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Software Reviews
by EM_745
The reviews and opinions below are posted by SnapFiles visitors. They do not necessarily reflect our opinion, and are solely based on the experience of individual users.
- Freeware
2000/XP/2003/Vista
Like Sequoiaview, only much better 
WinDirStat version 1.1.1
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Another great title from the SourceForge community. This app gives a unique "modern-art"-like view of all the files on your hard drive, making it very easy to spot those space "hogs." Granted, this is not something you're likely to use every day, but it's still very useful and a nice tool to have when your HDD's free space is shrinking fast and you want to know exactly where it all went. Easy to use, stable and highly configurable. A real hoot.
Review date: Oct 06, 2006
- Freeware
- 2000/XP/Vista
Shareware features, freeware price
TrueCrypt version 4.1
- Interface: 3
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Well now, it's nice to see this one finally make it onto the Snapfiles list :). More often than not, truly good on-the-fly encryption programs have been shareware, or feature-limited freeware... Not this one. Great features, small size, stability, security and documentation (!). The main dialog could be better laid-out, but it's not too bad once you get used to it. The one (minor?) drawback is that it won't work on Win9x platforms.
Review date: Feb 20, 2006
- Freeware
- Win (All)
Lock up your executables!
Crypto-Lock version 2.02
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 5
- Overall:
There aren't many freeware encryption tools (that I know of) that will successfully password-protect executables. Crypto-lock does it, and does it well. To run an encrypted EXE, just enter the correct password and the file will decrypt and run automatically. And after quitting a program, it even overwrites the decrypted EXE prior to deleting it--again, all of it done automatically. The interface, while having a snazzy skinned look, is not that intuitive, and takes some getting used to. Also, when you run it, it doesn't remember the last folder used--a real pain. Still, if you want to password-protect your executables (or any other file), Crypto-Lock does the trick nicely.
Review date: Nov 03, 2005
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista
Recommended, but...
Thunderbird version 1.0
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but A LOT of people who use this are also using Firefox as their main browser, right? If so, then why not use the Mozilla package instead? I don't understand why one would choose to use the Firefox/Thunderbird combo instead of the Mozilla Suite. Now don't get me wrong. Both Firefox and Thunderbird are good, but when used together they don't compare to Mozilla, which by default offers more features such the quick-launch option (which has gotten REAL fast with the 1.7.8. release), an IRC client, HTML editor (Composer), and a far better help system.
Review date: Jul 03, 2005
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP
Nice.
PowerOff version 3.0.1.3
- Interface: 4
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
There are a few of these freeware shutdown utilities floating around, and this is the one I found to have the most useful features (to me, at least). It's small, easy to use, and takes up little resources. Only thing missing is a way to access the help file (an html document) from the interface.
Review date: Jul 03, 2005
- Free Trial ($39.95)
- Win (All)
Always been a fan of the freeware version
avast! 4 Professional Edition version 4.6.665
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 3
- Overall:
I've always liked (and recommended) Avast Home (i.e. free) Edition. And to be honest, a part of me wants to tell you to give a few bucks to the fine people at Alwil for their good work. However, the other part of me wants to tell you that the free version should be enough for most users. Many of the worthwhile extras exclusive to the Pro version, like script blocking, can be had with other freeware apps (Script Sentry, for example).
Review date: Jun 29, 2005
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista
No smart monitoring??
HDD Thermometer version 1.3 beta
- Interface: 3
- Features: 2
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 2
- Overall:
Yeah, the auto shutdown option in case of overheat is swell, but why doesn't it monitor other SMART parameters? ... Oh, and enough with the mandatory freeware registrations already!
Review date: Jun 29, 2005
- Freeware
- 2000/XP/Vista
Not bad, but...
