYS_82431043&REV_A1
5. Within this string of text, the 4 characters after VEN_ are for the Vendor ID, and the 4 characters after the DEV_ portion are for the Device ID.
6. Now you can visit PCI Database and type either one of these IDs into their respective search fields.

Yet another way to reduce driver hassle..

FFSJ: The Fastest File Splitter And Joiner

FFSJ is available in two versions; either the Lite version or Standard.  The Standard version has all the features of the Lite version, but also includes support for integration into the Windows Explorer shell context menu.  Both versions of the program will fit on floppy disk. 

Joining
For the splitting process, you can set the number of parts that you wish to divide the source file into, to evenly divide them, or divide after a certain file size, as well as to delete the source file after splitting and password encrypt the data being split.  With the Standard edition of FFSJ, you can select Split from the right-click context menu. 

Splitting
During the joining process, you can set FFSJ to prompt for input of split parts that are in different locations.  Upon input of a split file out of a number of related split files local a folder, the rest will automatically be included in the joining process.  After completion of the joining process, FFSJ can automatically delete the parts.  With the Standard edition of FFSJ, you can select Join from the right-click context menu. 

In either the splitting or joining process, you can drag the respective files into the appropriate tab within FFSJ to automatically create the source path for that file and in the case of joining split files; enumerate any related files in a drop-down menu list, which can be selected as the start file for joining. 

Other Features
FFSJ includes support for the generation of MD5 hashes that are useful in comparing a file (after say; transit via the Internet) to the file’s original source by seeing if the hash numbers generated for each match, thus proving both files to be of identical integrity.  With the Standard edition of FFSJ, you can select MD5 Hash from the right-click context menu. 

FFSJ also supports execution from command line interface (CLI), which makes it particularly useful for batch operations (scripting) of multiple splitting/joining operations. 

Version at the time of writing: 3.3
Support:  All versions of Windows

Here is the URL for this essential software:
FFSJ

Developers of new drivers and system files have to pay Microsoft in order to have verified digital certificates for these files.  However, Microsoft knows that developers can’t submit every beta version of their files for verification, so they have devised a way around this in the form of a new mode called Test Signing Mode so that developers can test the operation of their files. 

A requirement of the Test Signing Mode is that the files have test certificates – but not verification.  Fortunately, there is a tool available to both activate this mode and create a test certificate, too.. 

The Driver Signature Enforcement Overrider

In order to install a program that uses unsigned drivers etc, there are a few stages involved:

Firstly, you would want to take note of which files are the culprits that need the special attention – this would be obtained in either in the documentation, or by simply running the installation to generate error information such as the following:

As you can see, I need to focus on the ultradfg.sys driver file in my case.  Afterwards, uninstall the software and follow the next steps. 

Deactivate UAC (User Access Control)

Press Windows Key + R and type in the text below..

Next, select Disable UAC and click on the Launch button..

This will require a reboot.  As you can see above, there is also the option to reverse this step to enable UAC again. 

Install Program That Uses Unverified Files

Right-click on the installation executable and select Run as administrator to perform the installation of your software. 

Disable Driver Signature Verification Check

If you wanted to, you could just keep manually Pressing the F8 button each time on Windows startup and choosing Disable driver signature verification from the menu – but who wants to do that?

The preferred method would be to use Driver Signature Enforcement Overrider to make a persistent change. 

Firstly, download from the provided URL, then run the program and select Enable Test Mode and then, select the Sign a System File and insert the correct path and file name combination into the resultant text box in the Insert Filename dialogue – see below. 

Reboot your system.  Right-click on the installation executable and select Run as administrator and your program should be working! 

Version at the time of writing: 1.3b

Supports: Windows Vista, Server 2008, Windows 7 (including 64-bit versions)

Here is the URL for this essential software:
Driver Signature Enforcement Overrider

Insulate your programs with Sandboxie

The concept of Sandboxie is pretty straight forward: instead of letting your programs have a free run of what and where they can write to your hard drive, you have the Sandboxie Transient Storage (Sandbox) key component acting as an intermediary each time you run a program from the Sandboxie environment.  The program will read it’s necessary data, eg; program files, configuration settings from the registry etc. from their real location on the hard drive.  Sandboxie makes it so that when the program running within a sandbox wishes to make a change to it’s data, the data is written to a corresponding (apparently identical) location within the sandbox – the program won’t know the difference.  When you stop the program and exit Sandboxie, the program’s information is retained.  Most importantly, the information is abstracted from your real system environment, so if you encounter a rogue program (malware or perhaps problematic beta software) running in a sandbox, any nefarious file-system activities will be rendered harmless to the operation of your system or data. 

Sandboxie

Using the Sandboxie Control Program, you can conveniently select your default browser, email client, as well as choose to run any other programs from under the default sandbox provided or create a new sandbox.  The default view mode for the Sandboxie Control Program is the Programs View, which can be changed to the Files And Folders View, and is very useful for seeing exactly what is going on concerning sandboxed programs reading your system’s data, including files and registry entries and writing their data to the sandbox. 

Recovery/Storage Of Program Data

A useful feature in Sandboxie is Quick Recovery.  This feature allows you to select the Quick Recovery scan command, which will cause Quick Recovery to scan all locations marked as recoverable folders for any new/altered data.  Any relevant data found during the scan is presented with it’s real location (non-sandbox) recovery destination options to either Recover To Same Folder or Recover To Any Folder as well as giving you the ability to specify new recoverable folders to include in future scans.  Also, there is the Immediate Recovery feature, which will constantly monitor the designated recoverable folder locations for any new data which, once found will result in the Immediate Recovery dialogue box being presented with the same options; Recover To Same Folder or Recover To Any Folder, as with the Quick Recovery feature.

These recovery features are useful for backing up anything that you might actually value as a result of running programs in Sandboxie.  

Deleting Sandbox Program Data

You have the ability to clear the data from your sandbox in the Sandboxie Control Program – doing so will invoke the Delete Sandbox dialogue window, giving you a last chance to recover your information before deletion.  There is also the option to set Sandboxie to delete information automatically after the last of the sandboxed programs have been shutdown. 

A great additional security measure for your system

Sandboxie is a great addition to the security of your system, creating a great testing environment for software you aren’t sure about, or perhaps are, but want to see what a suspected malware application is up to by looking under the Files and Folders View at what is being accessed.  Sandboxie even provides the ability to prevent programs from reading certain data or registry keys by adding entries to the configuration file. 

Note: For more information on the restriction of a program’s read access within Sandboxie, look under these respective links: File access and Registry access. 

Version at the time of writing supports: Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista (32-bit). 

Note: Windows XP 64-bit will work, however you must first remove Windows Update KB932596

Here is the URL for this essential software:
Sandboxie

After a time, it gets to be a real pain having to click on the tiny Safely Remove Hardware icon in the system tray to bring up it’s eponymously named dialogue box to select the device you want safely removed.  This is the recommended procedure to take if you want to safely unplug a removable storage device without fear of data loss.  This process tells Windows that the device needs to be removed and this will prompt it to complete any differed/pending write operations to the device in question, thus assuring the completeness of one’s data on the device.

Creating an easy to click shortcut

Simply right-click on your desktop and select New -> Shortcut to create a shortcut on your desktop, and in the prompt window type the following line:

RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll

Click Next, choose an appropriate name then click Finish.

If you would prefer a more appropriate icon for the shortcut, right-click the resultant shortcut the you created, select properties, under the Shortcut tab click the Change Icon… button, type in the following path and click Ok:

%windir%\system32\HotPlug.dll

The first icon should suit nicely

..and that’s it – a more user-friendly removable hardware disconnection icon!

CODEC Control

Codec Installer from JockerSoft is a multipurpose tool that allows you to view your existing codec/filter installations, analyse video/audio media files as well as select from some main codecs to download from the JockerSoft website. 