CCleaner version 1.19.105
- Interface: 4
- Features: 3
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 3
- Overall:
For a freeware cleaning utility, it compares well with others, but there are a few glaring faults. The main one is the high GDI (i.e. "resources") usage under Win98. An "issues" scan made my GDI points drop from 90% to 38%!! A 52% drop is more than enough to hang a system is you have many apps running in the background. To be fair, there are a lot of software (usually written Delphi and VB6) that aren't suited for Win98/ME, even though they're still "rated" for these OS's. I just wish software developers would bother to test for stability before declaring that their programs will work in Win98/ME. Another thing, there should be some kind of "bleaching" option so that deleted items are made unrecoverable. Finally, include some OFFline help, PLEASE! A neat little CHM file won't bloat the download size THAT much.
Review date: Jun 28, 2005
- Freeware
- Win (All)
Tugzip or izarc... decisions decisions
TUGZip version 3.1.0.2
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
(Why didn't the guys at Snapfiles give this one 5 stars? Oh well...) TUGZip or IZArc? Try them both and keep the one you prefer... or flip a coin... or keep 'em both. Anything else I could add would only mirror Floele's sentiments (although I disagree with his/her assessment of IZArc's development "pace"). With serious players like these in the ZIP utility arena, a user has no real reason to shell out cash in order to get a quality archiving utility.
Review date: Feb 08, 2005
- Freeware
- Win (All)
Handle with care
Resource Hacker version 3.4
- Interface: 4
- Features: 3
- Ease of use: 2
- Value: 4
- Overall:
This is probably the only free workable resource hacker available. How well it works depends a lot on the coding language used by the target prog. C+ progs (and other C variants) seems to be the most hackable. Visual Basic apps are largely unhackable. Note that even hackable apps might not recompile correctly, and that the resulting may might not work (backups are ESSENTIAL!!). Also note that this res hacker is not compatible with 16-bit progs, which is a shame seeing as there are still a few 16-bit components present in Win9x, and even Win2000. Finally, an app that's been treated with an EXE compressor cannot be decompiled fully by this app. Sometimes trying to uncompress with UPX beforehand works, sometimes not (not all EXE compression is done using UPX). Recommended, but just be mindful of its limitations... and the potential pitfalls of using an app that's been recompiled with new/modified resources.
Review date: Jan 17, 2005
- Freeware
- 2000/XP/Vista
So so... recommended, but barely
Avira AntiVir Personal version 6.29.00.03
- Interface: 2
- Features: 2
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 4
- Overall:
Compared to avast (and even AVG), this "Made in Germany" AV leaves something to be desired. For one thing, it lacks an e-mail scanner, for another, I've found that its shield bogged down my system more than avast does. And finally, vir def and prog updates are NOT incremental (a real pain for those on dial-up). Still, AntiVir does have a couple strong points: Its install is non-obtrusive--it'll even run off the bat without a reboot. Also, its detection rate is reportedly quite good for a freebie (better than AVG, in most cases), although it's also reputed to give off more false alarms. I personally use it as a second scanner, and it is only in this context that I make my recommendation.
Review date: Jan 14, 2005
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista
Still the best freeware av by far
avast! Home Edition version 4.5.549
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
First, let me correct a few misconceptions: 1. avast runs fine in WinXP (those having trouble are probably running it alongside another AV and/or have failed to properly uninstall a pre/devious AV like NAV). 2. it IS freeware (after the trial period, contact alwil and they'll send you a free serial#) 3. system slow-down is minimal, even on a Win98/P2-350 machine (for Pete's sake people, when an installer asks for a reboot, DO IT!!). That said, avast is one fine AV; the skinned interface is fine just the way it is ("complicated" just means it's more configurable than the rest); the main menu can be accessed via right-click. Worthwhile features include incremental updates, heuristics, and an e-mail scanner that'll work with most clients. As long as you treat it as a LAST line of defense (the first line being good ol' common sense), avast will serve you right. AV progs should NEVER be thought of as FIRST lines of defense against viruses.
Review date: Jan 14, 2005
- Freeware
- Win (All)
A must
SpywareBlaster version 3.2
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Yes, spyware scanners like Ad-aware and Spybot S&D are necessary items these days, but THIS one is an absolute must-have, for it "immunizes" your system against most spyware threats. Even Spybot's author recommends using this app for immunization purposes. You just run it once and then you can forget about it. Unlike a regular anti-virus shield, it doesn't need to be run every time you boot up.
Review date: Jan 14, 2005
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista
Should be part of every pc's "toolbox&am
Spybot - S&D version 1.3
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Use it once a week alongside (not instead of) Ad-aware to weed out all the spyware nasties you may have picked up (believe me, you WILL pick up "stuff" if you habitually download and try new software on a regular basis).
Review date: Jan 14, 2005
- Freeware
- Win (All)
The notepad replacement
Metapad version 3.5
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Small (coded in ANSI C), lean and JUST the right amount of features you should expect from a notepad replacement--nothing more, nothing less. If you want something more elaborate, get PSPad. As far as notepad replacements go, this is the one to get. The "help" file is a readme.txt file, which isn't so bad, considering how easy it is to use this app from the get go.
Review date: Jan 14, 2005
- Freeware
- Win (All)
Commercial-grade?
PSPad Editor version 4.3.2
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
I've only been trying this for a about a week, but so far, I can honestly say that this is the one freeware text utility that I'd qualify as commercial-grade. Seriously, it's the only one I've seen that can offer legit competition to TextPad (shareware). Definitely worth the download.
Review date: Jan 14, 2005
- Freeware
- 2000/XP/2003/Vista
Excellent filtering
Spamihilator version 0.9.8.3
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 5
- Overall:
When you install all the "good" plugins, you end up with a spam filter that's very effective, very configurable, and somewhat complicated and time-consuming to setup properly. Since it sets itself up as a proxy between your POP server and e-mail client, it can be used with just about any e-mail client out there. Easy to set up initially, although you may have to fiddle around with port numbers if you happen to use an anti-virus e-mail scanner which also sets itself up as a proxy. Finally, maybe I'm missing something, but the restore function of the prog's recycle bin seems a bit clunky. Oh well... it's still a fine filter. Just be careful at first, as it seems to mark a lot of important eBay mail as spam.
Review date: Jan 14, 2005
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP/2003
Unique way of looking at your hdd
SequoiaView version 1.3a
- Interface: 3
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
My feeling is that this is the kind of tool that some will find very useful and others will find totally useless. Still, it does very well what it's meant to do--that is, give a visual representation of ALL the files on your drive(s), in rectangular areas proportional to each file's size. The end result is pretty cool-looking, kind of like a piece of modern art. It makes it very easy to visualize which files (and/or folders) take up the most (or least) space. My only minor gripe with it is that it doesn't save the window size/state when you exit.
Review date: Jan 14, 2005
- Freeware
- Win (All)
M$ need not quake in its boots... not yet
OpenOffice version 1.13
- Interface: 4
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Okay, so this isn't exactly an M$ Office clone. It loads slower and consumes more RAM than M$O, and it doesn't offer a software-based database program (like Access), nor does it have an Outlook clone. BUT, it does offer way more than can be expected at this price ($0). It certainly proved stable enough when I tried it a couple months ago, and its feature set seems ample enough to satisfy most office needs. If you already own a copy of M$O, stick with it. If not, and you don't want to further pad Billy's gargantuan wallet, then download this baby. It can even import (and save) documents in the usual M$O formats (conversion effectiveness is not always 100%, but it's close enough). A real boon to college students or small businesses on a tight budget. Kudos to the OOo team for offering this elaborate piece of software for free.
Review date: Jan 14, 2005
- Freeware
- 2000/XP/2003/Vista
Excellent
IZArc version 3.5
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Works well in Win9x/Me and Win2k. Can handle a large number of formats, and is generally stable and bug-free (aside from a few minor interface foibles). Very good help file. About the only thing missing is an SFX option for the 7z format (something that could EASILY be rectified, IMO). If you're going to settle with one do-it-all archiving utility, this is it.
Review date: Jan 14, 2005
- Freeware
- Win (All)
Too much
ZipGenius version 5.5.1.468a
- Interface: 4
- Features: 1
- Ease of use: 2
- Value: 1
- Overall:
First of all, this is NOT for Win9x/Me, despite what the author may claim. It's not too bad when I installed on my Win2k partition, but still... A 9+ meg download?? For a ZIP utility??? It's too much. I've always frowned upon freeware apps that try to do too much. IZArc is better, IMO. I prefer my archiving and FTP apps to be separate.