Filter Mapping Editor
As described in Part I article, the ability to set priorities means that once you have the tool to see the codecs/filters available on your system, you can select each codec/filter and view the media types that it is set to work with. You can set priorities/merit values relating to the media types that the filter is responsible for, so that for example; the filter ranks lower in priority to the other filters that are associated with that media type too – ie; one that is less suited to the task of rendering a video stream.  This way, you need not remove the entire filter, you can just change the merit value.  The options are there to either remove the filter OR the individual entries for the filter – you also have the option to backup before doing so. 

Also, you have the ability to right-click on any of the detail pages and select either ‘copy to clipboard’ (for the item in question) or ‘copy all to clipboard’ (for all the items in the list).  So, if you aren’t too sure what to do, you can at least use the information gathering abilities of the program and submit this to a forum of your choosing for further investigation. 

Media File Analysis
Codec Installer can recognise all the mainstream codecs such as:
avi, mpeg, wmv, wma, ogg, flac, mpc, mp3, mp4, wav, wx.  The program also gives you metadata information for each file – and in the case of avi, this is quite a detailed report.

Note: A neat advanced feature (requires a some scripting know-how) that I haven’t tried out yet.. 

Quote: CodecInstaller can also be used to distribute video files on a CD, to be sure that who receives the CD will have all the necessary codecs installed: with a single tool he will be able to check if the codecs are already installed and up-to-date. CodecInstaller contains a Movie Launcher that displays informations about the distributed video file (author, plot, director…) along with a screenshot and a ‘Play’ button.  

For more information on the video distribution tool feature, use the JockerSoft Forum.

Multi-language support in Codec Installer is also included.

Version at the time of writing: 2.10.2.0
Supports: Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Windows Vista
Requires: Net Framework 2.0

Here is the URL to this essential software:
CODEC Installer

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Send those drivers into the abyss.. (well… yeah)

Step 1
First we, need to run the command console under Admin privileges.  In Vista, to do this we bring up the Start Menu search box and type cmd in the box and right-click on the resultant automatic recognition above of the cmd executable, selecting Run as administrator.

Step 2
We then type at the command prompt the following line:
SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1

Afterwards, type devmgmt.msc to bring up Device Manager. 

Step 3
Once in Device Manager, go to the [View] menu and select ‘Show hidden devices’.  Now locate your driver under it’s respective device category and right-click ‘Uninstall’.  That’s it!  This works for XP as well.

(click to enlarge)

As you can see from my Device Manager window, the mouse and keyboard nodes are expanded, showing that even though I have these devices plugged in, there are grayed out versions of these devices.  In this case the screen-shot indicates that there are drivers resident within the operating system that aren’t being used at the moment.  This is because they are identical drivers installed for other ports from when I had my devices plugged in those! 

I hope that people find this a useful and easy enough set of steps to follow through to successfully resolve their problem(s) – good luck!

(click to enlarge)

It comes in the form of an application that installs a special driver that only it uses to access your device – with one small (depending on how you look at it) limitation..  The freeware version will insert a sparse tiling of watermarks in the form of dollar signs ($) into your image upon saving.  For the price of the standard edition, it is a bargain to upgrade and remove this hindrance – last look, it was $39.95.

Compatibility, efficiency and quality scanning

VueScan from Hamrick Software is the culmination of more than 10 years of work and not only provides access to over 1200 scanning devices, but will also improve the image quality of your scans.  Features include batch scanning by using the Auto-repeat feature and setting the delay value to give yourself time to replace the image source with another, output as PDF (or multi-page PDF) and the ‘Text’ option for OCR (Optical Character Recognition) which can be complemented by the ability to output as .tiff (or multi-page .tiff) for OCR processing later on. 

If you are interested in whether or not VueScan supports your scanner, follow this link: Compatibility List

Version at the time of writing: 8.5.12
Operating system support:

• Mac OS X 10.5, 10.4, 10.3
• Mac OS X 10.2
• Mac OS 9
• Windows Vista, x64, XP, 2000, NT
• Windows 95, 98, ME
• Linux (built with Ubuntu 8.10)
• Linux (built with Red Hat 9)

Here is the URL to this essential software:
http://www.hamrick.com/

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