Review date: Jan 13, 2005
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista
Superb compression... but the best?
7-Zip version 3.13
- Interface: 2
- Features: 2
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 4
- Overall:
The interface is pretty basic compared to others in this category. And when you consider that the download size is roughly the same size as WinRAR's (shareware), then its interface and feature set are *VERY* basic indeed. Compression ratios rival that of RAR, but overall, they're both about the same, with each having the advantage over the other, depending on file types being compressed (LZMA really shines when compressing large numbers of small files and subfolders). Also, I've found the self-extractor stub "overhead" to be rather large (may have something to do with the complexity of the LZMA SFX algorithm). I'm recommending this app, but barely... right up until IZArc's author can implement a self-extract option for the 7z format... Then it's a non-recommendation.
Review date: Jan 13, 2005
- Free Trial ($16.95)
- 98/ME/2000/XP
Good, but there atr better
UltimateZip version 2.7.1
- Interface: 3
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 1
- Overall:
Overall, it's not too bad, but technically it's "mild" nagware, not freeware (the splash screen closes by itself after a short delay). Feature-wise, there's very little here that can't be had with IZArc.
Review date: Jan 13, 2005
- Freeware
- Win (All)
Overall, still the best
IrfanView version 3.95
- Interface: 3
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Even beats shareware viewers. Super fast, stable, low ressource usage under Win9x/Me, and chock-full of features, this viewer's the best I've seen. Although as some have pointed out, the learning curve is a tad steep. But that's the price you often have to pay for more features.
Review date: Jan 13, 2005
- Freeware
- Win (All)
Best i've seen
Gadwin PrintScreen version 2.6
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Small, stable, feature-rich, easy to use, low ressource usage under Win9x/Me... and FREE. What more do you want?
Review date: Jan 13, 2005
- Freeware
- Win (All)
Still don't get the hype
Quintessential Player (QCD) version 4.51
- Interface: 4
- Features: 3
- Ease of use: 2
- Value: 1
- Overall:
Yes, it's cool looking... Yes the skins are snazzy... But MP3 players should above all else SOUND GOOD! After trying this puppy out, my "golden" ears tell me this player is lacking in the sound department; especially the EQ, which is among the worst I've heard. If you need to have the skinned look, stick with Winamp 2.95 (Winamp's EQ sounds better, and unlike QCD, it's able to process uncompressed WAVs). For the best sound, go for XMPlay--you won't regret it.
Review date: Jan 13, 2005
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP
Great sound quality on hi-rate mp3s
XMPlay version 3.1
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Nothing beats CD sound feeding a sound blaster with hardware tone controls. But for MP3s, it's hard to beat the sound quality you get from this neat little player. Trust me, when listening through a DECENT set of studio-grade cans, you CAN hear differences between the different MP3 players out there. XMPlay is the best I've heard, bar none.
Review date: Jan 13, 2005
- Freeware
- 2000/XP/Vista
Too bloaty
Winamp (Full) version 5.07
- Interface: 1
- Features: 1
- Ease of use: 1
- Value: 1
- Overall:
If you absolutely have to have Winamp, stick with the last of the "2" series: 2.95 - you can find it at oldversion.com. Sound quality is good on compressed formats, but there are better, such as XMPlay and Foobar.
Review date: Jan 13, 2005
- Freeware
- Win (All)
Mozilla wannabe
Netscape Navigator version 7.1
- Interface: 4
- Features: 2
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 2
- Overall:
Long-time Netscape fans should look towards Mozilla for their "anti-IE" fix. Mozilla is basically the same browser (same Gecko-based engine) minus the tons of bloat (the download size is about a THIRD that of Netscape!!).
Review date: Jan 13, 2005
Create interactive Flash movies and tutorials to show how applications and systems work.
Optimize and improve your PC performance, fix problems, undelete files and more...
A powerful monitoring solution to record PC activity, including keystrokes, email and more.
